C.S.A. 2023

Windsor, VT  |  Watercolor

Margaret Dwyer earned her Master of Fine Art degree in Visual Arts in 2008 from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, VT. Her thesis work involved researching, writing, and creating art based on psychological themes such as trauma, dreams, and the unconscious. She works in several 2-D and 3-D mediums (though watercolor is her favorite). Her artwork has been recognized in numerous juried national and international exhibitions.
From 2019 to 2021, Margaret was the Artist in Residence for Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, VT. Margaret is currently the AIR at Billings Farm & Museum.  She is also a mural artist, having created dozens of murals both public and private throughout New England. She currently teaches art through her studio in Windsor, VT.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“I love being a studio artist, but I also have a real passion for teaching. It inspires me to be among other creative people and lifelong learners. Ideas and artistic methods are constantly in motion in my studio, and it is a joy to share that with others through teaching”

MargaretDwyerArtist.com

Center Sandwich, NH   |  Photography

Susan Lirakis believes in looking ,and plays with seeing. She has been making photographs, and using them as a means of expression, for over sixty years.  Susan explains making photographs as a way to make sense of the world and to create; a process she considers a sacred act. 

Using plastic, lens-less, and traditional cameras, Susan makes fine art images in series and individual pieces, she also enjoys portraiture.

Susan has received awards and fellowships for further advancement of her work through the NH State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, the Clowes Foundation, and the McLaughlin Residency Fellowship.

ARTIST STATEMENT

This series of photographs is a collection of daily meditations, with the reminder to pause, to celebrate the perhaps seemingly ordinary. These smaller daily works are an accessing to and sharing in my visual process.

I use my photographic interest and skills as an exercise in looking and being. It is a means to remain alert, to feel connected, to maintain spaciousness. I remember what it is to be alive. I celebrate and share what I see. My expression may be literal or more interpretive, playing with time and serving as a gateway to questioning how we see.

susanlirakis.com

Bow, NH  |  acrylic

My B. A. in Studio Art with a concentration in painting and teaching certificate from the
University of New Hampshire, provided me the footings for a colorful life collaged with art.
I was raised in a rural area of New Hampshire where the outdoors was my creative space. I was
taught to explore different media as my parents generously provided me with art supplies and
recycled and natural materials of all kinds. My siblings and I were taught to revere the fine arts
and as a result, several of my family members are also practicing artists.  I always found opportunities to weave art into my professional positions. As a preschool teacher at Saint Paul’s School, I encouraged students to use art and art materials for exploration and expression. As an Assistant Gallery Curator at Saint Anselm College – Chapel Art Center, I helped curate, install, and promote exhibitions as well as train budding curators.  As a Librarian at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, I provided references to students in the Art and Creative Writing fields. I helped develop a student gallery with a mission to offer
emerging artists real-world gallery experiences in a practice setting. Meanwhile, I continued to
paint and participate in small exhibitions when possible.
Now as a full-time artist, and newly juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association, I
partake in local exhibitions and have begun to sell my work. I joined two recent Strada Easel Challenges which help support my daily painting/framing mission. I shy away from mass-
produced materials for framing and presentation.  I am currently working on small panels featuring botanicals. Their size supports rapid painting of fleeting flora. My gardens and wooded trails supply me with endless natural subjects for my paintings. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

Inspiration surfaced
Like spice on a breeze
A color, a shape, a viridian tease

Botanics in earthy red and lime
The purple of shadows
Color-danced with time

Nature quietly sets the hook
Fortuity hides
In umbral nook

Once captured on wood or gessoed cloth
Like a hand encompassing
A wandering moth

Fiddlety ferns and fungal flora
Artist challenged
To capture their aura

See More of Martha’s work here.

Lebanon, NH  |  Watercolor

Patti uses watercolor to capture and elevate
everyday items and experiences.  From landscape, to still life, florals, and people, Patti spans a wide range of subjects with her paint brush.  In addition to being an artist, Patti is also an art teacher both at the Library Arts Center and other venues in the Upper Valley–including Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dartmouth.  She is a retired art teacher and elementary school principal.

See More of Patti’s work here.