Four Birds by Lee Gerry Wertheimer, above, was selected by the juror for the Jane McElvany Coonce Award for representational realism in March’s all-media show at The Art League. Lee Gerry told us more about her art career and art as a form of archaeology, below:

“Growing up in New York, I was exposed to many diverse cultures. Often, I went to watch the Long Island Native Americans dance while some of their tribe exhibited arts and crafts at the gathering. It enabled me to appreciate their love of nature which they depicted on handmade bark paper. While studying painting in Italy, I was convinced of the importance of classical art with its attention to detail and the quality created by its careful repetition of linear patterns. My bark paper pictures are a visual “archaeological dig” that examines the importance of what our earth is made up of. Every layer is intertwined to symbolize all things have an effect on all other things in our environment. Also, the layers are a metaphor for the many layers of emotion hidden deep within my soul. We must be careful with the way we treat our environment as well as the way we treat its inhabitants. This philosophy is a very important part of my everyday life, as well as being an integral part of my artwork. The Four Birds picture was selected for Senator Mark Warner’s winner’s Exhibition in Norfolk, Virginia.”

The March All-Media Exhibit is open through April 1.