Barron exhibit hosts Metuchen artist

The works of Linda Vonderschmidt- LaStella of Earthsongs Ceramic Studio, Metuchen, are featured in “Taking Time Apart II: An Exhibit in Word and Wall Sculpture” at the Barron Arts Center, Woodbridge.

The exhibit runs June 5-26, with a reception 7-9 p.m. June 11. Light refreshments will be available.

“As a high school English teacher several lifetimes ago, I loved to introduce poetry with the definition ‘playing with words,’ and often, as I began to work in clay, incorporated letters and words as pure shape and form into the surface of my sculpture,” the artist said of the thought process behind the exhibit.

She said the exhibit has given her the opportunity to revisit that part of her creative life, and to play and explore not just with clay and other materials, but with ideas in words, as well.

“I began this series of mixed media sculptures several years ago, quite serendipitously combining some old clock pieces with ceramic elements,” she said. “It was the manipulation of materials that provided the initial incentive for the work. As it evolved, I put out a call for old watches, to which many [people] generously responded. Subsequently, this series has become a verbal/ visual reflection on life, on birth, on death, on all of the stages and transitions we experience in between.”

The exhibition is sponsored by the Woodbridge Township Cultural Arts Commission, with support from Mayor John McCormac.

Reservations are not required. The Barron Arts Center is located at 582 Rahway Ave. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 2-4 p.m.

For more information, call the Barron Arts Center at 732-634-0413.