FROM HER HANDS
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH EXHIBITION
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 6 | 5:30 - 7:30 PM
On view: March 6 - 29, 2025
EXHIBITION
ARTWORKS
In celebration of Women’s History Month we are showcasing women artists in our local community.
EXHIBITING
ARTISTS
JESSIE MEEHAN
I’m Jessie Meehan, a self-taught artist from Chicago, now living in rural Virginia just outside of Charlottesville. I work primarily in acrylics, but love experimenting with oil, oil stick, marker and pen. My art is inspired by nature and the subconscious. I’m always chasing the energy, light and mood of whatever stirs something in me, fueled by curiosity. I’ve learned primarily through trial, error, and play, which has led me to diverse range of subjects and compositions.
I work from life or photographs, but most often dive into a stream-of-consciousness approach. My creative process usually begins intuitively, choosing colors that draw me in and while using a motion that feels natural until images emerge. I then push them to the surface, discovering meaning in the flow of thoughts while giving form to ideas and emotions that may be too elusive for words. Painting feels like a mental release for me. Though each piece is deeply personal, I aim to create work that resonates with others who also seek meaning in the world around them. Recently, I’ve been challenging myself with works based on life and photos, honing my skills and exploring new ways of capturing light and energy.
In 2023, I took the exciting step of pursuing an associate degree in art at a local community college, which already has deepened my connection to art and the creative process. This has invigorated me, blending academic insights with my personal evolution as an artist and thinker. I see ideas for paintings everywhere, all the time, and I’m grateful to have more tools and ideas to bring those inspirations to life.
CHEE KLUDT RICKETTS
For forty years Chee and her husband resided in metropolitan areas—Atlanta, Fort Worth, Washington, D.C. and Hampton Roads. In retirement, they moved to Greene County near Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, finding the pastoral life to be much to their liking.
As a Signature artist and award-winning member of the Virginia Watercolor Society, Chee enjoys exhibiting her watercolors and acrylics whenever possible. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at This Century Gallery in Williamsburg, Blue Skies Gallery in Hampton, The Louisa Arts Center and The Shenandoah Valley Arts Center in Waynesboro. She has given demonstration talks about her work at the Annie Gould Gallery in Gordonsville and the Beverly Street Studio School in Staunton. Locally, she is a member of the Firnew Farm Artists’ Circle in Hood and the Art Guild of Greene.
Chee’s paintings hang in numerous public and private collections nationwide, including the International Storytelling Festival Visitors’ Center in Jonesboro, TN, Augusta Health System, Rockingham Regional Medical Center, UVA Health System, Ferguson Enterprises Headquarters in Newport News, the City of Hampton, and Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton, VA.
A native of Camden, South Carolina and a graduate of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, Chee earned credit in additional classes and graduate courses at The College of William and Mary, Old Dominion University, Christopher Newport University, La Salle University, and Thomas Nelson Community College and has studied with nationally recognized artists. She feels, however, that practice is the best teacher; therefore, she devotes as much time as possible to working in her studio or en plein air on the hills surrounding her farm.
MAY SHORTEN TOWNLEY
May Shorten Townley is a mixed-medium and ceramic artist from Spotsylvania Virginia. A self-taught artist for the bulk of her career, Townley entered college after raising a family and received her Bachelor of Liberal Studies Degree in Studio Art from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 2017.
Townley’s work was early on exhibited regionally at The Fairfax, Virginia Courthouse and at the privately owned Courthouse Gallery, also in Fairfax. Local group exhibitions include, but are not limited to the Morin Gallery in Orange, Virginia, the Purcell Gallery and the Muse Gallery, both in Louisa, Virginia. In Fredericksburg, Virginia her work has been exhibited at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Artful Dimensions, Bellawood Studio, Mary Washington’s DuPont Gallery, Gallery VC, The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Libertytown Arts Center and The Fredericksburg Museum. Townley was Fredericksburg’s First Friday Featured Artist at Goldbender’s and also the Virginia Wine Experience in 2012, while solo exhibitions include several at The Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Studio A. Gallery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and The Muse Gallery in Louisa, Virginia. Her work was chosen as part of two national exhibitions: Unique Viewpoints and Dimensional Expressions, where her piece “F Sharp” garnered third place in 2018.
Additionally, Townley was awarded Third Place and Honorable Mentions in both the Uniquely Fredericksburg and Uniquely Spotsylvania Exhibitions of 2010 and 2013. Townley’s work is part of the permanent collection of Germanna Community College, where during undergraduate studies she was honored with the title: Art Student of the Year. Townley is the recipient of the prestigious 2016-2017 Nina Bushnell art scholarship through the University of Mary Washington. Townley was, at graduation, honored in 2017 by the University of Mary Washington’s Alumni Association with the Bachelor of Liberal Studies Distinguished Graduate Award, and through the University of Mary Washington Arts Department, the Award of Excellence.
Ms. Townley works daily in her home studio, regularly sells and exhibits her work at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the Arts Center in Orange, Virginia, the Arts Center in Louisa, the Arthouse, also in Louisa, Virginia, local outdoor venues and to private collectors.
DENISE VAN BALEN
Denise Van Balen found her artistic passion while drawing stick people on her bedroom wall as a child Nurturing her creative journey, Denise obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Columbus College of Fine Arts She spent the next 30+ years reflecting on and refining her painting, drawing, sculpting, graphic design, and teaching techniques Denise's mediums are watercolor, oil, acrylic, and pastel painting; graphic pencil and color pencil drawings; and clay sculpture.
Denise's artwork is characterized by her vibrant, expressive personality and willingness to try anything creative Her works provide a glimpse into her imaginative world, providing a rich artistic experience across numerous mediums that add depth and interest to viewers Her passion combined with over 25 years of experience teaching other artists, Denise has an eye for creating engaging and productive classes and workshops in various mediums.
She continues to push the boundaries of her work and has exhibited in several galleries and shows throughout Georgia, Ohio, and Virginia Denise has also authored/illustrated "My Butterfly Book from Georgia" and illustrated "I CAN!"
Along with creating in her home Orange, Virginia studio, Denise is a Community Outreach Artist and Workshop Instructor with the Arts Center in Orange, Virginia
This exhibition is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
