567 Georgia St, Demorest, Georgia 30535
When I first viewed the black and white photographs on exhibition for “Quiet Reflection – Photogram by Ann Beason and Merri Lawrence,” I instantly felt a familiarity and connection to the subject matter, the floral, flowers, and even weeds of North Georgia. I recognized our native ferns, and the intricate structure of their fronds in the show’s focused work, and I spotted our mountain laurel, grape leaves and vines from our fine North Georgia vineyards, and other Georgia native plants and objects found in nature. The artist Merri Lawrence delivered the artist’s talk and shared that they both held a deep appreciation of nature. When the respectively starting photographing our region’s plants with black and white photography, they got “bit by the bug” and could not leave the dark room. There are no short cuts with black and white photography and Merri Lawrence shared that not all images make it out of the dark room as the timing, exposure, and lighting must be perfect. Merri Lawrence explained that some of the photos have been touched up with Photoshop, which both artists taught themselves to use for photos they wanted to enhance. So, many of the works on display are the result and finished product and talent from working with black and white photography combined with artistic enhancements through Photoshop. This charming exhibition will appeal to nature lovers and photography enthusiasts and the museum’s permanent collection is always enriching and inspiring and thought provoking so we recommend visiting; the show runs from August 21 to November 6, 2025 and museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday 12pm noon to 5pm. For more information about this fine North Georgia museum visit the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art homepage. Also, we highly recommend stepping across the street before or after your visit to the museum with a meal or drink at Holden Oversoul which is one of our most favorite
North Georgia restaurants.
