Textile Art by Rebecca Williams, paintings by Elizabeth Barber and Stick Art by Paul Downs will be on display from September 1 through November 7. There will be a public reception for the exhibits on Sunday, Oct 9, from 7pm to 9pm.

Textile Art by Rebecca Williams

In the front room display case.

Rebecca Williams will be exhibiting her artwork in the display case at the New Deal Cafe from now until November 7th. A public reception will be held on Sunday, October 9th from 7pm till 9pm. The New Deal Cafe art program is sponsored by Friends of New Deal Cafe Arts (FoNDCA).

Rebecca Williams grew up in Greenbelt and went on to study Textile Arts at the Maryland Institute of Art, earning a bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1993. For the last ten years, she has held the position of Soft Goods Properties Artisan at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC. In this capacity, she is responsible for producing all things fabric related. This includes furniture upholstery, dying and painting of fabric props and creating decorative period bedding and drapery. On her own, she produces everything from quilts and clothing to beads and jewelry. In recent years, she has formed an interest in working with glass. It is her focus to create colorful compositions and work using combinations of hand dyed fabrics, glass beads and acquired materials.

Paintings by Elizabeth Barber

In the front room.

Local artist Elizabeth Barber will be exhibiting her oil paintings now through November 7th at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt. A public reception will be held in New Deal Cafe on October 9th from 7pm till 9pm. The New Deal Cafe arts program is sponsored by Friends of New Deal Cafe Arts (FoNDCA).

Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Art’s degree at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, her Master of Art’s degree at Howard University, Washington D.C., and her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Maryland. She won a Fulbright scholarship to study music in Germany and stayed in Europe for singing engagements in Heidelberg and Rome. She studied oil painting with Andy Reese of the Brooklyn Art Institute, with Tina Tomero of the North Light Art Studio, Cincinnati, Ohio, and with Danny Kennedy of Greenbelt, Maryland. She is currently organist and soloist for the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Clinton, Maryland, and teaches music and painting out of her home in Greenbelt. She taught music at the University of Papua New Guinea, and at her home studio in Annapolis and Hyattsville. She has exibited her paintings at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, at the Marietta Mansion in Glendale, Md., and at the Universities at Shady Grove, Maryland. She is the mother of Dena Seidel, and grandmother to her three grandsons, Ezra, Jem and Micah. She is the widow of Major Charles Walter Barber. Her constant companion is Kokoro, a Japanese Sheba Inu. She was included in the 2006-7 publication of “Who’s who in American Women.” She enjoys being a member of the Greenbelt Community, and especially enjoys walking and painting the Greenbelt Lake.

The Coming of the White Buffalo: The Latest Stick Art Exhibit by Paul Downs

In the back room.

Friends of the New Deal Café (FONDCA) are proud to present locally known stick artist, Paul Downs. His newest show, The Coming of the White Buffalo opens on August 29th at the New Deal Café in Greenbelt, MD. His works will be on display until November 7th. Opening Reception will be held midway through on Sunday October 9th, 7-9pm at the New Deal Café, 113 Centerway, Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt, MD 20770.

Artist Paul Downs has created a style of art using sticks from the forest that is truly one of a kind. Instead of using charcoal or paint he renders his designs of animals, nature scenes and native Americans using the forest as his medium for his artistic creations. “My palette is the white oak, the wild black cherry, tulip poplar, sassafras, red twig dogwood, and maple sticks.” ,says Downs.

For 26 years he has honed his skill down a trail no one has ventured to go. His artistic expressions range from the power of gallant Oak to a delicate cicada to a portrait of a living-with-the-land dream that is born inside the hope of a white buffalo. He brings the viewer into a world of color and design and seemingly gravity defying wall hung sculptures that will delight and amaze while at the same time bringing peace as one would gain from a stroll in the woods.

Downs, a native of Greenbelt Maryland grew up exploring, playing and falling in love with the woods – the Great North Woods, as he called them – of Greenbelt Maryland. This belt of green came under the threat of development in the late ‘80’s. Downs was a leader in the successful crusade to save these woods – now named the Greenbelt Forest Preserve. His art form developed alongside his conservation career. The woods and his art now enjoy a certain freedom which expresses itself in the very grain of his expressions. The Coming of the White Buffalo is a show that combines his environmental efforts with his artistic efforts.

Paul has shown his work in galleries, cafes, festivals throughout Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, and West Virginia. Come see the land speak through sticks.