leaves in the foregrounds of Harlan’s paintings are vibrant

leaves in the foregrounds of Harlan’s paintings are vibrant with crisp detail. As the eye is led into the distance, the landscapes become grayer and fuzzier and has the misty quality of Chinese landscape paintings.

Harlan’s love for animals is obvious. “Animals have low stature in our society and in the world might is right,” she said. A four-foot fantasy bird, “Darwin,” greets visitors to the show. It looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book with its polka-dot and pink feet and long, heavy tail. Small sculptures include laboratory rats with long pink tails and smiling green snakes. Harlan’s sculptures are constructed from tree limbs and wood and are joined with wooden dowels. She said she does not use metal nails or screws.

The whimsical series of gourd sculptures including “Gourdzilla,” “Gourden of Eden,” and “All Agourd!” give Mother Nature what Harlan calls the “K-mart look.” She said, “I like the shapes because they are random and governed by nature. I think I would describe them by saying, finally, humor gets the respect it deserves.”

Harlan’s work is highly symbolic with Biblical animals and scenes making the viewer slightly uncomfortable with her view of reality. “The Lamb Shall Lie Down with the Lion (but he won’t get much sleep),” is an oil polymer on wood panel painting of the classic Christmas card scene with the lion and lamb, but this lamb is fragile, helpless and obviously aware of his grim future. The powerful lion looks down at the little lamb with an intense stare. The painting technique is excellent as well as the placement of the animals.

The series of computergenerated animal prints called her “Bestiary” are full of references to mythology and includes symbolism attached to the animals during different times in history and in different cultures. A series of ant