Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Press Release Island Arts

Arts on the Champlain Islands.

Island Arts
celebrates the Quadricentennial of Lake Champlain with programs that span the week of Aug. 16-23 featuring native people's dancing, drumming, singing, storytelling and crafts, a celebration of our Franco American culture, past and present, and an exploration of the night sky as Samuel de Champlain and his native guides might have experienced it.

The paintings of native artists Jack Sabon and Lorraine Manley, among others, will be showcased at the Island Arts Gallery, located on Route 2 just before the town of North Hero Meet the artists at a reception on Friday, Aug. 14 from 4-7 pm. The Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.

Jack Sabon's work is as eclectic as his interests. He graduated from the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which has produced some of the best Indian artists of our time. He is an Athabascan Indian (Alaska Native), but his subject matter is not strictly native-influenced. Some of his finest abstractions are heavily influenced by Alaskan folklore, but bear the stamp of the 21st century in which they are created. Other pieces are mystical in nature, reflecting the spirituality and power of tribal shamans. His abstract work is based on a strong color sense with what are often disciplined outlines of amorphous shapes and designs. These works are often "seen" as completed works in his mind and literally flow onto the canvas.

Lorraine C. Manley has been fascinated with art since she was a young girl, when she devoted every spare moment to exploring forms of creative expression. The natural beauty of Lorraine's native Vermont has been the greatest influence in her art. She especially enjoys painting the landscapes near her home in colors vivid, lush, and intense. With intuitive and energetic use of a palette knife and brush, Lorraine looks for those spontaneous "accidents" of oils and acrylics to capture nature's seasons in textural paintings both impressionistic and exciting.

For more information: www.islandarts.org