FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


January 8, 2024

Contact:  Rolf Anderson, leroyandersonfoundation@gmail.com


Season 2 of Exploring the Creative Process

at the Leroy Anderson House Begins on February 18


(WOODBURY, CONN. - January 8, 2024) - The Leroy Anderson Foundation will host its second series of presentations titled Exploring the Creative Process at the Leroy Anderson House on February 18, March 3 and 17, and April 7.  Artists will share how they found their passion for their art medium, how they develop their projects, and how others might find their way into the art.  The Leroy Anderson House is at 33 Grassy Hill Road, Woodbury. The presentations are free and open to the public. Contact the Foundation at leroyandersonfoundation@gmail.com to reserve seats.


Weaver LoriAnn Witte


On Sunday, February 18, at 2 p.m., weaver LoriAnn Witte will share her experiences of becoming a weaver and how she finds ideas and develops them.  Witte is the executive director of the Glebe House and Gertrude Jekyll Garden in the Hollow in Woodbury.  A resident of Woodbury, Witte says of her art, “It is a journey that started with necessity and changed throughout the many phases of life. It is filled with ideas that have grown with and around me.” 


Witte will present samples of her work and lead guests in a demonstration.  Guests will have the opportunity to try their hand at weaving with small looms and supplies Witte will provide.


Multimedia Artist Matt Wood


Woodbury artist Matt Wood will present on March 3 at 2 p.m. in the second part of the Exploring the Creative Process series at the Leroy Anderson House.  Wood, whose works range from photography to oils to interior design, will reflect on how his projects find him and how he realizes the best medium for a project. 


Wood says his art reflects his life:  “Art is how I interact with the world. My thoughts, my experiences, my reactions, and my hopes are all mediated through my canvas or my lens, and I find that for me it can’t be any other way.”


Some of Wood’s work, including four 48” x 48” iceberg paintings, is currently on display in the group exhibit at the Mattatuck museum titled “Sea Change, See Change,” running from January 21 to May 19, 2024. 



Painter Cynthia Gillette


The third event in the Exploring the Creative Process series will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, when Woodbury artist Cynthia Gillette will present on her odyssey as a painter in a variety of media.  Well-known in Woodbury for her support of local arts and her presence at summer Arts Walk events, Gillette is renowned for her sensitive renderings of animals and highly detailed, lifelike natural and architectural details in her work.  


She says, “I am really enjoying the process in my painting at this time. My portraits of people and animals have led me to meet new wonderful people, and my travels have enriched the landscapes I see. I do observe all with a more critical, collective eye and due to this I plan my ideas with future compositions and new techniques in mind. Painting and designing are an evolving organic learning experience, albeit sometimes challenging, but they can also be so exciting. That is all inspiring to me.”


Painter Melody Asbury


The fourth and final part of the second series of Exploring the Creative Process will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 7, when Woodbury artist Melody Asbury will share how she has come to explore the spirit of wild animals through painting.


A signature member of the Society of Animal Artists, Asbury is an accomplished painter admired for her intimate portrayal of animals. Her love of painting animals came after a lengthy career as a portrait and courtroom sketch artist for TV. 


She says, “Growing up with an artist mother, I had a paintbrush in my hand at a very early age. Art has always been a means of expression, of focusing attention on what I feel is important. It is a lifelong journey with many different paths I have taken.”