Artist-in-the-House Opening Reception: "Dusty Roads and Silver Linings"

The public is invited to attend this free opening reception for "Dusty Roads and Silver Linings"

When illustrator Martha Vaughan met ceramic artist Jennifer Hamilton several years ago, they formed a friendship rooted in the thematic similarities of their work. Inspired by the wildlife, landscapes, and scenic byways of the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, Vaughan’s

digital collages pair effortlessly with Hamilton’s ceramics, which often bear the natural imprints of textured surfaces made with found or collected materials. 

As they developed this exhibition, Vaughan and Hamilton chose pieces to represent the more subtle coincidences and similarities they’ve noticed in each other’s work. “The silhouettes of my three-dimensional objects complement the linear quality of Martha’s two-dimensional prints,” Hamilton observes. Vaughan, whose work is a collage of traditional and digital media that combines vector graphics with colored pencil and ink, likewise finds

inspiration in Hamilton’s pottery and ceramics. “There’s a linear quality to Jennifer’s work that I respond to,” she says, “in addition to her color palette, her use of texture, and her whimsical approach to design.”

Hamilton, proprietor of Dusty Road Pottery in Dickerson, often sees herself as collaborating with future owners of her work. “The creative process begins with the artist but continues with the person who finds ways to incorporate art into their lives,” she says. “I am a maker of useful

things, but I’m intrigued by the idea that these objects have further creative possibilities—that they help define the way we choose to perform daily tasks and celebrate special occasions, and

that they bring joy.”

Likewise, Vaughan is eager to give viewers and collectors of her work a little space to add something of themselves to her illustrations. “I try to include a metaphor or a little mystery in my pictures,” she says, recalling the “silver linings” she found in the beauty of the Agricultural Reserve when retirement and the Covid pandemic sent her looking for renewal of purpose.

Because “Dusty Roads and Silver Linings” is the Riverworks exhibition that will serve as a bridge between summer and autumn, Co-Founder David Therriault considers the show a timely burst of color and light, but he also sees it as an ode to friendships that flourish through creativity and connection, an important part of the Riverworks mission

“Dusty Roads and Silver Linings” will be on display from Wednesday, August 7, 2024, through Sunday, October 6, 2024, at Locals Farm Market, 19929 Fisher Avenue, Poolesville, Md. This show is the fourteenth Riverworks “Artist in the House” exhibition to be featured on the second

floor of the historic Veirs-Stevens House at Locals.

The opening reception will be held at Locals on Sunday, August 11, 2024, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The reception is free and the public is invited to attend.