Dragon hooked rug by Dan Barber
When the Chinese New Year begins January 23, the Bennington Arts Guild is ready, featuring new works of art featuring spirited dragons. Painter Judith Kniffin’s oil-on-canvas dragon is now displayed in the gallery window. She researched traditional depictions of Chinese dragons, and selected one which appealed to her: “The strong figure-ground design and passionate colors nailed me!”
Artist Daniel Barber hooked a new rug featuring a fire-breathing dragon. To create his one-of-a-kind hooked rugs, Dan draws an image before preparing his wall hangings, but does not use color until he works with the wool. The completed sinewy figure glows in rich greens, reds, and blues.
Paula Kautz-LaPorte created a 13-foot bicycle dragon named Ramapo Green. “I made her walk about and celebrate life, to warm hearts and stir imaginations,” Paula reveals. Too large for the gallery, Ramapo Green can be seen at Paula’s Weaving Workshop at 126 Washington Avenue in Bennington. “Ramapo Green is an eastern woodland dragon. She was named in honor of the two mountain ranges I have lived in. I grew up in the Ramapo Mountains in New Jersey and that is where my childhood dragon lives. The Green Mountains of Vermont have been my home since 1972.”
Other guild artists are contemplating dragon creations. New dragons will be featured throughout the Chinese Year of the Dragon, which ends February 9, 2013. According to Chinese folklore, the Year of the Dragon will be marked by excitement, exhilaration and intensity. You will find all of that at the Bennington Arts Guild.
Many folks are embracing the Dragon’s energy. They are enthusiastically and passionately creating more dragons, many as school group projects.