JOANNE WAZNY

"I'm addicted to taking photos and to the beauty of Vermont. I have tons of 'pretty pictures.' There is nothing wrong with that, but I started thinking about some of my other images: fungi, decay, pollution, the underside of things, the harshness of winter. And you know what? It is all beautiful! Beauty, art, and creativity must be important because they surround us. While the functional items made by humans may hit the mark occasionally, everything in nature is beautiful for no apparent reason. So, I've come full circle. I'll continue taking pretty pictures but with an eye toward the shadows as well as the light."

KAREN SCHEFFLER

"Our fourth year together! I am continually thankful for the opportunity to share with others this creative energy that flows, surges, whispers and shouts, or simply spills over with the joy of life. Stained glass can flood one space with illuminated color as it shelters another space from view, or can fuse with its surroundings giving a lustrous interpretation of light while hiding nothing. This year I have chosen to form smaller, portable panels to be moved from one place to another at whim-- in front of a window to translate the natural light there, or to a table where the light within the room gives it another transposition. As for the energy, it is a deluge of joy for the beauty in life.

MARTHA OHLIGER

"When I first started to paint and exhibit still lives, I was surprised at the positive reaction of the people who saw them. I realized that people looked on these familiar dishes with affection and nostalgia, so I began to try to make art about family connections, generations, and what people cherish. My paintings are a reminder that the rural character of Vermont never prevented people from appreciating beauty as well as function. I work intuitively without thumbnails, value studies or sometimes even a defined composition, using traditional oils in a realistic manner. I like to think of my paintings as snapshots from a family."

PAM KROUT-VOSS

"This exhibit includes works on the theme of the 'Great Blue Heron.' The study began several years ago after canoeing out to the heron rookery on Lake Champlain. I can now say, after spending a week at the Johnson Studio School in April, that I am ready to move onto the next venture. I have included 3 dimensional sculptures that combine my love of fibers and textures with this subject, photography, drawings from a nonfiction children's book, and a painting."

BOB ELDRIDGE

Self-taught wildlife painter, Bob Eldridge grew up loving birds and mammals found in the wild, which remain at the center of many of his paintings. However, Bob also investigates with his paintbrush historical figures (Jesuit priests in the New World), as well as biographical imaginations (Abraham Brown for the Community Arts Project), and is especially interested in "how much one planned brush stroke can convey."