It was the hub of the giraffes as the Brethren Home Community hosted their first villager art installation at their new Harmony Ridge facilities on Friday.
The Avenue Art Inspiration exhibit featured the artworks of residents and some members of the facilities team, all of which included giraffes as a common theme.
Holly Fetting, Director of Life Enrichment, was inspired to put together an enriching art installation created by residents of the senior community known as the Villagers.
“Excitement has been building over the past eight weeks and now we are delighted to present more than fifty pieces of diverse artistic, visual, spoken and performed forms. The different styles and perspectives are just amazing!” said Fetting.
Although each piece focused on giraffes as the main theme, there were no limitations on the creations. Instead, the colorful assortment of art was varied in the media used by the senior artists. Ranging from acrylic paintings, wood carvings, paper collages, fabric art, embroidery, needlepoint and mixed media, resident artists represented the majestic beauty of giraffes with unique sensibilities.
Life Enrichment Specialist Monte Leister chose Ron Krajewski’s “Giraffe” as the inspiration for the Villager exhibit’s theme. The acrylic painting depicts a giraffe with a warm combination of tan, orange and brown tones against a sky of playful tones of blue. It was a favorite of many at the show, including Leister. Based on this concept, the resident artists were allowed to use their imaginations to bring Fetting’s original vision to life.
“It’s my job to realize art and music here,” says Leister.
He uses his knowledge and talents to teach residents music, dance, and visual arts. The variety of artistic endeavors Leister teaches demonstrates his ability to hone the skills of the villagers, with a wide range of knowledge he is able to impart. Leister passed on his dedication to the program with palpable passion.
“This is the dream job I never knew I wanted,” said Leister.
The veteran artist contributed several of his own works to the exhibition, including an acrylic painting on Yupo paper and a three-color linocut, which is his favorite to work with.
One piece that caught the eye of many is a multimedia carving by Stan Ernst. It features a large giraffe head carved from nine pieces of wood and sculpted with clay. The giraffe’s eyes evoke a sense of realism, a combination of large amber and black marbles that glitter in the light and carefully applied fibers for her lashes. The fur coat is depicted in earth tones, color mixed with sawdust to mimic the texture of the short-haired animal.
While the carving appears to be that of a skilled artist, Ernst spent his pre-retirement years as a steam pipe fitter and now spends his time primarily making furniture in Cross Key’s Village. Despite failing eyesight, Ernst strolled through the gallery, fascinated by the other works in the exhibition.
“I’m super impressed. If you stand and stare long enough, some of these paintings come alive,” he said.
Ernst and Leister also worked on a towering painted wood sculpture entitled Sir Richard The Tall.
Aside from the visual arts, Avenue Art Inspiration hosted a poetry reading and line dancing to commemorate the event. All poems and choreographies also relate directly to giraffes and animals. Jon DeCesare of Westminster, MD played a variety of classical guitar music, everything from JS Bach to the Beatles.
Sue Fehringer, resident and instructor at Cross Keys Village Wellness Center, led a line dance with 14 dancers that included online dance choreography from Keith Urban’s song “Break On Me” accompanied by Savage Garden’s “The Animal Song.” The group planned the routine as a flash mob, a seemingly impromptu performance for the event’s guests. After the performance, the group embraced with smiles, hugs and high fives. For two weeks they worked on the performance.
Fehringer also contributed a striking mixed abstract painting to the exhibition entitled Vulnerable Species. The identifiable mottled pattern of giraffe skin spreads boldly across the top of the canvas, with several long drips of paint that Fehringer describes as nature falling as giraffes grow ever more vulnerable in the wild.
Opened in December, the Avenue of the Arts provides villagers with guidance and resources to learn and hone their creative skills. Mowry Construction of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania was hired to complete the expansion project and also funded the first exhibit by donating to the artwork. The gallery portion is adorned with ornate fixtures clad in glass to allow natural light to complement the artworks. Funding for the expansion came from fundraising and the Brethren Home Foundation totaling $2 million.
“We’ve seen some real talent in the arts. Essentially, we envisioned a living art museum like this. It’s really enhanced the quality of life and really sparked an appreciation for the arts,” said Jeffrey Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cross Keys Village.
A spacious art studio, a meeting room with a kitchen, a billiard room and a 130-seat theater were also completed as part of the expansion. The theater features a stage adorned with a classical grand piano.
For the future, Cross Keys Village is already working on new ideas for future exhibitions and installations in the Avenue of The Arts.
“In September we are doing a plein air course (painting outdoors). They’ll be doing plays all over campus. That’s our plan. It doesn’t stop there. That’s just the beginning,” said Fetting.
The exhibition is open to the public until September 16th.