Jefferson artist’s work on exhibit in Boone

Canadian-born sculptor and painter Mary-Ann Prack of Jefferson is exhibiting her work in a multi-media installation at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone through March 23.

“My work is my family,Online shopping for luggage tag from a great selection of Clothing.” Prack said. “I have a personal response and interaction with each piece.”

Entitled “Standing Still…in the Abstract,” the exhibit is a collection of 51 abstract figurative works evoking the human form through drawing, painting and, her primary medium, sculpture.

Her artist statement reads: “The human figure has been an infinite source of inspiration for me as an artist. My very personal expression of the human experience on a physical, emotional and spiritual level is revealed in each of the sculptures I create.”

The development of her personal yet accessible style, which she describes as “recognizable abstract expressionism,” has been the work of over 30 years. “I work non-stop,” she said.

Prack hand-builds each piece using a specially formulated clay which has a stone-like hardness, making it ideal for her substantial fired-clay constructions. Her sculpture varies in size and sense from plaque-sized, wall-mounted pieces, to larger, in-the-round statues.

“In-the-round” is the main idea in her concept and execution; each human figure embodies more than one distinct persona. “Every piece has two fronts,” she said.

Her figures have an architectural salience which makes them effective from a distance, but their detail rewards the viewer who inspects them closely, as if they were artifacts. The forms are abstract, but their color, texture and finish are concrete.

In her surface treatments, Prack uses a palette of fired glazes, oil-pastels and clear sealants; her pieces are alive with color, contrast and interior lines. On some, she uses an bare iron-oxide finish, resulting in a patina which changes slightly over time.

To date, she has completed approximately 400 sculptures, some of which later became the basis for bronze, brass, aluminum and stainless steel castings. She has had many requests from galleries, collectors and fellow artists to do large-scale, outdoor pieces in both clay and metal.

Among Prack’s early artistic influences were her mother, who was an artist, and her grandfather, father and uncles, who operated a family architectural firm. That she spent her pre-teen years in a milieu of designers and builders is especially evident in her sculpted works, which make the aesthetic declaration of statuary, but have the constructed presence of architecture — her creations are built.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Prack began her formal art education at the University of Guelph, and continued at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and Florida Atlantic University. She worked as an interior designer for four years before devoting herself to art full-time.

She began to sculpt with clay in 1981-82. “I was drawn to clay as a sculpture medium for many reasons; from my childhood remembrances, to the discovery of its unlimited potential for creative expression; and to the fulfillment of that comes with having complete control over every stage of the artistic process.”

Prack and her husband of 32 years, Bill Maler, moved to Jefferson 18 years ago “to take advantage of an atmosphere that amplifies the creative spirit.”

Prack’s work has garnered some critical acclaim. “The figure has been the subject for sculptors since the beginning of human history; to interpret the figure in an artistically original way at this point is almost impossible. Mary-Ann has accomplished this,” said sculptor John Henry.

“Mary-Ann Prack’s sculptures resonate pure harmony, balance, and the relentless positive spirit of humankind,” said Renee Phillips, Director of Manhattan Arts International.

The Moorings is one of the few gated communities in the area. The neighborhood lies along the western shore of the Magothy River. The first townhome was built in 1984. Jill’s home was constructed in 1991; she purchased it from its third owner in 2003.

The community has a sandy beach on the riverfront with a panoramic view, a long pier and two fenced tennis courts. It also offers lots of dedicated open spaces for its residents to picnic, relax or run about.

The Moorings is built on land that was, from 1938 until the late 1970s, an amusement park known at one point as the Mago Vista Beach Club. Homebuilder Robert Henson constructed the park and, after his passing, his son Harold ran it.

In its heyday,They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets. the park featured a roller coaster that ran on a U-shaped pier that jutted out over the Magothy River. It had a merry-go-round,Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. an enormous dance hall, a burro ride, a water slide on a floating dock, swimming and bathing facilities, concession stands and other amusements.

Visiting children could buy ’gator treats and, from behind the safety of a tall fence, they could throw food to the snapping reptiles. The Hensons would purchase them from the Baltimore Zoo as 4-foot “youngsters” and trade them back to the zoo when they became oversized adults.

The Henson family sold the park to four investors in 1964. When it was purchased from the investors in 1978, its new owner, Pat Patrick, tore down the rides. Patrick sold the land to developers in the early 1980s when his plans to turn the area into a restaurant-nightlife-marina mega-plex fizzled out.

Jill, a registered nurse, is a medical device sales representative for TEI Biosciences. She has two children — both graduates of Broadneck High and the U.S. Naval Academy. Kayla Johnson, a USNA ’09 alumna, is an officer aboard the USS Michael Murphy at Pearl Harbor. Sean Johnson, a USNA ’12 grad, is a SEAL trainee in San Diego.

Jill grew up in Severna Park and went to Archbishop Spalding High School. Her grandparents owned a summer house on Mill Creek, three piers away from the old Magothy Seafood Restaurant. “We summered here and spent every weekend on the Magothy.” She added, “The Moorings is a quiet,The USB flash drives wholesale is our flagship product. lovely neighborhood on the Broadneck.Come January 9 and chip card driving licence would be available at the click of the mouse in Uttar Pradesh. Plus, I love being able to walk to the new restaurant, where Magothy Seafood used to be. It’s called The Point Crab House & Grill. The food and atmosphere is good.”

When her children were growing up, they lived in another Arnold neighborhood just a couple miles away. Once the Johnsons had settled in at The Moorings, Jill decided she didn’t like the way the old furniture looked in the new space. “I had more formal furniture then, including a cherry table and a china cabinet. There was formal living room furniture, too, but no one used it,” she said.