Thursday, May 9th, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Join us at the Library as we once again take part in Piermont’s Village-wide Girls Night Out! Fridamania has hit the Library and we will be creating Frida Kahlo inspired mini jewel boxes and enjoying sangria and light snacks. We will have books on Kahlo to peruse as well as a survey and raffle. All are welcome!
Flashback Fridays Concert Series: Forever Ray
Friday, April 5th, 7:00 – 8: 00 PM
Forever Ray is a 10-piece band from the New York metropolitan area which is fronted by Shulton Whitley and led by musical director and drummer Bobby Deitch. They perform the exciting and uplifting music of Ray Charles, which includes a wonderful blend of musical styles that range from Jazz and Blues, to Country and R&B.
One band member, Angela Workman, worked with Mr. Charles. She was an original Raylette, one of his backup singers, for 11 years. The band has played gigs at Lincoln Center and BB King’s Blues Club in New York. The show is not merely a straight concert. Mr. Dietch notes, “We do our best to give a little bit of history of the songs and of Ray. We’ll give the audience a sense of what Ray was all about. We don’t just go right into the song after song.”
This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by ArtsWestchester.
Family Movie: Despicable Me
Join us on Thursday, March 21st, from 8:00 – 10:00 PM for Despicable Me. A supervillain schemes to steal the moon from the sky, but his evil machinations are undermined by three orphaned girls who see him as a father figure, despite his diabolical intentions. Popcorn will be served! Please register through our website.
Diana Chelaru: ReImagining Femininity
For the month of April, the Library presents, “Diana Chelaru: Reimagining Femininity.” There will be an opening reception for the artist on Sunday, April 7th, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. Ms. Chelaru desribes her work as follows,
“The works of art in “Reimagining Femininity” are the result of a unique blend of Abstract Expressionism and Jugendstil Ornamentation at the center of which I placed the female figure. The ornament becomes a direct mode of representation, conveying meaning through material form and color, transforming extreme stylization and artifice into a meaningful and deeply symbolic mode of visual expression. The heightened sensuality of the decorative ornamentation is almost obliterating the human figure.
In creating these paintings I used two techniques: the traditional acrylic painting techniques with brushes on the vertical canvas and the dripping of enamel paints on the horizontal canvas. By using the two techniques it was possible to create a simulation of depth on the flat canvases emphasize once again the decorative ornamentation.”
Rose Pizzi: Collection of Mixed Media on Wood
For the month of January, the Dennis P. McHugh Piermont Public Library presents Rose Pizzi: Collection of Mixed Media on Wood. Pizzi’s artist statement describes her artistic process as well as the challenges so many artists encounter in pursuing their art.
“I majored in Art in high school and always had a natural artistic ability since my teen age years. When I lived in New York City, I enrolled at NYU for art classes. My professor inspired me to continue to express myself with techniques and subject matter drawn from nature. I had my first show in New York in 1979 at the Lynn Kottler Galleries. Soon after, I started my family. Although I did not have much time to devote to art, I would periodically paint when I could, whether on children’s clothing or decorative wall art in homes.
When I had a little more time for art, I became a member of the Ridgewood Art Institute and showed my work at their holiday show and at the The Valley Hospital Art Gallery, where I sold several pieces. However, my art was soon put on hold again when I went back to school for my Masters in Nursing to become a nurse practitioner.
More recently, after moving to Sparkill, NY, I enrolled in the Union Arts Center for their Winter/Holiday Show where I sold one of my paintings. I have also exhibited at the Outside In gallery in Piermont NY.
My paintings are distinctive with an air of bold uniqueness. Many of my pieces are on a wooden canvas covered in colors of mixed media- acrylics, watercolors, pastels- and then infused with silver, bronze or golds. Very rarely do I use oils. The natural wood grain is utilized for emphasis, depth and increased detail.
I enjoy the building of a variety of mediums on top of one another to achieve a muted pastel look, then connecting the piece with a luminous flavor employing a gold or silver speckled finish.”