The Fifth Annual Northfield Art Show, sponsored by Paine Mountain Arts Council, will open at noon on Friday, February 26 at the Northfield Historical Society and Brown Public Library Community Room. An opening reception, open to the public, will be held at 7 PM in the Community Room, with parking available in the United Church lot. Hours for the exhibit are Friday, February 25, from Noon to 9 PM; Saturday, February 27, from 10 AM to 7 PM; and Sunday, February 28, from Noon to 4 PM. Donations will be accepted at the door. Visitors to the show will be able to purchase matted art work and art cards at the Artists' Corner, as well as original pieces of art in the main show.
This year's exhibit will feature 32 artists from Northfield and surrounding communities, including both nationally and statewide-known professionals as well as serious amateurs. Paintings, photographs, sculpture, pottery and fiber art pieces will display the extraordinary wealth of artistic talent in the community.
The 2010 show is dedicated to the memory of Louise Halsted and Brent Martin, who both passed away in the last year. Louise was a patron and supporter of the Northfield art scene, and her private collection included many pieces from local artists. Brent Martin was a talented artist that specialized in watercolors of Vermont’s old barns. Brent was a volunteer and participant in last year’s show.
Paine Mountain Arts is committed to the art show remaining a community event. It gives the professional artists an opportunity to exhibit in their home town, and serious amateurs the chance to have their work viewed by the public as well. It also gives the community an overview of the breadth and scope of artistic work going on in Northfield and surrounding towns, which is prodigious for a community of this size.
Many of the art show's past exhibitors will return this year, including nationally well-known illustrator and painter Rebecca Merrilees, watercolorist Kathy Ravenhorst-Adams; painters Gene Parent and Phyllis Greenway; basketry artist Tammy Wight; photographer Fred White; pastel artist Annie Gould; abstract artist Linda Berg Maney; fiber artist Pamela Druhen and folk-art sculptor Frank Drown. They and other past exhibitors will be joined this year by several newcomers to the show, including photographers Bonnie Gayle, Lloyd Klinger, Madonna Commo and Betty Rounds, painter John Hoag and artist Alexis Kyriak. Marilyn Solvay, curator of the Sullivan Museum and History Center at Norwich University, will be exhibiting some of her mixed media pieces. Northfield High School teacher Craig Wiltse will again be exhibiting his energetic, contemporary paintings.
The Art Show Committee, headed by Frank Drown, is made up of artists Robin LaHue, Kathy Ravenhorst-Adams, photographer Isabel Weinger Nielsen,
Bill Barnard and Fred White. Jim Jones will be leading the show set up, and Jeanne Cook is creating the program. Shirley Melville will be providing refreshments for the opening and the show will be manned by dozens of volunteers. Tom Clifford has once again designed a very special poster for the show. The poster has become a bit of a collectible item in the Northfield area.
images: Leap of Faith and Pisces by Robin LaHue
