Artists Statement:
One of the few things that I know about myself after these many years, with any certainty, is that I like to make things. I make paintings, buildings, poems, gardens, sculptures, food, quilts, yarn, felted bowls and paper mache bowls to name a few.
I love the feel of a good brush coated with paint sliding over a canvas
I love the sensation of a drawing pencil making its mark on the paper
I love rocks and stones
I love the smell of wool and the feel of it in my hands
I love the textures, patterns and colors of fabric
I love the feeling of sinking my hands into the earth to plant a flower
I love to allow words to come out of me until my meaning is clear
I love light and I love color
I love discovering the world and discovering myself
I am compelled to paint and to write. An innate and essential urge, as much a part of me as my humanity. I make a mark on the earth or on a piece of paper.
The process of creation enables my ability to discover and understand the universe and myself. By trying to paint light; I come to understand light. By painting in and of nature; I enter the world in a fresh way and to come to understand myself in relationship. The experience of creating; be it planning, preparing, painting, or planting - always leads to, and reveals a new thought, a new idea, and a new opportunity.
About the Artist:
Bette Frank Leahy received a B.A. in Art from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a B.Arch. from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and an M.A. in Psychology from the New School for Social Research in New York City. She has been a licensed architect in New York State since 1992 and has over 15 years of experience in residential and commercial design. She practiced architecture in New York City before moving to the Boston area ten years ago. Aside from oil, acrylic and tempera painting, Bette is also a fiber artist and works in quilt making, spinning and dying, weaving, knit, crochet, needle felting and wet felting. Her crocheted and felted bags, bowls, flowers and vases are for sale in several stores in the Boston area. She also makes paper maché ritual bowls and covers recycled furniture in hand made paper. Bette is also a collage artist and creates one-of-a-kind collage books and cards. Her main interest going towards the future is in the integration of art and healing.
Education:
Colorado College, B.A., Art
Pratt Institute, B.Arch., Architecture
New School for Social Research, M.A., Psychology
Salve Regina University, Institute for the Expressive Arts
Brooklyn Museum Art School
Art Students League, New York, NY
Phyllis Hughes, The Lexington Arts and Crafts Society
Maris Platais, The Lexington Arts and Crafts Society
David Curtis, Essex, MA
Jill Pottle, DeCordova Museum School
Joy Dai Buell, DeCordova Museum School
Michele Cassou
Exhibitions:
1985 - Terza Mostra Internazionale di Architettura, La Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale), Progetto Venezia: Este. Venice, Italy, Exhibition and Catalog.
1989 - Project DMZ, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York, NY
2006 - Lexington Waldorf School Christmas Fair (juried) (also 2007 and 2008)
2006 - Painters Show, Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, Lexington, MA
2007 - New Works, Parsons Gallery, Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, Lexington, MA
2007 - Arlington Open Studios, Arlington, MA
2007 - Sign of the Dove, Artisans’ Cooperative, Cambridge, MA (also 2008 and 2009)
2008 - Brookline Bank, Lexington, MA
2008 - Arlington Open Studios, Arlington, MA
2008 - Locally Grown, Arlington, MA
2009 - Lexington Open Studios, Lexington, MA
2009 - IOA Green, Gibbs Gallery, Arlington Center for the Arts, Arlington, MA
2009 - Locally Grown, Arlington, MA
2010 - Lexington Open Studios, Lexington, MA
