The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild opens the new year with an exhibition of the brilliant colors of stained glass artist Fred Varney and the intricate, intriguing pen and ink drawings of Sarah Kinsella Waite. The exhibition opens on January 14, and the public is invited to an artists' reception on Saturday, January 16 from 3:00-5:00 pm. The exhibition will be on view through March 4. The Artisans Guild address is 430 Railroad St., St., Johnsbury; hours are 10:30 am-5:30 pm Monday-Saturday.
Varney, a Marshfield resident, remembers being fascinated by stained glass windows in the elegant homes he saw in his hometown, Springfield, Massachusetts.
Varney attended Clarkson College in Potsdam, N.Y. from 1966-1969, then moved to South Woodbury, Vt. where he bought land. Just prior to moving to Vermont in 1970
Fred began working with glass. Restoration of some damaged windows for his future Vermont home, and constructing a lamp from leftover pieces of glass were his first experiences working with glass.
Since then, over the years, he has completed hundreds of commissions and autonomous works: free standing glass clocks with curved " slumped glass" sides, original design "Tiffany" type lamps, skylights and numerous windows. His work has been widely exhibited, and he was commissioned to produce figurative stained glass windows for the United Church of Hardwick. A love of drawing and designing, fascination with the beauty of the glass itself, and the desire to work with his hands made stained glass a natural career choice.
nd try to bring h its surroundings.
Sarah Waite's pen-and-ink illustrations, inspired by art of the Northwest coast, uses the natural forms of animals, plants and trees in a symbolic style. Their subject is the Northeast ecosystem and the relationships among the flora and fauna within it.
While Waites's work emphasizes the natural world, it's also informed by design. Her training as a graphic designer and years working in the print industry have led her to develop the clean, black and white imagery on display in this exhibit.
"My drawings come from spending a lot of time in nature; hiking, fishing, or just being in my backyard," Sarah says. "I am especially intrigued by the patterns of the natural world and try to bring this to each drawing, keeping in mind how the parts make up the whole. When working on a new illustration, I learn as much as I can about the animal, considering its place in the food chain and its interactions with its surroundings."
The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with the work of over one hundred Vermont artisans on view. For more information visit the Guild at 430 Railroad Street, St. Johnsbury, on its Website, www.nekguild.com, or by telephone (802) 748-0158.
