Opening Reception for “Delicate Balance: Gold Leaf Photography by Mark Thayer” and “Equine in Wire: Sculpture by Helen Weatherall”

When most mountain bikers are negotiating rocky trails or steep descents, they probably don’t notice a particularly perfect pitch pine sprout or milkweed pod. But when Hamilton, Massachusetts photographer Mark Thayer bikes on the trails throughout Essex County, he not only notices the botanical world he is peddling through, he often stops to collect specimens. The seed pods, stems, leaves, and other plant materials then travel home with him, to his studio, where they become the subjects of his gold-leaf photographs. Helen Weatherall—who lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts—was born with a love of horses that time has only intensified. At present she is retraining an off-the-track thoroughbred named Sally Slew who is both her mount and primary muse. Weatherall's wire sculptures celebrate the horse in its unbridled and untethered state: A filly primed to race, an Andalusian stallion spinning on its haunches, or a foal learning about legs and gravity.

Both shows open on Saturday, September 15 and run through Saturday, November 3, 2012. The opening reception is Saturday, September 15, from 3 to 6 PM. Directions and a map are available at: www.truenorthgallery.net