Cheryl Wareck is a local fine art photographer and artist who lives in Lancaster, MA. She will be exhibiting at the Art On Rotation Gallery at the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster (717 Main St.)from January 10th through February 28, 2009 during library operating hours.

A reception for the artist will be held at the gallery in the Dexter room on January 24, 2009. Call the library for the time.

Personal Statement:

I used to hold a rather mechanical view of photography-that as the shutter snapped, it was important for me to capture the particular image inside a space. At the time, this goal felt shallow, and now I realize that being present in the space, and my response to this experience, is what is most important. It is the “being” in a particular space instead of the space itself that is more important. Because for anyone, it is our response to a particular place, our experiences, histories and memories in it, that really create the space.

I am consistently drawn to the earth, water and air. The suggestive spaces these elements create as they mix and melt, as they are transformed by differences in weather and light, is what compels me.

Historically I am influenced by the 19th Century Romantic Tradition and the sense of awe I find in the ordinary, being careful to avoid sentimentality.

I find great inspiration from the painter Mark Rothko and contemporary artist James Turell. Turell’s Quaker Heritage promotes ways to live simply and in balance with nature and especially to be aware of an inner light, to look within for answers. Quaker meetings begin with what is called a “gathering” a silent, simple group of people, reflecting, and bound together for the purpose of the accumulation of light. I create photographs, poetic spaces, that represent my personal “gathering” – quiet, simple groups, a witness of an inner place revealed by the accumulation of light and time.

Cheryl Wareck lives with four dogs and two birds on a Christmas Tree Farm on Ballard Hill in Lancaster, MA. She is currently employed in the Marlborough Public Schools as an art teacher and has her MFA degree. Most of her images are taken close to the place she calls home.