The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts presents There and Back, playfully illustrative pottery by Bernadette Januska, vibrant landscape paintings by Marcy Lansman, and abstracted botanical paintings by Ellie Snow in the gallery from September 22nd through October 25th. The opening reception will be held during Hillsborough’s Last Friday Art Walk on September 25th from 6-9pm. During the art walk, Duo d’Antan (David Digiuseppe and RobSharer), will play live music on the front patio. The show will include an artist talk by Bernadette Januska and Marcy Lansman in the gallery on Saturday, October 17th at 2pm.

Potter Bernadette Januska fell in love with illustration long before she discovered clay, and it remains an essential part of her work today. Each vessel becomes a surface for illustration. Her work draws inspiration from her Filipino heritage as well as pop culture. Each piece is hand built and carved with flowers, animals and playful messages. “By combining precolonial Filipino motifs with contemporary imagery,” says Januska, “I explore the space between my cultural heritage and my experience growing up across America, bridging the gap between the two. My ultimate goal is to create functional pieces that can be used and cherished every day—vessels that invite a deeper connection to the simple acts of eating, drinking, and sharing.”

What excites painter Marcy Lansman most is the use of color in her landscapes. Landsman describes her technique this way, “I begin by covering the canvas with random blobs of bright color. Then I use a palette knife to create an ‘overpainting’ on top of the color blobs, letting specks of the underpainting peak through. This year, I’ve been experimenting with a wider variety of colors in the overpainting. I’ve found that the wider the variety of colors, the more vibrant the painting.” Asked if she paints plein air, Lansman says she visits the site and takes many, many photos, then uses the photos as inspiration for the painting.

“At this stage of life,” says painter Ellie Snow “I spend a lot of time on the rural roads between Hillsborough and Saxapahaw, ferrying my kids to and from school. My paintings often originate from scenes I pass.” With the title There and Back, she decided to focus on painting these scenes she passes four times a day. “I am in awe of how they change daily or weekly depending on weather and season. I sometimes took videos from the window of my car and used stills from the videos as my reference photos.” Other times, she would pull over and take photos, or even park and walk, to look at what is often passed so quickly. “In the end, I was surprised at how different these paintings are from one another. The season, weather, light, and mood had a big impact on how each one turned out. It’s noticing that novelty that keeps me inspired and excited to get home and paint.”