Local artists tap into their reservoir

In Water, a mixed-media exhibit, artists Anne Griffith and Ann Hazels present interpretations of the ocean?s edge, the sea?s repititous waves and the Eastern Shore?s marshlands.

The Baltimore artists? works ? 10 ceramic sculptures by Hazels and more than 40 oil paintings on canvas by Griffith ? depict, mirror and embody water.

“Water has such as powerful influence on our lives,” Griffith said. “It nourishes us, calms us, enlivens us, heals and jostles, and makes an amazing impact on the earth and everything it touches.”

In her floor piece “The Sea,” Hazels invites viewers to touch and walk on the ceramic tile. “My pieces tend to be quite wavy and reflect motion not like fabric on a dress, but how a song?s melody can ripple,” Hazels said. “A lot of my work takes three-dimensional forms that look like mountains. I?ve moved around my whole life and the landscape is always what I observe first.”

Hazels credits her trip to Jingdezhen, China ? the porcelain capital of the world ? for her simple yet stimulating installations on display in Water. She introduces blues into her fleshy brown tones for the first time in this exhibit.

Colors “add another element to my work and have the ability to provoke a more emotional response,” she said.

Many of Griffith?s landscapes focus on fog and the specific qualities of water in low light, said Barbara Baxter, a Pikesville art historian and Maryland Institute College of Art faculty member. “Anne?s work radiates spirituality and mysticism,” she said.

“Mist on the water obliterates [the realistic qualities] and make it mysterious and romantic to me,” Griffith said. One small scale series of Griffiths? looks into the water at coy fish swimming in a pond during springtime on John Hopkins University?s campus.

Hazels and Griffith?s minimalist approaches are meant to be meditative rather than disturbing, Griffith said.

“A lot of what is going on in the art world is about action and rage, we?re contrary to that,” said Griffiths. “It?s a quieter kind of art, but powerful nonetheless.”

[email protected]

WATER

» Venue: Resurgam Gallery, 910 S. Charles St., Baltimore

» Times: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday

» Info: 410-962-0513;

www.resurgamgallery.com