By Isabell Macrina
Hometown Weekly Staff
For the month of March, Westwood Artists participated in the annual gallery showing at Westwood Public Library.
To celebrate the local talent, the staff hangs the pieces on the first floor of the library for everyone to enjoy, and even buy if one speaks to you. This year the show was done a little differently. It featured ekphrastic poems, ones written by locals in response to the pieces. These ranged from local writers to students from the Martha Jones School, and all made you look at the pieces differently.
WPL aims to highlight different mediums of art. This month they had watercolorists Carol Ahearn, Elidi Chan, and Andrew Jonic; watercolor & acrylic painter Cynthia Senerchia; watercolor & pastel painter Claire Henry; oil painter Maureen Obey; photographers Karen Flowers Cagan, Beth Swinning, and Melanie Guerra; ceramic artist Lisa WB Walker; and even a felted wreath maker with Betsy Husted. The wreaths were a jump in the norm with wooden beads, felt, and so many more treasures woven throughout there.
“I go to that beach every year,” said library patron Beth when looking at Andy Jonic’s painting “Beach at the Old Weather Station.” “Some of my favorite memories are there with my parents.
Each piece had its own story to tell that made patrons stop and take a closer look at the art. Photographs of nature in its wild ways, painting renditions of an evening at a farm, even ceramic pieces done with such talent that takes your breath away.
And the written works are nothing to skip over either. From local writers Lynne Viti to the Grade 3 students at Martha Jones School, each writer looked at the art and expressed what came to them. Whether it was a memory, sensation, or a story that popped in their heads. Combining them with the pieces told a much stronger story than either alone. It was a wonderful exhibit and be sure to keep an eye on what WPL puts up next.
