Ongoing and Upcoming!
The Mural Project
Progress! Progress! Progress!
Things are moving quickly now on The Mural Project! With each step forward our excitement seems to increase exponentially.
The paint work is beginning to really tell a story, the ceramic elements are nearly ready and all of the items found on Audrey's scavenger hunt are just waiting to be added!
Funding is made possible for this project through Arts Services Inc.’s Creative Impact Fund thanks to a New York StateSenate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature and the Office of the Governor, and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Through Audrey's Eyes
I have talked so much about where Audrey's inspiration comes from in past newsletters. I wanted to take the time to show you the world that inspires Audrey through her own eyes and how it comes together in her artwork.
Aside from her self created artist-in-residence trips, inspiration is really all about the acres of nature surrounding the Dowling's home, the nature that abounds at The Laughing Gull Cottage (their cottage on the shore of Lake Erie), and the creeks, fields and woods where Audrey was raised. She combines all of the elements that she experiences into stories that she brings forth in her art.
Stories from Laughing Gull Cottage
While Audrey takes a lot of photographs of the world she sees, you can see that she never actually works from those photographs. You will simply find elements here and there that she creates either by painting plein-aire on-location or from her memories within her creations.
These are simply the scenes that inspire her. Audrey's style of artwork takes the next step and combines separate elements of a scene to create the story of the world she sees. She calls that style "Interpretive Expressionism" as she interprets her visions into the story she wishes to show the world.
Art Trail Weekend is coming!
On August 30th and 31st The Portage Hill Gallery will be a part of the North Shore Arts Alliance's Memorial Weekend Art Trail studio and hub tour. We are excited to also play host to a few of our favorite artists. Tim Sievertson, Myriam Mayshark and David Gregor will be here along with a large selection of their work! We hope to see everyone come out to visit us and all of the stops along the trail!
Mural Project Update!
Each month our newsletter subscribers are receiving news and pictures of the progress being made on Audrey’s latest big project. The project that we have affectionately named “The Mural Project” coincides with the Mural Festival to take place throughout the county in September of this year and Audrey’s contribution to the festival.
If you would love to receive the early updates about the project that we are so excited about please add your email!
Always Learning
One would think that having been an active, selling, artist who works in all kinds of mediums for 50+ years, creating a new artwork would be a simple process by now: sketch out the inspiration and paint it. Then add the found materials and viola! A new work is created.
Alas, that is far from the process with this one!
Of course, we have already touched on the search for found objects which definitely took some time and thought. Even more time was spent researching and learning new things!
We have to give a giant shout out to the people at Golden Artist Colors. They provided a wealth of information and support that was above and beyond anything Audrey had ever expected. In fact, they covered all and more of the things that needed researching! Talk about top notch customer support!
The plan began with the intention to use marine grade plywood as a substrate for durability and weatherization during our harsh winters. Makes sense, right? Evidently not! During her many conversations with customer support at Golden Artist Colors, Audrey learned that they recommended NOT using plywood of any kind. Instead, the best substrate of choice is MDO sign painter's board in combination with a gripping primer as an added precaution. In retrospect those seem like common sense, but as a first time muralist, it was all new to Audrey.
Initially, Audrey had intended to use spray paint in combination with Golden artist's acrylic paints but she knew that she needed to research how they would bond together. Once again the people at Golden came through and recommended that she use an airbrush, the acrylic paints she had intended to use with a brush and Golden Airbrush medium for the elements that she wished to spray paint.
Audrey often uses an airbrush with her clay work, but not in her actual paintings. The past week has been spent learning how to switch from her clay glaze airbrush to the acrylic airbrush, mixing the paint and finding her own techniques using it. The new airbrush alone resulted in some quality time spent with the "university of YouTube." The new brush was completely different and far more complicated than that which she used for her ceramic work.
If you happen to stop into the gallery, be sure to ask about the mural project. We are so excited about this project and would love to show you the progress!
Funding is made possible for this project through Arts Services Inc.’s Creative Impact Fund thanks to a New York StateSenate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature and the Office of the Governor, and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Artist In Residence
Life has many twists and turns!
When the time came where I was reaching the point of starting to apply for Artist in Residency Programs at various wonderful places across the globe, it coincided with a time when I came to realize that leaving my husband of 50 years to fend for himself with our poodle for a week or two of painting was not realistic. He was starting to have mobility issues and needed my help on a daily basis. However, the appeal of focusing solely on my art, without the everyday cares of keeping the house and gallery running, rested in my mind.
Donald and I have always traveled and still enjoy it to this day. After a bit of creative thought process, I decided to give myself my very own generated Artist in Residencies by combining both our love of travel and beautiful scenery. We began to rent VRBO's or Air B&B's with beautiful scenes out of the windows and water feature backyards. Inspiring places to continue my practice of plein air painting on-location.
The only difference was that I would not have the input of other artists working nearby. Having been an active artist for over 50 years, and pretty much knowing my own art path made me realize that don’t actually need that input as much as I might have several years ago. I simply needed the time to be freely creative.
So, off we have gone! Donald reads (his favorite R&R activity), I paint, and Sunny, our high-energy, playful dog/kangaroo has fun!
To the Adirondacks, Lake Winnisquam in NH, and to Maine last year we have travelled. The land of waterfalls, waves, sunshine, tides, and water patterns inspire me and these trips proved to be better than any residency I could have participated in.
Next we are thinking about the midwest. There are always ways to explore and grow artistically! Maybe the next inspiration will be wind farms and sweeping agricultural fields folding into each other!
I'll know when I get there!
Audrey and Donald enjoying their R&R
Act 2 Of My Rural Art Journey In Westfield: Development Of Portage Hill Art Gallery
In part 1 I talked about our humble beginnings in Westfield and my art work during that time. While living in our rural cabin in the woods, I realized that there was nowhere to go to view and purchase the work of local artists all year long. A dream began to take root of opening a gallery to showcase not only my artwork, but that of other local and regional artists.
As the dream grew and began to take shape, I knew that it needed to be much more accessible than our cabin in the woods; both the location and the building itself. In the early 1980's we began the search for a home that would allow us to make that dream a reality.
Around the corner and up the road a few miles we viewed a home that Donald was quite taken with. It looked like it could have been transported from the homes in the area of New Hampshire where he grew up. A white Greek Revival home complete with tall white pines and 20 acres overlooking the Chautauqua Gorge. The location was as perfect as we could have hoped for, positioned right on the main road that traverses from Westfield to Mayville.
In 1983, shortly after our second son, Joseph, arrived, my dream opened in the formal parlor of the house.
There was such a need for artist representation that we quickly filled the parlor and added a second room of the house to the gallery. About 25 years ago Donald designed a gallery room to be built on to the two rooms that the gallery occupied which is the layout of the gallery to this day.
Those were very busy years for us. We were raising our two boys while both teaching school. The gallery kept us hopping! Today those boys are both in their 40's while Donald and I are both retired from teaching. Portage Hill Gallery is still going strong with the same mission as day one: To provide a place for people to view and buy local and regional artists' work year-round.
Retrospective: A Rural Artist's Journey will be opening on August 23, 2024 in the Octagon Gallery in Westfield New York.
Using artwork that Audrey has produced at each stage in life, the show will take the viewer on a journey through the evolution of her artwork, Audrey as a person, her family, and how Portage Hill Art Gallery came to be what it is today.
Artwork During "Act 2"
When we left our "back to the land" cabin more mediums and options became open to me. At the cabin we had no electricity or running water which limited my options to painting, block printing and textiles.
With the cabin's limitations removed, I began to pivot from the textiles and my treadle sewing machine to working with clay. I actually put away block printing until sometime in the past 20 years.
The new home and property allowed me to add studio spaces to the home and property over the years. In the garage I have a clay studio with all of the tools I could want for bringing my visions to life in clay. I have always used my love of nature surrounding me in all of my work. My clay pieces evolved to reflect that love by going beyond their basic creation to mixing my own, signature Lake Erie Glazes.
When the boys grew up and left home I converted their room into a painting and mixed media studio space and I have a similar area in our Lake Erie cottage.
My print making area shares space with the washer and dryer. I am truly blessed to have the spaces to choose from to create and express myself. Nearly every day I have art materials in my hands and I am creating.
The two pieces below, Ferns and Jack-In-The-Pulpit and Woods Sentinel were the first block prints that I had created in many years. When I had completed the blocks inspiration struck! I expanded from the block print to adding painting and then colored outside the lines onto the surrounding mat. This continues to be a strong theme in my painting and block prints to this day.
~Audrey
NEW! NEW! NEW!
Our last couple of newsletters have been so heavy with telling the story of Audrey's journey as a rural artist that we decided it was high time to just show off a little of what is in the gallery!
We have new artwork bursting from our seams! New artists as well as new artwork from beloved artists; it is everywhere we look right now and we love it so much that we want everyone to see all of it. So, here is a little sampling of the new artwork we have to offer!
Susan Simmons
Acrylic/oil on board
Right: Panama Rocks
Below: Blue Heron Overlook in Winter
Myriam Mayshark
Pastel painting
Right: Radical Blooms
Below: Wave 2
David Gregor
Black and white photography
Right: Paris
Below: Wilmington
Nancy Nixon Ensign
Mixed media
Right: Blue Chair Bind
Below: Day at the Lowland
Carol Case Siracuse
Watercolor painting
Right: Apple Blossoms
Below: Creek
Angela Caley
Mixed media on round wood
Right: It Echoes
Below: Can I Kick It?
Audrey Kay Dowling
Water media
Right: Willow Trees in Swift Water
Below: Sinuosity
Don't forget! We hope to see you at Retrospective: A Rural Artist's Journey which will be opening on August 23, 2024 in the Octagon Gallery in Westfield New York.
Now open for our Summer Hours!
Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Sunday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Retrospective: A Rural Artist's Journey
Retrospective: A Rural Artist's Journey will be opening on August 23, 2024 in the Octagon Gallery in Westfield New York.
Using artwork that Audrey has produced at each stage in life, the show will take the viewer on a journey through the evolution of her artwork, Audrey as a person, her family, and how Portage Hill Art Gallery came to be what it is today.
The Early Years:
Preparing for my retrospective show has been an interesting journey down memory lane for me.
While sorting through pieces from the past I am learning things about my work that I had never noticed before. My artwork shows distinct different time periods starting with coming to the area from the Hudson Valley.
Donald and I made the decision to start out family in western New York, where most of my family lived. It all began by looking for property during our summer visits before having children. We looked at various country properties and chose to settle on about 80 beautiful acres in Westfield. Using just a chainsaw and our VW van as a camp, we built a rustic cabin on the edge of a field overlooking Lake Erie. The location provided amazing, panoramic, sunset views that live in my mind to this very day.
While living in our "back to the land" cabin we had two goats, chickens, our dog, a large garden and added two wonderful baby boys. Life was quite idyllic for me as a stay at home Mom. As a young artist during these years I was limited in the art mediums I could use because we did not have electricity. I focused on fiber arts created by contour drawing with my treadle sewing machine and block printing onto fabric. My work was mostly biographical and tells the visual story of a young wife and mother.
While living in our cabin Donald and I also fell in love with Westfield where we were welcomed by fellow "back to the landers," and fellow artists. Donald was welcomed by and became a member of the local Rotary Club. Being involved with the local community lead me to join together with a jeweler, potter and fine wooden instrument maker to form the Chautauqua Crafts Alliance. All of these years later, that organization is still operating and puts on the two juried shows at Bestor Plaza on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution each summer.
Little did I realize at the time, my western New York artist's journey was just beginning. Look for our next newsletter for a snippet of the next phase of my journey!
~Audrey
Beginning Another Summer Art Season!
Memorial Day Weekend and another successful Art Trail Hub Crawl are behind us already. It was a wonderful, busy weekend! We want to thank everyone who came out to visit! We truly enjoyed meeting art lovers both old and new! Thank you for sharing your weekend with us and allowing us to share the beautiful works of art with you!
Gallery Happenings and Events
Opening on August 23, 2024 and running through September 13, 2024 A Retrospective: A Rural Artist's Journey will be on display at The Octagon Gallery in the Patterson Library in Westfield, New York. The show will feature a display of Audrey's work throughout her career as an artist. A reception will be held on the 23rd from 5:00pm to 7:00pm where Audrey will be present to talk about her journey as a rural artist.
On September 10, 2024 Audrey will also be giving a presentation titled "Art as an Economic Developer" where she will talk about how art can support the community and the community can support artists to build a thriving tourist economy in small town America.
Please come out and join us!
Rhythms
Fall..aww yes, fall! Breathe deep and look out of your eyes! Beauty is everywhere. My favorite season!
The rhythms of life slow; Mother Nature puts on a glorious show and life turns towards family and the harvest; time seems to meander along a bit more slowly than it has since the winter came to an end.
After the hustle and bustle of the summer season in Western New York, I think a lot of us look forward to a different rhythm in life. Fall is my time for artistic renewal. I know most folks consider the spring to be the renewal, but the longer and cooler nights, arrival of the crispy air without A/C, and the slower pace are all welcome changes for me and my art studio routines.
We are only in to the first few weeks of September, but already my hands have found themselves in clay; I have ordered an update of kiln shelves and my mind is spinning with new thoughts of clay, paint, print making and mixed media pieces that the fall, winter and spring studio hours will bring forth.
People often are interested in artists' methods and how the creative process works. I think every artist has their own rhythms and ways of working, but they all come down to the rhythms we experience in life. My process is simple. I usually head into whichever studio I have chosen for any given day with some sort of loose plan of what I will be creating. I like to have that looseness that leaves space for my ideas to change, evolve, and for embellishment that I hadn’t considered until my hands are creating. For example, I might roll out a clay slab with some sort of idea in mind, but I really like to play with the fluidity of clay and let the piece just happen. My process is much the same with all mediums because it is ever so much fun for me (I am not a list maker either- so I think those go together.) I accept the unexpected and flow with random thoughts to dig deeper and explore unforeseen options. I am lucky that at this point my hands know the techniques which allows my mind to freely explore. Ahh.. the joys of artistic freedom!
What else do I do for inspiration and joy? Inspiration and joy are found everywhere if only you look. I read books, go to movies, listen to music, look out of my eyes, take walks in the woods and along waterways, take photographs, draw from real life, attend gallery events, talk to friends and gallery visitors, love my husband, my family, and my dog. You know, the usual stuff of a full and busy life! All of it is inspiring if only you open your mind.
I hope you, too, will enjoy the change of rhythms as we head around the year and the seasons.
A Message From Nature
As an artist inspiration and vision are important, but only a very small part of the process of creating impactful artworks. When symbolism and interpretation starts to work into an artist's work the fun begins for both the artist and the collector. Growing past creating with realism as a goal and moving into a place of story telling and narration moves an artist's work into a deeper place. You don't have to go to many major worldwide art museums to realize that artists narrate the world around them through their work, no matter the medium they choose. Enduring, memorable and impactful artwork has a powerful message behind it. For me, symbolism runs heavily through my work. Queen Of The Woods and Keeper of Secrets have become powerful messages from nature that the world needs to recognize and act upon.
Growing up my sister and I were always great lovers and climbers of trees. We called our favorite climbing trees “wishing trees” and when it came time for our father to cut firewood we would tell him that he could not cut those trees.
Being immersed in nature both as a child and an adult has made me acutely aware of the impact that we humans have on our natural environment and particularly on the giant maple trees. I noticed that the maples were weakened, dying or damaged all up and down my road and began to do some research into why it was happening. I went so far as to consult with retired biologists who have studied all plants extensively. Those minds who study and know confirmed my early computer findings of various causes of maple death including the impact of natural verticillium wilt in the soil becoming active, salt on the roads, and compaction of the soil around the roots by humans. They also reminded me that trees do have life spans and some of the maple death was due to age as well. They also showed me the beech trees towards the back of my property that were dying and how you can see it in their leaves. They also shared that there is a problem with oak wilt starting to come into the county. That will no doubt show up in my future work.
While Queen Of The Woods shows the majesty of the maple as well as the wildlife who make their homes in them, Keeper of Secrets uses Queen Of The Woods along with symbolism to spread the message about the perils affecting her. It invites the viewer to look closer and learn about what is happening to nature around us. Can you spot the symbols in my work?
In my lifetime chestnuts, elms, ash, hemlocks, and now beech trees are under stress or gone. To add maples to the list makes me wonder just how our hardwood forests will look in the future. Part of my hope is always to practice good stewardship and leave the earth better than I found it! Ask me the back stories on my individual pieces, I love to share my vision!
Inspiration: Woodlands
Using the literary device of foreshadowing, I mentioned having two main muses for my work-my love of water, explained in the last newsletter, and in this newsletter, I will focus on my love of the woods.
I had an idyllic childhood spent roaming 52 acres of woods, fields, and creeks. The woodland was mysterious to me throughout every season. During the hot days of summer we would take family walks through the woods, going out with my Dad as he harvested firewood for our long winters. Our woodland was at the top of a long, dry climb up a steep hill for my young legs. The woodland was edged by a stand of tall pines and when we would reach that point, the sudden cool relief from the beating sun in the field was magically wonderful. I can still feel it in my mind. The woodland was deep, dark and cool.
The deeper woods behind the pines contained hardwood acres. Ashes, maples, tulip poplars, oaks and other nut trees of various sorts all grew straight and strong on the hill high above the Bemus Creek. Light danced through their canopies and splashed on our faces when we looked up through the branches catching glimpses of the sky and sun peeking through. It was cool, quiet, fertile, and full of wonder for me. I imagined how the first settlers to the area found this land very much like this. I would pretend I was one of them walking through and making my own trail. I learned the plants that grew there and grew to recognize the trees by their different barks. We even had some less common trees like ironwood with its sinuous dense dark gray bark texture and shagbark hickories that were covered with a rough and loose brown bark texture.
All of these things were permeating my mind and falling together into a feeling that being in the deep woods always gives me. I have wandered all over the United States, camping in various regions. Everywhere there are woodlands the feeling is there, but there is something about the eastern woodlands has always moved me just a little more. It’s the smell, the regional birds singing, the plant life, the fungi, the trees, the paths created by wildlife, deer bounding away, and the woods soil all coming together in my brain and residing in my soul. Footprints left by the native inhabitants of the animal kingdom in the more wet areas, evidence of birds in random feathers and an occasional fallen nest or egg fragment, bones left behind by animals that had perished all spoke to me. Flowers emerging in the spring were sources of beauty and joy.
So much to love and so much to be inspired by. So, I still turn to those experiences and feelings in my current work after all of these years. I still “forest bathe” whenever the opportunity presents itself and I draw directly on clay, paper, canvas, and block printing tiles to share this deep love and joy that the woods bring to me through my work.
It is no surprise to me that we have come to know the importance of nature and woods walking to our health.
What to see and do in Chautauqua County:
Chautauqua Institution
Portage Hill Art Gallery is blessed to be just a few short minutes drive outside of the main gate of The Chautauqua Institution which is the largest visitor attraction in the area; drawing more than 100,000 people who visit each year.
Founded in 1874 as a teaching camp for Sunday-school teachers, it has operated every summer since and has expanded to offer arts, education, religion and music.
In 1973 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the majority of the property was designated as a National Historic Monument in 1989.
Visitors can plan to visit for an event, day, week, month or the entire nine week season where they can take part in multiple programs offered each day. Beautiful parks, homes, gardens and architecture are in abundance on the 2,070 acre grounds. Walking or biking the quaint roadways is an attraction in itself. The main daily activity outline incudes devotional services, morning lectures, afternoon programming followed by evening entertainment.
Throughout each day there are culturally rich and diverse classes offered in music, art, dance, drama and general topics. Many large events take place throughout the season ranging from art shows, nationally and internationally known concerts, religious events, plays, the Chautauqua Ballet Company, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, health and wellness, literary events, and so much more!
Children are not forgotten at Chautauqua! A pioneering developmental Children's School is offered each day for preschool aged children which incorporates other Chautauqua programs in music, drama, arts and recreation. As children get older the Boys and Girls Club is one of the oldest day camps in the United States offering activities such as volleyball, sailing, swimming, field games and the arts.
The Chautauqua Institution is truly a place for the entire family to relax or to be busy and active. It is a gated community and passes are necessary during the nine week season with the exception of Sundays when the gates are open to the public. For more information on purchasing gate passes, planning a visit or upcoming events at The Chautauqua Institution visit their website at www.chq.org
Mní wičhóni (Water Is Life)
People are often curious about where an artist finds their inspiration. For me there are a few consistent places that I draw from: Water and woods
The saying water is life comes from the Lakota phrase Mní wičhóni which translates to "it gives life." Not only is water life to the Native cultures, it is sacred. I truly believe it is also sacred in my life as well. I need to be near it, see it, watch it, touch it and to create from it.
We start our Earth journey immersed and floating in water. That level of understanding and experience resides deep within us throughout life. Before conception, the influence of previous generations is imprinted into the components that make up our DNA. I come by my love of water naturally through those genetic pieces. My paternal grandfather was a sea captain and my father was a Chief Engineer at sea traveling the globe for 15 years.
Not only is water imprinted in my DNA, but I have also lived my entire life with water flowing through it prominently. As a child I was raised on Bemus Creek in Chautauqua County and I think that water runs through my veins to this day.
In high school our family moved to Brooklyn where we would visit the ocean at Jacob Riis Park and Jones Beach Park throughout the entire year. I can remember watching the breakers and counting their rhythms, smelling the salt air, and watching it's ever changing form.
As an adult, most of the homes I have owned involved living on or near water. From our first home on the shores of the Hudson to 80 acres on the Little Chautauqua Creek, and now in front of the Chautauqua Gorge with shared time at our cottage on Lake Erie. Water always has been and always will be a prominent touchstone in my life.
I love drawing, painting, sculpting and just watching water of all kinds. The rhythms, textures, colors, lines, movement, interplay with rocks, quiet placid moments juxtaposed against wild turbulence...
Water is ever changing and never fails to inspire me.
Water IS life.
Pam Spermulli Book Signing at the Gallery
We are so excited to host graphic illustration artist Pam Spremulli who will be signing copies of the new book Chautauqua Dog Love which she illustrated beside writer, Lorrie Happ.
Pam's artwork is as happy and unique as Pam herself. It is no wonder that it has ended up in places such as the Volkswagen Headquarters in Wolfsburg Germany, The Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, OH.
At PHG we are lucky to not only have the book, Chautauqua Dog Love, but also several original works by Pam Spremulli available for purchase.
We hope you will join us on August 12th, 2023 from 1:00pm to 3:00 pm to meet this amazing artist and take home your own copy of Chautauqua Dog Love.
Welcome To Portage Hill Art Gallery
Summer 2023 Getting it's Groove at Portage Hill Art Gallery
All seasons are busy for our art and gallery life in one way or another. Traditionally the winter months are time to renew and recharge and explore all possibilities artistically in my clay, printmaking and painting/mixed media studios. Time slows down, snow accumulates outside the windows, the wood stove gives off gentle heat and I even take time to read on occasion! My favorite part of winter is the uninterrupted studio hours..
Then spring rolls in and things begin to accelerate.
Spring 2023 was very unusual with extra chaos thrown in for spice. April 1st (yes, that day of tricks) a storm blasted through with a venegeance. After leaving 12 trees down with one on the roof, the winds subsided leaving much work to be done. The warmer temperatures however, weren't forthcoming which created some iffy spring weather for spending weeks in the clay studio. I like to wait for spring warmth to really dive in and it was a winter that did not want to quit!
Summer has finally arrived and brought all of it's inspiring beauty with it! I am busy working in all of my studios and the gallery is in the full swing of the busy season. It is so wonderful to get to say “hello” to long term gallery friends and meet lots of new folks as well. We are very blessed to be in our 41st season. Lots of new work to enjoy and add to your home.
Something Special Staffing at PHG!
My talented gallery assistant, Michelle, has returned to spend the summer with us but, we have also added Francesca Woolson, an artist intern.
Fran is a 2022 graduate of Fredonia Central School who is attending college at the Maine College of Art and Design in Portland, Maine. Fran is my first intern here in the gallery. Although I had been approached to have an intern many times in the past, it was not something I was interested in doing. The professional manner in which Fran applied and the strength of her portrait work melted me to the idea (Add knowing her parents and her private art teacher, who recommended her highly, I was sold!)
Fran will tell you that she was born to all things artistic and she can remember creating artwork as young as 6. During her early teen years Fran was heavily involved in ballet and fully believed that was where her future lay. When the pandemic hit she found herself with down time to create in other ways. As time and projects passed she began to see that the potential was nearly limitless with her artwork and painting.
The best part of having an intern for me is that she is taking me out of my comfort zone and we are doing some deeper exploring into the mediums that I use regularly. I love to paint and draw so, I have always loved hand painting my block prints into one of a kind variations. I have thought about multi-color reduction printing and have tried a few in the past, but had not been totally happy with the results. Wanting to teach Fran the proper way to create a multi-color reduction block print has us both off and rolling. We are currently on the third color of my Nasturium print block and so far so good! Working together with Fran slowed me down enough to do it deliberately this time. All in all, a grand experience for both of us!
When asked what Fran's favorite part of working in the Portage Hill Gallery Studios her immediate response was "Clay. I've enjoyed working with the clay a lot more than I expected to." When Michelle asked if that would influence her future class choices she said that she had a clay class coming up, but that might just become more clay classes!
Fran has been a delight to have in my studios and I look forward to getting her acquainted with the sales and business end of gallery owning in the future weeks. Stop by and meet this wonderful, aspiring artist!
New Clay Work is here!
After a winter spent attending workshops and learning new things, much of the past couple of weeks have been focused on working in the clay studio.
As with all of my work, creating a unique and individual style is deeply important to me. I want pottery lovers to see a piece that I have created and immediately know that it is an AKD work. Part of my method for creating my unique style in pottery is to mix my own glazes.
While there are many beautiful commercial glazes on the market, none of them seemed to quite capture the colors, depth and feel of Lake Erie. Mixing my own glazes and layering them creatively allows me to express so much more of what I see when gazing into the depths of our beloved lake.
One of the our most popular pottery items with customers visiting the gallery is a design that I created and copyrighted in the 1980's for arranging cut flowers.
When met with the frustration of drooping flowers in wide, open-mouthed vases, I realized that I could make something to solve this problem! And so, the AKD flower arrangers were born.
Over the years many flower lovers have purchased these pots for themselves and their flower loving friends and family.
A whole new batch just came out of the kiln and they won't last long!
What to see and do in Chautauqua County: Mayville
Each of the little towns and cities in Chautauqua County has so much to offer visitors and the little town of Mayville is bursting at the seams with things to see and do. We thought we would share some of our favorites with you!
-The Chautauqua Belle offers a daily schedule of steamboat rides on the lake.
-Follow that up with lunch or a cone of your favorite ice cream from Boxcar Barney's.
-If paddling along on the lake is your idea of a day well spent, kayaks can be rented at Evergreen Outfitters.
-Or you could take the whole family to putt a round at Webb's Hotel and Candies miniature golf course.
-Chautauqua Lake is a wonderful lake for skiing, fishing, jet ski's, tubing and just floating in the summer sun! The boat launch at Mayville Lakeside Park is free with ample parking and there are lifeguards on duty for swimming in the park!
-Is food your vacation jam? There are several area restaurants ranging from diners to fine dining.
-Local produce and artisans abound at the Mayville Farmer's Market every Thursday afternoon at the village park.
-How about antiquing? You are sure to find a treasure or two at Our Little Shop or HFM Emporium's indoor flea market.
-Maybe a hike is more your idea of relaxation? You're in luck! There are extensive and well maintained hiking trails that can take you from the old train depot for miles around the village of Mayville, town of Chautauqua and into the neighboring towns and villages. Maps of the trails are available free of charge inside the Chautauqua County Travel Guide. Stop by the gallery and pick one up today!
Welcome to Summer 2023!
After a trying winter weather wise we are back and rolling full speed ahead!
We are all looking forward to seeing you back at The Portage Hill Art Gallery!
Michelle is back as our Gallery Assistant and you might also meet our Artist Intern, Francesca, when you visit this year.
Francesca is an art student at The Maine College of Art and Design in Portland, Maine. She is spending the summer learning and creating with Audrey. Just recently she completed her first block print and over the past week she has been working in the clay studio.
Never Stop Learning, Growing and Creating
If I had to give a theme title to winter 2022-2023 it would be "Never Stop Learning, Growing and Creating.
This winter had a different focus than most for me. The year started with a wonderful watercolor workshop offered by Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society, featuring Skip Lawrence. People who know the way I work know that finding my own voice has been of upmost importance to me. It is important to Skip also, making this a great workshop week for me!
During midwinter I attended a special course about International Curation and Collage presented by Kolaj Institute of Montreal Canada. While there I met with artists from around the world. We really dove into collage creation on the international level and learned more about curating at that level as well. Really interesting!
May wrapped up my ever continuing education for the year with
a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) seminar in Syracuse. Artists who have attended art development seminars across the state during the past few years gathered together to share our arts experiences since attending those seminars. It was a wonderful chance to meet up with artists from all over New York State and reconnect with the folks at NYFA.
While not attending seminars and workshops during the winter months, much of my focus was on my art making practice in the printmaking and painting/collage studios. I am exceptionally proud to present one of those new works, a block print celebrating my favorite tree, the maple, which will be included in the “Art That Matters to the Planet” show at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute.
My piece, entitled “Queen of the Woods,” expresses both the joy and concern that I have for the large maples that I have grown up with in Chautauqua County. These trees are becoming distressed by climate change and other human behaviors that we have the ability to change so that they may continue to thrive. Below are two version of the work: the block and an enhanced block. The block will be in the show and the enhanced block is displayed for viewing or purchase at The Portage Hill Art Gallery.
The new work featured left, titled “Love Poem," is inspired by our Lake Erie summer cottage retreat which brings Donald and me a sense of deep peace and joy during the summer evenings!
When I finished this piece Donald took a look and named it for me- “Love Poem” indeed! Actually, all of my artwork pieces are love poems dedicated to the natural world I find myself exploring every day! We feel very lucky to live in the country where nature is everywhere as soon as we step out of our door!
I am now looking forward to having some summer time in the clay studio!
"Finding Truth Through Nature"
On Sunday, July 31, 2022 during our 40th anniversary celebration we will also be holding a show reception for Audrey Kay Dowling's new show entitled "Finding Truth Through Nature" which is currently on display in the Skylight Room at the gallery.
This show is the very essence of Audrey's work as an artist. Her inspiration comes from nature everywhere; especially that which surrounds her home and gallery as well as the cottage that she and her husband own on the shore of Lake Erie.
The works contained in "Finding Truth Through Nature" can be viewed and purchased at the Portage Hill Gallery from now until Saturday, October 29, 2022.
The show will move to The Western New York Book Arts Center, 468 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY beginning on November 4, 2022 where the artwork will be available for viewing and purchase until December 10, 2022.
Celebrating 40 Years!
We would be honored if you would join us for our upcoming anniversary celebration!
In July We Welcomed Two New Artists To The Gallery
We never stop looking for new local and regional artists here at The Portage Hill Gallery. This month we have had the honor of welcoming two new artists:
Woven Art by Mary Jane brought us several of her sumptuous woven throws and exquisite scarves.
Chad Lindstrom is a multi talented artist who works in many mediums. We are honored to add several of his abstract mixed-media paintings to our offerings!
July Artist Showcase: Karen Glosser
Talented photographic artists can be found nearly everywhere today. However, once in a great while one stands out above the rest. There is something truly artistic about their work that captures not only a photograph, but the very essence of the moment. They stop time and make the viewer not only see the image, but experience it with all of the senses. Karen Glosser is one of those fine art, photographic artists with ability beyond others. She uses many in-camera techniques for creating painterly and unique images that speak to the soul.
In Karen's own words she "took a roundabout path" to finding her love of photography. Owning a fashion accessory business, Karen often took photographs of the things that inspired her jewelry creations and posted them to her social media. Soon enough people were inquiring about buying her photographs and Karen found her passion. She taught herself how to use a proper camera and the rest, as they say, is history.
Karen's portfolio contains images from her travels about the world however, her primary inspiration is right here around her home. The forests, waterways and nature that abounds in Chautauqua County are the majority of her images. An ambassador for Blue Mind, Karen firmly believes in the motto: "Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do."
Although Karen has created photographs all over the globe, she and her husband Roy make their home near Chautauqua, New York. She has passed on her love of photography to her son, Cam who is also a photographer living in the Southwest, United States.
Many of Karen's photographs are available at The Portage Hill Gallery all year long. Karen herself will be at the gallery with a vast display of her work for the Art Trail event over Labor Day Weekend, September 3rd and 4th, 2022.
Preparing for Flow...
The upcoming one woman clay show at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Lake Okoboji, Iowa has been taking up the majority of the working time in and around the studio. I thought I would share with you a little bit about my inspirations for "Flow."
"Flow" is a creative process and, in many ways, it is also my inspiration. The things I see in everyday life are absorbed into my soul, interpreted and flow back into my art.
Some of my active sources of inspiration for "Flow" are water forms that I have seen in the ocean; in creeks and in my beloved Lake Erie which I get to watch almost daily from my cottage.
On the days that the lake is kicking up I can hear symphonies in my mind as the waves hit the cliffs with the drama and force of booming rhythmic drums. I love to capture and suspend that action of those waves.
On the quiet days I am inspired by the fish I see sneaking up the creek to their spawning beds. The creeks sing their unique song as they flow and trickle against their rocks. I love the birds that call and circle overhead. I spend a lot of time thinking about the interconnectedness of nature in my life. I am an environmentalist to the depths of my soul and it shows in my work.
My abstract work comes from a different place. It is a response to the man made structures I observe. Sometimes on my rides past the decaying rust belt outside Buffalo I see inspiration of a totally different kind. Artists often gravitate to being influenced either by the mountains and nature that they contain or to the man made structures in their life. I like to let each in and watch it flow through my creative channels.
While creating work for Flow I stumbled onto this quote by Lao Tsu that really says it all for me. "Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force" Lao Tsu
There are many pieces of "Flow" in the gallery. Come visit and take one home with you.
