Art in the Heartland - Cherokee, Iowa

Last Friday night my sweet Hubby wrote the previous post on this blog, because I was exhausted after too little sleep and many hours of preparations. We had traveled 150 miles to Cherokee, Iowa where we set up my first solo art exhibit at the Sanford Museum and Planetarium.

There's nothing like a good night's rest to revive the body. After checking out of the motel, we headed to downtown Cherokee. We had an excellent lunch at this cafe.


I love the architecture and signage in this town. There were different types of brick and stonework to keep things interesting.


We were surprised to discover this little park and walking path that led to the Sanford Museum. It was tucked between two buildings. I wonder what happened to create that space.

UPDATE: This was "called Treptow Park, in honor of a WWI hero from Cherokee. He was killed in that war. It was kept up well, for a long time, but some years ago, it began to be neglected. A few years ago, the lot came up for sale and was bought by the museum. We redid the park, with many contributions from our great community, and called it Sanford Lane, thinking the walkway would connect up to the museum, which it does. The big mural on the side was done many years ago by an art class.I think that is some of the story, anyway." Information provided by Michele from the Sanford Museum. Thanks, Michele!


We went back to the Sanford to take pictures. On Friday we had finished setting up the exhibit after closing and didn't get all the shots we wanted. The following are the paintings as you go along the wall from left to right. I put a link to Flicker on the right sidebar of this post where I noted the titles of the art.













I am very pleased with this first exhibit. The museum has been wonderful to work with. I'm very grateful for this opportunity.

Coming Soon: Regina Rooks at Sanford Museum!

This fossil is just a sample of the interesting things to see at the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, Iowa. In May, the first solo show of my paintings will be held at this very eclectic museum. The museum houses a planetarium, archeology and natural history exhibits as well as local historical artifacts.
The Sanford Museum hosts a new art exhibit each month. They invited me to exhibit my art last summer after their representative saw my painting that was on display at the Iowa State Fair. What a thrill this has been to me!
We had never been to the museum, so Hubby & I made the 150 mile trip last December. It was a fun time to visit, because they were all decked out for Christmas. The room where my paintings will hang was filled with bare branch "trees" decorated by elementary age students. SO CUTE!

If you're a regular reader, I've mentioned this exhibit in passing in some of my posts. I have most of my paintings prepared. Now I need to get labels made and revise my artist's statement. I've been journaling thoughts, but it's time to get the job done. It just so happened that a blog I discovered last week gave some excellent journaling tips to help write an artist's statement. You might want to check out this link: Amano Books.

I'm very excited about this opportunity and very grateful to the Sanford Museum.