Mary Lou Hicks, a 1967 graduate of MacMurray College, is the featured artist in a one-person show at the Applebee Gallery during the College’s Homecoming.
The opening reception for Hicks’ show “Seeing the Light,” will be 5-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2 at the Gallery. An artist talk will be at 6 p.m. The reception is open to the public. The Applebee Gallery is located in the Putnam/Springer Center at the southeast corner of State and Clay streets on the MacMurray campus.
The show continues through Oct. 23, and can be viewed 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during workdays when the College is open. There will be a special viewing 9-10 a.m. and 11 a.m. to noon on Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 10, before and after the MacMurray Homecoming Parade.
Hicks, of Chatham, IL, graduated from MacMurray with a bachelor’s degree in theatre and earned her master’s in clinical psychology in 1974 from what is now the University of Illinois Springfield. After retiring from a professional career in mental health, during which she specialized working with children, she refocused her attention on painting.
After resuming her artistic training through private tutoring and workshops with nationally acclaimed instructors, her work has been shown at exhibits and juried shows in Illinois and in Florida. Hicks, who works mostly in pastels, pure pigment, finds her inspiration in landscapes around her, either in west central Illinois or during her travels.
Hicks is a member of the area Springfield Art Association, the Illinois Prairie Pastel Society, and is a longtime member of the Committee on the MacMurray Art Collection.
For the reception and the artists talk, request interpreting services 72 hours prior to event at dss@mac.edu or call 217.479.7123.
For further information, contact MacMurray’s Office of Public Relations, 217.479.7027, publicrelations@mac.edu, or visit our website, mac.edu.