For the month of March, we are exhibiting a traveling display from SITES (Smithsonian Inititute Traveling Exhibition Service). It's titled Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II.

From the SITES website: "After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the United States entered a war in Europe and the Pacific, the nation was overcome by shock, anger, and fear—a fear exaggerated by long-standing prejudice against Asians. In response, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This order sent 75,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry and 45,000 Japanese nationals to incarceration centers.
 
Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II traces the story of this incarceration and the people who survived it. Young and old lived crowded together in hastily built camps, endured poor living conditions, and were under the constant watch of military guards for two and a half years. Meanwhile, brave Japanese American men risked their lives fighting for the United States. Some 40 years later, members of the Japanese American community led the nation to confront the wrong it had done—and urged Congress to make it right.
 
This important new traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will bring heart-wrenching personal stories, fascinating documents, stunning photographs, and engaging interactives to audiences across the nation. Embracing themes that are as relevant today as they were 75 years ago, the exhibition takes a deep look at immigration, prejudice, civil rights, heroism, and what it means to be an American."

Visit the display and check out related material including a newly added documentary Resistance at Tule Lake!

Art and libraries are a natural pairing as both are directed toward the development of the mind. Proof of this is now on display as eleven Lakes Region Art Association members artists have their fine art paintings and photographs on display at the Meredith Public Library for the month of June. Fourteen different works of art in oils, acrylics, watercolors and photography demonstrate, as much as any writing does, that each piece is a ‘short story’ that’s been imagined and ‘authored’ using a paint brush or a camera. The Meredith Library is open daily Tuesday thru Saturday.

Lakes Region Art Association Website

My name is Acacia Rogers, a long time New Hampshire resident, and I possibly may never leave. I love this State! In fact, the beautiful scenery, the lakes, the mountains, the trees, and the wildlife here have all been an incredible inspiration for my work throughout the years. I have been an avid painter for about the last decade, but have been drawing and creating all types of art my entire life. It was almost an impulse from the moment i could grasp a pencil.

 Being an indiscriminate animal lover, I started feeling out a potential artist career some years back by painting pet portraits for coworkers, friends, and family. The positive response and my growing passion kept me going. I have now expanded my artistic vocabulary to include still life, landscape, wildlife, and portraiture as well. My mediums of choice are Acrylic, Watercolor, and Oils. Though Oils have become a serious favorite. 

Since my late teens, the idea of being a self sustaining artist full time has never left my mind. In truth, I love painting so much that time spent focusing most of my energy on anything else makes me feel empty, sad, and like I'm not spending my time properly. I cant stay away. Now I am painting full time with full determination to make this passion work as a career, one way or another.

​Visit Acacia's website. 

"Wonderland Forever" celebrates Alice in Wonderland and its creator Lewis Carroll.  The multi-artist display features as small sculpture of Lewis Carroll created by the artist Valery Mahuchy who also sculpted the Archie statue in town! The exhibit will be on display for the months of March and April.

Stay tuned for a special Alice in Wonderland themed tea party in the children's room in April! Details coming soon.

A big thanks to Robert Rae for coordinating the exhibit.

LIGHT FROM THE NIGHT: Behind the camera
Jeff Fullerton
lightfromthenight.com/

My interest in nighttime photography is a combination of my engineering background and scientific curiosity. A high school photography class, taught by Bill Lane, introduced me to the science behind photographic images.  I learned that rather than requiring the artistic skills of a painter, the art of photography revolved around the understanding and control of exposure, depth of field, composure, and other technical variables associated with the camera, film and developing process.  This understand inspired my curiosity and imagination.


Shortly after gaining a basic understanding of the art, I experimented with the NikoMat FT 35mm film camera photographing in low light conditions using black and white film.  these early photos were not exceptional, but they were successful enough to inspire further experimentation in the future.


In 2001, over a decade later, I picked up the camera again.  I was eager to attempt to capture the motion of the stars in the night sky. After experimenting on two different nights in Meredith, NH, the results from that role of film amazed and inspired me to continue shooting. Since then, the camera has traveled with me on numerous business and pleasure trips to locations around the World.


At this time, I consider myself a nighttime photography hobbyist and these images are successful results from numerous experiments; part science and part art in how the events are exposed on the film.


Originally, the photos were captured using the fully manual Nikomat FT camera, which my father purchased prior to my birth. Being entirely manual, long exposures are shot with the “bulb” setting and a locking shutter release. Most of the photos were captured with a 28mm lens.  typically I used Fuji Superior 400 ISO Film. The film images were transferred with a high resolution scanner by a local camera shop that has since closed down (Cameras Inc).  I still use this camera for exposures lasting longer than 10 minutes, but admit it takes months to go through a roll of 24 shots.


Since late 2007, a majority of the images have captured digitally by a Nikon D80 and more recently a Nikon D7000.  Though I have embraced digital photographic technology, I introduce very minimal enhancements of the digital images.

Jessica Fligg is an award winning artist primarily working in oils. Jessica studied painting at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester. She works from her studio in Ashland, NH and paints exclusively en plein air. She started drawing at a very young age with her Great Grandmother and her interest and passion for the arts has grown over the years. Jessica studies how lines, positive and negative spaces, light and shadows work together to create a space and visual pathways. She is currently working on another round of “A Year in Plein Air Painting.” She paints at least one plein air painting a week throughout the year.

In this series, Jessica captures the world around her through each of the changing seasons. Jessica also enjoys working on still life paintings and mixed media pieces in her studio. She takes great care in seeing each piece from start to finish by hand crafting her own paint panels and building her own frames.

To learn more about Jessica and her art, please visit her webpage at: www.jessica-fligg-artist.weebly.com

October's Artist of the Month display is a special one hosted by the Meredith Historical Society! 

In a collaboration with VynnArt, local artists painted their own rendition of old postcards depicting the town of Meredith. The exhibit is titled, "Postcards from the Past."

"I started my art career as a graphic designer pursuing my first love, painting. For many years, I painted picturesque villages and seasons of New England but since coming to South Carolina, I have embraced the birds, marshes and ever changing landscapes of the Low Country.

My goal in creating art is to share the joy I experience in creating each painting with you, the viewer. "

Visit Marianne's website: www.mstillwagon.faso.com

Rebecca Harrison's Artist Statement:

"I am an artist who struggles. Not the same as a struggling artist though. It is because I am surrounded by so much that I want to paint that I struggle to know where to start!

For the past twelve years I have consistently taken lessons and painted along the way. In addition, I experiment with drawing, printmaking, batik, etchings, collage, quilting and love it all. So today my art is not just what I did in a couple hours, but a long history of experimenting. I am always starting and stopping and starting again. I just try and make art. Art is my visual interpretation drawn from many sources and many journeys of my mind and body.

I love color, I love to have fun and to be whimsical and to try and try again. I love to be bold and honest and authentic. I try not to take myself too seriously. I try not to take anything too seriously to be honest unless it is a serious manner. It seems I am a little impressionistic, sometimes realistic and often a little of both.

When I paint I am thinking about light, composition, color and intensity. But the light is really the thing. I love moonlight, sunlight, daylight, firelight, soft light, bright light and subtle light. I am drawn to the outdoors and plein air painting in the summer and find myself in the studio in the winter and a little of both in between. I love the creative process. If the end result is what I set out to achieve then I'm pretty happy about that too.

Thank you for your interest."

Website: www.florascopes.com
Rebecca is a member of the New Hampshire Artist Association