Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Thunderstorms this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. Low 48F. W winds shifting to NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible.

The mood at Harrison County Arts on Friday evening was bright, full of color and the promise of new life. The full house of gallery visitors were engaged with artwork that seemed to channel the manifold energies of the natural world. Visitors also had the opportunity to meet the artists — sculptor Bernard Hagedorn and printmaker Deborah Hutchinson-Hagedorn — and to tap into some of their creative vibes.

Bernard’s sculptures, spread across the expanse of the Invitational gallery, were punctuated with lively reflections and the illusion of movement. Curvilinear forms ascending upward seemed to defy gravity, while stainless steel sculptures took on the light and shadows of the surrounding gallery environment.

“I work to make sculpture that is easily accessible and understood without spending a lot of time focusing on the object itself,” Bernard said. “I believe that my sculptures should connect to the viewer through known associations of form and content.”

One rectilinear bronze sculpture, titled “Embarkation to Change,” was designed to offer hope. This sculpture of a “window” looking into a fresh new world is both visually attractive and meaningful. A small boat form at the base of the sculpture is just beginning to embark through the passage of change.

Bernard also exhibited several of his drawings.

“I love to draw and believe my sculptures are fundamentally drawings in space,” the artist said.

Although Bernard is best known for his monumental sculptures — such as “Dusk and Dawn of the Twenty-First Century” at the Red Skelton Performing Arts Center at Vincennes University — these smaller artworks can take one’s breath away.

Hutchinson-Hagedorn’s medium is printmaking, which means she uses printmaking tools — ink, brayers, mylar or metal plates and a press — to create on-of-a-kind original artwork known as “monotypes.” She often enhances her pieces with watercolor and collage to further develop the work.

“My passion for the printmaking process runs deep within me,” Hutchinson-Hagedorn said. “The smell of ink, the process of layering on colors, the manual labor of cranking the handle recreate the life experience that gave me the initial inspiration for the work.”

That original inspiration often comes from the colors, moods and ambiance of the natural world, particularly some of the almost surreal environments that she has visited: the Painted Forest and Petrified Forest in Arizona, the Great Sand Dunes at Zion National Park, the 300- to 400-year-old Angel Oak Tree in Charleston, S.C., the Grand Canyon, the Hoh Rain Forest at Olympic National Park and more.

Her prints do not, however, intend to capture the external visual appearance of a place, as in a photograph, but to distill the whole experience of being there, to show what she felt. Invisible spiritual forces, vibrations of air movement, the sublime feeling of awe are what she passes through the printing press and onto the viewer.

The exhibit “Two Roads” will run through May 13.

Harrison County Arts, located at 113 E. Beaver St., is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.