For members of the Onondaga Art Guild (OAG), art is more than a creative outlet — it changes the way they see the world.

Stepping into the guild’s gallery at the May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society Church, visitors are given the chance to see through the lense of a variety of talented artists in the Syracuse community.

Maureen Barcza, a member of the OAG, said engaging in creative outlets like art allows artists to take on different perspectives of the world around them.

“I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t look at things the way I think most artists look,” Barcza said. “We see things a little differently.”

Jennifer Peiffer, a member of the guild for ten years, said the mix of mediums creates a more inclusive environment for people from a range of backgrounds and talents to participate.

“We have watercolors, acrylic, oils, mixed media, metal sculptures, graphite drawings, everything. Traditional, nontraditional,” she said.

A three-foot tall, brightly colored coffee cup is located in one corner of the gallery room. Peiffer, who made the cup, said it’s the perfect piece to have in a kitchen.

“I was a big fan of all different flavors of coffee, so I used all the colors of the rainbow in my cup,” she said. “Makes you want to drink coffee!”

In the next corner are two abstract pieces made by Barbara Bickford, who primarily uses watercolor to bring her imagination to life, typically in the form of geometric shapes and linear designs. She’s been painting for more than 40 years, she said.

“I’ve been painting abstract for almost ten years now,” Bickford said. “With abstract, you can just do all kinds of things. One stroke will bring another one and my imagination takes off.”

A few paintings down from Bickford’s work are two more abstract pieces, composed of oil and cold wax made by one of the guild’s newer members, Rola Cotran. For Cotran, the painting process is like exploring unknown territory.

“The beauty of this is that you go back in and you excavate. You add and you can subtract and remove,” Cotran said. “When I start painting, I don’t know what I’m doing initially. I just start layering colors and then slowly something appears and you go with it.”

Not only do the members support each other immensely, but they’ve made major contributions towards the young artists of the Syracuse art community.

“Each year we give two scholarships to two students that are in the Syracuse City School District,” said Julie Gratien, the current president of the OAG. “We rotate between three different high schools in the Syracuse district, and we have one of their art teachers choose two worthy students.”

Members of the OAG live and breathe art, Gratien said. They share a bit of their soul in each and every piece of art they display, hoping to share a new perspective of the world with their viewers.

“It’s a spiritual process for me because it’s just me and the paint alone,” Cotran said.

The OAG Art Show and Sale at the May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society Art Gallery is on display now until Oct. 30. For more information, visit this link.

Published on September 24, 2018 at 8:27 pm