by Lois Bender
In the Salon Where I Encounter My Mother
Grace Massey has a BA from Smith College and MA in English from Boston University. Her poetry combines careful observation with lyricism and often focuses on the themes of family and loss. Her poems have been published or forthcoming in Thimble, Amethyst Review, Front Porch Review, Vita Brevis, The Dodge, and The Tiger Moth Review. Grace is a retired editor who spends her time writing, taking ballet and Baroque dance classes, and socializing feral cats.
Lois Bender, a long time New Yorker, combines her background in art direction and graphic design with personal expression in drawing, watercolor, photography, and printmaking creating a fresh synthesis of styles. Her art illustration brand GardenSpiritsNY Designs grew out of her Retail Gift Industry experience and her love of nature. Bender’s art practice has explored nature themes in gardens at residencies in France and The Hamptons, NY, as well as at Skowhegan and the Women’s Studio Workshop. With a B.A. from Hunter College, NY and an MFA from Boston University, she teaches art and watercolor techniques and exhibits her work in the Metro NY area. She is an Art Professor at Essex County College in Newark, NJ and has an art studio in Manhattan. She is an urban and garden sketcher who celebrates nature in all its poetic and ephemeral expressions. www.LoisBenderArt.com