Butternut Gallery & Second Story Books welcomes autumn with an exhibit of willow furniture, wood-fired clay works, watercolor paintings and hand-made paper collages, ANDY GARDNER & BETTY BRYDEN, on display September 22 through October 14. Everyone is invited to a reception for the artists on Saturday, September 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. The gallery is still open normal summer hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11-5, and Sunday 12-4. Also, the exhibit will be in the gallery for special hours during the 16th annual Artists Open House Weekend, October 6-8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Andy Gardner is a well-known craftsman from Thompson, PA, whose studio, Gardner’s Willow Works, was a popular stop on previous years’ Artists’ Open House Weekends. Andy makes hand-crafted willow furniture for home and garden as well as beautiful wood-fired clay works. He is fascinated by the encounters with the unexpected that wood-firing provides, and delights in the unusual colors, textures and surface accretions that the kiln gives, transforming graceful, well-built jars and vases into moon-like sculptures.
Betty Bryden, who co-owns the Butternut Gallery & Second Story Books with her husband Tom Canouse, will be showing new watercolor paintings and collages. The paintings re-visit favorite themes in her work-rocks from Maine and elsewhere, as well as things growing in the garden-and are made via Betty’s trademark method of combining ink, watercolor and acrylic on hand-made papers. The collages embody her recent fascination with different means of altering hand-made paper (most notably with a glycerin/rice flour/water paste) and using those efforts to create collages inspired by the local landscape.
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