What does a sail maker/yacht captain/Olympic windsurfer, a biotechnology patent attorney, a toxicologist, a nurse, pediatrician, stay-at-home mom, office worker, cook and deck hand on tall ships, a special education teacher, a computer consultant and a bank executive all have in common? Each is now an artist or artisan who for the first time will be on the 13th Annual Chestertown RiverArts Studio Tour, October 27-28 and November 3-4. As you might imagine there is great diversity in media and lifestyles; clearly, all have a story to tell.
Rick Bisgyer was surrounded by the graceful curves of both fine ceramic art and sailboats in his youth. For the last ten years Rick has been juried into national and regional shows as a full-time studio ceramic artist, creating curving sails rising as a motif in his work, inspiration drawn from his love of sailing. He chose sailing as his first profession, elevating it to an art form while working as a sail maker and yacht captain, before becoming a member of the US Olympic Windsurfing Team. He has displayed his work at a variety of regional and national fine art and craft shows having received awards in 3 dimensional art and best in ceramics. He has been represented by and shown his work in galleries across the country. He teaches in several community clay studios including RiverArts Clay studio.
Cindy Brittain creates inspirational photographs. Each one of Cindy’s photographs are spiritually charged with a wish, prayer or an affirmation, hoping to give strength and uplifting joy to the recipient. Her work tends to focus on beauty in nature, human emotion, light patterns, and water. It is her hope to turn a two dimensional piece of paper into a thought-provoking, inspirational, and moving experience. Over the years Cindy has “done it all”. She has been a gourmet baker, a cook and a deckhand on Tall Ships (the first Pride of Baltimore, Te Vega), and a commercial fisherman, She now teaches English as a Second Language for Chesapeake College, is a Spanish translator for the Kent County Public Schools and Health Department, and caters with Occasions Catering.
Norm and Linda Dulak are nature photographers striving to bring the beauty of the world to the viewer. They take control of all aspects of creating a photograph from image capture in the camera to processing to printing. Both Norm and Linda obtained Ph.D degrees in Physiological Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and had academic careers for a time. Norm also obtained a J.D. from Fordham Law School and practiced as a biotechnology patent attorney. Linda got further training in toxicology, worked for several companies, and then had her own consulting business for ten years. The technique of quality photography has been a welcome change of pace now that they are retired. “We’ve transformed our property as a haven for birds and take advantage of it for photographing local birds. The love of travel as well as the love of photography combine for some interesting times and beautiful photographs.
Chuck Engstrom tries to combine graceful shape with excellence of execution and finish in his beautifully turned wood products. Chuck thinks of himself as a self-taught craftsman though he has studied woodturning. He has taken many workshops with several world-renowned turners and studied at the Arrowmount School of Arts and Crafts. Chuck has done various woodworking jobs over the years. In 2000 he went to work for a shop that produced chandeliers with turned wooden spindles and was invited to take over that part of their production. Though devoted to his craft, he still works part-time as a computer consultant/instructor.
Breon Gilleran calls herself bricoleur or tinkerer, making sculpture from cast metals, forged steel, assorted detritus and found objects evocative of the Industrial (machine) Age. Breon’s most recent sculptural installations ask questions about memory and its power to change perceptions and stimulate the imagination. Breon has received many honors and awards both nationally and internationally. Her work has been featured in such publications as Sculpture Magazine, The Anvils Ring, The Baltimore Sun, and Baltimore Magazine. Breon currently teaches part time at Goucher College. She maintains an active studio practice and exhibition schedule, working privately with students and giving workshops at Area 405 in Baltimore.
Laura Hall is a life-long knitter beginning in her high school years. She makes hats, scarves, shawls, baby blankets, and toddler dresses. Laura is drawn to the knit shops’ lonely and beautiful last skeins; she enjoys the challenge in finding a place for each. Laura’s career is in Pediatrics. She has worked as a pediatrician for over 30 years in a variety of settings in Pittsburgh, Latrobe and now in the AI Dupont Nemours system with her office in Middletown, DE. In her spare time she knits routinely getting in an hour or so on a work day and more on weekends and off days.
Jody Primoff’s primary subject is landscape. She moves back and forth among different mediums and materials, painting in watercolor, acrylic and pastel, combining them with pen and ink and collage in mixed media pieces. Jody was introduced to painting at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, NY where she started taking art classes at the age of ten. After graduating from Syracuse University with a major in English and a minor in art, she studied with Reginald Marsh at the Art Students’ League in NYC. After she married and raised three children, she taught special education, while continuing to paint whenever she could. Now she is retired and her work can be found at galleries in Chestertown, Cooperstown, NY and in Manteo, NC.
Sabra Richards uses kiln formed glass and steel to create unique sculptures that can be placed indoors or out. The results are striking pieces which leave the viewer in awe of how a delicate medium of glass can be combined with the boldness of steel. She creates decorative tables and benches, a lot of garden sculpture, and wall pieces. Her work varies in size from very small to as much as ten or more feet. Sabra’s work is in many public and private collections, IBM, KODAK, Xerox to name a few. She is also listed in Who’s Who in American Art.
Maria Smith has been quilting for almost thirty years. Patchwork, paper-piecing and machine quilting are some of her favorite things to do. Maria took several art courses in high school and attended an arts college in Philadelphia, now known as Philadelphia College. Most of her working life was spent working in Philadelphia area banks, where she retired as an executive with a major Philadelphia banking corporation in 2001. She is a member of the Country Crafts Guild and has done shows in Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties as well as in Delaware and Philadelphia.
Barbara Snyder paints in pastels and oils. When looking at the landscape she looks for repeated shapes and colors. She is also interested in light and color and how they create contrasts. This results in painting the feeling of the landscape. She went to Moore College of Art for one year, got married and had four children which made for busy years. When the children were leaving the nest, she started painting, taking courses at Chesapeake College and painting with Terry and Pam Wolf. It was through them that Barbara had the opportunity to study at the Barnes Foundation for three years. She now paints at home and with the Kent Plein Air Group.
Heidi Wetzel is a fiber artist and basket weaver. She came to love art late in life and most of it developed after taking many workshops with different weavers and fiber artists. Heidi uses unique and indigenous materials as well as materials she brings back from her many travels. Heidi started out as an office worker, from file clerk to manager, then as a copier repair person, which she loved because she had to use her hands as well as her brain. She was a special education teacher until she discovered basket weaving. Heidi explained. “My craft turned into art about 2003 when I started using varied techniques and materials to create wall hangings and sculptural pieces
Sihnja An Whiteley’s work represents her two worlds, east and west. They are the synthesis of her life experiences and the places she has lived and traveled. Sihnja is popular for both her traditional work and her contemporary compositions which create wonderful atmospheric effects. She learned sumi painting as a child initially from her father and in high school in South Korea. She studied painting in private studios, at Washington College, and at workshops. She has been teaching Sumi painting for the last twenty years locally and at the Academy Art Museum in Easton. Her work appears at the Sumner Museum, the Willard Hotel, CIA, and the Torpedo Factory. They are also exhibited in Korea and at the Brazilian and Ukrainian Embassies.
For more information on the tour call Chestertown RiverArts at 410-778-6300, email [email protected] or download the studio tour brochure from their website, www.chestertownriverarts.org/events/studiotour.
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