You're Invited To
Lindsborg's Spring
Artists' Studio Open House
Saturday, May 23rd, 2026
10am to 2pm
This year, the Red Barn Studio Museum and Lindsborg area artists are bringing back a long-standing tradition—the Spring Artist Studio Open House—for the first time since the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The event will take place on May 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., held in tandem with the Smoky Valley Chamber Music Festival, a new week-long event bringing musicians and visitors from across the country to Lindsborg.
This revival creates a unique opportunity for music and the visual arts to be experienced together, much like they often were in Lester Raymer’s studio. Lester frequently wrote in letters about attending concerts at Bethany College’s Presser Hall, hosting visiting musicians, and listening to symphonies on NPR and PBS. Music was a regular part of his life and part of the environment he created for himself at the Red Barn.
Visitors are invited to explore participating studios and galleries throughout Lindsborg and experience artists at work during this special one-day event.
A brochure with participating locations will be available at the Red Barn Studio Museum and at other venues on the day of the event.
The sponsoring organizations for the open house are the Raymer Society, the Lindsborg Arts Council, Smoky Valley Chamber Music Festival and most importantly, the Lindsborg area artists.
127 S Washington
Julie Unruh
Julie Unruh, studio artist, received her BFA from the University of Kansas with a concentration in ceramics. She works in a myriad of mediums that include jewelry, glazed ceramic tiles, plaques, and terra cotta vases. Much of her work features brightly colored, whimsical harlequin and sun faces inspired by the work of artist Lester Raymer.
127 N Main
Small World Gallery
Lindsborg artist Lee Becker has been a Lindsborg denizen since the 1970s. Lee is an artist in several mediums — acrylics, oils, watercolors, sculptures and mixed media. She is perhaps best known for her large paintings of rare animal breeds. She also has produced many linoleum cut, hand-colored prints. Lee received her BA from Bethany College and MFA from Fort Hays State University, taught art at many educational levels, and has been a studio artist for more than 50 years. Lee will demonstrate linocut creation at Small World Gallery.
The Independent Photographer called Jim Richardson “one of National Geographic Magazine’s most influential photographers.” His passion for the medium was ignited here in Kansas on his parent’ dairy and wheat farm. Jim is known for his pencil-blunting research before picking up a camera on any of his more than 30 stories. He also is a black-and-white documentarian of Kansas life.
Designers Briana Zimmerling and Kathy Richardson enjoy being elbow-deep in unusual materials and their next ideas. As partners in IBISwoman Jewelry, they show their work at Small World Gallery. Briana manages the gallery and works from her metalsmithing bench there. She has 11 years of experience shaping sterling silver, copper and brass and hand-picking the cabochons that she features. Kathy blends vintage and contemporary beads and metals in singular necklace, earring and bracelet designs
401 N 1st
Sandzén Gallery
The Sandzén Gallery is dedicated to sharing the arts with the world through the life and vision of Swedish American painter, printmaker, and educator Birger Sandzen (1871-1954). In addition to exhibiting works by its namesake, current exhibitions include House Plants by Red Barn Artist-in-Residence alum Barry Fitzgerald, Go Figure, an invitational figurative show, The Big Pretty, featuring Colorado landscapes by Sarah Winkler, and All Encompassing, landscapes by Anthony Benton Gude.
2469 14th Ave
Elizabeth Liljegren Studio
Elizabeth Liljegren is a Lindsborg/McPherson area artist who had a 37 year career as an art educator at McPherson High School. She continued to produce art during her teaching years working primarily as a painter with occasional pursuits into printmaking, fibers and ceramics.
Today as a painter, she works mostly in the watercolor medium, gouache, which is an opaque form of watercolor. Much of her recent work focuses on environmental issues sometimes done with a hint of humor to “soften the blow” of the seriousness of the subject. Fish imagery is often used as a metaphor for global warming and for the role humans have played in the loss of habitat for species that are now endangered. Her work also explores ideas that reflect personal interests.
Lori Martin-Price is the current Metalsmithing/Jewelry Design Instructor at MARKARTS, formerly Wichita Center for the Arts (since ‘96), and the current HCC Lifelong Learning program instructor of Silversmithing/Jewelry Design (since ‘12).
Throughout her career, Lori has embraced various teaching opportunities, including a semester teaching Fibers at Sterling College and serving as a full-time K-12 Art Instructor at Elyria Christian School in McPherson, KS. Lori loves to share her passion of all the medium of art, especially metals and jewelry design. Being able to teach and encourage others to be creative, just as we have been ‘created’ to be, gives her great joy!
Daisy Friesen is a lifelong resident of McPherson County. She graduated from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas in 2006 with a BA in Art Administration. Shortly after graduation, she set up her studio across the driveway from her home on our family farm near McPherson. She is currently working full-time as a potter, selling her work online from her Etsy shop, FriesenArt.
Wayne Conyers is a professional artist currently living in McPherson, Kansas. He holds degrees from Bethany College, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Fort Hays State University. Wayne retired in 2018 after 45 years of teaching a wide range of courses, 35 of those years at McPherson College where he earned the title Professor Emeritus. His exhibition record is extensive, including two large solo exhibitions in 2025. In 2017 the Kansas Art Education Association awarded Wayne as the Outstanding Art Educator in Higher Education. He continues to paint in his McPherson home studio.
Noah Flores, Growing up in rural central Kansas has given me a distinctive perspective on the landscape. The wide-open spaces and expansive skies have become central themes in my work. My travels through other western regions of the U.S. have deepened this connection, offering new inspiration while reinforcing a recurring sense of stillness and solitude found in the American landscape. This atmosphere is heightened by the subjects I choose and the way I compose each scene. The quiet days and nights I paint often depict desolate, unpopulated environments—but rather than feeling empty, these spaces invite viewers to look more closely, to discover what lies beneath the surface. My focus on color, composition, space, and subject matter is essential to creating this experience.
212 S Main
Red Barn Studio - Joey Lemon and Georgia Sutton
Joey Lemon and Georgia Sutton are multidisciplinary artists who share a love of music and visual arts. They can be found working separately or in collaboration on drawings, paintings, and music. Joey’s creative endeavors began when he was a teenager, when he wrote poetry, played in bands, and took visual arts classes throughout high school and college. Joey toured with his band extensively after college, and today continues creating artwork through music, poetry, and painting or drawing. Georgia has over 20 years of experience with showing and selling paintings, prints, and jewelry in the Wichita area and online through her Etsy shop. Georgia also has played the piano throughout her life. Both artists are excited to work in the Red Barn studio and be inspired by the space and Lester Raymer’s artworks. During their stay at the Red Barn, Joey and Georgia will be the featured artists for the Artist’s Studio Open House.
Visitors to the Red Barn can expect to see a variety of tools and materials – notebooks, typewriters, cassette recorders, linoleum blocks, pencils, paper, paint, and wood. These materials will be used for the projects that the artists will work on together and separately. Joey plans to work on poetry, drawing, and painting, and Georgia will focus on creating linocut prints, drawings, and paintings. They also plan to work on a collaborative musical project.
113 W State St
Michael Bray
Michael Bray earned an MFA from Tulane University in New Orleans, where he taught glass sculpture and glassblowing for five years. He was later invited to join the Hot Shop staff at Pilchuck Glass School, a prestigious glass institution north of Seattle, WA. During this time, Dale Chihuly discovered Michael and hired him to manage his renowned Boathouse Glassblowing Studio, where he worked for 25 years.
After retiring, Michael moved to Lindsborg to be closer to his family. His studio features an eclectic array of blown glass, glass and steel sculptures, as well as his paintings and drawings.
114 1/2 S Main
Smoky Valley Arts and Folklife Center
Cynthia Crandall paints on both canvas and wood. Some of her paintings will be on display during the open house. Cindy enjoys instructing painting class in Lindsborg and other communities in Kansas.
David Mauk has been playing around with stained glass as a hobby for about 9 years. He will be at the SVAFC with Gnaughty Gnomes and a few other things. David will demonstrating his techniques during the event.
Debbie Wagner, Saline county artist, is best known for painting the daily sunrise, and she has just completed her 20th year. Debbie prefers to work in themes. As she was instrumental in starting the Kansas Figure Drawing Group 17 years ago, this has influenced her artistic interests. Combining the human form and fiber, she has begun experimenting with hand stitching and quick sketch drawings with her sewing machine. Her motto is “simple daily practice hones skills to develop more complex narratives.”
819 Sunset Dr
Daft Cow Studio - Rose Marie Wallen
Rose Marie Wallen grew up on a farm north of McPherson and has been making art all of her life. She studied art at McPherson High School and later drawing, painting, and printmaking at the University of Kansas. She has lived in Lindsborg since 1977. Her “Daft Cow” studio, originally in a barn, has been located in the basement of her ranch-style home since 2023. Rose Marie’s favorite medium is block prints, with which she likes to depict wildlife and local landmarks. Many of her works are on display in the studio. Rose Marie’s other interests include archeology, historic preservation, Mexican art and culture, environmental issues, and travel.
Besides during Artists’ Studio Open House, her studio is also open by appointment: email her at roseandmikewallen@yahoo.com.
103 N 1st St
Tanner Johnson
Tanner Johnson is a woodcarver whose current body of work focuses on Jewish history and culture, particularly the everyday people of the Eastern European shtetls. Inspired by historical photographs, stories, and cultural memory, Tanner carves expressive faces and figures that feel both personal and familiar.
Having lived overseas, Tanner’s experiences shaped the way he sees people and approaches storytelling through carving. His studies in anthropology, language, traditions, and culture have deepened his understanding of communities across the world and influenced the way he connects with his subjects.
At the heart of Tanner’s work is a desire to preserve cultural memory and remind viewers of our shared humanity. While visiting his studio or viewing his carvings, you may even recognize something of yourself, a neighbor, a grandparent, or someone from your own story reflected back in the faces he creates.
126 N Main St
Skandia Hem - Lloyd Rohr
Lloyd Rohr combines “practical” and “functional” in his works. He studied at Fort Hays State University, where he almost received a degree in “trial and error.” He holds a Ph.D. in Starving Artistry from Hard Knocks College and has been the recipient of the “Best Use of Scrap Metal” certificate given by the American Scrap Metal Workers Association.
