The Waldo Theatre, located at 916 Main St., opens its art gallery April show by combining the color, imagination, and creative processes used by two local artists to transform the natural world into tactile art.

This exhibition features stained glass art crafted by Herenya Wilkey and mixed media texile art developed by Catherine Worthington. While their media is quite different, both Maine artists are inspired by real places that is beautifully reflected in their artwork.

The Waldo art exhibition, “Lead and Thread,” brings the viewer into the process of blending ideas, as well as physical pieces, into an explosion of colorful art.

Lead - supporting the glass - Herenya “Ren” Wilkey, a stained glass artist from Wiscasset, has been a life-long artist. Her journey and exploration has taken her through jewelry-making, blacksmithing, pottery, and floral creation. She has blended her building techniques to develop a distinctive approach to creating in stained glass.

During 2023, Ren was honored to break some glass as Merrymeeting Adult Education’s first Artist in Residence. “I enjoy being outdoors to experience the sights, sounds and color of nature’s changing beauty. That’s when I take out my sketch pad to capture the essence of place.”

Thread – stitching the fabric - Catherine Worthington, a mixed media textile artist from Brunswick, transforms plain cloth into painted and stitched layers of color, pattern, shape and texture. Her artistic process taps into skills in textile painting and surface design techniques. Worthington builds compositions by collaging her uniquely designed fabrics and adding batting for depth and perspective. She brings her unique layers of fabric together using free motion stitching with colorful threads to enhance both line and dimension. “Inspired by the many layers and beauty of the natural world, I am compelled to create and capture its color, texture and charm.”

The public is invited to attend a free Meet the Artist reception on April 6  from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The art pieces displayed will be available for sale – a portion of which benefits the Waldo programming.

Viewing hours for this Waldo Gallery exhibition will also be open during scheduled theatre events throughout the month of April as part of our patrons’ entertainment experience.