I had a chance to chat with an amazing art teacher Lauren May about her paintings and techniques at a staff meeting...that was how it started. Then very very quickly we were exhibiting our work together at the Woods Gallery in Huntington Woods, MI! Here's the scoop from the Macomb Daily newspaper:
By Stephanie Preweda, Special to Digital First Media
POSTED: 06/29/15, 3:53 PM EDT | UPDATED: ON 06/29/2015
• Colors of the Spirit, paintings by Lauren May and Gail Borowski
Two art teachers from the Utica Community School District are coming together to practice what they preach at the Woods Gallery upcoming show, “Colors of the Spirit.”
Artists Lauren May of St. Clair County and Gail Borowski of Shelby Township have been talking about this show for about a year now and it’s approaching quickly — July 1 through Aug. 24
Although each has a unique style of painting, both artists explore color and they compliment each other’s work. Borowski primarily works abstractly through emotion, while May studies fine details of nature and enlarges those elements.
The two had talked about showing their work together before, and Borowski has exhibited at the Woods Gallery in the past. The opportunity arose for Borowski to exhibit with another artist, and asked May.
When deciding on a theme, the artists realized the common ground in their styles was their use of color.
“She (works) more with theory and emotion and mine is more grounded, but it’s the color that’s the common thread,” May says.
They each chose which pieces to exhibit, but made sure they fit the decided theme. The pieces are color coordinated on the gallery walls. Standing in the center of the room is like standing in the middle of a rainbow.
Borowski said the colors between her pieces and May’s coordinate together as if they are talking to each other.
“It really underscores the theme of the show,” Borowski said. “It’s like watching a conversation and watching the relationship happen between the different color themes.”
May and Borowski both studied at the College for Creative Studies. Although teaching art is their passion and they can’t imagine doing anything else, the artists wanted an exhibition that showcases their own artistic creativity.
“(We) want to encourage our students in the arts and teach them about it and we want to show (our students) that that’s what we do,” Borowski says.
May says she is inspired by closely exploring the small details of natural objects. She is finishing up her master’s degree in fine arts and some of the pieces from her portfolio will be on display.
Borowski enjoys working with symbolism, each of her bodies of work has a theme that reflects what was happening in her life at the time. Lately she has been working with hearts, home and landscapes.
