STERLING – An exhibit at the Sterling Senior Center is giving one local artist the opportunity to showcase several of her colorful paintings and photographs.
Donna Taber Zehring has 39 pieces on display through the month of December, including photos taken at Acadia National Park and watercolors, paintings, and photographs that reveal her deep love of nature.
“As the granddaughter of an artist and the daughter of a professional photographer, perhaps it was inevitable that I enjoy capturing what I see,” she conveyed in her artist statement for the exhibit. “My earliest memories are of images coming to life in Dad’s developing tank. I loved helping and watching as Dad would perfect a photo on the enlarger, dodging and masking the black and white prints of his trade. Little did I realize how much he was teaching me and guiding me to discover my own unique way of seeing.”
The Hubbardston resident has had exhibits at different senior centers in the area and said she enjoys being part of several art groups in the region including the Princeton Arts Society, Sterling Arts Collaborative, and the Circle of Artists in Westminster. She put some of her photographs into the 2017 Small Works & Holiday Marketplace in Princeton.
Zehring said she was “was delighted to be asked to do an exhibition at the Sterling Senior Center” in November and December, and said the opening reception on Nov. 15 drew many people who came out to see her show.
“I am quite humbled that so many people seem to be enjoying my work,” she said. “It has been fun participating in the world of art in a small way, and makes me want to spend more time creating art.”
Zehring said that while she has been taking photos for years, it was some health issues that inspired her to look into arts classes, and then she discovered she “found it rewarding to paint.”
“I’m loving playing with shapes and color and seeing what is possible in different mediums,” she shared.
Donna’s Artist’s Statement explains a bit about her origins and love of art.
“It all started with a blank wall between two sconces in a house we were about to sell. I bought a canvas, found some wall paint and wood stain, and painted a stand of birch trees. When we moved, I repainted the background the color of our walls, leaving intact the trees.
“Years later, I took a drawing class at the Senior Center in Ellsworth, Maine, near our summer place, and then joined the Wednesday Painters group there. That first year I wandered the room to learn what others were doing and what they used to create their art.
“Back in Massachusetts, I started taking lessons from Andrea Driscoll in acrylics. She encouraged me to start showing my photos and paintings. I then took watercolor classes with Yvonne Hemingway and Charlie Gray. …
“I continue to paint with a variety of mediums and to grow in my photography and the use of Lightroom. Day by day I learn more about using the tools of art and photography, but appreciate that the greatest gift of an artist is the ability to see artistically.
“I am a beginning artist, a retired teacher specializing in adult education, a Master Gardener in Massachusetts and Maine, and hold a Master’s of Divinity degree from Earlham School of Religion. As an adult educator, it is fun to share my beginnings with others and maybe inspire others to ‘go for it!’ ”
