“Faces in Harmony”: Chaffee celebrates community expressions – Rutland Herald

The theme “Faces” brought in close plans of cats, people in thoughtful moments, a 2-inch chick in a hat and scarf and a “vegetable face” with smiling pepper and tomatoes.

The artist Gerry Wilkins draws a “chick” in acrylic and produces memory and imagination, not sketches or photos. She also draws a sheep, which peeks away from the sky full of fluffy clouds, on display.

“My daughter and I always look for the clouds to try to see figures from them, that’s where this idea comes from,” she said.

The photo of Kathleen Thompson of a tired soldier holding a dog that is undeniably smiling, entitled “adopted in Kosovo”, will pull your heart strings.

Thompson is an employee of a sergeant in the National Guard of the Vermont Army and in 2021 was located for 12 months in Kosovo as part of NATO’s peacekeeping mission.

“I was located at the KFO base in the town of Printh, Kosovo, along with about 30 other soldiers in Vermont,” she said in an email. “Sundays were our only weekends. We were able to take a day pass to leave the base and we found a local dog shelter quite 20 minutes from the base quite early.

“This may not seem like a big deal, as we have animal shelters in most cities in the US,” Thompson said. “This is not the case in Kosovo. Dogs are not loved and are more viewed as pests. There are so many homeless in the city and … even more heartbreaking is that … it was not uncommon to see dead dogs on the side of the road or wounded dogs and many times I could not help my missions. “

When Thompson finds a shelter for dogs in a nine that manages to help hundreds of homeless every year, although it works from an outdoor place with limited supplies, it has become a regular visit.

“Most Sundays we would go to the shelter and bring donations for food and toys and play, choke, feed the dogs,” she said. “I have never communicated with one who was evil – they all just wanted attention and to be loved. It was also a great impetus to morality to be away from our families and loved ones. “

When Thompson took the photo “Adopted in Kosovo”, she said, “My girlfriend and my colleague Vartar soldier Joey and I visited the shelter and noticed a little puppy. She was so scared. She was hiding in one of the dog boxes. Joey made her go out and he picked her up to hold her, and all the time, we noticed that she was smiling visibly (as in the picture). It was only about 15 minutes of him, who kept her when he announced to me, “This is my dog. She goes home.

A visit to the shelter “Facilitated the hard days and it filled my glass and heart in days when it couldn’t much else,” said Thompson. “I still send donations to the shelter for dogs in a nest.”

The dog’s smile tells the story of the photo she shot. With all the faces in the show you will wonder at their stories – but let the feeling that you know your community only a little more.