FROGS Art Show Slated
Join FrOGS [Friends of the Great Swamp] for a day of art, family fun and Celebrate the Great Swamp!
The art exhibit will feature local artists. The show will charm all with its imaginative vision and creative concepts. The art varies in style and medium; there are vibrant contemporary pieces and traditional landscapes. Work in collage, pottery, natural materials, photography, oils and watercolors express each artist’s vision. Over 60 professional artists will participate.
This year, the art show poster features a work by local artist Nancy Clark, depicting the motion and essence of the trees along the Appalachian Trail boardwalk where it crosses the Swamp River in Pawling.
“The event is geared toward the adult but we have always wanted children’s participation because they are our future” said Edie Keasbey, an Art Show Committee member.
Twelve schools will be submitting works. Schools combine art and science in this endeavor and this year they will be focusing on the four species of special concern that find a home in the swamp. Science is key – where geology, botany and biology are part of the learning and creation. In addition FrOGS is sponsoring the seventh annual juried competition for high school students in the Harlem Valley.
Many of these students eventually go on to art school or college, and many become professional artists or art teachers.
The show will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20 and from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21 at the Thomas Memorial Center at Christ Church on Quaker Hill in Pawling. The location is spectacular with western views of magnificent fall foliage on the distant hills and of course, the swamp.
Educational programs are part of the celebration. Jim Eyring, master falconer, will bring his birds of prey and fly his falcons if weather permits. At the height of the annual fall hawk migration, this is a wondrous event. There will be a special hands on macro-invertebrate table and the “Nature of Things” will return with their small animals and talk about the lives of the smaller animals that dwell in the swamp. Other special exhibits will take participants on a journey through the swamp.
The Great Swamp is one of new York State’s best kept secrets. Stretching over 6,000 acres in Dutchess and Putnam counties, the swamp is the largest and most impressive wetlands in the region. Yet, despite its vast range, it remains little known to those outside its boundaries.
“They have no ides that this 20-mile long masterpiece sits right in their back yard,” said Judy Kelly-Moberg, educational director of FrOGS.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
