Art Exhibit at West Woods Highlights Nature-Themed Work

January 8, 2026 by Emma MacNiven

The Geauga Park District is hosting an art show at The West Woods Nature Center featuring the work of artists Marilyn Shaker and Joan Pogalies that showcases nature-themed oil paintings and photography through Feb. 28, 2026.

Pogalies, a Lake County resident who lives along Lake Erie, is presenting her lake-inspired eco-docu-photo art at the exhibition.

Her work includes traditional photographs, stacked images and Rorschach inkblot-style photos, she said in a Dec. 17 interview.

“I wanted to show the original photos that I take because that’s where all my art begins,” she said. “I take those still photos and stack them or flip them or flop them.”

Pogalies said she begins with a single image, then digitally crops, stacks, layers and flips the photographs on her computer before printing the final pieces on metal.

The layered images can include anywhere from 10 to 50 photographs, she said.

“The traditional photographs, you know people know what they are, but when they look at this other work, they see all sorts of things in it,” Pogalies said. “They see robots and insects and people which is what I love. I love to talk to people about what they see.”

Living on the lake allows her to capture nature at a moment’s notice, she said.

“Don’t be surprised if I suddenly have to leave this conversation if a good shot comes up,” she quipped.

Pogalies takes her iPhone everywhere in case the perfect image appears, she said.

Her photograph focuses on birds, water and skies, and she does not alter the images beyond stacking and mirroring them, she said.

“It’s interesting, after doing these, especially the Rorschach ones, I can look at the way the sand and stones are positioned and my brain automatically can see what it would look like as a Rorschach (photo),” Pogalies said. “I can see it flipped over. My brain is so trained, now I see things that way.”

Pogalies has taken photographs her entire life, but she never considered herself a “professional photographer,” she said, adding she wanted to push traditional photography into something more unique.

“I thought, ‘How can I push this? How can I make stones and sand and water and push it into something else?’” she said. “So, that’s what I do. I want to show a different reality of these common things that are around, a different new way to interpret because these things are fleeting. Everything I take a photo of I have to take it immediately or else it will be gone. So, this is a way to freeze time and also show a different reality.”

Marilyn Shaker, a North Royalton resident, is also featured in the show her nature on oil canvas series.

Her daughter, Pam Shaker-Maurer, a Newbury Township resident, has been marketing her work for the past five years following a decline in Marilyn’s health and spoke on her behalf during a Dec. 19 interview.

Marilyn uses oil paints to create floral artwork, seascapes and portraits, Pam said.

“There are some (pieces) that are more textured and chunkier and a bit more abstract,” Pam added.

Marilyn’s use of a variety of color in her artwork often brings joy to viewers, she said.

“Her color, to me, is her gift,” Pam said.

Marilyn’s faith in God also plays a role in her artwork, she added.

“She’ll say to me, ‘Just look at the detail in that flower and how, just how beautiful it is, and God’s creation that he’s made,’” Pam said.

Marilyn also incorporates small details throughout her paintings.

“I’ll look at a piece and she’ll say, ‘(Do you see that little drop of red?’ And maybe my eye didn’t see it, but she’ll tell me how important that is in the scheme of the whole painting,” Pam said.

Marilyn previously signed each piece with “TTGG,” meaning “to the glory of God,” alongside her name, she said.

Both Pogalies’ and Marilyn’s work has been featured in art shows throughout Northeast Ohio.

The artwork is on display daily at The West Woods Nature Center, 9465 Kinsman Road in Russell Township, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.