After a trying winter weather wise we are back and rolling full speed ahead!
We are all looking forward to seeing you back at The Portage Hill Art Gallery!
Michelle is back as our Gallery Assistant and you might also meet our Artist Intern, Francesca, when you visit this year.
Francesca is an art student at The Maine College of Art and Design in Portland, Maine. She is spending the summer learning and creating with Audrey. Just recently she completed her first block print and over the past week she has been working in the clay studio.
Never Stop Learning, Growing and Creating
If I had to give a theme title to winter 2022-2023 it would be "Never Stop Learning, Growing and Creating.
This winter had a different focus than most for me. The year started with a wonderful watercolor workshop offered by Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society, featuring Skip Lawrence. People who know the way I work know that finding my own voice has been of upmost importance to me. It is important to Skip also, making this a great workshop week for me!
During midwinter I attended a special course about International Curation and Collage presented by Kolaj Institute of Montreal Canada. While there I met with artists from around the world. We really dove into collage creation on the international level and learned more about curating at that level as well. Really interesting!
May wrapped up my ever continuing education for the year with
a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) seminar in Syracuse. Artists who have attended art development seminars across the state during the past few years gathered together to share our arts experiences since attending those seminars. It was a wonderful chance to meet up with artists from all over New York State and reconnect with the folks at NYFA.
While not attending seminars and workshops during the winter months, much of my focus was on my art making practice in the printmaking and painting/collage studios. I am exceptionally proud to present one of those new works, a block print celebrating my favorite tree, the maple, which will be included in the “Art That Matters to the Planet” show at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute.
My piece, entitled “Queen of the Woods,” expresses both the joy and concern that I have for the large maples that I have grown up with in Chautauqua County. These trees are becoming distressed by climate change and other human behaviors that we have the ability to change so that they may continue to thrive. Below are two version of the work: the block and an enhanced block. The block will be in the show and the enhanced block is displayed for viewing or purchase at The Portage Hill Art Gallery.
The new work featured left, titled “Love Poem," is inspired by our Lake Erie summer cottage retreat which brings Donald and me a sense of deep peace and joy during the summer evenings!
When I finished this piece Donald took a look and named it for me- “Love Poem” indeed! Actually, all of my artwork pieces are love poems dedicated to the natural world I find myself exploring every day! We feel very lucky to live in the country where nature is everywhere as soon as we step out of our door!
I am now looking forward to having some summer time in the clay studio!