By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

Artwork by two Worcester County Arts Council creators is now featured at the Berlin Library.

Patrons can view the pieces for free at the facility’s second-floor exhibit until March 11. The items are also available for purchase.

Virginia Eastern Shore-based artist Margaret Bradach’s work featured at the library includes acrylics, watercolors, and inks, while pieces by Richard Husband, a Pocomoke City resident, focus on oils, watercolors, and graphite drawings.

“Art is a communal thing,” Bradach said. “It brings people together in a format that allows for sharing ideas and experiences.  Over the years, I have interacted with viewers of my art, a dialogue of many subjects that my works of art instigated.”

Bradach’s work, viewable at the Berlin exhibit, boasts images of a “whimsical” carousel, animals, a local general store, an abstract, and two moon paintings, which she said are her favorites in the gallery collection. The artist said that she dabbles in an array of mediums, focusing on those best suited to capture a painting’s subject rather than sticking to a few specialties. Her pieces at the library primarily include acrylic and watercolor works.

The painter said she ventured into the art scene following her retirement in Gargatha, Virginia, in 2007. During her career, Bradach acted as a teacher and social worker in New Jersey, and she completed her working life as a paralegal, all the while exposing herself to different artistic mediums. The Virginia resident said she was able to make creation her main focus once she settled into her post-career years.

Bradach maintained that she is “mostly self-taught,” having attended workshops, read books, and joined art groups to hone her skills and expand her knowledge of artistic methods and techniques. Much of her inspiration comes from the scenery of the Eastern Shore.

“The environment on the Shore is so beautiful, I take my inspiration from it,” she said. “The skies especially are dynamic, ever-changing, and so full of color. They motivate me to capture the soul of the Shore.”

According to the WCAC website, Bradach’s paintings have been juried into shows in Virginia and Maryland. She has also been painting, making jewelry, and sculpting for about 15 years.

“When someone stops to look at my work, I have connected with another human,” Bradach said. “That connection is what means the most to me … Art is a language I understand, and it is well spoken on the shore.”

Work by Husband is also viewable at the Berlin Library exhibit.

Husband grew up in Oklahoma, moved around a bit, and settled in Colorado for 30 years before coming to Pocomoke City in 2015. During his career, the artist worked in information technology as a computer operator, programmer, and database designer. Husband said that he was first exposed to art as a child.

“Like so many others, I loved to draw as a kid,” he said. “My Dad would draw planes for us, and I would be mesmerized. To see something real created with just a pencil was magic. Of course, I forgot all about that until I retired a few years ago. Then it became important for me to try to develop as an artist or regret that I never tried.”

Husband said much of his work includes drawings and sometimes paintings of his most admired actors and musicians. He is currently working on a drawing of singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson. The artist added that he likes to focus on graphite as his primary medium; however, most of his Berlin Library exhibit pieces are oil paintings with themes of vehicles and still life.

“I hope the people who look at my art will see ordinary objects as objects of art,” Husband said.

The creations will remain in the gallery until March 11. The collections can be visited during the Berlin Library’s business hours: from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Besides the library exhibit, local artwork is viewable at WCAC’s gallery, located at 6 Jefferson Street. The facility is open on Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.