Award winning artist Claire Millett Lima announces her elaborate new series entitled USER FRIENDLY MAGIC MAKING, with a kick-off party at the Worklery on Friday, November 4th, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and will include wine and hors ‘d’oeuvres, a raffle benefiting Boston CASA, a scavenger hunt with prizes and a photobooth. The Art Show continues on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. with live demonstrations by the artist.

In this series of over 30 sculptures, Lima aims to embody the sacredness of the natural world as it is, not just in forests and parks but humming all around us. Wild urban plants are harvested from the edges of parking lots, beside train tracks and beneath power lines and transformed into lavish, harmonious forms which transport the viewer into an enchanting realm of the overlooked and undesirable and endeavor to shift our perception to one of surrender without resignation.

“There is wisdom in the adaptability of plants like sumac, mullein and milkweed. They are outsiders or “invasives” who have not only staked a claim for themselves but provide important ecological services to humanity.” says Lima. “Through my sculptures, I want to honor them by elevating them to a place of beauty and unity. There is also the connection to place which is forged when I’m gathering materials. Those gnarly looking patches next to the highway that I pass on my commute have been reshaped into places of meaning, places I’ve shared an experience with.”

About the Artist: Claire Millett Lima is a mixed media sculpture artist who was raised in the coastal town of Newport, Oregon and now lives with her family in Saugus, MA. Her sculptures serve as beautifully distorted maps of her contact with the terrain and examinations of the human dimensions of place attachment. Claire seeks to impart the emotional bonds and meaning of place attachment, in the broader sense of nature connectedness, to the children she works with as an advocate with Boston CASA. Claire has seen that in inconsistent situations, an intimacy with natural surroundings can foster an immediate sense of support, connection and meaning.