BANGOR – “A Matter of Perception 2008: Exhibition by Artists with Disabilities,” a VSA Arts of Maine juried exhibit, is on display through October in the Lecture Hall of the Bangor Public Library.

Local artists whose work is included in the exhibit are Joan “Evie” Kasoff of Penobscot, “Shell Series 1,” a color photograph; Eric McVay of Hampden, “Winter Wonderland,” acrylic on canvas; and Gregg Smith of Bangor, who uses printmaking techniques to create images informed by Egyptian mythology.

Smith creates his art under the auspices of Penobscot Valley Industries and teacher Diana Willette.

Several other pieces in the exhibit also took this viewer’s eye. “Three Pocketbooks” by Jeannette Babineau of Wiscasset consists of three small hand-sewn, light pink purses affixed to a board painted bright pink.

Each purse has a button pinned to it. The stitching in the piece is visible, imbuing the piece with a sense of intimacy and immediacy.

Karen Stickney of Auburn created “Persian Wire Cat,” a wire sculpture embellished with bits of pale green and brown sea glass. The creation has all the charm and insouciance of a real live kitty. While those two caught my eye, all the works in the exhibit are well worth seeing.

More than 400 pieces of art from across Maine were submitted for the exhibit, but only several dozen are part of the exhibit now at the library.

The work reflects the range of media in which the artists work, including stained-glass, wire, photography, watercolor, acrylic, oil, fiber and wood. Each piece of art submitted will be shown at least once in one of 15 exhibits across the state.

A similar VSA Arts of Maine display is on exhibit through November at Boyd Place, 21 Boyd St.

On display in the Bangor Public Library Stairwell Gallery is “Lighthouses, Lupines and the Colors of Autumn,” an exhibit of digital color photographs by Jim Counihan of Veazie.

Counihan’s work evokes the seasonal splendor of summer and fall in Maine. Highlights include a view of East Quoddy Lighthouse, a photograph of an old tombstone resting against the bulk of an ancient pine and a close-up of a bee visiting a lupine.

Counihan’s love of photography began more than 40 years ago when he received a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera as a birthday present. Since then, he has acquired and used a variety of cameras and lenses, from simple Yashicamat medium-format twin-lens reflex cameras to sophisticated Nikon 35-millimeter equipment and today’s digital cameras. He has traveled the world, including Ireland, to practice the art of photography.

Also on display in the glass case in the Stairwell Gallery is a sample of the 4,000 bookmarks Scott Servisky of Bangor has collected for some 25 years.

Among his collection are bookmarks that are crocheted; those made of leather, wood and metal; bookmarks cross-stitched on perforated paper and Aida cloth; and bookmarks with Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter and nautical themes. The bookmarks range from the antique to the contemporary.

For more information about the library exhibits, call 947-8336. For information about the Boyd Place exhibit, call 941-2837. To learn more about VSA Arts of Maine, visit www.vsaartsmaine.org.