Lee Hajduk
WEST CAPE MAY – Seed-bead artist and potter Diana Cutshall and photographer Lee Hajduk are featured for the month of October at the Cape May Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, 122 Sunset Bvd., West Cape May. Their theme, Small World, Big Color, is reflected in Diana’s seed bead jewelry creations and Lee’s images of a recent trip to Cuba. A meet-the-artists’ reception is scheduled for Saturday, October 8 from 3 to 6 p.m.
Diana Cutshall is a potter and self-taught jewelry artist. She studied pottery under renowned redware potter, William Daley, at the Philadelphia College of Art, and later co-owned the Clay Co-Op, a studio and gallery in Lambertville, N.J. She was a juried member of the Bucks County Guild of Craftsmen and Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, and now lives and works in Cape May. To Diana, clay and beadwork link people across all cultures and throughout all ages. They date back to the beginning of time, telling stories of human need and desire, shedding light on each culture and its search for beauty. On a hilltop in Greece, for example, archaeologists recently found 100,000 year-old beads and terra cotta figurines of people and animals they revered. Diana dreams that her work will become part of this ongoing human chain.
Lee Hajduk, a self-taught photographer, purchased her first camera at age 15. Captivated by the natural world, earned a MS in biology from Upsala College and an MS in zoology from Rutgers University. Her camera helped her capture images of birds, flowers, insects, reptiles and mammals for later identification and to be cataloged as part of her curriculum. From there, her passion grew into composing and capturing the beauty of wildlife and the outdoors. An avid birder, Lee uses her camera to help confirm the identity of those tough birds seen in the field. An avid traveler, Lee has captured images in many countries and nearly every continent.
The Cape May Artists’ Cooperative Gallery is the only artists’ cooperative in Cape May County. Owned and operated by its members, it carries a full selection of members’ work, including original paintings, photography and prints, jewelry, stained and fused glass, works in wood and bird carvings, clay and works in paper, fiber arts, furniture and mosaics. The gallery is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 16. It will be closed on Mondays, October 17, 24 and 31. Credit cards are accepted. Parking is available behind the gallery. For information, call (609) 435-5253 or visit capemayartistcoop.com.