University of Dayton annual Nativity exhibit features new model train

'AT THE MANGER: CHRISTMAS AND BEYOND' GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION NOV. 28

DAYTON, Ohio — The University of Dayton will celebrate “Christmas and Beyond” with its annual exhibit of Nativities from around the world and the installation of a new model train display built to tell the story of Jesus’ young life.

“At the Manger: Christmas and Beyond” runs from Saturday, Nov. 28, to Sunday, Jan. 24, inside Roesch Library. It is free and open to the public. A grand opening celebration from 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 28 will feature children’s activities, light refreshment, entertainment by the Dayton Celebration Chorus and a college football viewing area.

“We want to make sure people understand that when we talk about the Nativity, it’s not only a representation of the Holy Family surrounded by shepherds, kings and oxen. We want to put the Nativity as we traditionally know it into a broader context — historically speaking, but also from the point of view of meaning and significance,” said the Rev. Johann Roten, S.M., Marian Library director of research and special projects.

New this year, the model train travels through an 18-by-12 foot display. Ten stations depict the events surrounding Jesus’ birth and childhood. Each features lights and music or a story. It begins with the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel speaks to Mary, said volunteer Phil Powers, who designed the electrical functions of the exhibit along with students from the School of Engineering. The train will be housed on the seventh floor of the library.

Also on the seventh floor, “From Heaven to Earth and Back” includes figures portraying the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary, which are events in the life of Mary and Jesus. Additionally, A Provencal Welcome shows an extensive French Provençal village of 150 clay figures called santons.

“Between Rain and Corn” on the first floor of the library exhibits clay Nativities from New Mexico, which show how Native Americans incorporated Christianity into their cultures.

“From Hammock to Jar” on the second floor illustrates several cultures’ interpretation of the Nativity, including those who represent it only in two-dimensional ways. Also featured are Nativities from Spain, Portugal and Italy, where the focus is not on the manger but on the three kings.

“The Marian Library has more than 3,000 Nativities in its collection. Every year, we draw from those to create a special theme and a unique experience,” said Kathleen Webb, dean of University Libraries. “The exhibit has become a tradition with many families and it is our gift to the community.”

A new book, God Still Comes, written by Roten offers extensive information on the Marian Library’s collection of Nativities, also called crèches, along with more than 250 large, colorful photos.

World Nativity lesson plans prepared by education majors from the University's School of Education and Health Sciences are also available for download on the exhibit’s website. The lessons are free and suitable for pre-K through 8th grades.

At the Manger will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It will be closed for holidays on Dec. 8, 24, 25 and 31; and Jan. 1 and 18.

For more information on exhibits, hours, directions and parking, visit http://udayton.edu/libraries/manger or call 937-229-4265. Guided group tours for six or more are available on request by calling 937-229-4214.

The University of Dayton's Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute (IMRI) is the world's largest repository of books, artwork and artifacts devoted to Mary, the mother of Christ, and a pontifical center of research and scholarship with a vast presence in cyberspace. Its redesigned All About Mary website, at udayton.edu/imri/mary, makes knowledge on Virgin Mary available worldwide.

Save the Date!

You are invited...
to our reception and student exhibition at Otterbein University's Miller Gallery from 5-8pm, located at 33 Collegeview Road, Westerville, Ohio 43081, on Tuesday, April 26th, 2016.

We would like to thank our sponsors: 
Koskinen Creative
Fireball Press

RSVP by email at audrey@aicuo.edu by April 18th, 2016.

The McFadden Art Gallery Exhibit

Untitled by Barbara Drennan

Wren (looking right) by Rosemary Hayne

Seashell by Heather Bryson

Autumn Leaves by Heather Bullach

Salt Marsh 2 by Lynn Digby

Canton, OH. The McFadden Gallery will feature Squared: 5 Artists Working 6 x 6 Inches, from November 9 through January 22. The exhibit features the work of artists Rosemary Hayne, Barbara Drennan, Lynn Digby, Heather Bullach, and Heather Bryson. 

The McFadden Gallery is located on the Malone University campus in the Johnson Center for Worship and the Arts. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. through 6 p.m.

This exhibit showcases five area artists who are part of a group that has been meeting regularly for the past two years to discuss art and techniques. Their inspiration for the show came from Oregon artist Carol Marine’s book, Daily Painting, which suggests that artists nurture their creativity by painting small and often. The five artists featured in this show all regularly created works in the same 6x6 inch format over the past year. Yet, a pleasing diversity can be seen in the techniques, including painting in oil and watercolor, drawing in graphite and colored pencil, and styles ranging between realism, expressionism, and abstract. The works are for sale and are affordably priced under $100.

See this online at: http://www.malone.edu/news-and-events/press/7201.squared.php

College hosting High School Invitational Art & Design Show

Top student qualifies for $3,500 Fine Art and Talent Scholarship

MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College’s Art Department is excited to welcome about a dozen students who will be participating in the High School Invitational Art & Design Scholarship Exhibition.

An opening reception is scheduled for noon-2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Third Floor Gallery of the Hermann Fine Arts Center. The exhibition will run until Monday, Nov. 30.

All participants are currently in their final year of high school and were limited to three entries. The College’s Art Department will review all work selected for the exhibition, and will award the top Marietta College Fine Art and Talent Scholarship — an annual award of $3,500 toward the College’s tuition — to the winner. Once accepted to Marietta College, the student continues to receive the award money each year as long as he or she majors or minors in Art or Design and remains active in the department.

Admission is free and it is open to the public.

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy begun in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,300 full-time students. The College offers 45 majors and has been listed among Barron’s Best Buys in College Education and Peterson’s Competitive Colleges, and has been recognized as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, as well as one of the nation’s best by Forbes.com.

Confluence Art Show to be Featured at Mount Union

Alliance, Ohio - Confluence, a mixed media art show, in which artists Keith McMahon and Priscilla Roggenkamp will be featured, will be on display Monday, November 2 through Wednesday, December 18 in the University of Mount Union’s Sally Otto Art Gallery. The Artist Reception will be Thursday, November 5 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the same location. Normal hours for the gallery are Monday through Sunday 7 a.m.- midnight.

A collaboration by Keith and Priscilla

McMahon and Roggenkamp began as individual artists before discovering their compatibility for collaboration. Since then, they have worked together on several projects, including a sculpture for Central Wyoming College.

“Our work explores our place in space and time and our relationship with the primal elements of nature to bring meaning and message out of the materials with which we work,” their website reads.

For more information on the event, contact Carol Opatken at (330) 823-4968 or email opatkec@mountunion.edu<mailto:opatkec@mountunion.edu>. To learn more about the artists, visit their website. For Mount Union's upcoming Fine Arts Events, visit their website.