By Martina Sestakova

Members of Montgomery Art Association come from all walks of life and their artworks and creative processes reflect this wonderful variety. In this blog, we invite you to enjoy a selection of pieces that explore 'memories'. Scroll down to enjoy a lovely array of ideas!

Alexandra Treadaway, Covid-19 Mona Lisa (watercolor, 15x11"). A walk in Brookside Gardens with a friend that I had not seen in over a year!

Sue Fierson, Sunrise 5AM, Ft. Sewell (watercolor and ink, 10x8"). The tree featured here blew down in a northeaster in 2019.

Judith Levine, Pointe Shoes (watercolor and conte on paper, 9x12"). I was drawing in a dance class and a friend had dropped a pair by her dance bag. I recall looking at these fragile shoes and thinking of how much beauty a dancer makes using them.

John Mac Arthur, Daddy’s Little Girl (watercolor, 8x10"). I used a photograph that was taken of me sound asleep while making sure my daughter, Molly, didn’t roll out of the bed taking a nap.

Christopher Hoppe, DC Blossom Stroll (oil on canvas, 16x20"). This painting depicts the moments during the Cherry Blossom time when I would meet my wife in DC after work and it would be a rainy day and she would have her baby blue rain boots and rain gear and I would see her in the distance. Beautiful memories.

Rosemary Behizadeh Yue, Family Vacation (acrylic on canvas, 16x20”). This painting hangs on my office wall. It’s my husband bringing in my youngest from playing in the waves. You can see the careful way he’s holding him.

Anastasia Walsh, My Brother's Room (alcohol inks on glass, 16x13" framed). This little painting is based on an old photo from when I was about 6; playing with my brother and two friends. One thing I felt I captured so well was my character looking sideways, longingly, at the older girl on my right, wanting so much to get her approval. Also, my blond brother's portrait shows him as I remember him, deeply concentrating.

Fran Sokol Simon, Ode to the Magic of My Gifts (acrylic resist, 9x12"). This is in memory of my heart donor (I am a transplant recipient) and in honor of my husband, the two most precious gifts, inspired by a night of dancing and music I realized I might not have experienced if it were not for the magic of both of those two generous people.

Jean Fin, A Church in the Grand Tetons (oil on canvas, 16x20”). I took a wonderful cross country bus trip to view the solar eclipse in 2017. This little church was my idea of the perfect place to live.

Marti Wells, Seagull (watercolor, 12x15"). This little laughing gull lives on Lake Zürich. Wonderful outing with my Brother, the last one in Zürich. He is moving to another country.

Heather Pattee Medrano, What it Means to Us (mixed media on canvas, 16x20"). A painting from a family photograph. Memories of a redeployment arrival home from Iraq. The look of relief on his face still chokes me up and was my main focus on this one.

Ann Terbush Schaefer, Embracing Memories (oil on linen, 24x24”). This piece celebrates the beautiful Denzel carousel at Glen Echo Park, where so many memories have been made over the years.

Sarah Renzi Sanders, There's  No Place Like Home (acrylic mixed media, gold leaf, embroidery thread on canvas, 36x48"). My first memory of fear: being separated from my twin sister on the first day of kindergarten.

Leslie Kraff. This is a memory dear to my heart. Baking cake with my children. And the best part: licking the bowl!

Karen Cohen, Sunset in the Mountains (watercolor on yupo, 5x7"). Amazing colors fill the sky and ground when the sun sets in my country home, which happens to be almost heaven. 

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying the artworks of our members! Be sure to check out our other blogs as we celebrate the unique artworks of DMV-based artists.