Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 16 · column 1 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
By ( ;.\ky .VvruKs SpnciiU to thf Rappahiinnuck Mvws
Rappahannock artist Steven Kennv has paintings in galleries around the world, but he says the Middle Street Gallery in Washington, Va„ is a special place for him.
“I hke exhibiting there because 1 can really interact with the people who art1 seeing my work." said Kenny, president of the gallery. “And I like the camaraderie, being able to interact with the other members, hearing about what they are going through, their struggles and triumphs."
The Middle Street Gallery — a 20-person, nonprofit artists’ cooperative — turns 2.r> this month, and it has had its share of struggles and triumphs. Members, most from Rappahannock and surrounding counties, tend to point to the triumphs — personal successes, skills learned, fond memories and gifts to the community.
Christopher Stephens of Front Royal has been a member IS years. He said the gallery struggled to find its footing early on. not always able to realize the very high ideals of its members and plagued by high turnover. He said the gallery was like a “kid” when he joined, but over the years it has grown into “young adulthood.”
Stephens, a landscape painter, fondly remembers driving into Washington one evening in 1989. before he was a member, and seeing the warm glow of light streaming from the gallery windows “a little gem sitting there " And he recalls he assigned one day a month tending the gallery at a time when Little Washington was essentially a ghost town. “It was kind i>t like a one-day retreat because it was so quiet.” he said. It was quite special because you were alone with your thoughts and other persons’ art works."
Stephens said he has learned a lot from other' artists at the gallery .and has even incorporated some of it into his own works. “Something that has kept me a member." he said, “is that we have had consistently strong shows over the years, with few exceptions."
Bonita Rauda Gowen, a painter from Flint Hill, said she "fantasized" about being,
42.7%