photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Artist John Sebelius points out collaborations with Kevin Willmott and Will Willmott on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cider Gallery.

One thing artist Mona Cliff has learned in 16 years as a stay-at-home mom is that parenting, like art, is chaotic – and that’s OK.

“When they were younger, you really think that you would have a plan for the whole day,” said Cliff, whose three kids are all in their teens now. “‘I’m gonna do this, and I’m gonna go do that, and we’re gonna have a plan!’

“And then, you know, one kid throws up, or they’re fighting and bickering. And you have to, like, bend to the chaos, you know, like a reed in the wind! You can’t let it break you!”

So it’s no wonder she enjoyed working with artist John Sebelius for the new show “Breeders,” opening Friday at the Cider Gallery in East Lawrence. In it, Sebelius collaborated with some of Lawrence’s best-known artists to capture the chaos, challenges and fun of parenthood.

Sebelius said “Breeders” has been more than a year in the making. He partnered with 16 other artists to pull it off, encouraging them to remix, reimagine and be spontaneous as they worked together.

“No pre-planning before,” he said. “… And I made sure that everyone was aware that nothing was precious. Everything could be manipulated, everything could be changed and chopped up.”

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A piece by Lawrence artist John Sebelius for the “Breeders” show is pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cider Gallery.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A piece by Lawrence artist John Sebelius for the “Breeders” show is pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cider Gallery.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Two of John Sebelius’ pieces for “Breeders” have neon-painted water bottle tops on the edges.

While there are a few works by Sebelius himself, including the “World’s Best Mom” and “Best Dad Ever” paintings with neon-painted water bottle tops around the edges, most of the works were things that he passed back and forth with another artist. He teaches art in groups for veterans and people recovering from addiction and uses this collaborative method a lot in those settings. It’s sometimes called an “exquisite corpse,” but Sebelius uses the term “exquisite monster,” and he says it’s a great opportunity for artists to elevate and challenge each other.

“It always turns out better than an individual person’s voice,” he said.

His and Cliff’s collaboration is among the largest pieces on display. It’s a blue abstract canvas that grew organically as it was passed between the artists six times.

Cliff said she enjoyed that process a lot: “It was like, I don’t know what I was going to get when he brought it or when I picked it up. But it was like, ‘OK, well, I’ll work with this.'”

She wasn’t trying to make it about her family, specifically, but in her garage studio, “my kids have full access to me,” she said. All of them have artistic talent like their mom and their presence made an impact on the finished product.

“The work isn’t maybe directly addressing the theme of the show, but I almost feel like everything surrounding that piece is what was addressing the show,” Cliff said.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Details of a collaboration between John Sebelius and Mona Cliff are pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A collaboration between John Sebelius and Mona Cliff is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

John Sebelius points out features of this “vessel that captures dreams,” sculpted by Marshall Maude, on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cider Gallery.

A chance to play

Sebelius didn’t just want the artists to collaborate with him – he also wanted to get them out of their comfort zone. “Experimentation and playfulness with materials was at the forefront of this series,” he said.

Some of the collaborators are famous for working in certain media or styles, like crop artist Stan Herd, filmmaker Kevin Willmott and sculptor Kris Kuksi. But for this show, all of them have branched out and tried different things than what they’re known for.

When Sebelius and Herd were first discussing their piece, Sebelius said Herd asked him, “Is it OK if I just get weird with this?”

“And I was like, ‘Absolutely,'” Sebelius said.

He gave Herd some paintings that were “psychedelic and a little wild.” Then Herd chopped them up and assembled them like a puzzle into a portrait of his son, Evan.

“He said he’s never made any piece of artwork like that,” Sebelius said.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A portrait of Stan Herd’s son is pictured at the Cider Gallery on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

An artwork inspired by Kevin Willmott’s childhood is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

Willmott, on the other hand, picked up a pen and did some drawing – something Sebelius said the Oscar-winner hadn’t done in ages. One of the pieces is about Willmott’s childhood, and Sebelius said it incorporates his family’s old phone number, ninja characters and action stars he used to draw as a kid. “You gave him a marker, and off he went, just transported back to this time when he was free to draw.”

“It was effortless,” Sebelius said, “of coming back to an art form that he hadn’t experienced in decades.”

As for Kuksi, famous for meticulously crafted mixed-media sculptures, he gave Sebelius a 2D piece on a block of wood, and Sebelius “threw in all these wild inks and gave it back to him.”

“He said, ‘No one’s ever seen my 2D work,'” Sebelius said.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A collaboration between John Sebelius and Kris Kuksi is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

Things get even more whimsical when the kids get involved. For one piece, Sebelius asked his 5-year-old daughter to draw “a vessel that captured dreams.” She drew a heart with a crown on it, and sculptor Marshall Maude then re-created it in ceramics with a special pink glaze.

The kids themselves get their own companion show, “Offspring,” across the street at SeedCo Studios. Here you can find neon-tinted photos of a young Kevin Willmott and his parents by his son Will, himself a professional artist; a cat-themed diptych made with markers and rhinestones; even an installation of Sebelius’ daughter’s stuffed animals, suspended from and nearly spilling out of a net.

“This is four trash bags of stuffed animals, and if you went to our house you wouldn’t even know I took any!” Sebelius said.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A piece by Lawrence artist John Sebelius’ daughter is pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at SeedCo Studios.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A diptych from the “Offspring” show is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

This piece by Lawrence artist John Sebelius features quotes from friends, family and other artists about raising kids.

‘I wonder what they’re going to be like’

At Friday’s opening celebration, there will be one place set aside for quiet and reflection: a set of headphones on the wall that plays a “field recording” of Sebelius rocking his son to sleep.

Being a parent has changed Sebelius’ relationship with art a lot, and that’s part of the reason he was inspired to organize “Breeders” in the first place.

“I had my daughter during May 2020, in the heat of COVID,” he said. “So, the idea of becoming a dad, the imagery that you’re around and the different experiences that come into your life are totally different than what you have pre- that.”

When you’re a parent, he said, “you kind of lose your voice as an artist and a maker.”

“When you have a child, that child becomes the most important thing in your life, and so sometimes as a maker, it can be a selfish practice, where it’s all about your voice, your opinions, and when this other lifeform comes into your life, that becomes the focus. It’s no longer about you, what you’re trying to say.”

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

This piece by artist John Sebelius in the “Breeders” show is full of quotes from parents.

One of the pieces in the show is full of wisdom like this. It’s a collection of quotes that Sebelius got from friends, family, other artists in the show about raising kids. “Kids spell love T-I-M-E.” “Parent is a verb.” Sebelius likes one that’s carved into the piece: “They are feral. Good luck.”

Cliff’s wisdom is here, too: “I’m excited to see who they become, sad to see their littleness be a memory.”

Thursday was her oldest child’s last day of working as an apprentice artist at the nonprofit Van Go. Her middle child is eager to get into Van Go, too. And her youngest channels his artistic talent into building things.

“When they were little, I was imagining what they would be like when they were older kids, and then even teenagers and adults,” Cliff said.

“There’s so many parts of their personalities that are still very much like when they were young … their character and their quirkiness. But I’ve often wondered: ‘I wonder what they’re going to be like.’ It’s so funny, even, how their faces change. It’s still the same, but it’s very different, and the same with their personalities.

“As you’re admiring who they’re becoming, at the same time, it’s like, they’re not ever going to be that little person again.”

It’s a back and forth, a sort of dialogue, sort of like the art in the show.

“And that was an important part of ‘Breeders,’ was having it be a conversation,” Sebelius said. “… Allowing for different experiences to occur and different reflections. And I just want to make more.”

Kids, or art?

“Art,” he said. “Art. … I happily have my hands full! Happily; I want to underline happily!”

•••

Opening night for “Breeders” is from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania St., and “Offspring” will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. at SeedCo Studios, 840 Delaware St., Suite 7. There will be a Taco Zone pop-up stand at the main exhibition, and some kid-friendly refreshments at SeedCo, too. (“I’ve got a cooler of Capri-Suns and Squeezits,” he said. “I told my daughter, ‘I don’t know if you ever experienced a Squeezit before. We’re gonna go big-time for your art opening.'”)

If you can’t make it on Friday, “Breeders” and “Offspring” will both be on display throughout the next month, Sebelius said.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A painting by John Sebelius’ daughter for the “Offspring” show is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A piece from the “Offspring” show is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A collaboration by John Sebelius, Kevin Willmott and Will Willmott is pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cider Gallery.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A collaboration by John Sebelius, Kevin Willmott and Will Willmott is pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cider Gallery.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A triptych by Megan Embers, John Sebelius and Katie Winter is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A sculpture collaboration by Stephen Johnson and John Sebelius is pictured on Thursday, April 23, 2026.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Pictures of a young Kevin Willmott and his mother and father are the centerpiece of this artwork by Will Willmott, pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at SeedCo Studios.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Artwork from the “Offspring” exhibit is pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at SeedCo Studios.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

A collaboration by John Sebelius, Kevin Willmott and Will Willmott is pictured Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Cider Gallery.