Most people stop noticing the locations, they pass by every day, but Lezley Woodham tends to see these places in a different way. She is fascinated by the play of time, space, and light on surfaces, and trying to capture a unique moment when all the elements align in a particular way. Lezley is drawn to the beauty of nature, gathering of light, intensity of color, complexity of texture, the elegance of line or moment of stillness.
Lately she has been intrigued by the concept of taking photographs of the same place, but at different times. Often, she will go back to the same places at different times of day, with the same viewpoint to do a careful study of the original setting.
Seasons and variations in weather, time of day, clouds and light endlessly remake familiar landscapes. When comparing those images, she’s captured from a specific viewing point she is always amazed at how different the same scene can appear simply by changing the season of the year, time of day, or type of weather condition during her visit.
In her barn series over the course of one year, she has photographed the exact same barn, with the same composition, the same angle, the same distance, and the same orientation to highlight the four different seasons as the year progresses. What an interesting way to show a year. Each period has its own charm and character—from snowy trees to glowing fields. The landscape thus looks quite different depending on the season. These images show how time can sometimes change everything, while some things stay the same. Whether it is the golden glow of the field in Barn Study 1 Spring, or the pink sky in Barn Study 2 Fall, this same location has something new to offer at any time depending on the season and the light variation and even depending on my own mood and inspiration.
Changes in lighting and different seasons creates a dramatic shift in the mood and content of her photos. When she shoots, she remembers that she is taking pictures of light, not just of an object. How that light interplays and interacts with the subject is important.
She has been standing at that same spot on more occasions than she can remember and, to be quite honest, every time she stands there, she gets the same awe-inspiring feeling that surely fills every avid landscape photographer’s soul.
So with summer around the corner, the art has been taking a bit of a rest as Dagmar Pinney is creating new art styles in her gardens. Gardening is an art form itself and she looks forward to sharing it with others throughout the summer and fall months. Of course, she will be busy in her studio as well, painting and getting ready for the fall Kawartha Lakes Studio Art Tour taking place in late September and early October.
Dagmar is often working on a piece of art while she sits at the gallery. Most often she is working in acrylic while there and doesn’t mind others watching, commenting, learning or share.
Mary Firth’s Scottish background encourages her to use up every scrap of glass possible, more often than not, she continues to be busy making little angels for all occasions. She and her friend often share their glass patterns.
Quite often when Mary is not dusting the shelves at the gallery, you’ll find her applying copper foil to small pieces of glass.
Piece that Debbie learned from.
A shopping trip to St. Jacobs started Debbie Yarnell on her 25+ year journey in wheat weaving.
A shop in the silo at St. Jacobs featured an artist that wove wheat. After talking to Daniel Kramer and looking at his work prompted Debbie questioning him as to whether he did workshops. He called a few months later and her formal training began. Daniel was an excellent instructor teaching many basics to get us started. After purchasing a couple of books and some wheat she was off and weaving.
Debbie’s Version
It was only after Debbie joined an international association of wheat weavers that she actually had anyone to weave with after attending their annual conference in Wichita, Kansas. She met many talented women and learned many new techniques from them. Amazing.
It always makes Debbie feel like a superstar when she can get through a project and be really happy with the end result, even if it is just from looking at someone else’s photograph. Attached are photos of her friend’s photograph and her (left) attempt at copying the piece.
Terry Atchison is spellbound by the shape shifting nature of glass. The science of glass arouses her curiosity, imagination and creativity, while the beauty captures her soul. The more she learns about its unique nature, the more she is able to manipulate the properties of glass creating bubbles, patterns and textures to form intriguing designs and functional one-of-a-kind art.
Anne-Marie’s kiln fires most days as the Station Gallery gets closer and closer to opening day each year!
Anne-Marie loves creating her fused glass. Here are a few pieces she’s been working on in honour of National Indigenous History Month.
Janice Addison’s husband Wayne is sometimes her framer. Here he is getting three paintings ready for display at Fenelon Station Gallery. Drop by and see these paintings up close and personal.
Finished Piece
An emotional attachment to something that belonged to loved ones begins this creative journey. A lamp shade that belonged to grandparents fell into disrepair, but getting rid of it was not in the books.
Instead of rebuilding the shade, it was taken apart and the glass was thoroughly cleaned. Janet Tysiak was able to produce a glass panel using glass from the old shade and added the seedy clear glass for the background.
Grandparents’ lampshade + their daughter’s idea to make something new = a beautiful gift for her daughter’s 40th birthday! You can see more of Janet’s work at the gallery every day from 10 – 5pm – closed Tuesday.
Willow Bark
Sandi McNeil has often read that willow bark was suitable for basket weaving, but she could never find any willow that was large enough to peel. That changed last spring when she discovered a clump of willow growing by her pond. Sh knew it was willow as they were growing jumbo pussy willows!
Sandi waited until the end of July to cut the willow trees down. She cut the branches off until she had a small trunk about 5 feet long. Using an awl, she lifted the bark off the thick end of the trunk and started to pull upward. The bark peeled easily with only a few knot holes and no stickiness. It was similar in colour to cedar, but had a different texture. It was thinner than was expected so she did not try to separate the inner and outer bark.
She cut the bark into long strips of weavers and coiled them up to dry. As they dried, she noticed the edges were curling. This indicates shrinkage is going on. There is no way to tell what bark is going to have a shrinkage factor. The shrinkage however, does not prevent the bark from being used, and it gives Sandi another option for colour and texture in her repertoire of natural materials.
Lezley Woodhams has worked as a photographer and high-end digital artist for advertising agencies and publishing organizations across the GTA. However, it was her time living on a farm in small town Uxbridge that ignited her passion for landscape photography.
She is fascinated how a solitary tree or rustic barn is transformed visually, and emotionally, by a change in season, time of day or weather patterns.
Recently the allure of shining waters, and colourful sunsets has drawn Lezley to move to the city of Kawartha Lakes, where you will find her out on the lake in my kayak, camera in hand, photographing the beauty before her. She particularly loves photographing reflections on the water.
The resulting images are an intriguing mix of dynamic compositions, contrasting shapes, and expressive visual depth.
Through the lens of her camera, she has found an inimitable peace in observing the world and capturing the quintessence of time and place. The images in series are a powerful metaphor for life’s joys and sorrows, inspirations, and challenges.
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Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge the Economic Development Division for awarding us with the City of Kawartha Lakes Arts and Culture Resiliency Funding. Their investment is deeply appreciated.
