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Shelley Valachovic, a resident of Lake Luzerne, offers
delicate details and an intimate study of woodland plants. She draws and
paints her plant portraits on site in all seasons with her work now
including over a hundred species from a variety of local habitats. Even in
winter, she finds their beauty in painting the abstract shapes of seed
pods, berries and fragile dry leaves. As Shelley states, her drawings “are
both botanically correct and graceful”. It is her hope that her work will
inspire the viewer to search and admire these plants in the wild as well
as in her drawings.
R. Sanford Stragnell is inspired by the natural world
around him. Using found objects, copper, brass and steel, he creates his
metal sculptures. This exhibit filled with birds made of recycled metal
has resulted from his strong interest in watching and listening to birds
in the wild. Observing Sandy’s work gives the viewer great appreciation
for the creative nature of artists and always elicits a smile as one tries
to identify the pieces that create his imaginative art.
Vicky Perry juxtaposes the real with the abstract. Her
traditional paintings, if not carefully observed, can be mistaken for
photographs, so detailed are her work and the strength of her
compositions. She purposely builds “a tension … between poured paint and
the methodic representation, as if the work reveals a double life.”
Jeri MacDonald’s recent paintings take everyday chores such
as dirty dishes and transport them on canvas to art. Jeri says, “I enjoy
how the objects appear and disappear in layers. Layers of dishes,
utensils, glasses and cups, pots and pans, water, soapsuds, food bits and
sludge. Layers of use, a daily record of our consumption and habits.”
After seeing her work, one will see that art can be found in all facets of
our everyday life.
Karen Koziol of Greenwich, an assemblage artist, will amaze
and entertain the viewer with her innovative uses of found objects. Karen
says her pieces are created to “convey an idea, illustrate a story or
define a moment in much like a writer using words.” Her work is usually
“within specific themes searching for parallels, metaphors and
contradictions.
For the Summer Exhibition, Carrie Philion, best known for
her constructions and creativity exhibited at the World Awareness
Children’s Museum, is serving as the Exhibition Manager for LARAC’s Summer
Exhibition. Carrie states, “We encounter the work of artists in numerous
aspects of our daily life”. Together with guest designer, Connie Little,
owner of Styles and one of the region’s most innovate stylists, they have
they have teamed up with two student interns (Jake Philion and Nate
Cosentino) to develop a creative experience from the preparation and
hanging of the exhibit to the opening. Together they have worked to
present Lapham Gallery’s Summer Exhibition based on the visions of the
five participating artists. |
