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March-April 2010 Exhibit

A new exhibit at the Shiawassee Arts Center in Owosso opens Tuesday, March 16, with four artists displaying and selling their artwork. The four are Owosso photographers, Lee Sowle and James Eaton, Brooklyn, NY installation artist, Jeffrey Tranchell, and Lambertville, MI oil artist, Margarita Beale. The public is invited to a reception with refreshments and music to meet the artists Friday, March 19, 6-9pm. Sponsors of the show, which continues through April 21, are Cadwallader-Lord-Hahn and Dingens Architects.

A native of Michigan, Lee Sowle has been involved in photography and art since 1951 when he established a portrait and commercial studio in Clare then coming to Owosso in 1964. He was a commercial photographer with Owosso Graphic Arts before joining Day Camera Shop where he remained for 25 years as manager. He states, "It has been said that the camera makes a mirror image of the scene and never lies. However, I feel that the camera operator must interpret this stark reality with his or her own abilities to make an artistic picture...I try to interpret the scene before me in such a way that it will invoke in the viewer the same emotion that I felt when I made the image."

Sowle has pursued the art of restoring old photographs for over 40 years. Studying photography at Winona School of Photography in Indiana, art at Lansing Community College and membership in state and national associations has provided him a knowledge base. Over the years he has presented lectures and demonstrations to area groups on many aspects of photography. His interests are in story telling images constructed by using photo-montage, surreal and pop-art interpretation of common subjects and nature scenes presented in a pictorial manner.

Also a native of Michigan, James Eaton has been a pastor of Congregational Churches most of his life. In 2006 he became the minister of the First Congregational Church UCC in Owosso. He says about his photography, "What interests me is celebrating the ordinary and occasional. Most of my photographs are made within a few miles of my home. The play of light in the countryside of Shiawassee County, the way the river winds through and reflects, the life of a village all make me want to capture moments."

Eaton was born in Ann Arbor and lived in New Jersey and West Bloomfield, MI before graduating from MSU's James Madison College. In 1975 he graduated from Boston University School of Theology and was ordained that same year. About half of his photography work is in color and the other half is in black and white ... "sometimes the rich colors impress me, other times it's the essential tones, " he explains. The way people connect and disconnect with each other has led him to focus on transportation themes...trains, planes and boats. Recently he has made a series of photographs of people waiting to go somewhere.

Jeffrey Tranchell, formerly of Owosso, now lives in Brooklyn, New York. In 2005 he received a BFA from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit. He explains, "As an artist my work tends to oscillate between two inverse practices." In the studio Tranchell relies heavily on common, domestic materials that are combined with traditional mediums such as oil painting and photography. In his paintings, drawings and collages, mark making is often made using various household materials such as used postal stamps, produce stickers, coins and magazine clippings. As a result, the works are often adorned with records of dates, places and objects. the affordable and customary resources tend to have an innate quality of familiarity.

Tranchell also has a more social and collaborative practice of creating situations for interactive and performance experiences to occur. He produces a monthly television show "Untitled" on the Brooklyn Community Access Television. The show runs videos and documented performances of himself as well as artists in his peer group. He states, "the show offers a venue that is accessible to the public, but can also change the historical perception of the works presented."

Margarita Beale was born in Chile and moved to the U.S. in 1994. Initially unable to speak English, she turned to her love of art and began transforming her dreams onto canvas. Although never receiving formal art instruction, Beale's favorite medium is oil. Now living in Lambertville, MI, she has lived in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and has traveled extensively around the world. She states that, "I am fascinated with the work of Van Gogh and his perception of the world. Like him, my vigor and zest for life are expressed in my paintings."

The Shiawassee Arts Center is located at 206 Curwood Castle Drive and is open Tuesday through Sunday, 1-5pm. The Arts Center features the artwork of local and statewide artists in eight galleries including the Frieseke Gallery and a specialty Gift Shop. The public is welcome and there is no admission charge. The Shiawassee Arts Council, celebrating its 38th anniversary in 2010, is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to encourage participation and appreciation of the arts. For more information about the exhibit call the Arts Center at 989.723.8354 or visit www.shiawasseearts.org.