The latest exhibit in the Lawrence Gallery at Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury (SVWC) opens next Friday, Jan. 11 and will remain through March 11. Artist, Josie Tilton will also be presenting a program, a story of struggle, the previous evening based on her book “Tumbleweed.”

Tilton, an award-winning, self-taught artist, is a German-born immigrant who escaped the clutches of Soviet-led East Germany at the age of 11. She brings to her work the richness of her youth in Saxony behind the “Iron Curtain,” the values of her education in western Germany’s Moselle and Hunsrueck regions, and the variety of her life and career in America’s West and Midwest.

Josie began painting in 1978 while living in Germany with her husband on a US Air Base. She has been fine-tuning her artistic talents for more than 30 years. International and American artists such as Katharina Lohse, Klaus Bühler, Gerhard Richter, and Sandy Ezell have inspired her to be creative, and develop her skills.

Growing up under the oppressed, gray and black colors of the Iron Curtain, she now looks towards the expressive use of vibrant colors in all of her paintings. Tilton is retired and actively pursues her lifelong artistic passion and continuously expands her vision as an artist in various media and genres. She is very involved in the local art community and is featured at galleries and exhibits throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Her works are displayed in Germany, California, Florida, Indiana, Virginia, and Nebraska.

The Thursday night program will take place in the Abbey at 7:30. The public is welcome to come and hear Josie’s inspiring story. An Artist’s Reception will be held on Friday, the 11th from 5:30—7p.m. in Lawrence Gallery. We welcome anyone to visit and view the exhibit between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. any day of the week. For further information, contact Kitty Zuckerman, Marketing Specialist at 540-665-5915.