Puga makes initial foray at FMAAA

Some pictures capture a moment that we glance at and quickly move past. Others are filled with expression and suggest a potential backstory. Quite often, that creation process is impacted by timing, when everything just seems to come together as a piece is finished successfully.
Every Picture Tells a Story by Roxanne Puga, pastel artist and former teacher librarian, is her inaugural solo exhibition, brimming with expressive portraiture and exceptionally rendered still life work. Everyone is welcome to come and meet (or reacquaint yourself with) the artist at her Opening Reception on Thursday, March 6, 2025, from 5pm to 7pm at the FMAAA Art Center located at 825 Avenue G in Fort Madison, Iowa. This exhibition will be on display for the month of March until Saturday, March 29 and is generously sponsored by FMAAA members Carol and John Janosik in support of their dear friend, Roxanne.

When reminiscing about how she has grown into an artist, Puga reflects that she has always been attracted to art fundamentals like color, composition, shape and texture. However, while taking art classes with “some really great teachers over the years,” including Sandy Meyer, John Preston, and Carleen Atwater (the February exhibitor at the FMAAA Art Center) provided opportunity to build a solid art foundation, at that time she rarely finished any pieces. “When the class was over, I never got back to it or I wasn’t happy with my work and threw it away,” says Puga. She continues, “It wasn’t until I was introduced to pastels by Gin Lammert that I felt like I found my medium.” While she continued to be sporadic about painting, spending more time quilting at that point, when she retired from her position as a teacher librarian, she became serious about painting. Puga says, “I’ve been painting regularly for almost three years now. And I actually finish the pieces now!”

Puga’s friend and fellow artist, Carol Janosik, encouraged her to try my hand at portraits during their joint painting sessions. Puga was not ready to give this challenging genre a try.  “I love portraits but was overwhelmed by the thought of trying to paint a person and getting a true likeness,” says Puga. “I was never great at drawing people. I always found that still life was easier,” she continues, further explaining that the pear didn’t have to look exactly like the pear in front of you as long as it was recognizable as being a pear.

A few months after Puga retired she received an opportunity to explore portraiture in a class Burlington artist, Cecile Houel, was offering. “I got brave and signed up,” she says. “Carol and I took it together. I was hooked. I love the whole process: the drawing, the underpainting, adding color and watching it come to life. I’ve gone a little portrait happy.” After that class concluded, Houel agreed to give the pair private lessons each month when she is in the country, helping them both to advance considerably over time. The timing has become right. Not only is she finishing her work these days, but she is infusing her pieces with the perfectly captured moment. Roxanne Puga’s pastel work suggests a story full of the emotion, which we can plainly see ourselves, filling the faces in her elegantly rendered subjects.

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In the Pop-up Gallery at the FMAAA Art Center:

March 1 – 15  ART = JOY by Kristin Doney

For Kristin Doney, art is synonymous with joy. Growing up, she created a prodigious amount of art and, almost as often, gave it all away. Seeing the happiness her drawings brought to others was incredibly rewarding, especially as Doney’s talents grew capturing the particular likeness of animals, and later people. “These early experiences shaped my artistic journey, providing a solid base as I ventured into different mediums,” says Doney. She continues, “I started leaning into charcoal and watercolor, then experimenting with gouache, oil, and even clay -- always drawn particularly to the beauty and complexity of the human form.”

Kristin has fond childhood memories of developing her artistic talent. She recalls a story, often retold by her parents involving a drawing of a clown on a unicycle. Doney recalls, “Four year-old me began not at the top, or with an outline of shapes, but from the very center--at the pedal. My parents found joy in seeing what that small shape led to.” This childhood anecdote reminds Doney that inspiration can strike anywhere, and that even the most unusual starting points can lead to a finished piece. She believes in trusting the process, and enjoying the ride.

Doney has a bachelor’s in Integrated Studio Art and a minor in Music. She is foremost a Mom to her four children, but continues to find time to paint plein air with watercolors, and explore other media.

Kristin Doney is the FMAAA Art Center Program Coordinator, a position made possible from a grant through Volunteer Iowa, who oversees the VISTA (part of AmeriCorp) volunteer program in our state. She has been organizing programming in our community to advance the benefits that art and creativity can have to enhance youth development. Not only does engaging with creativity improve our daily lives, but development of creative problem solving skills in youth is an investment in our future workforce.

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In the Pop-up Gallery at the FMAAA Art Center:

March 16 – 31  Color by Carol Janosik

Color has always excited and inspired artist, Carol Janosik. Mixing color and “watching the magic” as a blank paper, canvas, or wall comes to life brings great joy to her. Some of her earliest memories involve color. Janosik says, “As a young child, I vividly remember taking a purple crayon to my parents’ bedroom wall. And I recall with delight when I received my first box of 64 Crayola crayons, then spending hours mixing those crayons as I designed paper doll clothes.” As an adult, she felt a similar delight discovering oil paints. She continues to be motivated by the thought of working with color, whether it’s mixing oils with a limited palette, watching soft pastel glide across paper or seeing how watercolor blends and moves. Janosik paints from both life and her imagination. Her paintings tell a story by reflecting what she loves and cares about most: her Catholic faith, her family, and “the beauty of God’s creation.” Seeing a certain expression on the face of a loved one, a beautiful sunset, or a special moment spent with someone she loves inspires her to create that moment on canvas or paper.

Carol Swetye Janosik was introduced to art at an early age. Her parents owned and operated Swetye Ceramic Artware in Salem, Ohio where she was born producing ceramic greenware and bisque ware and their own glazed ceramics. Janosik’s grandfather had also been an artist. Janosik spent summers traveling the United States in the back end of a station wagon stopping at flower shops (where her father sold his pottery), history museums, and art galleries. She saw beauty all around but was especially influenced by the art of Elsie Patty of Grand Lake, Colorado, whose gentle spirit and beautiful mountain scenes captured her heart. It wasn’t until Janosik’s youngest child was in high school that she started to “play” with color. In 2008 she discovered oils under the direction of local artist, Pat Wynn.  She took lessons along with a group of ladies her husband, John, dubbed “the painting ladies”.  In 2022, dear friend Roxane Puga, invited Janosik to attend a Cecile Houel Pastel Portrait Workshop with her in Burlington, Iowa.  Janosik maintains an active arts practice. She states, “Roxane and I continue to paint together encouraging each other to grow as artists. In addition I enjoy working with watercolor, especially sketchbook journaling, when I travel with my husband, John.”

Janosik is a member of the Fort Madison Area Art Association, The Iowa Artists and The Catholic Art Institute.