Art openings are stimulating, fun, and exciting but closings have their charm as well.

Today I'm on my way to The Adirondack Artists' Guild in time to take in the Arts and Flowers Exhibit before lucky bidders take possession of their newly acquired treasures.

The Adirondack Artists' Guild is on Main Street in Saranac Lake. Lucky for us full-time residents, it is open year-round featuring exhibitions of members as well as special exhibit events.

The exhibit today is part of an annual event in which the Guild participates. Painter, Nancy Brossard is hosting closing day and explains to me that once a year the Guild holds an event to benefit a local non-profit. Each Guild member donates two pieces of work for a silent auction to benefit that organization. This year it is the Village Improvement Society of Saranac Lake and the subject is flowers. Next year, it will be the Saranac Lake Historical Society that will benefit from this generous act by these local artists and their followers. The Guild is appreciative of the Saranac Lake community and feels this is a way to give something back. By choosing the organization early, the artists have time to come up with a theme and decide on their own project with enough time to journey through the creative process.

It is an intimate and moving experience to view the panorama on display with only a couple of people in the gallery and with Nancy on hand to answer all our questions. She is hard at work on a piece for an upcoming exhibition to be held at The Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA). It is sponsored by the Lake Placid Historical Society and will open on March 15 and, according to the LPCA web site, is titled. "The Past Through the Eyes of the Present."

From the Artists' Guild, I take a short ride to BluSeed Art Studios on Cedar Street. I am hoping to get a preview glimpse of the upcoming exhibit that opens this Friday. Here's what I read about this particular exhibit titled, "In Tune:" Five artist's documentation of an old piano—left outside in front of BluSeed over a period of years—manifested back to life via photo, painting, assem'blage and print." When I get to the gallery, I don't see any signs of the new exhibit but I am in time for another closing. Here, it's all abstract. And it's another opportunity for an intimate viewing of creativity that really makes you think. The exhibit marks BluSeed's first annual juried art competition, "Abstraction," which opened on February 1. Thirty-three regional artists entered a total of 63 pieces of artwork.

For more openings and closings, performances, and concerts happening in the Lake Placid region, click through to the Lake Placid Events page.

Kathleen Recchia has been enjoying the arts in the Adirondacks for about 20 years—both as observer and participant (acting, directing, and producing). She also enjoys cross-country skiing, swimming, juggling, and hosting visitors to the area at her bed & breakfast in Jay.