Lakeland presents women’s art exhibit

Exhibition features regional, national pieces, works of late artist Betty Jean Skufca

“Betty (Skufca) and her work impacted artists in Northeast Ohio and beyond on so many levels.” — Mary Urbas, gallery coordinator

In honor of Women’s History Month, The Gallery at Lakeland will present “from WOMAN XVI… Created by women, of women and about women” through March 31 on the first floor of the D-Building on Lakeland’s main campus in Kirtland.

Since 2008, The Gallery has presented the show to commemorate women’s achievements and contributions to the visual world of the arts.

What started as a small presentation by local and regional artists has continued to grow into a sizable exhibition featuring works from all across the United States.

And, according to school officials, this year’s display is no exception, with 35 local and regional artists from Northeast and Central Ohio and Indiana showcasing a wide variety of media, including oil and acrylic paintings, drawings, ceramics, textiles, sculpture, assemblage, jewelry, and mixed media.

“This year’s featured artist is Betty Jean Skufca, who passed away at 93 years young,” says Mary Urbas, gallery coordinator and curator of the exhibition. “Betty was my ‘shero’ and inspiration, as she painted daily until she died.

“I wanted to pay homage to her talent and sensitivities as a visual artist and poet,” Urbas added. “Betty and her work impacted artists in Northeast Ohio and beyond on so many levels.

Her nickname was ‘Dot’ and she called her technique, ‘Dot-alism’ — a nod to pointillism (a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image), but she made it her own by including aspects of Divisionism, the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches which interacted optically….

“Her technique was to place dots of colors to create layers, which added depth and realism to her portraits, landscape, fauna, and animal compositions….her style would be best described as illustrative, telling a story, and she included the faces of friends into her artworks.”

The first inner gallery space is dedicated to Skufca’s art, as Urbas selected work that creates a mini-retrospective of Skufca’s oil paintings on canvas and plexiglass.

The collection includes “She Watches You As You Go By,” the last painting Skufca ever created.

A virtual guided tour of the exhibition, led by Urbas, can be viewed at lakelandcc.edu/gallery.

An artist reception is scheduled

from 3:30 to 5 p.m. March 26.

In addition, the 30th annual Woman of Achievement Awards ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. in the Dr. Wayne L. Rodehorst Performing Arts Center hosted by the Lakeland Community College’s

Women’s Center.

All gallery shows remain free and open to the public and are wheelchair accessible.

Children 14 years of age and younger should be under adult supervision.

The Gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Gallery Coordinator Mary Urbas at murbas@lakelandcc.edu or call 440-525-7029.

SUBMITTED “Azalea On Her Way To The Parade,” by the late artist Betty Jean Skufca, is on display during the exhibition “from WOMAN XVI...Created by women, of women and about women” at The Gallery at Lakeland Community College.