BRATTLEBORO — During September, Strolling of the Heifers' Gallery at The Garden presents Pastel Visions, an exhibit of works by Southern Vermont Pastel Artists, Maggie F. Smith, Carol Stephens, Deedee Jones and Pat McPike. All four are local artists who have worked, painted, and enjoyed art together.
Meanwhile the rear gallery continues to show the exhibit Windham Grows, which consists of photographic works by John Nopper and Jeffrey Lewis, depicting past winners of the Windham Regional Business Planning Competition, along with interviews with the subjects by Elizabeth Stoumen.
The gallery will be open during Gallery Walk (Friday, Sept. 4, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.). Normal summer hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (except during special events at the River Garden). The gallery is located at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 157 Main St.
About the artists:
• Smith teaches French at the School for International Training Graduate Institute in Brattleboro. She has taught French and music in southern Vermont for more than 25 years. She began studying watercolor painting with Karen Becker, switching to pastels after attending a workshop with Robert Carsten. She has taken numerous workshops with him and other New England pastelists. She has also taken several art courses at CCV and the River Gallery School.
Smith has participated in several pastel art exhibits. She is a member of the Vermont Pastel Society, the Southern Vermont Pastel Artists, the Pastel Society of New Hampshire, the Southern Vermont Arts Center and the Monadnock Area Artists Association. She can be reached at [email protected].
• Stephens has been involved in the arts throughout her career. She graduated from the Arts College of Syracuse University, and studied further at Pratt Institute and NYU while working for Norcross greeting cards and then as assistant art director for William Morrow book publishers in New York, where she also illustrated and designed jackets. After retirement, she returned to her first love, painting.
She has shown her works in oil, pastel, and acrylic throughout Southern Vermont in both solo and group shows. She is a member of the Vermont Pastel Society, the Southern Vermont Pastel Society, the Southern Vermont Arts Center, and the Arts Center of Windham County. She continues her education and experimentation at the River Gallery School in Brattleboro. She can be reached at [email protected].
• Jones has been involved in artistic endeavors for as long as she can remember. After her children were mostly grown, she began taking classes at the River Gallery School in Brattleboro where she quickly fell in love with pastels.
She has almost exclusively painted in pastels for the past 11 to 12 years with a few diversions in watercolor. Contact Deedee by email at [email protected].
• Many years ago, McPike inherited her love of art from her mother who gave her drawing lessons at the kitchen table. To this day, it is creating art that provides joy, comfort, inspiration and magic in her life.
Contact Pat at her website www.patmcpike-art.com.