FARMINGTON – Nora West, painter, and Bob Gray, relief printmaker, are SugarWood Gallery’s featured Artists of the Month for October. An Open House Reception will be held Friday, Oct. 14 from 4 to 7 PM, and again on Saturday Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 248 Broadway in Farmington. Refreshments will be served and the public is invited.
Nora says “there isn’t one particular moment I can remember that sparked my interest in art but rather several small happenings that accumulated and built upon each other. As the years have gone by, there’s been a persistent desire to continue with my art in one form or another – even as everyday life gets in the way.”
“In the beginning I was doing pen and ink drawings recording old buildings before they disappeared. I moved on to watercolors and most recently have been working in oil. Maine landscapes, farms, mountains, local landmarks, places with a past, landscapes that are diminishing over time.”
“Through the years I’ve attended several classes in local colleges, adult ed, and with local artists, as well as workshops at Maine College of Art , Haystack, Monhegan Studies. Each and every one has given me a new outlook, a new technique.”
“In 1983 I started an Antiques business which I continue to run. At this point in my artistic journey, I am open to all possibilities, I’m exploring all avenues in my search for my own expression and a search for all Maine has to offer. My husband Greg and I just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary in August. We live in an old farmhouse on the end of a dirt road in New Portland, which we purchased in 1977. We raised our two sons here, Kurt 26, is a financial analyst and Brent 23 is a wildlife biologist. They attended the New Portland Central School and Carrabec High School. They are out on their own now but love coming home to Maine when they can. Our old dog Slate and two old cats Poods and Millie have past away so Greg and I are getting used to our newfound freedom of having no one depending on us to be home at a certain time.”
“My husband runs a construction company, West, Inc. which I have done the bookwork for since 1989. I have also been a real estate broker for the last seven years and am currently working for Keller Williams Realty.”
“I love hiking, cross-country and alpine skiing and exploring every inch of Maine. I also enjoy talking with ‘old timers’ and hearing their stories of life in Maine, now and then. Everyday is a chance to appreciate every moment and how fortunate I am.”
RJ Gray Jr., Bob, is a relief printmaker focusing on small format prints using a variety of materials generally with at least one woodcut in each. A photo or other image that intrigues him frequently inspires his works.
Per Bob, “relief prints are created by removing parts of the block’s surface and inking what remains. (Occasionally material is added instead of being removed; in either event, it is the upper surface that’s inked.) The ink is then transferred to sheets of paper or other material. While multiples are achieved this way, they are not “copies,” they are all considered originals.”
A native of Stratton, Maine, Gray grew up in Massachusetts and once again lives in his hometown. He attended Mass. College of Art for a year and a half in the mid-70s majoring in sculpture. Returning to college, he graduated from Salem State in Massachusetts in 1989 with a degree in studio arts —printmaking concentration— and a minor in English literature. Bob’s work has been included in printmaking competitions throughout the U.S., as well as Denmark and Finland. Listed in Who’s Who in America 2003 and 2004 editions, he is also a member of both the Boston Printmakers’ and the Los Angeles Printmakers’ societies. Currently he is employed at the Original Irregular newspaper in Kingfield.
