The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996                 TAG: 9606130188
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 27   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
                                            LENGTH:   93 lines

TWO EXCITING SHOWS GRACE NAGS HEAD GALLERY

Rain pelted the roof just inches from where Mary Crutchfield's work hung. Below the rafters that protected the small gallery from the weather were paintings of all sizes, representing work Crutchfield has completed in the last year.

The sound of water pouring outside was an appropriate backdrop for the show of watercolor and other aquamedia. Within, paint flowed from canvas to canvas as natural and as ready as the rain.

Color puddled up where needed or was swept into a shape or line by the painter's will. Layers of glaze and form were built up and taken away, creating undulating worlds, and from the cool watery motions came sensuous expressions.

Witnessing the Elizabeth City artist's show is like standing at a keyhole peering into a dreamy world. But as the paintings work on you, the barrier evaporates and you find yourself, like Alice in Wonderland, hurtling into a strangely familiar place.

The experience reminded me of when I viewed Marcel Duchamp's last work, ``Etant donnes.'' The piece could only be seen through a wooden door, but inside there was a sensual, life-size scene.

At 54, Crutchfield is very much at ease with her media. She is university educated and has studied extensively with private watercolorists, including Alex Powers and Charles Reid.

She can paint in a realistic style and enjoys traditional transparent watercolor. But in this show, she exposes more of the inner workings of the artist in an abstracted venue, mixing acrylics, watercolors, watercolor pencils and casein.

Images in the work include Greek goddesses, oracles, storms, trees and light.

``I absorb so much when I travel, and just being with people things come out,'' Crutchfield said. ``A lot of what I do is from within, and it erupts.''

Crutchfield is a master at creating tension. In ``The World Stops for a While,'' her windy colors, which blow across the canvas horizontally, are stopped by heavier, vertical skyscraper shapes. You know the pause is temporary because of the vitality of the whisking, white paint itching to go forward.

Crutchfield appreciates change, and the layering method she uses allows more spontaneity than traditional watercolor.

``I have done a couple of shows using layers and addition and subtraction and stuff for the last three years,'' she said. ``Things become so abstract. There are a lot of them that have almost painted themselves.''

Some folks simply don't get what she's doing. But if you spend some time with her work, like a fetus attached to its mother's belly, you receive nourisment.

The room was silent, but there was nothing quiet upstairs at the Ghost Fleet Gallery in Nags Head. Like a chorus of monks chanting praises, Crutchfield's paintings sang.

They spoke of the ancient and the new in the same breath. Figures appeared among the reds and blues, golds and greens, beckoning us to journey with them behind milky layers. The show is a real powerhouse.

Crutchfield has cooked up a pot of primordial stew that I'd gladly order for my last meal.

Showing in the west wing of the Ghost Fleet Gallery are works by the versatile Edith Deltgen. The alcove is alive with mirrors framed by colorful paper-cast fish sculptures; stark white figures adorned with driftwood; and soft pastels of cows, lambs, flowers and trees.

It's evident that Deltgen has a deep love for nature. She includes the human element in her work - but not as the central theme.

Her roadside altars, antique shadow boxes that combine pastel-drawn flowers and found objects, are definite statements but appear as non-judgmental creations despite the manmade trash included.

There is an overpowering sense of mythology and love for the timeless in Deltgen's sensitive art. MEMO: The Crutchfield show runs through Aug. 3. The Deltgen show will

hang until July 6. ILLUSTRATION: Nothing's quiet upstairs at

the Ghost Fleet

Gallery in

Nags Head

where artist

Mary Crutchfield

of Elizabeth City

is exhibiting

her paintings.

Like a chorus

of monks

chanting praises,

Crutchfield's

paintings sing.

The show runs

through Aug. 3.

Photo by

MARY ELLEN RIDDLE by CNB