Newburyport Art has launched an exciting new initiative to feature its many members. If you have visited the NAA in recent months, you may have noticed the mural that connects the ground-level Sargent Gallery and second-level Hartson Gallery, drawing visitors upstairs. The mural was created by Artist-in-Residence Erin Bligh, and it now serves as the backdrop for what is known as the Mural Gallery. While the mural stands on its own, the Mural Gallery will host short-run solo artist showings known as Member Spotlights. The first Member Spotlight is from Bligh, and it is called Washed Ashore.

Bligh devised the concept for Washed Ashore while ruminating on the myriad of ways that the seasonal transitions and patterns of their youth were becoming drastically different in a world ravaged by climate change. Washed Ashore is an homage to our rich natural ecosystems and the ways in which the systems of our world are all interconnected. It invites the viewer to pause and bask in the magic of natural world — especially the bits that might slip away without a change of perspective.

Byfield artist Erin Bligh has an ongoing obsession with texture, pattern, and color. Bligh’s work is profoundly inspired by the natural world — the flow of water, cracks in scorched earth, the organic irregularity in the melting of snow, the fractal patterns of flora and fauna. Their work transcends the bounds of any particular medium, utilizing wax, ceramic, glass, metal, and fabric to bring the rich textures of the outside world into their home.

Be sure to visit during the public Opening Reception, where you can meet the artist and enjoy light refreshments: Saturday, September 17th (5-7pm).