Bloomington art exhibit features rocker’s mother
Posted: Sep 16, 2012 6:17 PM EDT Updated: Sep 16, 2012 6:17 PM EDT
BLOOMINGTON – An art exhibit featuring the work of the late mother of rocker John Mellencamp will open Monday in Bloomington.
The display runs through Saturday at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center.
The 40 pieces by the Seymour native include still-life images, copies of masterpieces and family portraits.
Marilyn Mellencamp began painting seriously in 1959, when she studied with Nashville artist John Rigley. She attended the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis. She was instrumental in establishing the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts in Seymour. She was 83 when she died in January.
John Mellencamp also is a painter.
Information from: The Herald Times
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FormatGalleryPosted onSeptember 17, 2012CategoriesUncategorized
Marilyn Mellencamp exhibit to support student scholarship fund
Marilyn Mellencamp exhibit to support student scholarship fund
By Jessica Williams 331-4352 | jwilliams@heraldt.com
September 16, 2012
BLOOMINGTON — Sometimes art runs in the family.
The work of Marilyn Mellencamp, the late mother of rocker John Mellencamp, will be featured in an art exhibit at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center.
The exhibit opens Monday and aims to raise awareness for the Marilyn Mellencamp Scholarship for the Arts. The display runs less than a week, through Saturday..
Forty pieces are in the exhibit. There are still-life images, copies of masterpieces and family portraits.
“She really did just tackle everything,” said Julie Roberts, Waldron gallery director, of the Seymour native.
“It’s a fascinating body of work by somebody who loved to paint,” Roberts said, adding that it shows the passion Mellencamp put into her hobby, a hobby that inspired her famous son to also create visual art.
To honor Marilyn Mellencamp, who died in late January at age 83, the family established the scholarship at the Community Foundation of Jackson County to award tuition support for a high school senior in the Seymour area who plans to study fine arts, music or theater in college.
Marilyn Mellencamp was also instrumental in establishing the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts in Seymour, noted an Ivy Tech news release.
She began painting seriously in 1959, when she studied with Nashville artist John Rigley. She attended the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis.
Her musician son is also a painter.
For more on the scholarship fund, contact the Community Foundation of Jackson County in Seymour at 812-523-4483.
For more on the Waldron, visit www.ivytech.edu/bloomington/waldron.
The late Marilyn Mellencamp’s self-portrait is part of her exhibit, opening Monday, at the Waldron in Bloomington. Courtesy image
Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2012
About Ivy Tech Community College
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students annually online. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering associate degrees, long- and short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College provides a seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable route to a bachelor's degree.
