Suddenly it's March! Time is flying and there is so much to see and do on the Avenue! The street painting festival was amazing, Lake Ave was simply transformed and everyone loved it. Crowds lined the street and we thank everyone who stopped by the Gallery while downtown. We invite you to do the same this Friday, March 5th, for a special night in the Gallery with artists Jesse Showalter, Susan Bordas, Doreen Alfaro, and Marsha Christo.
Jesse Showalter’s creative clay process begins on the wheel. “I have tried many media such as wood and metals, but my true love is working with clay. Throwing is like meditation, losing a complete sense of time and finding a quiet place within” he reveals. After years of making excellent functional ware he has discovered the joy and frustrations of the Raku and Saggar firing process using sawdust, seaweed, coconut shells, and even palm fronds as new ways of creating visual interest on elegant vessels.
Doreen Alfaro’s desire to make pottery started 6 years ago as a way to enhance her long career of catering festive occasions by using her handmade plates, cups, and bowls. As her passion for pottery evolved she became more interested in the sculptural aspect of clay while discovering the Raku process of firing. “Working with clay brings an undeniable bond to the earth, achieving great pleasure from the technique of alternative firings and connecting a natural and volatile process. Raku teaches the ability to embrace the results with a love for the element of surprise after every firing” she states.
Susan Bordas found herself falling in love with clay while traveling in the southwest collecting Native American clay art. She creates pieces that balance realistic and invented imagery with the structural textures coming from conversations with the clay. While using a variety of clay bodies the forms flow from organic to whimsical translating human emotions with an appreciation of transformations in life. Susan says “objects of art have the power to awaken our inner spirits and rekindle our spiritual being. I hope in viewing my work it speaks to you of the spirituality of the connection between human hands and the earth”.
Marsha Christo has evolved as a painter, printmaker and textile artist through a combination of mixed media, which encompasses both paper and cloth. “Like life, my work is similar to the ebb and flow of the tide, as it is forever changing, yet bonds together through process and material” she says. Impacted by tropical light, Christo a native New Englander has embraced this shift over the last twenty years, as it has clarified, “my jubilance for pattern, color and line, which pulsates as the catalyst in all that I do.”
Be sure to stop by this Frdiay for a glass of wine and a visit with these talented artists between 6:00 and 9:00 PM!
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