October 2024
Narratives: Paintings by Sheep Jones
“Narratives,” a new exhibit of paintings by Belfast artist Sheep Jones, will be on display in the Kramer Gallery of the Belfast Free Library for the month of October. The exhibit, in conjunction with the Belfast Poetry Festival, will showcase Jones’ paintings as this year’s Festival artist.
An opening reception takes place on Tuesday, October 8th from 5:30- 7:00 pm in the Kramer Gallery, located on the ground floor of the library, 106 High Street in Belfast.
Of her work, Sheep says, “I am a narrative painter, so books, movies, and best of all, other people’s tales, lend themselves as building blocks to create an interesting story in paint.” She continues, “My paintings begin with layers. I always am looking for the puzzle pieces to suggest a narrative. Disparate images finally come together and start to hint at some kind of sense. Often, people will look at one of my paintings and recognize in it their own story, their own past, their own dreams.”
Sheep Jones was raised in Waterville, Maine and studied art at the University of Southern Maine. After years living out of state, Jones returned and now has a studio in Belfast.
On Friday October 11th from 2:30-4:00 pm, the Belfast Poetry Festival will offer a special workshop on Writing Ekphrastic Poetry with Judy Kaber, former Belfast Poet Laureate. Kaber will take cues from the exhibit in the Kramer Gallery to inspire conversation with participants to help jumpstart new poems. The workshop will take place in the Abbott Room of the Belfast Free Library and is free and open to all.
For more information about Sheep Jones, visit her website, www.sheepjones.com. For more information about this year’s Belfast Poetry Festival, which is celebrating its 19th year, visit www.belfastpoetryfestival.com.
About the Gallery:
The Barbara Kramer Gallery at the Belfast Free Library, located on the ground floor, was named in memory of Barbara Kramer who was an ardent supporter of the visual arts in the Midcoast area in the 1980s until her death in 1998. When the library was undergoing a significant expansion in the late 1990s, a group of area residents with the encouragement of the Library Board of Trustees raised funds to create this special exhibition space where art and or other materials relating to the history of the library or Belfast can be displayed.