SHELBURNE FALLS — Those who love art and the Bridge of Flowers have an unusual opportunity this month to celebrate both.
“Light Showers,” a 42 by 64-inch chalk pastel work, has been donated by artist Peter London for a silent auction to benefit maintenance and upkeep of the Bridge of Flowers. The work is now on exhibit at the Salmon Falls Gallery, at 1 Ashfield St.
A longtime, internationally known artist, London’s paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums from New York City to Sacramento, Calif. He has written several books on the creative process, including “No More Secondhand Art: Awakening the Artist Within,” and “Drawing Closer to Nature.” In addition to teaching at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he chaired the Art Education Department, he has taught and lectured in universities and art centers across North America and Europe.
London and his wife, Marion, have homes in Davis, Calif. and in Shelburne, where Marion is also a volunteer gardener on the Bridge of Flowers.
London, who has also taught workshops at the Rowe Conference Center, is soon to publish another book on “The Practice of Art as a Spiritual Practice.”
Bids for the painting are being accepted by email, telephone and in person at the Salmon Falls Gallery. The starting bid for the painting is $500; the artist’s estimate of its value is $2,500. The closing date for the auction is Sept. 30.
The winning bid will be announced at a floral-themed gala from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30, at the gallery. The public is invited to “come dressed in floral finery.” The gala reception will include refreshments and music as well as special offers on floral themed artwork.
And who better to provide music for this event than Bridge of Flowers gardener Carol Laliberte DeLorenzo, who is a member of a band called Einstein’s Little Homunculus. The band’s repertoire is a mixture of slightly skewed original songs and rockin’ arrangements of jigs, reels, and other melodies from the British Isles and beyond.
The band includes Tich Cownie, Paul Crook, Susan Gedutis Lindsay, DeLorenzo, Eric Mumpower and Rob Rodin. The instruments they play include mandolin, guitar, accordion, pennywhistles, flute, saxophones, bodhran, bones, dumbek, washboard, and cocktail drums.
For more information about the sale or the gala, visit Salmon Falls Gallery or the web site www.SalmonFallsGallery.com or call 625-9833.