Art show in Freeville slated for June 20

When Freeville resident Lea Elleseff was in the planning stages for an art show, she was trying to figure out where it would take place.

Most of the art galleries in Tompkins County are in Ithaca, but Elleseff was determined to develop a gallery in the village.

“It gave me this nudge to get something else going, which has been in the back of my mind for a long time,” Elleseff said. “I wanted to bring an art gallery to this part of Tompkins County.”

Elleseff went on to form the Sky Factory Art Space, which will hold her first solo show on Friday, June 20, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. It will also be a soft opening for the art space, which is located at 18 Factory St. in the village.

“The space is unusual because it’s in a warehouse,” Elleseff said. “The show will be a unique experience in a nontraditional space.”

The show, called “What Makes This Place So Beautiful?,” depicts landscapes in and around Freeville. 

Elleseff said that the art on display will include Freeville landscape paintings she has worked on for about four years, along with a total of 20 oil paintings from artists in Ithaca and Cortland.

According to a description, the show is an “experience of a place through the eyes of a person who finds the beauty here unique and wants to understand what makes it so.”

“In my studio, which is adjacent to the gallery, there will be other works I have made in the same time frame,” Elleseff added. 

Elleseff expressed how she likes to paint what she sees and what she knows, which led to her picking Freeville landscapes as the theme for her show.

“I didn’t necessarily intend for it to become a series of its own, but time after time I chose scenes in and around my house,” Elleseff added. 

In a separate interview, Elleseff explained why she paints landscapes as opposed to other subjects:

“This is curious, because I did not set out to paint landscapes at all — I just set out to paint. I looked out my window and I saw a really incredible scene, so I painted it. I think landscapes are what we have out here, so I fell into painting them, and falling is the best way someone

can come into anything. Falling for, falling in, falling and falling — it’s the fastest way into the heart of something.

“I feel lucky to have had this experience. Now, I paint landscapes in earnest and not just because they are the first thing I see when I look around, although that still is a part of it. I paint them because these are the paintings that come through me, one on top of another. There are

enough of these landscape paintings now that they all speak to one another.”

Elleseff’s love for painting landscapes is what made Freeville a clear choice as the centerpiece of her series.

“It’s a place I love dearly, especially for its amazing beauty,” she added.

Elleseff is hoping that the art space will start a local connection between artists, community members and others.

“I’m excited for it because Freeville doesn’t have much of an art scene,” she said. “We’d like to bring [the gallery] to the village because there’s a lot of people interested in the arts. I’m hoping to very slowly grow it and even make the art space a cooperative space.”

Elleseff elaborated on what makes Freeville “so beautiful”: 

“Painting each landscape keeps me in the landscape even when I’m in my studio. I keep the song of birds and the feeling of everything rustling while I paint. This works for me because I’d almost always rather remain out-of-doors, where the constant energy matches my own and sets it at ease. Tying this up nicely, I will say that I did not set out to paint landscapes, but as soon as I painted one, the reasons for painting landscapes began to appear and proliferate.”

The June 20 show will have postcards and other items for sale, Elleseff noted. Appetizers and refreshments will also be available.

“This is a community event, so it’s an opportunity to meet your neighbors and get to know one another,” Elleseff said.

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

Silent book club at the library on June 23

Southworth Library in Dryden will have its silent book club gathering at 6:30 p.m. on June 23.

“We’ll spend some time chatting and getting snacks, and give a preview of the give away book and then you will be free to grab a cozy seat and read in a room with other readers, no conversation required,” according to a description on the library’s website.

The club allows people to choose a free book from the library’s pile to read and take home. Participants can also bring a book to the gathering.

The club is for ages 16 and older. To register, go to southworthlibrary.org.