"Happy Flowers" - Work by Norell Gudaitis

The present exhibit in the MLT Gallery is the third of three retrospectives to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the gallery. The retrospectives have had the works of artists who had solo shows in the gallery during the past fifteen years. The gallery hours are: Mon.-Sat. 10 am - 4 pm.

"Happy Flowers" - Work by Norell Gudaitis
"I am in my 80's and I'm feeling 30! I am so very happy that I'm feeling so good! I'm moved by the spirit within, I have to paint on my lap so I'm connected; otherwise, I can't do it. I use objects from nature to paint with: pine needles, blades of grass , dandelion blooms, rosebuds and grapevines, depending on how the spirit moves me.

Painting soothes my soul and keeps me young. And, when someone tells me they feel something, that they feel the spirit or are moved by my painting, it's the nicest compliment."

"Half-Hidden Lampstand" - Work by Warren Prindle

The present exhibit in the MLT Gallery is the third of three retrospectives to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the gallery. The retrospectives have had the works of artists who had solo shows in the gallery during the past fifteen years. The gallery hours are: Mon.-Sat. 10 am - 4 pm.

"Half-Hidden Lampstand" - Work by Warren Prindle
Warren Prindle sees his work as a language akin to dreams, parables, and allegories. He uses the word "incarnational" to describe it.

"I find myself with a medieval outlook in a post-modern world. This creates a constant sense of disjunction with the way things are. As a painter of pictures, it is a good thing to recall the words of The Baal Shem Tov who said, 'The world is new to us every morning - this is God's gift.' I'm honored to be a part of this exhibit.

"Remembering Mountain" - Work by Ruth Middleton

The present exhibit in the MLT Gallery is the third of three retrospectives to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the gallery. The retrospectives have had the works of artists who had solo shows in the gallery during the past fifteen years. The gallery hours are: Mon.-Sat. 10 am - 4 pm.



"Remembering Mountain" - Work by Ruth Middleton
Ruth believes art succeeds best when empty of all intention. Her "signature" is merely an imprint of the letter O, found in a Venetian antiquaire and integrated in the design.

Through her long, productive life, she has maintained a flow of creative activity that includes several published books. In Vermont in the seventies, she concentrated on monumental outdoor sculpture in marble and granite, primitive in style. Now her pieces are small, fragmented "remnants" and she paints in a mixture of water, oil and acrylic colors, combined with torn Japanese paper on sheets of heavy graphic paper and unstretched fabric. Her work expresses the fragile, temporary , ever-changing aspects of contemporary life.

Jan Richardson: Thinking about Mary at Advent

As we move through Advent, writer, artist, minister, and director of a company called The Wellspring Studio, LLC, Jan Richardson reflects on Mary's faithfulness.

Advent blessings to you! As I move through this season, I've been thinking about Mary. Fierce reader that I am, I'm fond of the way that so many medieval artists depicted her in the moment of the Annunciation. When the archangel Gabriel swoops in with his outrageous invitation, as these artists would have it, he finds Mary with a book. Some artists portrayed her reading from the Hebrew Bible, specifically the passage in Isaiah that tells of a young woman who will bear a son named Immanuel. In a lovely bit of anachronism, other artists painted her with a medieval prayerbook--a Book of Hours--in her hands. The Bible doesn't tell us, of course, what Mary was doing when the messenger of God paid his visit. But I love the notion that Mary was already prayerfully steeping herself in the Word, long before Christ the Word ever became steeped in her. In depicting her this way, the medieval artists sought to convey the idea that although she couldn't have known what lay ahead, Mary had already been preparing herself, making a space in her life for the presence of God.

Whatever it was that Mary was doing when Gabriel showed up with God's wild invitation, her story challenges me in this season. Advent, after all, is a time of preparation and anticipation of the One who searches us out in this and every season. These weeks remind us that although we never know just what lies ahead, God is ever seeking a space within our lives. Within us. Mary's openness to the God of audacious invitations, along with her equally audacious "Yes," beckons me to ask, what am I doing to prepare a space for God in my own life and in my own self?

How about you? How spacious is your life these days? Whatever you're giving yourself to in this season, I pray that we may each leave ourselves open to the God of wild surprises, and that we may be bearers of Christ in this world. The medieval German mystic Meister Eckhart wrote, "We are all mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born." May Christ the Word take flesh anew in us in these days.

May Christ our Light bless your Advent path.

We encourage you to visit Jan's Advent blog for more reflections on the season.

"Meditation Font" by Linda Hoffman

The present exhibit in the MLT Gallery is the third of three retrospectives to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the gallery. The retrospectives have had the works of artists who had solo shows in the gallery during the past fifteen years. The gallery hours are: Mon.-Sat. 10 am - 4 pm.


"Meditation Font" by Linda Hoffman

A nationally recognized artist, Linda Hoffman creates indoor and outdoor sculpture, public installations, digital prints and has written two chapbooks of poetry and the Fine Art letterpress book, "Winter Air." She is the founding editor of "Wild Apples: A Journal of Nature and Inquiry."

Linda is a student of Zen Buddhism at Zen Mountain Monsastery in Mt. Tremper, NY. Her sculpture in this exhibit was influenced by her meditation practice. She lives in Harvard, Massachusetts and grows organic apples and raspberries at Old Frog Pond Farm.

Climate Change: The Story of Cap and Trade

As we prepare for the Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, December 7-18, this ten minute video, The Story of Cap & Trade, might help us understand some of the discussion at the conference. If you've heard about "cap and trade" but aren't sure what it means and who will profit or lose from it, this fast paced video might have the information you need. Please share this with others. Thank you.

For further information, contact Annie Leonard.