Barbara and Jeanne Lally’s mother-daughter art show at the Southport Memorial Library goes up  in July and will continue through August.  A public reception will be held at the library, 1032 Hendricks Hill Road, Friday, July 5 from 5-7 p.m. for interested viewers with refreshments.

A life-long artist, Barbara Lally has successfully mastered many art mediums, including enameling on copper, oil painting, silk screen printing, quilting, rug hooking, pysanky (Ukrainian egg decorating), batik, shibori (Japanese resist dyeing on cloth), embroidery and fabric applique, to name just a few. Her many years of experience and innovation have been incorporated into this most recent body of work, De La Mer.

Using Japanese fabrics, Barbara has playfully and skillfully explored applique and embroidery techniques in her sea life inspired wall hangings. Simplistic yet evocative, Barbara's work demonstrates her extraordinary ability to combine color, form, and embellishment to convey sea life such as fish, squid, and crustaceans in unique and pleasing ways.

Jeanne, Barbara's daughter, had the great privilege of growing up making art alongside her mom. Barbara instilled the feeling of confidence whenever Jeanne made anything with her hands, along with the work ethic that anything Jeanne desires to make can be manifested with time and effort.

Art forms that Jeanne has explored include oil, acrylic, watercolor and pastel painting, colored pencil, batik, and shibori (in collaboration with her mother). In this most recent body of work, Jeanne has utilized acrylic on reclaimed wooden board as well as watercolor pencil and oil pastel on panel. Inspired by Japanese lacquer paining, Jeanne's realistic fish portraits employ a unique approach whereby the acrylic portrait is applied over many thin layers of gesso, resulting in a raised image that stands out from the wood ground. The pastel and watercolor pencil works invite the viewer to experience coral microcosms exploding with color and form that seem otherworldly yet oddly familiar.

Southport Memorial Library is located at 1032 Hendricks Hill Road. For more information, call the library at 633-2741.