Author: Meghan Siegler

School spirit

Manchester community invited to first CelebratED festival

Manchester’s schools are starting off their year by inviting everyone in the community to come see all the positive things they’re doing at the first annual CelebratED MHT!, happening Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Veterans Park.

The festival is free for all Manchester residents and will feature multicultural performances, activities for kids, food and a celebration of some of the school district’s accomplishments.

“There are good things happening in the Manchester School District that aren’t celebrated as much as they should be,” said Barry Brensinger, president of Manchester Proud, which is organizing the event. “Then with the whole Covid matter of the past year and a half and the incredible challenges that has presented us … [we thought], wouldn’t it be nice if somehow the community could come together and launch the new school year with a celebration?”

Manchester Proud — formed a few years ago to promote the success of the city’s public schools, with the intent of building a stronger city through those successes — started working with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the school district a few months ago to get this festival off the ground. Since then, it’s become a whole-community effort that includes support from the mayor’s office, city departments, youth organizations and other nonprofits.

“One of the things we said from the beginning is that we really wanted this to be all-inclusive,” Brensinger said.

It’s shaping up to be exactly what Manchester Proud envisioned. Entertainment includes African drummers, a Mexican band, a performance from hip-hop performer Martin Toe, the high school marching bands, an aerial show and more. Manchester Police Department will be there with its equestrian and K9 units, and the city’s fire department will have a fire muster.

The event starts at 10 a.m. when City Year — a group that works in Manchester’s schools to help support students — will welcome its new core members, followed by welcoming remarks from the mayor.

“Then we roll right into the entertainment,” Brensinger said.

Aside from the performances, there will be an activity area for kids with yard games and contests, and each student will be given a free book.

There will be three high school teachers acting as emcees throughout the day who will be highlighting some of Manchester’s standout teachers and students.

“We have designated three blocks of time during the day when on the main stage there will be a celebration of kids,” Brensinger said.

There will also be a tent filled with students’ stories, artwork and other achievements.

Brensinger said about 20 to 25 organizations who provide youth-related services will set up booths around the perimeter of the park to offer information to parents and small giveaways for kids.

At 1 p.m. the Fisher Cats mascot will show up to give away 1,000 tickets to that night’s game.

“This celebration will continue at that game,” Brensinger said. “Students will sing the national anthem and throw out the first pitch. … It should be a fun night.”

At 2 p.m. comic characters who will be across the street at Granite State Comicon will make an appearance and may have a few giveaways as well.

“I think there’ll be something for everyone,” Brensinger said.

And of course there’s food. Brensinger said there will be food trucks and other food available for purchase, but there will also be plenty of free food, including pizza, bottled water and healthy snacks.

To make the event as accessible as possible to everyone in the community, fliers were sent home to students written in the top six languages in Manchester. And free trolleys will run every hour on both the east and west side to make sure anyone who wants to get there can. Pickups and dropoffs will be at Parkside/Gossler Park to West High School to Veterans Park, and at Karatzas Avenue/Eastern Avenue to JFK/Beech Street School to Veterans Park, starting at 10:30 a.m.

Brensinger said precautions will be taken for Covid, including guidelines posted throughout the park and free masks and hand sanitizer. The event will be held rain or shine.

CelebrateED MHT!

When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Veterans Park, Elm Street
Cost: Free for all Manchester residents

Featured photo: Hip-hop artist Martin Toe. Courtesy photo.

Comics, cosplay and other pop culture

Granite State Comicon returns, live and in person

Watching cosplayers compete in a costume contest, meeting comics artists and taking part in learn-to-draw workshops virtually last year just wasn’t the same pop culture experience that Granite State Comicon usually offers — which is why event organizers are eager to host a live event this year.

The 18th annual Granite State Comicon is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 18, and Sunday, Sept. 19, at DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Manchester.

“Our goal this year was just to be able to pull off an event,” said Chris Proulx of Double Midnight Comics, which puts on the event. “When we booked the hotel, we were like, let’s watch the Covid numbers and see how they go. It was looking good, and then the delta variant started creeping up.”

As of Sept. 7 there had only been a couple of artist cancellations, and Proulx said their goal is to have all the same features they’ve had in the past — Artist Alley, panels and workshops, the Fan Zone, photo ops, costume contests — while keeping everyone as safe as possible.

“Our event is very family-friendly … and we just want to make sure families feel comfortable coming,” he said.

Masks will be required for everyone over the age of 5, and activities have been spread out to allow for more spacing. Proulx said they’re also urging people to take advantage of the vaccination clinic they’ll have on site all day Saturday.

The majority of the convention, though, is gearing up to be as “back to normal” as possible. Highlights include appearances from celebrities like John Ratzenberger, probably best known for playing Cliff on Cheers, who was also a soldier in The Empire Strikes Back, among other film roles.

“He’s [also] the only voice to be in every single Pixar movie,” Proulx said. “He’ll be signing autographs and taking pictures.”

The centerpoint of GraniteCon is Artist Alley, where you get to meet dozens of comic creators, buy prints or originals, commission sketches and get collectibles signed. Among the many artists are Steve Lavigne, who created most of the officially licensedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles artwork on merchandise in the late ’80s and early ’90s; Freddie E. Williams, who has illustrated The New York Times bestselling crossover series Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, HeMan/ThunderCats and Injustice vs. Masters of The Universe; and Keith Champagne, who has worked for DC Comics for decades on comics like Green Lantern and JSA and is currently producing the Stranger Things series of comics.

The convention’s biggest draw for kids is the Fan Zone, which houses a scaled-down version of Kids Con New England.

“It’s a really fun, interactive area,” Proulx said. “Emily [Druin, who runs the bigger Kids Con in the spring with her husband, Jeremy], runs workshops, like how to draw characters.”

On Saturday night there’s the annual costume contest, where cosplayers from all over New England will take the stage to show off their work.

“I love seeing everybody in costume,” Proulx said. “What should be neat this year … is cosplayers [are] working their masks into the costumes.”

Proulx said there’s something for everyone at Granite State Comicon.

“Comic conventions have kind of evolved over the years,” he said. “It’s become a pop culture event, so maybe you’re not into comic books but you’re probably into Game of Thrones or Walking Dead. … We embrace all fandom.”

Proulx said that they’ve already pre-sold more tickets than usual, and they’re expecting a big crowd since this is one of the few events in the region that’s taking place this year.

“I think everybody’s going to be happy to get out and experience this stuff and do it safely,” he said. “[And then] we have some big plans for 2022.”

Granite State Comicon

Where: DoubleTree by Hilton, 700 Elm St., Manchester
When: Saturday, Sept. 18, and Sunday, Sept. 19
Cost: $25 Saturday, $20 Sunday or $40 for a weekend pass. Prices do not include after-hours events. Purchasing tickets online is encouraged at granitecon.com.

Schedule Of Events

Saturday, Sept. 18

  • All-day activities (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.): Tabletop gaming, Calmer Space, Covid-19 Vaccine Clinic, Kids Con Coloring and Activity Tables
  • Learn to Draw Disney Characters: 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.
  • Comedy Pop Culture: The Magic of Loki: 11 a.m.
  • Kids Coloring Contest: 11:30 a.m. to noon
  • Black Caravan Spotlight: noon to 1 p.m.
  • Learn to Draw Pokemon Characters: 1 to 1:30 p.m.
  • Empire Strikes Back 41st Anniversary: 1:30 to 2:40 p.m.
  • Custom Action Figure Workshop: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
  • Newt and the Magic of Potter: 2 to 3 p.m.
  • Storytime and Crafts with Party Palace Princesses: 2 to 2:40 p.m.
  • Yoda Puppet Craft: 3 to 3:40 p.m.
  • Batman Day 2021: 3 to 4 p.m.
  • Comedy Pop Culture: The Magic of Loki: 4 to 5 p.m.
  • Create a Comic Book: 4 to 4:40 p.m.
  • Ultimate Sketch-off Championship: 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
  • 11th Annual Costume Contest: 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 19

  • All-day activities (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.): Tabletop gaming, Calmer Space, Kids Con Coloring and Activity Tables
  • Learn to Draw Characters from Kids Comics: 10:15 to 11:30 a.m.
  • Comedy Pop Culture: The Magic of Loki: 11 a.m. to noon
  • Press Your Luck: GraniteCon Edition: noon to 1 p.m.
  • Talkin’ Turtles – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
  • Newt and the Magic of Potter: 1 to 2 p.m.
  • Kids Sketch Off: 1 to 2 p.m.
  • Learn to Draw Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog Characters: 1:30 to 2 p.m.
  • Batman/Batgirl Puppet Craft: 2:30 to 3:15 p.m.
  • Kids Costume Contest: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
  • Comedy Pop Culture: The Magic of Loki: 3 to 4 p.m.
  • Create a Superhero/Supervillian and Origin Story Comic: 3:40 to 4:20 p.m.

Featured photo: The Massachusetts Ghostbusters are heading to Granite State Comicon. Courtesy photo.

Conversation and celebration

Currier exhibition features street-inspired ceramics

An artist who calls himself the “ghetto potter,” Roberto Lugo has brought a new vibe to the Currier Museum of Art with his street-inspired ceramics, which look like traditional pieces from afar but actually explore Lugo’s Afro-Latino heritage and hip-hop culture.

“I don’t just think about ceramic objects for their specific function but I also think about what connotations they have within culture and society,” Lugo said in an audio response to emailed questions. “I try to add to that conversation by complicating it and including figures, ideas and textiles that haven’t historically been included in that conversation.”

His exhibition, called “Te traigo mi le lo lai – I bring you my joy,” has been up since spring and runs through Sept. 26.

“I remember the first time I saw [Lugo’s work] I was surprised by it. … Instead of having cherubs and aristocrats on it, it had [things like] a hip-hop boombox,” said Samantha Cataldo, the museum’s curator of contemporary art. “You get drawn in by something you think you know and get brought to a place you weren’t expecting.”

Lugo, who lives in Philadelphia, worked closely with Cataldo to create the exhibition, which includes some of his older pieces plus work that he created specifically for the Currier show, like one of musician Bob Marley.

“Marley really embodies … creativity and peace and harmony and he has been used by people of all races to sort of symbolize peace,” Lugo said. “His music is just something that makes you feel good and it’s a celebration, which I really feel is at the forefront of this exhibition.”

That celebration is what’s behind the exhibition’s name — “I bring you my joy” represents all of the pieces of Lugo’s history, including his Puerto Rican agricultural heritage and his upbringing in urban Philly. According to Cataldo, Lugo saw a similar juxtaposition in Manchester, with the city being the biggest, most post-industrial city in a pretty rural state.

The Currier’s hope is that Lugo’s work has been able to reach a part of the population that isn’t often represented in local art.

“We do have a growing Hispanic and Latinx population so we’re really hoping people who don’t see their culture in art as much can see that in Roberto’s exhibition,” Cataldo said. “Taking the culture of ’90s hip-hop and graffiti and putting it in this completely unexpected form … it brings in a whole group of people who don’t usually see themselves in art.”

Much of Lugo’s work pays homage to people of color who have made significant impacts on culture and society.

“These are abolitionists, civil rights leaders, and yes even contemporary musicians like Tupac and Missy [Elliot],” Lugo said. “I think Tupac in particular complicated the narrative of what a hip-hop artist is supposed to be; he’s more poetic but also had a really sensitive side to what he was talking about and really focused primarily on painting a picture of life in the ghetto.”

These unexpected messages are even more pronounced because of how Lugo’s pieces are displayed.

“From the beginning we really wanted to figure out how to make my work interact with pieces from the museum’s collection,” Lugo said.

“It’s literally sitting on our works,” Cataldo said. “Historic furniture from our collection is being used to show his ceramics, like a dinner table display, [which] I think poses a lot of interesting juxtapositions for people … like a plate with Missy Elliot sitting on a 19th-century carved piece.”

Cataldo said that one of the things Lugo really wanted to do was make the work accessible to people and create the feeling that you’re in someone’s home.

“The idea is domestic,” Cataldo said. “Ceramic work rides that line — you can have a beautiful set of bowls that someone hand made but you can use them every day, but that same beautiful bowl could be in a museum.”

The exhibition also includes a “cup wall” that has transformed since the start of the show; then, it only had cups that Lugo made, and now it includes about a dozen other cups created by local ceramics artists who were invited to participate.

“Artists often trade work,” Cataldo said, “like a mug or cup — it’s small and portable but you can get a lot of expression on it.”

Cataldo said she’s heard positive feedback about the exhibition from visitors, and she herself has been enjoying its presence in the museum.

“Roberto is just so open — every time I walk through it always just feels happy and it really is just a true expression of him,” she said.

“Te traigo mi le lo lai – I bring you my joy”

Where: Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester
When: On view through Sept. 26
Cost: Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online.
More info: 669-6144, currier.org

Featured photo: Roberto Lugo at work on a ceramics piece. Photos courtesy of the Currier Museum of Art.

As the world ends

GNew novel by Manchester author explores life in 2090

A year and a half after the release of his debut novel, The Light Years, Manchester author Rob Greene is back with his sophomore effort, Twenty-five to Life — though, technically, it’s the novel he wrote first.

“I started writing it 10 years ago as an MFA student at [Southern New Hampshire University],” said Greene, who writes as R.W.W. Greene. “It’s just changed a lot. It had a different name, it was bigger, there were three point-of-view characters. Over the years I just kept picking at it. I unraveled it and stitched it back up again.”

Twenty-five to Life is set in 2090 and follows 23-year-old Julie Riley, who is forced by law to live with her mother until she turns 25. With climate change making it harder and harder for humans to survive on Earth, a humanity-saving mission brings some of the population to Proxima Centauri, but Julie is one of the 9 billion people left behind. Not wanting to be stuck inside with her mother for the next two years, interacting with others mostly through virtual reality, Julie runs away. She joins the Volksgeist, a group of nomads traveling American back roads in converted vans, trucks and buses, and partners up with an older woman named Ranger.

“Most good science fiction is based in reality and it’s kind of a metaphor for something else,” Greene said. “I don’t do a lot of space battles and light sabers.”

In this case, he said, the book delves into what life has been like for the most recent generations.

“The millennials and the Gen Y and Gen Z situation — [this book looks at] what those guys have been going through economically and socially and kind of projects it out to what it might look like in 2090,” Greene said.

Twenty-five to Life is also a work of climate fiction, so Greene focused a lot of his research on climate change.

“This area will have 90 90-degree days a year in 2050,” he said. “Sea levels will have risen. … Fenway Park will be under water. It’s kind of interesting looking at that and figuring out what kind of life [we might be living].”

Greene said the pandemic didn’t influence the plot, though during the editing process he did have to acknowledge it.

“Really I just had to make note of the fact that there was a pandemic and there have been other Covid varieties, that there might be a Covid-79 in 2079,” he said. “Any book that’s going to be set in the near future has to take into account that we had Trump, we had the pandemic.”

Other real elements of the novel are the main character’s name — Julie Riley is the name of a student Greene had when he taught at Nashua High School South — and where she travels during her road trip.

“I got a U.S. map and I kind of plotted out the entire journey and researched where she might stop,” Greene said. “Some of the places I’d actually been to, but most of the places I just did research on.”

Greene is currently working on what might end up being a trilogy; he’s already sold the first two books to his publisher, U.K.-based science-fiction and fantasy publisher Angry Robot Books.

“One is done, one is almost done,” he said. “I hope to start [the third one] in October.”

The books are an alternative history set in the 1970s to 1990s, and aliens have destroyed Cleveland. He expects the first two to be published in May 2022 and May 2023.

Greene’s writing process hasn’t changed too much with the pandemic, though it did throw him off early on.

“The first three or four months I had a hard time getting anything going. I kind of felt creatively empty,” he said. “I played a lot of guitar and finally managed to get my writing going again.”

He also created an ad hoc online writers group after throwing out the idea to a couple of people he met on Twitter. Word spread, and now the group gets together via Google Meet a few times a week, sharing tips and encouragement.

“It’s almost like going to the bar with your friends except there’s no bar,” Greene said, “and for some people it’s 5 o clock at night and some people it’s 10.”

Twenty-five to Life was scheduled to be released Aug. 24, with a U.S. launch at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. An event at the Bookery in Manchester is scheduled for Aug. 31, and Greene is hoping it will still happen in light of the surge of Covid cases — it might be a replay of 2020’s The Light Years launch.

“We got four live appearances out. The last one was I think March 11 at the Bookery, and then the next day the world shut down,” he said.

Meet Rob Greene

Where: The Bookery, 844 Elm St., Manchester
When: Aug. 31, 5 p.m.
Twenty-five to Life is available for purchase at local bookstores and on amazon.com. Visit rwwgreene.com.

Featured photo: Rob Greene. Courtesy photo.

Beauty in the park

Greeley Park Art Show returns to Nashua

More than 50 artists will display works ranging from watercolors and photography to wood and glass pieces at the annual Greeley Park Art Show in Nashua, which, now in its 68th year, has grown to draw thousands of visitors over the course of two days.

“I think it’s the history of the show that brings people to Nashua,” said Lauren Boss, co-president (with Jackie Berry) of the Nashua Area Artists’ Association, which hosts the event. “It’s a great park, and we get a great turnout. We’re very fortunate that it’s the same weekend every year, so people know we’re going to be there.”

The event takes place Saturday, Aug. 21, and Sunday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

The artists represent a variety of media, many traditional and some unexpected, like colored pencil fine art artist Tina Gagnon.

“They’re amazing,” Boss said of Gagnon’s pieces. “You wouldn’t believe that they’re colored pencils.”

Visitors get the opportunity to watch Gagnon at work when they visit her tent.

“I set up a ‘studio’ for the two days and demonstrate my process and technique for the public,” Gagnon said.

Boss said all of the works are juried in and include fine art and fine crafts, like jewelry — Boss herself will have a tent set up to show her jewelry — plus pottery, glasswork, woodwork and soapwork.

“I enjoy creating a multitude of unique turned wooden objects for the yearly show, including bowls, lidded vessels, pens and other odds and ends,” said woodturner David Bower. “Each piece is a unique one-of-a-kind item.”

Bower attends the show each year with his daughter, Katie DiTullio.

“She enjoys painting and I enjoy woodturning and the two different art mediums complement each other in our joint display booth,” he said.

Carl Cooley of Concord calls himself an “eclectic photographer” but said that in recent years he’s been focusing his camera on birds.

“Photographing birds provides a challenge both for the amateur birder to find and recognize them and for the photographer to capture sharp evocative portraits of subjects that rarely stand still,” Cooley said.

Boss said one of the benefits of attending the Greeley Park show is that you get to talk to artists like Cooley, who is a retired pediatrician.

“You get to know a little bit about their story and how they create,” Boss said.

The event is a highlight for the artists too.

“I love the outdoor venue,” said Deb Wolf, who does oil on canvas, wood and tile, often using repurposed materials. “It’s a beautiful wide open park with such a wide array of talented local artists.”

Jessica Perez, an en plein air painter, said she loves interacting with the people who attend.

“The art show offers a window to what the community desires, and how they respond to work is an element key to success,” Perez said.

Bower agrees.

“It’s always inspiring seeing other artists’ work and receiving feedback on our own creations from the general public,” he said.

This will be Ian Bailey’s first time attending the Greeley Park Art Show, and he’s enjoyed the process of getting ready to show his work, like building his booth and framing his artwork.

“My artwork is … fairly large, so I had to plan to transport it safely,” he said. “I create emotionally charged abstract paintings using mixed media such as acrylic paints, plaster [and] foil.”

On Saturday, any of the participating artists can take part in the show’s adult art competition. Their work will be on display in the competition tent, and judges will go through the tent in the early afternoon and give out awards.

On Sunday, there’s a kids art competition for ages 6 to 18. Boss said participants can drop off their art Sunday morning, and it will be judged later in the day. There are four age categories, and winners will receive ribbons and prizes like art supplies.

“We want to encourage them to keep on creating, to keep on growing,” Boss said.

The show will also feature a raffle and an auction, a puppet show, woodworking demonstrations and a hands-on art project called “Kindness Rocks.”

“We’ll have rocks there for people to paint and they can give it to someone who might need some extra love or leave it out for a stanger to find,” Boss said.

Boss said she’s looking forward to having a full slate of artists back this year, since last year’s show was about half the size because of Covid. She said she’s always amazed at what the artists can create.

“We have some newer artists that we haven’t seen before so that’s going to be nice to go around and see new work, fresh work,” Boss said. “I genuinely like all our artists … and I enjoy going and trying to stop at everyone’s booth.”

Boss encourages everyone to come out and support local art.

“They need it and we all need to get out and do something normal and do something that makes us happy — and you’re going to find something there that makes you happy,” she said. “There’s something for everyone.”

Greeley Park Art Show

Where: 100 Concord St., Nashua
When: Saturday, Aug. 21, and Sunday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
Cost: Free to attend
More info: nashuaarts.org/greeleyparkartshow

Schedule

Saturday
All day – raffle/silent auction tent (blue tent on sidewalk)
9:30 a.m. – adult participant competition dropoff at art show tent
10 a.m. – 68th annual GPAS opens
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – kindness rock painting (near Booth 1)
11:15 a.m. – marionette show (near Booth 98)
2 p.m. – marionette show (near Booth 98)
5 p.m. – Greeley Park Art Show closes for the day

Sunday
All day – raffle/silent auction tent (blue tent on sidewalk)
10 to 11:15 a.m. – student show dropoff at art show tent
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – woodturning demonstration with Ron Marcoux (near Booth 65)
10 a.m. – 68th Annual GPAS opens
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – kindness rock painting (near Booth 1)
11:15 a.m. – marionette show (near Booth 98)
2 p.m. – marionette show (near Booth 98)
3 p.m. – scholarship, student show awards
4 p.m. – Greeley Park Art Show closes for the year

Featured photo: Art by Jessica Perez. Courtesy photo.

Inspired by the season

Summer Haze group art exhibition at Concord studio

Diverse pieces that capture the essence of steamy summer days will be on display during a group art exhibition at Jess Barnett Art Studio in Concord. The art is hanging now through Sept. 3, with an opening reception on Friday, Aug. 13, when the artists will be in the gallery to talk about their work.

The Summer Haze exhibition features pieces from five artists and is the first group exhibition Barnett has hosted since she opened her studio in November 2019.

“Covid kind of put a damper on [the studio opening],” Barnett said, “so this is really exciting to be able to have the group show.”

Earlier this year Barnett put out a call for entries to New England artists, asking for submissions that were based on the Summer Haze theme.

She ended up working with artists from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, plus one from New York, and between the five of them — Barnett included — there are about 10 to 12 pieces in the exhibition.

“It’s a good size for the gallery,” Barnett said. “It was pretty easy to fit everything in there and make [it] look good next to each other. It takes up one wall of the gallery, and then I have [my work] hanging on the other walls.”

Barnett’s pieces include a couple of new paintings that she hasn’t shown yet, including an abstract painting called “Lilac Season,” plus a couple of older pieces that go well with the theme, she said.

The exhibition is diverse, Barnett said, with paintings, drawings and glass art.

“I can’t really do installation art [because of space], so I wanted to have two-dimensional pieces and glass,” she said.

Karen Mehos, a glass artist from Boscawen, produces mainly stained glass and small glass works. She’s showing a glass bowl called “Small Town Sunset,” featuring a cityscape against a sunset background. It was made by melting glass in a kiln, using colored glass powders on a clear glass base, fusing them together into a flat disk in the 1,450-degree kiln, then softening them with heat again before using a ceramic mold to give it shape.

“It’s pretty innovative and cool how she did that, and she made it just for the show,” Barnett said.

Kathy Bouchard from Nashua has two acrylic paintings of kimonos in the show.

“It’s a cross between realistic and abstract,” Barnett said. “Her art is just really cool.”

The other two artists are Jason Michael Rielly of New York and Lorna Ritz of Massachusetts. Rielly’s art represents both the abstract and expressionism genres of artistic style, Barnett said. She said the work he put in the exhibition highlights these styles and communicates strong emotion, mood and vibrancy.

“They’re almost floral, but more abstract,” she said.

Ritz is a third-generation abstract expressionist-impressionist who paints landscapes.

“I paint the changing seasons as they occur, the light that emanates from seasonal color combinations that occur in landscape,” Ritz wrote about her work.

All of the work in the show is for sale, and for those who can’t make the reception and meet the artists, there will be labels with the artists’ information on the pieces for anyone who wants to learn more about them and their work.

For the reception, Barnett will be giving out a small gift bag with a piece of art to everyone who attends, and she encourages the general public to check it out.

“It’s a very laid back atmosphere. [We] aren’t snobby art people,” she said.

Barnett said she hopes to have more group exhibitions in the future, and she will invite artists of all levels, even those who are just dipping their toes into art, to participate.

“I just really feel that everyone, if they want to, should experiment with art,” she said. “Art can be a really good release for people to express emotion. … You don’t have to go to art school [to be an artist].”

Summer Haze group art exhibition

Where: Opening reception Friday, Aug. 13, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
When: Jess Barnett Art Studio, 4 Park St., Suite 216, Concord.
The reception is free, and light refreshments will be served. RSVPs are encouraged on the gallery’s Facebook page but are not required. The exhibition will be hanging through Sept. 3.

Featured photo: The Summer Haze exhibition is on display now at Jess Barnett Art Studio. Courtesy photo.

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