Work of 100 artists to be featured along Eastern Iowa byway this weekend

The Grant Wood Scenic Byway along Highway 64 east of Anamosa plays host to the first Art & Culture Tour on Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17. Photo by Dave Rasdal.

By Dave Rasdal
The Gazette

ANAMOSA — Dusty roads and power lines aside, the scenic rolling hills of Jones and Jackson counties provide a backdrop artists have craved, probably since before Grant Wood lived here more than a century ago.

So, why not plop artists down along the route to show their stuff, too? It would be the perfect melding of Mother Nature and human creativity.

This weekend (may 16-17), if you travel the Grant Wood Scenic Byway from Stone City to Bellevue, expect to see signs pointing to nearly 100 area artists.

Maria White of Monticello will display some of her elaborate pottery work at Grounds & Goodies in Anamosa during this weekend’s Art & Culture Tour. Photo by Dave Rasdal.

“To the artists, recognition in this day and age is important,” says Rose Rohr of Anamosa, an artistic advocate and an organizer of the first Art & Culture Tour. “It’s quite a commitment to be in all of these places on a weekend.”

Indeed, it’s a commitment most artists love to make. With the promise of sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, they will showcase everything from oil paintings and pottery to quilts and books.

“It amazes me how many artists are in Jones County,” says one of them, K.C. Kiner of Anamosa. “When you think of all the different artists and the mediums they use, it’s tremendous.”

K.C. Kiner of Anamosa relaxes in an Adirondack chair she painted in rural farm motif. She and her two children, Kegan and Kasi, will display their artwork at Daly Creek Winery in Anamosa for this weekend’s Art & Culture Tour in Jones and Jackson counties. Photo by Dave Rasdal.

K.C. and her kids, Kegan and Kasi, will set up at Daly Creek Winery in Anamosa. K.C. has illustrated books and greeting cards since the 1970s, many for national distribution. Her children, in their 20s, enjoy pottery and sculpture as well as drawing and painting.

Some of the artists found their calling by accident, while others made it their vocation.

“I wanted some stained glass for my own home,” says Sharon Burrows, who operates A Glass Act in Stone City. “I’ve been artistic since I was young. I took two lessons and took it from there.”

That was 27 years ago. Sharon has since created windows as large as 6-by-6 1/2 feet (it weighed 300 pounds) and studied glass art in Mexico.

On the other hand, Maria White of Monticello, known for custom Christmas ornaments the last three decades, has been a potter just as long. She’s taught in Italy and will display works at Grounds & Goodies in Anamosa.

“It’s fun,” Maria says, “to promote something people don’t know I do.”

Elizabeth Bollwitt of Monticello will display her pointillist art this weekend at J&P Cycles on Highway 151 just north of Anamosa. Photo by Dave Rasdal.

Promotion is fun, adds Elizabeth Bollwitt of Monticello, who for five years has sold her “pointillism” (acrylic dots on canvas) paintings around the country, including Miami and New York City.

“I picked J&P Cycles for my location,” she says, “because it’s a little out of the box.”

And because a motorcycle is a great way to see the scene, whether that be nature or art.

- What: Art & Culture Tour, with artists set up in businesses in Jones and Jackson counties
- Where: From Stone City to Bellevue, mostly along the Grant Wood Scenic Byway, which officially runs from Anamosa along Highway 64 through Wyoming to Maquoketa and then along Highway 62 and county roads to Andrew and Bellevue.
- When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday (May 16) and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday (May 17)
- On the Net: www.anamosachamber.org/art-culture-tour-09.htm

© Gazette Communications 2009