People always stop Cindy Fletcher-Holden in the grocery store. They?re curious about Art Between the Creeks ? a group of Annapolis-area artists who collectively show works Naptown?s traditional galleries might not display.
“The only way people will see our work is to have our own shows,” said muralist and large canvas painter Fletcher-Holden.
Fletcher-Holden co-founded Art Between the Creeks in 2002, ten years after starting the successful ?rogue? shows, Warehouse of the Refused, inspired by the 19th- century painters? Salon of the Refused.
“Cindy is the brains and the guts of the really extraordinary group,” said member Rosemary Freitas Williams. “I?m a traditional watercolor realist painter, but my work always has a twist … Cindy insists [a twist] from all the artists. She forces me to stretch my subject matter.”
Art Between the Creek?s entrepreneurial spirit is matched by the artists? talents and diverse styles on display in their latest exhibit, Optical Delusion. The exhibit, at Annapolis Yacht Club?s Sailing Center, will include paintings, sculptures, photography and mixed-media work from 16 of Art Between the Creeks? 19 artists.
Among Optical Delusion?s exhibiting artists is well-known painter, Leonard Koscianski, whose work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum and the Chicago Art Institute.
“It?s a tremendous compliment that he?s asked us to be in the show,” Fletcher-Holden said. “It blows me away that he is doing a painting just for the show. It?s like Carlos Santana writing a song just for your party.”
“Around here, if you don?t paint dogs or sailboats or Naval Academy scenes, it?stough [to place your work in a gallery,]” said Jason Duden, self-described binge-painter who creates textured and three dimensional paintings for several intense weeks before taking month-long respites.
Watercolorist Sandy Travis-Bildahl said Optical Delusion is as varied as Annapolis. “In the show, you?ll see things you might not expect and be surprised by the creative diversity. The work is different, yet personal.”
During the artists? opening reception, the group will auction 12 painted mirrors, on view until the reception at Free State Press in Annapolis. Proceeds from the auction will be used to buy art supplies for Eastport Elementary School?s art program. An Art Between the Creeks auction last year raised nearly double the amount of Eastport Elementary?s yearly art supplies budget.
IF YOU GO
Where: Annapolis Yacht Club Sailing Center
6th Street at Severn Avenue
Informal preview: Noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 8
Artists? Reception: 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 9
Backroom Sunday … Beyond the Show tent sale: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 11
Show: Noon to 9 p.m. Nov. 9, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 10 and 11
