Arts Directory

Sixty years ago, ten amateur artists formed the Rockford Art Guild (RAG) to help encourage and support each other. Over the years RAG has provided education, resources and support to its’ members.The Guild organizes shows for members, such as the annual show at Nicholas Conservatory, Rockford Art Museum, Mendelssohn PAC, Katie’s Cup, Rockford Area Arts Council’s Spring & Fall ArtScene just to name a few.  Dee is currently the president of the Rockford Art Guild.
To celebrate their 60^th anniversary, RAG is creating a MOSAIC of art guild work featuring 60 pieces of 8x8” art produced by present and past Guild members, combined into one mosaic of art telling the story of the Guild – the variety of color and movement and subject reflects the great variety of people and their art that is present in the Guild.  The Mosaic Artwork will be shown at the Guild’s show “We are Rockford”, (through June 7^th) at the Rockford Art Museum as well as Fall ArtScene in October. http://www.rockfordartguild.com

Jeff Sprecher’s art prowess began early in high school.  As a freshman at West High in Rockford, one of his art class projects was chosen for exhibit at the Young Artist Show at the Burpee Museum.  Jeff’s creativity expanded beyond painting, although this is where his passion and satisfaction lies, he became a new product designer and inventor.  He’s designed many new projects, logos and even wrote a screenplay.

He just recently moved back to the Rockford area to be closer to family and he hopes to start exhibiting and selling his artwork.

Artist Carolyn Williams is from Rockford, and still lives here with her husband Tommy Williams, son Thomas, and her lovely 3 year old granddaughter Kamiya.  She has two other daughters who reside outside of Illinois, both married and have 3 children each. Carolyn worked 31 years for Hamilton Sundstrand as a Material analysist but retired in 2008.

Caroly has always loved and appreciated art but didn’t start painting herself until 2002.  Inspired by a picture that her younger sister described as a great picture that was in a liquidation sale, but when she went back to see it for herself it was sold.  That is when Carolyn made her first attempt to paint on canvas.  Her first painting was of an abstract jazz band that’s been donated to, and is on display at Booker Washington Center here in Rockford.  Her family, church family, co-workers and strangers alike have encouraged her to continue painting.

Carolyn is blessed with a God given talent that allows her to express herself through impressions of family and folks from southern culture expressed in mid-western upbringing.  Her work is passionately painted in acrylics on canvas in colors that will come alive to celebrate and inspire the traditions that reflect the life she lives.

David Zoberis is an artist displaying a painterly view of representational colorful images in everyday life through different art media.  He has worked in a successful outsider status starting in 1994 across Illinois until 2006 accepting awards at group art events.  These include an Honorable Mention in the 2004 GlenEllyn Art Festival to Best of Show at the Grayslake 11th Art Show in 2006.Displays include Geneva Train Station 2003, Rockford’s Clock Tower Resort 2004, Doubletree Hilton Oakbrook, IL 2006 until present.

David received academic training from Professor Rolman from Northern Illinois University in watercolor painting and earned a BFA in painting in 2006.  Displayed Paintings of Prague and Sarejevo for the Lincolnwood Symphony Orchestra concerts in 2008 at Northeastern University in Chicago.  Most recent gallery shows were 2011 Rockford Greenwich Village, 2012 Desmidi Gallery and Tin Duck Gallery, Chicago 2013 and Robert Jendra Gallery in 2014.  Last indoor/outdoor Arts events were “Unforgettable Art for the Alzheimer’s Rockford in both 2013 and 2014.

Lectured on the series of mixed media presentation “Painting of Illinois One Room Schoolhouses” on display at the Blackwell Museum at NIU.  Last 10 seminars and workshops given inside of 2014 included a tour of designated Illinois Libraries including Cortland, DeKalb, Loves Park, Malta and Waterman.  Zobie’s Artwork is David’s studio located in Maple Park.  Commissions as are completed there and classes are conducted during the summer months for aspiring local artists.

Artist Statement
My life passion is to engage within creative conquest, beginning with sparks of colorful hope, lighting up a promise in creating images of the past and present and placing them in painterly forms today.  While the motion of making art starts, time seems to stop and painting begins.  My environment becomes the image.  Extreme involvement carries a heavy weight and guarantees a quirky impression from the soul where light, color and paint are more personal than naive.  Each captured final journey contains manifested hybrid mixtures of academic and outsider influenced art worked through a cycle of treks created with a painterly innocence.