Boguslaw Wroblewski

October 30, 2011 through December 11th, 2011

I am an amateur photographer specializing in nature photography. I was born and raised in Poland. From early childhood, I demonstrated an interest in nature. My educational background is in Forestry, but upon coming to the United States I began a career as a land surveyor. Upon retirement, I became increasingly involved in photography traveling with my camera on back country roads capturing variations in light, color and mood of the landscapes that surround us.



I am a member of the Polish Society of Artists. I have exhibited my works, both individually and as part of a group, in various venues, including the State Capitol in Hartford, the Sloper-Wesoly Heritage House in New Britain, the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, the Oliver Wolcott Library in Litchfield, the Burlington Public Library and at the Kurier Plus Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Most recently, I had a private showing at a fundraiser for “The Magic is Back at Harkness Park”. What I love about photography is that it allows me to express my innermost feelings through my observations of life and nature.

Veralyn Davee Quilting

October 2nd through October 30th.

Veralyn Davee has been quilting for 35 years and has been a ribbon winner in the Michigan State Fair and local and regional quilt shows in Michigan and Connecticut.

She enjoys the fabric/color selection and design process of both traditional blocks and original pieces. Most piecing is done by machine, then quilted by machine or hand; she also does hand-applique work.

She has studied the history and development of quilting as an American Craft and art form and has done lectures and trunk shows over the years. She feels one of her strengths is the use of color in her work. It is what she is most drawn to for inspiration.

Currently living in Kent and working as an audiologist at Hearing Aid Specialists in New Milford for the last ll years, she is active in two area guilds--Mountain Laurel Quilters in New Milford and Southford Falls Quilt Guild in Middlebury. She gives away many baby quilts and wedding gifts to friends and family, donates quilts to community and civic groups for fund-raising and does individual commissioned pieces.

She hopes you enjoy this sampling of some of her most recent work.

Photography by Ray Kwiatkoski

Author/Photographer Raymond Kwiatkoski will display selected color and black and white photographs starting Sunday, August 7th 2011, at The New Milford Public Library. Also on display will be a copy of his soon to be released book entitled “Rural Wealth” . This show will run through September 18th.

Mary Gates June 2th- August 7th 2011

Mary Shanley Gates: biographical information
New Milford Public Library
Art Show: June 27th to August 6th 2011

“In the Style of: Inspired by Favorite Artists”



Mary Shanley Gates has spent most of her life in Connecticut, except for two and a half years as a VISTA volunteer in Montana. She worked in the Brookfield school system for thirty two years as a teacher and curriculum coordinator. She co-authored a teacher resource book, Living with the Land, published in 1998. With her husband, Timothy, she has been a New Milford resident for more than thirty years. She published a 2009 calendar, Lighthouse Landscapes, from her original paintings. She takes classes with two prominent local artists, Alisyn Hamilton and Anda Styler. Mary can be reached by email at: marysgates@gmail.com.


Rationale for this show:

For centuries, artists have visited museums and galleries to study the works of other artists. Painting or drawing the works of others expands artistic vision in a concrete manner.
For this show, I have interpreted favorite works of some well known artists. I have included original works that illustrate the effect these artists have had on my work. For example, I have always been drawn to the strong use of color in my work, as have the artists I modeled for this show. Primarily I work in acrylics, but occasionally do pieces in oil, pastel, or water color.

Christina Falise Chernobyl, 25 Years After

I have been photographing the world around me for almost as long as I can remember. Growing up in New York City, my
single working mother only rarely took out her camera. Holidays and special events were the only times that the old Agfa
made its appearance, and film would often remain in that camera for several years before being developed. Seeing those rare
snapshots for the first time years later, I found them somewhat unsettling. Those people in that frame seemed lost. They were
permanently frozen in emulsion from 1972. I was fascinated by the images and by the gulf of time which lay between us, and I
realized that photographs have a unique ability. They can make the temporary permanent.
After being introduced to the darkroom in a fifth grade photo class, my love of photographs only grew as I did. Using a beat up
old 35mm camera, I would wander the streets of New York after school photographing anything that caught my interest,
and very often those images were of ignored or hidden places and people. These are subjects which I find I return to again
and again. While my equipment and experience have grown and evolved over the years, my reasons for photographing have
not changed all that much. Regardless of the subject, I have always worked to capture that elusive feeling I had as a child
looking at the old snapshots.
I prefer to work with 6x6cm black and white film and make my prints in a wet darkroom. I feel that making my photographs
this way keeps me closer to the original source, and find the square format both challenging and rewarding. When working in
this medium I never crop an image, preferring to always print full-frame. In recent years, however, I have come to embrace
digital media as well. It allows for a certain spontaneity and flexibility that the film process lacks. Regardless of the format, I
still start with the basic process of recording light exactly as it existed at one specific moment in time. For me, it is this
characteristic which makes photography so unique and important. That singular act of framing and capture sits in diametric
opposition to the very nature of time. It makes the temporary permanent.
It is this very quality of photography which allows me to explore the themes of life, death and our world. The more I work,
and the older I get, the more I want to study and understand the transient nature of human life and its influence upon our
planet.

Melanie Cilfone Photography

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Melanie Cilfone
“Ha”
The Breath of Life

One summer night, out on a flat headland, all but surrounded by the waters of the bay, the horizons were remote and distant rims on the edge of space. Millions of stars blazed in darkness, and on the far shore a few lights burned in cottages. Otherwise there was no reminder of human life. My companion and I were alone with the stars: the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright and clear, a blazing planet low on the horizon. It occurred to me that if this were a sight that could be seen only once in a century, this little headland would be thronged with spectators. But it can be see many scores of nights in any year, and so the lights burned in the cottages and the inhabitants probably gave not a thought to the beauty overhead; and because they could see it almost any night, perhaps they never will. ~Rachel Carson
I find that my job as an artist is to capture something ordinary, something everyday, in such a way that it is seen in a new light. To force people to stop and recognize what they take for granted, to find the underlying beauty and truth in my subjects, even if the beauty is plainly seen. There is a moment to be captured everywhere and I love to be able to hold that moment in time knowing that it never will really occur again, something will always be different. At that time, at that place, it has been captured and held exactly how it will always be.
In this particular body of work, I want to show these types of moments through photographs of my time on the islands of Hawaii. The islands hold their own particular magic and beauty that locals never take for granted. They appreciate all that has been given to them and find the breath of life, their ‘Ha’, within the land and sea that they see everyday. Locals live free and in the moment, taking it all in. I offer up to you as a challenge to find the beauty in your everyday, in the simple things in life. It’s there, if you stop long enough to open your eyes and look for it. Find your ‘Ha’.