Stopping and Staring: Recent Works by Lisa Houck

Center for Maine Craft
West Gardiner, Maine
September 25–November 11, 2026

Stopping and Staring brings together linoleum block prints, mosaics, and watercolors inspired by birds, trees, landscapes, and the interconnected rhythms of nature. Across these diverse media, Houck transforms familiar elements of the natural world into imaginative environments where close observation gives way to curiosity and wonder.

“I work in watercolor, oil on wood, ceramics, mosaics and etching. Each medium allows me to invent new ways to express my view of nature through color and pattern. My artwork has been exhibited widely, and is in numerous public and private collections, including The Boston Athenaeum, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Fidelity Investments, four libraries in Broward County Florida, Hale and Dorr, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.” —Lisa Houck

Across these works, Houck connects to nature in such a playful way, that you naturally want to pay close attention. A bird becomes part of a cosmic pattern. A tree takes on a personality. A landscape becomes a place where geological time, seasonal cycles, and imagined worlds coexist. Stopping and Staring celebrates the rewards of close observation and the limitless possibilities that emerge when we take the time to truly look.