Public Galleries and recent shows: Hospital for Special Care, "Joy of Art", Friends of Elizabeth Park Pond House Gallery, West Hartford Housatonic Valley Artist Collective show, Danbury Art for Aids, Art Space, Hartford The Town and County Club, Hartford Windsor Art Center Art Walk, West Hartford Avon Massage Therapy Center The Arts Center of Killingworth Fall Festival The Windsor Historical Society The McCauley Gallery, West Hartford, CT Yale-New Haven Hospital Art Place Gallery - Juried show and permanent collection New Milford Hospital Foundation - commissioned work Enlightened Professionals Center, Bloomfield, CT The Travelers Insurance Co - Cliff House Weaving, Avon, CT
Artist Residencies and Workshops
Virginia at The Montessori School of Greater Hartford
Virginia offers workshops and week long residencies for children and adults in fine arts, theatre arts and healing arts. Her recent art residencies at The Montessori School of Greater Hartford were the inspiration for her children's picture book series.
Picturebook series "The Flying Phlox"
As an artist and storyteller, I am very interested in inspiring childrens' imaginations. Children are not only engaged in the telling of the story, but are brought into the garden of the imagination through the beautiful illustrations depicted throughout the books.
"The Flying Phlox" is the first book in the series. Recently published is the second book in the series, "The Very Lonely Garden". It is a wonderful feel good story staring a pet dragon and has a wonderful nature them as well. To book a program and book signing, contact Virginia through this site.
Book Review from the "Hartford" magazine written by Marion Dooling: "West Hartford resident Virginia Lynn Anderson is an artist, storyteller and musician. Her first in a planned series of books, "The Flying Phlox" focuses on a flower's amazing adventures of sight and sound as it flies around enjoying the rhythm of life in the garden and surrounding fields. Based on a single painting, Anderson's book is full of the music and sounds of a garden and is sure to delight any young reader or listener." Thank you, Marion!
Virginia Lynn Anderson (Eland'Ra) is a self-taught artist who works with the spiritual and natural realms to create her paintings. She began her adventures in art in the late 70's when she was commissioned by The Travelers Insurance Company to create a large 18' x 9' weaving for their Cliff House in Avon, Connecticut. During the course of creating the weaving, Virginia was hired as an interior designer by the architect who was working on the Cliff House renovation. Her work with textiles shifted from creating woven pieces to designing corporate interiors for the next twelve years. It was not until the early 90's that she was inspired to capture the majesty of a summer sunset using her son's crayons and a notecard. From that inspired moment she began to explore watercolors and works on paper. Her paintings have continued to grow in expression through a wide variety of media that includes oil paintsticks, watercolors, pastels, acrylics and oil pastels. While many of her paintings are created though the visionary process, she also receives inspiration through her intimate connection with the natural world.
"My landscape paintings become living works of art as each element reveals itself, reflecting the changes with each season. The painting is frozen in time, yet beneath the paint the journey still lives and breathes waiting to be discovered by the viewer."
Virginia's work as an artist in resident allows her to share her many creative talents with adults and children. She often works with her husband, Craig Norton providing therapeutic music, community drum circles and creative arts integrated programs for schools, hospitals, museums and other organizations. Virginia is on the VSA Roster for Teaching Artists in Connecticut.
The name "Eland'Ra" means bringing heaven to earth. It is a spiritual name given to Virginia in meditation. The intent for all of her art is to inspire others, to assist them on their path of awakening to the divine within themselves and to share the beauty of the natural world. As she continues to explore art through new and old media, she weaves her talents as healer, musician and artist bringing inspiration to many on her path of discovery. Her work can be found in public and private galleries, hospitals and corporate collections. She works out of her studio in West Hartford, CT.
