This month in the Weston Gallery at the Lane Memorial Library, we have something a little different. Two of our staff librarians, Paulina Shadowens and Darrell Eifert, returned recently from visits to the UK, and will be sharing their images and impressions in an exhibit entitled “Thresholds : Venturing Forth”. For Paulina this was her first time with a ‘real’ camera, and the experience provided a new way of looking at the world.
“Peering through the Nikon lens was a revelation: it gave me a more complex definition of what thresholds mean—not just doorways, but entryways into fresh worlds, both physical landscapes and people’s journeys within them.
It was as if the camera provided not only an improved way to document what I saw but enabled me to see more and with heightened appreciation. The rectangles of doors and the curves of rivers became luminous geometry, a Brecon bridge transformed into an impromptu stage for lovers to amble through. Arches in a Victorian museum, like great paleolithic ribs, mimicked those of the real dinosaur skeleton suspended beneath them.
It framed endless stories.
Because I am a photography novice, this exhibition seems especially aptly named—even as I tried to capture literal thresholds, I stand on one myself, as I venture forth into learning more about this art form and all it can convey.”
Darrell has visited the UK several times before, but always comes back with a renewed delight in the vistas and landscapes that seem to open up on all sides for those willing to look for just the right time and place. Last year the time and place was Keswick, a small village in the famous Lake District on the northern tip of Lake Derwentwater.
“Booking an entire week at a single location means that we did not have to rent a car, learn to drive on the wrong side of the road, or be responsible to the often restrictive schedules of a tour group. After a couple of days of rain (no big surprise) I was lucky to see a stretch of good weather that allowed me to get up at stupid o’clock in the morning and walk through the still sleeping village down to the shores of Derwentwater to catch the sunrise over a mirror-calm lake. I hope the images on display can give some sense of the serenity and beauty of that morning walk.”
The reception originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 24th has been cancelled. Online exhibit galleries are available below.