Lewisburg Arts Council Members’ Show 2022
This year’s Lewisburg Arts Council’s Members’ Show, on display at “Gallery 255” in the foyer of the Public Library for Union County (255 Reitz Boulevard, Lewisburg), features both the new and the timeless. The show includes work by 28 members of the Lewisburg Arts Council’s special-interest groups, the Artists’ Guild of Lewisburg and the Lewisburg Photography Club.
Every Tuesday through March 29th, representatives from these groups will be on hand from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. to answer questions and discuss the show.
Here is a sampling of the 61 pieces of artwork on display through March 30.
What’s New?
This year’s show includes a number of artists’ “firsts.”
For first-time participant Nathan Hosterman, encouragement from others after sharing his work online inspired him to learn more, and now he finds himself always looking for things to capture in pictures.
This show is also a first for Mindy Lamprinos, who has exhibited her photographs in previous shows. What’s new is that only one of her three pieces is a photo. The other two are acrylic paintings. After being diagnosed with colon cancer during the pandemic, Lamprinos took up painting as a kind of therapy. “I can sit there for two hours and paint,” she says, “and not think of anything else.” When asked about the difference between the two media, she laughed, saying, “Painting takes A LOT more time!” But, she explains, “Painting gives you more flexibility, more creative input, because you can put things together … With a photograph, you work with what’s in front of you.”
Jane Albin’s three watercolors are her first pieces done with a new kind of paint, “Shadow Colors” from Boku-Undo, which she purchased at Brushstrokes. This Japanese paint blends vibrant dyes with sumi ink, giving the paint a smoky appearance. Each of her pieces was inspired by one of the set’s six colors. “I love trying out new art supplies,” says Albin, “… even my husband likes these!”
Done with a very limited palette, Sandy O’Connor’s oil-on-panel “Snowy Evening” conveys the feeling of being shrouded in a silent forest during a full moon after freshly fallen snow. “Not my usual realistic style,” says O’Connor, “but I loved the outcome.”
Timeless Treasures
Also, well-represented in this show are traditional styles and subjects, from self-portraits to plein air landscapes and seascapes to still-life paintings.
Susan Nicholas Gephart’s pink-and-blue pastel “Tranquil Sunset” glows, while Robert Hughes’s misty oil “Loch Leven” brings a chill.
Gail Fox’s “Heron” freezes a moment in nature, as does Ron Beach’s “Denali,” creating scenes of quiet drama.
One of Simonne Roy’s newer pieces was inspired by a cherished memory and incorporates a beloved treasure. In the painting, Roy and her daughter — wearing a pink winter hat she loved — longingly eye delectable confections through the window of a French bakery. “My daughter and I have admired many bakery windows together in France over the years,” Roy explains. “The painting is a result of wanting to ‘travel’ back in time during the pandemic.”
Old and New Together
And sometimes the timeless and the new are combined in the same piece.
Vicki Renn’s piece, “Rising from the Ashes,” depicts a trio of chickadees clinging to the stems of rose-purple flowers, known as fireweed. These wildflowers are so-named because they rapidly colonize areas burned by fire, bringing new life to a place of devastation in a cycle of regeneration.
Barbara Baker’s sweet graphite portrait of a young mother cradling her newborn is a departure from her usual bright colored-pencil designs. Here, color would be out-of-place. Baker’s quiet, subtle shadings are perfect for this picture.
Glen Klein’s photo, titled “Once Upon a Blue Moon,” pairs a child’s age-old wonderment with a modern photographic twist, while Nancy Cleaver playfully uses the traditional art of calligraphy in a funky-fresh way to deliver a message that’s just right for today.
Milestone Birthdays
Both special-interest groups — the Artists’ Guild of Lewisburg and the Lewisburg Photography Club – are celebrating milestone birthdays. The Artists’ Guild began 10 years ago this spring, and the Photography Club turned five in December. (We are grateful to Simonne Roy for allowing us to use “Nine Cakes” to promote this “Birthday Exhibit” … If we’re celebrating birthdays, there must be cake!)
Arts Council members are welcome to participate in either group – or both! Activities include workshops, critiques, and special outings, as well as the opportunity to include work in the Members’ Show.
The Lewisburg Arts Council wishes to thank volunteers Pat Bontinen, Sandy Davis, Karen Jenkins, Linda Swan, Beverly Zorn, and Barbara Baker, as well as the library staff, for making this show possible.
Photo Credits: Images by Dan Hyde
The library is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. The exhibit ends Wednesday, March 30.
Artists and organizations are encouraged to apply to exhibit items of artistic, cultural and intellectual interest in the library’s gallery and/or display cases. Information about exhibiting can be found on the library’s website.