03/08/10 – Artists’ Co-op – Anderson, Hamilton & Mason

Artists' Co-op show features three longtime members

OMAHA, Neb. – The Artists’ Cooperative Gallery is showing the work of three longtime members – painter Valerie Light Anderson, potter Thomas Hamilton and painter Jean Mason. Their feature show will run March 3 through March 28, 2010. The artists will host an opening celebration 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 6 and will demonstrate their techniques Sunday, March 7 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In addition, members of Omaha’s Ikebana group will bring their skills in the Japanese art of flower arrangement to the gallery. Members will each choose an artwork in the gallery to inspire a floral design. The arrangements will be on display March 19 through March 21.

As always, events at the Artists’ Cooperative Gallery are free.

Valerie Light Anderson paints landscapes, figures and still lifes. She’s interested in the ways light affects objects, and how capturing that moment conveys a sense of time, place and emotion. “I look for what the light does, revealing some quiet scene, some interplay between objects, textures, shadows, space,” Anderson said. “I like to think of my works as moments, captured just before the light changed and the moment was gone. Sometimes my paintings are more than moments, but quiet little conversations.”

Thomas Hamilton creates ceramics pieces inspired by the outdoors. He developed his own blend of stoneware clay over the last 40 years of studio work. His extensive research led to using multiples glazes to create dynamic pieces that often include references to clouds, wind and water. “The unique properties of clay make it limitless,” Hamilton said. “I can move it easily – push, pull, add or subtract.” He creates wheel-thrown as well as hand-built pieces.

Jean Mason’s energetic paintings feature movement and bright colors. Perhaps best known for her portrayal of musicians, Mason has created new works that are spontaneous, loose and affordable. In these large-scale paintings on canvas pieces, she explores relationships, communication, listening to one’s instincts and the connections to powers beyond us. “They are about having fun, living with joy and intention, connecting and feeling alive,” she said. “The series comes from a scrap of paper on the wall in my studio that says ‘there's a bold bright spot where my soul wants to be.’ ”

The Artists’ Co-op has been showing the work of respected regional artists for nearly 35 years. This cooperative group of artists conducts educational and cultural outreach activities, and it maintains and staffs a gallery that features works in a wide variety of media, including sculpture, weaving, painting, pottery, photography, printmaking and drawing. Monthly opening receptions provide opportunities to meet member artists and learn more about their work.