Wellesley Society of Artists

August WSA Artist of the Month – Meet Yale Nicolls

Yale Nicolls grew up on the water in Darien, Connecticut to a family of art lovers. Both of her parents had painted earlier in their lives, but Yale mainly recalls their interest in acquiring fine art. As a child she spent a good deal of time in the smoke-filled rooms of auction houses where her mother often left with treasured pieces of art which now line the corridors of the Nicolls’ home. While she had no formal training until later in life, Yale fondly remembers making carvings from Ivory soap when she wasn’t swimming or playing tennis.

Nicolls had a great deal of success on the tennis court and met her husband Jim at a national match at Longwood at age 15. While she dated other people during college, it was always Jim who kept her interest with his prolific correspondence. She attended University of Southern California where she played tennis and then transferred to Barnard graduating with a degree in Philosophy. She and Jim reunited, married and finally settled in Wellesley. Nicolls taught tennis along the way and racked up 20 years as a professional at the Wellesley Tennis Association. Five children and a lot of Play-Doh sessions later, Yale’s interests in Arts and Crafts was renewed.

Nicolls, always game to try a new hobby, did more than her share of community service in Wellesley. She joined the Garden Club in the 1990’s and served on the Board of the Wellesley Arts and Crafts Guild. Creating Folk Art Santas became one of her specialties. In 2001, Yale decided to take a Watercolor class at the Danforth Museum under Elizabeth Magilligan, with whom she painted for many years. She also learned critical skills from classes such as “So You Think You Can’t Draw” and “Drawing from the Right Side of Your Brain.” When Magilligan stopped teaching, she began the “Watercolor Connection” for her advanced students including Nicolls.

Nicolls joined the WSA in 2004 and has served on the board as secretary, then president and now secretary again. She saved the WSA from dissolution when she first took over as president and served in this capacity for a total of 8 years, including years when she co-presided with Bobbie Suratt. Nicolls has now mastered acrylic painting working with Maris Platais. It is no surprise that one of her favorite subjects is the ocean, especially the coast of Maine, though all of nature is an inspiration for Yale. Their beloved dogs and capturing each one’s distinctive personalities on canvas provide endless motivation for this artist.

In addition to her many accomplishments, Nicolls is a signature member of the New England Watercolor Society as well as the Rhode Island Watercolor Society and still paints regularly with the Watercolor Connection in Natick. She has exhibited in a number of juried National and Regional Shows. A new award has just been established by the WSA in honor of Nicolls in recognition for her years of service and leadership. The “Yale Nicolls Award for Interpretation of the Natural World” will be awarded annually at the WSA Fall Library Show.

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.”

June Artist of the Month – Meet Vasilia Laskaris

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.

Vasilia married and moved to Needham, where she and her husband raised three girls. As they grew up, she began her fifteen-year teaching career in the Boston and Needham Public Schools, encouraging youth to value art. During this time she “kept on painting and drawing”, just as her teacher had instructed.  Vasilia moves easily between several mediums including pastels, oil, watercolor, acrylic and charcoal. Her choice of medium is dependent on subject matter and mood, although she has a particular fondness of portraiture. She has kept busy throughout her life with commissioned portraiture of all ages.

The Laskaris family has a second home in Greece, where both the people and the landscape are among Vasilia’s favorite subjects. I looked at a painting which really touched me as it reminded me of my grandmother. She recalled, “A woman bought that painting because it reminded her of her own grandmother.” She is keenly adept at capturing familiar archetypes, as well as individual nuances and personality. One of her favorite paintings of a family friend (seen below) is an example of Vasilia’s love and skill in the area of portraiture. 

In addition to being an exhibiting member of the Wellesley Society of Artists, she is also a member of the Needham Art Association, and a former “Copley Artist” as a member of the prestigious Copley Society of Boston. Laskaris has exhibited and received many awards for her work.  She has had sixteen one-woman shows and has portraits and paintings in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, South America and Europe. The homes of her three daughters are galleries of her beloved works including self-portraits and portraits of her husband, children and grandchildren.

Meet WSA Artist of the Month – April… Nina Jordan

Nina was born in Zurich, Switzerland where she developed a love of art and culture from an earlier time. At the age of eighteen, she studied Art, as well as French and Russian in Geneva. After school she married and moved to Framingham, MA to begin a family. She and her husband still live in their first home where they raised six children together.

Nina has always focused on portraiture, landscapes and still life and admires the work of the Impressionists. Throughout her adult life, Nina has always painted, drawn and crafted. With her children, she created classical papier mache puppets which now adorn a glass case in her home. She has studied drawing, painting and pastels at the Danforth Museum School, the Boston Museum School and Framingham State College. She has been active in community artist groups and displays her work whenever possible.

Nina has won many awards for her portraits and landscapes of iconic Boston and MetroWest scenes. Most treasured are portraits of all of her family members. She painted one of her daughters in the style of the Mona Lisa. She has painted her five girls, her son and her grandchildren. She adds whimsical outdoor backgrounds to her lustrous and radiant faces. Nina is able to sensitively portray all ages and displays a deeply touching pastel portrait of her elderly mother in her studio.

Nina now works on commission creating family and individual portraits. She is especially fond of the portrait she painted of her own family which now hangs in their sun-lit family room. “It reminds me of old family portraits that hang in museums,” she says and hopes that this family heirloom will have a similar longevity.

Currently Nina keeps busy with several artist societies and portrait groups in Natick, Framingham and Wayland. Nina loves that her art work allows her to “forget the outside world” for a while and believes art is therapy…“art therapy it’s called.”

December Artist of the Month – Meet Lori Mehta…

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.”

The first in her family to attend college, Lori was encouraged by this same grandmother to apply for scholarships and pursue her passion. After earning a BFA and MFA in printmaking, she found making a living in fine art to be another challenge. In order to support herself she began a successful career as an award-winning graphic designer.

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.

Lori continues to challenge herself daily to improve her skills and allows her painting style to “evolve naturally.” Lori ponders, “My most successful paintings are those in which I can silence the voices in my head of ‘shoulds’ and ‘art rules’ and just paint…I’ve learned to not let fear get in the way of my dreams. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there-you never know where your work will take you.”