Four women artists who excel in mixed media and collage will exhibit their work at the Art Association of Harrisburg December 4 through January 7. The opening reception on Friday, December 4, from 5 to 8 PM will be hosted by AAH Board member Anne Davis, and will be enlivened by Tutti Complesso, a violin, piano and cello quartet of young musicians. The four artists are Amy Richardson, Elaine Brady Smith, Beverly Spitzer, and Ruth Terrill.

Amy Richardson of LeRoy, Illinois, holds her BFA from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, and her MFA from Illinois State University. She avers that there are different movements and forces occurring in the natural world that ,over time , form interconnected environments. Knowing this, Richardson decomposes and then recomposes the experiences she encounters in nature to create her own reactions. She portrays her artistic experiments through a mixed-media process involving printmaking, painting, drawing and collage.She has exhibited her work throughout Illinois.

Elaine Brady Smith, a Middletown resident, calls herself an artist with a “vintage vision.” She has always treasured antique papers, photos and ephemera, continuously incorporating them into her collage, mixed media and en caustic art. With a special fascination with turn-of-the-century newspapers, Brady Smith uses excerpts as signature items in her work. She graduated with a degree in graphic arts from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and has held solo exhibitions in several area galleries. She teaches “Collage” for the AAH school.

Beverly Spitzer of Camp Hill enjoys “the pursuit of artistic creativity.” She states that her work is “heartfelt, generated by a positive attitude about my life, family and community.” Spitzer, who studied interior architecture at Rhode Island School of Design, worked for the Interior Space Design Division of Perkins and Will Architects in Chicago before moving to Harrisburg with her family in 1966. After raising her four children, Spitzer began taking watercolour classes, painting still-lifes and portraits. Her curiosity about new techniques led her to creating collages and experimental paintings, with her most recent interest leading her to printmaking. The artist has exhibited her work nationwide.

Ruth Terrill of La Honda, California, has always been intrigued by the way both dreams and waking life can present one with strange and paradoxical combinations of images. Her artistic inspiration derives from her fascination with this “natural surrealism” that occurs spontaneously in daily life.By modifying and combining pieces of pictures found in everyday sources, she creates collages that allow her to explore possibilities for seeing life from a more transcendent perspective. Terrill studied at Stanford University in California in 1971, having received her BFA from the University of Illinois in 1952. She has exhibited her work throughout the country.

The young musicians in the quartet performing at the opening reception on December 4 are Alex Peffer (voice/piano), Julia Hayden (violin), Kathryn Hayden (cello/piano), and Christina Deitz (violin.). Julia, Kathryn and Christina all perform in the Wednesday Club Chamber/Youth Orchestra, and all have been studying music since they were four years old!

For more information about the exhibition, visit www.artassocofhbg.com or call 236-1432.