AMES, Iowa — An exhibition of paintings by Lori Brunner and her daughter, Nadia Stone, is on display through Friday, Sept. 16, at Stomping Grounds, 303 Welch Ave. in the Campustown area of Ames.

“Alligators and Rainbows and Everything in Between” features 15 artworks in fingerpaint, acrylic, marker and watercolor that celebrate the bond between mothers and daughters. The collaborative show includes portraits, cityscapes and abstract compositions completed by Brunner, an associate professor of interior design at Iowa State University, and her daughter, who will turn 6 on Aug. 13 and enter first grade this fall.

“All the works in this show have Nadia at the center,” Brunner said. “When she constructs lines in a piece, these lines remain. My contributions are only to reinforce or accentuate the spontaneous marks that a creative 6-year-old imagines.”

Two paintings in particular demonstrate this: “Alligator” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” Brunner said. “Here, Nadia created the initial compositions and I added further color and texture.” The exhibition also includes solo works by Nadia.

Brunner created a small catalog for the show, available online and in print at Stomping Grounds.

Brunner’s interests and expertise comprise a broad range of subjects, including architecture, design education, urban and regional planning, interior design and the fine arts. Her life and work have been focused on the many scales of design, from the urban environment to the building, from the interior to the object.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in architectural studies and a Master of Urban Planning, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; a Master of Fine Art in interior design and a PhD in education, both from Iowa State.

“In this art show, I am able to connect my discipline expertise of art and education with my roles of mother and cheerleader to share in the creation of art,” Brunner said.

Contacts:
Lori Brunner, Interior Design, (515) 450-6498, lbrun@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, (515) 294-9289, hsauer@iastate.edu