Big Birthday Plans for Ann

Eighty-Year-Old to Celebrate Her Twentieth Birthday with Exhibit at The Cannery

"The planned celebration came about," explained Ann, "when I realized that this year is Leap Year and I would, indeed, HAVE a birthday this year, and it would be my 20th; and ZAP!What was that? My God, I'm 80! Well, a milestone must be acknowledged, and I didn't want to wait until my 21st (too chancy - four more years), so I came up with this idea to gather together the many wonderful people I've met over the years and celebrate."

"The Cannery gallery," adds Ann "is managed by two friends, Marsha Pippenger and Christy Jennewein, and they are graciously allowing me to hang some of my recent work (as well as old favorites) and display my handmade books which rarely get to see the light of day. So it's a party/exhibit all in one, and I named it 'Exuberance' because I'm pretty exuberant about making it to 20! (80!)"

Included in the calligraphy exhibit, Ann says, will be a framed version of 'Exuberance is Beauty - Energy is Eternal Delight,' a quote by William Blake. "I'll also have 2 pieces inspired by Wendell Berry, the Kentucky farmer/poet whom I love. And two large pieces from a year-long study of "The Song of Amergin" - a 9th-century Irish bard's ongoing essay on one-ness, and some 3-D pieces: 'Homage to Timothy Ely' (a pyramid book), 'Metamorphosis Wheel,' and 'Recycled Resurrection,' which was built from pieces of writing left over from the book that I showed at the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra's performance of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.

"I have always loved books - I must have been a scribe in another life," says Ann, "and I have found calligraphy to be an enriching discipline in my life for the past thirty-some years, and it continues to grow into ever-new areas."

Eighty-year-old Ann Bain, Springboro calligrapher and member of the Village Artisans of Yellow Springs, will celebrate her twentieth birthday with an exhibit at the Cannery Art and Design Center on February 26 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (snow date, March 4), 434 East Third Street in Dayton.