Common Ground strives to be the center of a vibrant inclusive community and one that is alive with art.
Our gallery is located in our highly utilized Flatlander Classroom, a space dedicated to connecting the community, facilitating educational opportunities focusing on healthy living, and providing access to local artists. This multi-use space is ideal for integrating the arts into the urban environment and creating partnerships among artists, the community, and businesses.
Featured Local Artist: Jodi Adams
Stop by the Flatlander Classroom to see the newest local art installation featuring the work of Jodi Adams.
To purchase work or order custom sized prints, email: jodi@jodiadams.net
Jodi began the Car Wash Series in 2007 while completing her degree in photography at Columbia College Chicago. It all began with a dirty car, a camera, and a homework assignment. It has since morphed into a lifelong project...and a very clean car.
One of Jodi's teachers, and an inspiration to many, instilled in his students the habit of having a camera on hand at all times - lens cap off, and aperture and f-stop adjusted for proper lighting.
True to this philosophy, Jodi had her camera with her at a car wash on Western Avenue in Chicago. As a captured audience, she watched as the fading light of sunset began to play on the glass windshield. This was the moment of inspiration.
This dance of liquid light and color symbolizes transformation and impermanence. It's about bringing magic and possibility into our lives. Creating beauty from the mundane can teach us to know ourselves beyond the limitations of one-dimensional thinking. Much like our own fleeting human experience, there is an entire world beyond the superficial when we take the time to look.
As a professional skydiver, Jodi became fascinated with clouds. This ephemeral architecture of atmosphere offered interest to the flat and monotone patterns of the Illinois landscape below. Some of the more memorable skydives when jumping out. of a perfectly good airplane are from when she would deploy her parachute at 10,000 feet and peacefully float among them, like a bird in the sky.
Nature is medicine. Its purity is a mirror to our own selves, our best selves. The more closely we can align with nature, the easier it becomes to let go of the shadow self and the cycles that blind us from the truth of who we really are. The authenticity of nature removes the false veil of delusion so we can step into the mystery of what it means to be human, recognize our own purity, and Be the Light.
Local Food For All Mural
This project was funded by a 2021 grant from the Urbana Arts and Culture Program and the mural was designed and painted by local artist, Madelyn Witruk. The mural encapsulates images of the local food movement, food access, diversity of Urbana residents, cultural cuisines, and highlights imagery from our local farms, like Blue Moon Farm, Sola Gratia Farm, and Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery. This artwork aims to serve as a celebration of Urbana's uniqueness, including its strong local food system, its vibrant art community, and its warm, inclusive culture.
Call for Local Artist
We are always looking to install new local artists in our Art Gallery.
