The Working Artist Forum (WAF) is excited to participate in the 2025  Waterfowl Festival, taking place in Easton on November 13-16. WAF members will  showcase and sell their original artworks, created in various media, at the Christ Church  Fellowship Hall located at 111 S. Harrison Street. 

The WAF works will first be featured on Premier Night, the ticketed VIP event on Thursday  November 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. The official Waterfowl Festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5  p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.  

The forty Working Artist Forum members listed below will be showcasing their work, many  depicting various aspects of the natural and cultural life on the Eastern Shore. This curated  collection highlights the talented artists’ diverse perspectives and deep connection to the  region’s heritage and environment. 

2025 WAF Waterfowl Artists  

Jane Anderson, Fern Loos Beu, Mona Birmingham, Pamela Chase, Ken Clark, Carol Cohee,  Lynne Davis, Nancy Lee Davis. Caryl Ersenkal, Nancy Fine, Donna Finley, Mary Ford, Doris  Glovier, Shirley Hale, Patti Lucas Hopkins, Betty Huang, Carla Huber, Laura Leigh  Kapolchok, Jane Knighton, Kathy Kopec, Marianne Kost, Pat Lang, Maryellyn Lynott, Mary  Ellen Mabe, Carol McClees, Carol Meers, Diane Dubois Mullaly, Russell Reno, Maggii  Sarfaty, Stacey Sass, Scott Sullivan, Nancy Thomas, Georgette Toews, Stephen Walker.  Sharon Waters, Barbara Watson, Judith Stevens Weaver, Maureen Wheatley, Lori Yates,  Barbara Zuehlke. 

For more information, visit https://waterfowlfestival.org/art-galleries/ church/ or contact  the exhibition chairs:  

• Lynne Davis at [email protected] 
• Sharon Waters at [email protected] 
• Kathy Harvey at [email protected] 

Join us to celebrate the creativity and talent of our local artists at this renowned event.

The Working Artist Forum is pleased to invite the public for a live talk and demonstration about Botanical Art and Nature Journaling on Monda, September 8 at 10:30 a.m. by Anna Harding and Diane DuBois Mullaly. 

Made possible with the help of Talbot Art, the location for this demonstration is the Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland. 

Harding is a skilled botanical artist and instructor, and leads the Botanical Art League of the Eastern Shore(BALES) which meets six times a year at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland. Mullaly is a fine artist who teaches Nature Journaling in the spring and fall at Adkins Arboretum. Both artists are certified as Maryland Master Naturalists and have undergone a year of specialized training conducted by the University of Maryland Extension Program, which teaches every aspect of the flora and fauna, geography and climate of the Coastal Plain of DelMarVa. Each year they must fulfill continuing education and volunteer requirements which, as citizen-scientists, engage them with the community through volunteering. More information is available here http://extension.umd.edu/programs/environmentnatural-resources/program-areas/master-naturalist-program/

Even though Harding and Mullaly are presenting together, their areas of expertise are quite different from each other. Botanical art is a precise, scientifically accurate and aesthetically pleasing rendering of a species from life or a photograph. Harding says, “Many times we have to rely on photographs when it would be very difficult to find a subject that we could bring into our studio.” Each piece of botanical art can take hours of fine illustrative work. There is a wide range of mediums that are used including watercolor, graphite, watercolor pencils, pen and ink and colored pencils. On the other hand, nature journaling is done outdoors in the field from life, creating a quick documentation of anything found in nature with sketches and notations in a bound journal. The usual mediums are ink and watercolor, and the information gathered can include the weather, the species, personal observations and feelings — even poetry. Mullaly muses, “I like to think of botanical art as representational painting from life in the studio, and nature journaling as quick plein air field studies done on the fly. Both are satisfying and almost meditative practices.” Both artists will bring examples of their work, and talk about opportunities to learn more about these two art forms. Mullaly will do a short nature jounaling demo with something from nature she has found outdoors that day.

The Academy Art Museum is located at 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland 21601. Please enter the museum via Harrison Street and go the Performing Arts Room

The Working Artists Forum is pleased to invite the public to a member’s exhibit from May 1 through June 30, 2025, at the Gallery at the Market at Dover Station.

The exhibit, titled “All Things Spring”, is in a dedicated gallery space within the Market. Opening reception is First Friday, May 2, from 5-7 p.m.

Enjoy light refreshments and a beautiful selection of studio and plein air works by 24 regional artists. 

Launched in 1979 by a small group of artists, Working Artists Forum – now with over 100 members – is a thriving arts organization with many vital connections within the Eastern Shore’s arts community.  Members exhibit widely, win awards, teach classes and workshops, and actively participate in arts events throughout our region.

The Market at Dover Station is a new and unique shopping, dining and social experience located in a renovated 1912 warehouse at 500 Dover Street in the heart of historic Easton, Maryland.

The Working Artist Forum is pleased to invite the public for a live talk and demonstration with Danni Dawson.

Danni Dawson received her BA and MFA degrees from George Washington University and apprenticed with Nelson Shanks.  A professional artist and teacher for over 25 years, Danni has exhibited her paintings nationally and internationally, and has received many awards including the Allied Artist Award, the Salmagundi Painting Prize, the Audubon Award, and an award for painting from the National Academy of Art and Design.  Her work has also been featured in American Artist.

With over 300 portraits to her credit, Danni Dawson has painted heads of state, dignitaries, and university officials as well as senior members oof the military and medical communities.  Her portraits ad still lifes are displayed in collections throughout the world.

The Academy Art Museum is located at 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland 21601. Please enter the museum via Harrison Street and go the Performing Arts Room on the 1st Floor

 The Working Artists Forum announced the List of Juried Artists for  Local Color 2025. The Juror was Christine Lashley, Plein Air Easton 2nd Place  Winner. The list of Artists Accepted in to Local Color this year include: 

Leah Bell, William Benson, Donna Brumbergs, Katie Cassidy, Pamela Chase,  Naomi Clark-Turner, Lynne Davis, Caryl Ersenkal, Nancy Fine, Donna Finley,  Nancy Galvin, Jill Glassman, Doris Glovier, Elizabeth “Diz” Hormel, Carla Huber,  Roberta Ingram, Kathy Kopec, Marianne Kost, Diane Joy Laird, Ed Lewandowski,  Mary Ellen Mabe, Carol Meers, Karen Merkin, Amanda Milliner, Crystal Moll,  Diane Mulally, Betty Papson, Martha Pileggi, Jose Ramirez, Jim Rehak, Maggii Sarfaty, Lesley Schless, John Schisler, Anne Singer, B.K. Slocum, Scott Sullivan,  Walter Urbanek, Stephen Walker, Sharon Waters, Judith Weaver, Lori Yates,  Barbara Zuehlke. 

The Exhibition takes place Thursday, July 17th – Sunday July 20th at Easton’s Christ  Church, and is held in conjunction with The Plein Air Easton Art Festival. Forty-two  juried artists from the WAF membership and local artists from the Eastern Shore participate each year. 

The Working Artists Forum presents its 21st Annual Local Color Art  Show & Sale which is held in conjunction with The Plein Air Easton Art Festival.  

Any artists in the DelMarVa Peninsula (MD, DE, VA) and/or a member of the  Working Artists Forum is eligible to enter. 42 Artists will be juried into the show. Artists must submit 3 images of their two dimensional work to the site. (Studio or  Plein Air artwork)  

Applications to enter and more information will be available starting on February  7th can be found at: www.WorkingArtistsForum.com/Local-Color. Applications  will be accepted online from February 7th until March 7th at noon. Questions can  be emailed to [email protected] 

Show Judge – Robert Simone, Plein Air Easton’s 2024 Grand Prize Recipient Show Juror – Christine Lashley, Plein Air Easton’s 2024 2nd Place Award Recipient

The Working Artists Forum proudly presents a demo by award-winning watercolor artist  Gary Tucker. Tucker received his BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in  Boston and has over 20 years of teaching experience.The artist is a nationally known  plein air painter and won 3rd place in Plein Air Easton in “23. 

Tuckers thoughts on watercolor as media: “Through the media of watercolor and my  process of painting I find power through brushwork, and subtlety through  transparency.” 

“Watercolor differs from other media in that there is a performance aspect to it. The fine  pieces come out in one sitting and very often like a classic performance, something  happens, a fusion of mind and subject, an improvisation that cannot be duplicated.” 

The presentation will be given via Zoom and guests will be able to watch and ask  questions. It is free and open to the public. 

Date: January 14th, 2025 

Time 10:30- noon 

Place: Academy Art Museum, McCoy Studio, 2nd floor

The Working Artists Forum (WAF) will exhibit small paintings from December 2, 2024 through January 31, 2025 at the Easton Branch of the Talbot County Free Library. 

This unique exhibit includes small paintings of a variety of subjects in a variety of mediums including watercolor, oil and acrylic paints and pastel pigments. You can contact an artist directly and arrange to buy a painting directly from the artist; artist contact information is displayed with the art.

WAF is a local group of professional artists who meet monthly to share artistic skills and interests. Most meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Academy Art Museum and artist demonstrations are open to the public. WAF members promote the arts in our communities and support art departments in local schools.

Stop in to see this show and you might find a perfect gift (a small painting) for someone special this holiday season or for any other occasion! While you visit this art show, take a few minutes to tell us which is your favorite painting—we’ll have a box where you can vote (from December 2—14) for the People’s Choice!  This image, painted by Maryellyn Lynott, was the Peoples’ Choice winner in 2023.

The artists and the library appreciate your visit—so please stop in!

The exhibit at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton at 100 West Dover Street will e open during normal library hours in December and January.  Check the library website (tcfl.org) for hours during the holiday season.

The Working Artists Forum’s 1st Annual Pretty in Pink Art Show and Sale, held on October 4 at the Waterfowl Building in Easton, raised $13,918 to benefit patient care and outreach programs offered by the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center at UM Shore Regional Health (UM SRH). Shown at the check presentation are (left to right) Rebecca Bair, Vice President of Philanthropy, UM SRH; Jeanie Scott, Director of Oncology Services, UM SRH; Kathryn Kelly, MD, Breast Surgeon and Roberta Lilly, MD, Medical Director, Clark Comprehensive Breast Center; and Working Artists Forum members Stacey Sass and Mary Ford.

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.