We are pleased to welcome two local artists, Elizabeth Chase and Janice Doppler, for a combined showing at the Library!

Elizabeth Chase

Elizabeth Chase grew up in the Berkshires, taking hikes throughout the area and making frequent visits to the Berkshire Museum and The Clark Art Museum.  Art and nature have remained key elements in her life.  Elizabeth started drawing and painting at a very early age, and as a teen took art lessons from two local artists.  While at the University of Massachusetts she initially majored in Art, but switched to a major in Psychology with a minor in Art.  Though she made time for painting throughout her life,  Elizabeth is able to devote more time to it since retiring from a career as a psychotherapist.

Elizabeth primarily paints in oils and acrylics, but has found that colored pencils are an excellent medium for capturing the details of bird plumage.

Elizabeth’s work has been exhibited at the Berkshire Museum, Greylock Gallery, St. Francis Gallery, Lyme Art Association, and at several galleries in the Pioneer Valley.  She has also exhibited in numerous group shows with the Easthampton Art Guild, of which she is a member .

Janice Doppler

The first time Janice saw a carving, a blue jay carved by a friend, she thought she’d never have the patience to create such a detailed work of art.  Twenty years later, on an afternoon in 2002, she wandered into the Wendell Gilley Museum on Mount Desert Island in Maine where the resident carver was working on a bird.  She watched for such a long time that he handed her a knife, a piece of basswood, and invited she to try.  She has been carving ever since.  For the first several years of her carving life, she rarely had time for carving outside of her weekly lesson.  Even though Janice is retired, there is never enough time for carving because the more she carves, the more she wants to carve.

Janice’s carvings have won awards in multiple competitions.  In the past year Janice’s work has been displayed at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Artspace Gallery in Greenfield, Hosmer Gallery in Forbes Library the Science Library University of Massachusetts, and a Bird and Wildlife Expo sponsored by Rhode Island Audubon.  Her work can be viewed at http://birdcarvingsbyjanicedoppler.weebly.com

Please come by the library and enjoy Elizabeth and Janice’s work!