The Arc of Carroll County supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in their individual pursuit of a fulfilling life.
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Where ability matters most
Carroll County Times
3/18/2010
Paint and collage give Julie O'Marra's
At The Arc of Carroll County, “ability matters most.” And for the next two weeks, you’ll get a chance to see just how great that ability is. The “Art of The Arc” opens this evening at the Tevis Gallery in the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster, featuring works created by participants in many of the Arc’s programs.
At The Arc’s offices this week, I got a sneak preview as the art was being readied for its trip to the gallery. The stroll through the hallways was filled with one exciting discovery after another, not to mention the disappointment of staff who were bemoaning its pending departure. There are works in watercolor, pastel, tempera, crayon, pencil, marker, ceramic, collage, papier-mache and many mixed media pieces.
Julie O’Marra used tempera, markers and a bit of collage in “Mountain Village,” a wonderful scene with spiraled clouds reflecting yellow-green sun over high brown mountains. The appliquéd village houses in the foreground bring to mind the row houses of East Baltimore. It kept me coming back for one more look.
Working with just pencil and crayon, Colleen Cole fashioned “Psychedelic,” a vortex of color and texture that is abstract and full of motion, creating a maelstrom that draws the viewer in. Greg Allen places “The Elephant” against a spare, abstract landscape, with a few trees, a rock and a bush punctuating the swath of green grass against blue sky. Oil pastels enhance the vibrancy of Allen’s colors; even the gray of the blue-eyed elephant stands out, elongated body and reddish spots adding a hint of the surreal.
Nat Jarboe’s “Color Splash” is complete abstraction in red and blue primary colors with orange and just a bit of green for accents. Layered tempera creates texture and hints of purple and brown as colors intermix on paper. An aluminum-foil hand dominates Derek Grier’s mixed media work, tempera paint creating abstract patterns across the foil in turquoise, red, black and orange, with yellow connecting the hand to the black surface behind it.
Moving off the surface into three dimensions, Cindy Heinrich’s “Mardi Gras” mask is made of papier-mache, beads, glass baubles, buttons, feathers and tempera, in brilliant colors and textures. Gold glitter highlights features, making the face more human than mask. Tim Klim’s limited palette works to great effect in “Lavender Sky,” landscape silhouetted against marbled sky, swirled shaving cream and paint to create the effect. Betty Sue Wieber gives “Antique Butterfly” a stained glass look, using acrylic over oil pastel to give shine and depth to her well-composed work.
The exhibit contains several dozen works and is subtitled “Art that’s about ability.” Even more than that, this is art that’s about beauty and insight and an awful lot of talent.
It could hold its own in any collection. And it’s all for sale.
Pam Zappardino teaches art appreciation. Reach her at artzap@aol.com.
IF YOU GO:
What: Art of The Arc
When: Exhibit runs through March 30. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Tevis Gallery at the Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster.
Admission: Free
The Arc of Carroll County is proud of its