J.A. Burst (Columbus, IN) and Linda Gredy (Dayton, OH) have been named the featured artists at the Brown County Art Guild during the month of July. A reception for the artists will be held on Saturday July 8, from 5-8 p.m. Linda Gredy will host a live oil painting demonstration on Saturday, July 15 from 2-4 p.m. Located in the heart of downtown Nashville, the Brown County Art Guild is open Monday- Saturday 11:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. & Sunday 12:00-4:00 p.m.

J.A. Burst studied at Butler University, John Herron Art Institute, and with Indiana watercolorists, Rob O’Dell, Peggy Brown, and Jerry Smith. She became a member of the Brown County Art Guild in 2011. Artists Statement, J.A. Burst: I admit I resist the encroachment of technology on our lives. After all, how can one enjoy the pleasure of dancing shadows, the weathered face of a building, reflection on water and the serenity of the landscape when one spends hours staring at a screen? My aim as an artist is to share those moments and feelings that have captured my attention in the real world. It is my hope these paintings remind you, the viewer, of the wonderful, ordinary things that are in our environment and encourage you to get away from the screens or at least appreciate the background in that selfie!

Linda Gredy’s many years of experience in graphic design and illustration have provided her with the foundation and the desire to pursue her love of painting. Her education includes a degree in graphic design and a BFA in painting from Wright State University. She became a member of the Brown County Art Guild in 2016. Artist Statement, Linda Gredy: Painting is truly a blessing and an adventure for me. I am fascinated with light and its wonderful influence on everything it touches, as I paint, I try to recreate these amazing effects. It’s my desire that my art will bring joy, inspire hope and encourage the viewer as I seek to reflect the glory of creation.

This event will feature a poetry reading and book signing by Jeffrey Bean, who will be reading from his latest collection, Woman Putting on Pearls. Jeffrey Bean is a proud native of Bloomington, Indiana. Currently, he lives with his wife Jessica and daughter Olivia in Mount Pleasant, MI, where he is Associate Professor of English/Creative Writing at Central Michigan University. His is author of the full-length collection Diminished Fifth (Wordtech 2009) and the chapbooks Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (Southeast Missouri State University Press 2014) and The Voyeur’s Litany (Anabiosis Press 2016). His second full-length collection, Woman Putting on Pearls, won the 2016 Red Mountain Poetry Prize and was published in June 2017 by Red Mountain Press. His poems have been featured on the NPR program The Writer’s Almanac and in Garrison Keillor’s anthology Good Poems, American Places. Recent poems appear or are forthcoming in the journals FIELD, Slate.com, The Missouri Review, Cimarron Review, Crab Orchard Review, Subtropics, Smartish Pace, and River Styx, among others. Find out more at https://www.jeffreybeanpoet.com/