Family friendly art at Irving Art Center

Have you been to the Irving Arts Center, just a short distance south of us, at 3333 North MacArthur Boulevard? It is brimming with beautiful art, and admission is absolutely free.

Outside, there is an excellent sculpture garden with the work of Texas artists and a large Venetian glass tile mosaic "Irving Centennial Mural" created by artist Francisco Mendoza with the help of Irving's young artists.

Inside, in the Main Gallery, which is an enormous space occupying the heart of the building, the annual Texas and Neighbors Regional Exhibition and Competition is on display. This juried competition features the best entries from five states. There is always so much variety of technique and materials in this exhibition every year. Visual artists can find so much to be inspired by in the contemporary art exhibition.

In the Focus Gallery, there are playful bronze animals running amok, so be careful. Susan Read Cronin has been inspired by Fables: Foibles and Fairy Tales, which is also the title of the show. As a bonus, she includes a set of fi ne wall diagrams explaining the casting process.

Finally, in the Dupree Theater lobby, you can see many beautiful illustrations from children's books by Bryan Collier. They are very colorful, dramatic and moving. The actual books are also presented so that the viewer can read the text and see the illustrations on the wall and in the book.

These exhibits are very family friendly, so if you have young ones in your life, take them along and share the world of art with them.

- Melodee Ramirez is a professor of art in Visual and Performing Arts