JAMESTOWN – The Prendergast Library Art Gallery will feature Helen Gilbert & Students, Creativity on Display from June 27 through July 25.

Members of the group will greet visitors during an opening reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on June 27. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

A well-known local artist, Gilbert has taught weekly art classes to adult students for years. “Most of them hear of me by word of mouth,” she said.

The work of about a dozen students will be represented at the library along with a variety of pieces by their teacher.

“Acrylics are so popular now, amateurs rarely paint in oil,” Gilbert said. But visitors will see many other types of painting, including theorems, reverse glass paintings, and watercolors.

“Theorems have to be oil on velvet using a very old process. Artists always copied the look using pastels and soft colors, but the one in this show is bright colored, a step in a new direction,” she said.

Reverse glass painting is done on the “wrong” side and on two or three pieces of glass to give it dimension. Viewers will also see metal trays decorated with gold leaf and crazy quilting. “That’s very enchanting. No two people can ever make one alike,” according to Mrs. Gilbert.

One woman has been coming to class for 47 years, while others are new. There is also a class for men, and all students work on individual projects.

“I build confidence in people. If they think they couldn’t do it, and after a while they feel very comfortable, I love that part of it,” the teacher said.

Each artist is developing, and the works reflect various stages of accomplishment. “What’s important to me is that they’re able to express their own creativity,” Gilbert said. “When people bring things in or tell me about something they saw and think they’d like to try it themselves, I say, ‘I can help you do that.’ I enable them.”

The next library show will be works by artists from Aspire of Western New York.

Library hours are 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Prendergast Library is located at 509 Cherry St., Jamestown. For more information, call 484-7135, Ext. 225.