In the Art Gallery- Mixed Media by Mary Hawvermale and Banjie Nicholas

June 19, 2012 - PRLog -- Mary Hawvermale and Banjie Nicholas find their artistic inspiration in nature and express it in different but complimentary ways.  Mary Hawvermale’s unique and creative small box constructions incorporate elements of nature to create engaging patterns and small scenes that invite intimacy with the viewer.  Banjie Nicholas’s delicate and precise egg tempera and silverpoint drawings capture the flora and fauna found in the natural world with exquisite detail.  At times the two women collaborate, Banjie paints a picture and Mary creates a border of natural items.  

Mary Hawvermale has vacillated between art and science her entire life.  She studied photography at the Art Institute of Boston and received her Master’s degree in biology studying Finback Whales using photography as an identification tool.  After her 2001 breast cancer diagnosis, Mary wanted to express her journey through art and that is when she made her first box.

Banjie Nicholas mixes her own egg tempera paint using dry pigments and egg yolk in the way of artists from the fifteenth century.   Her silverpoint drawings are done with a fine silver wire in a stylus on a specially prepared surface that is also centuries old.  In addition to teaching egg tempera and silverpoint techniques at several educational facilities, Banjie is a wild bird rehabilitator.  This intimate contact with birds has provided her a unique perspective which informs much of her work as an artist.  In the spring and summer, Banjie raises a variety of butterflies and moths and delights in sharing the mystery of metamorphosis with family and students.  Her website is www.banjiesart.com.

In the gallery: July 3- July 27. Reception- Thursday, July 5, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Oliver Wolcott Library, 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. 06759. 860-567-8030.
www.owlibrary.org

All events at the Oliver Wolcott Library are free and open to the public.