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< Back LYNN E WRONA Mediums / Interests: OIL, PASTELS, WATERCOLOR “COLORS, RICH SUNLIT COLORS, AND PAINTING FROM LIFE, THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF MY PAINTINGS.” ~ Lynn Wrona Lynn’s oil and pastel paintings have received more than 40 regional and national awards. Selected pastel awards are the Diane B. Bernhard Art Spirit Award, CT Academy of Fine Arts; Frances and Marguerite Walker Award, Rockport, MA; and Richard Reccia Award, North Shore Arts Association. One common description of her work is that it is “nostalgic” and shows a love of people and places of peace and beauty. Lynn is a Signature Member and past membership chairman for the Connecticut Pastel Society. She is an Elected Artist Member of the Rockport Art Association, North Shore Arts Association, and an Associate Member of Lyme Art Association. Lynn is an artist member and former president of the Academic Artists Association; and a group member of the Connecticut River Valley Artists. lynnwrona1@outlook.com 413-289-4881 Next

Junk Journals, Session 2 April 25, 2026 at 2:30:00 PM

< Back STEPHEN WALBRIDGE Mediums / Interests: Watercolor Next

< Back Kathy Glista Kathy Glista is an artist whose creations are formed by fragile strength. Fragile, because they are glass, and glass can break. Strength, because of Kathy’s unwavering commitment to her artistry – engaging in what can be a painstaking process and making every piece as distinctive, and unique, as it can possibly be. Kathy’s artistic specialty is fused glass. Her creations include jewelry, bowls, suncatchers, candle holders, and art with recycled bottles. The process of fusing glass is not a simple one: it involves cutting compatible glass pieces; assembling them into a design; firing them in a kiln at high temperatures to melt and fuse them together; carefully cooling the pieces to prevent cracking; and, if needed, doing further firings to shape the glass into a final form, such as a bowl or plate. Most if not all pieces require at least two firings of 10 to 12 hours each time. The heating and the cooling are where the artist’s artistry flourishes. It is a waiting game – hour upon hour upon hour – that can test one’s skills, and patience. “The waiting can be excruciating,” she says – excruciating, but so delightfully rewarding when that wait is finally over, and she opens her kiln and gazes at the latest glass creation that her imagination has ordered up. “When you open the oven, you’re never quite sure,” she said. “Occasionally a piece does not come out as planned, but that is the wonderful thing about glass: it can almost always be turned into something else, in some cases more beautiful than the original design.” Her home workshop is a wonderland of glass, with Kathy pointing out special things she loves about each and every piece, occasional flaws and all. Sometimes, a flaw is just one more thing to appreciate. She held up a curved plate. “This one cracked in the kiln,” she said. “But I put it back together, did some other things to it … and today, it’s now solid even though it looks like it has a crack. “I love it. It’s unique. And nobody, including me, could ever duplicate it.” Kathy, a West Springfield resident, had her passion in glass first sparked while attending a class in glassblowing at Snow Farm in Williamsburg. She enjoyed the class, found glassblowing fascinating, “but it was hard, physically, for me. I’m a survivor of cancer, and my arms just wouldn’t do it.”

< Back LINDA HADLA Mediums / Interests: ACRYLIC Next

< Back Donna Roy To Donna Roy, the best art studio isn’t an art studio at all. It’s the open air. “It’s looking, seeing, observing, and being in nature. Just being part of something bigger,” Donna said of painting plein air, being imbedded in nature’s wonderment rather than being confined to the structure of floors and walls. Plein air is painting outdoors, with the artist incorporating natural light, color and movement in his or her work. “Through using multiple kinds of mediums, I’ve found that what brings me joy, and what’s important to me in art, is color,” she said. “Color, for me, adds vibration to the day.” And nature’s color wheel is uniquely special – something she came to fully realize during the pandemic, when being alone outdoors was something that so many people were seeking. “I went out plein air painting during the pandemic,” she said. “I stood in the swamps. I did a whole series of reeds and grasses. And I exhibited those paintings in a couple of local shows. “And I think that’s really where I realized the value of painting outside. And how much there was to learn by painting outside. Plein air painting is very, very frustrating. The light is constantly changing. It’s not static, like a photo. But it’s also exhilarating, and you learn a lot.” Plein air painting is just one rung in of Donna’s artistic ladder. She is a mixed media artist, working in mediums including pastel, gouache, acrylic, oil, decorative painting and glass painting. A South Hadley resident, Donna holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts. Her paintings have been exhibited in local, national and international juried shows, and in 2022 she began licensing her designs for installation in commercial facilities. She has taught pastel painting at the South Hadley Council on Aging; her artwork has been exhibited in local galleries and national juried art shows; and her memberships and affiliations include the Pastel Society of America, Quabbin Art Association, Amherst Plein Air Society, Monson Arts Council, and Agawam Community Artists and Artisans. But while her artistic experiences and successes have been numerous and varied, for Donna, painting outdoors was a staircase leading to something that, today, has special meaning in her life: Eco art. Because in all of her work, a singular goal is making a difference. “It’s a way to appreciate art, and nature,” she said. “It’s a fusion: a fusion of creativity and natural beauty. It’s where everything begins, out in nature. It’s what inspires everyone.” Eco art, or environmental art, explores environmental issues and the relationship between humans and nature – often using natural materials to create works that aim to raise awareness and inspire change. Donna utilizes eco-printing, a process of making direct contact botanical prints from natural pigments found in plants. Those botanical print originals are then enhanced with ink illustrations, watercolor washes and mixed media techniques – and used in her journals and books, using traditional binding techniques. And with those handmade journals and books, she raises awareness about the value of ecology, and the environment. “The eco-printing started because I paint plein air. And I noticed how beautiful the leaves and plants are. And when I found out that their color could be transferred to paper, natural-dyeing, I was really excited about it because it’s different than the color and pigment that come out of a tube. “I began to experiment with that. And that was so enjoyable that I wanted to know what more I could do with the prints that I pulled from simple plants in nature. And I came to bookmaking, and bookbinding gives me a place to use my hands. “It is a peaceful place.” Donna hopes that people who view her Eco art will also find a sense of peace, in the realization that nature and our environment are worth treasuring. “I’m inspired by ordinary landscapes and strive to render them with unordinary colors and values,” she said. “I hope to give the viewer a peek into my world … and I hope to impact how they may see the ordinary world around them. “Bringing joy, and having someone stop and realize that there is underlying beauty everywhere.”

< Back Bob LeClair For many years, Bob LeClair wondered if he could ever be an artist. Ironically, wonderment – his natural sense of curiosity – is what brought him there. “I have this kind of endless well of creative curiosity,” Bob said, “and when I make something, I really get a sense of well-being.” Likewise, people get a sense of well-being when they see the things that Bob creates. Bob is an artisan who specializes in woodworked automata, crafting mechanical toys ‘brought to life’ through manual activation, no electronics involved. “They’re wooden toys that I make, and you turn the crank and they do other things,” Bob said. When Bob shows his automata creations to anyone, young or old, smiles abound. Partly because of the fascination of watching intricate movements of individual pieces blending into a whole; and, largely because of the smile on Bob’s face, when he describes what he made, and the story behind it. “I love showing my work,” he said. “I love the idea that I had an idea, and I’ve seen it through.” Bob’s journey from creative curiosity to that sense of artistic well-being – seeing those smiles from people admiring his artistry – was not a short one. Bob grew up in Southwick, in a family that encouraged hands-on activity. “My father had a wood shop in his cellar, and would make things, like the kitchen table. My mother sewed and cooked, and she would get us involved in things like hooked rugs, and making apple-head dolls. “I enjoyed it. That sense of making something with your hands is pretty amazing.” His professional career path took him to a variety of jobs, among them production planning and landscaping, but the working-with-your-hands element was not a big factor for him career-wise. “It was when I knew that I was going to retire that I started doing a lot more art,” he said. At about that time, around eight years ago, a broken cuckoo clock sparked his curiosity and set his artistic instincts into full gear. “Cuckoo clocks had always fascinated me, how all the pieces worked,” he said. “I had picked up a cuckoo clock, and it didn’t work, so I went on YouTube to see how to fix it, and all this stuff comes up, how to fix things, and I’m like ‘What is this? What is that these people are making? “And that’s when I learned about automata.” So, Bob started making things. And more things. And when he found out that there was going to be an automata convention in New Jersey, he signed up. “It was crazy there,” he said. “It was insane. There were makers, collectors, and media. “I was a maker. And that’s when I looked around and I said ‘Oh my God! I am right at the level of these people. “And I came home, and I declared myself an artist.” Today, Bob, an Agawam resident, is a member of Agawam Community Artists and Artisans. Beyond what he contributes to the group artistically, Bob is part of the backbone that any organization such as ACAA requires to function: a person who is always willing to help in any circumstance, behind the scenes or in front of them. “I joined the group because I felt that I had just discovered myself as an artist, and I wanted to meet other people who had the same interests,” he said. He was one of the first artisans in the group, “then mostly artists, people who paint,” and the artists welcomed him with full brushstrokes of enthusiasm. “I promoted the artisan part of it. I would bring in things to show at meetings, and people were so hungry for it. I would show them a toy or something, that wasn’t a painting, and they would say ‘Oh, wow! That’s pretty cool!’” He has never forgotten that welcoming feeling, and thus gives back. “I want to see that group grow and do better,” he said. “So, I help where I can.” Bob has steadily grown artistically. Along with automata, he also works in varied other mediums – among them watercolor, acrylic, gel plate, fabric, and linocut printing. His versatility shows in that one of signature works is not automata. It is a sculptural bust, of Medusa, in which he combined a foam wig stand, wooden and rubber snakes, mastic, and a patina brass/paint effect to create a haunting work of art. There is Elbert Wiggleworth, made of clay, loosely named after a kid he knew growing up “who we called Wiggleworth.” Today, old Elbert Wiggleworth proudly sits on the introductory page of Bob’s artist website – www.elbertw.com – “because,” Bob said, “Elbert has many stories to tell about his world travels.” But while Bob’s pride shines through in his work in any medium, perhaps his first love is still his favorite: the automata. The wooden toys with the very human stories attached. There is, for instance, a piece he calls “Flying on Top of the World,” which he began making on the day he turned 60. “I decided ‘I’m not going to be bummed out by turning 60,’” he said. “Instead, I’m going to make myself a toy,” resulting in a work in which a turn of the crank causes the world to spin above a box, “and that’s me, on top of the world,” he said. There is Mordecai Whipple, riding his wagon through the Old West, selling anything and everything. Where did that name come from? One of Bob’s aunts had a last name of Whipple; and one of Bob’s relatives was Luigi Curto of Springfield, a “little person” who, under the stage name of Billy Curtis, had an extensive film career that included a role as a Munchkin in “The Wizard of Oz”, and a featured role in Clint Eastwood’s “High Plains Drifter” in which his name was … Mordecai. And, there is the piece that Bob no longer has. A special piece, with a special story. “I made it for my brother. We’re a year apart, and we always had a rivalry growing up. Brothers. “We got along much better as we got older. And I decided that I’m going to make him a piece. He likes to ice fish. So I made this whole design of how to make this little ice fisherman, that pulls the fish out. “He loves it. He absolutely treasures it. And someday, one of his children will take that piece, and know that it came from me.” He paused, perhaps pondering how just how far he has come, from that convention in New Jersey. “My pieces will outlive me,” he said. “They’re my legacy.”

< Back SUZANNE DISESSA S. Mediums / Interests: OILS Hello! I am a self-taught artist painting in oils. I began my art journey in earnest upon retirement. Most of my work is inspired by experiences in the landscape, and nature. I find refuge in the blue dome of the sky, a flowing river, or the habit of a tree bending to the light. I also love painting animals and birds. I enjoy painting from life setting up still lifes in my studio, en plein air, and also from reference photos I capture on the fly. I can find inspiration just about everywhere. In addition to ACAA I hold memberships with the Academic Artists Association, the Lyme Artists Association, and the New Hartford Artisans Guild. I exhibit in juried art shows in MA, Vt, and CT. My work also has been featured at the Mill District Gallery in Amherst, MA and is currently hanging at the New Hartford Artisans Guild in Ct. Thank you for visiting here today. If you find yourself lingering with a painting or returning to it again and again because it stirs something within you I will have achieved my purpose with that painting. sdisessa@gmail.com 413-896-6146 Next

< Back SALLY NAUMEN Mediums / Interests: APPRECIATES ART Next

< Back CINDY BOULEY Mediums / Interests: WATERCOLOR, ACRYLICS, Next

< Back ANN COLCORD Mediums / Interests: ACRYLICS Next

< Back MARGET JACOBUS Mediums / Interests: INTERESTED IN ART Next