Featured Artists
Stephanie OatEs - "Stunning images photography...discovering backyard beauty"
On Display at Amherst Town Hall Gallery April - June 2023
I’m a Pioneer Valley photographer devoting my skills to bringing local beauty to the viewer. People travel all over the world to exotic places, but paradise can be found just outside your doorstep. I hope my work evokes emotion and that viewers observe the world from a different perspective. Perhaps a metaphor for life?
I’ve always had an interest in photography, ever since I did a report in the 6th grade and a class in high school. I landed in the photographic retail industry for 20 years. In 2008, my path changed with a stage 3 cancer diagnosis. But a challenge turned into a blessing. I got back into photography, using it as therapy. A place where I could just be...and heal. I discovered the world around me, but also discovered myself. I became fascinated with color, texture and creative angles. Ansel Adams utilized those skills so well. That journey led to my first show.
I’ve been fortunate to have shown my work at Historic Northampton, “Shedding Light” exhibit at the Nacul Center in Amherst, both the Amherst & Northampton Art Walks, and The Statehouse in Boston. I’m inspired to exhibit my work because it is a celebration of life and beauty that surrounds us all. Take a pause from daily life and discover your own backyard beauty.
Please come find me on Facebook! Enjoy the exhibit.
Previously Featured:
Photography by Isabella Dell'olio
Description: A truly authentic portrait has the power to preserve a moment in time. I have always been amazed at how even a simple image can capture a person’s spirit and character. I’ve devoted my work to creating memories, both of special occasions and as mementos of everyday life. My work reflects my love for engaging and connecting with people. My aim is to create images that leave individuals feeling truly seen and empowered, and that reveal and celebrate the connections between partners, friends, and family members. I try to tell a meaningful story with every photo I take.
Artist Website: https://www.isabelladellolio.com/ (please note this an external site not affiliated with the Town of Amherst, MA)
Paintings by Chris Bordenca
Description: Chris Bordenca is a painter from Belchertown, MA. His work focuses on a personal connection to objects and places from his youth in the seventies and eighties including paintings of action figures, toys, and arcade games from the era. After a ten year hiatus he returned to painting mid 2018. Since then Chris has shown his work around the valley in group shows, as well as a show in Australia to benefit victims of the wildfires. His painting "Starless Sea With Keys" recently won first place for acrylic painting at the 2020 Northeast Fine Arts Exposition. Chris is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst who lives with his family in Belchertown, MA.
Paintings by Ray Larrow
Description:
Ray Larrow is a painter residing in Granby, MA. He paints in acrylic, oil, and gouache. Per Ray, "I'm a classically trained painter with a not so classical artistic agenda.
Connecting with Nature Photography by Jaime Forsythe
Description:
I am an amateur photographer residing in Belchertown, raised in Conway, MA. I have a passion for nature and the outdoors. My father gave me my first “real” camera as a Christmas gift in 2017 and then he passed away unexpectedly a week later on New Year’s Day 2018. Since then I have vowed to utilize his gift and share my appreciation of nature with others. Since I began this endeavor I have come to understand how the art of nature photography can connect so many people in countless ways. I Hope you enjoy!
Trusting Alchemy
Paintings by Rodney Byron Madison
March 5, 2020 - April 30, 2020
Opening reception: Thursday, March 5, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, April 2, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
“As I dip the brush into paint and then onto canvas the painting’s future is unknown, unforeseen. I begin to make marks on the canvas and these marks eventually relate to others. As these foundational marks settle, I become increasingly unsettled with an anxiousness that arises brought on by the anticipation of the developing piece. As I work through this, a frenzied period emerges which in result is my greatest joy. My intent is rarely to send messages through my work but what is important is that my artwork conveys energy, creativity, beauty and soul.” Evidence of his alchemy of art is left on the canvas. Born in 1959 and hailing from the south side of Chicago, Rodney Byron Madison is a self taught artist who submerged himself into art and painting later in life. He has a Masters degree in education and spent many years in leadership roles as a teacher and activist. Madison lives in Hadley with his wife Eileen.
Seasons in the Forest
Paintings by Christine Copeland
January 2, 2020 - February 28, 2020
Opening reception: Thursday, January 2, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, February 6, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
In the exhibit, “Seasons in the Forest,” Copeland explores her relationship with recovering forested land that she and her husband have conserved “Forever Wild,” as well as the relationships between plants and animals and plants with each other. The property known as Masson Ridge in Northfield, MA was conserved in 2007 with the help of Mount Grace Land Trust.
The exhibition features 25 paintings on canvas and paper and 12 illustrations for an upcoming children’s book entitled “Spring in the Forest.” Copeland uses either soft acrylics with a flow medium that loosens the paint so that it acts like watercolor on canvas or acrylic inks on Fabriano watercolor paper.
Copeland says, “These days, I’m paying attention to how still one must be to see things in the forest. A siting is always very exciting, even if it’s a Painted Trillium hiding behind a tree! Animals are generally shy so to see a forest hawk perched high in the canopy requires senses on high alert. This is good for a painter.” “I never thought that I would consider trees as companions,” says Copeland. “But they have become so and my connection to them deepens all the time. If the wonder of the natural world is something I can inspire in others through my art, then I’m happy.”
Planted
Photography by Bernie Kubiak
November 7, 2019 - December 27, 2019
Opening reception: Thursday, November 7, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, December 5, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
As a photographer I want to both tell and provoke stories. There’s a story I want to communicate and there’s the one, often very different, that the viewer brings to mind when looking at the photograph. Portraying the landscape has occupied American painters and photographers since the 19th century. Landscape is not simply about where but what the place represents and the thoughts and emotions it evokes.
Mt Pollux became one of my regular visits over the last several years, in part a response to my challenge to make photographs within two miles of my house and in part because the old trees seemed to stand against time and embody what I later came to understand as wabi-sabi. The old orchard there prompted me to photograph others. These are not grand vistas but small places that have a story to tell in the trees there. Most of the images were made in the fall or winter.
Photography has long been an avocation and I’ve had the good fortune to learn from a number of talented friends and associates. My photographs appear in exhibits throughout the valley. More can be seen at the pvphotoartists.org member gallery website.
“The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Breathing Room
Recent Works by Lydia Kinney
September 5, 2019 - October 31, 2019
Opening reception: Thursday, September 5, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, October 3, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
A departure from her smaller works on paper and larger canvas pieces, a new studio has provided the artist with traction and freedom to create larger paintings and drawings on wood panels. The resulting work shown (2018-2019) is free to be sparse, lush, dark, and electrified. Equal parts articulated fictional interiors and fully abstract studies on color and texture, these paintings exemplify the foundation to continue a realized path: How to move forward while living with ambivalence, how to harmonize without compromise.
Great American Road Trip
Fiber Art Quilts by Dawn Allen
July 4, 2019 - August 30, 2019
Opening reception: Thursday, July 11, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, August 1, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
"Great American Road Trip" series features fiber art quilts pieces colorfully depicting vintage cars and trucks “traveling” all over the United States. The inspiration behind the show is my experience as a mother of young children, feeling trapped at times, lacking the freedom to go where-ever, when-ever! I chose to feature vehicles because the car is a symbol of total freedom. You can jump in and go anywhere at a moment’s notice. The nostalgia of the antique vehicles from 1940-1970 is an important aspect of my work. The intention is to evoke a sense of “the good old days”. Conveying the idea of being young and free and perhaps of “simpler” times. “Great American Road Trip” series is uplifting with brightly colored pieces, cheerful images of places we can all relate to, or places we would love to go.
Azure Animalia
Paintings by Michelle Vigeant
May 2, 2019 - June 28, 2019
Opening reception: Thursday, May 2, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, June 6, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
Azure Animalia portrays a cast of wild canids amidst surreal butterflies and fields of stars. A coyote rolls in pools of splashed color, while a fennec looks on, glowing in the rays of evening light. Using various media and techniques, local artist Michelle Vigeant explores a fantasy world with animals on the main stage. As they walk, their shadows form creation around their paws. The fox, a trickster armed with a paintbrush of wolf fur, draws surreal dreamscapes and the moon itself. These scenes are depicted in vivid colors playing with light and mood.
The artist’s background in biology and years studying animal bones, tracks and more (yes, even their scat!) gives her a very intimate perspective of their habits, anatomy and placement within the world. She loves to illustrate stories that connect people with animals. On the second floor, take a peek at Vigeant’s most recent project, a series in inks called A Girl And Her Dark, featuring a young girl taming and playing with her dark, a mysterious skull-faced canine. See her work at www.stormslegacy.com
Home Land: Watercolors of Nearby Nature
Paintings by Elisa K. Campbell
March 7, 2019 - April 26, 2019
Opening reception: Thursday, March 7, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, April 4, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
As an adult, I began painting primarily as a form of concentrating my attention on a scene or plant or “slant of light” that had caught my eye and my heart. I have always felt connected to the landscape and living beings around me, so I have been an environmentalist all my life and my painting is a fundamental aspect of that.
I primarily work from my own photographs of places I know and love, so most of my paintings are recognizably local, although I have also painted en plein air in the Adirondacks and on Monhegan Island. I continue to focus on capturing the essence of the natural world.
Noho Skies: Landscapes and Light of the Pioneer Valley
Photography by Dominique Thiebaut
January 3, 2019 - February 28, 2019
Opening reception: Thursday, January 3, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, February 7, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
“Noho Skies" is an exhibit of photographs of landscapes and skies of the Pioneer Valley, captured over the four seasons, featuring the seven sisters at sunrise, or encased in fog, or birds sitting on top of the Northampton town hall, waiting for the sun to rise.
Quabbin Art Association Group Exhibit
November 1, 2018 to December 28, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday, November 1, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, December 6, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
Members of the Belchertown-based Quabbin Art Association will exhibit new works throughout the months of November and December at the Amherst Town Hall. Featured here are three pieces by members Alexandra Walters (pastel), Tina Addison (watercolor), and Roger Duffy (pen & ink). Now in its third year, Quabbin Art Association provides education, support, and opportunity for local artists, and promotes community interest and appreciation in the visual arts. To learn more about QAA members, or to join the organization, visit www.quabbinartassociation.com or stop by the gallery to meet the artists on November 1st and December 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. for Arts Night Plus!
Environments
Paintings by Mary Witt
September 6, 2018 to October 26, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday, September 6, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, October 4, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
Environments are created spontaneously and intuitively by Mary Witt, an artist of abstract acrylic paintings. Mary loves abstract art, having been raised on it by German parents, and enjoys making paintings that become mysterious places to dive into. Applying layers of paint and digging through and adding and subtracting the medium invents these mysterious places that the viewer can get lost in.
Mary likes working with shapes, textures, and color. Using mostly palette knives to spread paint on her canvases, she layers various colors and thicknesses to bring texture and depth to the work. The finished paintings have a playful, yet serious tone, invoking possible imagery, but also leaving a lot to the imagination.
Mary Witt has made art of most mediums all her life, but she didn’t begin painting until 1993. She has found a voice in the abstract painting process and continues to develop it by working on both large and small pieces, finding that changing scale challenges how she works. She has participated in many art workshops and exhibits around the Pioneer Valley from painting to printmaking to encaustics, finding that each experience brings something new to her paintings. She will be teaching an abstract painting class in Northampton in January 2019.
Ordinary Splendor - selected watercolors by Kara K. Bigda
July 5, 2018 to August 31, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday, July 5, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, August 2, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
“Ordinary Splendor” is a collection of watercolors on clayboard by local artist, Kara K. Bigda. The exhibit contains simple yet compelling compositions in the genre of contemporary realism, capturing the austere beauty and nostalgia contained in every day. Kara's work often aims to highlight the elements of life that may often be overlooked, elevating ordinary objects, places, and moments in time, into the extraordinary and this collection is no exception.
Detailed renderings through the use of transparent washes of color make up the work included in this compilation. The clayboard surface allows pigment to be lifted with ease throughout the painting process, allowing the artist to create a visual believability of the subject matter. When complete, the painting is sealed with a protective finish eliminating the need for a glass barrier between the painting and the viewer, thus providing a more intimate experience between the two.
Kara grew up in Ware, Massachusetts and graduated from Amherst College in 1991 with a concentration in Fine Art. She has worked in both education and the insurance industry. In 2008, after ten years as an art teacher in the Quabbin Regional School District, Kara resigned from teaching in order to focus on painting. Most days you will find her working in her home studio nestled in the beautiful, serene landscape of West Brookfield and spending time with her husband Dan and their two dogs.
Valley Views
A Visual Celebration of the Valley: Urban and Rural, Day to Night
May 3, 2018 to June 29, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday, May 3, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, June 7, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
Local pastel artist Meg Bandarra’s new exhibition is a collection of scenes from around the valley, many painted en plein air (outside), both during the day and at night. The public is invited to come celebrate “Local” with the reception on May 3rd from 5-8pm. After the reception, the exhibit can be seen Monday- Friday 8am-4:30pm until June 29th. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Amherst Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Margaret Gammell: Works on Paper, Wood and Plastic
March 1, 2018 - April 27, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday, March 1, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, April 5, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
Margaret Gammell enjoys working on a large sheets of paper with color splashed over them. Drawing on these stained and collaged backgrounds disrupts the drawn line in unexpected ways. She uses charcoal or graphite, adding ink, markers, colored pencil, or the latest item she came home from the art supply store with or discovered online.
She attends the Visual Fine Arts program at Manchester Community College in Connecticut, where her concentration is in drawing, sculpture and printmaking.
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Paintings by Laure Dennery
January 4, 2018 - February 24, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday, January 4, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, February 1, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Description:
Laure began painting penguins after seeing the documentary “March of the Penguins” in 2005. For the past 12 years, she has kept coming back to these beautiful and fascinating birds that have inspired her to experiment with different artistic techniques and play with composition. In addition to penguins, Laure is often inspired by animal imagery. Animals represent a trueness to who they are, and it is that authenticity with themselves that she admires and tries to convey in her work. For more of Laure’s work, please visit www.dennerydesignart.squarespace.com.
Photography by Carl Nardiello
November 2, 2017 - December 29, 2017
Opening reception: Thursday, November 2, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, December 6, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
“Winter’s Bone" features images from the Connecticut River Series including the Oxbow, focusing after the foliage of summer is gone and the subtle but vibrant tones of fall, winter and spring manifest. This has been an ongoing subject of interest for me. Included are a few works from the latest Riverbed images, which are panoramic, abstract studies at various stretches along the river.
Changing Landscapes
Paintings by Janet Pozar
September 7, 2017 - October 27, 2017
Opening reception: Thursday, September 7, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, October 5, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
“Changing Landscapes" features vibrant, scenic paintings by local artist, Janet Pozar. Janet has been painting, drawing, and making art for over 40 years. Working in acrylic, mostly on canvas, some pieces are mixed media and include components such as thread. Janet has captured scenes from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she grew up, plus other states where she has lived. From the historic stone ironmaster’s house of Charming Forge, Pennsylvania, to the round barns and tobacco barns of Illinois, and currently local landscapes in and around her home in Leverett. Janet’s artwork has been shown in Albany, NY, Reading, PA, Westfield, MA, and Paper City Studios and Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke, MA.
Artist Statement: When I am engaged in art making, I am fully caught up in the medium and tools and mission. I’ve learned not to think about the product that I will end up with because the time spent engaged in the creative activity is what is most important to me. I enjoy the detached feeling I get when painting —it’s like a dance with my hand and my mind and they take turns leading!
July 6, 2017 - August 31, 2017
Opening reception: Thursday, July 6, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, August 3, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Artist Statement: When I photograph abandoned places -- a factory...a hospital.. someone’s home, I hope to show the beauty of decay and the mystery of what has been left behind. I listen to the quiet and envision the history of the building and the people who were once there. Built during a time when hand crafting was valued, the heavy carved doors, arched windows, stained glass, high ceilings, and forged fixtures remain after many years.
What people leave behind fascinates me—in homes, everyday items that were once needed, once prized– a lunchbox, hairbrushes, toys, calendars from years ago, family photographs, the grand piano in the living room, a car…all left behind.
Why did businesses leave old ledgers and correspondence? Wasn’t it necessary to pass on the patient X-rays and medical records that are still in the file cabinets? Where are the students whose report cards and assignments are scattered on the classroom floor? Questions without answers.
Though I have photographed hundreds of abandoned places in over a dozen states, the former Paper Service Limited mill in my childhood hometown of Ashuelot, New Hampshire has been my recent focus. In 2005, the mill which had operated since 1883, and around which the town grew, was destroyed by the flooding from Tropical Storm Tammy. The life of the mill and its demise is the subject of my book, Dark Waters: The Rise and Fall of Paper Services Limited, which I plan to publish in late 2017.
Cherry Press Trio
May 4, 2017 - June 30, 2017
Opening reception: Thursday, May 4, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, June 1, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Artist Statement: Artists and Educators Randy LeSage and Kathy Murray met Corinne Rhodes at her printmaking workshop Cherry Press, (cherrypress.org), where they both became members. The trio soon began collaborating. Rhodes joined their central Mass-based printmaking group, the Good Press Printmakers (goodpressprintmakers.com).
Randy LeSage works in various media, including printmaking. He currently teaches printmaking, painting and drawing at the Worcester Art Museum. Much of his work focuses upon the area’s working people, distinct landscape (e.g. Landscape Movement #25) and its post-industrial past (e.g. Excavation).
Kathy Murray is an artist and graphic designer living in Charlton, MA who teaches at Becker College in Worcester. She exhibits her work frequently. A large part of Murray’s work involves printmaking and exploring the use of several different methods to create her landscape-inspired imagery.
Corinne Rhodes runs Cherry Press (cherrypress.org), a printmaking studio based in Rutland, M.A. She teaches there, at Worcester Art Museum, Danforth Art and holds demonstrations and workshops at other locations, including EFA-Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York City. Rhodes is developing new techniques and materials for Century Plate lithography. In this innovative process, the harmful acids, solvents, lacquers and petroleum-based products used in traditional lithography are replaced with bio-based, biodegradable materials that are safer for artists and our environment.
March 2, 2017 - April 28, 2017
Opening reception: Thursday, March 2, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, April 6, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Artist Statement: Keila has always been drawn to paper, collecting and saving pieces that spoke to her since childhood. It wasn't until recently that her love of painting and paper collided. An avid gardener and an environmentally friendly artist, Keila uses old books and paper that is past its usefulness. She sees beauty in papers of all kinds exploiting the unique qualities that add character to her work. Each piece of paper is torn, cut or otherwise manipulated to form her “brush stroke” that is applied using a paint brush. She states “I use a matte protective medium that seals and protects and a nontoxic glue that when applied in multiple layers offers an incredible protection.” Texture, color, and light come alive and blends with her love of nature, creating a very unique art form.
by Danielle Intile Tait Winsome Smiles Photography
January 3, 2017 - February 24, 2017
Opening reception: Thursday, January 5, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, February 2, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Celebrating 40 years of matches with mentors, this exhibit is being presented to give you a glimpse into the world of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County. Big Brothers Big Sisters hosts events throughout the year for all matches, but most of the time Bigs and Littles get together to do ordinary things they enjoy: baking, crafting, going for a walk, and playing together. The goal is to have fun, spend quality time, and give a young person the opportunity to thrive. Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County, a program of CHD, made their first match in 1975. Since then, over 2,000 kids have been matched with mentors. Thank you for joining us in celebrating 40 years of friendship in Hampshire County.
November 3, 2016 - December 30, 2016
Opening reception: Thursday, November 3, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Second reception: Thursday, December 1, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Statement: I am an artist with a day job as a forester. My work takes me off the beaten track to places few people see, and wherever I go I have my sketchbook with me. I find a sense of beauty and wonder in the natural landscape that I try to capture in my art. I am particularly attracted to large and unusual trees. I love to draw and paint in many different media, but I’ve achieved my best results with scratchboard, which I have been working with for six years now. The pieces I have selected are largely from across the New England landscape, but also include some favorite scenes from other places I have visited in that time. www.joeksmith.com
Scratchboard is a two-dimensional, subtractive medium that involves the use of abrasive tools to directly remove a surface layer of one value (typically dark) to expose a secondary layer of a contrasting value (typically white). The majority of the values within the artwork are achieved by varying the amount of surface layer that has been removed or left. Works may be black and white or color can be added using transparent mediums.
September 1, 2016 - October 28, 2016
Opening reception: Thursday, September 1, 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Statement: Ted Trobaugh received his Masters in Music Composition at UMass, Amherst and his Doctorate at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He was drawn to composition because of the opportunity it presented to explore abstract concepts of motive, form, color, and motion. He was later drawn to photography for parallel reasons as a medium for exploring abstract elements of the visual realm. His website is Dolcemusic.com
Exhibit: Oil Paintings by Kate Spencer
July 7 to August 26, 2016
Amherst Town Hall Gallery, 4 Boltwood Ave
Artist Statement: My work reflects interest in the local and Western landscape. Always free with a brush, I am excited to be exploring shapes and colors as influenced by my latest trips to the prairies and bluffs in New Mexico and Montana. New England paintings will feature prominently as well. The bold colorful oil paintings will grace the Amherst Town Hall for the months of July and August.
Exhibit: Photorealistic Paintings by Ed Kaplan
May 5 to June 30, 2016
Artist statement: My admiration of the urban landscape, and the paintings they inspire, was for me, an obvious and natural subject matter for me to pursue. These metropolitan scenes are an inspiration to me, as they capture a time and place in history, each with their own unique energy, luminosity, and shadow but, most importantly, a story. Since I first began painting, I have always painted in a photorealistic style. My current works retain the photo realistic aspect, but with a painterly hand as well.
Artist Reception: (coinciding with the monthly Art Walk) Thursday, May 5, 2016, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Exhibit: “Images of a Local Nature: Color and Black and White Nature Photography featuring Amherst and Quabbin” Photography by Steve Gingold March 3 to April 29, 2016
Exhibit of paintings at Amherst Town Hall, Jan. 7- Feb. 26, 2016
Colorful and Expressive Oils, Acrylics, Watercolors by Sharon Loehr-Lapan, Louise Minks, Kerry Stone Members, Sawmill River Arts Gallery at The Montague Mill (BookMill)
Artist reception: Thursday, December 3, 2015, 5:00-8:00pm at Amherst Town Hall Gallery
Town Hall Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Impressionistic paintings of landscapes and nature, utilizing intensity in color and contrasts of lights and darks. Brightness and vibrance, as well as an element of the unseen, are evident in the paintings. Below: Lily Pads on Poets Pond Race Point
Photographs from near and far are presented as images in black and white that have been produced by traditional wet‐chemistry darkroom techniques. The images that are shown range from landscapes that suggest serenity, to images with a smaller field of view that reveal textural details, to images that are relatively abstract. The abstracts invite the viewer to explore the image to see if they can see what the photographer might have seen when he captured the image; they provoke discussion.
2015 - March/April - Alex Markiewiecz - Charcoal Drawing
Artist statement by Jieun Shin:
"My recent work combines fragmented details of patterns and images from traditional Korean folk art. It includes patchwork wrapping clothes by anonymous women from 18th century Joseon Dynasty, Korea. As an artist and immigrant, I represent my psychological relationship to my homeland by exploring my culture. Ironically, while I borrow the colors and patterns in my work from historic Korean textiles and embroidery, my work seems to be unidentifiable in terms of cultural specificity. My work is a surrogate portrait of a migrant, both estranged by and familiar with the hybrid cultural predicament symbolized by modern grid patterns and my own distant 'ethnic' culture. My intention is to explore my individual identity as a female."
These one-of-a-kind art quilts are intended to delight the eye and quiet the mind while exploring value, color, and natural themes. An art quilter for 17 years, Elizabeth uses fiber to capture that moment of solitude when the observer feels connected to the world. Her small wall-hangings recall universal images and symbols: the sun, moon, mountains, birds, trees, seasons and water, mixed with a touch of the whimsical. She uses raw edge applique, and has been known to use found and recycled items such as driftwood, dryer sheets, and the foil wrappers from gold chocolate coins!