Alabel next to the colorful painting of Indian women displayed at the Silver Circle Studio in Putnam reads, “Painting is an excellent medium to express one’s inner feelings – to convert the intangible of us into tangible.” The studio located on Main Street had a reception for the artists who participated in an exhibition entitled “Forms and Figures” on Thursday, Feb. 19.

Local artists participated in the show, which is a collection of conventional paintings, photographs and alternate art, that reflects different facets of human shapes and figures.

A 26- x 21-inch black-and-white photograph of a man with tattoos on his arms holding a baby was one of the highlights of the exhibition. The artist, Lindsay Shaw of Hampton, is showcasing some of her pictures from a series entitled, “Our Markings” , a collection of photographs of people with tattoos on their bodies.

“I’ve always loved photographing a person, seeing in the inside of people,” said Shaw, 32, who says that she has always been fascinated by tattoos and stories they tell. She approached local models for her series.

“People seem comfortable talking to me,” said Shaw, a mother of two and a high school art teacher. She says that she also finds her inspiration in children . “There’s so much life in children. I just love photographing kids,” she said.

A graduate of Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology, Shaw said that after school she didn’t want to follow a fastpaced career where she would have had to work under people. “I was too insecure of people yelling at me, and I wanted to be my own boss,” said Shaw, who found a perfect opportunity to have a home near family, when she found an opening for a teacher at Pomfret School, where she’s been working for the last 10 years.

Carol Dunn was another local artist showcasing her alternative artwork. Dunn creates art with photographs and collages, using non-conventional methods called solarplate etching, overprinted collage and acrylic skin, which gives her work a facade of layers.

One of her artworks in the exhibit was an image of a woman covering her face with her hands, which was created through paper and cloth collage.

Dunn says she gets inspired by nature and abstracts. “More than anything else in the creative process, I love the interplay of color and texture,” wrote Dunn in her artist’s statement. “I have spent countless hours photographing peeling paint and rusting metal.”

Explaining her fascination, Dunn said, “I just get a lot of pleasure out of finding beauty in things.” The 56-yearold artist, who also runs workshops at her studio, Little River Studio and Gallery in Baltic.