FARMINGTON – Penelope and Deborah Hall, sisters, are SugarWood Gallery’s featured Artists of the Month for December. An Open House Reception will be held Friday, Dec. 2, from 4 to 7 p.m., and again on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 248 Broadway in Farmington. Refreshments will be served and the public is invited.
Penelope and Deborah grew up in Augusta in a creative family. From a young age they explored their world by painting, drawing and building things. Over the years they have collaborated on a number of projects, this joint show of their work being the most ambitious.
Penny received a BA in mathematics from Bates College in Lewiston in 1972, followed by an MD from UVM College of Medicine in 1985. After a residency in internal medicine, fellowships in geriatric medicine and research and private practice geriatrics, she has retired to Kingfield with her husband, Charlie Rappaport. Here she works in clay, hand building sculpture found to be at times whimsical, at times thought provoking. Her pieces are inspired from her natural surroundings, from travels, especially years spent living in Okinawa, and from the many human situations in which she has found herself over the years. Stoneware and earthenware pieces are bisque fired to over 1800 degrees, then glazed and re-fired to their maturation temperature. Some go through several glaze firings before they are completed.
Deb received a BS from Tufts University in psychology in 1974. After working at Pineland Center, she attended USM law school, receiving her JD degree in 1982. After a further degree in tax law from BU in 1985 she worked for four years at Coopers and Lybrand in Portland before beginning her own private practice in 1989 as a tax attorney and CPA. Now semi-retired and living in New Gloucester, she is able to focus much more on her love of watercolor. Her attraction to this medium is based on the tension between its fluidity and her desire for precision. Her works are generally either an attempt to create a mood, provide a glimpse of the essence of some person or thing, tell a story or just have fun.
For this show, the two have put together work encompassing several themes, exploring compatible interests, but also their diversity of experience. This is a fun show, with a lot of interplay between the different media. They hope that you will enjoy this “Sister Act.”
Penny and Deborah’s work will remain on display and available for sale through the month of December.
I found their lifes’ journeys to be more interesting than the art work pictured above. What one does with one’s life is the most creative expression you will ever have.