Bella Arts Group consists of artists from both the Rolla and St. James, Missouri area. In the 1980's, Bella Arts Group originated by displaying their original art in Grette Herrick's Old Courthouse Gallery in Rolla, Missouri. The original members were instrumental in supporting, volunteering and participating in the Old Courthouse Gallery. These originating members were: Sandy Anderson, Paula Turney Brewer, Mary Lou Corn, Sandra Ford, Lynn Grannemann, Suzanne Schacher, Sue Stormes and Grette Herrick. Grette Herrick passed away in 2010.
     Over the years, the Bella Arts Group has evolved. Past members include accomplished artists Gloria Trinidad, Suzanne Tourtelot and Theresa Emmett.  A new generation of protégés have been invited to join in the past few years. They are Gini Gaunt, Jeanenne Silleck, Luce Myers, and Lorraine McFarland. These exceptional artists work in a variety of mediums, including graphite, oil, acrylic, watercolor, ceramics, colored pencil, and pastels. Their impressive skills have earned some national accreditations and many have won awards for their work.
     This exhibition of the Bella Arts Group is the third show featuring the entire group, and is the second show that includes the newer members. The ladies of the Bella Arts Group are members of Arts Rolla and have participated in many shows regionally, both as individuals and in collections.

This exhibit features work by:
Paula Brewer, Mary Lou Corn, Sandra Ford, Gini Gaunt, Lynn Granneman,
Lorraine McFarland, Luce Myers, Suzanne Schacher, Jeanenne Silleck, Sue Stormesewer
Mary Lou Corn
Sandra Ford
Gini Gaunt
Lynn Granneman
Lorraine McFarland
Luce Myers
Suzanne Schacher
Jeanenne Silleck
Sue Stormes Paula Brewer
Mary Lou Corn
Sandra Ford
Gini Gaunt
Lynn Granneman
Lorraine McFarland
Luce Myers
Suzanne Schacher
Jeanenne Silleck
Sue Stormes

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EXHIBITION ALBUM 

Life is all about continual change.
Not any given moment will ever be repeated.   
An artist must pay attention - stay connected to life
Both with eyes and soul.

~Paula Turner Brewer~

     Artist Mary Lou Corn paints in the realist style with great attention to detail and design. Her craftsmanship is superb and her ability to capture difficult subjects through reflections and composition bring the quality of marvel to her still life paintings. In landscapes of the beautiful Ozark countryside where she lives and works, she illustrates the lush and lovely characteristics of this land of cobalt waters and deep forests.  Her floral paintings carry inspiration from the great women artists of the 20th century with whom she claims kinship. Mary Lou Corn is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society, the Missouri    Watercolor Society, the Kansas Watercolor Society, and of the Honor Society of Watercolor, USA.  Learn more about artist Mary Lou Corn at www.maryloucorn.com.

    Artist Gini Gaunt loves flowers, and finds them the perfect subject for her favorite art medium – watercolor. She enjoys bringing their brilliant colors to life on paper and the challenge of making the transparent paints capture details such as dew and shiny petals. She also enjoys painting still lifes with favorite vases and unique scenes photographed while traveling.
     Gini learned to draw as she taught children during her career in education. When she left the education field in 2003 and devoted more time to her art, she discovered that art, like many other things in life, takes practice and patience. She has now had her work accepted and recognized at several art shows in Missouri. She is excited by new opportunities to share her art with others.
     Gini lives in St. James, Missouri, with her husband, Steve. She likes living in a small town where she is active in her church and involved in many community organizations. When she is not painting, she enjoys traveling, movies, books, and spending time with her growing family.

     Raised in St. Louis, Lorraine McFarland took every art course offered by her high school and went to college with a declared major in art. Lorraine's father, who was a self-taught and gifted artist, always told her she could learn everything she needed to become a successful artist by reading and practice. Lorraine has studied with some of the most gifted and well-known teachers, including Richard McKinley, Maggie Price, Theresa Emmett Allison, Lynn Granneman, Paula Ann Ford, Desmond O'Hagan, Jerry Yarnell, Marsha Hamby Savage, Liz Haywood-Sullivan and Bob Rohm.
Learn more about Lorraine McFarland at:  www.lorraine-mcfarland.artistwebsites.com/

     Artist Luce Myers lives in Newburg, Missouri and has taught art to people of all ages for 30 years. She received her Masters in Integrated Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. She is now teaching courses in Drawing, Painting, Sculpture and Art Appreciation at Missouri Science and Technology, in Rolla, MO. Luce is also offering a course titled: “Art in the Community”, which involves students designing and painting murals in community public buildings. Luce just finished two small murals in Boise, Idaho.

     “My connection to nature is what drives my art explorations. I am in awe of the form and textures found in nature. I believe if we engage in the love of nature, we will be more inclined to protect it. My leaf platters are fun to serve food to guests, revealing the elegance of nature. I am also seeing art as a medium for healing, especially in the circular form of the Mandala. The Mandala is a circular work of art honoring your own sacred path. It is found in many traditions, in stained glass windows or in Tibetan and Navajo Sand paintings, to name a few. Art can aid in focusing and calming the spirit, and making the invisible visible.”

     Luce gives workshops on the making of Mandalas in water colors and pastels. Proceeds go to Casaguatamala.com.   Luce Myers may be contacted at lmyers@mst.edu

     Artist Suzanne Hooke Schacher was born in Salen, Missouri. She spent twenty-six years in Lima, Peru, during which time she attended the Academia de Bellas Artes de Miraflores, studying with John Harold Davis who previously taught at the Beau Artes Department, University of Syracuse in New York.  She also studied for two years with renown artist and sculptress, Christina Galvez, famous not only in Latin America, but Europe as well. Suzanne exhibited mainly at the Carlos Rodriguez Saavedra Gallery in Miraflores, Lima, Peru.  She has also shown at the Peruvian National Museum in Lima and at the Trapecio Gallery in Miraflores. She was a member of the Peruvian Association of Artes Plasticas during her residence in Peru.
     After returning to Missouri, she has continued to paint and study. She has attended workshops with Al Broullette, James Whitlow, Ray Vinella of Fechin Institute, Taos, New Mexico; maurice Loreau of Santa Fe New Mexico; and locally with watercolorist, Bill McFarland. Suzanne recently finished illustrating a collection of childrens books published by Osage Bend Publishing in Jefferson City, MO. Recently she has shown at the Santa Fe Gallery in Clayton, Missouri; the St Louis Artists Guild; the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery in Jefferson City, MO; the Old Courthouse Gallery and the Frame Shop Gallery in Rolla, MO. She continues to exhibit her work in Limo, Peru at the Trapecio Gallery in Miraflores.  Suzanne works in oils, acrylics, watercolors and ink. Her studio is located in Rolla, Missouri. 

     Artist Sue Henderson Storms is a watercolor artist. She has taught science and art in both the Little Rock, AR and the Rolla, MO public schools.  She has lived in Rolla, Missouri most of her life with her husband, Bill. They have three adult children.

     Her love and personal connection to the natural world led her art expression in a representational but expressive path for a beautiful “Green World”.