Kent Nature Almanac 2016 Photo Competition

Kent Nature Almanac

2016 Photo Competition

The winning images from the 2016 Kent Nature Almanac Photo Competition are now on display as Art at the Kent Library. The images highlight the beauty of nature in the town of Kent. They were chosen for artistic merit but also for evoking the joy of taking a closer look.

 

The Kent Nature Almanac, informal notes recording nature observations, is published monthly by the Kent Conservation Advisory Committee. To contribute your sightings and for more info visit: http://www.kentcac.info

The photos will be exhibited through the month of December. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the Friends of Kent Library and The Kent Conservation Advisory Committee.

Joann Zwolski Paintings on Display at Kent Public Library

JOANN ZWOLSKI 

ARTIST STATEMENT

Joann Zwolski works in a wide variety of mediums but in particular acrylics, and watercolor. She also creates painted collages. Her work visually expresses a passion for color, line and texture. The color red is her favorite color. Red symbolizes joy and happiness. Her palette is full of brilliant hues from a wide spectrum. Her line is a gestural line. Her work is inspired by nature. She combines both abstract and thematic elements in her work. 

Joann received her BFA from Pratt Institute and her MA from the College of New Rochelle. She has exhibited her artwork at several solo and group shows in the tri-state area and Delaware. She has taught art for over thirty years to students from kindergarten to high school at the Lakeland Central School District. Currently she teaches a drawing class to adults through Lakeland Continuing Education. She is on the Board of Trustees at the Putnam Arts Council in Mahopac, New York

Contact the artist at:

jzwolski14@gmail.com

Tanya Kukucka Paintings on Display at Kent Library

Tanya Kukucka

Tanya Kukucka draws on deep worlds of the unconcious

and the fantastic. She dwells within a place of

fears and dreams, nightmares and

touches of reality.

Her work reflects upon Death and Rebirth,

as she incorporates both feelings

of sadness and grace.

Symbolism is important,

from butterflies reprisenting the Soul,

to ancient texts depicting Shamanistic stories.

Her work is cathartic, as she believes

that she is purging her soul as she creates,

which becomes a cleansing and healing process.

More of Tanya's work can be seen at

www.TanyaKukuckaHeart.blogspot.com

She can be contacted at

Troutybean@aol.com

Karen Roff Paintings on Display at Kent Library

 

The Cherry Tree Series, a group of paintings by Karen Roff, will be on display at the Kent Public Library through the month of September.

Ms. Roff started The Cherry Tree series in 1988, shortly after she had  moved to Dutchess County from the city. There is an ornamental  cherry tree in her front yard  along the road that attracted her, and  she began to draw and paint this tree under varying conditions and with an  assortment of mediums. 

She had always liked Mondrian’s tree pictures from the early 1900s, especially one entitled The Red Tree, an oil painting completed in 1909-10. There was energy expressed in the twisted branches that filled the space of the canvas, and she observed the same type of energy in her cherry tree.

 This series later evolved to include other trees and the untrammeled growth on her property, and was the inspiration for a group of abstractions that were informed by the textures and structure of  natural  forms, and the sensation of ambient light as it selectively illuminated swaths of the landscape at  post sunrise and pre-sunset.

This phenomenon was a fleeting occurrence that would suddenly materialize when the sun was low to the earth, and  its rays would send  shards of light across the vegetation, causing her to run for her cellphone to record the vision before conditions altered.

While working on these abstractions that were concerned with the interaction and quality of lines, luminosity, directional forces, and contrast of values, she also continued to work with more traditional realistic views of trees, some of which straddle a border between order and chaos, and the three dimensional hybrid sculptures which are a combination of cement and branches and function as tree reconstructions.

Wendy Isler Alvarez | Artist Statement

I believe that creating Art is a transcendent experience driven by imagination, intuition and the excitement of discovery. As a child I felt that making art was a a joyful adventure and throughout my career as an art teacher I recognized that same sense of wonder and delight reflected in the work of my students.

I love the freedom of working in mixed media and my series of

3-dimensional wall hangings are created on the large frond bases of the Queen Palm tree. These powerfully elegant natural forms invite and inspire me to explore surface dynamics of color, pattern and texture.

My latest series, Kindreds, continues that exploration on canvas while referencing design motifs used by various cultures throughout time. In exploring these patterns I seek to create images resonating with essential energies that unite them to one another and to other creatures.

I greatly admire the work of earth sculptor Robert Smithson as well as the artist Rufino Tamayo and have also been happily influenced by the countless young artists I taught throughout the years.

But most importantly, the Apache and Navajo artists with whom I spent the summer of 1996 showed me the many profound ways Art can be informed by Nature and Belief. This transformative experience forever changed my creative process and I now always strive to celebrate the vibrant spirit of the Natural World in my work.

My website is www.wendyalvarezart.com

NORA E ROBERTO | ARTIST STATEMENT

My greatest desire while I work is to represent the beauty that is there.  The image arrangement must be presented in a way that is both acceptable to me as well as to others.
 

Working in nature brings me awareness of something already existing, something bucolic that has been created by a higher being, already done and willing to be shared.

Through careful attention, I let the scene and its elements inspire me.  Sooner or later, awareness of colors and shapes help me to determine what to sketch or paint.

Though drawing and still life bring me pleasure, there is nothing that fascinates me more than to be in touch with nature.  

I love to listen to the rushing waters of a creek or waves on a beach and to feel the breeze on my face.   

While on location and with great anticipation, I will set my pallet and begin to appreciate nature's colors and themes.  I become greatly inspired by the changing seasons as well as sun sets and clouds and leaves on a tree. 

All these and even more in nature motivate me to bring out a sense, a feeling, about those things I see.

Applying the paint on a canvas it is hard to describe the satisfaction it brings to me.

I am always fascinated with capturing little glimpses of what I perceive. 

June Exhibit

Dayna Wenzel

"Nature Wall Sculptures"

"Dayna was born and raised in Los Angeles in an artistic environment. Her father was a commercial artist who had his studio on their home property, so Dayna grew up in his busy workshop.  Her mother was a talented seamstress & teacher who taught Dayna to sew at an early age. Their family spent many hours at the beaches, mountains and deserts which imprinted a love for nature, reflected in much of Dayna's wall sculpture work.

After studying Textile Design and Graphic Design at Cal State, Dayna moved to New York, and later to Paris, where she immersed herself studying master artists in the premier museums & galleries in these environs. Her artistic passion is focused on fiber & mixed media. Often combining 'nature made' with 'human made' objects, she strives to transform both into fresh, thought provoking & emotionally stimulating experiences for the viewer.

Dayna's belief in the importance of recycling & the offensiveness of encroaching consumerism are reflected in her work. She seeks to elevate found items & items from nature beyond the mundane. Her curiosity leads her to utilize diverse, non-traditional, & unexpected materials such as wasp nests & rusty barbed wire. She finds that the versatility of fibers allows for a great range of emotions to be expressed in her work."

See more of Dayna’s work: dayna7design.smugmug.com

See Dayna’s exhibition schedule on Facebook: dayna 7 design

Contact Dayna: dayna7design@gmail.com 

May Exhibit

Amanda Lynne

"My paintings are a celebration of the beauty of the natural world. I have always felt a strong connection with plants and animals, and have been fascinated by the intense beauty they possess. I strive to share this love with my audience by observing deeply, with my eyes and the lens of my camera, and creating images with paint that joyfully explore the color, forms, and patterns that natural objects have to offer. My camera comes with me to all the beautiful places I visit, and my photos become reference for my paintings. Out of respect for the environment, all of my paintings are created on upcycled discarded wooden furniture. Table tops, drawer fronts, and cabinet doors are my preferred canvases.

A note about the dots: The Aboriginal Papunya Dot Paintings of Australia were the original influence for the dots. In Papunya Dot Paintings the dots form the images. I choose to paint my images in a realistic style, out of reverence for nature’s beauty, and then use dots in the background to add an element of fantasy. I find that the dots are very effective in depicting the blurry background of my photographs that I use for reference."

April Exhibit

Jeanette Rodriguez,
Alcohol Ink Painter

Painting Title: Sunset Hues

Medium: Alcohol Ink on Yupo paper

"Jeanette Rodriguez received her Bachelor in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her work has been exhibited in several galleries in New York and has won awards. Jeanette’s work is also part of several private collections. Now residing in the Hudson Valley for several years, she continues to exhibit, paint, teach and curates exhibitions. 

Her first solo show at the Front Street Gallery in Patterson NY., "Windows of My Soul" exhibited an extension of variety of artwork that truly showed her journey as an artist. Jeanette's work has been exhibited in the Akin Library, in Pawling, and other libraries in the area. As well as the Merwinsville Hotel in Gaylordsville, CT., The Gallery at Eastern Hay, in Pawling, Arts on the Lake in Carmel NY, Gallery 66 in Cold Springs NY and will be on exhibit this May at the Maplebrook Kentucky Derby Art Show, in Amenia, NY.

Ms. Rodriguez is also an artisan at the Pawling Farmers Market where she sells her Dichroic glass pendants and her Alcohol Ink paintings. Her alcohol ink paintings on yupo paper have a surreal abstract nature to them. With brilliant flow of colors that are mesmerizing. Her dichroic glass pendants have a stunning iridescent effect. Her work has been inspired by nature while traveling and doing volunteer work in Mayer Az and on the Big Island of Hawaii. She has taught ink painting and jewelry workshops in New York and on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

In the past two years Ms. Rodriguez has been the Curator at the Front Street Gallery. She has curated over 30 exhibitions in the Hudson Valley area. In recent years she is the Art Director for the Friends of the Kent Library. She is a member of Arts on the Lake where she curates a Traveling Art Exhibit as part of the Friends program. Jeanette has also been an active member of ArtEast Dutchess for three years."

You can view more of her work at www.visualgal.wix.com/the-artist

March Exhibit

Stephen Cihanek,
Photographer

"Stephen Cihanek is a photographer based in Pawling, NY. He photographs mostly weddings and theatrical productions. It was his photo of Red Riding Hood and The Wolf from the musical Into the Woods that inspired this series of storybook characters. 

He has shown work during the Red Show at the Front Street Gallery in Patterson, NY and the 50 Shades of Hay show at The Gallery at Eastern Hay in Pawling, NY. Other than at the Kent Library, he is currently showing in the Shadow exhibit at the Front Street Gallery in Patterson, NY and in the lobby of A Common Ground in Danbury, CT. 

Stephen is also the resident photographer and one of the lighting designers at The Brookfield Theatre for the Arts in Brookfield, CT."

You can see more of his work at www.cihanek.com.

February Exhibit

Terry Ariano,
Photographer

"Terry Ariano received her BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island, and later studied photography there. While traveling on bicycle in France, she photographed the countryside of Brittany and Normandy. She photographed street life and architecture in New York City, documenting the underside of her East Village neighborhood, before its trendy gallery era. Residing now in the Hudson Valley, she has turned from streetscapes to landscapes, capturing the light and beauty of the area, in places like the Great Swamp and along the Hudson River. Her love of history and historical things surfaces in her photographs:  crumbling buildings, odd personal collections, and places with significant heritage, like Rye Playland in the off-season, areas of Ellis Island closed to the public, the backstreet architecture of Hudson, the barns of Patterson; and curious local activities including the Pawling Triathalon and the New Paltz Phools Parade.

Ms. Ariano has curated numerous photography, print and history shows at venues including Museum of the City of New York, the Somers Historical Society, and in independent galleries, most recently at the Front Street Gallery in Patterson, NY, and the R Dixon Gallery in Seneca Falls, NY.  She served a stint as Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, and has worked as a theatrical set designer, technical director, carpenter, contractor, museum curator and exhibit installation preparator.  In recent years she has worked as archivist, collections coordinator and director for history, arts, and community service organizations in the Hudson Valley.  Her work has been exhibited in New York City and Hudson Valley venues, most recently  in New York at the Mid Hudson Heritage Center, Poughkeepsie, the Front Street Gallery,  Patterson,  the Akin Library, Pawling, and at the Merwinsville Hotel in Gaylordsville, CT."

Visit the library to see Ms. Ariano's work throughout the month of February.

January Exhibit

Stephen Rose

The Veil, 2013, oil on canvas


"This painting began as a plein air work on the Bennington College campus during a summer workshop.  It was then completed in the studio.  That process, from purely visual engagement to a more reflective one, allows me to recall the landscape as a mental/emotional/spiritual experience rather than simply a locale.  This begs many questions about what is real and what is illusion.  I’ve come to recognize that all of experience is grounded beyond (or beneath) the sensory world and actually resides in consciousness.


Landscapes, with their profusion of forms, textures, and atmospheres, evoke infinity for me.  Most of us seek out landscape experiences to, in some way, immerse ourselves in something larger than finite being.  I have tried to represent that yearning and, hopefully, some of the baptismal process of being remade through contact with something bigger than ourselves.  I have come to see that paintings themselves are like landscapes, ponds, skies, inviting immersion, travel, refreshment, … rebirth?


Why The Veil?  The line of trees block our way like fears and attachments rising up and keeping us from the big view."

Stephen Rose

www.stephengouldrose.com

srose@aya.yale.edu

facebook.com/stephengouldrose