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Headwaters Arts third exhibition of the year kicks off, Symphony of Seasons

March 24, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

With the re-opening of businesses and venues, Headwaters Arts Gallery is pleased to announce its third art exhibition for the year, Symphony of Seasons. The Exhibition opened this week, March 23 and runs to April 24

Of the 20 artists showing 45 works, the Citizen had the opportunity to speak to Patty Maher, a fine art photographer. 

Two degrees in English literature, one of which is a Masters in Canadian literature to her credit, Ms. Maher has a career with an academic publishing company as a marketing manager.

“I took up art just to the side of my job,” said she, who is self-taught but has made a point of learning from other photographers. “To be creative. My portraits are in several galleries around the world – Israel, Portugal, Toronto. I do both [working at the publishing house and photography.]

A member of Headwaters Arts for a few years, Ms. Maher has been doing photography since 2010.

“What I’m known for in my art photography,” she told us, “is usually women. They like to model for me with their beautiful clothes and flowing hair.”

For four years now she has been painting – exclusively abstracts. At the moment, she is working on pieces for a show at the Scugog Art Gallery of minimal abstract landscapes.

“It’s a whole different part [of what I do] and very appealing,” she commented.

In her artist’s statement, she writes: “In my fine art photography I try to symbolically capture these ‘seasons’ in a way that allows the viewer to identify and discover their own stories.”

Patty Maher was a finalist in the prestigious Hassleblad Masters Competition. Her work is on the list of 35 Most Influential Conceptual Portrait Photographers by the influential ExpectPhotography.com.

Last year, under the guidance and skill of Susan Powell who has been doing the marketing for Headwaters Arts, she wrote the application for the Trillium Grant that allowed them to purchase a seasonal cover for the courtyard at the Alton Mill Arts Centre.

In an interview with the Citizen, earlier this week Ms. Powell told us, “The one thing that’s happened after we got the Ontario Trillium Grant, we still have remaining money to do training on a 3D virtual camera. We applied for an operating stream to pay and keep staff on and hiring meant our gallery administrator can work. We hired a digital social media specialist. She has a degree in design and has moved back to Alton.

“The third member show [Symphony of Seasons] is on now; everything is open and they’ve been planning for the Mill as well. It’s kind-of a good time right now. We have seen some new members submitted in the shows and that’s what we want to see – a little less constraints.” 

One of the new members is Julie Park, who paints with acrylics and her main choice of topic is wonderful full-blown flowers, their petals on the brink of change into autumn.

In her artist statement, she writes, “My artwork explores the connection between flowers and humans. Just like our existence, we start as a little bud to elegantly bloom into a flower and eventually leave our traces behind. Even if the blooming season ends, we always tend to reminisce about how beautiful a flower once bloomed, despite [its] wilting.
“Just like a flower, I wanted to capture the essence of life to reminisce about the moments I shared with my beloveds.”

The Alton Mill staff are busy with upcoming plans for concerts and celebrations under the tent. A concert promoter is working on bookings and the Citizen will let readers know who is coming to perform as it is announced.

Concert tickets cover the cost of the performers as expected and go toward maintaining and promoting the Mill. A portion of the ticket sales also goes back into Headwaters Arts coffers too, as the organization worked with the Mill to fund the tent by a large portion of the Trillium Grant. 

About Caledon and living in this thriving arts community, Patty Maher commented that she has been living here for about 11 years, saying, “You live up here and you just become an artist. I picked a camera just for a hobby and before I knew it, it was much more than a hobby. I have a background in sales and marketing. When I started painting, it put me nowhere near the computer. With photography I use the computer but when I do painting, I’m nowhere near a computer. And that can be wonderful.”

For more about Ms. Maher, www.pattymaher.com

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