Termesphere Online Gallery

Category: Newsletters

  • Storm Lake

    Buena Vista University in Storm Lake Iowa hosted an 18 piece Termesphere showing.  We drove the show to Storm Lake. After it was hung there was a lecture and reception. The next two days, Dick did workshops with several classes. The Director the Art Gallery, Mary Mello-Nee and the students  were wonderful to work with. This  showing of Termespheres  was shown through the month of October 2017.  It was a wonderful show in a great University.

  • Aberdeen

    We went back to Storm Lake to pick up the 18 Termespheres to take them along with six others to North State University in Aberdeen South Dakota. This is a showing of 24 spheres.   They were hung in the newly remodeled Johnson Center.   It is a beautiful location. The show is in a wide hallway with lots of windows. A reception was held from 6 to 7 with a video lecture taking place from 7 to 8. Dick did workshops with high school students who were touring the campus. He also did a workshop on perspective with the University students. He also was the guest of honor at Dean Boulton’s home for the teachers and students. It coincidentally was on November 7th, Dick’s birthday It was great fun!

  • Clock Tower (Our Home)

    Putting this sphere on the clock tower in Spearfish on the corner of Hudson and Main St  was the inspiration of Cheryl Johnson.  Termes spent   six months creating this piece of art. Because this is an outdoor piece, it took a lot of extra precautions. The sphere which is 3 feet across had to be primed, like a car. The paint was outdoor sign painting paint. When the piece was finished, it received three coats of clear coat. It should stand up to Spearfish’s weather without any trouble.  It shows a world nested in mountains surrounding Spearfish, Lookout Mountain, Crow Peak and Spearfish Mountain.   The world floating inside is stairways going in and out and up and down with people doing the activities found in Spearfish.  It sits on top of a 12 foot brick clock tower and  rotates with the help of a wheel turning gears which was designed by Jared Capp from Spearfish.   The unveiling took place on July 30th. On a very hot day there was a great crowd that came. It was emceed by Kabe Termes with music by Lang Termes.  A reception followed at the Matthews Art Center.

  • Belle Fourche Sphere

    Judy Helmer contacted me to do a sphere as a memorial for her husband, Bob Helmer, who passed away about one year ago.  Judy and I decided to focus this piece on the history of Belle Fourche.  Belle Fourche has a wonderful history with Seth Bullock leading the way. When this Termesphere is done, it will hang in the City Hall.

  • Dakota Sphere

    In 1981, Jane and Mac Haskell who lived in Huron South Dakota commissioned a Termesphere representing South Dakota. Now that both Jane and Mac have passed away, the Haskell family has donated their sphere called the Dakota Sphere to the South Dakota Arts Museum in Brookings South Dakota.  This sphere shows all of South Dakota on the bottom the sphere. The top of the sphere has pictographs from around the state.It is currently on loan to Northern State University and part of the 24 piece show at the Johnson Art Center.

    This is the second Termesphere that has been donated to our State Art Museum. Wanda and Stewart Bellmans of Spearfish- also donated a 24″ Termesphere entitled Solid Corners. So now the South Dakota Art Museum will be able to alternate the spheres.

  • Up, Down and All Around Display

    This wonderful display was a co created by Termesphere Gallery and the Discovery Center in Pierre.  It is  a display Dick Termes put together.   It has many different stations students can explore things like drawing, perspective, three dimensional forms, polyhedrons, mobius bands There are two original Termespheres, three dimensional puzzles, tetra art and solar rotating spheres. It has toured the state for ten years. Now, it has come back to us. We will be offering it to schools, libraries, and other venues statewide. Look for updates on how to get it into your community. And If you are not in South Dakota, it will soon be available nationwide.

  • Where Has Dick Been?

    Marshall University in Huntington West Virginia has made an annual trek to the Termesphere Gallery each spring for the last four year.  They bring students from all disciplines to study spherical geometries  and six point perspective with Dick.  This year was no exception.  April 22 and 23 10 students from Marshall arrived ready to learn.  The spent two mornings with Dick and then toured the Black Hill. They are wonderful students and it was a great time for everyone.

    The Open House at the Termesphere Gallery April 30th was a huge success!  From 2-5 the Gallery was full of wonderful people excited to see the new Black Hills MOVA Globe/Termesphere.  It was great to see so many old friends and new faces.  The winner of the Black Hills MOVA Globe was ———————-from Aberdeen-.  We will have plenty of Black Hills MOVA Globes on hand this summer for the perfect momento of of the Hills.

    Dick was at Belle Fourche Middle School May 23 and 24.  He did lectures to the student body on his art as well as workshops on magnetic sticks.  The students also got to try their hand a drawing a spherical piece of art.

    Fourteen sixth graders from Whitewood Elementary will be coming to the Gallery on the 25th for a lecture and to explore the Gallery.

  • Flash to the Past

    I just received  new photos of one of my favorite spheres.  It is called Migration Patterns.  It was a piece studying the migration patterns of many birds from around the world.  Dan O’Brien helped with the subject matter of this piece.  The images of the birds show where they start from and when they end up in Spring and Winter.  There is also the image of the earth underneath and tessellating (tight fitting) arrows that are going north and south.  So this geometry does the same thing as the birds do.  These are all predatory birds.

  • Dripping Dreams


    Dripping Dreams is a 24” diameter sphere. It explored the subconscious side of my mind. As I work a lot with the left side of my brain now and then I like to make the other side do the work. I started this piece by loosely painting an abstract expressionistic painting on the sphere. Drips of paint were allowed to run down the sphere. These were later turned into drips within the painting. After finishing the abstract piece and exploring some very fun color combinations I let the piece dry. When it was dry I looked at it like you look at clouds to see what you can find for realistic images in them. These images were brought out just enough so others might see them. I moved throughout the piece finding people, birds, dragons, unrecognizable animals and strange beings. I thought about the work of Hieronymus Bosch’s painting on some of this. When I paint this kind of piece I don’t worry about why I am painting what I am painting. I allow whatever happens to happen. Others, I am sure will find some meaning.

  • Working with SDPB

    We have had wonderful news from South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The drawing DVD on how anyone can learn to draw, ”Basic Elements of Drawing” is to be developed into a series. Dick will host this series from the Gallery and Studio. This series will be developed to have an educational component complete with a Teacher’s guide, and activities aligned to educational content standards. It will also be available to the general audience so that beginners and advanced artists can learn a new way to draw in their homes. This series will be shared with the nation through PBS LearningMedia. Taping for the pilot episode will begin early summer.