BY PAULA MONTGOMERY

Special to The Pilot

North Carolina artists Judith Ernst, Delia Keefe and Miriam Sagasti are the featured artists for January at the Campbell House Galleries.

Judith Ernst has painted, published -illuminated books, and lived and traveled extensively in Asia and Europe. She now works primarily in ceramics at her home studio in Chapel Hill.

"I draw images from the deep well of past experience, always starting from a strong mind's eye vision," says Ernst. "My pieces are large and labor intensive, mostly on stoneware with its possibilities for rich colors and textures and one-of-a-kind pieces.

"Conceptually, my work references the use of clay and the vessel form as a metaphor in ancient art and literature to convey metaphysical meaning. But the sensibility of my work is really neither traditional nor modern."

Ernst's ceramic pieces have been shown in various exhibitions in North Carolina and are represented in private collections in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. A catalog of her ceramic work was published by the Turkish Women's Cultural Association in Istanbul in December 2009.

Delia Ware Keefe has studied painting and printmaking for many years. She earned a bachelor's degree in studio art and art -history at Emmanuel College in Boston. She studied graduate printmaking at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her work has been featured in numerous shows in the Raleigh-Durham area.

"I express myself artistically by creating hand-pulled prints, paintings and -drawings," says Keefe. "I begin making my art by studying the shapes, textures and forms of organic objects. Through studying their unique forms, I develop designs and abstractions.

"My images express personal feelings, beliefs and relationships metaphorically. I create atmosphere through the use of color and abstracted design.

"Camouflage and the metamorphosis of forms intrigue me."

Chapel Hill artist Miriam Sagasti is a -regular exhibitor at the Campbell House. She was born and raised in Lima, Peru, and emigrated to the U.S. with her husband and children in 1978. She graduated in Peru with a degree in interior design. She has also studied graphic design, illustration, photography and landscape design.

"My work reflects my diverse influences, experiences and images from my travels around the world," says Sagasti. "The bright colors from my birth country, Peru, inspire my landscape paintings. A love of nature and gardening are reflected in each of my botanical paintings, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil. My sense of humor and playfulness animate the art I create for children's books, magazines, and jigsaw puzzles."

Sometimes art is about rediscovery and after more than a decade away from her kiln, Sagasti has recently returned to working with enamels on metal, experimenting with new techniques and combining different media, such as acrylics and enamels, to make interesting compositions.

"Of the Earth," featuring works by Judith Ernst, Delia Keefe and Miriam Sagasti, opens Friday, Jan. 4, with a reception to meet the artists from 6 to 8 p.m. The reception is hosted by Jean Webster and is free and open to the public.

The exhibit is on display through Jan. 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

The galleries will be closed on Monday, Jan. 21, in observance of a federal holiday.

The Campbell House Galleries are located at 482 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines.

For more information about the exhibit, contact the Arts Council of Moore County at (910) 692-2787 or visit the -website www.moore art.org.