Art Center of Burlington

In the Gallery

Fritz Goekner, Jessica Kirby, Karla Mundt, Lin Parks

Hang It Up

Members of our Gallery committee are featured in the show Hang It Up. Pieces range from photography to oil and IDA (Ingredient Driven Art) to pastel.

Fritz Goekner

As a leading photographer of the tri-state region, I work and sleep in Burlington, Iowa. Born and educated in the Middle West, I was originally meant to be a scientist. I even straggled through graduate school. But my aims drifted and I began to commit photography more and more seriously. Eventually I quit science and moved back to the Midwest with rather vague plans to photograph here. After many years, and much effort developing a previously unused form of photography, I have gradually discovered that the Middle West and its small towns and their often declining fortunes are and remain my primary subject.

Jessica Kirby

Jessica Kirby is from Burlington, IA. She received her degree in art from WIU. She's primarily an outdoor painter working in oil and pastel.

Karla Mundt

Karla Mundt is a Burlington native having graduated with a BFA in Art from the University of Iowa. She fell into teaching at the Art Center over 30 years ago when a friend asked her to substitute for a class, Most of her experience has been with the lower elementary grades but has done numerous classes with older children and occasionally adults. Her goal is to give children the experience of exploring various mediums and the opportunity to express their ideas through Art. She enjoys coming up with new ideas to engage the children and broaden their experiences. She hopes the kids are having as much fun as she is!

Karla personally likes to use a variety of mediums and am trying to do Ingredient Driven Art; meaning look around your studio, house, garage, etc and see how you can use what you have on hand to create an art project.

Lin Parks

Lin is not an artist. She is a retired elementary school teacher who loved teaching children through different entry ways into the brain, especially through art, song writing, writing and learning poetry, and getting outside! There is nothing better than seeing the fun, funny, creative, and insightful results of kids projects! Like so many children, she also has a bit of attention deficit disorder, and gets tired of doing one thing over and over. This sometimes gets in the way of mastery of the subject matter. However, she never gets tired of learning new things, hence the variety of projects. She has done works in oils, pastels, watercolor, colored pencils, clay, wood, needlework, stained glass, pysanky, batik, and probably other mediums she is too old to remember! Here is a sampling of the things she has worked on, many of them while taking classes from real artists.

View the 2022 Gallery Schedule Here

Mini Gallery

featuring Paula Bolander

I am an artist who creates unique paintings using textures and unusual paint colors combined together to create layered pieces that reflect the many layers of life experiences. Contrast, texture, and colorful layers combine compositions magically. I have always loved to paint since I was a young child.

I have a BFA in art education from Iowa State University and a Masters in Library science from UNI. Teaching art in the public school system for over 20 years now starting in Lincoln Nebraska and now in Burlington Iowa. I currently work at Grimes and Sunnyside elementary!

Married for over 30 years we have 2 wonderful children, Jesse and Emily Bolander. Jesse is an engineer and Emily is studying to be an elementary teacher.

Thank you for letting me share my art with you!

Paula Bolander

Call for Artists!

Art Center of Burlington is excited to offer two different opportunities for artists to showcase and sell their artwork.

The Itty Bitty Bits of Art Show and Sale debuted in 2021 and proved to be a success with sixty artists participating. All pieces are 12" or less and must be for sale. The Art Center handles all sales and takes a 25% commission. There is a $15 entry fee for up to 3 pieces This is a great time for the community to get started on their holiday shopping!

The annual All Member Show is always a community favorite as this exhibit concludes the year in our Gallery. Any current Art Center Member is welcome to show up to two pieces, at least one of them has to be for sale. Pieces vary from fiber art to mixed media and everything in between.

This is always a popular show and many shop the artwork for holiday gift, most artwork is affordable and locally made.

Download the Itty Bitty Bits of Art Contract

Download the All Member Show Contract

Get the kids involved with our Gallery Scavenger Hunt!

Giving kids an appreciation for art encourages exploration, self expression, logical thinking, self-esteem, imagination, and creativity. We’ve made up a fun little scavenger hunt for your family to do together at the Art Center! Just stop by the front desk anytime for the scavenger hunt.

Sunday: Closed

Mon - Thurs: 10am - 6pm

Friday/Saturday: 10am - 4pm

301 Jefferson Street
Burlington, Iowa 52601
319-754-8069

hello@btownart.com