Splendor in the Everyday Opens May 30 A perfect two-person exhibition to launch the summer season! Artists Normandy Alden (Cooperstown and West Winfield) and Mary Padgett (New Woodstock) are featured in the first summer show, Splendor in the Everyday. Alden’s highly individual and inventive ceramic work is well-known nationally though seldom exhibited locally. Another established artist, Padgett’s mastery of the pastel medium in colorful and luscious still lifes has earned her many awards nationally. The artists will present a number of talks and demonstrations throughout the event: Thursday June 12 Mary Padgett, artist’s talk, 4PM; Wednesday July 2, Normandy Alden, demonstration / and illustrated talk, 4:30PM;  Wednesday July 9, a panel discussion at 4PM, moderated by Megan Irving. Reservations are always recommended as space is limited. Gallery is open Saturdays 11am-3pm and DAILY with a text or call to 315-941-9607 or leartgarage@gmail.com. The exhibition concludes on Wednesday July 9 with an artist’s panel discussion. ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Alden grew up in PA and did her undergraduate work at Gettysburg College. She then lived and worked in Niger, West Africa as a Peace Coprs Volunteer. Upon return, she began working in clay and apprenticed with Karen Karnes, the well-known ceramicist who studied at Black Mountain College in the mid 20th century. Alden earned her MFA from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her extensive experience includes teaching ceramics. “My art practice is grounded in a radical and optimistic idea that the objects we encounter in our daily life can guide us towards a life aligned with our values,” she explained. “ I seek to make pots with the simplicity and elegance I see mirrored in the landscape that surrounds….. The ceramic vessel in its myriad forms is a metaphor for human creativity itself.” Alden spends her time between Cooperstown where her studio is and her farm in West Winfield where her extended family run an organic grass-fed beef business called Cairncrest Farm. Mary Padgett studied at Boston University (BFA Painting) and Syracuse University (MFA Printmaking). She has taught painting and color courses for Syracuse University and Cazenovia College, and conducts workshops in the US and abroad. With a studio in New Woodstock, New York, she is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and has been featured in American Artist and Pastel Journal. Her paintings are in numerous private and public collections. Her many local and national exhibitions include competition awards from the Pastel Society of America, the Fenimore Art Museum and the Finger Lakes Plein Air. Locally, Gallery 53 Artworks first exhibited her work in the Smithy in the 1980s. Accomplished  in both oil and pastel mediums, Padgett is featuring  her jewel-like pastel still lifes in Splendor in the Everyday,  especially of the season’s bounty…luscious cherries, verdant fennel and more . “Pastel is a wonderfully versatile, colorful medium,” she noted, “not affected by temperature or humidity, it can go anywhere. No solvents, mediums, or special tools are necessary.” An experienced and popular workshop teacher, Padgett will be offering a one-day workshop at the Art Garage (tuition). The Art Garage has served the area for 14 years, and offers a rich array of exhibitions, from community shows that show case neighbors, to international artists whose works would not otherwise be seen locally, such as Adam Masava (Kenya) and Olivier Bonhomme (France). Upcoming shows include Samurai Baseball and More: A fine-arts-look-at-baseball,  and Jamie Young, cyanotypes in the fall.