A chair sculpture titled "Retirement" by Marv Dahmen as seen Wednesday morning, Nov. 12, 2003, at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts in downtown Joplin. This chair was constructed from old automobile parts. Globe/T. Rob Brown

"Mother Earth" by Dorothy Alsenz

"Oh How Splendid, It's an Ashtray" by Victoria Carpenter

"Unchair" by Marv Dahmen

"Two Pair of Pears, on a Pair of Chairs, with One Pear to Spare" by Tom Jones

"Tallgrass" by Jim Keffer

"Patches" by Melanie Liles and Jacob Evitts

"Dinner for Two" by Audrey Mitchell

"Untitled" by Justin Shaw

"From Shutters and Window Boxes to Chair, Tuscany" by Linda S. Teeter

"Untitled" by Randy Wright

When Marv Dahmen started thinking of retirement after more than 20 years of teaching at Carl Junction High School, friends began joking that it was time for the proverbial rocking chair.



One of the three guest artists participating in “Artcessories: The Fun Art of Furnishings” at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, Dahmen took the suggestion to heart.



“Retirement” is an antique-style rocking chair that the artist fashioned from pieces left over from his other hobby. “I collect antique cars. As I restore them, I end up with all kinds of gears, wheels, transmission parts and this and that,” he said. “I built the chair out of car parts and antique chains and various kinds of found materials.



“I wanted something that would be kind of masculine and heavy. I wanted this to be a piece of furniture for my patio that wouldn’t blow around in the wind.”



Along with Dahmen’s other pieces in the exhibit — a coffee table and a chair made from gears, nozzles and other found objects — area artists have contributed pieces of furniture that incorporate an artistic flair. The exhibit, which runs through Nov. 30, will begin with an opening reception planned for 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday Nov. 14.



“(The theme) plays off of last year’s area artists challenge — ‘Have a Seat,’” said Jo Mueller, director of the Spiva gallery. “We expanded it, giving them the option to have the whole category of furniture as art.”



Mueller said that there were only two limitations for participating artists — the pieces had to be able to fit through a standard door, and they had to weigh less than 100 pounds.



“We have the whole gamut, from things people actually created to pieces that already existed and have been decorated. The range is just amazing.”



The result includes chairs, tables, shelves and chests that have been painted, assembled from unusual materials or designed for uses not intended for traditional pieces of furniture. Many of them are functional, though others you wouldn’t necessarily want to use.



For example, it might not be in your best interest to take a seat on “Mother Earth.”



Dorothy Alsenz of Joplin incorporated an idea that she had taken from visiting area craft shows for the piece — a flower pot built into a chair that was then painted.



“They were never really painted artistically,” Alsenz said of the chairs she had seen at other shows. “The may have had birds stuck to them, but I liked the idea of painting a face looking at you.”



For her entries, Joplin artist Wendy Milliman submitted “Knight Light,” a paper mache dragon built around a lamp, and “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,” a coffee pot tiled with newspaper clippings. Tom Jones of Carthage submitted a work that is a bit unusual. Five pears are painted on the two chairs, one balanced on top of the other, in the work titled “Two Pairs of Pears, on a Pair of Chairs, With One Pear to Spare.”



Artists participating in the “Artcessories” exhibit are: Scott Murray, Aaron Hauck, Jim Bray, Diane Bray, Dorothy Alsenz, Leloni Boatright, Heather Grills, Nick Kyle, Wendy Milliman, Monica O’Flaherty, Lara Blankenship, Victoria Carpenter, Randy Wright, Justin Hale, Melanie Liles and Jaco Evitts, Suzanne Bladow Wilson, Marv Dahmen, Audrey Mitchell, Linda Teeter, Diana Rank, Casy Pugh and Kevin Washington, Tom Jones, Jesse McCormick, Gail Francis, April Leiter, Jeff Smith, Justin Shaw, Ladonna Mitchell and Joan Allen.



In addition to Dahmen, works by two other guest artists — Jim Keffer, Oklahoma City, Okla., and Mark Wallis, Indiana — will be featured.



A silent auction will be held for the unique creations and will benefit both the artists and Spiva.



In Spiva’s Regional Focus Gallery, the work of three family members will be on display in “ARThree Generations.”



Pieces by Rebecca Perry, her daughter, Aston Stovern, and Stovern’s daughter, Rylee, will feature works in mediums ranging from clay to crayons.



Located at 222 W. Third St., Spiva is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.



George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org

Jo Mueller, Director