During September in the Olive Esplin Art Gallery at the DiFiore Center for the Arts, local artist Kirsten Holt Beitler presents a solo art exhibit, “Beauty in the Eye.” The opening reception will be held Monday, August 31 from 7-9 p.m.
The show highlights the impact of eye disease on a person’s life, family, and community. Several conditions are explored, including diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, macular degeneration, and keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease affecting the cornea that Beitler was diagnosed with in 2012. Keratoconus causes visual distortions such as ghosting, multiple images, glare, halos, starbursts around lights, and blurred vision. Her experiences with this condition were the genesis of the ideas for the show, which includes 25 original artworks in oil, watercolor, and mixed media.
Out of her home in Washington, Beitler owns and operates a small working and teaching studio, The Drawing Room Studio, where she offers art lessons, art work, and commissions. She says that her art deals with life experiences, enduring hard times with humor, finding beauty without ignoring the ugly, and celebrating the strange. She says that she aims to make her art accessible, beautiful, and interesting to a wide variety of people and tries to not take herself too seriously but to enjoy the act of creating.
The original pieces and prints are both for sale. Half of the proceeds from prints will be donated by the artist to the National Keratoconus Foundation, an organization dedicated to increasing the awareness and understanding of keratoconus and the support of scientific research into its causes and treatment.
The DiFiore Center for the Arts is located at 307 N Main St. in St. George. The center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or by appointment. Call (435) 673-4206 or (435) 772-2787.
The show will also run during the month of November at the Kanab County Hospital Healing Arts Gallery at 355 N. Main St. in Kanab, with an opening reception Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m.
For more information please visit Kirsten Holt Beitler’s website.
