by Mallory Carlson ’19

The Sandy Spring Museum has a central location in the community, and most Sherwood students pass it going to and from school every day. Yet many of them do not take advantage of the art and culture offered there. Although the Teen Coffee House is popular among some students, the central purpose of the museum is lost on most young people in the area.

Students, and the local population in general, hav

The annual Wellspring Visions Exhibit at the Sandy Spring Museum showcases a lot of local artists’ talents
with many different types of art, including pastels, photography, ceramics, felt-pen artwork, and more.

e an opportunity to discover the museum and all it has to offer by visiting the Wellspring Visions Exhibit, just one of the many activities the museum has to offer. The opening reception was on Saturday, January 13, and the collection is on display through Saturday, February 10.

The museum has held the Wellspring exhibit since 2011, and the artists that present their work are, and have since the first show been, residents of the Sandy Spring Friends House. As a description of the collection explains, the exhibit has the purpose of “inspiring and giving encouragement to those who create art and those who aspire to do so.” All presenting are either professional or avocational artists, and the work varies widely, including paintings, textiles, prints, textiles, photography, ceramics, and more.

The exhibit itself is cozy and intimate, with, as promised, a wide variety of art, ranging from nature and wildlife photography by Nancy Rea to intricate carved structures of birds and other animals by Ted Riley.

The framed artwork, displayed against the contrast of a weathered brick wall, is sometimes soft in color and shape, such as Judith Simmons’s pastel piece named “Light,” an appealing blend of softly luminous earth tones, but sometimes vivid and geometric, like the felt tip pen creations by Riley.

The latter pieces were sometimes solely black and white, sometimes in color, but all were a fascinating mix of shapes and lines that drew attention without being overwhelming and overbearing to the other pieces in the exhibit.

The Sandy Spring Museum offers a host of other attractions, as well. Although the Wellspring Visions exhibit does not last forever, there are many activities each week that are certain to entertain all patrons. For example, some upcoming events include a history happy hour on Friday the 9th, and a free ballroom dancing sampler in the evening of Tuesday the 13th. A full calendar and more information is easily accessible on the Sandy Spring Museum website.