By DEBRA HAIGHT

Niles Daily Star contributor

BUCHANAN — If anyone has a question about the artistic talents to be found in Michiana, they do not have to look any further than the unique and creative pieces people have entered in the Buchanan Art Center’s new “Rags, Bags, and Bling” themed competitive art show.

The new exhibit will be on display through Dec. 21. An opening reception including the awarding of cash and other prizes for the top entries will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3 at the center, at 117 W. Front St.

The fashion-centered theme was a perfect fit for South Bend resident Norma Lu Meehan. Meehan worked for many years from 1950 to the early 1990s as a fashion illustrator in South Bend, LaPorte and Chicago. She continues to write and illustrate fashion related books and also attends annual fashion illustrator conventions.

Meehan brought in two watercolor fashion illustrations to exhibit in the “Rags, Bags, and Bling” show.

“I knew I was going to do illustrations since I was a kid,” she said. “I studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York and then came home to work in South Bend.”

Her niche now is historical costumes from the 1800s to the 1980s. She has written and/or done illustrations for 22 books and is currently working on one showing the fashions of women on the Titanic. She works closely with museums for research and is one of three costume curators at the History Museum of Northern Indiana.

Although she has not exhibited at the Buchanan Art Center before, her daughter, Mary Meehan Firtl, has exhibited her pastel paintings at the center in the past.

“My daughter told me I had to do this when she heard about the theme for the show,” she said.

For the Robbins family of Buchanan, the art show gave each member the chance to show off their creativity in different ways.

Devin Robbins, a Buchanan High School student, brought in a purse he made out of a book and a fashion doll. Devin’s sister, Hailey, a Buchanan fifth grader, brought a mermaid outfit and crown as well as an American Girl doll she outfitted.

The children’s mother, Rebecca, decorated a pair of pumps with thousands of colored stones in a “Starry Night” theme as well as a miniature dressing table with a Parisian theme. Rebecca’s husband, Neil, made three miniature high heeled shoes out of plastic with 3-D printing.

Rebecca said the family takes classes at the art center on a regular basis and supports center activities such as Empty Bowls and making Valentine cards for veterans.

Niles resident Gloria Marullo brought in two unique items she made. One is a metal rocking horse that is also a bracelet and the other is a stand-up shoulder purse. She has knitted for many years and has done metal work the last five years. She has been an art center member for three years.

South Bend resident Kathleen Petijean brought in a dress she made using the screen printed design from one of her paintings called “The River Princess.” She is a sculptor and painter and also dabbles in pen and ink drawings. This is the first time she has turned one of her paintings into a fashion piece.

She is also an art center member and was glad to take the opportunity to enter some of her artwork.

“This is a good opportunity to showcase the different ways of wearing art,” she said. “It’s also a nice draw for the art center which is a gem in a gem of a town.”

In addition to the “Rags, Bags, and Bling” exhibit, the center is hosting a tribute to the late Don Trull. Trull was a longtime educator in the Buchanan school district, serving as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and counselor before he retired in 1989. After his retirement, he served as a volunteer with several local organizations.

Trull died in October and the items he collected from his world travels are exhibited in “On My Travels: Works collected over a Lifetime of World Travel” in the Showplace Gallery. His wife, Kay, has offered the proceeds from the sale of items to benefit the art center.