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Arts & Entertainment

Artists Light Up Venues at Downtown Receptions

Art gets personal when artists speak about their work.

With Winchester center transformed this month into a virtual residents find themselves surrounded by displays of This visual palette of color, image and design takes on more meaning when the artists emerge from their studios and talk with visitors to the exhibits.

In the first of three consecutive Thursdays Coldwell Banker and  hosted receptions where artists were on hand to discuss their creative process from inspiration to final product.Their faces lit up as they spoke of their on-going love for their craft.

Kristen Fitzgerald and Sue Clark could be found in the limited but cozy space of front office.

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Fitzgerald displayed a range of clear-eyed photographs, paintings and mixed media in surprising and fanciful ways. One photograph posed an adult and several young girls as Audrey Hepburn look-a-likes in black sheath dresses in front of Tiffany & Co. in NYC.

"It's an artful life," said Fitzgerald. "That's what I tell my daughters and that's how we live it-as a creative process, as part of our environment. It's a way of looking at everyday objects and expressing through them the joy they give us."

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Clark, who had been a chef, turned to the visual arts, to constructing decorative mobiles and other objects of whimsy out of copper and glass when her children were born. She began with courses at the Cambridge Adult Center.

"Once I got started I never looked back," said Clark. "I love it. I serve on several art organizations in town. It's important to keep art alive in our environments for both the artists and the art lovers. I lead two girl scout troops and teach them how to use their imaginations to create."    

At Winchester Wine and Spirits visitors met goldsmith Wendy Jo New, and painters Tony Fenn and John McConnell.

"I always wanted to be a goldsmith," New revealed. "I love the process of taking unique stones and turning them into a tangible design that adorns in ways that are often understated."

Standing with a varied display of her jewelry New explained, "I hold on to stones for a while. At some point a setting for that piece pops into my head and I start to bring that to fruition." 

"For me the impulse to paint started when my children were young," explained Fenn. "I'd sit with them when they painted and liked it enough to take it to another level."

"Painting still fascinates me, especially portraiture," he said indicating the portraits of women on display. "You start with an incomplete notion and end up with an image that has a life of its own." 

John McConnell recounted how his job as an architect channeled some of his impulse to create but left obsevations about nature and the moods they evoke unsatisfied.

"I needed more," said McConnell. "The urge to capture nature in landscapes with all of nature's changing subtlties in light and climate compels me to convey that experience of mood. The effect of the moon rising, the look of the sky as storm clouds gather-it stirs wonder and appreciation." 

Artists Receptions will also take place on the August 18 and 25th. Visit the website of the Winchester Cultural Council for details.

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