Canida to showcase at August exhibit

FORT MADISON - The FMAAA Art Center is particularly pleased to showcase A Mixed-Media Look at the Everyday by Ann Canida for the surrounding community during a month-long solo exhibition of work by this local artist and Central Lee arts instructor for August 2026. Canida is an enthusiastic arts instructor who brings a significant amount of excellent student work to showcase every year during the FMAAA’s annual Budding Artist January youth show.
Canida, reflecting on her upcoming exhibit says, “I am drawn to the quiet beauty woven into everyday landscapes — the wild grasses swaying in a roadside ditch, the subtle shift of color across the sky, a flower catching the light. My work celebrates these easily overlooked moments, inviting viewers to slow down and notice the extraordinary within the ordinary.”
Everyone is invited to attend the Opening Reception on August 6 from 5-7 p.m. at the FMAAA Art Center located at 825 Ave G (next to the Fox Theatre). The artist will be on hand along with light refreshments and nibbles to enjoy while you take “the closer look” the artist offers, along with poignant moments to slow down and consider.
The FMAAA Art Center gratefully acknowledges the support of Bent Oak Books to help defray the costs of this exhibition. The FMAAA thanks this sponsor, and all of our sponsors and donors, who make programming like this possible at the Art Center

Canida combines hand-painted or hand-dyed cotton with cotton embroidery floss, textured alpaca wool, and glass seed beads along with painting media to create the work in this collection. She explores color, atmosphere, and movement in often subtle combinations which allow her “to deepen my understanding of the subtle transitions found in nature.”
She believes each medium contributes something unique explaining, “fiber dyes, acrylic paint, and pigmented acrylic ink create luminous, layered backgrounds with a soft, watercolor-like quality. Embroidery stitches add line and structure, alpaca wool introduces rich texture, and glass seed beads catch the light, bringing the work into subtle relief.”
Many of the artist pieces are framed in wooden embroidery hoops, “becoming small windows into familiar landscapes”. This collection invites viewers to discover that Iowa's roadsides and open skies hold wonder.

Canida is the second local arts instructor to exhibit at the FMAAA in the last four years. (Tracy Guzman, a book illustrator and art instructor at Holy Trinity exhibited in 2022.) The FMAAA exhibition committee learned Canida was interested in doing an exhibit of her own during the Budding Artists exhibition a few years ago and eagerly scheduled her for the mutually convenient month of August.
The FMAAA is delighted to provide a platform for our crazy-talented local arts instructors to exhibit their own work providing insight and connection with those who support excellent arts programs across this region. Hopefully, this is a recurring theme, and we’ll continue to see other instructors with their own show or participate in a group exhibition.

Ann Canida grew up in rural Donnellson, Iowa, where she still lives with her family. She earned a degree in Elementary Education from Iowa Wesleyan College, later completing a Master's in Art Education through The Art of Education University.

After more than 20 years in education, Canida says that she continues to find inspiration in the classroom. She begins her 15th year as a K–6 art educator at Central Lee Community School District as school commences this fall. 
She strongly believes that for her, teaching and creating continually inspires one another. Whether encouraging young artists to experiment in the classroom or exploring new materials in her own home studio, Canida is always seeking fresh ways to express creativity. Much of that inspiration begins outdoors, where Iowa's fields, roadsides, and ever-changing skies remind her that beauty often reveals itself in the simplest moments—and that the most special subjects are often the ones we are surrounded by every day.