Embracing the nerd persona

“Cloudy Sheets,’’ by Tewksbury, Mass.-based artist Fernando Fula, in the group show “The Bold & Beautiful,’’ at the Hopkinton (Mass.) Center for the Arts through Aug. 26. The show was put together by Randolph, Mass.-based artist Jamaal Eversley

The arts center says the show “is about addressing who we are, what we stand for and how we allow other people's perception of us to affect how we see ourselves….”

“Eversley was teased and called a nerd when he was younger and was compared to Urkel (a nerdy fictional TV character). He now embraces his nerd persona and created abstract art about a character he calls ‘the nerd.’ He took a negative situation and turned it into a positive one and now shares that story with teens and adults through his “The Bold & Beautiful’’ art and writing workshops. It is about self-love, anti-bullying and perception.’’

Canoes on the Concord River (famous in literature — Thoreau, etc.), which borders Tewksbury on the southwest.