Tag Archives: Art Show

This Week in the Studio – September 21-27, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Weekly Wrap-Up: Studio Glimpses- September 21-27, 2026

The week began with my 79th birthday, celebrated the way I start every Monday and Thursday, at the gym with my trainer, Jimmy. I keep my eyes closed and picture the muscles I’ve drawn and sculpted during the many years I studied anatomy. An art practice asks a lot of the body. Standing at the easel, packing a show, and carrying work up and down stairs all take strength and balance, so staying fit is part of the job.

On Tuesday I built a three-minute slide presentation about my current work. I wrote it all out first, then went back and forth with Claude until every word was mine. I’m the writer and creator. Claude is only an assistant editor, and that works well for me. Midweek I began bringing plants in from the deck, repotting them and settling them on the plant stands in our sunny dining room window, starting with the ones I’ll likely use in my installation at my upcoming solo exhibition.

The rest of the week belonged to the curtains for the installation. The loops I pinned on the top pole and the folder clips I tried didn’t look right, so I searched the internet for curtain clips. I found what I was looking ofr at my local IKEA website and drove there to pick them up. They were the answer, small, clean, and perfect for the job. I finished pinning and making sure the two panels were exactly the right lenght, drove to the tailor, and learned the seamstress only works Saturdays and Wednesdays. So on Saturday, in a nor’easter with winds too strong for an umbrella, I delivered them. The price surprised me, but I was glad to put away the ironing board and hand off the sewing. They’ll be ready to pick up on Wednesday. Now I can begin video and audio editing which I enjoy far more than working with fabric.

Scroll down to see all the Studio Glimpses for a behind-the-scenes view of how an exhibition comes together.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for multiple solo and group exhibitions in 2026 & 2027.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.

September 23, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist
During the summer, I take just about all the plants outside for their vacation in the outdoors. I have to be careful not to bring in all the little pests tha live on the plants. That’s why I shower them when I bring them in.
It’s good to bring the plants indoors before the heat goes on in the house. Otherwise, the lack of humidity proves to be a great challenge for the plants to thrive.

I began bringing in the plants that I’ve been overwintering outside on the wraparound deck. First I cleaned up the plant stands I bought a number of years ago online. They fit in front of our south-facing dining room window and enjoy bright lighting most of the day. These stands are made of eucalyptus, which isn’t sturdy enough for outside but works perfectly indoors. Once dry, I repotted as needed, then watered each plant with room-temperature water and, when dry enough, put it on the stand. This is just the tip of the iceberg since most of the plants are still outside. I wanted to start with the plants I’ll probably be using inside and out of my, A Space for Centering installation at my upcoming show. Every single day I get closer and closer to putting together all the bits and pieces that make up this installation and also this entire exhibition.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for solo and group shows in 2026 and 2027.
Check my News & Exhibitions page for additional information.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.
It will feature digital artwork, oil paintings, and a multimedia installation.

September 22, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Most of the day I worked on creating a PowerPoint of what I’ve been working on for a presentation coming up soon. First, I wrote the entire project and what I wanted to say about it in Microsoft Word. I took all that text and pasted it into Claude AI. Wrote a prompt saying that I needed a three-minute slideshow from the content I was providing. Claude returned in extremely condensed form, It was exactly what  I was looking for. Outlined were the reasons for the seven slides, content for display on the slide, and notes at the bottom about what I was going to say during the presentation. Also was a full color design utilizing many of the features I’d mentioned in my responses too. Although it was really good, it still wasn’t saying what I wanted to say, so I rewrote it and updated each slide. I also added photos to each slide to encapsulate the focus statement. After I sent my revisions back to Claude and it returned a response, we went back and forth several more times before I was satisfied that the language was completely mine and that there was no trace of AI contribution. This is exactly how I benefit from bringing AI into my workflow. I’m the creator, and Claude is an assistant editor. I’m very comfortable with that.  

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for solo and group shows in 2026 and 2027.
Check my News & Exhibitions page for additional information.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.
It will feature digital artwork, oil paintings, and a multimedia installation.

Mary Ahern, Centering in the Midst of Chaos Solo Art Exhibition,

Mary Ahern Artist

September 21, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Opening on Election Day November 3, 2026,
Mary Ahern‘s, Solo Multi-Media Exhibition At The Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, NY.

Centering in the Midst of Chaos


November 3 – November 28, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 5, 6:00–8:00 PM
Meet the Artist Reception: Saturday, November 7, 1:00–3:00 PM
Closing Reception: Saturday, November 28, 1:00–3:00 PM

NEW YORK, NY — Ceres Gallery is pleased to present Centering in the Midst of Chaos, an exhibition of oil paintings, digital artwork, and an immersive installation by artist Mary Ahern.

This exhibition is a multidisciplinary work by Ahern, using paint, pixels, sound, and soil to explore the counterbalance between centering and chaos. It brings together lifelong threads of Ahern’s creative practice, including philosophy, symbolism, and the tension between what can be touched and what can only be seen.

In her oil paintings, Ahern layers magnified florals from her own garden with abstractions drawn from images of the galaxy, inviting contemplation of harmony and balance across both the microcosm and macrocosm of existence. Circles and spheres run through the work and carry many meanings, among them the circle of life, meditation, and safety.

At the center of the exhibition is an immersive installation, A Space for Centering, which recreates on an intimate scale the calming effect of time spent close to plants and flowers, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature.

About Mary Ahern

Mary Ahern is a multidisciplinary artist based in Northport, New York, working across oil painting, digital media, video, and installation. She earned dual degrees in fine arts and horticulture, and spent decades working in computer graphics and technology, combining the eye of an artist with the insight of a scientist.

Ahern’s work has been on view at multiple museums and arboretums, and is held in collections throughout the United States and internationally. She is represented by Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York, and her work is featured on Artsy and Bloomberg Connects.

Website: MaryAhernArtist.com

For additional information please contact: Stefany Benson, Director

Ceres Gallery 547 West 27th Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10001

212-947-6100  •  art@ceresgallery.org. Website: CeresGallery.org

Gallery Hours:  Tuesday – Saturday 12 pm – 6 pm 

This Week in the Studio – September 14-20, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Weekly Wrap-Up: Studio Glimpses- September 14-20, 2026

The Locust Grove show is officially home. Dave and I drove upstate through pouring rain, took the art off the walls, wrapped everything in bubble wrap, and loaded the car along with the prints and notecards from the gift shop. Over two days it all got carried up to my second-floor studio, unwrapped, rehung where it would fit, and stowed away. It’s the unglamorous side of being a showing artist, and it’s done.

Tuesday brought my weekly Techspressionism Co-Working session. We check in, turn off our cameras and mics for an hour of working together alone and in silence, then come back to share and talk. I’ve never been in a group so welcoming or so rooted in art and technology. With nights dipping into the 50s, I also started moving plants indoors to my basement plant room, a former darkroom now lit with LEDs on timers that follow the seasons. Keeping a garden inside carries me through the dark months of winter.

My Take a Minute videos, short clips of flowers, clouds, and moving water, will play on the screen in A Space For Centering, the installation in my November show. They grew out of the long, slow looking I did as a child. I also picked up my new iPhone 18 on launch day, and my Sony RX100 now gathers dust. As for the installation curtains, the iron-on tape didn’t pass the test, so I pinned every edge by hand for the seamstress. Bleeding fingertips, no stains. Whew!

Centering in the Midst of Chaos opens at Ceres Gallery on Election Day, November 3rd.

Scroll down to see all the Studio Glimpses for a behind the scenes view of how an exhibition comes together.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for multiple solo and group exhibitions in 2026 & 2027.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.

September 17, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist
This is the link to my YouTube Channel
These are some of the short videos on my YouTube Take a Minute Playlist

One of my creative endeavors is creating short videos of things I find calming and want to share so others can experience that feeling, in some way. As a child, I spent long periods of time just staring at various things like flowers, clouds or the movement of water. I’m so grateful that I had that experience and still use this ability to just look slowly in wonder. On my YouTube channel, I post some of these mini-videos in the playlist I call Take a Minute videos. In my upcoming exhibition, I’ll be showing versions of these calming videos on the screen in my installation, which is called A Space For Centering. I’m hoping to share with viewers in this increasingly fast-paced world where we’re bombarded with content, a reminder to slow down and just experience calmness.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for solo and group shows in 2026 and 2027.
Check my News & Exhibitions page for additional information.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.
It will feature digital artwork, oil paintings, and a multimedia installation.

September 16, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist
This is an assortment of plants I’ve overwintered for years spending their summer vacation on the deck.
I donated the Leica enlarger and all the darkroom equipment to Farmingdale State for a fundraising event for the benefit of their excellent Horticulture curriculum.
This is a panoramic shot of the plant room in my basement’s former root cellar. Originally, I installed fluorescent lighting, but the room became too hot, which led to insect and fungal problems on the plants. The LED lighting doesn’t give off heat so once I converted the fixtures, the plants remained healthy all winter.

The weather is changing here on Long Island. The nighttime temperatures will be dipping into the 50s so it’s time to start bringing in some of my plants from their summer vacation outside in the garden and on the deck. In my basement, there is an unheated room that was probably a root cellar when the house was originally built. When I bought the property in 1989, I designed the room to be my darkroom. Once I went all digital, I donated my entire assortment of darkroom equipment to Farmingdale State, where I had studied for a degree in Horticulture. Since the sink and counters were there, it was easy to convert it into a plant room with just some LED lighting fixtures. I have all the lighting on timers and I mimic the daylight hours throughout the changes from fall, to winter and then spring. Having my garden indoors helps to keep my spirits up during the short days and long dark and cold nights of winter.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for solo and group shows in 2026 and 2027.
Check my News & Exhibitions page for additional information.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.
It will feature digital artwork, oil paintings, and a multimedia installation.

September 15, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist
The Co-Working group is a subset of the main Techspressionist group. We meet every Tuesday at noon and weekly attendance is entirely optional.
At the next general Techspressionist monthly meeting our Co-Working group will be presenting.

Today is Tuesday which means that at noon I met with a group of other artists who work with technology to create their work. We always discuss what we are working on, then spend close to an hour working on a project by ourselves because we turn off our video and audio. We work together alone and in silence. At the end of that time, we come back online and each of us shows something we recently worked on and a discussion ensues, questions are asked and answered. It’s a time for each of us to gain insights, share ideas, stretch what we’re doing. All of us work in different styles, use a very wide variety of tech resources and all of us are creating unique art forms for display in different types of venues online and offline. I’ve never been in a group before that was so welcoming and also had such a broad and long history with art and technology before. This Co-Working group is a subset of Techspressionism. Here is their statement: Techspressionist Salons are a time and place in cyberspace where artists gather once a month to hang out, share their work and discuss matters relating to art, philosophy, and technology. These meetups were conceived as a modern counterpart to the Surrealist salons of the 1920’s, in which artists could meet informally to socialize and discuss ideas. Techspressionism is a 100% volunteer-based international artist community. The main group meets the first Thursday of every month. You can join in from the website. The Co-Working subset meets every week. All people working using some form of technology, cameras, video, computers, software, hardware, different apps, AI, and other forms of technology assisted work are welcome.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for solo and group shows in 2026 and 2027.
Check my News & Exhibitions page for additional information.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.
It will feature digital artwork, oil paintings, and a multimedia installation.

September 14, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist
When I buy a car I always measure the inside to make sure my art will fit in.
Multiple stacks of bubble wrap are on high shelves in my laundry room out of the way of daily living.

Hubby Dave and I brought home all the artwork from my solo show at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie. I began driving in the pouring rain for an hour before it let up and by the time we arrived at the site, the rain had stopped altogether. After that three-hour drive, we took all the art off the walls, wrapped it in bubble wrap, and loaded it in my car. We also had prints and notecards that had been for sale in their gift shop. The drive home was only 2 ½ hours and we made it home before dark. We unloaded the car and carried everything upstairs to my studio on the second floor of our home. It took considerable time over two days to retrieve the work, drive it home, tote it upstairs, unwrap it, rehang what we could and stow away the packing material and the rest of the artwork. This is decidedly the unglamorous part of being a showing artist.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for solo and group shows in 2026 and 2027.
Check my News & Exhibitions page for additional information.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.
It will feature digital artwork, oil paintings, and a multimedia installation.

This Week in the Studio – September 7-13, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Weekly Wrap-Up: Studio Glimpses September 7-12, 2026

This was a full week, bookended by an ending and a beginning. Monday, I spent the day writing. My MailChimp newsletter went out, and pulling it together meant taking stock of everything at once: the Locust Grove show closing, the Ceres Gallery show opening November 3rd, my latest Substack article, and the piece just published in Sanctuary Magazine. Seeing it all in one place is a little exhausting, but I do love the work.

I ordered binder clips for the installation project. The wrong size arrived, then the right ones showed up the next day without me leaving my desk. In the 1970s, finding the right material meant driving from store to store. Now it arrives at the door.

The custom-printed fabric for the installation is pinned up, but it still needs hemming, and I don’t sew. Iron-on hemming tape has arrived, so that’s next.

I also solved a problem with my video setup. My gimbal keeps the camera steady while I’m walking, but close-ups of flowers were unsteady since my arm alone can’t hold still. A monopod to mount the gimbal on turned out to be exactly what I needed: light, easy to adjust, inexpensive.

Wednesday, 9/11, some days you want nothing more than flowers, nature, and time to remember.

The week closed out at Locust Grove. After three months there, the show ended on Saturday. Dave and I drove up from Long Island, three hours each way, and packed everything ourselves, paintings, drawings, prints, note cards, the print racks, and the baskets. The lifting wasn’t bad, we both work out with weights at the gym a few days a week, but six hours of driving in one day is not my idea of a good time. But it’s done now and we got home safe and sound!

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for multiple solo and group exhibitions in 2026 & 2027.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.

September 12, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

This is the last day of the show at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie NY. It’s been there since the beginning of June. The summer sure went fast!  Hubby Dave and I drove upstate from our home in Long Island which is about a three hour drive. We took down the work, wrapped it in our bags of bubble wrap and loaded the car. We had paintings and  drawings for the main show and prints, and note cards they sold in their gift shop. There were also two wooden print racks and numerous baskets for displaying the work in their shop for us to pack. The car was not entirely full so there were no obstructed views which made for safer driving. Since we both work out with weights at the gym a few times each week, the lifting, carrying and packing weren’t too difficult. The driving was what was tiring. Six hours round trip with me behind the wheel is not my idea of fun.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for two solo exhibitions and a few group shows in 2026. My solo exhibition, “Portraits From My Garden” at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, was on view from June 5 – September 12, 2026. In November, 2026 I will have work in the Queens College Alumni Show and at Guild Hall in East Hampton, Long Island. Check my News & Exhibitions page for additional information.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.
It will feature digital artwork, oil paintings, and a multimedia installation.

Mary Ahern Featured in Locust Grove Solo Art Exhibition

Mary Ahern Artist

Award-Winning Northport Artist, Mary Ahern, has been selected for a Solo Exhibition at the Locust Grove Historic Site in Poughkeepsie, NY

Portraits From My Garden

June 5, 2026 – September 12, 2026

Opening Reception: Sunday, June 7, 2026. 1-3 PM

Locust Grove Historic Site

2683 South Road

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

p. 845-454-4500

Website: lgny.org

Locust Grove Historic Site

Mary Ahern, the renowned Northport artist, has been invited to display her award-winning Flower Portraits at the historic Locust Manor Historic Site in Poughkeepsie, NY, for a two-and-a-half-month solo exhibition. With degrees in both Fine Art and Horticulture, Mary has discovered that cultivation and creation are inseparable — her garden serving as both muse and teacher, its cycles of growth, senescence, and rebirth informing everything that emerges in her studio. Working in bold scale and vivid detail, she layers pigments to capture not just what flowers look like, but what they feel like, blending abstraction and realism into luminous paintings that pulse with life and color. Her Flower Portraits are celebrations of beauty and resilience, love letters to the natural world that invite viewers to look beyond surface appearances and discover their own connection to the living world around them.

“Dance With Me – Calla Lily” 30×24″ Gallery Wrapped Oil on Canvas. $2,750

Solo Art Exhibition Featuring Mary Ahern – Ceres Gallery, Chelsea, NYC

Mary Ahern Artist

Centering in the Midst of Chaos

Multi-Media Exhibition

November 3 – 28, 2026

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 5, 6:00–8:00 PM
Meet the Artist Reception: Saturday, November 7, 1:00–3:00 PM
Closing Reception: Saturday, November 28, 1:00–3:00 PM

Ceres Gallery

547 West 27th St
Suite 201
New York, NY 10001

Website: CeresGallery.org

Gallery Hours:  Tuesday – Saturday 12 pm – 6 pm 

NEW YORK, NY — Ceres Gallery is pleased to present Centering in the Midst of Chaos, an exhibition of oil paintings, digital artwork, and an immersive installation by artist Mary Ahern.

This exhibition is a multidisciplinary work by Ahern, using paint, pixels, sound, and soil to explore the counterbalance between centering and chaos. It brings together lifelong threads of Ahern’s creative practice, including philosophy, symbolism, and the tension between what can be touched and what can only be seen.

In her oil paintings, Ahern layers magnified florals from her own garden with abstractions drawn from images of the galaxy, inviting contemplation of harmony and balance across both the microcosm and macrocosm of existence. Circles and spheres run through the work and carry many meanings, among them the circle of life, meditation, and safety.

At the center of the exhibition is an immersive installation, A Space for Centering, which recreates on an intimate scale the calming effect of time spent close to plants and flowers, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature.

About Mary Ahern

Mary Ahern is a multidisciplinary artist based in Northport, New York, working across oil painting, digital media, video, and installation. She earned dual degrees in fine arts and horticulture, and spent decades working in computer graphics and technology, combining the eye of an artist with the insight of a scientist.

Ahern’s work has been on view at multiple museums and arboretums, and is held in collections throughout the United States and internationally. She is represented by Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York, and her work is featured on Artsy and Bloomberg Connects.

Ceres Gallery is a feminist, not-for-profit alternative space in New York City dedicated to promoting contemporary women in the arts. Founded to expand opportunities for women artists, Ceres provides an inclusive exhibition space that raises public awareness and challenges the limited access women often face in commercial galleries.

This Week in the Studio – August 31-September 6, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Weekly Wrap-Up: Studio Glimpses

This week the installation for Centering in the Midst of Chaos started to become real. The custom-printed fabric arrived, and after a nervous day of not opening the package, I finally cut into it. The colors are bright, just as I’d hoped, printed from the centers of my oil and digital paintings. White doesn’t print, so a few petals will need some imagination to complete, but I’m not letting that small miss slow me down.

By Saturday I was up on the stepstool pinning the panels to the front of the installation to test my idea. It worked. The two panels match in size and position, and they’ll form the circle of circles at the entry just as I designed it. Next comes measuring and hemming, and I’m deciding whether to try iron-on tape myself or hand the job to a seamstress. Sewing has never been my thing, and I’ve made peace with that. We can’t be good at everything.

I also spent a full day recording the statements for each of the oil paintings in the show. It turned out to be harder than I expected, closer to acting or narrating an audiobook than writing. I wrote each statement first, then read it aloud maybe ten times before I felt ready, and it still took several tries per recording to get one I liked. Sitting up straight and breathing from the diaphragm made all the difference, something I hadn’t thought about since I played the trumpet.

In between, I spent a day at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum filming dahlias for the installation video, bees included. And my article for Sanctuary Magazine, on slow looking as a counterbalance to chaos, was published, which feels like it’s speaking directly to the work happening in the studio right now.

Scroll down to see all the Studio Glimpses for a behind the scenes view of how an exhibition comes together.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for three exhibitions. My solo exhibition, “Portraits From My Garden” at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, from June 5 – September 12, 2026, and my work for the group show, “Raising Women’s Voices” in Chelsea, NYC which was on view until July 18, 2026.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.

This Week in the Studio – August 24-30, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Weekly Wrap-Up: Studio Glimpses

This week the installation moved from idea to something I could actually see working. I placed the order for my artwork to be printed on sheer curtain fabric that I’m planning to hang on the frame of the installation. I made myself press “Place the order” despite every voice in my head insisting I wasn’t ready yet. A large part of my week was trading iMovie for CapCut. The new video editor is so feature rich that I watched a lot of tutorials to find what I needed. Learning a new set of tools mid-project because the new editor is more versatile with horizontal and vertical aspect ratios added many additional hours to my work week that I hadn’t expected. Editing is its own craft, full of decisions. Sorting through many years worth of image and video content, writing captions and storylines, deciding on music for the background ambiance, and selecting the right transitions to use between clips. By the end of the week, the video draft for the display monitor in the installation was live on the Raspberry Pi. Headphones were connected and working as expected. The monitor booted up and automatically displayed the video draft I created. A power strip was mounted safely in a basket underneath the table, and all the electronics are controlled with the flick of one switch, including the water fountain. By the end of the week, I finished editing My New World – Anemone Redux, a video following one painting from 2018 to its 2024 revision. I hosted it on Vimeo rather than YouTube, which I’ll use for all the videos I create for the exhibition since it has no distracting advertising. Having a working system was a huge step to reducing the stress I’ve felt about bringing my ideas to fruition.

Scroll down to see all the Studio Glimpses for a behind the scenes view of how an exhibition comes together.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for three exhibitions. My solo exhibition, “Portraits From My Garden” at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, from June 5 – September 12, 2026, and my work for the group show, “Raising Women’s Voices” in Chelsea, NYC which was on view until July 18, 2026.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.

This Week in the Studio – August 17-23, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Weekly Wrap-Up: Studio Glimpses: Week in Review
Week in Review August 17-23,  2026

This week I worked on the entry curtains for my November installation, Centering in the Midst of Chaos. After a meeting with Printree, the fabric printer, I had the fabric specs I needed and built a circular grid in Photoshop of some of my artwork to make an entry statement into the installation. Partway through, I realized I’d made this shape before, over 20 years ago, drawing the Compositae family for my Botanical Illustration Certificate. Circles within circles, decades apart. Different tools, same center.

Sharing the project with my Techspressionism group led me somewhere new too. A member connected my work to the Healing Arts movement, and I’ve been reading the book she recommended, Your Brain on Art, ever since. Slowing down and looking closely has always been at the heart of what I make, in paintings and in my garden alike. I also spent a day sorting out Vimeo versus YouTube, deciding to keep YouTube for my regular videos and host exhibition work on Vimeo instead. I finished the week masking the centers of my artwork in thin transparent layers so they will print on the sheer fabric hanging on the installation. I’m chasing that same sense of transparency in pixels that I’ve always worked toward in paint and also my life.

Scroll down to see all the Studio Glimpses for a behind the scenes view of how an exhibition comes together.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for three exhibitions. My solo exhibition, “Portraits From My Garden” at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, from June 5 – September 12, 2026, and my work for the group show, “Raising Women’s Voices” in Chelsea, NYC which was on view until July 18, 2026.

My next solo exhibition titled “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” will be at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, November 3 – 28, 2026.

June 27, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Once I block in the outline of the drawing of a new oil painting, I then reshape the entire piece to conform to my knowledge of how the flower actually looks in nature. It’s a tightrope walk between my background in botanical illustration and my desire to incorporate abstraction intertwined with the flower. My tendency is always to go for complete accuracy but my artistic side pushes back demanding a different vision. Each painting lands on one side or another of this vision.

On my deck in the morning, the sun catches the brilliance of the Cordyline fruticosa, otherwise called a Ti plant. These changing colors throughout the day always make my heart sing.

To the left of the Cordyline is the squirrel proof bird feeder which gives me endless pleasure watching the feasting and singing of the birds in my garden. The only downside is the chipmunks who also enjoy emptying the feeder since they don’t weigh enough to bring down the metal grid which closes the seed access windows.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for my solo exhibition, “Portraits From My Garden” at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, from June 5 – September 15, 2026, my work for the group show, “Hearing Women’s Voices” at the Ceres Gallery in from June 23. to July 18, 2026, and my upcoming November 2026, solo exhibition titled, “Centering in the Midst of Chaos” in Chelsea, New York City

June 25, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

Tonight was the Opening Reception of the group show, “Raising Women’s Voices” at the Ceres Gallery in Chelsea, NY. I went into the city, that’s what Long Islanders call Manhattan, and then walked along the Highline to the gallery. Getting there earlier than the beginning of the reception was my goal since I wanted to take video of all the artists’ work. I made it in time and then stayed for the actual reception, which was from 6-8 pm. We had a steady flow of visitors, most of whom were very interested in speaking with the artists who were there. I was asked by a few of the visitors what the thematic thread was to my work and the philosophical underpinnings. Some were probably artists themselves and asked specific questions about process. It was an amazing evening engaging with an audience that was able to have higher-level conversations about art. This makes all the efforts we artists put into our work so very worthwhile. The door-to-door round trip to the gallery and home is between 4 ½ and five hours for me, depending on traffic and catching the right train.

My Cosmic Phalaenopsis oil painting was on view along with the work of the other gallery artists. It’s so great to be showing in a gallery in Chelsea, the heart of the art scene in NYC. A fifty-year dream come true.
So many people were spending time looking and talking about the art. It was so uplifting.
Walking along the Highline back to Penn Station for the trip home was such a welcome, relaxing mix of nature and New York City.

I began this daily journal in February, 2026 as I prepared for my solo exhibition at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, from June 5 – September 15, 2026, my work for the group show at the Ceres Gallery in from June 23. to July 18, 2026, and my upcoming November 2026, solo exhibition in Chelsea, New York City

June 15, 2026

Mary Ahern Artist

My solo exhibition, in Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie had an opening reception last weekend. That reception was attended by Myrna Haskell, Founder and Executive Editor of Sanctuary Magazine. In this month’s edition of Sanctuary, Myrna featured a column titled, Event Hop. She wrote about one of the pieces in the exhibition that drew her eye repeatedly. This is what she wrote:

“I attended the opening reception for Mary Ahern’s solo exhibition at Locust Grove Historic Site titled “Portraits From My Garden.” I hadn’t viewed so many of Mary’s works together in one space before, and it was a delight. The vibrant colors and attention to light and texture drew me in.

I asked Mary about her piece ‘We Are Sisters.’ She shares, ‘All of my works tell a story. This painting is about two sisters, and it demonstrates how one outshines the other. An inspiration was Bette Midler’s song ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ Who is the vocal one? Who shies away from attention? You’ll notice that the warmer reds are used in the flower in the foreground, while the other is slightly faded.’ 

Click here to read the entire article on the free online Sanctuary Magazine, Event Hop

This is a daily journal of my solo exhibition at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, NY, from June 5 – September 15, 2026, my work in the group show at the Ceres Gallery in June, and my upcoming November solo exhibition in Chelsea, New York City.

Mary Ahern Artist

November 20 – December 21, 2025
1200 NY-25A, Stony Brook, NY 11790


The Museum is open: Thursday: 11:30 am to 7:00 pm & Friday–Sunday: Noon to  5:00 pm

Reception: Thursday, November 20th from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m

The Long Island Museum and LIMarts are thrilled to present Common Ground, celebrating the vibrant creativity of our region’s artists.

For generations, LIM  has served as a gathering place where people of all ages come together to experience the art, history, and culture that define our region. This year’s exhibition centers on the theme of Common Ground, an exploration of shared spaces, community, environment, and cultural connection.

Each artist was invited to reflect on what Common Ground means to them—whether it’s rooted in land, identity, gathering, or personal connection. The exhibition invites visitors to consider how we may share commonalities with one another and discover something new about ourselves along the way. While Long Island itself is our shared foundation, every artist brings their own story and perspective to life here.

LIMarts is a special initiative dedicated to supporting and showcasing the exceptional visual artists who call Long Island home—from Brooklyn to Montauk and beyond. This annual exhibition celebrates the diversity, creativity, and talent that make our community so extraordinary.

Cosmic Camellias. 24×36″ Gallery Wrapped Oil on Canvas. $3,000.

Cosmic Camellias Statement:

This artwork sparks a vital conversation that reflects the interconnectedness and delicate balance within both the microcosm of my garden and the macrocosm of the cosmos. These identifiable floral Images are glazed and intertwined with my abstract underpaintings inspired by the visuals of the universe.

By recognizing the delicate balance required for both terrestrial and celestial ecosystems to thrive, I aim to provide a visual context for understanding the essential balance necessary to sustain life’s intricate harmony across all scales – from the tiniest flower to the grandest galaxy.

Through this layered, evocative imagery, I invite viewers to pause, contemplate, and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the fragile yet resilient web of life that sustains our world and cosmos.

Pigments of Your Imagination at the Art League of LI

Mary Ahern Artist

Juried into this dynamic exhibition by Joshua Ruff, Co-Director of the Long Island Museum of Art, is my oil painting, Phantasm – Coral Peony.

“Phantasm – Coral Sunset Peony”, a 36×36″ oil painting, is a vivid celebration of life’s vibrant energy inspired by the peonies that enchant my garden. Imagine a dynamic dance of colors—pink, yellow, and orange petals that swirl with a captivating grace, all harmoniously converging towards a lively green center. The energy in the petals encircling the center of the flower also represents the feeling humans have when they are moved by emotions. This piece is about celebrating movement and color, capturing the very essence of a flower in full bloom. It invites you to step into a world where every brushstroke is infused with the joy and wonder of nature’s beauty. I hope it inspires a moment of reflection and connection to the natural vibrancy all around us.

Phantasm – Coral Sunset. 36×36″ Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas.

Mary Ahern Artist

Imagination ’25 Exhibition at the Mills Pond Gallery in St. James, NY

This is a very interesting show to see. Very unusual and perfect for the Halloween season.

My work was juried into this “Imagination” exhibition but the other work in this show is very, very different in style. There are many excellent and imaginative works for you to see. Give yourself a treat and go to see this fascinating show.

Mills Pond Gallery, 660 New York 25A, St James, NY. Gallery Open, Wed-Fri, 10-4pm. Sat & Sun, 12-4pm