A View from the Sycamore
An Exhibit by Marie Spaeder Haas
December 15, 2022 — February 6, 2023
OPENING RECEPTION Friday, January 20, 2023, from 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Willson Exhibit Room
Marie Spaeder Haas is an avid watercolorist, originally from Erie, PA, who now enjoys a home and studio in Ocoee TN. Though her academic training was in biology, and teaching was her early career, interest in painting and drawing were very important from an early age. She has been actively doing her art since 1979.
The work on exhibit shares Spaeder Haas’s view of art as a way to change one’s perspective on the world and “the big picture.”
There’s a Bible story that I love about a little guy name Zacchaeus who climbed a sycamore tree so that he could see Jesus. He needed to get above the crowd to see this man everyone was talking about. Pretty simple, right? My art takes me above the din of the crowd so that I can see the Divine in the bigger picture. In this exhibit I will be sharing a variety of some of those experiences…..my view from the sycamore tree.
—Marie Spaeder Haas
This exhibit is available to the public for free during regular business hours and during special events. Current business hours are Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Marie has had many solo exhibits throughout the United States, and has also participated in many group and juried shows. Her work is found in private and corporate collections in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Japan. The award-winning artist has acquired Signature Membership in the Tennessee Watercolor Society, the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society and the Southern Appalachia Artists Guild. She shares her work regularly on her website, SpaederHaasGallery.com, her Facebook page, and Instagram.
I am painting and drawing images all the time, either in my head or with brush or pen in hand. I am always considering colors, textures, shapes, and forms. I feel especially fortunate to be able to look at this beautiful creation around me and experience it as a biologist and as an artist at the same time. It energizes and inspires and challenges me. I enjoy experimenting with alternative surfaces for my watercolors and sometimes incorporating techniques usually associated with fabrics. Creating my art has been an amazing journey and it’s not done yet!
—Marie Spaeder Haas
For more information on this exhibit and all AACA programs visit athensartscouncil.org, call 423-745-8781, or stop by The Arts Center at 320 North White Street, Athens, TN.