Art Gallery

In 2007, art gallery space was added to the Community Room of the Cuba Circulating Library. This was made possible by gifts from Jim and Delores Cross, and from Dean Benham in honor of his grandchildren, Jack and Claire Benham. This space is used to highlight the works of local artists.

Now Showing…

As a photographer who lives in a rural area, I have access to the natural world and all its intrinsic characteristics. My husband and I own a fairly large plot of acreage in the town of Machias.

On this acreage, there is a grove of 100-year-old hawthorn, apple, aspen, and other hardwood trees. Paths meander through the grove with deer trails, grasses, and wildflowers surrounding the trees. A creek is nearby. I have photographed the grove at various times of the year, and at various times of the day. Each photograph is unique in its characteristics, portraying different degrees of light and shadow, various color schemes, seasonal vegetation, and assorted angles and views of the trees and foliage. Some photos show the trees individually or in groups, while others are close-ups of leaves, blossoms, and berries.

To give the photos an almost 3-D like quality, a software filter was used to enhance the photos with movement, dimension, multi-faceted colors, abstraction, and components of chiaroscuro. The photographs also show a sense of timelessness. The trees themselves seem ageless and eternal, growing and changing season after season, as the cycle of days pass and begin again.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Arts Council for Wyoming County.