The work of regional artists Lavinia and Esther Hale is now on display in the Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery at the Crawfordsville District Public Library. The community to invited to view “Receive: A Mother & Daughter Exhibit” throughout the month of May during CDPL’s normal hours of operation. Artworks will be for sale during the exhibition through our Circulation department.
This exhibit is a celebration of the relationship between a mother and her daughter. It is expressed through the symbolism of receiving blankets. We wrap infants in blankets to swaddle, comfort and calm them. Mothers similarly wrap their children with their hopes, dreams and values. Lavinia designed her art quilts to represent some of the aspirations she had for her children. Her daughter, Esther, designed her quilts to represent her current passions, the love of art, science and space.
Lavinia grew up in a creative family in several east and west coast states. She completed a bachelor’s degree in visual arts at Brigham Young University. She embraces the process of painting natural scenes in the open air; en plein air. She believes “it is an exercise of reducing complexity into fundamental, meaningful passages and marveling at God’s creations.”
Lavinia and her husband live in Greencastle with their eight children, who range from junior in college to second-grader. She considers motherhood her highest and noblest calling in life.
Esther is Lavinia and Jacob’s eldest daughter. She attends Earlham College and is currently studying abroad in Spain. She is primarily focusing on exhibiting the colors and textures of deep space images while continuing to explore the painting techniques she learned from her mother.
“One could say it started with a book (an illustrated copy of “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan), but the reality is that since birth, I have developed a fascination with the beauty of the natural world,” Esther said.
She attributes her interest in art, nature and science to her mother’s creative endeavors and her father’s career in physics.
Though their perspectives differ greatly, it is quite obvious they both share a strong connection to the natural world and beyond.
For more information about CDPL’s hours of operation, visit www.cdpl.lib.in.us. If you are an artist or a member of an artists’ group and are interested in displaying your work at the Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery in 2023, contact the gallery coordinator at 765-362-2242 for more details.
