1. One Door Closes Another Door Opens, Jamaal Eversley
Latex paint on found door
The Alexander Graham Bell quote is as stated, “When one door closes, another one opens…”, meaning perseverance goes to the victor. So let each “no” received stoke the fire of determination inside. Allow your spirit to burn bolder and brighter until they have to let the light shine through! In this piece, I’ve painted my iconic orange nerd motif known as Spencer Ward. Spencer not only represents the zany lovable nerd but also represents the Bold & Beautiful in us all. The color orange is associated with boldness, youthfulness, strength and endurance. With that said, Spencer and this painting stands for that “never give up, can do” attitude we as people possess. The pandemic closed many doors, but we have persevered to find new ones. What door will you open next?
2. Cultivating the Heart, Linda Hoffman
Steel, Bronze, Wood
Planting love, we will harvest love. Our planet is in trouble. We need to grow love— for ourselves, each other, and all creatures. That’s how the light gets in—that’s what we need to cultivate.
3. Dinoflagellates: life giving light, Marnie Sinclair
Theater gels, wood, plexiglass, wire, mesh screen, mirrors
The six sculptures simulate the various shapes of the one cell animal/plant algae in the top of a water column. The colored gels in the top disc reflect sunlight. Through photosynthesis these tiny creatures produce 40% of the oxygen we breath, bioluminescence (turquoise light at night), red tide, and nutrients for coral reefs.
Dinoflagellates, is my most recent piece for the Balance and Imbalance art show, a nature inspired art project that I have exhibited up and down the east coast. Each piece from this multi-media collection is accompanied by a scientifically researched story.
4. Lightweight, Liz Helfer
Chainlink fence, concrete, resin, steel
Lightweight celebrates a great weight lifted. A flock of small birds is taking off from a tattered enclosure, celebrating the freedom to fly. The birds perched at the base of the metal fence are opaque concrete, unable to take flight, while the birds on the edge are entirely clear resin, lightweight and buoyant. The flock is a direct metaphor for humanity in crisis during 2020 and the release many feel in 2021.
5. Menhir of Knowth, Julie Lupien Nussbaum
Ceramic, LEDs, acrylic rods, rebar, solar panel
Poem by Sylvia Lupien
Marks of the moon
Are etched in this tomb
Those Druids measured light
To tell day and night
6. No Walking on the Grass, Maria Ritz
with the collaboration of Rosa Boehm
Bamboo, plastic mesh and fence, dazzle twine and steel cable
This great billowing skirt draws inspiration from what I imagine a Mother Earth figure would wear to celebrate the beauty and bounty of nature. But here, “No Walking on the Grass!” speaks of the self-contradiction there is in endlessly optimizing our immediate comfort and wellbeing at the expense of the natural environment of which we are an integral part. The flowers are made of collected and repurposed plastic mesh: practical and pretty, but useless at nourishing, and ultimately destructive, much like manicured lawns propped up with fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. The light seemingly carried from the ground up by the yellow dazzle twine reflects the hope for a future motivated by regeneration and sustainability, and driven in part by the enduring power of the sun. So let the light get in!
7. Virtual Classrooms, Stacey Piwinski
Handwoven yarns and ceramic beads
As an educator, I began the school year teaching art remotely to my students. As an artist, in the studio I began to assign colors to the people in my life and put them into tapestries or “classrooms”. As with my students, many of the people I chose to group together had also never met in person. The randomness of each grouping of people, created surprisingly interesting results within the artwork. While in the classroom, I was also pleasantly surprised at the connections that have been made with my virtual students. In this way, the light gets in and a rainbow of color shines through even after so many challenges.
8. Roll into Day/Roll into Night, Bette Ann Libby
Recycled vinyl banners, returned house paint
"Roll into dark, Roll into light
Night becomes day
Day turns to night"
We pause day and night to breathe in the beauty that Mother Earth provides. These peaceful moments are available to all without concern of any other happenings in our lives.
The studio is my refuge where I find shelter from the troubles that plague the world. During Covid, I began painting the “Hello Earth” series. Grateful to share this vision with viewers and to bring hope and light to a healing world in 2021.
9. DANCE WITH DELIGHT UNTIL THE NIGHT, Gail Jerauld Bos
Flashing, wire, wood, latex paint, metal stakes
SUN BRIGHT MOON SHINE STAR LIGHT
EARTH GLOW
ELECTRIC LIGHT
We will dance with delight
until the dark night.
We will stop - first with wonder then fright
why weren’t we warned?
10. A Wing and a Prayer, Janet Kawada
with Karen Christians and David Stefanovic
Screening, paint and LEDs
This project came about from a collaboration done two years ago installed briefly on the campus of Haystack Mountain School for Crafts in Deer Isle Maine. In the spirit of collaboration, we would like to continue. Lighting the cranes, a symbol of hope and peace, seems like the appropriate way to bring to 2021 those qualities and give viewers and walkers something not just during the day but into the night. We will use solar powered LEDs to keep the cranes shining not a blinding light but a more subtle light.
11. Ring Them Bells, Madeleine Lord
Iron pipe stand, metal scraps, wires
Pick up one of the strikers from a holder on either side of the stand, and hit the metal objects suspended by wires. They are bells! Each is a different shape and makes a ringing or thunder clap sound. Play a percussion song of joy! Guess which will be a high note and which low and long. Two of you can do this together. Hurrah!
12. Reflections On Unlocking The Light Within, Jennifer Fuchel
Etched mirrored acrylic
Jennifer's installation invites visitors to look into the mirrors, contemplate the words etched on them, and reflect upon how they might find within themselves the keys to a brighter future and unlock the potential for a better world.
13. LAMBENT, Anne Eder
Natural and synthetic materials, solar lighting and phosphorescent paint
As we emerge from this time of pandemic and lockdowns, of political unrest and racial reckoning, what will we have become? As beings of stardust the light is carried within us always, and after our period of isolation comes a release of new life. Soon, I hope, creatures of light will emerge in lambent, glowing, gleaming, flickering radiance.
Inspired by the natural world and the process of complete metamorphosis, these sculptures draw on the forms of holometabolous insects, whose transformation is complete, yet they retain a memory of who they were before. Will we do the same?
14. LUMEN, Barbara Fletcher
Cut Aluminum, Metal Mesh, Color Transparencies, Mylar, Mixed Media, Exterior Paint
This creature shimmers in the light it dives it soars soon to alight.
The Dragonfly, a highly reflective creature moves with elegance and grace bringing change, transformation, adaptability and self-realization. This change has its source in mental and emotional maturity. The dragonfly is a symbol of hope and good luck lighting our way into the future.
15. The Orchard-Trees in the Garden of Eden, Allen M. Spivack
Steel plate; round and square steel rod; steel pipe; computer cables; assorted hardware
The Orchard in the Garden of Eden is unique-it provides a different kind of nourishment-the ingredients for life’s creation and the signposts that will guide our way. Some trees are luscious and in full bloom; others are harder to find, requiring that we search for them with intention and purpose. Trees are the perfect miracle of nature to be keepers of these values. Their roots descend into the rich, verdant soil seeking sustenance and stability. The canopy of leaves offers shelter, absorbing the toxins in our world. Miraculously, these toxins become life-sustaining oxygen! The trees command us: ‘Listen! Take in the world’s toxins and convert them into something precious.’
Name of Trees (left to right): Tree of Truth, Tree of Souls and Tree of Secrets.
Dedication: Robert Kaim and Rabbi Neal Gold for wisdom and inspiration and to Bernie Gredler for unwavering friendship.
16. Double Vision, Rebecca McGee Tuck
Steel, crowd sourced recycled materials including single use plastic packaging, Amazon mailers, t shirts, VCR tape, and balloons
In 2020 we were all told to shelter in place, remain in our homes and to be vigilant against the virus. However, it was not just Coronavirus that made us angry and fearful. After George Floyd was murdered it became clear that our country was breaking apart before our eyes. These two events were difficult and life changing for all Americans. In 2021, we started to see the movement of change and progress. These two events are the inspiration for “Double Vision”. Our view was obscured by the darkness of the events of a difficult year. While we still have much work to do and we continue to fight for our health and for social justices, we can now see a more clear path to a colorful future! Double Vision is showing us that we see light at the end of the tunnel but what drove us to these changes will always be in our peripheral vision.
17. The Pleiades/The Seven Sisters, Margot Stage
Aquaculture Oyster cages (cradles), mirrors, oyster shells, zip ties, steel rods and pins
In the dark of night, light reaches us from stars hundreds of light years away. The Pleiades, also known as The Seven Sisters, is a cluster of stars most easily seen in the winter sky. Astronomers say this cluster of stars condensed out of a cloud of gas and dust some 100 million years ago. The Pleiades lie some 400 light-years away. So we know the cluster’s stars must be very bright for us to see their light across this span of space. These stars are thought to be hundreds of times more luminous than our sun. In Greek mythology, the Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlas, a Titan who held up the sky, and the Oceanid Pleione, protectress of sailing.
Hilton (off site): A Woman's Voice, Gail Jerauld Bos
wire, wood, plastic flowers
WHEN THE WORLD IS SILENT ONE VOICE WILL BE HEARD*
A slope of painted totems.
Each represents a woman who made contributions to science or society.
Some made their contributions long ago and others are working today.
Many you will not recognize, ignored by history.
But their work has had powerful consequences.
The effects are reverberating around the world. *Malala Yousafzai