Tag Archives: The Eaton Gallery

Stop and Smell the Roses: Slow Art Drive-By at Eaton Gallery

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For their second Slow Art Day, The Eaton Gallery in Bloomington, Illinois, organized a “drive-by” exhibit in the Gallery’s window display, inviting the local community to slow down and enjoy floral still-life paintings by local artist Herb Eaton. 

Herb Eaton, Still Life with Grace. 3ft x 4 ft, oil on canvas.
Herb Eaton, Single Petal of a Rose. 24×18 oil on canvas board.

Pamela Eaton, Gallery owner, aims to make art more accessible in a relaxed setting, and provide a space to support local artists.

From the 10th to the 30th of April, the Gallery created a drive-by window exhibit for viewers to pause and look slowly at a selection of artworks. They were then invited to share their thoughts and reflections in a variety of ways: write a note and drop it in the Gallery’s mail slot, send an email, or leave a post on the Gallery’s Facebook page.

The exhibit got great press coverage from local news outlets, both last year and this year. An article by week.com includes a video interview with Pamela Eaton, where she explains that Slow Art Day is an opportunity for people to simultaneously develop an appreciation for art and local artists.

“We are so busy hurrying around. When you slow down and pay attention to your space and place you start to see more value in them. That’s probably one of the values of COVID, it’s slowed us all down.”

Pamela Eaton

Eaton Gallery’s press release

The Eaton Gallery received a lot of great feedback from participants:

Kind of makes you think of the beauty of life and the changes through the years. The petals are beautiful but life happens and the years change us, but the beauty still remains in our memories.

Viewer’s quote

I drove by today, slowly passing by in my car to admire A Single Petal of a Rose which I love more and more each time I see it.

Viewer’s quote

Walked by Saturday to enjoy the paintings in your window… peaceful and full of color.

Viewer’s quote



Looking forward to coming inside and seeing more of the art and the space.

Viewer’s quote



Beautiful work.

Viewer’s quote



Brightened up my walk downtown.

Viewer’s quote



The Eaton Gallery’s creative drive-by solution to sharing art with the local community during Covid19 has helped viewers and participants slow down and feel connected. At Slow Art Day HQ, we agree with Pamala Eaton: “When you slow down and pay attention to your space and place you start to see more value in them.”

We look forward to Eaton Gallery’s Slow Art Day in 2022.



Johanna, Jessica, Ashley, and Phyl



The Eaton Gallery Hosts Slow Art Day Drive-By Exhibition

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For its 1st Slow Art Day, The Eaton Gallery in Bloomington, IL, organized a creative drive-by exhibition of “The Illuminated Pages of Ours.”

Due to Covid19, gallery owner Pamala Eaton moved the scheduled exhibition to the gallery’s window display so that it could be seen by pedestrians, cyclists, and anyone happening to drive by without violating social distancing measures.

Visitor pausing to view the drive-by exhibition at The Eaton Gallery.
Image: Jane Osborn

Featuring contemporary works by 11 local artists, the exhibition was themed around references to the history of manuscript illumination. Strongly inspired by the illuminations in The Book of Kells (c. 800 C.E.), Eaton invited local artists to creatively use medieval manuscripts as inspiration for their own work in the exhibition.

Featured artists: Mary Jo Adam, Angel Ambrose, Janean Baird, Jeannie Breitweiser, Doug DeLong/Veronica Strotzka, Herb Eaton, Joann Goetzinger, Rick Harney, Jane Osborn, Melanie Shellito, and Brian Simpson/Rachel Cofer.

Although originally planned as an in-gallery event, Eaton was delighted that the exhibition was still able to take place through the window-display; which enabled even more people to see it. The gallery also recently hosted another drive-by exhibition due to continued lockdown measures.

The manuscript exhibition was on display between April 1-20 and was widely publicized with mentions in VisitBN and The Pantagraph. The Datebook program at WGLT also hosted an interview with Eaton about the event.

“We have so many talented artists in this community. We need to celebrate what those gifts are and be willing to share them. Even in this time of stress, it’s a good way to take your mind off of something and try to find some hope and faith and move forward.”

PAMALA EATON
INTERVIEW WITH THE DATEBOOK PROGRAM

The Slow Art Day HQ team has loved reading about the Eaton Gallery event. I especially appreciate the strong emphasis on the local artist community. It reminds us how important art can be in fostering connection, perhaps especially during times such as the present.

We look forward to Slow Art Day 2021, when we hope The Eaton Gallery will participate with another wonderful event.

– Johanna