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Weekend Picks Include Sitter Skills Class, Moolah Shrine Circus and Electronic Recycling Event

Here are five things you can do this weekend in or near Clayton and Richmond Heights.

It’s Thursday, and you’ve got no idea what you’ll do for the weekend. Patch is coming to the rescue. We’ve got the best bets for your done-work-outta-here time. Check our picks for the activities to hit and new bars/restaurants/shops to explore. 1. SITTER SKILLS When/Where: 6 p.m. Friday, St. John's Mercy Medical Center Why Go: Teens interested in pursuing baby-sitting as a part-time job will find this Sitter Skills class interesting and useful. Pricing: $25 2. MOOLAH SHRINE CIRCUS When/Where: 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, St. Charles County Family Arena Why Go: The 69th annual Moolah Shrine Circus will feature clowns, elephants and much more. You don't want to miss this family friendly event.  Pricing: $12 general admission…

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Daily PatchCast: University City Schools Hosts Returning Artists Program, Creve Coeur Mayor Receives Heart Surgery and More

A roundup of the region's major developments for Friday.

Here are the top stories from Patch sites in your area: O'Fallon City Council, Residents Discuss Issues with Residential Rental Inspections Dielmann Out Of Heart Surgery City Gives Boost to Foundry Art Centre Lake Saint Louis Volunteers In Medicine Clinic helps Uninsured Alums in the Arts Celebrated at Reception

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Artists' Guild Presents Printmaking Exhibit Series

Five exhibits make up the new series on printmaking in the Clayton-based group's galleries.

The St. Louis Artists' Guild is filled wall-to-wall on both floors with prints of different makes for the Under Pressure exhibit series. The series, which opened Jan. 23 and runs until March 25, explores the different methods of printmaking in fine art including etching, linoleum cut, solarplate and hybrid works. A second opening on March 17 has been scheduled to fall during the annual Southern Graphics Conference, a printmakers' convention held this year in St. Louis. The five new exhibits include: Gallery director Gina Alvarez thought Past Present's concept fit with the exhibiting space. "Knowing the history the Guild has, they thought it made sense to marry the history of printmaking with the contemporary," Alvarez said. The Artists' …

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The Spotlight

Artist Creates Unique Works With Digital Images

Sam Abatgis creates surprising art by layering high-definition nature images on top of one another at his Richmond Heights studio.

Working from his Richmond Heights studio inside the Hardcastle Films and Video building, artist Sam Abatgis is creating his special brand of art. He discovered the process he uses while doing something that many people can probably identify with. “I was just playing around on my computer one day,” Abatgis said. As a videographer, Abatgis spent his spare time taking video of nature with his high-definition camera, which creates 30 frames of images for every second of video. It was what he did with one of those frames that provided his light-bulb moment. “I had this software with hundreds of effects you would never use,” Abatgis said. “I applied some effects to an image, took it to Kinko's to get it copied and thought, 'Wow.' That's how it …

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St. Louis Artists' Guild Seeks New Executive Director

The Clayton-based group is working on several additional projects, including the possible relocation of the Clayton History Society to its facility.

A new executive director for the St. Louis Artists' Guild could be chosen by mid- to late February, the president of the group's Board of Governors said. A search committee organized by the group's executive board is interviewing a number of candidates this month, President Bill Vann said. The Board of Governors would be responsible for making the finally decision, he said, hopefully in February. That will depend on how much time is required for interviews. The search committee's work follow the departure of Davide Weaver, who resigned as the guild's executive director Dec. 18. Weaver had mentioned to the board in November that he might have another work opportunity. The board announced his resignation at the guild's December membership …

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Local Artists' Horizons Broadened by Trip Abroad

St. Louis Artists Abroad members say they returned from Indonesia with a fresh perspective on art.

A diverse collective of St. Louis artists are fostering an ongoing cultural exchange between the U.S. and Indonesia. Headed by Davide Weaver, the executive director for the St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton, the St. Louis Artists Abroad group traveled in Indonesia from Nov. 17 to Dec. 5. Highlights from the trip included spending time with Mario Blanco, a famous Indonesian artist and owner of the Antonio Blanco Renaissance Museum in Ubud, Bali; enjoying the hospitality of the king of Ubud, Bali; and exhibiting artworks at the Renaissance Museum and the National Museum in Jakarta. The artists received special treatment while abroad—not just for being foreign visitors, but for sharing culture and ideas with locals through their art. …

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St. Louis Artists Visit Indonesia

The Missourians aimed to exchange ideas and expand their professional networks.

This fall, it was Bali or bust for 11 local artists. Organized by Art Dimensions and the St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton, the 2010 St. Louis Artists Abroad program had contemporary artists of all stripes packing for a two-week trip to Indonesia. The excursion—which began Nov. 17 and ended Dec. 5—allowed local artists to learn and exchange ideas, exhibit their works and enhance the area's art network abroad. Stops on the trip included Jakarta, the Don Antonio Blanco Renaissance Museum in Bali and a three-day workshop about the batik textile style and meetings with Indonesian government officials. The group documented some of its travels on its Facebook page. Timothy Wagner, a 29-year-old painter from Overland, said before the trip that …

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Series Tackles Trash, Social Norms and a Monkey

"Nuts and Bolts" is a new exhibit featuring works from local and national artists.

The St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton is inviting visitors to get their fill of found art at this season's Nuts and Bolts Exhibition Series. Open from through Jan. 7, the series features five exhibits that revolve around the concept of recycling every day objects for the purpose of creating art. Exhibits include: Gina Alvarez, the Artist Guild's gallery and education director, organized Nuts and Bolts and is excited to showcase the results. "It's just a fun show, I think. It's fun to plan from the inside out," Alvarez said. "We invited artists to conceive projects that they wouldn't normally do."  Galen Gondolfi's assortment of vintage typewriters, sweaters, bird posters and books, neckties and more anchors the Nuts and Bolts exhibition…

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