FESTIVAL UNBOUND

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The Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission presents an invitational exhibition: “Another Point of View: 4 Visually Impaired Artists” that highlights the work of Mary Ann Dunwoodie, Michael Freeman, Dianne Michels, and Terry Newhard at the Bethlehem Town Hall Rotunda Gallery from September 30 to November 4, 2024, Monday-Friday from 8:30am-4pm. The exhibition brings together four visually impaired artisans with varying degrees of vision who use their personal creative process as a means of self expression and inspiration. Join us for the Opening Reception, co-hosted by Touchstone Theatre. Drop-in and meet and talk with the artists as you enjoy their work, which invites you to see the world in multiple ways. 

The exhibition is sponsored by the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

WHAT TO EXPECT

LOCATION: Bethlehem Town Hall Rotunda Gallery – 10 E. Church Street, Bethlehem, PA

RUN TIME: 2 hours (arrive when you can, stay as long as you like!)

PARKING: There is nearby street or lot parking (heres a link to Bethlehem parking options). Parking is available in the garage beneath the Library only after 5:00 pm during the week and all day on Saturdays.

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION: Gallery is accessible via ramp to front doors. Members of the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission will be available to open doors and help with guidance as needed. Art descriptions in Braille, as well as audio description available. Accessible men’s and women’s bathrooms with changing tables in City Hall accessible via short hallway. Accessible water-fountain in City Hall. Some chairs available for seating. Touchstone strives to create an environment where all members of our community feel welcome. Please contact (610) 867-1689 or via email at jacqui@touchstone.org to request accessibility accommodations in advance.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

MICHAEL FREEMAN

“My work is a way for me to push the limits of  my eyesight and allow me to use my art as a  creative outlet. You can really succeed in  anything you put your mind to.” 

Michael Freeman is a prolific abstract artist with a vision impairment known as tunnel vision. He creates artwork which feature tactile components and textures. With each deliberate brushstroke, he layers his canvas with his bold use of color and texture. Creating art is a direct means of self-expression and has become a transformative experience for him as an artist. His many roles include: artist, speaker, and disability advocate. He invites others with visual impairments to experience his paintings through tactile exploration.  

MARY ANN DUNWOODIE  

“From primitive to abstract, art is my form of  communication.” 

Mary Ann Dunwoodie is legally blind, with only 2 percent of sight in her left eye, but her resilience to express herself through her art is unmistakable. When Mary Ann lost her sight 19 years ago, her desperation and sadness eventually led her on a journey to painting as her means of self-expression. This medium gave her a renewed sense of purpose. When painting, she floods her canvas with direct lighting to enable her to apply her colors and forms. Her images are highly personal glimpses into her mind and depict a visual story of her memories and life experiences.

TERRY NEWHARD 

“How can you paint if you’re colorblind? It’s just simply a parallel way of seeing the reflection of light. You’re not painting objects, you’re capturing light at that moment.”

To Terry Newhard, being colorblind and having no artistic background were never obstacles in his creative process. He focuses on the ability to capture the right color saturation, light tones, and color values in order to create his lyrical end results. Terry uses acrylic and oil paints as his primary medium, mixing his colors on a palette and then layering his paint with the help of a palette knife. The overall  effect becomes an exquisite and unique Impressionistic style of painting. He enjoys the “Zen” experience of self-expression.  

DIANNE MICHELS 

“Art inspires me, because it is my way to connect to nature and animals, since I cannot really see how things are in reality. You can do anything with a positive attitude.”

Dianne Michels has always been legally blind. She began to develop tunnel vision in college, losing more visual field and her ability to see some colors. As her sight decreased, she was no longer  able to paint in oils and turned to the art of pastels which she loves. Her involvement with The Baum School of Art and her instructor, Jackie Meyerson, helped her develop strategies for her creative process. She is able to label her pastel pencils to identify her colors more easily. Dianne takes photos with her iPhone at 12 x and prints her subject on paper, fold them into squares, and make a grid to produce an image. The grid lines can be felt, and that guides her hands to create her vivid artwork.

[Image description: A painting of a river at sunset. The water is glowing orange and yellow from the dying rays of the sun. On the left hand side we see a hill covered in trees and cloaked in shadow rising upward to the edge of the image. On the right are two ships docked next to a building. The boat in front is more modern (perhaps a tugboat of some kind?), while the ship behind it is older – two giant masts pierce the sky, rigging stretching downward, spiderwebbing to the sides of the ship. The building they are docked at is white with a dark roof, resting on brown supports that disappear into the river. Behind all of this, we see the sky itself, a gradient of yellows melting into oranges, then finally purples and blues. Painted by Terry Newhard.]