Illuminate Love

Odessa Star Comes Out is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who enjoys painting, digital art, beadwork, sewing, and modeling.

Odessa, originally from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University with a bachelor degree in Indigenous and American Studies in 2024. Since becoming a community member of Lawrence in 2018, she has found ways to continue her artistic journey which is the best and most fun way to express herself.

Aha, hanwe pi! Sydney iganye ki. Báxoje mi nyi ki. Hello, and good day! My name is Sydney. I am an Ioway woman. Sydney Jane Brooke Campbell Maybrier Pursel (yeah, its a mouthful) is my artist name. I’m a small, white-passing Native woman who wants to take up as much space as possible and incorporate ALL of the various identities I hold, hence the long name. In my art practice, I am interested in interactive, socially-engaged, and community-based work. I use my artwork to educate others about representation, identity, food politics, language loss, assimilation, appropriation, and reclamation. I also participate in collaborative projects amongst my own tribal community focusing on art and culture.

In 2022, I accepted a position at the University of Kansas Spencer Museum of Art as the curator for public practice, so I’m coming to terms with calling myself a curator now, too. In this role, I connect the public with the museum in new, accessible, and inclusive ways and involve them in the curatorial process.

John Harrison is a musician, electrical/computer engineer, educator and new media artist. Previously, John worked as an Electrical and Computer Design Engineer at PWI Inc, a design firm specializing in electrical solutions for aircraft manufacturers. Before this he was a tenured Associate Professor of Violin at Wichita State University’s School of Music and Concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. He also served as a full-time faculty member at Wichita State University's College of Engineering.

John's artwork crosses disciplines. He finds inspiration by exploring new mediums for people to actively express themselves both individually and collaboratively. He does this by drawing on his technical background, exploring expressive possibilities through nontraditional interfaces. His teaching background gives him insight on motivation, community, and design-driven environments that foster creativity. His work as a professional musician shapes everything he does.

Megan Embers and Katie Winter are the creative team behind the Winter School. The Winter School is a historic one-room schoolhouse on the Farmer’s Turnpike near Lecompton. They utilize our collective, local heritage to better understand the origins and evolutions of schooling. Their mission is to create new dialogues, attitudes and consciousness around education – and legitimize all ways of knowing.

Built in 1870, the school operated normally for 75 years and was abandoned for 75 years and after a full-scale renovation in 2019 it is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Winter School now operates as a community center that explores education through the arts & humanities. They have received several state grants to develop an award-winning social studies curriculum that integrates arts with Kansas history and educational philosophy.

After a lengthy career as a summer camp director (Camp Birchwood in Northern Minnesota), Rachel now devotes herself to art and creativity full-time. This includes freelancing as a floral designer, creating paper flower installations, teaching creative workshops of all kinds, and soon, establishing a micro flower farm at Juniper Hill Farms this Spring.

Rachel earned her certificate in floral design at FlowerSchool New York in 2013 and soon after studied in Amsterdam, Paris, Mexico, California, and Washington State. It was when she attended two different workshops run by the mega-talented Ariella Chezar (the Berkshires) that she was introduced to the art of paper flower construction.

After taking classes with Levia Cetti (The Green Vase) in New York in 2015 and with Tiffanie Turner out of San Francisco in 2016 (The Fine Art of Paper Flowers), Rachel began practicing her own style. She now integrates paper flowers with real foliages and blooms for weddings and events, and creates stand-alone pieces for sale.

Her current inspiration for Limestone’s fundraiser is Monet’s home and garden in Giverny (France). Its colorful blooms, calm waters, and famous waterlilies inspired his masterpiece paintings that became hallmarks of the impressionist era. Rachel’s Springtime visit to this glorious spot ten years ago has fueled many her artistic endeavors ever since.

You can get in touch with Rachel by e-mailing her at rachelbredemus@gmail.com or texting her at 785.551.0596

The Limestone Collective is a group of K-8 artists from Limestone Community School in Lawrence, Kansas. Working across ages and abilities, these young creators have brought to life the story of Great Grandma Opal, a fictional character born from their collective imagination.

At Limestone, students engage with the world through project-based learning that centers service and equity. They're practiced in collaborative storytelling and creating work that invites others into their world. For Illuminate Love, the Collective has woven together Great Grandma Opal's story through interactive exhibits that explore memory, family, love, and the ways our stories shape us.

Great Grandma Opal exists because these students asked: What if we could create someone whose life teaches us something about our own? Their work reflects the diversity of their school community and the belief that every voice—no matter how young—has something essential to contribute to the stories we tell together.

The Limestone Collective creates not just as individual artists, but as a community committed to illuminating what's possible when imagination meets collaboration.