Upcoming Events
Saturday, May 2, 2026
11:30 a.m.– 2:00 p.m.
Sacred Heart Parish Center
North side of Notre Dame campus, west of the Douglas roundabout, south off Moreau Drive.
Northern Indiana Artists, Inc. again invites our society and the St. Joe Valley Watercolor Society to join in a potluck with NIA members. The historic Sacred Heart Parish Center is located on St. Joseph’s Lake, Notre Dame, IN, offering opportunities for painting, photographing, and walking along the lake before or after our luncheon.
Please bring a dish to pass. Chicken, beverages, and setups will be provided. Artists may bring a guest. Artists are invited to bring an artwork on an easel to show.
Please contact Dee Thornton at deelthorn@att.net by April 27 and give her your name and your guest’s name if you plan to attend.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Northern Indiana Pastel Society 20th Anniversary Exhibit
Download the entry form by clicking here.
Deliver art: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9
Releasing of art not accepted into the show: Wednesday May 13, Noon-5 p.m.
Reception with awards: First Friday, June 5, 5-8 p.m. with “Around the Bend” exhibit
Releasing from exhibit: Monday, July 13. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Jurors: Bill Tourtillotte, art faculty at Indiana Univ. South Bend, and Julie Tourtillotte, art faculty at Saint Mary’s College
Each member may enter one or two pastel works.
Fee: $10 for the first entry, $5 for the second entry. The exhibit will be juried so not all works will be shown. Entry fees will not be refunded if the art is not accepted. Art will not be offered for sale by the museum.
Eligibility: Work must have been completed within three years of the exhibition. The art should not have been shown in a previous NIPS show or at South Bend Museum of Art. There is no size limit. The show is open to NIPS members who are current with their dues for 2026. Dues of $25 can be paid by sending a check payable to Northern Indiana Pastel Society in care of treasurer Sue Coultas, 519 Woodruff, Niles, MI, 49120.
Plan ahead for these upcoming exhibitions:
Heartland Art Center, Aug. 4-29, 2026
214 N. Michigan St. Plymouth, IN
If this location is not available due to renovations, the show will take place at One More Chapter Books at 108 N. Michigan St., Plymouth
Deliver work: Saturday Aug. 1, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Reception, awards and releasing of art: Saturday, Aug. 29, 1-3 p.m.
Food and drinks will be supplied by Heartland, but members are invited to bring appetizers and desserts also.
Fernwood Botanical Garden
Feb. 19 – May 2, 2027
Reception Sunday, Feb. 21, 2027
Roti Roti Art Center
Buchanan, Mich.,
2028
Recent Events
Northern Indiana Pastel Society Meeting
Saturday March 28, 2026
Brandon Davis Jennings told how studying Albert Handell’s paintings has helped him improve his own art. He focused on a few of Handell’s works that helped him to develop form and depth with shadows. Several of Brandon’s studies were included in the slide presentation.
He has found Handell’s book, Intuitive Light: An Emotional Approach to Capturing the Illusion of Value, Form, Color, and Space to be especially useful, and much of the language used to discuss shadows will be based on Handell’s statements in the book itself.
Brandon Davis Jennings PhD is an artist, author, and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran from West Virginia. His art and writing often explores military themes.
He won a judge’s award in the recent NIPS exhibit at Colfax Cultural Center for his pastel of a service member. He won a juror’s award at the SBMA student/faculty show, and his painting “I’m Not Touching You” is on display at the ALOFT show in downtown South Bend.
Holiday Potluck Luncheon | December 12, 2025
It was great to see recent artwork completed by members.
NIPS member Susie Piper created and donated a wreath adorned with pastel supplies, which was won in a drawing by Beth Hamilton.
Recent Exhibitions
Northern Indiana Pastel Society
Members’ Exhibit: Self Portraits and Other Personal Visions
Friday, September 12 – Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Colfax Cultural Center
914 Lincolnway West South Bend, IN 46616
29 works by 18 artists, on view in the Robert Seifert Gallery.
Award recipients include Dan Slattery, Mary Firtl, Brandon Davis Jennings, and Liz Kuntz.
Inspirations: Northern Indiana Pastel Society Members’ Exhibition
March 21 – June 1, 2025
Fernwood Botanical Garden, 13988 Range Line Road, Niles, Michigan
Featuring 46 works by 26 members of the Northern Indiana Pastel SocietyPrize judge: Katie Neece, Curator of Education and Studio Programs, South Bend Museum of Art.
Award Winners:
Recent NIPS Events
Several NIPS Members participated in this event on August 2, 2025
March 2025 NIPS Meeting
South Bend native, Elizabeth Kuntz, an intuitive fine artist working mainly in pastel, discussed her inspiration, her process and the journey behind it, and the healing power of art. Liz’s pastel, “Five Medicine Beings” won an award in our NIPS exhibit at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph, Michigan, September-October 2024.