SMAC Art Center hosts ‘Girls Just Want to Have Flowers’

The Southern Missouri Arts Connection (SMAC) will host a solo exhibit featuring the work of artist Meike Aton entitled Girls Just Want to Have Flowers. The show will run November 13-29 at the SMAC Art Center, 7 Downing Street, in historic Hollister, MO.

Meike Aton is a fine art painter and artist from Springfield, MO. Born in Germany, Aton moved to Boston, MA, in 1979 to marry her husband, later moving to Florida and finally to Missouri where she taught German at Missouri State University.

During her years in Florida, Aton studied art from her most important mentor Frits Van Eeden, who encouraged her to paint large, bold, abstract, and loose.

Inspired by the lyrics of Cyndi Lauper’s 1980’s song, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” Aton’s exhibit of bright acrylic paintings and mixed media work explores the joy elicited by the beauty of blooms. Filled with exuberance and texture, the artworks fill the viewer with a sense of happy lightheartedness. “The best outcome always emerges from an emotional place, when my brain gets turned off and my heart on,” Aton says of her art. “Let your heart leap with the colors and the rhythm!”

Aton plans to facilitate an abstract painting workshop during the month of November at the SMAC Art Center in Hollister. Details available soon at smac-art.org.

The opening reception will be on Friday evening, November 13, from 6-9 p.m. Please note, this month’s exhibit opens on the second Friday. Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. During the reception, Aton will speak about her art and answer questions.

Attendees to the opening reception may view the exhibit, tour the private studios, and enjoy complimentary refreshments. Vintage Paris Coffee kiosk will also be on site.

Each month during their exhibits, SMAC highlights one of the many local nonprofit organizations that serve the area. This month SMAC is drawing attention to the Skaggs Foundation, committed to improving the health and wellness of residents in Stone and Taney counties by funding patient care programs, supporting improvement projects at the Branson hospital, providing scholarships to local students and through community grant making.

Southern Missouri Arts Connection (SMAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit local center of creativity, art education, innovation and community partnership, strives to improve the quality of life in southern Missouri by connecting individuals with the arts, for the benefit of all.