Harmony Collective says they are bringing downtown Brattleboro a beam of springtime hope with "Spring Forward," a group art show featuring several artists' expressions of what the change of season means to them. Exploring themes of growth, resilience, and the joy of sunny days ahead, Harmony Collective celebrates an artful welcome to a season of renewal.
The Spring Forward show opens Friday, March 8, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with refreshments and opportunities to meet the artists who exhibit at and operate the Gallery.
Phoebe Wagner explores this theme with her 3D sculpture using recycled materials. "I created - birthed - this large papier-mâché tortoise almost entirely from 'trash' and recyclables found in my home," she wrote in her artist's statement. "An old 'flying saucer' sled became the base of the carapace while the rest of the turtle body and its limbs were constructed from household throwaways, like the wire found inside an old air conditioner filter and chicken wire."
Although giant tortoises in the wild usually live in equatorial regions with hot or wet seasons and no true spring, she says, their young tend to hatch out in March and April; just in time to begin their lives during the northern hemisphere's springtime. "Hence the inclusion of a slow, lumbering, but ever-moving-forward tortoise in the Spring Forward show."
Ruby Rice's wearable art piece, "Purple Flow," is a reversible shoulder wrap inspired by the ice melts in local rivers. Visitors may already be familiar with Rice's fiber arts, using a Nuno felt process with merino wools, hand-painted silks, and hand-stitched embellishments.
Joan Lovell explores March's group show theme with her scratchboard piece, "Spring and a Young Man's Fancies," and states that her piece "is a reminder that spring is the season of renewal, fresh starts, and love."
The theme from each month's group show often carries over into artist-members' display spaces through the gallery. Such is the case with Lovell's floral watercolors and cut paper collages.
Another expression inspired by nature is in the watercolor and ink piece, "Daisies," by Rachel Eleanor Brown. "Nature is a great teacher when we are open to learning; we learn to keep moving forward as flowers keep growing and blooming," she said. "We learn to keep busy like the bees, which we depend on for so much, without their even knowing. Seasons go on and our environment changes, and it is our response to how we create in this world that breeds hope. We always talk about thankfulness being a fall-time theme, but spring is also a great season for gratitude. The sun comes out, the mountains are green again, and there is another season to grow something better."
The show is up for the month of March, and the public is welcome. Learn more at HarmonyArtsBrattleboro.com, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.