June 2025

James E. Mahoney Foyer

Rowan O’Riley: My Covid-19

My Covid-19 is acrylic on canvas portraits depicting individuals who were Rowan’s lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic. The paintings will be in the foyer June 1 through July 31.

Wakelin Room

Kris Shaffer: Kansas – The Land of Ahs!

Oil on Canvas; watercolors; oil pastels

Kris Shaffer grew up in Kansas and has deep love for the stunning simplicity of the Kansas landscape as reflected in many of her works. She is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a degree in painting. While figurative oil painting has long been a favorite subject for her work, recently watercolor landscapes have become a focus. During the isolation of the pandemic she starting doing oil pastel portraiture from photos. The human figure has always been a mainstay of her subjects, but now the face and portraiture has taken a new found prominence in her work. Switching between watercolors and oils and oil pastels seems to expand her way of seeing and expressing that on the page.

Lucky U Display Case

Aesop’s Fables by Nancy Schon

Nancy Schon is a Boston-based sculptor, celebrated for her warm and evocative representation of human and animal figures. Her work, characterized by a profound sense of empathy and detail, captures the essence of her subjects — making them relatable and endearing to viewers of all ages. She is best known for her iconic Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Garden, which brings to life the beloved characters from Robert McCloskey’s classic children’s book. This charming installation has become a cherished landmark, delighting generations of visitors with its playful depiction of a mother duck leading her ducklings.

Schon’s Aesop’s Fables sculptures are a masterful series inspired, of course, by the ancient, previously enslaved Greek storyteller, Aesop. With a collection of twenty-four sculptures, each piece corresponds to one of the twenty-four letters in the Greek alphabet, creating a symbolic link to the origins of these timeless tales. Schon’s imaginative approach not only pays homage to the cultural heritage of Aesop’s fables, but also serves as a tribute to the universality and enduring relevance of these stories. Learn more about Nancy Schon and her work at schon.com.

New Area, Jackie’s Room, Commons Entry

and Commons Interior Display Cases

Hannah and Liz Dean

Artist Hannah Dean grew up in Wellesley, graduating from Wellesley High School. She is the daughter of Liz Dean, also an artist. Art and creating art has always been their way of life. The current exhibit at the Wellesley Library is primarily work created in the last few years. All of the paintings are by Hannah, including the plates, the nesting dolls, the eggs, the wood-burned scrabble set, the wood-burned step stool, and even the painted rugs in the doll house furniture exhibits. Liz designed and built all of the doll house furniture, sewed the needlepoint rugs, carved the ceramic garden houses and associated tiny furniture, made the ceramic bathroom sets and other ceramic dollhouse furniture, and created the castle. Liz and Hannah are members of the Pottery Shop ceramics studio in the Gorse Mills Studios, Needham, MA. Hannah lives in Cumberland, RI, and does mapping for the National Parks Service; Liz resides in Wellesley and teaches swimming at the Waltham YMCA.