Art in the Garage
Exhibit Dates | August 9 - October 1, 2022
Opening Reception | Friday, August 12 | 5:30–7PM
Featuring Artists: Kathy Saigh, Molly Potter-Thayer, Patrice Scott, Roni Rottner, Jane Keihart, Cheryl Ritland, Gail McCarthy, May Wong, Maggie Griner, Judi Bettendorf, Kim Roden, Karen McCrory
By Jackie Holfelder
Sometime in the early 2000s, a group of artists with roots deep in Martin County started meeting on Wednesday afternoons to practice figure drawing.
As the years evolved, their love of art and their camaraderie pushed them to experiment with new and different media and techniques.
Then, right before the pandemic, one of the members, Kathy Saigh, bought a piece of property in Martin County that included an open-air garage and the friends/artists were able to continue holding their Wednesday dates in safety.
Although they have all practiced art individually for most of their lives, that isn’t what has drawn the group together. Their Wednesday think tank/workshops allow them to explore not only each other's medium, but other materials that have been collected from their own studios, area thrift shops, dumpsters and back yards. Leaving their egos and life's problems at the door, they enter a negative-free zone, a communal workspace well-outfitted with hand and power tools and stocked with pooled resources for projects.
Featured members and artists Judi Bettendorf, Jane Kiehart, Gail McCarthy, Molly Potter-Thayer, Cheryl Ritland, Kimberly Roden, Roni Rottner, Kathy Saigh, Patrice Scott, May Wong are bringing a unique and eclectic exhibit – Art in the Garage – to the Court House Cultural Center from August 8-September 30.
One wall in the exhibit will be a memorial to esteemed ceramic artist Gail McCarthy, a member of the group who passed away recently.
