Phoenix Gallery
825 Massachusetts St.
February 27th, 2026 Final Friday
6-9 pm
Enjoy wonderful art and dream of Spring with the Phoenix Gallery this Final Friday!
This month, in our Phoenix Underground Gallery, we have Lauren Bass’s exhibition “Embodied”. Focusing on trees as a subject matter, Lauren’s exhibition explores the sensory experience of being alone in nature and the relationship one builds with their surroundings during those moments. Beautifully detailed and bursting with natural colors, this exhibition takes you to the world outside.
In the Upper West Gallery, we will have Eliska Williams and her show “Playdate With My Soft Side”. Eliska’s renditions of plush toys, with their soft textures and delightful colors are a pleasant reminder of everyone’s favorite stuffed animals from childhood and the comfort they provided.
You can meet the artists and gain insight into their exhibition on opening night, February 27th from 6pm to 9 pm.
Opening night music will be provided by local band Two of Us (Mike Yoder & Terry Moore).
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Lauren Bass
Lawrence, KS
Artist Statement
“Embodied” is my way of conveying the life and presence of trees, and everything in between. They are moving, growing, communicating, interacting, dancing. While at my residency at the Chautauqua Institution, I spent plenty of time alone with trees, and not nearly enough. Most of these pieces are reminiscent of those interactions; quiet ruminations, relaxing moments, or a scramble up a boulder to look at some particularly nice roots. I hesitate to call these works portraits or landscapes; to me, they are the sensory experience embodied in a piece.
I would also like to thank the owner of Panama Rocks, a park in Chautauqua County, who let me trade a small watercolor of rocks for free entry and a t-shirt. Many of these pieces are inspired by my wonderful experience hiking the park.
Artist Biography
Lauren Bass is an artist based in Lawrence, Kansas with a focus on oil painting. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 2022 with a B.A. in Film & Media Studies, Environmental Studies, and a minor in Visual Art. Through her work she explores the figural and temporal aspects of the natural world, utilizing vibrant color and texture to convey the heightening of sensory experience. She has
shown at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Gallery, Jonas Gallery, Cider Gallery, and the Chautauqua Visual Arts Gallery. In the summer of 2025, Lauren attended a 6-week residency at the Chautauqua Institution’s Visual Arts organization. She currently resides in Lawrence, Kansas with her long-time partner Evan.
You can find Lauren’s exhibit in the Phoenix Underground Gallery of the Phoenix Gallery.
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Eliska Williams
Lawrence, Kansas
Artist Statement
My painting process is rooted in softness. I create works in acrylic and oil that depict stuffed animals, saturated with nostalgia. I explore the liminal space between youthfulness and maturity, and how the two states intersect and coexist.
This series draws from my personal collection of stuffed animals. Through painting them, I found comfort in preserving their softness and uniqueness. These works function as a homage to who I once was, and to the parts of her I continue to carry with me. Within them exist hurt and tenderness, a love for plush toys.
Much of my previous work centered around darker themes. Having sought inspiration for my art from the dark and darkness alone caused me to remain in such a state. However, I have found solace through saccharine depictions of my plush toys. They allowed me to focus on healing in a hurt world and a hurt mind.
These stuffed animals are another surrogate for self, metaphors for comfort and growth. They serve as a means of recovery, rediscovery, and self-reclamation.
Artist Biography
Eliska Williams is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in painting and sculpture. Her paintings center around depictions of her stuffed animals, using them as a means to access a sense of comfort and nostalgia. She believes in the healing power of the whimsical and the therapeutic effects of plush toys.
Eliska received her Associate of Liberal Arts from Johnson County Community College in May of 2024. At the University of Kansas, received a 2025 Visual Art Scholarship Competition Exhibition scholarship for her studies in 2025, as well as a School of the Arts Grant in 2026. With an expected graduation with a BFA in Visual Art and a Minor in Art History in Spring 2026, she plans to pursue a Masters in Fine Art following graduation.
You can find Eliska’s work in the Upper West Gallery of the Phoenix Gallery.
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Opening night music will be provided by local band Two of Us (Mike Yoder & Terry Moore) from 6pm to 8pm. Mike Yoder and Terry Moore’s musical partnership grew out of a friendship as fellow Lawrence community gardeners. After talking over their tomato crops one day, they found they had similar musical interests. Once they got together to jam it clicked. Their repertoire is eclectic, easy going, and rooted in acoustic music of the 70’s and 80’s – think music of John Prine, The Beatles, Jimmy Buffett, Allman Bros, Stephen Stills, Maybelle Carter, Neil Young, and Elvis of course. Mostly they just have fun playing music and enjoy sharing it with others.
Both Mike and Terry have played music and performed for many years. Both were inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame with their respective bands - Mike with Alferd Packer Memorial String Band and Terry, with Spider and the Crabs.
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