‘Snapshots Along the Way’ chronicles artist’s travels

KENT — Ralph Waldo Emerson was right. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” And, no matter where the rambling has taken artist Kathy Wismar, across continents or across town, the images of people, places and things have impressed her. Kent and Falls Village artist Kathy Wismar will be exhibiting her work in a show titled, “Snapshots Along the Way,” at the Kent Memorial Library from Sept. 4 until Oct. 31.

She celebrates the symmetry of buildings in a city seen from a great distance and marvels at the way the field blends with the forest and the trees merge into one image as the hill rises behind them. Pottery was her first real stop along the way.

Living in Los Angeles with two small children and a group of friends who gathered, laughed, covered for each other and wondered out loud if there might be something more they could do, she sat down at the wheel and centered her first piece of clay.

Then there was Connecticut, Virginia, Minnesota and finally back to the Litchfield Hills. Painting came as her curiosity began to have a stronger, more convincing voice. After all, hand glazing pots was really painting on clay. So, why not painting on canvas? Why not let the colors that invite, entice and assault us be channeled onto squares and rectangles that could be readily available on a wall to reignite a memory, change the direction of a thought or merely make the wall, the room more interesting? New York City, London, Paris, Los Angeles, Washington, DC are all intriguing to Wismar.

The Housatonic River, the Litchfield Hills, the Berkshires, the Catskills and the broad expanse of the Hudson Valley are also intriguing. They are evocative of moments that, when captured on a canvas, can live on.

Like a tourist reaching for the old Instamatic, capturing a moment, then carefully winding the film advance to be ready for the next revelation, these paintings are snapshots captured along the intoxicating journey … with no destination in sight. Kathy’s studio is in Kent Green, 8 Landmark Lane, Kent. She welcomes visitors.

Join the library on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. for an opening reception to meet the artist. It is free and open to the public. Register. For more information, call 8609273761 or go to www.kentmemoriallibrary.

The Kent Memorial Library is located at 32 North Main St., Kent. Visit www.kentmemoriallibrary.org for more information.