1995 Spring Members' Show -- Bermuda Society of Arts -- At City Hall until April 13.

*** Springtime, nature and the poets tell us, is a period of rebirth, rejuvenation, growth.

So it is only appropriate that a rebirth of sorts has taken place at the Bermuda Society of Arts' 1995 Spring Members' Show, which opened on March 24 and closes next week.

In a word, this season's exhibition of some 71 wall hangings and eight sculptures is very strong, and the credit belongs, in the view of one informed source, to Georgiana Druchyk, the Copley Society of Boston's executive director and a two-time juror for the Society who apparently took no prisoners when deciding what would be included -- and what excluded -- from the '95 spring show.

In the past, the Society's seasonal extravaganzas have generally been, well, less than uniform in their quality and appeal.

This time Ms Druchyk, who reportedly kicked everyone out of the Society's City Hall gallery one Saturday and spent the better part of the day in quiet contemplation of submitted works, ultimately reducing the number from over 160 to the current 79 -- has reversed the imbalance between the interesting and well-executed and the bad or merely mundane.

Having said that, though, two of Ms Druchyck's four "juror's choices'' are in the opinion of this reviewer only so-so.

While Sheilagh Head's "Roadside Sandys'' and Maria Evers Smith's "Palms and Freesias at Clebrig'' certainly live up to the lavish praise that Ms Druchyk has heaped upon them -- both are beautifully evocative Bermudian landscapes, the former showing a cluster of trees and bushes under a violet sky and the latter depicting a manor house amid a sea of freesias that makes you simply want to jump in and contemplate the heavens -- Helen Daniel's "Sprouting Lilies'' and Christopher Marson's "End of an Era'' seem somewhat less inspired, and indeed rather inferior to a number of other works, including some of their own.

Among the other pieces that could easily have stood the rigours of becoming a jury choice include Mr. Marson's "Waiting for the Ferry,'' Ms Daniel's "Light,'' Mrs. Head's "Paget Marsh'' (which, admittedly, was an impromptu replacement for the rapidly sold "Clouds and Wind'') and Vaughan Evans' "Girl Waiting in Large Room'' (a rich and atmospheric oil that has an air of sadness, even seediness, but is not depressing).

Such criticisms, however, amount to nothing more than quibbling, and are akin to someone at a feast turning up his nose at a fine wine in favour of one that is even finer.

From the lovely, almost photographic pair of miniatures by James Lapsley to the sculptures of Will Collieson and Elizabeth Ann Trott to the two largish pastels, "Awaiting the Breeze'' and "Doing up for Church,'' of Frank Dublin, the spring members' show is both a delight and a revelation, suggestive as it is of the wonders that can usually be accomplished with a strong curatorial hand and discriminating attitude.

For the sake of those who value art and would like to see more of these types of shows from the Society, let's just hope that that discrimination didn't fly away with Ms Druchyk on the plane back to Boston.

Nestled away in the Society of Arts' smaller gallery is an interesting if uneven parallel exhibition of small watercolour paintings by Liz Campbell and Lydia Franks.

Called "Glimpses,'' this expansive exhibition consists of just that: 82 snippets of Bermuda's natural beauty from a variety of perspectives and in numerous shapes and sizes.

Most, however, declined to impress or inspire during one recent viewing, though this may have had to do with the fact that they were composed in watercolour, which is, admittedly, not a favourite medium of this particular reviewer.

Having said that, though, Ms Campbell and Ms Franks are by no means devoid of talent, the former showing a strong eye for detail and particularly texture (her rock formations are expertly rendered in paintings like "Ocean Spray'' or "Early Morning Warwick Long Bay'') and the latter having created several soft, warm, beautifully shaded nature studies ("Peach Tree Lane'' comes to mind, as does "Elbow Beach Tree'').

Ms Campbell's "Bay Grape,'' moreover, is, appropriately enough, as light and sweet as a berry. Looking at this small gem, you just want to pluck it right out of the painting.

DANNY SINOPOLI "PALMS AND FREESIAS AT CLEBRIG'' -- An oil by Maria Evers Smith that makes you want to jump in and contemplate the heavens.