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The soft sounds of a live jazz band filtered through the background and the smell of hot refreshments lingered in the air as people mingled through the museum's many rooms filled with delicate sculptures and lined with beautiful paintings, talking, laughing and admiring the art.

Hundreds of local residents gathered Saturday afternoon at the Springville Museum of Art, located right off Main Street on 400 South in Springville, for the opening reception of six new exhibitions to be displayed throughout the month of January.

The new exhibits include works done by local as well as international artists and include a wide variety of mediums from painting and sculpture to basketry and quilting.

"Despite their stark differences, which create a pleasant variation for visitors, each of these exhibitions express a sense of reverence for the natural environment and the natural process of life," said Nicole Romney, associate curator and registrar at the Springville Museum and BYU professor.

One artist featured in this year's opening show is Susan Madden of Magna whose exhibition consists of beautifully sewn quilts she has made over the past year. Madden's quilts, however, are not your typical, pioneer-styled quilts.

"I started quilting sometime in the early 90s and before that I was a painter," Madden said. "A friend had started quilting and I thought it would be fun. Then I thought I could use fabric like I use paint ? painting with fabric."

Each January the museum begins the year with several new exhibitions. The artists featured are selected from a waiting list dating back several years.

"We like to accommodate all [artists], but sometimes they have to wait," said associate curator of art and education Jessica Weiss. "We like to give artists the experience of having an exhibition."

This year's opening showcase consist of three "living artists," whose work must have been shown in the museum's Spring Salon at least twice in the past decade in order to be considered for this show. It also consists of three exhibits that are taken partly or entirely from the museum's permanent collection, including the New Acquisitions Exhibition, a collection of art accumulated by the museum in 2008.

"We always try to mix it up, but I think there is more variety in this show," Weiss said. "There are a lot of sculptural work [and] we have a lot of female artists. Of the three 'living artists,' two are female."

The six new exhibits provide an aesthetic experience for art lovers and non-art lovers alike and provide an opportunity to learn about the different types of art.

"It's an opportunity for all students to gain cultural experience, and for student artists to study works of professional artists," Romney said. "Not to mention that all the exhibitions and the opening reception are free, which makes for a great date night for college students."

The six new exhibits are on display throughout the entire month of January.

Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Jan 2009