Janet Mendelsohn Portraits: Greg West

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Duck Eggs and Peacock Feathers. Private collection.

Suzanne Butler Richardson
[ OIL ]

Suzanne Butler Richardson’s paintings evoke the scent of perfectly ripe peaches and the warmth of late autumn sunlight. She might spend an entire day, or longer, arranging a still life to capture the intimacy of such moments before beginning to paint in oil. The result is organic, visceral. “Ultimately my work is about the feeling it evokes,” she says. “I want to live in the painting for awhile, reexperiencing a place, a moment, an emotion.”

“We surround ourselves with objects that have hidden meanings,” says Richardson. “It may not even be a conscious act yet when we pick up an object, a cup, a spoon, a bowl of fruit, we react in individual ways, triggered by memories. I want the viewer to feel that personal response, too.” She paints in vivid colors and gives objects unexpected shapes and sizes. That’s because the fig or vase itself is secondary to the way the scene speaks to her. She likes a bit of mystery, too. Her paintings beckon us to peek into the room, then step inside.


Suzanne Butler Richardson
Eliot, Maine 603 828-5068
suzanbutler@comcast.net
Pricing: $250 for 6" x 6"
$2,000 to $4,000 for 40" x 40"

Dream of Flying (Bluebird)

Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer
[ BOOK ARTS ]

Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer creates one-of-a-kind books that sometimes sprout wings. She handcrafts pages shaped like animals, and fills them with illustrations, poetry, and imagined tales of the creatures’ lives. These “Book Objects” are meant to be handled, she says, inviting readers to participate in the story. Turning the winged pages of a bright blue waxwing, we dream of flying like that elegant bird. Opening the marsupial pockets of an opossum accordion book, we find creatures who met their fate on New England roadways and the artist’s thoughts on what happened. Practical and equally charming are her custom leather bindings for journals and photograph albums, perfect for wedding gifts; and removable leather book jackets with inlaid designs. Her modern artistry respects old-world craftsmanship.

After living in Ireland while earning a graduate degree in Irish folklore, Finnegan-Topitzer worked at an historic archive in Boston, where she developed a love of rare books. She enrolled in a two-year program to study traditional bookbinding at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, where she now teaches workshops, and workshops are also offered at her studio in Rollinsford, N.H.

Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer
Rollinsford, N.H.
Salmon Falls Mills artist studios
Commissions welcome 603 988-4474
jft@silkiebindery.com | selkiebindery.com
Pricing: Book objects $95 to $1,000
Leather albums and book jackets $85 to $1,200 | Custom book bindings $150 and up.