July-August Gallery Exhibition at Sertoma Arts Center

Sertoma Arts Center's new July-August Exhibitions feature work from Ashley Bonner, Maria LeFrancois, Troy Brown, and Trudy Thomson.

Artwork will be on display from July 2 through August 28, 2024. An opening reception will be held at Sertoma Arts Center on Saturday, July 20, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

Exhibition Artwork

About the Artists

Ashley Bonner

Ashley Bonner is an artist, instructor, and studio coordinator, based in Raleigh, NC. She graduated from UNC Greensboro in 2021 with a degree in sculpture and ceramics and has been teaching and working at Raleigh and Cary Art centers. She is very involved with the maintenance and management of the community studio spaces, spending most of her time firing kilns, mixing glazes, and teaching kids' pottery classes. She saves some of her time to work on her own artistic practice, and loves to have conversations with studio members about the projects they are working on as well as shared inspirations. Ashley loves the challenge of finding answers to patrons questions. Many questions become motivation to dive deeper into a project already in progress with a new perspective.

Website and Social Media: linktr.ee/ashleybb.art

Maria LeFrancois

Maria LeFrancois was born and raised in New York City.  She describes herself as a self-taught artist.  Maria took drawing and painting classes in college but made the practical choice to major in Applied Science.  Since then, she has attended painting workshops with professional artists.

Painting is Maria’s joy and obsession. She claims that it got her through the pandemic with her sanity intact! Her family and friends sent pictures of themselves and their pets while in quarantine, and the act of painting pictures of her loved ones made her feel connected to them. Maria says, “When restrictions eased, I fully embraced painting en plein air and even participated in some local art events.”   

Since moving to North Carolina, she draws inspiration from the towns around and including Raleigh. 

According to Maria, “The process of painting is exciting, but frustrating at times. Painting isn’t always smooth sailing! Oftentimes, I struggle to create something. I apply paint only to scrape it all off and start over. But once in a while it all comes together just right, and that makes it worth the effort.”

Impressionistic Realism is the term Maria uses to describe her personal artistic style, and oil is her favorite medium.  

Social Media: @mltgallery

Troy Brown

Troy has always loved Children's Picture Books since he was old enough to read. The idea to create this book was purely out of his love for Donuts and wanting to merge to two loves in some way. Some of the artwork in the book was based in part by crazy ideas about outrageous donut flavors he could come up with. Some of the characters were just drawings that jumped out of Brown's sketchbook and some were created after a basic biography had been created. The artwork and the book is designed to just have fun with the two things he loves, Donuts and Picture Book Characters.

His hope is that kids would be inspired to create stories of their own about things they really love and be as creative as they possibly can in the process.

T. Brown has a BFA in Communication Arts with an emphasis in illustration & Design. He also has a Masters in Art Education from DAAP at the University of Cincinnati. This is in addition to his successful career in packaging design while working as an Art Director in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

He currently resides with his wife and two sons in the Raleigh/Durham North Carolina area. He is currently a Professor of Art and also teachers Adobe at a CTE High School. He has created five Children's Books since he began teaching K-12 education as an Adobe instructor.

Website: www.brownsugarpress.com

Trudy Thomson

When she creates fiber work she is inspired by the rhythms and patterns found in nature…waves of water, the flutter of flowers and birds, swirls of clouds. There is repetition as well as variation in both the process and form. She begins her tapestry work by drawing a detailed design on a grid of graph paper where she draws various shapes. To these she adds color that represent the skeins of yarn she uses in different portions of the design. When she settles down to weave the tapestry planned she swipes across the loom and positions yarn that varies in color, texture and tone. As a result what one views is carefully planned but also contains random features that unexpectantly materialize in the design. She varies the types of fiber used; sometimes the fibers are twisted and spun in unusual ways. She even incorporates various scrap materials from shredded rug selvages and saris. 

She began her fiber studies in her early 20s when she attended classes at Rochester Institute of Technology. With intensive self-study and experimentation for many years, she continued to work using a variety of woven techniques including traditional as well as more experimental methods of weaving. She manipulates the surface using slit, interlock as well as egyptian and oriental sumac. She attended classes at the Penland School of Crafts many times to expand her experience with various fiber structures. Of note, she received a Masters Degree in Visual Design/Media from UNC Chapel Hill in the mid 70s. This background enhances her ability to create unique patterns and compositions.

Website: fernsandfancy.gallery