TOWN OF DEWITT – The artwork of recently deceased DeWitt resident and area schoolteacher Barbara Vural is being shown until April 12 at Edgewood Gallery.

The gallery at 216 Tecumseh Road in Syracuse unveiled the dozen pieces of Vural’s with an opening reception on March 1 that offered food and wine and brought in a crowd to pack its one-room display space. The exhibit was already being planned out when Vural passed away on Jan. 24 at the age of 86.

Vural taught at Van Buren Elementary School, a building within the Baldwinsville school district, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She went on to sub at Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School on a part-time basis in the latter half of the 1970s prior to spending a quarter century as an art educator at Westhill High School, where she stayed until she retired in 2005.

During her years, Vural also worked in the Garment District of Manhattan as a fabric designer and lent her artistic touch to creations ranging from signage for a hair salon and bedroom murals to graphic design work inside medical buildings and university campus sculptures.

The middle of her three sons, Adam, said the Edgewood Gallery showing features his mom’s very last abstract paintings and one or two that had been tucked away for a number of years and never before seen by the public eye.

He said she dabbled in a variety of styles, from still life to gel prints to works of experimental mixed media, adding that even into her 80s she was just as prolific as she had been decades earlier, if not more.

Estimating that she was responsible for well over a thousand finished pieces over the course of her lifetime, Adam said his mother was appreciative of the traditions of art and was always seeking to learn more and try new techniques.

“Her skill level was so high that that’s why I think a lot of other artists flocked to her, because it seemed like it came so easy to her,” Adam said. “She could just take any materials and play around and all of a sudden she had something real nice, but she wasn’t showy…she leaves a huge hole behind.”

The youngest of Barbara Vural’s three sons, Matt, said she was fond of depicting beach scenes in her art that were inspired by visits to Green Lakes State Park, vacations to Maine, and her memories of her parents’ rented cabana on Atlantic Beach off the shore of Long Island.

Influenced greatly by his mom, who he said was “kind of like a therapist” for her students, Matt became a teacher himself; he’s taught such subjects as English, algebra and chemistry at Manlius Pebble Hill, Bishop Grimes and other schools both within the country and overseas.

“She just really gave of herself to everyone around her,” said Matt, a DeWitt resident. “She was a brave woman also.”

Adam, who also lives in DeWitt, said his mom was the kind of woman others looked up to because she was “the real deal”—someone trustworthy who remained even-keeled and matter-of-fact and was never known to talk bad about anyone.

“She always smiled at people,” Adam said. “She had that twinkle, and she was so complimentary. Just one of those people that’s so happy to see you when you come through the door.”

Earlier in the year, from Jan. 6 to Feb. 17, Associated Artists of Central New York put up a solo “Best of Show” exhibit throughout the Manlius Library gallery area for Vural, a longtime organization member, because she had won top honors in the group’s most recent juried show.

Vural’s acrylic paintings in the Edgewood Gallery exhibit come in varying sizes and were done on either canvas, panel or board. The titles include “Mediterranean Rocks,” “Awakening II,” “The Swimmer” and “Purple Surprise,” and they’re marked with prices from $100 to $2,200.

The late artist’s work is part of a larger group show called “Implication.”

Hanging on the opposite wall are Penny Santy’s “abstract(ed)” paintings, meaning that when you look closely, the details in the figures are fractured and not entirely representational of reality visually. On side tables there are glass marbles and wearable pendants made by Doug Williams, including one with a vortex pattern, and Esperanza Tielbaard’s natural elements jewelry is presented in a display case in front of the counter.

Cheryl Chappell, the owner of the local gallery specializing in contemporary art and custom framing, said that despite the different artistic mediums used, the group show is laid out in an entirely cohesive way, with attention paid to symmetry and color.

Her gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Matt Vural said that in the last weeks and days of her life, his mother expressed that she was very much looking forward to the Edgewood show. Now he’s happy to see that her work still made it to the gallery for public viewing.