“Stand Tall” by Ruthann Brady, 1st Place, 2018 Wabash Valley Art Guild Spring Show

An invitational art show in Community Theatre of Terre Haute debuts mixed media and photographic works never shown in Terre Haute, or Indiana.

Ruthann Brady of Terre Haute and Sheila Ter Meer of Brazil are the featured artists in the Carolyn Toops Gallery during CT’s performances of “The 1940’s Radio Hour.”

Both artists will attend CT’s opening night performance and reception on Friday, Nov. 30, and their artwork will remain on display through the matinee performance on Dec. 9.

Brady is an established artist well known for her award-winning works in the bi-state area and her longtime affiliation with Wabash Valley Art Guild, River City Art Association and Arts Illiana in Terre Haute.

She began painting as a realistic artist and evolved to a mixed media abstract impressionistic style. She paints mostly on heavy watercolor paper, clay board and hard board panels. Her first works were watercolor. Now she uses acrylic, encaustic, resins, oil and cold wax.

“My art is always in transition,” Brady said. “It evolves, as I do, through experiences and exploration. I often begin a painting without any preconceived plan.

“I flow with the rhythm of the process, pouring, manipulating and allowing the visual magic to take me on a journey. I choose the colors, medium, substrate, size and amounts and direction of flow. Beautiful colors, patterns and forms emerge.

“This is my favorite way to create as I feel my real spirit is imparted to the painting and hopefully will resonate, allowing the viewers a spiritual journey of their own.”

“Stand Tall” is one of several encaustic/collage pieces in the art show.

Self Portrait: “Middle Child Born on the Libra-Scorpio Cusp” by Sheila Ter Meer 2nd place, 2018 WVAG Spring Show

Ter Meer is an emerging self-taught artist honored for her nature photography, as well as expressionistic digital art at local, regional and national juried exhibitions.

“I draw inspiration from the beauty of the world around me and life experiences as a Hoosier woman, mother, and child of God,” the Clay County native said.

Many of the representational works on her blog, Sheila T Illustrated, tell her life story: faith, family, friends, pets, Indiana wildlife and plant life, rustic barns and pastoral scenes, sunrises and sunsets, and tourist attractions. She also likes to capture examples of pareidolia – faces, animals or other images in water, clouds, rock formations and other surfaces where no such objects exist.

To further satisfy her childlike enthusiasm for fantasy and whimsies – anything playful or fanciful, as an artistic creation – Ter Meer takes artistic license with many of her traditional images to design one-of-a-kind abstractions using photo editing software. One example is her self portrait, “Middle Child Born on the Libra-Scorpio Cusp.”

Ter Meer also is a member of River City Art Association, and an associate member of Covered Bridge Art Association in Parke County.

For more details on the artists and examples of their work, visit RiverCityArt.org and SheilaTphotography.wordpress.com. Questions about artwork in their CT show, call Brady at 812-235-5759 and Ter Meer at 812-442-0834.

For tickets to CT’s performances, visit ctth.org.