Avery Arts Council Presents Booth Exhibition in December

Tracy Booth’s paintings in watercolors and acrylics are on display at the Avery Arts Council’s Cheese House Gallery throughout the month of December.

Wintertime in Avery County is a magical time of year. A time when skiers arrive in droves, families gather to give thanks and most are able to enjoy a little time off to build snow people with family and friends.

Avery Arts Council is proud to be able to help provide a little beauty to the area at the Cheese House Gallery, where Bakersville resident Tracy Booth will have her paintings on display in exhibition titled Reflections of Nature throughout the month of December.

Booth grew up in Durham but escaped to the Appalachian Mountains as quickly as possible by enrolling at Virginia Tech. It was here she received her bachelor’s degree in botany to fulfill her desire for deeper knowledge of the natural world.

Upon graduation, she found herself captivated with the world of theatrics. Booth spent 14 years as a lighting technician, with projects from Portland, Ore., to Roanoke, Va. In 2005, Booth and her husband needed a change of scenery and moved to the small arts-oriented community of Bakersville.

A self-taught artist, Booth paints primarily in acrylics and watercolors. Her education as a botanist and years of work as a theatre designer have created a foundation for expressing an idealized nature that focuses on shape and color.

“When designing in theatre, one of the primary rules is that of simplicity and eliminating all that is not necessary to communicate the essence of the material,” Booth said. In her paintings, the simple lines and colors allow the contours of the landscape or pattern to take front stage. Booth’s artwork creates a secret personal haven for the viewer, which contrasts with the harsh complexity of the human world.

Reflections of Nature will be on exhibit through the month of December. For more information, click to www.averycountyartscouncil.org or call 828-898-4292.