IMLAY - A reception was held for Oreana artist Carolyn Baker July 14 at the Star Peak Art Retreat in Imlay. Baker has over 50 pieces of artwork on exhibit at the retreat until the end of July.
The exhibit opened July 5 and will run to the end of the month. The gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a lunch break from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays.
The variety of mediums on exhibit show the breath of Baker's talent. There are oil paintings, watercolors, Batiks, along with carvings in soapstone, clay sculpture and even macramé.
She also has portraits in pencil and charcoal on display. Baker's day job is the U.S. rural postal delivery person. She has had the job for many years and has gotten to know many people on her route.
"I would visit with them for a minute or two when they were at the mailbox and notice something unique about their facial expression or something that would attract my attention," Baker said.
She would mull it over in her mind for the rest of the day until she got home to put it down on paper, she said.
"Some of the portraits are on my post route; some are other people that I know; some I just made up," Baker said.
Other art on exhibit include an Indian village in oil. The painting is a very detailed work with children playing, tall elegant native women cooking on an open fire ring and horses in the background. Baker said she painted it in the 1960s.
Another piece on exhibit is a clay sculpture of her grandfather and step-grandmother. The sculpture was so lifelike that Baker's brother had copies of it made for other family members.
Many soapstone animals, from wolves to turtles, grace a glass display case. Baker said she loves to work with soapstone.
"I look at it and I can see what it should become. The only problem is that soapstone is so soft that it breaks easily. I'll be working on something for many, many hours and then its leg breaks off. It's very discouraging. But then I look at both pieces and see what else it looks like. That's what happened with the turtles and other smaller pieces here," she said.
Baker's one woman show will continue until the end of July. The Star Peak Art Retreat is located just east of the I-80 at Imlay exit 145. From the Imlay exit, in either direction, just turn east. The retreat and gallery is located on a hill easily seen from the highway.
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