BREATHE

Fused and stained glass art by Susan Hope, painting and multimedia art by Jude Lobe, photographic montage and mixed media by Catharine Carter. In the gallery March 28th through April 23rd. 121 N. Churton Street, Hillsborough NC. Opening reception during Hillsborough’s Last Friday Art Walk, March 31st, 6-9pm. HGA is owned by 21 local artists featuring painting, sculpture, photography, glass, jewelry, handcrafted furniture, pottery, and textiles. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10-6, Sunday 12 – 4. For more information about the show visit www.HillsboroughGallery.com

For painter and multi-media artist, Jude Lobe, it’s about finding peace and calm in the beauty of nature. “Our exhibit this year is a call out to breathe and find the beauty around us rather than to get caught up in the stress of what we hear on the news.” “My art in this exhibit,” says Lobe “is inspired by the nature around me which convinces me that all living and so-called ‘non-living’ things are interwoven and connected with the animals and people that live that connection.”

“Breathe. We all do it. It is automatic. It is life” says glass artist Susan Hope. But faced with the title of the show, she “anticipated the fast approaching deadline, and had to calmly breathe… a lot… and wait for the ideas to rise out of attention to the moment.” “Sometimes the inspiration just isn’t there. Sometimes the muse is missing. Sometimes the glass or the kiln won’t cooperate.” Her work for this show reflects her continued experimentation with glass as it is broken, fragmented, crushed and melted again and again. Working in this technique enables Hope to create more painterly images, unlimited colors and a variety of textures. It is a slow process. Each firing in the kiln can be as long as 24 hours and each piece is fired 4-6 times before it is cleaned and polished. “I began to see these ‘down times’ as the breath taken and the space between bursts of activity. In the silence of the kiln the many broken pieces became fused into a whole piece again. Just as in life, creation and healing began in the quiet and rest when I would patiently, intentionally…breathe.”

When photographic montage artist Catharine Carter thinks about the title of this show, “Breathe” she is “reminded how often we go through our busy day without stopping to take a breath and check in with our feelings. It is in those moments when I stop and take a breath, the act of inhaling and exhaling can put me in touch with my thoughts and allow me be open to inspiration.”
“My art starts with recognizing an especially prominent or troubling thought or feeling that that makes me wonder why it has my attention. My piece ‘Open Book’ celebrates how a great story can spark your imagination. In ‘Bubbles’ I was thinking about the fragility of life and ‘Omen’ is the representation of a foreshadowing feeling.”

“Breathe” will be on display at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts from March 28th through April 23rd with a reception in the gallery on Friday, March 31st from 6-9pm.

About the Gallery
The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is owned and operated by 21 local artists and represents these established artists exhibiting contemporary fine art and fine craft. The Gallery’s offerings include oil and acrylic paintings, sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewelry, glass, metals, encaustic, enamel, and wood. 121 N. Churton Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278. Phone: (919) 732-5001. The gallery’s winter hours are 10am-6pm Tuesday –Saturday, 12-4pm on Sunday. More information can be found on the HGA website: http://www.HillsboroughGallery.com