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RANGELEY — Rangeley Friends of the Arts is hosting an opening reception for an exhibit featuring the work of beloved local art teacher Sonja Eustis Johnson Saturday, May 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. This is the inaugural exhibit of the new Lakeside Contemporary Art Gallery, located in the lobby of the RFA Lakeside Theater, 2493 Main St. The exhibit will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, Monday through Thursday, as well as when the theater is open for events, through June 24.
A graduate of University of Southern Maine, including a one-year exchange at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Johnson has been providing art instruction at Rangeley Lakes Regional School for 25 years. During her career, she has received three Teacher of the Year nominations, four Disney Outstanding Teacher nominations, RIT Teacher Excellence Award, Maine College of Art Excellence in Education Award, as well as numerous fellowships, grants and commendations. Professional recognition aside, however, she states that watching her students walk the stages of the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall to receive numerous scholastic awards are among her proudest moments as a teacher and mentor.
The body of work on display includes pieces Johnson produced for her advanced placement, photography, and painting and drawing classes embodying the concepts for instruction while encouraging a creative approach to problem solving and advancement of artistic voice. Selected student work also will be on display. The units chosen for this show include an investigation into the opiate addiction in Maine; primitive art as seen in the delta blues movement; spring poetry as realized through black and white photography; self-portraiture with consideration to earth elements and self-reflection; and a gelatin mono-printing unit.
The students exhibiting work along with their teacher are are Haley Morrill, Eva Jacot-Descombes, Natasha Haley, Megan Keirstead, Vanessa Bisson, Natasha Cogley, Callahan Crosby, Amber Morrill, Makenzie Morton, Olivia Hall, Logan Abbott, Isobel Straub, Chloe Talbert, LeobPerez, Brooke Egan and Abby Waldeck.
RFA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation “Bringing the Arts to Life” in the Rangeley Lakes Region. For more information, or to find the complete schedule of events, visit rangeleyarts.org.
CAPTION : Gelatin Mono-Print, 24″ x 28″ by Natasha Haley is one of several student works that will be on display at the inaugural show of Lakeside Contemporary Art Gallery, May 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Rangeley. The show also features work created by art teacher Sonja Eustis Johnson; selected pieces of student work will be included in the exhibit.
