Photos, Paintings at Clayton Center in April

Clayton Photographer Heidi Wood and Fuquay-Varina Artist Roxanna Alexander headline the monthly art exhibit at The Clayton Center during April.

Their work will be on display from 8 to 5 Monday-Friday in the center’s lobby. The show is free and open to everyone.

A free “meet-the-artists” reception is scheduled for April 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Center. Everyone is invited, and dress is casual.

Wood, a Clayton native, got her start in photography in classes at Clayton High School. Although she later earned a degree in business, her love of photography led her to pursue a dream of becoming a professional photographer.

Wood now owns a studio on Main Street—Heidi Wood Photography—and focuses on portraits and weddings. Her exhibit includes portraits made in studio and on location, as well as photos from her annual mission trips to South America. It was there she was able to photograph the Quechua peoples who live in the Andes Mountains, most of whom had never seen a digital camera or been photographed.

Wood, a member of Professional Photographers of America and Professional Photographers of NC, still takes art and photography courses regularly.

She is married, with two daughters. Check out her web site at www.heidiwoodphotography.com.

Alexander, who was born and raised in San Francisco, has been an artist for more than 30 years, teaching art for the last 17. She specializes in watercolor and oils.

Her art connections include juried membership in Artspace of Raleigh, signature membership in the Watercolor Society of NC, and founding member and past president of the Fine Arts League of Cary.

Alexander studied art with oil painter M. Greene in California and watercolorists Frank Webb, Tom Francesconi, Judi Betts, and Miles Batt. She has a degree in landscape architecture and minors in art and civil engineering from Utah State. She lives with three cats and 100-plus Koi (fish), which she paints. In her spare time, she sings with Hillyer Community Chorus.