On Sunday, Sept. 11, the Montpelier Art Center hosted a reception for three new exhibits.
Guests were treated to an excellent selection of finger foods and provided with the opportunity to meet the featured artists Linda Bernard, Roslyn Logsdon, Charlie Risselada and Rachel Rotenberg.
Bernard and Logsdon, who are both resident artists at the center, collaborated on a presentation titled "Windows." Logsdon works hooked fibers and fabrics into images of windows on a facade. She said she has been doing rug hooking for "a very long time."
She loves to visit Paris, which is the setting of many of her pieces here.
Bernard's ceramic pieces depict windows as frames to view the world.
Bernard has been a Laurel resident since 1973, a resident artist at Montpelier since 1981 and also teaches art classes at the center.
She started taking ceramics classes at Deerfield Run Community Center. What began as a hobby has morphed into her life's work. That work includes exhibiting at the Torpedo Factory, in Old Town Alexandria, Va.
Risselada's medium of expression is poured paintings derived from actual land formations. In this exhibit, the "Chesapeake Bay Watershed," which he said he loves because the "topography is so lacy and fertile," Risselada seeks to portray our relationship to the bay as one of give and take. The current exhibit uses the exact same landmass but painted in differing ways and hung from different perspectives.
Rotenberg employs a different way of depicting what nature brings us — one that uses vines and cedar lumber to intertwine and harmonize with each other. Rotenberg has loved making things since she was small, sewing and knitting. Now, she uses large power tools to create images of fluid natural harmony.
This year, Rotenberg won the Sondheim Prize and has had a gallery devoted to her work at theBaltimore Museum of Art.
All of these exhibits run through the end of September. More information can be obtained by calling 301-377-7800.
The South Laurel Recreation Council has announced registration for their fall classes. Offerings this season include yoga,Pilates and Zumba for adults of all levels, as well as ballroom dancing and Latin dance. Those of us interested in beginning or perfecting skill in tennis can sign up for adult, beginning and intermediate; or children's classes, for ages 6-12.
For those seeking more sedentary pursuits, chess and knitting are on offer.
Most classes are offered at Montpelier and James Harrison elementary schools, and the Montpelier Carriage House. The tennis lessons take place at Montpelier Neighborhood Park.
Register in person at Deerfield Run Community Center, by phone at 301-583-2665 or online at http://www.pgparks.com. For more information, call SLRC at 301-776-2805.
Courses and activities now available at the Deerfield Run Community Center include Aquarium care (freshwater), Hip Hop Modern Dance, Beginning Judo for Children, Beginning PowerPoint for Adults and beginning Microsoft Word or Digital Photography for Children. For more information on these classes and others to be offered in the future, stop by the center at 13000 Laurel-Bowie Road, or call 301-953-7882.