A community member steps past the entrance to the Veterans Day Art Show at the War Memorial Building on Veterans Day. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Veterans Day Art Show returned for its second year to the War Memorial Building this past week, featuring the creative abilities of multiple military veterans in the Eastern Panhandle.

For its host, the Shepherdstown Community Club (SCC), the show served as a platform to highlight the multifaceted veteran experience and the important role art plays in healing many veterans from trauma.

“Celebrate our veteran artists, view inspiring works and mark Veterans Day in a meaningful way. Join us for a special art exhibition honoring our veterans and their creative talents,” said SCC President Carrie Blessing.

The works of three local veterans were featured in this year’s show: U.S. Air Force veteran and mixed media artist Sandra Lynch; acrylic painter William Clark; acrylic and oil painter Tawana Proctor-Heltzel; and U.S. Marine Corps veteran and mixed media artist Kimberly Workman.

For Workman, as soon as she heard that the Veterans Day Art Show was being held for a second year-in-a-row, she began thinking of which of her recent works of art she would want to submit. She wanted to make sure those who had attended the show last year would see that it was not a repeat of the same thing this year. And, considering the recent change in her artistic style, she knew that would not be a hard thing to accomplish.

A card, featuring a soldier in fatigues, hangs on one of the walls in the Veterans Day Art Show at the War Memorial Building on Veterans Day. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“My art tends less toward realism than it did last year,” Workman said. “For a long time, I was of the mindset that art had to look like something specific, but restricting myself to this way of thinking left me unfulfilled. I discovered that I was missing something vital to me. I needed to push myself to do things that made me uncomfortable. Once I gave myself permission to do these things, to ‘color outside the lines,’ I began to have so much fun.”

Clark’s art, in contrast, was hyper realistic, featuring images of buildings, boats national parks.

“My life experience, though quite varied, has really helped me in becoming the person I am today,” Clark said in a recent interview by the Shepherd University Picket. “Time changes things and opportunities may not always appear on the horizon, but if you do your best at whatever it is that you have to do, eventually an opportunity will open up for you to fulfill those dreams and desires.”

Also featured in the show were letters and cards, which had been creatively crafted for veterans to read by local elementary school students.

"Orbs," by veteran Tawan Proctor-Heltzel, was painted with acrylic and oil on canvas. Photo by Tabitha Johnston