Watercolor Workshop by Maryellen Sakura

Six seasoned and aspiring artists gathered for three days to practice and learn watercolor techniques from local artist Maryellen Sakura. The course celebrated the outdoors in summer at Waterville Valley and the spontaneity of watercolor painting. Maryellen began with demonstrations and guided exercises in washes, glazing, wet on wet, drybrush, color theory and mixing. Then, the artists applied these skills to recording and interpreting their surroundings. Maryellen included references to historical and contemporary watercolor artists each day. Maryellen Sakura is a painter and printmaker who has taught for over 36 years. You can view her work at maryellensakura.com.

Two Old Friends perform at Rey Center

Thanks to the generous support of the NH Humanities Council, Two Old Friends, Emery Hutchins and Mac McHale, performed an evening of music at the Rey Center to an enthusiastic crowd!

Over the centuries, immigrants from the British Isles have come to the Americas, bringing with them their musical styles, tastes, and instruments. Using the concertina, bodhran, mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar and banjo, Emery and Mac played traditional Irish songs and tunes. They performed American country music the way it was conceived in the early 20th century and demonstrated how these tunes are often derived from the songs of the Irish, but have been influenced by other cultural and ethnic groups (particularly African American) to create an original American sound.

Art Exhibit Opening Reception - In the Mix: Blended Styles of Art

A wonderful crowd gathered to celebrate the opening of the the Rey Center’s current art exhibit, “In the Mix: Blended Styles of Art,” featuring a variety of sizes and styles of paintings by still-life artist, Patricia Giebutowski, abstract artist, Robert Garlitz and landscape artist, Cynthia van Frank.

The exhibit is on display through August 28, 2010. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. All works are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds from each sale benefit the Rey Center.

Youth EcoArt Camp with Cynthia Robinson

For the third summer, local EcoArtist, Cynthia Robinson, led a creative and talented group of children in a week-long workshop exploring nature and art. The group started each morning with a warm-up exercise to get their creativity flowing. One morning the children created group animal drawings, where each child drew an animal body part as instructed, and then rotated one seat to the right to draw another body part on a drawing started by another child. The resulting artwork was titled “Unidentified Flying Animals” and is on display at the Rey Center - you should come check it out!