“Muse,” the new show at Featherstone Center for the Arts, is a feast for the eyes — a veritable buffet of creativity. The theme revolves around what inspires artists to create, and since 98 artists are featured, it clearly resonated with many Island artists.
“This is our first show of the spring season,” chief executive officer Ann Smith says. “We haven’t seen our artists in a while, and we’re always eager to see what they’ve been up to since the fall and since our annual holiday show.”
Walking into the Francine Kelly Gallery, I was struck not only by the amount of artwork on display but by the variety — pottery, photography, paintings, illustrations, collage, metalwork, wood, fabric, felting, jewelry, and more. “We’re thrilled with the variety of pieces,” Smith continues. “There is everything from bright colors to black-and-white, and every age group is represented. It’s a very inclusive show. The artists always inspire us.”
“Living Means,” by Stephanie Danforth, an oil and gold leaf painting chosen as the “logo” and representative for the show, hangs front and center. Three gloriously colorful flowers fill the center of the piece, while the saying, “Living means learning to hold the astonishingly beautiful and unbearably hard things in the same palm,” weaves around them like foliage. It’s a cheery and welcoming painting, and nicely captures the essence of the show.
“Flocking Together,” by Scott Bliss, caught my eye. Bliss created birds from smooth pieces of green sea glass. Standing together on a real twig, the birds’ legs are simple, delicate pen lines. The combination of three-dimensional and two-dimensional aspects marry nicely, and tidy use of white space makes the birds pop.
Daisy Lifton’s ink and watercolor, “Mews,” has a Japanese sensibility. One cat sits among flowers, while another cat pokes her face out from underneath the petals. Lifton’s choice of loose brushstrokes and simple lines add a wonderful sense of movement. Hints of oranges and black are used sparingly to represent the cats, and pinks and salmons fill the flowers.
“Chappy Sunrise,” by Peter Palandri, is reflected in three pottery plates painted to mimic the timeline of the stunning sunrises on Chappy. Lines of blues, greens, and yellows streak across the plates. Each plate shows the progression of the sun rising.
Colorful mixed-media piece “Strolling along S. Water St.,” by Mary Beth Daniels, is a landscape made from needle and wet felting. The felted image of water, trees, bushes, flowers, small boats, and a sweet white picket fence is both charming — not cute — and technically impressive.
“Beachstones and Driftwoods,” by Debra and Robert Yapp, is created from various shapes and sizes of rocks and wood, housed within a wood frame. Each piece seamlessly blends with the others like a puzzle. Some rocks are sideways, some flat. One heart-shaped rock sits center, near the top. The colors of the rocks and wood vary from reds to grays, to browns. This is a piece one could visit repeatedly and discover something new each time.
Ed Schulman’s “Gossip” is an acrylic painting of abstract figures standing together, yet not standing still. There is a wonderful sense of movement and energy in this piece. The textures, colors, and shapes create a vibrancy, almost as if the figures are mid-stride.
“Hope” by Kate Feiffer is a pen, ink, and watercolor illustration of a woman leaning forward to smell a flower. It made me smile. Feiffer is a well-known cartoonist, and her unique style shows brilliantly in this quick lined image with soft washes of color.
Three-dimensional “Ahkee & Kutahahash” by Bangii-Kai A Bellecourt, a 17-year-old member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), comprises two cornhusk dolls. The doll on the shell stand is named “Kutahahash” (Kha-tah-hu-nash), which translates to “The Oceans,” while the doll positioned in the front is named “Ahkee” (Ah-qi), which translates to “The Lands.” Bellencourt uses traditional painting, beading, and weaving techniques to make the dolls.
“Mother and Daughter (Mathea and Zora)” is an impressively large piece by Chioke Morais. The figures, mother and daughter, are entirely black (no features),which makes it appear as if we are looking at their shadows as they take a walk on an autumn day. Leaves and a rich, textured background make the figures come alive and nearly walk off the canvas.
“Trump Tail,” by Abe Pieciak, is an ink and watercolor image of a shark’s tail. The tail fins are made up of blue fish and white stars, while the body is created out of red and white fishing lures. The sentence, “Make Artists Real Again,” sits at the bottom left of the image. This piece has a very strong, clean, sharp, graphic quality to it, and is quite impactful.
“Zelenskyy” by Basia Jaworska is an acrylic portrait of the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, who has been an inspiration to many for years, but has become an international hero since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. The words “Slava Ukraini” run along the left side of the portrait (“Glory to Ukraine”), while to the right of the portrait are the words “Heroyam slava” (“to the heroes’ glory”). Zelenskyy is holding a three-finger pose, which has become a popular symbol for pro-democracy, resistance, and equality.
Janice Frame’s mixed-media piece, “Maasai Mosaic,” is a striking portrait of a person — bold, colorful, commanding. Frame writes, “This piece reflects the Maasai tribe in Kenya. Their traditional attire includes brightly colored shúkà (cloaks), beaded jewelry, and ornaments, which symbolize their identity and status within the community. Elder Maasai men play a vital role in preserving the cultural heritage of the Maasai people, acting as leaders, mentors, and custodians of knowledge.” The background of this work is a stunning gold, and upon closer inspection, small specks of gold flakes fill the space. The piece is finished in a thick, clear coating, making the entire portrait shimmer.
Though I wish I could cover each piece in the “Muse” show, space is prohibitive. This is good news, however, because it means there are 85 more pieces of artwork to check out. So get to it, and who knows, you may just find your own muse.
“Muse” runs March 9 to March 30. For more information, visit featherstoneart.org/galleryshows.html.
