WSA July Artist of the Month – Meet Dayle Bodnar
Dayle Bodnar’s artistic talent was quickly identified at a young age. When she was eleven, her mother asked the high school art teacher to give Dayle lessons after school. While she felt “very young” and sometimes out of place, her ability was clear. In the Bodnars’ sun-filled family room, hangs a beautiful oil painting of a bird. Bodnar recollects, “I painted that when I was twelve.” It hung in her grandmother’s home until her passing. 
Dayle actually stopped painting while she herself was in high school, but minored in Painting at Southern Connecticut State where she majored in Education. Thus began a long career in education and another nice foundation for her artwork. Bodnar earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education at Boston University and after working at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, earned a second Master’s in teaching the hearing impaired. She worked for many years at the Boston School for the Deaf and most recently she worked for 23 years as a teacher at Christ Church Nursery School in Wellesley. Throughout her long career, her lovely personality and love of art have touched many lives.
Bodnar’s husband has always been her greatest supporter. She took a couple of breaks from teaching after having their daughter and son. During this time, she enjoyed Mom’s Night Out on Tuesdays when she took watercolor lessons from Natick painter Davis Carroll. With Carroll, Dayle quickly mastered the technique of watercolor on rice paper, a delicate and beautiful medium. These elegant works of art also adorn her home today. 
Dayle first joined the WSA as an exhibiting member in the 1980’s and after devoting her time to parenting and teaching, she rejoined the society in 2106. She frequently exhibits her latest works for which she has won multiple awards. Bodnar also donates paintings to local charities and works on the WSA Hospitality Committee serving both the community and the members who attend our many events. She is very grateful for the many friendships she has made through this fellowship.
Bodnar has always enjoyed the camaraderie and shared interests of other artists. Today she is happy to have reconnected with her original painting group in Natick. She continues to take lessons now with Maris Platais and has switched mediums again to acrylic paint. She also reads a great deal about art when she is not actually painting. Bodnar reflects, “There is always something new to learn.” She also enjoys paintings with others and looking at the process from different points of view. A lifelong learner as well as teacher, her inspiration has always been nature: “Although nature surrounds us, it takes some practice and concentration to see what is there, how elements relate to one another, and how color can be used to express what the eye sees. I am also intrigued by the process of showing distance on flat canvas and enjoy this challenge.”
Artist Vasilia Laskaris’ years of drawing and painting are inextricably bound to her love of family, friends, acquaintances and the dwellings and landscapes they adore. Growing up she was inspired by her father who was a mural painter, and began her studies at Mundelein College, now Loyola University of Chicago. She recalls, ” a teacher there told me to keep on painting,” and that she did. She completed her post-graduate work at the Art Institute of Chicago and became certified as an Art Specialist.
Lori became interested in art at a very young age. She recalls a memorable visit to her grandmother’s house when she and her older sister wanted to color the same page in a coloring book. Determined to color the same image as her sister, Lori drew the dog that her sister was coloring freehand on a blank sheet of paper. Lori remembers, “My grandmother took me aside, and with a very serious tone, told me I was talented. I share this because it’s easy to forget how sincere words of encouragement can stay with someone for a lifetime.”
When Lori had children, she switched gears to become a stay-at-home mom while hand painting furniture as a creative outlet. With her children grown, she reignited her artistic passion in oil painting. Within a very short time, she has won over 25 awards for her paintings in local and national shows and last year was juried in as a member of the esteemed Copley Society of Art in Boston. Lori also shows her work as a Gallery Artist at Beacon Gallery also in Boston. She is grateful to encouraging mentors Catherine Kehoe and Nancy Colella.