Villager Earns Prestigious Art Distinction
Villager Sue Fehringer has had a long career as a mathematician, teaching at Gettysburg High School and Gettysburg College. As much as she loves numbers, she also has a passion for mixed-media art. At one point, she had been an active member of the York Art Association. However, life gets in the way, and by the time she moved to Cross Keys Village in 2020, Sue had been on a 10-year pause from participating in the York Art Association’s events.
At the association, Sue was missed and far from forgotten. Board member Suzanne Stoltenberg recalls: “Sue has done some phenomenal paintings, and she was previously honored as a winner of the Rottler Award of Excellence in the Visual Arts at the York Art Association. You only win that award if you are among the best.”
Because of Cross Keys’ close proximity to York, and with time on her hands at last, Sue decided to enter the association’s Annual Fall Member Show held in September. She submitted her intriguing mixed-media piece Crows at Sunset, which features two main layers. For the back, she painted layers of acrylic on Yupo paper to evoke a sunset. On the front layer of clear acetate, she used Halloween spider webbing and watercolors to create an arborescent texture, with crows done in acrylic. Sue inserted an extra matte board between the two layers while framing the piece, generating additional dimension. This ingenious use of texture, color and depth didn’t go unrecognized: out of the 100 works submitted in the event, Sue won Best in Show!
Stoltenberg remembers: “When Sue Fehringer’s painting won Best of Show this fall, the juror said he felt each layer of the work was thoughtfully arranged, and the painting was filled with colors and textures. He loved how she created crisp silhouettes of the birds but used more gestural strokes in other areas, something professional painters frequently do to lead the eye of the viewer to the center of interest.”
Not one to brag, Sue simply recalls “For me to win alongside all that talent, I felt very privileged and honored. It was nice to have that recognition.” As if that didn’t make Sue proud enough, an unknown admirer purchased the piece.
While creative art has been a vital part throughout Sue’s life, “late bloomers” among older adults are a regular feature at the York Art Association. Stoltenberg explains: “Many creative people want to paint full-time throughout their lives, but working or raising a family makes that impossible. When they get older and have time to fulfill that urge, they take an art class and discover great joy in creating a work of art. We find some of those who get a late start turn out to be fabulous artists.”
Closer to home, Sue participates regularly in the art exhibits organized our Life Enrichment team, right here on the CKV campus. Her mixed-media piece Vulnerable Species (above) was a highlight in our spectacular giraffe-themed exhibition last summer. Whether or not she enters another art show, you can bet Sue will be creating more captivating pieces in the future.