Katy Helman, Buzz Masters, and Jennifer Lee Morrow tell their stories in a rather unorthodox way that reflects the human spirit through symbolism and patterns and a synthesis of styles. The work is so powerful that Elaine Pew, curator of the show, was inspired to bring it to the gallery when she first saw the work of Buzz Masters. “The way Buzz combines fresco with collage, telling stories that involved the viewer, really struck me. I knew then that I had to show her work at the Maine Art Gallery,” Pew exclaimed.

Buzz Masters describes her own work as an investigation of malleable nature of memory — what we hold onto and what we leave out in order to make our story. She uses wooden panels covered with her recipe of materials reflecting the genius of Italian plasterers. More recently she has been working on paper, using mixed media collage.

Pew found Katy Helman’s work to be joyful and humorous. As Helman says of her paintings, “I mix stripes and paisleys, synthesize genres and styles. Whether obvious or not, my work is autobiographical, describing my state of mind and the current events of my life.”

Jennifer Lee Morrow describes herself as a magpie, collecting bits of paper and cloth and other objects that come into her life. “I collect the stories I hear and the ones I imagine. then through alchemy, tinkering, and stitching, I combine and alter these substance until the stories deepen and become my own.”