OSWEGO – The Art Association of Oswego (AAO) announces the upcoming opening of two new exhibitions: Howard Bartle’s “Growth Rings, Creations in Wood” and JoAnne Howard’s “Medley, Decoupage and Other Media”. An opening reception for both exhibitions is scheduled for Saturday, May 4th, 7-9pm. The exhibitions run through June 2nd. Howard Bartle’s work will be displayed in the second floor’s Timothy McHenry Gallery. Bartle’s studio and Civil War-era home are nestled in nearly 100 acres of mixed woods near Fair Haven. There he creates quirky, one-of-a-kind furniture pieces that seek to understand and exploit but never dominate his chosen materials. Though Bartle also creates “art for art’s sake”, his primary focus is producing functional pieces; especially tables. “ I enjoy useful objects: tables, chairs, cabinets and such. To see the material ‘speak for itself’ and yet take a useful stance, perhaps for decades, delights me as it satisfies my creative urges.” says Bartle. His unique, heirloom works offer a stark and direct contrast to mass-produced and stylized store-bought furniture. States Bartle, “A through line for my life has been working with my hands: as a teen, I helped my dad and granddad do masonry and carpentry work, even built a wooden boat in the basement. (Yes, I was able to get it out, even slap on a 25 horse motor and speed about). I earned my “Artistic License” (BA, MFA) at a young age and promptly became a homesteader in Western Pennsylvania, building a ceramics studio, gas kiln, barn, and refurbishing an abandoned farmhouse. Sure, I “worked out”, teaching, building, even truck driving, but the land, where I planted thousands of trees, was my center, my touchstone. Here in Sterling, we have a large woodland to shepard, thousands of trees my wife Linda planted, and another new studio, this one aimed at woodworking. A friend visits annually to saw logs, mostly from our forest: then it’s sorting, grading, drying, designing and building wooden objects with an eye toward uniqueness and grace.” He adds, “To finish a piece which offers originality, visual interest, and utility, is my goal: to use wood as wood, carefully design and finish it, giving the individual elements a new life. When a piece enters a home and finds a new setting, it may better express, surprisingly express, a new stance, reflecting “treeness” but with human interaction and intent.” In addition to Howard’s creative endeavors in wood, he is a dedicated teaching partner at North Coast Yoga, Oswego along with his wife and studio owner Linda Hjortshoj. Those interested in Howard Bartle’s creations can reach him at [email protected]. JoAnne Howard’s work will be displayed in the first floor’s Kirk Beason Gallery. JoAnne is an Oswego Native. Recently retired, she was part of the SUNY Oswego college community for over twenty years. JoAnne was always interested in art as a child, and was particularly inspired by several high school watercolor classes. As an adult, she has taken many “ mini classes” with some very talented local artists, furthering her passions. From these various classes, she has gleaned valuable lessons, as well as enjoyed working side by side with others. Says Howard, “To me, creating art feels like playtime and I can never be too serious about it! Art is color, texture and patterns. It is the process of combining interesting and unconventional media and tools to create something new and fun. I enjoy using what’s at hand and using whatever is of interest to me, and many times the result is a piece that pleases me. I’ve used shoe polish, makeup and nail polish just to see how it meshes with other media.Composition is particularly important to me.I’m not committed to any one art form, and have gone through many phases of trying out new art ideas over the years. I’ve taken some lessons in a few different genres but the rest has been self-taught through experimentation and following my passion.” AAO is a non-profit organization that consistently contributes to Oswego’s cultural landscape. Public events include but are not limited to free art exhibitions and low-cost community art classes. Each week Art Association of Oswego’s Pottery Open Studio is offered Monday and Thursdays at 5pm and Open Painting Studio is offered Wednesdays at 10am. The Art Association of Oswego and the Frances Marion Brown Theater are located in Building 30 of the Fort Ontario complex across from the parking lot of the fort itself. AAO may be reached at 315-216-6782, [email protected] and www.oswegoarts.org.
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