"ART SPIRIT" Jan Miller and Laura O'Neal: A Collaboration

Oscar Wilde once said, “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” The exciting new exhibition opening October 2 at Butterfield Garage Art Gallery will showcase Jan Miller and Laura O’Neal, two visionary artists whose work is suffused with the creative energy they call “Art Spirit.”

This show is a delightfully whimsical, colorful mix of Laura O’Neal’s original poetry-inspired mixed-media pieces and Jan Miller’s expressive gourd characters.

Jan Miller’s career in the visual arts has spanned forty years, and she is the owner and founder of Butterfield Garage Art Gallery. Known for her elegant still life paintings, she has exhibited widely and her work is found in many public and private collections throughout the United States.

Now, with her fanciful gourd characters, she says she is “just having fun!”

Reflecting her background in art, design and visual display, Laura O’Neal’s exhibition installations are always fresh and imaginative. Her new paintings feature exaggeratedly elongated shapes that provide an interesting contrast to Miller’s rotund gourds. O’Neal will also launch her clothing line, “Heart Chakra,” with two pieces inspired by last year’s “Love Your Mother” ECO fashion show.

Miller and O’Neal hope that this quirky and playful collection of work will inspire viewers to sense their own creative spirits stirring. Come meet the artists during an opening reception from 5 until 9 p.m. during the First Friday Art Walk October 2.