For the month of March, Midtown Gallery will be showing work by Wayne Conyers. In the jewelry cases, we’ll have work by Vicky Gough.

Wayne A. Conyers
Professor Emeritus of Art, McPherson College Visual Arts Department

Professor Emeritus Wayne Conyers retired from 44 years of teaching art at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year. Wayne began his teaching career at the high school level in 1974, teaching art as a one-person department for 9 years in Baldwin, Kansas. Wayne joined the McPherson College faculty in 1984 where he taught a wide range of classes in drawing, painting, ceramics, art education, concentrated studies, and senior concentration. In addition, he curated a variety of art exhibitions for McPherson College’s Friendship Hall Gallery. His most ambitious accomplishment at McPherson College was laying the foundation for a vibrant, expanding graphic design program, which is now in its 21st year. He was also instrumental in creating the Auto Restoration Design program, a hybrid major that combines the technology and visual arts departments.

Wayne has exhibited his watercolors and his functional pottery extensively at the local, regional, and national levels. His work has received numerous awards, and his paintings can be found in private, corporate, and museum collections. In April 2010 Wayne experienced his first international show in Tokyo, traveling to Japan as a member of an American delegation of 8 contemporary watercolorists. In 2014 he was invited to exhibit in an international watermedia exhibition in Seoul, Korea. Wayne has been a participant in over 200 exhibitions, both invitational and juried, over the past 45 years. Twice he was named “Professor of the Year” at McPherson College. Wayne received the “2017 Outstanding Art Educator—Higher Education” award from the Kansas Art Education Association.

Wayne was born in 1952 in Wichita, Kansas and was raised in Marion, Kansas, graduating from Marion High School in 1970 as valedictorian. Wayne earned his BA in art (teaching licensure) from Bethany College (1974), his MA in painting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (1981), and his MFA in painting from Fort Hays State University (1997). In retirement Wayne continues to produce and exhibit his work, and maintains a Facebook business page @ConyersStudios.

Vicki Gough Bio
Vicki Gough enjoys the depth and malleability of silver. The complexity of one metal to shine bright and smooth or portray earthiness depending on techniques used. Her art is influenced by native Arizona silversmithing and an affinity for interesting rocks. As a lifelong learner, Vicki continues to master different techniques such as Lampwork beads and enameling on copper and silver.