A newly donated international collection by Betty LaDuke is the core and inspiration for this new Folklife Gallery exhibition with selections added from the Folk Arts Collections celebrating the art of local women. Celebrating women’s creative hands and spirits is an exploration into the ways in which daily life has been translated into a woman’s art. Memories, experiences, local culture, and natural surroundings all contribute to the creative spirits of local women who draw on their various skills and materials to reflect life through art and fine craft. Some work from traditions passed down through the generations, while others are inspired by the land that surrounds them and the cultures that have been nourished by it. Most of these women gather their materials from what is at hand and use them to interpret their life experiences, creating a physical form that becomes both practical and symbolic. By sharing their skills with children, students, and peers these women honor the folk traditions of the past while enriching the creative spirits of the present, which both grounds us and frees us. Special thanks to Jeromy McFarren, guest curator & Empire State College intern, & to the Children's & Reference staff for collaborative programing for this exhibition. The Folklife Center's free programs are made possible by funding from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust, the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, the Friends of Crandall Public Library, and the New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.