The month of March will see a lot of activity at Featherstone Center for the Arts. For the third year in a row, Featherstone is hosting shows featuring work by Martha's Vineyard Regional High School student artists.
On Saturday, a show of paintings and drawings by high school senior Lauren Petkus opens and runs through March 12. From March 14 to 19, digital photographs by senior Ray Ewing will be displayed, followed by Featherstone's "Painting & Pottery III" show that features the work of the art students of teachers Janice Frame and Scott Campbell.
Senior Ray Ewing arranges unexpected forms side by side to create compelling images. Here, he juxtaposes a bird's wing and a human hand.
Photos by M.C. Wallo
Ms. Frame, who selected Ms. Petkus for the show, says, "I pick kids that are pure artists - not just doing it for fun. This is their passion. This is how they speak to the world."
Realist painter Lauren Petkus has been winning accolades for some time, according to Ms. Frame. "Everyone watches and learns from her," she says. "The kids are just stunned by her talent."
Ms. Petkus's Vineyard landscapes capture the beauty of Martha's Vineyard in mood and detail. Ms. Frame says, "Lauren is quiet and deliberate. Everything is strategically, meticulously planned out. You watch the development as she works. I'm just fascinated by that."
Photographer Ray Ewing exhibited his work at Featherstone during the Center for Creative Expression's yearly shows, and he also exhibited pieces included in last year's Family Planning Art Show. However, the upcoming exhibit of his work will be his first solo show. Mr. Ewing has been a student of both the high school photography teacher Chris Baer and his wife, Janice Baer, who runs the Center for Creative Expression.
Mr. Ewing is at home in the regional high school's darkroom.
Says Mr. Baer of his student, "He's always had a poetic vision. He's always been a little cerebral in his work. He really thinks about what he's shooting."
Ms. Petkus and Mr. Ewing have both been taking classes and participating in Featherstone's free afternoon programs for teens. "It's almost like some of these kids have grown up at Featherstone," says Francine Kelly, director of Featherstone.
Ms. Kelly explains that students not only exhibit their art, they also work in the gallery and arrange the opening receptions.
Ms. Petkus works in different media and styles. She says, "A lot of the pictures that I'm showing I based on black and white photos, and added color." Her goal was to maintain the mood of the photos, while adding another dimension with color.
Ms. Petkus created a unique palette to produce the different effects in each of her works. A seascape called "Calm Day" is a harmony of soft hues with a pleasing contrast between the blue-green sea and the distinct patterns and earth colors of the hills beyond.
In an oil painting of the overlook on Middle Road, the shading and bold colors of sweeping vista and stonewall make the impact dramatic. Ms. Petkus demonstrates an entirely different style and palette in a delicate Japanese-influenced floral watercolor painting called "Live Love Laugh."
About this weekend's opening, Ms. Petkus says, "I'm really excited. It's a great honor. It's a huge boost and a nice thing to have for myself. I can put it on my resumé."
Mr. Ewing is also grateful for the opportunity to show at Featherstone. "The practical experience of knowing how to do this is essential," he says. "Fine art is a difficult way to make an income."
High school senior Lauren Petkus has a talent for capturing Vineyard landscapes.
Photos by M.C. Wallo
From past experience, the photographer has found that he learns a lot from having his work on public display. Mr. Ewing says, "I always have fun seeing people's reactions. That's a whole other critical lens for me to use. It's endlessly fascinating to me to see which images different people respond to."
Ms. Baer comments on Mr. Ewing's work, saying, "There's a profound simplicity. It's very well thought out, but not over-thought. The images are almost minimalistic."
She continues, "He is probably one of the most dedicated students that I've ever worked with. He has a very clear vision. He's always looking to try something new. It's really great to work with someone who is so motivated."
And Mr. Ewing explains, "I think it's a very common pattern for young artists to start out experimenting with many styles at once. Basically I've whittled it down to conceptual work. A lot of it is based on scientific thought and experimenting with the medium of photography."
An example is Mr. Ewing's series "Girl in Flight," the centerpiece of his exhibit. In eight mirror images, the photographer juxtaposes close-ups of a woodpecker with corresponding images of a female model. Mr. Ewing chose to dress the girl in a black polka dotted shirt for a photonegative effect, contrasting it with the bird's dramatic white-on-black plumage.
An example of Ms. Petkus's range of style is this Japanese-inspired floral painting.
The photographer says that he got the idea for the series while working out a concept for photographing a model, and he became fascinated by a woodpecker his cat brought home. He explains, "The idea that I later developed is recurring patterns within an environment. Even though they're so different, they both come into the same place of immutable similarities that I made clear by having the girl mimic the bird's feathers."
Says Ms. Frame, "I know what value there is for kids to see their work framed and shown and have people come in and talk about it. It lets them see what it's really like to be an artist. They don't care how much they sell. They just want people to come."
Opening Receptions: Drawings and paintings by Lauren Petkus, Saturday, March 7, 4-6 pm. Runs through March 12.
"Visual Stimulus," digital photographs by Ray Ewing, Saturday, March 14, 4-6 pm. Runs through March 19.
"Paper & Pottery III," the art of students of Janice Frame and Scott Campbell, March 22, 4-6 pm. Runs through March 29. Featherstone Center for the Arts, Oak Bluffs, 508-693-1850.
