Ricky Cook’s striking art-marker piece “Angles” graces the current “Art from the Heart” show in the hall gallery at LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus. (Christine LaPado-Breglia photo)
Art with heart: Last month, I wrote in this column about spending time in the River Arts art studio with the artists from Mobius Inc.’s Creative Expressions program, watching them work and chatting with them about their then-upcoming exhibit at LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus.
Last Friday, Jan. 17, I went to the hall gallery at Miles to check out the artists’ exhibit, titled “Art from the Heart” and featuring 37 pieces in various mediums.
It is a refreshing show to spend time perusing. From Lester Warman’s turquoise, blue, and fuchsia glitter-paint piece called “Abstract 1,” which is the first piece that greets the viewer as one enters the hall gallery, to Heather Sprague’s impressive assemblage piece, “Piano Mandala,” made from cast-off piano parts, located on the far wall at the rear of the hall gallery, every piece in “Art from the Heart” bursts with creativity and heart.
Amrita Plante’s four garden-themed pieces in this show are delightful. “Peonies” is a colorful glitter-paint piece. “Summer Garden” bursts with abstract color. “Irises,” an abstract watercolor painting, is equally cheery. Plante’s acrylic painting “Bachelor’s Buttons” is a striking semirealistic representation of the lovely blue flowers, her strongest piece in this exhibit.
Danielle Stevenson’s “Button Tree” employs actual buttons, representing leaves or fruit, in this collage piece featuring a tree on a playful multicolored tissue paper background. (It is, unsurprisingly, already sold.) Marlene York’s “Dream Tree” also uses buttons as leaves/fruit, but is set in a realistic landscape – grass, water, sky – and boasts a rugged trunk and branches made from twine. (It, too, is sold.)
Near Sprague’s “Piano Mandala” are five pieces all created in a mixed-media fashion using pearlescent paints in greens and browns over real leaves, berries, etc., creating an eye-catching 3D effect, almost like a relief painting. Each was made by a different artist, including Sprague, who is blind. Sprague’s piece in this group, “Fern Fantasy” (which – again no surprise — has a little orange “sold” dot on it), is gorgeous. Delicate fern fronds, berries, seed pods, and leaves enter the piece from the left, covered with a burnished-copper-like sheen of acrylic paint.
Nate Allen’s “Fall Splendor,” Lester Warman’s “Green Darkness,” Vicki L’Heureux’s “Fall Dream,” and Glenn James’ “Woodland Path” – the other four of this group of five – are similarly eye-catching. I imagined how nice it would be to have an entire wall, such as one in the dining room of perhaps an upscale restaurant, finished in the style of one of these pieces. So lovely!
The pieces in this wonderful show sell for $80 each, with a portion of the proceeds going to the hospital. Kudos to everyone involved in bringing this exhibit to fruition.
“Art from the Heart” runs through Friday, Feb. 7. LincolnHealth’s Miles campus is located at 35 Miles St., Damariscotta.
Exploring personal imagery: I recently received an email from South Bristol artist Joy Vaughan about the upcoming workshop she is giving “to explore personal imagery in a meditative setting.” The 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. workshop runs twice, on Friday, Jan. 24 and on Friday, Jan. 31 – but I just found out that both sessions are full already!
I will give you the rundown anyway, because Vaughan plans to offer more very soon.
“We start with a short ‘check-in’ and a five-minute meditation, and then we will dive into our individual imagery,” said Vaughan, who said she offers “prompts” to help one get started. “We will use acrylic paint, oil crayons, watercolors, inks, watercolor crayons, collage, and anything you can find in the studio. We’ll work in silence for a couple of hours, allowing you enough time to sink into your process. The primary point of this inquiry is to notice what happens internally and externally, not to make a great work of art.”
Each workshop is limited to five participants, costs $70, and includes all materials and lunch. Participants will share a meal of soup, rice, and fruit, and tea and coffee will be provided. After lunch, everyone will gather to talk about the day’s experiences.
Email Vaughan at joy@tidewater.net for information about upcoming workshops.
Vaughan’s website is joyvaughan.com and her Starfire Studio is located at 9 Long Cove Lane in South Bristol.
(Christine LaPado-Breglia is an award-winning journalist who has written about the arts in both California and Maine. Email her at clbreglia@lcnme.com or write her a letter in care of The Lincoln County News, P.O. Box 36, Damariscotta, ME 04543.)
