Under the influence

By CK Wolfson - August 2, 2007

People who are easily inspired - people who thrill to images, words, to sunrises, and to each other - are to be envied. It is inspiration, even more than practiced result, that creates excellence; inspiration that provokes invention, and inspiration that makes all things seem possible. With its byproduct of passion, experiences are clarified, heightened, and personalized. Whether or not that inspiration translates into a conventional art form, its effect is contagious.

The result is art, and the Island benefits. The painters, photographers, and gallery owners featured in this issue have all demonstrated with singular expression that which inspires them. Their creative results, many permeated by the Island, impact the Vineyard and how we regard it. They remind us to look about with awareness. They show us how extraordinary our everyday surroundings are. They make our thoughts loftier and raise our spirits.

Popular Island painter Ray Ellis, whose exuberant personality is as captivating as his atmospheric seascapes and landscapes, reminisces with Duncan Pickard about the importance of desire and determination. Metal sculpture Alfred Holand talks to Tamar Russell how serendipity turned his dreams to reality. And in a conversation with unconventional painter Richard Lee, Heather Curtis gets an insight to an original thinker.

In an animated conversation, two of the Island's most respected fine art photographers, Alison Shaw and Jeffrey Serusa, admit they are each other's admirers as they compare styles and discuss the view from their side of the camera.

In separate features, Chris Morse, Rick and Marge Willoughby, and Jessica Pisano give insight to the creativity and dedication that go into operation a gallery.

And then there's painter Rose Abrahamson, who at 86 years old continues to intrigue and provoke with her rather mystical paintings. In her essay on inspiration she demonstrates the same finesse and elegance with words as she does with paint.

Presenting these people together in this issue, their points of view and their creative endeavors just might inspire us to look closer and what's around us.