Millbrook Gallery And Sculpture Garden
Concord, NH
Invitational Printmaking Exhibit
Review, July 2015
As you come upon the driveway of the Millbrook Gallery And Sculpture Garden, located off the beaten path on Hopkinton Road in Concord, New Hampshire, there is a intriguing large-scale sculpture to the side the entrance. The gallery lands and horse farm are down the dirt driveway, set back from the road giving a calm serene feel to the place. Looking around there are beautiful patches of wild flowers sculptures located all around the grounds. There are many large-scale sculptures with benches nearby observation, located throughout the grounds. You can hear the many sounds of wild life, the different kinds of birds, and of course the horses. The gallery began about 19 years ago by Pam Tarbell, bringing about a place for the public to view art, and for families to visit and learn about art. There are many types of artwork for sale in the gallery, from wood, metal and bronze sculptures, many types of paintings to the beautiful pottery and jewelry. Inside the gallery space there are many works hanging upon the walls, displayed on shelves and sculptures upon stands in the center of the room. The art is a mix of styles that have been carefully placed together in simple groupings to show the unique distinguished art.
I made the trip to this gallery to see the Invitational Printmaking Exhibit on display. The printmaking exhibit is located in a separate second floor area.
While browsing the printmaking exhibit I was intrigued by the silkscreen prints created by print-maker Catherine Green. In my discussion with the owner of the gallery, she explained that Catherine Green has been interested in printmaking since she was young and has been included in numerous exhibitions. She is a member of the new league of New Hampshire Craftsmen; her work is part of the permanent collection located in their Concord, NH headquarters. Her silkscreened images make use of calming colors, form, and details to suggest a realistic image. She uses a process of hand cutting or tearing her stencils, along with painting a resist directly on the screen to create the details and decorative edges. She uses aluminum frame screens to help keep the tight registration she needs with each color pass, making as many as 45 stencil cuts and 45 color passes to build up the colors and shapes for the final print. Green utilizes multiple layers to create her interesting works, having to wait a day or so for each layered color to dry before the next color and the details can be printed. As a result,some prints can take several months to complete.
The unique screen print, titled All Those Tomorrows, hangs on the upstairs gallery wall, of which Green only created 50 prints in 2012. The image contains a tree limb that has a bird nest full of little blue speckled eggs. In the background a mountainside can be seen with a light sky, in pale blue calm colors. The details contained in the leaves, the nest, and the speckled eggs provide an ideal realistic observation in the image. This image with the nest of tiny eggs tells of new life — of the days ahead for the birth of the new little birds. It is unknown to the viewer what type of birds will be born from the eggs, there are no adult birds present in the image but what can be seen is the knowledge that in the days ahead a little birds almost likely not be alone, the next looks newly made from the details of the intertwined pieces of dried grass. It makes me wonder what the little birds will look like. The rough unfinished edges of the background scene make it so the branch, which is highly detailed, stands out.
By Jill Vickers
For more information on Millbrook Gallery and Sculpture Gardens,
236 Hopkinton Road, Concord, NH 03301
Call them for hours and appointments: 603.226.2046
Or visit their website – http://themillbrookgallery.com/