April 2024 Show: EarthTones

Raw umber, yellow ochre, sap green, cobalt blue, red oxide, burnt sienna--these are colors painters use. Jasper, pearl, jade, agate, verdigris, larimar, seaglass, copper and silver--these the earth mediums jewelers use. Earthenware, stoneware and porcelain--three types of clay ceramic artists use. Photographers seek out imagery of limited color to make photos that echo the earthy sepia tones of the past. This month, North End Gallery's artists have been challenged with the theme, Earth Tones.

This month, three of North End's artists are spotlighted:

Returning from a year-long leave of absence, Ruth Collins is one of North End's most well-loved landscape artists. She is a long time resident of St. Mary's County and paints local landscapes in acrylics and pastels. Animals and portraits are also among her favorite subjects.

Judy Larsen has explored jewelry creation and design since retirement. After taking a class at a local community center, she found out that she really enjoyed working with metal. From the first time she hammered a piece of metal, she was hooked. That lead to wire wrapping and weaving, stamping, cold connecting, antiquing and adding patina, creating links and hooks, etching and exploring any and every technique with metal. She also loves to incorporate cabachons and semi-precious stones into her work, and she gathers local materials while traveling to various locations in the US and foreign countries. She takes classes each year at a retreat in the Mountains of North Carolina and always returns with new energy and ideas.

Ray Bogle has been working with clay for over 40 years and exploring alternative firing techniques including Raku, Saggar, and Pit Firing for over 30 years. Through patient experimentation and perseverance, he has learned to keep things simple and trust the firing to allow the pots to "decorate themselves" and produce subtle organic patterns on each piece. Ray continues to explore different ways of varying aspects of the firings to produce increased pattern and color depth sometimes resulting from multiple firings from different techniques. He enjoys teaching pottery for beginning or more advanced potters and regularly conducts alternative firing workshops in the Mid-Atlantic area.

Come and see their response. The show opens on Tuesday, April 2nd, with the reception and opportunity to meet the gallery's artists on Friday, April 5th, from 5 pm to 8pm. The show 28th of April. Join us!