June @ Universe City (Ogden)

Unitarians Unite for Outreach Art Fundraiser
Who: Universe City, 2556 Washington Boulevard in Ogden
What: Karen Thurber and William Hackett
When: June 3, 10, 17, 5:00-8:00 pm
June 4, 13, 18, 1:00-5:00 pm
Art Talk/Closing Night Reception: 6:00 pm
Where: 2556 Washington Boulevard, Ogden

Painter Karen Thurber and wood artist William Hackett will be the featured artists during the month of June at Universe City, 2556 Washington Boulevard in Ogden. Opening night will be held in conjunction with Downtown Ogden’s First Friday Art Stroll, Friday, June 3. Gallery hours are Fridays, 5:00-8:00 and Saturdays, 1:00-5:00 pm. or by appointment (call Benjamin Jennings at 801-458-8959).
Sales proceeds from this exhibit will go to community outreach programs sponsored by Ogden Unitarians congregation. Both artists are members of this active group and have previously had a very successful artist fundraiser in the past.
Thurber's two-dimensional work is sun bright and cheerfully colorful - a sure antidote to the recent cold and rainy weather. Bill Hackett's wood sculptures are architectural and organic at once. His work reveals the beauty of each piece of wood he touches.

In their own words:
Karen Thurber has been drawing and painting her entire life, largley through the influence of her father, a painter and illustrator. She attended the Pennsylvania Academy for the Fine Arts and the Samuel Fleisher School as a young adult, but left a potential art career to work for more than 30 years in community development. Her artwork often reflects one of her other major passions, traveling, with images drawn from western deserts and national parks to settings in Europe, central America, and most recently, Alaska. Karen
clearly loves color and often allows her paintings to spill over into hand painted framing. Karen is also a member of the Saturday morning drawing group at Weber State where she has been working for several years to hone her life drawing skills. Not sure she's an "artist" yet, Karen prefers the term "aspiring" to illustrate her desire to continually expore and grow through her artwork.


Bill Hackett is an Ogden sculptor who works mainly in wood, combining it with metal and stone. Lathe work and contemporary furniture comprise most of his output, and lathe-turned objects are often the starting point for more elaborate sculpture.
"I mostly make bowls and platters because that's what people commission me to do," said Hackett. "Much of my work is intended as wedding gifts, corporate awards and items for nonprofit fund raising. If I had to describe my personal style, it would be simple forms, well executed and displaying the beauty of wood to best effect. I don't use a lot of surface decoration, letting the material speak for itself. I l often leave a chunk of bark on the wood, some rust on the steel or some weathered rind on the stone. Sometimes I include manufactured objects in my sculpture, such as old tools. I love old tools and I love to bring them back into use with careful restoration. But sometimes they're past the point of utility and I use them in my sculpture. These are the tools that built America. They deserve to be celebrated and given new life, either as art or in use."