Angels, with great feathery wings and gleaming with bright gold, are hovering in Adams Town Hall. Their strong, sustaining presences are depicted in a series of paintings by noted artist John Maziarz, whose exhibition, “Five Years Five Angels — A Journey†is a pictorial record of that very personal journey.
“They represent the five years my wife was in a nursing home,†he said. “Do I have a guardian angel? My wife was my guardian angel. They’re a metaphor for my wife.â€
“Painting them is more of a catharsis for me,†said Maziarz, who has taught art at Mount Greylock Regional High School for 38 years and whose paintings are prized by collectors. “They are not for sale.â€
“The angel business is pretty interesting,†said Maziarz, who admires both the icons that thronged his Polish culture, and the airborne figures of Marc Chagall.
“I love icons. Poles have the ultimate icon, the Black Madonna of Czestochowa,†he said. “I like Marc Chagall, the way his figures float. In the Polish church, when I’d be bored with the sermons I’d count the angels. I can count almost 100.â€
Maziarz will talk about his paintings this Friday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. The exhibition’s opening will be from 6 to 8. The paintings will be on view through the end of March.
The paintings in the series start with a dark, brooding 1997, the year Maziarz had his leg amputated. The painting, collage-like, depicts his surgical sutures and includes scraps of his flannel fishing shirts and burlap, which he loves for its rough texture.
These angels are the most recent in several series he has completed.
“The landscapes I’m working on now I call New England icons,†he said. Other series’ have addressed waterfalls, and knights.
“You get an idea and you keep working at it,†he said.
He has been painting angels, off and on, for nearly 40 years, he said, starting when his wife became pregnant with their son Jeffrey.
The paintings on view are full of symbolism, his own iconography.
“Blake saw God in an apple tree, so I guess I can see him in a willow,†he said. His wife Cecilia, who suffered from Huntington’s disease, was in Willowwood nursing home, which has now changed its name.
The fourth painting titled Uwolnienie, or Liberation, depicts a grotto that he and friends built, the tombstone in St. Stanislaus’ Cemetery, and the day and year his wife died, Aug. 28, 2001. On their joint tombstones he has written, in the form of notes to one another: “Ceil, I could, did and taught, thanks, (signed) Baniaâ€; on his wife’s side it reads, “John, I understood, encouraged and loved, (signed) Celka.â€
“It’s based on the icon of St. Nicholas,†he said.
The final work, titled Spokoj, or Peace, depicts the angel crushing a willow and hanging onto a spruce in her ascent. The willow is knotted, and a window is open, referring to the practice of knotting a bedsheet and opening a window when someone dies.
This angel’s features are clearer than in the previous paintings, her form more monumental, her movements rhythmical and her colors are dazzling white and gold.
“It’s a Polish trait,†said Maziarz, with wry humor. “When you don’t know what to do with something, paint it gold.â€
But he acknowledged, “There is a lot of thought to painting a picture.â€
“The whole idea is to get started,†he said. “I just go, and I don’t know where it’s going to take me.â€
The excitement and the surprises are an integral part of the endeavor for him.
“The Maziarz theory is that once you can picture what you’re going to paint ahead of time, give it up,†he said.
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North Adams Lifts Boil Water Order for Most of City
Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has lifted a boil water order — with several exceptions — that was issued late Monday morning following several water line breaks over the weekend.
As of 2:20 p.m., repairs have been completed, and water tests have shown no presence of total coliform or E. coli bacteria, according to the mayor's office.
However, the state Department of Environmental Protection has continued the boil water requirement for buildings affected by the breaks: 40 Main Street, 10 to 36 American Legion Drive, and 40 American Legion Drive; and 74 to 264 State Road, and 15 to 57 Biltmore Ave.
Those areas were directly affected by a water line break on American Legion Drive and one on State Road.
These properties remain under an order to boil water or use bottled water for drinking, making ice, food preparation, brushing teeth, and washing dishes.
"Since the initial public notification, we have made repairs and utilized an interconnect between our High and Low Service Areas, increasing pressures throughout the system. Bacteria samples were collected on December 15, 2025, at areas affected by low pressure," a statement from the Water Department reads.
"Repairs are underway to restore water to the remaining affected areas. Bacteria samples will be collected once water is restored. We will notify these affected areas when it is no longer necessary to use boiled or bottled water."
The city has lifted a boil water order — with several exceptions — that was issued late Monday morning following several water line breaks over the weekend. click for more
The bridge had been closed to all vehicle traffic since March 2023 after being deemed structurally deficient by the state Department of Transportation. click for more
The Water Department has been responding to multiple water line breaks throughout the city since Friday, causing temporary loss of water in some areas. click for more
Nearly a year of study and community input about the deteriorating Veterans Memorial Bridge has resulted in one recommendation: Take it down. click for more