40 North launched its 
inaugural Community Supported Art program in November 2014. Community Support Agriculture has become a popular way for consumers to buy seasonal food directly from local farms. With the same buy-local spirit in mind, Community Supported Art is a similar endeavor to support local art, artists, and collectors. Our program is modeled after the self-sustainable Springboard for the Arts CSA. Community Supported Art is an exciting new model of art support and distribution that supports artists in the creation of new work and establishes relationships with local collectors and patrons, and it’s a trending program all over the US!
How it works is simple: nine local artists are provided a stipend to create limited, unique-to-CSA, high-quality art work that is not available anywhere else. Interested collectors purchase a “share” at $300, and in return will receive nine pieces of local art, one from each artist.
Just starting an art collection? Not sure where to start? Looking to purchase local art that grows our local economy? Want high quality art but not sure where to get it? Looking for a unique gift for a loved one? A CSA share is for you! The work is created by high-quality established artists in Champaign County, who have proven record of selling work locally, regionally and nationally. This is your opportunity to get high-quality pieces that you can’t get anywhere else!
This program is intended to be self-sustaining. We believe that artists must be compensated for their time and talent. More than half of the income generated from the CSA goes directly back to the artists, while the remainder is used for marketing this program, pick-up events, and administrative costs. Like all of our programs, we want to provide the community with the highest quality programming without sacrificing one of our highest held values, compensating artists.
Purchase a Share
For $300, CSA shareholders will receive nine high-quality, limited edition pieces from established Champaign County artists. Shareholders will also have the unique opportunity to build relationships with local artists and within the arts community, discover new artists, explore a variety of art disciplines, and support local artist’s careers and our vibrant community.
2024 CSA Featured Artists
Ames Woodworking
Ames Woodworking Art is a husband & wife team that creates one-of-a-kind, beautiful pieces out of local & exotic wood species. We specialize in cutting boards, serving trays, wine/beer flights and so much more! We also love coming up with creative & functional goods for your home.
Ann Pimblott
I am originally from England and have been living in the US for around 20 years.
I have loved drawing and painting since I was a child and come from a family of artists. I have been painting for over 20 years in secret and have recently started to show my work in art shows.
My son encouraged me to experiment with abstract art a few years ago and I enjoyed the process so much it became my preferred art form.
My practice is intuitive, I like to build up layers of paint, collage, pen and pencil to express my feelings and the meditation of my heart.
I am inspired by nature and enjoy using colors that express joy and lift the spirit.
Brittany Heyen
My pieces are tufted with sustainability in mind by sourcing primarily secondhand yarn, saving scraps for future use, and thrifting items to upcycle.
I came across rug tufting videos while itching for a hobby, as many people were, in 2021. After seeing enough satisfying videos of people painting with yarn to make their own carpet creations, I did the research and got started. Since then, I’ve started hosting workshops to invite others to learn and have popped up at over 30 markets and art shows across the Midwest to share the joy of stumbling upon a stack of rug ingredients that form a cheeseburger.
My early interest in art led to a creative career, currently as both a fiber artist and freelance graphic designer. My lifelong interests in food, gardening, and humor have become major themes in my art and design.
Chasity Logan
I discovered glassblowing when I was completing my bachelor’s degree in darkroom photography. I needed a 3D elective and glass sounded interesting. As so many others glass artists, once I took that first gather I was hooked.
I still love making functional objects in blown glass like cups, bowls, and vases but over the years my work evolved more towards the control I had with kilnformed glass. Blowing glass is fast and intense while kilnforming allows me to take my time to slowly make color and style choices and adjust my ideas as I work.
Fabrikate
Kate spends a lot of time thinking about how we organize and transport our essentials around with us. She uses durable fabrics to sew sturdy, vibrant bags. She loves collaborating with other artists, printing their work on fabric or utilizing one-of-a-kind batiks or ice dyes. Hidden pockets, colorful linings, and aligning prints are some of her favorite things as well as creating the occasional joyfully absurd animal shaped bag.
Kate was asked to leave Brownies in third grade because she was so outspoken about the ridiculousness of making vests out of paper bags on a rainy day. She went on to make costumes for her dance company and started a home furnishings business in New York. After breaking several home machines, she bought a refurbished 1946 cast iron Singer 241-12 from a man with 4 thumbs in the Garment District and has been enamored of her beautiful workhorse Gertie ever since.
John Odum
John Odum has been teaching art education in Champaign for 27 years and he regularly exhibits his artwork in our community. As an artist and art educator, John finds inspiration in working with a variety of media and processes. His creative interests focus on paper folding, oil painting, and assemblage.
John began investigating non-traditional origami and advanced paper sculpting techniques in 2003 and his creative practice continues to evolve from this foundation. In his work, he now explores themes of structure, order, and (un)predictability using patterns and shapes. This often involves assigning narrative and meaning to work that, at first glance, might appear merely decorative.
Leslie Kimble
Leslie is a self-taught artist from the Midwest who loves working with vibrant colors in acrylic when capturing the world around her.
Leslie’s exquisite artwork is currently on display at the Allerton Park and Retreat Center. Additionally, her talent has been showcased at prominent events such as the 40 North Untitled X fundraiser in 2024. Her work has been admired at various other venues, including Cafe Kopi, Artists Against Aids in 2010 and 2024, CU Flower House, and 25 O’Clock Brewing.
Leslie is not only a well-known window painter but also a skilled muralist in Central Illinois. Her impressive murals beautifully showcase various businesses in Champaign and Macon County, as well as numerous other private residences.
In addition to her window art and permanent murals, Leslie also creates mobile murals that serve as an excellent addition to live events and festivals.
Liza Wynette
Liza Wynette is a professional ceramist and illustrator located in Champaign, Illinois. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Currently, Liza holds the position of Ceramic Supervisor for the Champaign Park District. Her background includes teaching illustration and design at Parkland College and leading design workshops at the Champaign Public Library.
Liza specializes in creating both functional and sculptural ceramics intended for enjoyment and use in the home. Her primary medium is earthenware clay, which she embellishes using techniques such as layering underglazes, sgraffito, and artist pigments to achieve rich, textured surfaces.
Her creative inspiration is rooted in ancient European folklore, classic Dungeons & Dragons monster manuals, herbalism, and the local flora and fauna. Through her art, she aims to share the awe and delight she feels while discovering the natural world and its myriad of inhabitants.
Outside of her ceramic endeavors, Liza enjoys fiber arts, gardening, RPG video games, and unwinding on her back porch with her dogs while enjoying a cup of coffee. Liza resides with her husband in a charming Arts & Crafts-style brick home, accompanied by two lively rescue dogs and a near-sighted cat.
Midwestcapades
Teresa Ellis migrated to the Midwest 20 years ago from the Shenandoah Valley—a stone’s throw away from the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Trail—where her connection with nature was born.
A working artist since her teens, her work has spanned mediums of painting, printmaking, photography, illustration, sculpture, digital art, and design, including study at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Maryland Institute College of Art.
She is currently focused on nature-themed photography and printmaking under the banner of Midwestcapades: studying, portraying, and teaching about Midwest nature and native plants from the crossroads of science, art, magic, and healing.
Teresa has been featured by WCIA, the News Gazette, Smile Politely Magazine, The Daily Illini, and Champaign Center Partnership.
Locally, Teresa has exhibited at the Boneyard Arts festival 2023 and 2024, Artists Against Aids, Crystal Lake Park Arts Fair, West Side Arts, BAM Arts Market, Mistletoe Markets, and Pygmalion. On summer weekends when she’s not camping, paddling, or at an art fair, you can also find her at the Urbana Market at the Square.
Pickup
A “crop” of art will be available for pick up at our office!
Questions?
Email Kelly at kwhite@40north.org or call 351.9841.
This local project is modeled on the Community Supported Art program in Minnesota, created by mnartists.org and Springboard for the Arts.
What is a CSA?
Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy seasonal food directly from local farms. With the same buy-local spirit in mind, Community Supported Art is a similar endeavor to support local art, artists and collectors. We are seeking artists, of all disciplines, to participate in 40 North’s third annual Community Supported ART (CSA) program.
Our local CSA program is modeled on Community Supported Art project created by Springboard for the Arts and mnartists.org in Minnesota.
Artists will be selected from a jury to receive a stipend of $500 to create 25 limited edition, unique-to-CSA art work that is unavailable anywhere else. As well as make great connections to local collectors and receive promotional support from the program.
How CSA works
Selected artists will create 25 “shares” for the program. A typical share will consist of a work of art/object of artistic production – multiples are encouraged, however creative ideas that translate your practice into this format or connect to themes like sustainability, farm, or food are also welcome. For example a limited edition of vinyl 7”, a run of screen-prints, series of small tea cups, run of photographs, tickets to an upcoming performance or event, letterpress editions of a poem or short story, or even 25 small original paintings. Collaborations between artists or work by collectives are also welcome.
Interested consumers/collectors will purchase a share (aka a “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive a “crop” of locally produced artwork in the early Spring. The pick-up events are to be determined.
Benefits of the CSA program include:
For Artists
- Support for the creation of new work
- Establish relationships with local collectors and patrons
- Participate in an exciting new model of art support and distribution!
For CSA Members
- Receive multiple works from local emerging and mid-career artists at a fantastic value!
- Develop relationships with the local artists and art community
- Discover new artists and explore a variety of disciplines
- Support local artist’s careers and a vibrant community
For questions, please email Kelly at kwhite@40north.org
