Art in the Library -- May
Downstairs Picture Gallery
"Randy LeSage: Paintings, Prints & Drawings"
May 1 — June 9, 2012
Randy LeSage has been creating & teaching art for many years in our area. This exhibit will include paintings, prints, drawings and mixed media works created over the past several decades. His work has been exhibited in galleries, museums and other locations in the greater MetroWest area. We are very pleased to have Randy share his art with us.
Upstairs Display Case Lois McAuliffe, Director of Children’s Services, will be displaying one-of-a-kind polymer art dolls. Included in the display will be Cinderella at the ball, a young boy playing Frisbee with his dog, a daydreaming princess, and several others. (See below for a photo.)
In Lois's Words:
I have been an artistic person all my life. I’ve tried many different mediums, including oil paint, paper crafts, fabric, stained glass, and photography to name a few. I learned how to embroider at age six and how to use a sewing machine by age ten. During the next 14 or more years I continued to explore various art mediums and techniques on my own did a few art classes as a teen and eventually took some art courses in college.
In 1987 I started a small home-based business creating stuffed animals, doll clothes, and cloth dolls. Over time my cloth dolls became more and more elaborate and I grew dissatisfied with the limitations of cloth faces. In 1994 I discovered a polymer clay called Super Sculpey, which can be fired in a home oven, and I began sculpting my first doll heads.
I am a self-taught sculptor, although I’ve picked up many techniques from associating with other doll artists. My Sculpey dolls are one-of-a-kind art dolls, intended for display, not play. The head, upper torso, hands and feet are directly sculpted in clay, then painted with multiple layers of acrylics and coated with a sealant. The bodies consist of padding built up over a wire armature, with a skin of knit fabric. I designed and sewed all of the clothing, frequently using antique fabrics and trims. I also created most of the accessories, such as the window seat, the sword, and the pajama party food on display here. Between 1994 and 2000 I completed over 40 sculpted dolls.
I was a member of the Maine Society of Doll and Bear Artists and the American Academy of Doll Artists. Two of my dolls appeared in Contemporary Doll Collector magazine, and another doll was featured in an article on Cinderella dolls in the same magazine. Twenty five of my dolls were exhibited in a one-woman show at the Saco Museum in Saco, Maine (Nov 2002-Feb 2003).
I currently work as the Director of Children’s Services at the Ashland Public Library, where I have been since December 2000. While most of the dolls on exhibit here are not for sale, I do have a number of other dolls that are available. Contact me in the Children’s Room for more information.
