Inspired Minds Art Gallery
Featuring Local Artists
Inspired Minds Art Center is proud to promote the amazing artists who live all around us. The award-winning Inspired Minds Art Gallery, located just off the main lobby entrance, displays and sells artwork created exclusively by local artists - from paintings and sculptures to weavings, paper creations and more!


DESIREE STEELE
BACKROADS AND BACKPORCHES:
HEALING THROUGH PHOTOS
SEPTEMBER 22 - OCTOBER 14
Opening Reception
September 22, 6pm-8pm
Free
All ages welcome
A South Austinite who now resides in Buda, Desiree Steele has over three decades of experience behind the camera and is an accomplished nature and portrait photographer. Her art explores themes of healing, faith, and home.
Desiree sees beauty everywhere. To her, it’s never a matter of conventional standards but rather an appreciation of the wonder and grace that exists in all of God’s creations and the people and places that are often ignored.
The collection, Backroads and Backporches: Healing Through Photos, is the culmination of decades of technique meeting with a hard-fought healing journey. As Desiree would put it, sometimes life knocks you on your ass. For her, the past seven years have seen her grieve the loss of many family members, including her beloved grandmother, who had been a rock for her growing up. Around the time of her grandmother’s passing, wounds surrounding early childhood experiences with sexual assault surfaced. A skin cancer diagnosis, a botched breast reduction, and compounding grief kicked Desiree around more still. But during her lowest moments, her faith was always there for her. And through her artistic practice and the help of others, she’s found the healing power of openness, community, and, critically — nature. Desiree’s photos help focus and calm her when anxiety attacks come on.
Until she manages to get a tree in the middle of every home, her collection aims to bring that healing power to as many people as possible, especially those who lack access to be out in nature themselves.
If you’re friends with her kids, you might know her as Momma Steele. If you’ve been on her back porch, you’ll likely have tried some of her home cooking, which you’ll see is every bit as colorful as she is. If you are a person who exists in this world, she’ll invite you to slow down, take a less-traveled road, and see the beauty in yourself and all around you.
Learn more about Desiree Steele:
Instagram: @Backroadsandbackporches
Website: www.desireesteele.photography

BUDA PLEIN AIR COMPETITION ART EXHIBIT
OCTOBER 20 - NOVEMBER 4
Opening Reception
OCTOBER 20, 6pm-8pm
Free
All ages welcome
The Buda Arts Festival was created with the purpose of responsibly bringing the community together through art in a mindful, healing, and celebratory way. It's a spectacular 5-day festival in Downtown Buda filled with live art, live music, art markets, community art activities, and artist social events. The festival culminates in a plein air art competition!
The Buda Plein Air Competition Art Exhibit features juried, award-winning artwork created during the 2023 Buda Arts Festival.
Please join us for the opening reception of the Buda Plein Air Competition Art Exhibit! Enjoy light refreshments, meet the artists, and view and collect over 75 pieces of original artwork created live at the 2023 Buda Arts Festival!
2023 Plein Air Winners
1st Place
Shea Daniel-Youngblood - “Brian's Idea”
2nd Place
Larisa Anaya - “Summer Rain”
3rd Place
Celeste Perez Smith - “Dancing Silhouettes”
Honorable Mentions
Katie Lydecker
Tom Afflerbach
Ben Ortiz
Theresa Vincent
Theresa Vincent
Gena Destri
Jim Street
Jim Street
Mike Clark
Shea Daniel-Youngblood
Renee Barnes
2023 Quick Draw Winners
1st Place
Shea Daniel-Youngblood - “Park on Main Street”
2nd Place
Tom Afflerbach - “Over/Under”
3rd Place
Sean Allen - “Gallery in Motion”
Honorable Mention:
Joy Bliss
Lori Sons
Larisa Anaya
Plein Air Exhibiting Artists
Sean Allen
Tom Afflerbach
Larisa Anaya
Izzy Anderson
Renee Barnes
Judi Beauford
Joy Bliss
Kelly Bonsall
Mari Boren
April Bramwell
Diana Bravo-Gonzalez
Tammy Brown
Mike Clark
Debbie Conyers
Jenn Cronin
Shea Daniel-Youngblood
Frank Gabriel
Amie Gonser
Kim Hoerster
Katie Holland
Kay Hughes
Abbi Kaiser
Gena Keffer
Erin Kowalik
Katie Lydecker
Lisette McClung
Garrett Middaugh
Andrea Nelson
Benjamin Ortiz
Ivette Rivera-Ortiz
Sarah Pierce
Moon Reece
Cindy Schiffgens
Celeste Smith
Jim Street
Theresa Vincent
Baron Wilson

2023 SEASON
INSPIRED MINDS GALLERY EXHIBITS
FACULTY & STAFF ART EXHIBIT
January 14 - February 18
EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE
February 24 - April 8
ART QUILTING EXHIBIT
April 14 - May 27
4TH ANNUAL IMAC STUDENT ART SHOW
June 3 - June 17
AMSTER INTERNATIONAL FINE ART COLLECTION
FLASH SALE
June 24 - July 15
GENA DESTRI - BUDA ART BRAWL CHAMPION'S GALLERY SHOW
July 21 - August 12
MICHAEL CLARK - BUDA ART BRAWL CHAMBERS SHOW
July 21 - August 12
DARRELL KURTEN
August 18 - September 8
BUDA ARTS FESTIVAL FINE ART SHOW
September 16
DESIREE STEELE
September 22 - October 14
BUDA PLEIN AIR COMPETITION ART EXHIBIT
October 20 - November 3
HOLIDAY BAZAAR
November 17 - December 23
AMSTER
INTERNATIONAL
FINE ART COLLECTION

"Art is the root; life is the flower."
- James Roose-Evans
Click here to learn more about:

"My hope/goal is that our art collection be donated to aid in the furtherance of quality art involvement to enrich the lives of the future"
- Susan Amster
To support arts education and contribute to arts enrichment for years to come, Susan and Stephanie Amster have donated their personal collection of over 150 valuable artworks acquired over the past 65 years that have been created by artists from around the globe. In the spring of '22, the sale of this artwork seeded the brand new non-profit, Tandem Arts Partnership, which provided access to the arts for our underserved communities.
The proceeds from sales funded arts education programs for the community through Tandem Arts Partnership non-profit.

