Wednesday, September 28, 2011

In the gallery -- October 2011

Don’t be Afraid! Come in to the Library’s Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery during the month of October! Slide in on a broom or the breath of a breeze; we're waiting for you! Even though October is usually filled with ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night, only artistic creations from the talented hands of Lynne Medsker and Gerald Villars are here to greet you.

Eighty year old Frankfort, Indiana resident Gerald Villers tells us that he has made "a lot of sawdust" in his life working for sixty years in construction, owning his own business, (Villars Construction) and now creatively playing with his wood working business/hobby Hoosier Wood Creations.

During his working career Gerald built new houses, remodeled old houses, repaired all houses, and put new additions on Churches everywhere and kept them in good repair. About fifteen years ago, when his body was asking to retire, he began working with a scroll saw creating signs and pictures as a hobby. His hobby has now turned into a very busy business, which pleases him no end. He uses a sixteen-Delta Scroll saw with amazing deftness, often quickly creating children's animals. He demonstrates his wood working techniques at shows and in schools, where children and adults love the magic emitting from his saw, and covet the results which he generously gives away. Come into to the Library and see for yourself this joy-filled man's collection!

Lynne Medsker, a Renaissance woman par excellence, exhibits complex experiments with texture, color, style and technique within the realm of collage, photography, acrylic paint, digital art, watercolor, clay and metal.

In her biography, she tells us that individual elements fused into strong compositions give her artwork a textural, multi-layered personality. Her "hands on" experience of physically shaping, coloring and assembling mixed media pieces is a fulfilling, sensory experience. She uses a wide variety of tools and processes to create her geometric shapes, organic elements, and often a balance of both; the subject matter generally being abstract.

Lynne has shared her artistic vision in numerous local venues, with a total of 20 solo shows in her home state of Indiana. Additionally, her work has been shown in a dozen states across the U.S., including Cincinnati, Chicago, Washington D.C., Phoenix and New York. She also has art in corporate and private collections in the U.S. and abroad. Sharing her enthusiasm for art, Lynne presents workshops, classes and one-on-one instruction.

Born in Cumberland, Indiana, at the time, a small suburb east of Indianapolis, Lynne spent summers boating, skiing, swimming and enjoying the natural surroundings of a lake near Nashville, Indiana. Nature still plays a huge part in much of her art! After 30 years of living within the city, Lynne settled in the suburb of Brownsburg, Indiana enjoying the peace and inspiration of surrounding woods, fields, and ponds with her family.

In her Artist Statement, Lynne says, "When she creates art she feels alive, as if this is the purpose of her life. It keeps her life in balance, letting her escape the tensions of the everyday world. Mixed media is such a wide-open area to explore; essentially art can be made of anything or any combination of things." What a freeing definition to have when creating art! She finds creating, experimenting and combining items from so many different sources intriguing. While producing mixed media artwork, she uses a wide variety of tools and processes. She finds the "hands on" experience of physically shaping, coloring and assembling mixed media pieces to be a fulfilling, sensory experience.

Regardless of the creative method used, the final result is typically multi-layered in appearance. Her work features geometric shapes, organic elements, or a balance of both. Her subject matter is abstract. As she gains experience, artistically and in life, her artwork evolves, becoming more complex, with more texture, detail and dimension. She challenges viewers to enjoy the imagery of her artwork and to discover evidence of the things hidden within the layers of each piece.

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