International Santas, Abstract Acrylics Ring in Holiday Season At Brentwood Library

International Santas, Abstract Acrylics Ring in Holiday Season At Brentwood Library

With December upon us, the Friends of the Brentwood Library invite you to get in the spirit of the holiday season by checking out this month’s artists and collections on display at the John P. Holt Brentwood Library. This month, the Friends of the Brentwood Library’s Gallery Wall will feature the abstract acrylic pour paintings of Sandy Coomer, while the Showcase Display will transform into an international North Pole for Helena Hess’ collection of Santa figurines from around the globe.

The exhibits are free and open to library visitors during normal business hours.

December Gallery Artist: Sandy Coomer

Local poet, artist, Ironman athlete, and social entrepreneur Sandy Coomer is featured in the Gallery. She is exhibiting a small portion of her large collection of over 200 acrylic pour paintings created by combining acrylic paint with various substrates, alcohol, and silicone oil. The layers of paint react within the mixture according to their density and form cells and lines. The designs are abstract, not definable by a concrete image, and thus can be interpreted using viewers’ individual imaginations and emotional responses.

Coomer’s visual art has been featured in local exhibits in the middle Tennessee area, and over 150 pieces have been published in literary arts journals and magazines.

Her poetry has been published in numerous print and online journals, and she is the author of three poetry chapbooks (Continuum, The Presence of Absence, and Rivers Within Us) and a full-length collection, Available Light (Iris Press, 2019). Another full-length collection, The Broken Places, will be published late summer 2021 by Saddle Road Press in New York.

Her favorite word is “believe.”

You can view more of her work on her website: http://www.sandycoomer.com/

December Showcase: Helena Hess

Father Christmas at Brentwood LibraryThis month, the Showcase is filled with Helena Hess’s festive collection of International Santas. Each Santa Claus figurine is numbered and includes a legend with explanatory information. The collection includes the popular depiction of Santa in Clement Moore’s The Night Before Christmas, Russia’s Babouschka, Italy’s La Befana, The Netherlands’ Sinter Klaas, and more.

“I believe each Santa comes to life around the world as children await the arrival of Santa who brings them presents,” Hess said.

About the FOBL

The Friends of the Brentwood Library is a nonprofit (501c3) service organization dedicated to the advancement of our community through its library.

If you are an artist interested in exhibiting at The John P. Holt Brentwood Library, please contact the Friends of Brentwood Library Art Chair Jeannine Owens at [email protected].

The John P. Holt Brentwood Library is located at 8109 Concord Road.