Photo by Eric Taunton.
Maud Coirier Belser talks about her self-portrait at her art gallery at Homewood Cumberland Presbyterian on Feb. 6.
In planning the 10th anniversary celebration of the Joy Gallery at Homewood Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Tom Dameron knew it was also important to celebrate 40 years of friendship with fellow church member Maud Coirier-Belser and to recognize church member Anne Baguley.
On Feb. 6 through March 6 and March 13 through April 13, the Joy Gallery, an art gallery hosted once a month by the Homewood Cumberland Presbyterian Church to showcase the work of artists in the area, will feature the artworks of the longtime church members.
Coirier-Belser’s gallery will start Feb. 6, and Baguley’s gallery will start Feb. 13.
Dameron said Coirier-Belser helped him with the gallery until she began to display pre-dementia symptoms and wasn’t able to contribute any longer.
“She had a ton of artwork stored up at her house from over the years, and I asked her son how he felt about her doing a show because I had an opening for a show in February,” Dameron said. “I thought it would be a sweet thing to do for this lady in this condition. It also helps out the Alzheimer's people because they [people] are preaching the sermon about keeping Alzheimer's patients in regular society instead of sticking them in a hole somewhere and forgetting about them. I think this is a good way to show that we can do that.”
Courier-Belser was born and raised in France and was the daughter of a successful diplomat, Dameron said. When she got married, she moved to the United States and was culture shocked, he said. She had never driven a car or been to a grocery store.
“She became a member of our church and fell right into this because of her art background,” Dameron said. “For the last 10 years, she’s been a perfectly wonderful person to deal with.”
He said even though Coirier-Belser has developed pre-dementia symptoms, she’s still healthy and is able to take care of herself with the help of a caregiver.
“She’s going to be fine for a while,” Dameron said. “We’ll always be friends, and she’ll always be in the church. She might have another show; I don't know. It depends on how she progresses.”
Baguley is a retired school teacher who wasn’t allowed to paint when she was younger, Dameron said. She started to learn to paint and draw when she became an adult and became very talented, he said.
“She’s had shows here before, and she’s good at what she does,” Dameron said. “It takes every effort on Derrick and I’s part to get her into this gallery, and she doesn’t have to do anything but bring her artwork; we’re going to handle everything else. That’s another way of celebrating people even though they have something wrong.”
Dameron started the gallery in 2012 after several galleries in the area closed due to a recession, he said. He realized there weren’t any venues available for emerging artists to present their work and decided to start a gallery of his own, he said.
“At one time in my existence on this planet I owned a gallery,” Dameron said. “I knew how to put one together, so I talked to the minister and asked him how he felt about the church using an art gallery as an outreach program where we could involve the community in art and have art in a Christian environment and still cover a need that we had at that time.”
