Medina County Art League launches 2024–25 speaker series Sept. 22

Get ready for another year of learning from and about artists who are doing amazing work and who are ready to share their stories, techniques, art and insights with the Medina County Art League (MCAL).

The first speaker MCAL will welcome is Jim Laughlin, an MCAL member and Bowling Green State University graduate, who will present his precision abstract geometric paintings. Like many artists, his career path was not a straight line. After graduation, he taught public school for 18 years; then in 2000 he left teaching to start a business, which he still runs with his wife. His artistic passion never left, and he returned to painting seriously in 2022. In 2024, he had a piece accepted into the Butler Institute of American Art’s Midyear Show, and he continues to seek exhibition opportunities. On Sept. 22 at 7 p.m., he will share his meticulous process of creating these works in the A.I. Root Community Room.

In October, Kayla Billings from CVAC will show her ink drawings featuring graceful, fanciful and mythological female figures (warning: nudes).

November features the unique assemblages of Gwen Waight, whose pieces reflect her experiences growing up mixed race, socially conscious and highly creative in small-town America.

Taking a break in December, MCAL meetings resume in January with a members’ Show and Tell evening — a chance to see what members are creating in their own studios.

In February, MCAL will host Wadsworth High School art teachers Dave Derrig and Matt Sharla, who will share some of the reasons their students win so many awards and scholarships.

March is Critique Month, and this year MCAL welcomes Brian Shellito from the Akron Society of Artists. Shellito will share his artistic journey and offer critiques of any pieces members bring.

In April, Brunswick High School 1986 graduate (and one of the early MCAL scholarship winners) Bridget Ginley will talk about that experience as well as her diverse and colorful artistic path. She will present her current work featuring photographs from Cedar Point.

In May, painter and gallery director at Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus, Cara Romano, will share her insights as a university gallery manager. She will also present her own work, which she says is difficult to categorize.

June brings a tradition for MCAL — the members’ picnic, where attendees relax, share food and prepare for Art in the Park in July.

Guests are always welcome at MCAL’s monthly meetings, held the fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. in the Root Candles Community Room. (Check the website for possible changes.) Individuals and couples interested in joining MCAL can do so at any meeting or by visiting www.medinacountyartleague.com. Information about workshops, exhibits and volunteer opportunities can also be found there.