Geometric ashtrays, marbles, shells, fans, Jell-O molds -- all sorts of Potential pieces of art are scattered around.

The studio cat, June Bug nestles into her cage. Walking down the steps of Donna Bachmanns basement you will be introduced to a world of inspiration or how she likes to call it an ongoing three-ring circus of various stuff. When we were looking for a house, Bachmann says. I came down to this basement and I said to my husband Sold. Jim lets buy this house. This would be the basement where she spent a year and half assembling pieces of her artwork for her solo exhibit in The Stocksdale Gallery. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will be running from March 4 through April 6 and will be located at William Jewel College in Liberty, Mo. The gallery is located on the second floor of Brown Hall. It will be featuring a series of assemblage wall pieces and an installation. As Bachmann works through her pieces she places each one on her walls. These pieces include: -The 9 piece "Accolade Suite", each are 18 x 18 x 8 to 9 inches deep. Two large installations: -Floor installation called "The Labyrinth of Art History" Circular floor piece about 15 feet in diameter based on the labyrinth in the floor of Chartres Cathedral, composed of approximately 1, 200 32mm slides from Park's old slide library, which Bachmann taught from. It will be Participatory and viewers will be invited to walk the path. -Second installation, called "An Extended Accolade" 6 feet square (4 times larger) and will be wall mounted. In it larger analogous elements are used to create a much larger Accolade. It will be push pinned and stapled together like a giant bulletin board. -Two small pieces: "The Addendum to the Accolade" a diamond oriented assemblage and "Quintet: Jelly Fish Ascending." -Long horizontal assemblage composed of 9 different cells which you saw in my studio, it willbe titled: "The Predella". Bachmann is professor of Fine Art at Park University. She graduated from the Kansas City Art institute and received her M.A. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She also received her M.F.A. from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After schooling she began teaching as an adjunct anywhere she could until 1986. I was lucky, Bachmann says, Park picked me. Full time teaching jobs are hard to come by. I feel very fortunate our paths crossed at the right time. The job was available and I was looking. Bachmann teaches drawing, painting, and three-dimensional design. She is also the founder of the Campanella Gallery but when she is not grading students assignments or

dealing with the daily grind being a professor, you can find her in her studio basement where she is constantly concocting pieces of her mysterious art. I started with collage, Bachmann says. Little by little it started getting off the surface. Now its mostly like sculpture. Each part has its own little story. A lot of its mysterious. Where did each piece come from? Sometimes they do have personal meanings but mostly theyre mysterious because theyre from somebody elses life. Sometimes pieces of her assemblages do come from junk stores, flea markets, and antique shops but other times materials are left at her front door by friends. Her studio is cluttered with these various odd and ends but she says the clutter never seems to create a mental block. Just handling it is very inspiring, Bachmann says. I just fiddle with it and ideas just start generating. Bachmann began thinking of herself as an artist at the age of 12, she says. She met a teacher who changed her life. This is when teaching and art came together for her. Teaching is a pretty scary responsibility, Bachmann says. You can really change someones life in a good way or maybe not such a good way. One must be thoughtful, kind and careful every day. Bachmann says the Kansas City Art Institute is a boot camp of art and can be draining, especially when a kind word is left unsaid for four years. I told myself if I was ever on the other end of the equation I am just going to be nicer to people, Bachmann says. A kind word would have been nice over the course of four years. I try to say the kind words. Balancing the life of a professor and an artist can be a struggle but Bachmann stays on top of her craft by committing to late night hours in her studio. The convenience of having her studio in the basement of her Roeland Park, Kan., home gives her more time for her artwork. During the school year, being a professor comes first for her and everything fits around her school schedule. She escapes the stress by reading or slipping into the realm of fantasizing about Italy, where she has journeyed four times. These maps are plastered on the walls of her studio. The upcoming exhibit at The Stocksdale Gallery has left a dilemma for Bachmann. To fit the rigors of mounting a solo exhibit into her school schedule Bachmann needed time. One thing thats made this possible was Dr. Jerry Jorgenson, our new provost, Bachmann says. He gave me a course reduction this fall. I would not have had a prayer if I was not given that chunk of time from our new provost. He rates highly with me. Bachmann contacted Rob Quinn the chair of the art department at William Jewel. He is also the director of the Stocksdale Gallery. She was gaining momentum in her current work and eager for an exhibit. For the art circuit to be complete, somebody has to see it, Bachmann says. It needs to get out of my living room. Hopefully you get some response. Thats just an important part of this. Just like a writer you want to publish it somewhere. She received a response early in the fall of 2010. Quinn had formally invited her to have a solo exhibit in the Stocksdale Gallery. As you can see, Bachmann says, Art exhibits have to be planned far in advance. Bachmann says she hopes to finish a poster to go along with The Labyrinth of Art History inviting people to take their shoes off to walk along the path of the spiritual journey.

Art is kind of a religion for me, Bachmann says. It may look really neat or really stupid. You have to take your chances with art.