Positive energy at former Whole Foods site

In the first few weeks of the Wellesley Community Art Project, some creative community members came forward with support, ideas and action. A new collaboration was born and has been made possible with the cooperation of Mary Butler of Haynes Management. Check out the new exhibit in the window at the site of the former Whole Foods Market.

Elizabeth Cohen

I’m a self-taught, independent studio potter living in Wellesley. Organic elements in nature such as flowers, fruits, seeds, shells and plants inform my work.

These pieces are an example of some of my newer sculptural work. They are inspired by botanical and marine life, as well as what I imagine might be a colony of "stuff" as seen under a microscope, greatly enlarged in scale. In my functional and sculptural work, I use the potter's wheel and my hands as my primary tools. The pieces in these two panels are composed of small parts, each thrown on the wheel and assembled while still pliable. The clay I use is porcelain, which has a high silica content and smooth quality. I like this clay body because it retains a sense of softness and organic sensuousness, even when fired.

 

Blue Walkway
Chelsea Sebastian

Since becoming a new mom, I spend a tremendous amount of time outdoors exploring Wellesley’s trails and parks. I find the quiet beauty of our community to be the source of my artistic inspiration. People take tediously good care of Wellesley. Shop owners and neighbors take pride in expressing beauty. Our community actively creates positive engagement. I feel very fortunate to live here and have the opportunity to contribute my art. 

My work reflects the colorful way I see life and my paintings explore the themes of nature, seascape, and international streetscape. I work with acrylics on canvas from my home studio in Wellesley. I am primarily self-taught, but credit my parents for my training, as both are accomplished artists.

When people see my work, I would like them to be drawn to the vibrant colors and to feel compelled to journey down a foreign street. Painting enables me to interact with the world differently. I pay closer attention to the life around me. I see depth, color, line, and texture. I study gestures and explore how forms relate to each other. I hope that my art becomes a source of pleasure for those who welcome it into their life. 

Think Spring
Heather McClurg

I have been involved in the Arts in one way or another throughout most of my life. As a child growing up on Cape Cod, and in early adulthood, I spent many hours studying and performing dance, piano and flute.  While studying at Tufts University I immediately got involved with a student-run dance company and became a choreographer.

My husband and I have lived with our children in Wellesley almost entirely since 1992. During the period when my children were very young I jumped at every opportunity to nurture their creative side (and mine). Often I would volunteer in the classroom for any arts/crafts projects. A few years ago the time seemed right to find a dedicated space and the time to work on creative projects. I took several painting classes and fell in love with abstract art and mixed media.

I cherish my time spent creating pieces and love to work in one of my newer, challenging mediums, encaustic painting. This winter I am also looking forward to expanding into jewelry and metal arts.

Seth Lewin

Born and raised in Brooklyn (hence the bridge photos), Georgetown Medical School in DC, have been in Mass since 1972, in Needham since 1975. Have done photography as a hobby since the early 1960s, was photo editor of my college newspaper, used to do my own B&W darkroom work, went all-digital about 12 years ago. The bulk of my photos over the past half-dozen years have been of my two granddaughters however I like to get in some pix of railroads (another hobby of mine) and landscapes (mostly around Chatham) & architectural landmarks.

I had long wanted to get into large-format work; finally bought myself a Canon IPF6350 12-color inkjet capable of printing on 24” roll stock. I use a fully color-managed workflow on my Mac using Photoshop as my editing software and a Canon EOS 5D with 24-70 and 70-200 f/2.8 L-series zoom lenses. This photo was shot hand-held on a sunny day in October; the sky actually was a very deep blue that day. The photo hasn’t been doctored in that regard.