Refreshments will be served and live music will be provided by Dennis O'Toole. 

Birds in Summer is on display for the month of December, first at Gallery in the Attic: December 2nd - 6th (Tuesday-Saturday, 11-5), then the show moves directly across the street to Maggie's Eatery (at 135 Hunter) from December 8th - 31st (Maggie's hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm, Saturday 10am-3pm).

For more information about Barb & her work, see: Barbarahawthorn.ca

Artists' Statement: The series Birds in Summer is inspired by my mother who was ‘everywoman’ to me when I was a child. After her death I began to look more closely at the woman she had been before she became my mother, before the two of us met. I wondered how she chose to identify herself and how she had been categorized by others. This led me to an exploration of social roles and definitions, questions such as – who decides what a Queen looks like? what does it mean to be called a Lady? what is the visual definition of being Beloved? Must an Explorer or a Pilgrim look like or be what we expect, based on the images we’ve been exposed to through books, films and school? Can she be an ordinary woman living her ordinary life, working outside the home and inside the home and raising her kids and participating in the culture……and if seen in a certain way, in a certain light, through a certain lens………be seen to be, in fact, extraordinary.

Bio: Barb Hawthorn is a Peterborough-based visual artist originally from Toronto. She moved to the area 15 years ago to renew her connection to nature. The process reawakened her interest in spiritual exploration and creative pursuits. Largely self-taught and experimental, Hawthorn's style varies from large and vividly coloured abstracts, to mixed-media collage. 

"Regarding my artistic practice, I make the art I want to see, that which I cannot find anywhere else. I work from the inside out. My art emerges from my heart and I bring that out into the world to share with others. My creative process is my soul work – it’s how I align and connect with my true and highest self. I’ve built myself a studio that is my sacred place to explore, experiment, play, get messy, and to integrate my experiences, thoughts and emotions. My work is experimental and open-ended: as each piece develops, it takes on its own direction. For the viewer, I hope to uplift and inspire a love of nature as well as support self reflection and personal growth."