CAZENOVIA — This month, the Cazenovia Public Library & Museum (CPL) is exhibiting new work by Pompey, NY, artist Lucie Wellner.
The show, “Magnolia Dreaming,” runs through March 27 in the CPL Gallery and features a series of eight watercolors based on magnolia tree flowers.
According to the Smithsonian Institution, magnolias are one of the oldest flowering plants on Earth, evolving as far back as 95 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.
“This is before the mass extinction of dinosaurs and before the age of bees, which meant the tree called upon the beetle for pollination,” said Wellner. “It is an apt symbol of perseverance. March is the time we start dreaming in earnest about spring as the days get longer and our senses detect the change in season. The thin green veil eventually begins draping itself over the landscape, with the pink magnolia trees being among the first to unfold their outsize blooms.”
The magnolias depicted in Wellner’s work are based on photographs taken over the years and painted to look more dreamlike than realistic.
“The magnolia references are from my Magnolia tree in Pompey,” Wellner said. “It’s not a saucer magnolia, it’s more of a shrub form, and the blooms are a deeper pink. . . . . [My paintings] line the walls in the Cazenovia Library gallery with the hope they offer a lift to our spirits as we pass through, surrounded by magnolia flowers.”
Wellner was raised in Pompey and has been painting with watercolors since 1997.
Formally trained in surface pattern design, she spent 15 years designing dinnerware.
“I took some surface pattern design classes at Onondaga Community College with Jim Cody,” Wellner said. “With his encouragement, I applied to Syracuse China and got a job in the design department. My bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University included cartography, and the pre-computer tools required for making maps were the same as for designing dinnerware, so I surprisingly had the right skill set. I then did a master of fine arts in surface pattern design under the direction of Rick Wolff [at Syracuse University] while I was working.”
An opening reception for “Magnolia Dreaming” was held on Thursday, March 6, at CPL.
To learn more about Wellner and her work, visit luciewellner.com.
For more information on the CPL Gallery, visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org/museum-gallery/gallery/.
