Women Artists Doing What They Want

      Martine MacDonald and Corey Scillian have been working artists for awhile.  Both have made a life of being educated and trained and working in their chosen field. Both are creating, Martine as a painter and Corey as a ceramist and sculptor.  Gallery Founder, Patt Slack explains, "When we started talking about this show we started talking about the name of the exhibit.  It became clear quickly that these two artists were ready to only do what they wanted to do, no rules, no themes, no guidelines.  So the show is appropriately titled "Doing What We Want".

    For MacDonald, that means using the media and style that most catches her interest and intention, regardless of what others may think or expect. Currently. her paintings have focused on the figure, often using images of herself as the model. However, MacDonald cautions that her work is not to be seen as self-portraits. Rather, she hopes to capture universal themes found in both the real and mystical world. MacDonald is inspired by literature, mythology, and objects and artifacts found in nature. She is influenced by the concept of home and identity, and often uses recurring images of birds and nests for their symbolic connotations.

   Scillian explains her work for this show by starting out saying that she is a feminist "and I believe in the balance of workplace and home responsibilities for all genders. However, this newest body of work primarily focuses on the character and importance of what I think of as the Gentle Man. With so much attention given to men of bad character, it feels important to make sure we take a moment to recognize that there are many good men in our lives that deserve attention. I've always hoped and believed that the people around us will rise up to meet expectations, and now would be the right time to make clear the expectations of good. Peace"

   Jeremy Hansen, gallery director,  explained the "Side Show" featuring Julie fournier. "We have a turn of the century architectural gem in Downtown Wyandotte.  We have three floors with brick walls, wooden floors and various historical touches.  If we find the right artist that will make the visiting experience to our main show even better we will use another space besides our main gallery on the second floor.  Fournier's new work fit in well."   

   The opening is at River's Edge Gallery 3024 Biddle in downtown Wyandotte.  Artists will be in attendance,  light refreshments will be served . A jazz trio will be entertaining and doors open at 6:00 pm.