By Susanna Huang ’27 

Mercersburg Academy’s Burgin Center for the Arts is pleased to present In the Wild Blue, an exhibition of works by visiting artist Amy Wilson of New Hampshire. The exhibition will be displayed in the Cofrin Gallery now through October 4. Wilson will be on campus September 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for an artist reception, which is open to the public. During her visit, she will also participate in visual arts classes taught by Sydney Caretti P ’24, ’26, arts faculty member and director of galleries at Mercersburg.

Wilson, who serves as chair of the arts department and director of the Galletly Gallery at the New Hampton School, is widely recognized for her explorations in cyanotypes–a photographic printing process that uses a light-sensitive solution to create a detailed blueprint of an object. After sending her current collection to Mercersburg Academy, she immediately began creating additional cyanotype paintings. For future creations, she envisions expanding the scale of her work.

“My goal is to make really large ones involving a cyanotype print on a layer of silk, where they hang from a dowel,” she explained. “As you move by, the person’s energy and motion will help move the silk.”

Wilson originally practiced traditional cyanotype. However, about five years ago, she discovered a new technique called the wet cyanotype process. “I just fell in love with it because the results are so much more unpredictable, but much more rewarding,” she said. “There’s a richness in the texture and a richness in the color that actually comes from the plants themselves.”

As both an artist and educator, Wilson encourages her students to embrace flawed work instead of discarding them. She often reminds the students that each piece may later contribute to something new, becoming a fragment of a larger collage or a future composition.

Wilson’s connection to Mercersburg originated with Caretti. “I answered a call to cover only maternity leave, but then ended up working for her for four years,” Caretti recalled. “We just became incredible friends. She is the artist and art teacher that I dream of becoming.” Though the two connected infrequently over the years, Caretti was intrigued by Wilson’s dynamic cyanotypes from social media and was instantly drawn to the beauty of natural subjects, movement through the composition, and varied textures, as well as areas of Mercersburg blue. 

Later, Caretti picked up the phone to invite Wilson as a featured artist for the Cofrin Gallery. In preparation for the artist exhibition, this past summer, Caretti expanded her professional development and studied the process and the possibilities while attending one of Wilson’s weeklong cyanotype workshops at the artist’s home in the lakes region of New Hampshire.

Through Wilson’s cyanotypes, she hopes to spark a sense of wonder and reverence for the natural world. By working with plants, light, and water, she embraces both intention and surrender, allowing nature itself to guide the outcome of each piece. Her art reflects a deliberate turn toward wild beauty, encouraging viewers to notice and nurture the small wonders that surround them.

The Burgin Center for the Arts is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. To gain access to the show prior to or after the reception, contact Caretti at 717-328-6202 or contact the Office of Campus Safety using the instructions at the front door to be admitted to the Burgin Center.