Art review

The wood carving, Cherished Memories of Grandma, by Darwin Dower is impressive because of it's realistic appearance, great detail and it's accurate portrayal of what we remember of our grandmothers.

As you walk by the glass case enclosing this exhibit you see what appears to be an old telephone, a small stack of books, a pocket watch, and a pair of glasses all resting on a beautiful white doily. I assumed that it was a nice little display of things that reminded the artist of his grandmother. When someone pointed out to me that it was actually a wood carving I was quite surprised.

It is easy to see that the artist spent a lot of time on this carving. There is an intricate lace doily with yellow sunflowers where you can see the individual crochet stitches. The edges of the books are worn and frayed with the fibers of the binding exposed. "Grandma's" glasses have the tiny scroll work on the ear pieces, typical of the old tortoise shell glasses of the forties and fifties. Even the old telephone has the manufacturer and phone company name carved into the base so perfectly that it looks as though it was machine stamped.

I can just picture the display table sitting in the corner next to my own grandmother's rocking chair, her cherished book and glasses carefully set aside when she got up to answer the door or check on the bread baking in the oven.