Andrea Fox has been involved in art for approximately 60 years during which she has created her own pieces and taught others about all kinds of artwork.

“I grew up with art. I loved art as a child. My sixth- or seventh-grade teacher got me inspired,” said Fox, who recalled showing students at Bogan High School in Chicago how to do block printing when she was a seventh- or eighth-grader at Chicago’s Eberhart Elementary School.

“I’ve been creating all my life. I started demonstrating when I was 12 years old.”

Fox of New Lenox creates art in several mediums but works primarily in watercolors.

“I just retired and I started doing artwork without the intention of really selling my work. It was for my own enjoyment,” said Fox who taught classes including introduction to art, computer art and drawing for 14 years at Stagg High School in Palos Hills.

“Art is so exciting. Living close to Chicago with the Art Institute and all the other museums that the city has to offer was a great benefit in learning art for myself and also for sharing art with my students. We’d take walking tours of sculptures downtown.

“I had students from all levels take my classes. It’s wonderful when students come back and talk to you about how they’re successful with their art. Now I use art to enjoy and I still teach but I volunteer teach. At present I work with seniors at the Renaissance Academy.”

The collegial association presents classes for ages 55 or older, retired or semi-retired both at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, where Renaissance Academy is based, and Moraine Valley Community College’s Tinley Park campus, where Fox’s classes take place.

“I’m always learning and sharing that with my students,” she said.

“People that take art have a way of expressing themselves. They find relaxation in their art. It takes their minds off their problems.”

One of Fox’s pieces is featured in Treasures, a show which opened March 8 and was scheduled to run to April 25 at Frankfort Arts Association Gallery, 21 Ash St., Suite 7, Frankfort. With the gallery temporarily closed until at least April 30, a virtual gallery is available online. Call 815-806-7208 or go to frankfortarts.org.

She also has three pieces in the Watercolor 2020 exhibit at Norris Cultural Arts Center Gallery, which is temporarily closed to the public at 1040 Dunham Road, St. Charles.

Call 630-584-7200, ext. 12 or go to norrisculturalarts.com.

“When you see art up close you can see the details of what the artist put into the work — the light, the emotion, how the artist wants to bring you in to the piece and what the statement is,” Fox said.

“The artists convey a lot through their artwork. I look a lot in my artwork at what’s happening in the world with nature.”

Fox curated Symmetry: The Concepts Captured in Art, which opened March 14 and is scheduled to continue to June 6 at Tall Grass Arts Association Gallery, which is temporarily closed but plans to reopen May 1 at 367 Artists Walk, Park Forest. Call 708-748-3377 or go to tallgrassarts.com.

“The show is a good example of all the ways you can look at symmetry,” she said about the more than 80 works on display including assemblage; charcoal drawings; fiber art; lithographs; oil, pastel and watercolor paintings; photography; and sculptures.

Exhibiting artists include residents of Crete, Frankfort, Joliet, Manhattan, Matteson, Oak Lawn, Olympia Fields, Orland Park, Park Forest and Tinley Park as well as California, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas and Wisconsin.

“Many of the artists showed that they were looking at the scene realistically and some became interpretations of what they saw, and some made up their work through their imagination,” Fox said.

One of the artistic groups that she belongs to is Midwest Collage Society, which includes members from Palos Park and Orland Park.

“It’s a very creative group. We help each other, teach each other about doing collage work and keep each other involved by knowing the new mediums that are coming out and how to approach your collage,” said Fox, the treasurer of Midwest Collage Society.

“We have an exchange every time we meet with materials that we may not use anymore. We share and we exhibit our work. We do this so we can exhibit.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

Are you an artist or do you know an artist negatively impacted by the coronavirus? Email wweber@tribpub.com with name and contact information to be considered for a profile.