Hi! I’m writing to tell you about a wonderful show coming up at my gallery on Saturday, Sept. 8, that I thought you might enjoy.
     It will feature the new creations, actually the national premiere of, a new line of large framed, handmade, signed works of art by our greeting card artist, Marjorie Wortz.
     Marjorie, along with her sister, Natalie Reilly, creates our Dreams of Nature cards. This is her first public show on the East Coast.
     What I find truly amazing about their work, besides the beauty and intricate piece-by-piece hand made work they do entirely by themselves, is that today the sisters live and create bi-coastally – with Marjorie on the West Coast and Natalie on the East Coast!
     Marjorie founded “Dreams of Nature” natural greeting cards in 2003. Her cards, and now her much larger entirely handmade, framed natural artworks, are composed of three dimensional found and grown objects of nature, colored papers and cloth all painstakingly gathered and put together by hand.
     During the show Saturday, you’ll see some of Marjorie’s favorite cards re-thought and turned into larger, much more detailed framed works and many entirely new “natural creations.” Some are cute, some exotic, some just plain lovely.
     Natalie showed me some of these one-of-a-kinds in progress a couple of weeks ago, and they are absolutely beautiful. I think it’s possible the works debuted Saturday will eventually be true collectibles. At this moment and probably right up to the last minute before the show, Marjorie is putting finishing touches on still more designs.
     Natalie says Marjorie challenges herself to use nature in unexpected ways, to pass on a bit of awe, surprise, and renewed appreciation of the beautiful world surrounding us.
     “I love using the rich natural textures of sand, spices, reeds, husks, pods, leaves, herbs, flowers and shells,” said Marjorie recently. “Nature is my muse.”
     “Whether I’m hiking through the forest or just sitting in my garden, nature’s beauty is always a source of peace and inspiration. I use my imagination to bottle this moment of serenity to share with others through my natural work.”
     How do the sisters work together, with Marjorie living in Seattle, Washington and Natalie living in Annapolis, Maryland?
     It goes this way – and that!
     Marjorie creates the initial designs and mails the natural elements she has collected them to her sister on the East Coast. Natalie then cuts appropriate paper and cloth backings and found natural objects to the sizes and shapes needed and mails them back to the West Coast. Marjorie then composes, glues and signs each piece and sends them back to Natalie, who puts the pieces in their finished form with information about their creation and either card envelopes or now, frames.
     Sometimes the pieces go back and forth across the country several times each. Reilly has now learned the art of framing and shadow-boxing so she can complete Marjorie’s new framed creations.
     Growing up in a family with a love of nature influenced the sisters at a young age. They loved spending summers beachcombing at the Bethany shore.
     For Marjorie, the collecting of nature’s treasures, whether shells, leaves or pine cones became her obsession, even as a young child.
     “She cherished the beauty, the smell, the shape, the color of the small things that many walk upon and take for granted,” recalls Natalie. “These natural mementoes were presented on cards for loved ones.”
     Eventually, Marjorie’s love of nature translated into a career for both sisters.

     Each of Marjorie’s designs starts with a piece of nature that captures her imagination and artistic eye. The playful way she views nature could be described as similar to finding objects in a puffy cloud-filled sky.
     Sometimes she sees resemblances: perhaps a dahlia petal converts to a hot air balloon; a long angular shell takes on the shape of a neck tie; lily stems transform into baby carriage wheels. Each of these natural elements offers a layer of dimension and depth to her designs that purvey a sense of place or a moment in time that offers meditative relaxation, joy.
     Marjorie currently works from her garden studio in the Pacific Northwest finding inspiration on both East and West Coast beaches, on walks through the coastal rainforests, and while strolling among the colorful blooms in her garden. Her work is sold in galleries and specialty stores nationwide, every piece of her 140 plus designs entirely made by only two sets of hands.
     Marjorie says her greatest desire is that her art “will be treasured for years to come and that the gems of nature will serve as a reminder of the beauty surrounding us every day.”
     Both Marjorie and Natalie will be at the Ellen Rice Gallery just one day -- Saturday, Sept. 8, from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. -- to premiere their new Dreams of Nature framed works.
     We’re offering light refreshments and promise lots of fun and beauty. I hope you’ll come and bring friends and family! For more information, please visit my website: http://www.ellenrice.com or call the gallery 10 – 5 any day of the week.

Hope to see you soon!


PS – Watch for news about my own latest works, coming in a couple of weeks, including a new Bethany scene.