The Lift of Blue: A Group Exhibition in Support of Mental Health Awareness.

The exhibition title comes from the poem “Sea Church” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil; there’s a particular stanza that carries me away to happy childhood memories of a Saturday morning greeting, my mother’s voice, and the sunny sky peeking through a crack in the window blind. But also, the clever twist is a reminder that the mood of feeling blue can be lifted through a new day, finding inspiration in nature, and making–or looking at– art.

The exhibition called for blue, and 59 artists answered. The walls in The Linda Roesch Visual Arts Gallery will be filled with blue works, the variety in medium and subject matter is delightful. We hope you will have an opportunity to attend the opening and meet the artists on Friday, May 3, 5-7 PM. Remarks by West Central and AVA’s leadership at 5:45 pm. The exhibition is on view through June 29. the lift of blue is a group exhibition supporting Mental Health Awareness Month of May.

Exhibiting artists: Emily Battles, Cheryl Bencivenga, Rachel Benoit, Renee Bitinas, Lynn Bohannon, Shari Boraz, Darla Bruno, Blair Butterfield, Leah Caroline, Joseph Carton, Nancy White Cassidy, Sally Chapman, Theresa Chausse, Paula Cloudpainter, Sue Collier, Annabelle Cone, Gillian Cook, Ellen Cooper, Elizabeth D’Amico, Todd DePerno, Betsy Derrick, Michelle Dreselly, Samantha Eckert, Stephan Fowlkes, Jon Gilbert Fox, Rene Gerrior, Shawna Gibbs, Renee Greenlee, Victoria Shalva Herzberg, Bruce Hewitt, William B. Hoyt, Janet Hutchens, Sher Kamman, Molly Leith, Jillian Lauren Lisitano, Dawn Littlepage, Anni Lorenzini, Todd Matte, Justin McDowell, Elizabeth Melnyczuk, Chalice Mitchell, Marianne Mullen, John O’Dowd, Jayne Ollin, Phyll Perry, Kathryn Peterson, Alexander Pope, Linda Roesch, Evelyn Roberts, Brooke Robinson Drew, Terry Rooney, Donna Sadonsky, Richard Schnall, Kate Smith, Gary St. Ivany, Richard Stallman, Kathy Stark, Laura Tafe, Sheryl Trainor, Christel Wolfaardt.

About Spencer Lewis: Spencer Lewis performs his signature Americana folk grooves either solo or by live-looping the guitar and violin, to mirror or eclipse the music from his internationally known 26-album catalog. His most recent release Ruins & Foundations takes his folk chamber music to its most passionate level. Tom Hill of the Upper Valley’s Valley News once described his instrumental music as ‘somewhere between melancholia and celebration’. As a guitarist, he employs an inimitable cross-flat-picking technique and uses a Mississippi John Hurt style of finger and flat-picking played in a variety of tunings and guitars. www.spencerlewismusic.com