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12 - Orono Weekly Times Wednesday August 11, 2010 Artspace On The Mezzanine Works by regional artist featured Ruth Rodgers works in soft pastels, acrylics, and oils. She describes her style as `naturalism' which seeks to represent reality not in the hyperrealistic way of photographic realism, but in the way that the human eye and brain actually perceive the world. Thus, areas outside the main focal point may be soft-edged and indistinct, just as they are in our peripheral vision. Ruth is influenced, as well, by the effects of light so well conveyed by the masters of Impressionism. Although she completed one year of a college art program in her teens, Ruth is largely self-taught. She has, however, taken workshops with a number of well-known Canadian and American pastel artists, and hopes to have integrated their teachings into her own distinctive style. Ruth is also the current President of the Pastel Artists Canada organization. Ruth is inspired by her immediate surroundings, and hopes that her work will help viewers to see the beauty in the everyday world. A country girl from the age of 13, she focuses mostly on the rural landscapes and rhythms of agricultural life in the counties of Ontario, with occasional trips to exotic locations. She also enjoys interpreting the human journey through figural works. Works: a tribute to the neighbourhood About Works: a tribute to the neighbourhood Ruth writes: "I have been living in the city of Oshawa, Ontario for the past several years, having bought a condo in a busy neighbourhood to accommodate me while I worked in the city during the week (returning to my country home on weekends). I had some trepidation about living in such an urban environment, convenient as it was, but found to my great surprise and pleasure that I enjoyed the neighbourhood very much. The people in my immediate neighbourhood were gracious enough to allow me to photograph them as they worked in the library, pub, day-spa, pizza place, mall, grocery store, college, and other locations near my city home, and the resulting twelve paintings in this exhibition are a tribute to them. It is my hope that the pieces reflect my respect for the work that everyday people do, and the grace and expertise they bring to their work." The exhibition runs until August 31. To see more of Ruth's work, or for information on upcoming exhibitions, visit her website at www.ruthrodgers.com or email her at rodgers.ruth@gmail.com Submissions from artists to exhibit at Artspace on the Mezzanine are always welcome. Contact Jean-Michel Komarnicki at jmkimage@ican.net or by phone at 905-623-9060. Are you in an abusive relationship? Call Bethesda House 905-623-6050 or 1-800-338-3397 (For women with or without children.) Mill Street Underpass progessing slowly by Ann Harley The pedestrian tunnel for Mill St. S. in Newcastle, that has been in the political promise basket for the last few years appears to be getting closer to reality. Or is it? Last week saw tremendous activity around the "hole in the wall"; traffic was reduced to one lane; flag men were waving stop signs and it all looked very promising. Terry Hoekstra, C.E.T. the project manager with AECOM of Cobourg, deflated a lot of the hopes for a quick tunnel before the snow arrives, when he explained they are just doing some testing. Much as this tunnel is needed for the safety of pedestrians trying to go from Newcastle proper to Bond Head or Port of Newcastle, the history so far has been very disappointing. The decision to proceed with the pedestrial tunnel was made near the beginning of this Mayor's current political term, but so far there has been little action. CNR has ostensibly been responsible for many of the delays for the work to be done as they apparently did not have flagmen available. The current plan is not only to drill a tunnel under the operating railbed, provide lighting in it and do some landscaping, but also to adjust the sight line on the road bed itself. This will require reducing the slope from the north end of the underpass approach down to the intersection of Mill St. and Port of Newcastle Drive. According to the current planning it is not possible to widen the actual road through the underpass. Hoekstra noted that two types of testing are needed before any definitive planning could be done. The engineers need to know whether there is anything in the raised rail bed, such as electrical wires, conduits, or water pipes. Then they also need to know what the soil types are so that the drilling can proceed without impinging too much on the rail traffic that will continue to pass overhead. The Project Manager continued to explain that although the results of the tests might be complete by the end of last week, their impact on the project will need to be studied. It is hoped the results of the study will permit work to proceed before winter sets in. Reduce Reuse Recycle