The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is pleased to announce the exhibition, Inspired by Burchfield: Naturescapes by Orleans-Niagara BOCES Special Education Students, which is on view in the Education Corridor through November 2, 2003. A reception will be held on Sunday, September 14, 2003 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

“As a museum affiliated with Buffalo State College, the Burchfield-Penney has both a unique mission and a special obligation to education. We not only offer dynamic programs and exhibitions focusing on the art and artists of Western New York, but we also provide unique learning opportunities to students of all abilities in our region,” said Ted Pietrzak, executive director of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. “The Burchfield-Penney is a learning laboratory for students and offers programs designed to enhance education in meaningful ways.”

Special Education Teachers Karen Koch and Aimee Grimm and Art Teacher Mary Gurley conducted a year long project with their students that involved sketching trips to the Charles E. Burchfield Nature and Art Center and tours of Burchfield-Penney Art Center. The recently published curriculum guide Charles E. Burchfield: Art and Nature was also used as a reference. The resulting projects include Burchfield-inspired nature sketchbooks, acrylic and watercolor paintings, monoprints and a handbound wallpaper book.

“The underlying direction of the Naturescapes project was to link the art education of our special education students with a renowned local artist, Charles E. Burchfield, and to provide the students with the resources and skills needed to be successful in the future,” said Mary Gurley, art teacher at Orleans-Niagara BOCES. “The result was a year-long art education project which grew to include special education students from both North Tonawanda and Lockport High Schools, culminating with the exhibition currently on view in the Education Corridor at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center.”

“The Education Corridor of the Burchfield-Penney is a place where we showcase outstanding and innovative projects that dedicated teachers in the region execute with their students,” added Gerald C. Mead, Jr., curator of education and outreach at the Burchfield-Penney. “This exhibition is an excellent example of how Charles E. Burchfield's extraordinary vision of nature continues to inspire and influence artists of all abilities.”

About the Burchfield-Penney Art Center

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is a museum dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and distinguished artists of Buffalo Niagara and Western New York State. Through its affiliation with Buffalo State College, the museum encourages learning and celebrates our richly creative and diverse community. For more information, contact the Burchfield-Penney Art Center at (716) 878-6011 or visit www.burchfield-penney.org.

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and County of Erie. Additional operating support is provided by the Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Trust, the Mary A. H. Rumsey Foundation and the Burchfield-Penney's members.