REVIEW: Jim Richmond at The Chelsea Public Library

by Dian Parker

In the tiny village that I call home there is a unique building made of red brick: the Chelsea Public Library. It shares its Romanesque Revival building with the town hall. The library building features two round turrets with finials, an arched entrance, and marble steps.

Alden Speare, born in Chelsea, helped pay for this building in 1892. Inside the library is a plaque honoring Speare and stating his goal for a perpetual free library, installed over an elaborate fireplace. It is a gem of a building and thanks to its new librarian, Nick Clemens, it has become a gem of a library.

The Chelsea library has now added art to its walls, which makes it even more lively and rich. The current exhibition is by Jim Richmond, an artist who has been painting for nearly 60 years, with a number of his paintings included in collections around the world. His work has been shown in numerous New York City galleries as well as the Dartmouth Regional Show. Most recently he taught at the Mountain School in Vershire, VT.

Richmond’s compositions, that span many years, are striking and often unexpected. A woman leaping up in the air next to a jumping horse. A duck next to a vase of geraniums. In Jackie and Legs, a boxer dog stares at the viewer from a sandy beach with a woman’s sandaled feet following behind. Dash is an oil painting of a greyhound dog in full run, careening along a field with a large unusual house in the distance. The dog is magnificent; muscular and sleek; obviously a creature built for speed. The house is partially hidden; mysterious.

A pair of small paintings, Truckers, portray a large woman driver getting out of her large truck. Only the door of the truck is shown but Richmond still manages to convey the huge size of the truck. In all of his paintings his use of color is intriguing; dark purple mugs on a stark white tablecloth; shocks of orange , green and blue in Rory and the Jumping woman.

Even though I normally do not write of sales figures in my articles, I must mention that of the 15 paintings for sale in the library 10 have already sold. What a wonderful surprise in a climate where art sales are supposedly declining.

We need art to enrich our lives. And the need for public libraries is absolute. Thank you Alden Speare for your foresight. Thank you Nick Clemens for making our library flourish. May the Chelsea Public Library continue to display wonderful art.

The current art exhibit is on display until mid-November. The library is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as well as Saturday morning.

This review first appeared in the Herald, Randolph, on Oct. 13, 2011

Images:
Jackie and Legs, Dash

PRESS RELEASE: Lyna Lou Nordstrom and Amanda Vella at Art's Alive Gallery at Main Street Landing's Wing Building in Burlington

Art's Alive Presents
Lyna Lou Nordstrom
& Amanda Vella
Through October 31, 2011

Artists' Reception Friday Oct 14, 6-9pm

Artist Talk Thursday Oct 20 7-8pm

Art's Alive Presents Lyna Lou Nordstrom & Amanda Vella at Main Street Landing's Wing Building. There will be an Artists' Reception Friday October 14 from 6-9pm featuring live music and an Artists' Talk on Thursday October 20 from 7-8pm.

These two dynamic Burlington Artists will present their prints and paintings to the public in both an expository and academic sense. Art's Alive invites the public to enjoy this work as both an aesthetic and educational experience.

Art's Alive is Host Sponsored by Main Street Landing. For more information, contact Alex Dostie, 802.310.3211 Email artsalivevt@yahoo.com

Images: Amanda Vella, Peonies, Oil on Canvas, 2011; Lyna Lou Nordstrom, Raging River II

PRESS RELEASE: Annual Gingerbread House Contest at The Chaffee Art Center in Rutland

The Chaffee Art Center is inviting everyone – kids, adults, students and professionals – to let their culinary imaginations run wild! Participate in a special holiday event, the annual Gingerbread House Contest, the Chaffee's edible art show and contest. Create a holiday work of art using entirely edible materials, gingerbread is only one of the many possibilities! Participants will exhibit their creations December 1-18, 2011 during the Chaffee's Winter All Members' Exhibit. People's Choice Voting will take place from December 1-8, with a special reception on Friday December 9 from 5-8 PM to announce the People's Choice Winner. Gingerbread creations must be delivered to the Chaffee November 29-30th. Applications can be found at www.chaffeeartcenter.org, or by visiting the Chaffee Art Center.

CHANGES: Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts (VTICA) due to open in Chester on December 1

A former milliner's shop, hardware store, grange hall and most recently, the American Legion Hall on Depot Street in Chester, is getting a new life as a home for the contemporary arts. Renovations are underway for a first floor gallery and performance space in the historic clapboard building. The building will be the home of the Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts (VTICA). A December l opening is planned.

Spearheading the organization are Andover residents Robert Sarly and Abby Raeder, VTica's Executive Director. Sarly is an acrylic and watercolor artist and an art lover. He has been a patron of the arts for over thirty years and has close ties with the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAMM) and the Out of the Blue (OOTB) Gallery in Cambridge, MA. Raeder has been a creative facilitator throughout her years in retail, interior design and construction management.

The first floor of the historic building will include 2,000 square feet of exhibition and performance space. Contractor for the project is Richard Crocker - Builders, Inc. a Chester based company with over 30 years of experience. As Crocker said, "the building reflects Chester's architecture with a tipped up stone foundation, slate roof and clapboard exterior. At first, the building had wood shakes, but when the railroad arrived they were able to add a slate roof. It is now about 120 years old and in great shape."

Renovating the 100 plus year old building is something Crocker believes in. "It is in my bones. Housing contemporary art in an old building is not a disconnect but rather an innovative use of Vermont's buildings."

The building project includes the addition of insulation and display lighting that meets Efficiency Vermont guidelines. Efforts are being made to recycle scrap metal from the building. One of the first objectives in readying the building was to open up the space including raising the ceiling and installing skylights. When completed, the building will house second floor apartments/artists' teaching studios and a hearth barn museum.

Architect for the project is Theresa C. Findiesen, AIA of Rupert. The project uses "familiar textures and materials in a slightly contemporary way." This includes a standing seam roof, vertical square joint ship lap and timber with metal connections. As a result said Findiesen, "VTica's function, while being very much about creating art, is utilitarian. The institute is the vehicle that moves the arts from discretionary to necessity."

The Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts can be reached at P.O. Box 972, Chester, VT 05143. To reach Abby Raeder telephone 802-875-4808. The website is www.VTica.org. E-mail is info@vtica.org. Progress on the building and the programming can be followed on facebook.

PRESS RELEASE: Watercolor exhibit at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph

Visit the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, Vermont and view WET: Washes, Experimentation, Technique, a juried watercolor exhibition featuring fifty works by members of the Vermont Watercolor Society (VWS).

All the watercolors are original, not previously shown in a VWS exhibit and are for sale. The exhibit runs until November 12th. The Chandler, 71 Main St, is open on Fridays, 4 - 6 pm or on any Saturday or Sunday, 1 to 3 pm.

On October 29, a watercolor lecture and demonstration will take place from 10 AM to noon at the Chandler. Admission is free. All are welcome. Visit the Chandler’s website for more information at: http://www.chandler-arts.org.

The VWS, a non-profit organization founded in 1995, is dedicated to promoting the awareness and appreciation of watercolor to its membership at all levels of ability (now 260 strong) and to the community by providing opportunities and venues like this one for participation, education, and fellowship. The VWS invites all watercolorists from novice to professional, or those who are just curious, from Vermont and beyond to join as an Associate Member. For more information contact Joann DiNicola at: lourig@comcast.net.

Image: Harald Aksdal with Willow in the Harbor

PRESS RELEASE: Jan Ghiringhelli and Phillip Robertson at City Center in Montpelier

Paint and Print:
The Vermont Landscape
Recent work by Jan Ghiringhelli and Phillip Robertson

November 7 - December 2, 2011
City Center in Montpelier, Vermont

Jan Ghiringhelli loves Vermont, loves its countryside back roads, where she roams searching for that AhHa moment. Excited, she piles out of the car and sets up her equipment, bent on capturing the spirit of place that had called out to her. In this exhibit are Jan's spirit images from around Central Vermont.

Phillip Robertson is an interdisciplinary artist and printmaker, living in Vermont since 1994. Inspired by the natural landscape, Robertson uses imagination and memory to look beyond realism to make a statement about the pastoral landscape tradition in the 21st century.

Jan Ghiringhelli and Phillip Robertson are members of the Art Resource Association. Visit the ARA website at: www.artresourceassociation.com For more information about the exhibit and for sales contact Jan (229-5209) or Phillip (472-9369).

Images: Jan Ghiringhelli
Phillip Robertson, Beverage Store, Linoleum Block Print

PRESS RELEASE: Annual Exhibition of Local Stone Sculptures at SPA in Barre

Rock Solid In & Out
October 4 - November 5, 2011

An annual exhibit at Studio Place Arts in Barre pays homage to stone for its eleventh consecutive year. Called Rock Solid In & Out, the exhibit includes 5 human-scale works carved from granite in an outdoors, temporary Sculpture Park and more than 20 smaller works inside the main floor gallery.

Through November 5, visitors may enjoy a variety of stone sculptures indoors and outdoors made from granite, marble, limestone, soap stone, alabaster and other stones. In addition, abandoned, once flourishing local quarries and piles of stones are also depicted in dramatic, brightly toned paintings inside the main gallery.

A new, temporary Sculpture Park recently sprouted from a former vacant lot in the heart of downtown Barre. The outdoors gallery – a former vacant lot - was recently occupied by a dilapidated building for more than 5 years. When demolition was scheduled last fall, Sue Higby, executive director of Studio Place Arts, lobbied Barre City Council for the use of the lot for public artwork.

This temporary Sculpture Park provides extra gallery space for a group of sculptures, including a full-scale, overstuffed easy chair carved from Barre gray granite that suggests, “Pull up a chair and stay awhile.” Sculpture park visitors are encouraged to rest on the surprisingly comfortable stone seat, named Daddy’s Chair, which was carved by Giuliano Cecchinelli, II, from a 1-ton block of granite.

Can’t find your keys? Sculptor Jerry Williams created a 7-foot skeleton key from a rare piece of Westerly granite, a stone hunk that was salvaged from the base of an historic sculpture at Harvard Square. He kept the antique, hand-carved, tapered marks on two sides of the sculpture and honed a smooth, cut surface on the other sides of the key. The textural contrast is striking.

Inside the main gallery at Studio Place Arts, 24 smaller-scale sculptures occupy the floor and pedestals. There are sculptures of organic forms inspired by the sea, imaginative, abstract works that show the qualities of the stone, fantastical pieces, and realistic carvings of flora and fauna. Visitors are encouraged to feel the surfaces of the stone works as they take in the richly varied exhibition.

A large sculpture called Coagulation by Gampo Wickenheiser comprised of two halves of a large, roughly textured boulder encourages touching. Its jagged exterior boldly contradicts the smooth surface of the inside halves, which are joined by a snake-like mass of metal cords surrounding an old piston. Nearby, a classic, bas-relief carving on pink granite by Giuliano Cecchinelli, Freedom from Genetically Modified Organisms depicts the hardened hands of an elderly field worker, gripping his sythe.

An emerging fiddlehead form, Green Swirl, by Mary Alcantara was created from an eye catching, variegated green serpentinite stone that she brought back from a sojourn to the western states. Behind this lovely pistachio-shaded carving, is Robert Chapla’s blue-purple toned acrylic painting of Quarry 5 at Millstone Hill, an abandoned granite quarry located just several miles from the SPA gallery.

From October 4-November 5, Rock Solid In & Out showcases the fine craftsmanship of local stone carving studios located in the greater Barre area and West Rutland region.

Images:
Green Swirl by Mary Alcantara in front; Quarry 5 by Robert Chapla, acrylic and colored pencil
Daddy’s Chair by Giuliano Cecchinelli, II, Barre gray
Procreation by Nick Santoro, Danby Marble

PRESS RELEASE: Hal Mayforth at Quimby Gallery, Lyndon State College

Conversations with a Blank Page:
Paintings & Sketchbook Shenanigans

Opening: Friday, October 14, 6 PM

Quimby Gallery
Lyndon State College
Lyndonville, VT

October 17-31, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Event at Community Center in Plainfield

Livingtheatrevt Presents:

Paradise Lost/ / Paradise Found! !
Paintings, Assemblages, Sculpture, Chromaticcinema, Poets'jam
October 16 - November 7, 2011

In Solidarity W/ Wall Street Occ:/ 350.org / Transitiontownmont., Bioneers Conference:::::
Opening // Reception: Sunday October 16, 2011, 4pm-8PM

Jerome Lipani, Brian Tokar, Alexis Smith, Tara Gita, Elinor Randall, Marijke Russo, Len Irving, David Klein , Benjamin Davis, Marina Epstein, GoldenTrue, Janice Walrafen, Claudia Bagieckas, Phyllis Rachel Larrabee, George Peskunck Larrabee

WHERE: Plainfield Community Center, above the Coop , Main Street, Plainfield, VT

ALL ARE INVITED!!!!!*** potluck hors-d'oeuvres/ cafeTheater (?)

CONTACT: jeromeLipani , jerome@vtlink.net, (802) 223 6805

PRESS RELEASE: Matt Lerman and Carol Rogers at The Gallery at Equinox Village

Equinox Village is pleased to host two former educators for its first dual exhibit.

Photographer Matthew Paul Lerman spent 40 years teaching biology in high schools and colleges in the New York City area. He even wrote a text book: Marine Biology: Environment, Diversity, and Ecology.

Painter and Pastel Artist Carol Rodgers was a special education teacher and administrator at Fisher Elementary School in Arlington, Vermont. Ironically, she thinks her limited training affords her the freedom to use different media in a delightfully uninhibited way.

Please join these artists, other residents and the public for the Gallery Opening Event at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2011 at Equinox Village, 49 Maple Street in Manchester Center. The event is free and open to the public. Kindly R.S.V.P. to (802) 362-4061.

The exhibit is on display until November 14, 2011. The Gallery is open from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily.

Images: Matthew Paul Lerman and Carol Rodgers

PRESS RELEASE: Karen Day-Vath at Collins Perley, St. Albans

St. Albans artist Karen Day-Vath will be exhibiting her work this weekend at the Craft Show at Collins Perley. Karen is a self taught artist working in oil and acrylic and has lived in St. Albans, for 15 years.

Her work is more expressionism than anything else. For her there is no set style, her work is varied, and goes from abstract to traditional depending on the mood that strikes her when she begins to paint. In December of 2010 while exhibiting her work at Cosmic Bakery & Café in St. Albans her work was seen by an associate of Vermont Public Radio. Her paintings “All That Jazz” and “Let’s Jam” were selected for the “Artist Mug” for Vermont Public Radio’s online membership drive for February 2011.

This year she won second place in mixed media at the Champlain Valley Fair Art Show at the Blue Ribbon Pavilion for her painting Liquid Gold. Karen is an active member of the community and an advocate for the arts. She is a member of the NVAA, Worldwide Women Artists, Studio Place Arts in Barre, and she is on the executive committee of the Saint Albans Artists’ Guild.

She just recently was on the committee for the 5th Annual Taylor Park Fine Wine, Beer, and Food Festival, and was also in charge of supplying local artwork for the art tent. She is currently “On the Walls” at Chow! Bella Restaurant in St. Albans, and along with exhibiting at the Collins Perley Craft Show this week-end, she will also be exhibiting her work at the upcoming 20^thAnnual Williston FAP Holiday Craft Show on November 5, and at the 35^th Annual Pre Christmas Craft Show at Milton High School on November 12, 2011.

PRESS RELEASE: Barbara Baker-Bury at Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury

EDGEWATER GALLERY

One Mill Street, Middlebury, VT
Opening Reception: Friday, October 14, 5-7pm

Barbara Baker-Bury allows her love of painting to guide her path of artistic exploration as she utilizes an array of tools to create her abstract oil paintings on paper. Taking cue from her gardening techniques, she follows her intuition and adventurous spirit to gently unfold each small painting until natural law has created a piece of beauty.

Featured Artist of the Month: Barbara Baker-Buryis on view through October 31. For more information call 802.458.0098, email info@edgewatergallery-vt.com or visit our website, www.edgewatergallery-vt.com.

"Purple on Top", 4" x 4", oil on paper

"Lavender Cloud", 11" x 9", oil on paper

PRESS RELEASE: Corrina Thurston at Espresso Bueno Cafe, Barre

Corrina Thurston is an artist working out of central Vermont and

currently has twelve of her pieces hanging on display at the Espresso Bueno Cafe in downtown Barre, VT.

Corrina specializes in colored pencil and is known for her intricate

detail and unique style. Her finished pieces resemble paintings more so than drawings and people are frequently shocked that the medium is in fact colored pencil. Many of her pieces depict wild animals, flowers, and she has recently begun drawing portraits.

Surprisingly, Corrina has been drawing for less than two years. She is 21 years old, has been sick for three years and was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness that will last for at least another three to six years. The illness leaves her fatigued, with chronic migraines, eye sensitivity, shaky hands, anxiety, and insomnia. She had to medically withdraw from college and is incapable of holding a job. She had never drawn before January of 2010 and has found that drawing is, for her, the best therapy. She now spends most of her "good" time drawing and experiments with every piece she produces, pushing the limits of what she can do with colored pencil.

Come see her artwork currently on display at the Espresso Bueno Cafe, now through mid-November. More exhibits are listed on her website: www.CorrinaThurston.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Beth Barndt at the Black Door in Montpelier

Eight of Beth Barndt’s collages (most new, but also two from 1977) are on display this week at the Black Door, 44 Main Street in Montpelier (3rd floor) as part of Friday night's Montpelier Art Walk. Beth will be sitting up there with her collages on Friday, October 7, from 5-8pm. She welcomes visitors!

Barndt, a collage artist with a studio in Richmond, also performs locally as a comic and storyteller. Regarding recent work, she writes:

These are some words that I like/find applicable: Balance, Grids, Pods, Repetition, Echo, Form/Space, Implication, Suggestion, Juxtaposition, Discomfort, Resolution, Resonance, Surprise. And then I think (other than Grids & Pods, maybe): Who doesn't?

In terms of process: the preparation for the final gluing can be complex and pretty precise. I use scissors a lot; I use pins to position materials; I like old wallpaper, the NY Times Magazine section, wasps' nests, lots of foil, detritus. I seem to best enjoy building something from my own detritus. And, since I cut things out a lot, the leftovers lead me right to playing with Negative Space.

Image: Sanded Time

COMMUNITY ARTMAKING: Artists' Lantern Making Workshop in Waterbury

In preparation for Waterbury's River of Light Community Lantern Parade this December, A special two-day workshop will be held at Thatcher Brook Primary School, Waterbury, VT, Saturday & Sunday, October 29th/ 30th 2011.

Artists and other creatives will have the opportunity to learn some basic lantern-making skills and participate in the construction of some larger-scale lanterns to spearhead the parade. The workshop will be led by Montpelier based artists, Gowri Savoor and Angelo Arnold. Previous experience of making is advised. This workshop is for adults only and is absolutely free to attend.

The sessions will run from 10-4pm on each day, including an hour break for lunch. You will be required to bring some basic tools; more information will be provided nearer the time.

To book your place, please contact Gowri Savoor, email: info@gowrisavoor.com or tel: 802 778 0334

Up-to-date information on the parade and workshops can be found on our blog, http://ariveroflightinwaterbury.wordpress.com/

Please look out for our community workshops taking place in November in Montpelier & Stowe. More information to follow!

PRESS RELEASE: Bryan Pfeiffer Photographs at Korongo Gallery in Randolph

WINGS:

Wildlife Photography from Naturalist Bryan Pfeiffer

Exhibit Dates: October 14 - November 23.

Reception: Friday, October 14, from 5 to 7 pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 15, 4 pm

Birds leaping and gliding in flight. A tiny butterfly sipping nectar from a flower. And damselflies making love. These are among the luminaries in a photographic premier at Randolph's Korongo Gallery by naturalist Bryan Pfeiffer.

Pfeiffer has accumulated a dazzling array of images during three decades of a life outside. Known to many as "the bird guy," cohost of the long-running radio program For the Birds, he is making his formal debut as a nature photographer with this solo exhibit at Korongo. In addition to Bryan's amazing large-scale images of small creatures and stupendous landscapes, the exhibit will feature a lecture and workshop series, led by Bryan, to help nature lovers capture better results from their digital cameras.

"As a field naturalist I see in nature every day the drama of life on earth—birth, awareness, reproduction, struggle, death. And I see beauty," says Pfeiffer. "I bring it home through the lens of my camera, and share it with folks who don't necessarily work where I work—in mountains and bogs and forests."

Photography Workshops Oct 18, Oct 25, and Nov 1, 5–8 pm (registration required)
To register for Bryan's photography workshops ($40 per session), call the gallery or email Bryan at bryan@wingsphotography.com.

Image: © Bryan Pfeiffer

PRESS RELEASE: Cameron Schmitz Disaster Relief Benefit at The Jackson Gallery in Middlebury

The Jackson Gallery at the Middlebury Town Hall Theater in Middlebury, VT will present a solo exhibition of paintings and drawings by Brattleboro resident, Cameron Schmitz. The exhibition titled, Marks of Passage will open on September 30 and run through November 6. A reception will be held at the gallery on October 14 from 5-7 p.m., which coincides with Middlebury's last ArtsWalk of the season. For the duration of the exhibit, the artist also will be donating 20% of sale proceeds to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.

The exhibit features Cameron Schmitz's most recent work that includes drawings and paintings inspired by the Brattleboro Retreat Trails and back roads of Vermont. These lyrical landscapes illustrate an energetic use of mark making, movement and expressive use of color. Dashes of paint, graphic lines and painterly strokes evoke a meditative and embodied sense of place.

Cameron Schmitz was born in Greenwich, CT and currently lives and works in Brattleboro, VT. She received a MFA in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of New Hampshire. Her work has been included in recent exhibitions at Kyoto Seika University, Green Mountain College, Emory University, Northern Arizona University, Edgewater Gallery and Silvermine Arts Center.

For further information about Cameron Schmitz's artwork, visit www.cameronschmitz.com

Image: Orchestra, 30x30", oil, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: The Body Human at the T.W. Wood Gallery & Arts Center in Montpelier

Now through Novemebr 13th the T.W. Wood Gallery & Arts Center will be featuring in the Main Gallery an exhibit entitled The Body Human - On and Off the Wall. On display will be the unique paintings of award-winning Northfiled, Vermont Artist John Hoag. Influenced by the work of Lucien Freud, Mr. Hoag brings his own artistic sensibility to the portrayals of the human form in everyday life and activity. Also featured will be several examples of three dimensional art works from renowned Vermont Artists Marie LaPre' Grabon, Georgia Landau, Ann Young, Sabrina Fadail and James Teuscher.

This special show is now open to the public through November 13th . Gallery Hours are noon till 4pm Tuesdays-Sundays. An opening reception will be held Thursday, October 6th and the Wood will extend our hours till 8:00pm for the Montpelier Art Walk on October 7th.

Image: John Hoag, Father and Child - oil on linen - 24"x30"

PRESS RELEASE: The October Podge at Dostie Bros. Frame Shop & Art Gallery in Burlington

Dostie Bros. Frame Shop & Art Gallery, in the Historic Kilburn & Gates Building at 308 Pine Street, presents The October Podge, a collection of paintings and wood carvings that evoke the color, landscape and emotional environment of late Summer and early Autumn. The show runs October 1-31.

There will be an Artist's Reception during the First Friday Artwalk on October 7 from 5-8pm featuring Hot Cider and Cookies! This reception is free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.

Featured Vermont Artists include: Brooke Monte (Painting), Adrian Tans (Painting), Sage Tucker-Ketcham (Painting), Kristen L'Esperance (Painting), Benjamin Barnes (Painting), Rob Root (Wood Carving) & Dostie (Painting).

Image: Brooke Monte, Autumn Woods, oil on canvas

PRESS RELEASE: Lorraine Reynolds at Black Cap Coffee in Stowe

Vermont Artist, Lorraine Reynolds will exhibit a collection of work entitled Ghost Stories during the month of October at Black Cap Coffee, 144 Main, Stowe, VT. Ghost Stories is an exhibition of haunting assemblages made from found objects. An opening reception with the artist will be held Sunday October 2nd from 2-5pm.

Lorraine Reynolds is a revealer of ghosts. Not the kind that clank down hallways in phosphorescent sheets or the ones who haunt graveyards by night; the ghosts she deals with are the essences, the aftereffects that are left behind, in and around the objects of our daily lives.

Lorraine’s gift is in sifting through these disparate objects, finding the compatible bits and pieces of others’ lives and weaving their faint and ancient energies together until they sing together in one voice. Her assemblages not only speak to the sadness of these lost and forgotten things, but they remind us that their owners have been lost and forgotten as well.

She has been actively making and showing her style of assemblage art and collage since 2005. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she runs the Technical Design Department at Burton Snowboards. She is a mentor and coach who enjoys teaching the art of assemblage. Locally, you can find her teaching her techniques at Artists Medium in Williston, VT. Her work has been featured in Cloth Paper Scissors, Somerset Studio, Burlington Free Press, Rutland Herald and the Seven Days.

Image: Ghost

PRESS RELEASE: Ice Effect at Art on Main in Bristol

Art on Main announces its October-November Featured Artist Exhibit Ice Effect. The exhibit features unique floral still-life photography by Krista Cheney and porcelain and stoneware pottery by Judith Bryant. The community is invited to meet the artists at a celebratory reception on Friday October 7 from 5-7pm in the Gallery at 25 Main Street, Bristol. Both artists will be on hand and light refreshments will be served.

Krista Cheney is a native Vermonter, currently living in St. George. She has studied photography since 2003, taking classes and workshops at local venues and the Maine Media Workshops in Rockport, Maine. Inspired by the art of nature, Krista draws upon the unpredictable character of ice to create her frozen still life photographs. Fractures, fissures, and air bubbles add a new dimension to the ordinary objects that she encases within blocks of ice.

“I start with a container,” she explains, “usually a gallon milk/water jug with the top cut off, or other container with straight sides that ice will slide out of. Then I arrange flowers, grasses, and other foliage by means of floral foam, pin frogs, and sometimes wooden skewers and string. I’ll also add stones or larger rocks for visual effect or just to weigh down the foam.” Then the jug is filled with water and placed in a freezer. On the next sunny day after the container is frozen through, she takes it outside, removes the container to reveal the ice block and gets to work with the camera, exploring from many angles as the ice melts.

Shooting throughout the thawing process, she captures the changing form of her subject—cracks, clouds, and crystals appear and vanish; rivulets of melt water streak down the sides. She never knows what she will get—sometimes nothing much will appear, but other times, the possibilities of images inside the ice are astounding. Ice distorts and highlights shapes, textures, and colors. The result is a photograph that is beautiful and visually stimulating.

Judith Bryant has lived and made pots in northern Vermont for over 35 years. For several years, she has made her studio and showroom in a renovated barn near the center of Lincoln, in the hills above Bristol. She is still enchanted by the medium she first discovered in junior high. “I'll always be fascinated by the process,” she says, “the rhythm and flow of work on the wheel, the alchemy of transforming fluid clay through fire into pottery.”

She lives in a cabin near a brook, in the woods of Starksboro. It is this brook, and her uneasy relationship with its unpredictable behavior, that inspires her newest ceramic explorations. These “ice” bowls have uneven edges, organically shaped holes in the sides, and glaze patterns that appear like melt patterns. Some are glazed in subtle tones that echo the palette of water and ice itself, while others are more striking in black or a pairing of the two tones.

In addition to these one-of-a-kind sculptural pieces, Judith also offers functional pottery, both porcelain and stoneware, in a variety of colors and patterns for the table and home. She creates her work, and “then the pieces go off like ambassadors into the world. Whatever it's used for, I'm happy that my pottery is a part of people's lives,” she declares.

The exhibit will be on view in the Gallery October 1 through Tuesday November 15. Art on Main is open Monday thru Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 11am

PRESS RELEASE: A Benefit for Vermont Flood Relief at Art's Alive Gallery at Main Street Landing’s Union Station in Burlington

Art's Alive & NVAA (Northern Vermont Artist Association) Present

Art for October:
A Benefit for Vermont Flood Relief

At Art's Alive Gallery at Main Street Landing’s Union Station, 1 Main St Burlington. This Exhibition Is Free and Open to the Public. Regular Gallery Hours Mon-Fri 10am -4pm/

Artist's Reception First Friday October 7, 5-8pm

This exhibition features 2d and 3d works of art by members of the Northern Vermont Artist Association. There will be an Artist's Reception during the First Friday Artwalk October 7, in the gallery from 5-8pm. This reception will feature light refreshments, music by Patrick Fitzsimmons and a Silent Auction of donated pieces by NVAA members to benefit Vermont Flood Relief. Pieces may be bid on during the reception and collected at 8pm. (Cash or check only)

The Northern Vermont Artist Association was established in 1931 to help artists network with their fellow artists, and find opportunities to exhibit their work.

Art's Alive is a 501(c)3 non -profit organization dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation of Vermont visual artists. For More Information Regarding this Exhibition and Benefit Please Contact: Alex Dostie 802.310.3211 Alexjdostie@yahoo.com or Dick Brunelle 802.864.0989 Dbdesignvt@yahoo.com

Image: Watercolor by Dick Brunelle

PRESS RELEASE: H. Keith Wagner presents the Twelfth Annual Roland Batten Memorial Lecture at UVM in Burlington

The Twelfth Annual Roland Batten Memorial Lecture

on Architecture and Design
LINE, FORM, TEXTURE, a brief survey of recent works by H. Keith Wagner Partnership

Speaker: H. Keith Wagner Principal/Landscape Architect with H. Keith Wagner Partnership of Burlington, Vermont

Wednesday, October 26th 2011 at 6:00 P.M.
301 Williams Hall at The University of Vermont
The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

The presented projects will show recent examples of the firm’s design approach and collaborative strategies working with architects, engineers, artists and, other design professionals.

HKWP was founded on the belief that landscape architecture is the intersection of art, nature and mankind. They approach landscape architecture as an applied art form and, work to craft landscape spaces for live, work and play. Their design combines an artistic approach to material and detailing, regional sensitivity and a refined, almost minimal contemporary aesthetic.
The firm’s reputation comes from designing innovative and sensitive environments in a wide variety of campus, corporate, residential, resort and urban design projects. Geographically, these projects range from New England, New York, Pennsylvania and the Eastern seaboard.

About H. Keith Wagner
Keith is a landscape architect, artist and founder of H. Keith Wagner Partnership. He received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Syracuse University/ SUNY-ESF in 1985. After working in Boston with William Pressley Associates, where he was project designer on a broad range of projects, he established his own practice in 1988 in Burlington, VT. Keith is active as a visiting professor, design juror and frequent lecturer. Keith has been named the 2011 William Kennedy Visiting Scholar at Syracuse/SUNY Department of Landscape Architecture.

PRESS RELEASE: Stone Memorial Traditions at Chaffee Art Center in Rutland

Enduring Traditions:
The Art of Memorials from Marble Valley

The Chaffee Art Center is excited to be the host of a new exhibit created and curated by Anne Tait, Associate Professor of Art at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. The exhibit, Enduring Traditions: The Art of Memorials from Marble Valley will be on display October 7 through November 13, 2011, at the Chaffee Art Center, 16 South Main Street, Rutland VT.

Enduring Traditions is an exhibition of the carving arts that were developed during the post Civil War to early 20th Century marble industry in Vermont. This exhibition will feature historical photographs of artists and their drawn and carved artwork, as well as modern reproductions of traditional patterns created by sculptors Jonathan Bechard, Kevin Duffy, and Kerry O. Furlani.

Enduring Traditions will include displays of historic monuments of Vermont marble on loan from the National Park Service and the Veteran's Administration. Visitors to the exhibit will witness the synergy created by the carvers' talent and artistry and the flawless marble of the Rutland region.

There will be an opening reception for Enduring Traditions: The Art of Memorials from Marble Valley featuring a letter carving demonstration by Kerry O. Furlani (example at right) on Friday, October 14 from 5 pm until 8 pm. A special reception will close the exhibit with a presentation by curator Anne Tait, Dennis Montagna from the National Park Service, and Michael Austin from Castleton State College. This will be on Friday November 11 from 5 pm until 8 pm.

PRESS RELEASE: Thea Storz at Catamount Annex Gallery at Dylan's Café in St. Johnsbury

Sew Useful: Functional Conundrums!

Art by Thea Storz
3rd October - 4th December

Artist, photographer, and (renegade) seamstress Thea Storz explores the territory of form and function at the Catamount Arts Annex Gallery during the months of October and November.
Quilted potholders, handbags, aprons, and blankets will be featured in this exhibit. These functional fabric pieces depart from a photographic base.

Works are abstract, bright, geometric, and are designed for practical use. As the Catamount Annex Gallery doubles as Dylan's Café, most items have thematic and practical links to food and cooking.

Catamount Arts Annex Gallery (at Dylan's Café), 139 Eastern Ave, Saint Johnsbury, VT

Questions? 802-748-2600 or tastorz@yahoo.com