PETALS AND STEMS Art Opening Reception on May 16

In a celebration of spring and all of Earth’s creation, nine artists will explore the grace and beauty of flowers, plants, and nature in Petals and Stems, a new group exhibition at the Takoma Park Community Center with an opening reception on May 16 at 7 pm.

The diverse work includes close-up photos of plants by Paige Billin-Frye, finely stitched quilts by Elaine Katz, and hand-carved gourds by Meipo Martin. Janel Leppin’s large yarn weavings will be suspended from the atrium ceiling in a unique installation.

Five artists from the Botanical Art Society of the National Capital Region also will share lifelike paintings and sketches of flowers and plants, including Judy Brown, Heidemarie Copiz, Joan Maps Ducore, Marsha Ogden, and Barbara Sweeney.

After being mentored by master carvers, Meipo carves and stains gourds with fluid designs that merge Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Leppin’s weavings incorporate cherished clothing, including her wedding veil and her grandmother’s red dress, evoking the persistence of memory and the power of nostalgia.

Billin-Frye has traveled across the country and into her own backyard to find seed pods and plants to create soft-hued images that revel in nature’s innate architecture. Katz is an art teacher whose quilts feature three-dimensional elements, and the Botanical Art Society artists merge art and science in their realistic depictions of various plant species.

Please join us this Thursday to see the art and meet the artists!

The Takoma Park Community Center is located at 7500 Maple Avenue. For more info, contact Arts Coordinator Brendan Smith at brendans@takomaparkmd.gov.