MIDDLEBORO — True Grit Art Gallery will host an opening reception for “It's A Local Thing,’’ a solo exhibit of artworks created by Middleboro artist L.E. (Lori) Ashley from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1.

This event is free and open to the public. Complimentary adult refreshments will be served.

The exhibition will run from its opening night through Oct. 29. 

Ashley grew up in Middleboro, drawing and writing stories since she was a toddler. In the early 1980s, she traded linework for oil paint when she studied under Leland B. Smith in his studio on the third floor of Middleborough's historic Peirce Building. 

When going through an inspirational "dry spell," she would sit at one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and watch summer storms roll in, or study art books, especially  the Hudson River School painters. Later, she graduated with a degree in illustration from UMass Dartmouth. 

Her work concentrates on landscapes, abandoned properties, and animal portraits. Passionate about history since exploring her grandfather's Acushnet homestead as a child looking for treasure, she found a deep affinity for old wooden objects, rusty metal, and antique paper, which she gradually incorporated into her art. 

Today she crafts "vintage" assemblages, using her oil paintings as a focal point. 

Most are in miniature, designed to lure the passer-by in for a private glimpse of nostalgia or hometown feel. She draws upon a tactile love for the antique elements in her work and from carefully chosen, painted views to get the observer to smile and say "Yes. I have been here once before, in a simpler time."

Ashley said the pieces she chose were “the culmination of a year's work concentrating on local scenes that have touched my heart. It's been a very long year of changes and difficulties, love and sadness. I watched as my little, happy-go-lucky dog Ollie struggled with congestive heart failure, and finally took his last breath. Often I would paint through tears and deep introspection on the presence and absence of loved ones, searching for meaning, and a sense of grounding. In the process of completing these works, I found a glimpse of that grounding, that balance, coming to the conclusion that what matters most in life is with who and what you closely surround yourself, the people, animals, landscapes, and memories you hold very close to your soul. The small things, the familiar. The ‘Local Things.’ ’’

True Grit Art Gallery is located at 38 Center St. and is open Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.