From Feb. 20- March 29 ArtReach St. Croix will be showing its latest exhibit, Capturing Light. This exhibit, featuring three artists, has oil on canvas paintings and hand blown glass representing the way that light reacts with everyday objects.

ArtReach St. Croix was founded in 1992 originally under the name River Valley Arts Council and not only display visual art but also literature and performing arts. Their goal according to their website is, “to continue to be a stable, evolving, growing organization that connects our community to the arts through artist resources, experimental programming, audience development and information.

This corporation celebrates local artists like, Barb Casey and Sharon Weister as well as artists who have traveled from far away to display their work, Alan Honn.

Syndie Sorensen, the Program and Marketing Manager at ArtReach said, “We try to work with the local artists so that the people who live in the St. Croix Valley can feel at home.”

There are approximately eight different events every year and a panel of six to eight judges chooses each gallery that is displayed in the ArtWorks building. The panel includes other artists, staff at ArtReach and members of the community.

Sorensen said, “Really we try to figure out what artwork meets the standard in technique and originallity and then decide what makes sense together.”

The natural light seeping in through the windows in this facility added a new layer of depth to each of the glassware pieces.

Junior Quay Gisselquist said, “Look at that purple one! The warped portions of the glass create the effect in the light so that it looks like its moving.”

People can not truly appreciate the beauty of pieces displayed in the ArtReach building until they have seen more than one event.

C. Raymond, a local art enthusiast said, “I come about five times a year, I like to see what the local artists are doing. I think it’s nice that we have something like this in town, it’s refreshing.”

This building also sponsors non-conventional artwork like the one recently displayed at the DaVinci Festival.

Sorensen said, “My favorite display we have done was the graffiti exhibition. We let the artists paint right on the walls.”

The next exhibit that will be featured in the ArtReach facility will be Pots and Prints on April 3 through May 10, with artists Cathy Jean Clark, Mitchell Spencer and Marjorie Wade.

Gisselquist summed up his visit by saying, “This place is so cool. I wish they displayed more, but I like how they focus on a few artists so you can see each artist individually.