JERICHO: Confluence at Emile A. Gruppe Gallery

Confluence: Rivers and Mountains / Art and Science / Workmates and Friends 

Exhibit runs May 30 – June 16, 2013

Opening Reception: Sunday, June 2 from 1 – 4 pm with Artist Talk at 2 pm

Shoshone Butte by Sacha Pealer

Come view the intersection of art and science through the creative works of three local natural scientists.  This show at the Emile A. Gruppe Gallery in Jericho, VT features the work of Gretchen Alexander (fiber art and watercolors), Sacha Pealer (pastels) and Ned Swanberg (watercolors).

 The trio work for the Rivers Program in the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources; Gretchen works as a river scientist helping assess the health of rivers and their corridors, and Ned and Sacha both work to protect Vermont’s floodplains. Casual conversations revealed a mutual interest in nature journaling and, upon Ned’s suggestion, the three started to share a journal to record drawings and writings.

Meander I – Gretchen Alexander

Over the past several years they have passed the journal around and taken turns recording their observations and feelings of their daily lives.  This show furthers their artistic journey together and features a variety of subject matter and mediums, many pieces a direct reflection of the work in their professional lives. 

The show runs from May 30 – June 16 and the public is invited to an opening reception on Sunday June 2 from 1 – 4 pm. Their shared journal will also be on display and the artists will give a brief talk about their works during the opening reception.

Before the Day by Ned Swanberg

Gretchen Alexander has dabbled in many mediums over the years, but currently is focused in fiber arts. Drawing on her background in aquatic ecology, much of her work has an aquatic theme, and through felting, stitching, and a Japanese fish printing technique called Gyotaku, she explores themes that convey ecological processes, scales of life, and the interconnectedness of the natural world. Some works featured in this show are literal representations of large-scale scientific concepts, while others are organismal in scale and inspired by spiritual experiences with and/or admiration for the animals featured. Watercolors of some of her favorite places will also be on display.

Sacha Pealer likes to get her hands, face, and clothes covered with chalk dust. Sometimes she traces on the page the shape or texture of some distant ridge she walked in years past as a field botanist, river scientist, or writer. Sometimes she sits out in swarms of mosquitoes, relentless wind, or glaring sun, engrossed for hours by the process of blending colors to match the earth. Sometimes she hoards images of land forms and skylines in her mind's eye, only to tease them out on paper later. Through art--she discovers--she can be free and light.

Ned Swanberg struggles to celebrate his love for the natural world and to find a way to live honorably in its beauty. Ned’s journals have evolved from lists of daily discoveries to incorporate small sketches and watercolors. Sharing a nature journal with friends has been a rich slow motion conversation of wonder. When it gets too cold for watercolors outside (or in the car) Ned will linger on weekend mornings to paint from photographs collected on walks over the year. It is an honor to see the beauty of the world and to try and share it with others on the journey. Ned lives near the White River and loves walking with mountains and rivers.

UPPER VALLEY: Two Rivers Printmaking Portfolio on exhibit

An exhibit of Two Rivers Printmaking Studio portfolios from 2004 to 2011! 

At the Baker-Berry Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

VERGENNES: Outerlands Gallery - new contemporary art gallery!

Outerlands Gallery, Inc. is a new contemporary art gallery in downtown Vergennes, VT, exhibiting both local and national artists and craftspeople. 

Take a trip to Outerlands Gallery for its opening season!

 

Owners Cat Cutillo and Ross Sheehan renovated this former 19^th Century carriage house into a colorful “modern bungalow gallery,” which opened in May 2013. Some of the handcrafted furniture inside uses reclaimed wood from the renovation. The Gallery has an eclectic mix of large abstract paintings, distinctive landscapes, innovative metal sculptures, traditional blacksmithing, photography, wearable art and handcrafted furniture (both in traditional and contemporary styles).

Artists currently on exhibit: 
James Allen, Lee Beckwith, Michelle Bova, Cat Cutillo, Jesse Emilo, Adrienne Ginter, Peter Jensen, Mark King, Seth Matarese, Todd Monaghan, Kerrin Parkinson, Kaia Porter, Jack Sheehan, Ross Sheehan, Sam Sheehan.

More About Outerlands:
Outerlands Gallery was founded in 2012 by Photographer Cat Cutillo and Sculptor Ross Sheehan. Located in downtown Vergennes, Vermont, this former carriage house was completely renovated into a contemporary gallery that exhibits both local and national artists and craftspeople.

Much of the art inside mimics the revamped Gallery itself by using material that is often abandoned and repurposed. Outerlands focuses on Photography, Sculpture, Painting, Video, Art Objects, Furniture and Wearable Art. The Gallery strives to exhibit work expressing strong craftsmanship, select materials and even a sense of [dark] humor.

In addition to the Gallery, Outerlands provides a range of services including Art Handling, Art Installation, Photography, Video Production and Video Editing. Currently, there is an outdoor Sculpture Garden in progress.

Outerlands Gallery, Inc.
37 Green Street
Vergennes, VT 05491
www.outerlandsgallery.com
info@outerlandsgallery.com
802-870-7228

CHESTER: Artist Panel on Art and the Mystery of Life

The Vermont Institute of Contemporary Arts 

presents

An Artist Panel

Art and the Mystery of Life

Have you ever wondered about how your mind makes sense of the mystery of life? 

What does art have to do with it? How do artists explore this endless mystery?

Come and participate in a panel discussion with The Mysterious Mind artists 

at VTica, Saturday June 1st at 7pm. 

Fran Bull will facilitate as well as discuss her Jungian quest and how it is reflected in her art.  

Tom McGraw, Joan Curtis, Nina Benedetto and Robert Black 

will round out the panel, 

offering their unique perspectives with their art.

Come and explore the mystery.

by artist Fran Bull

Saturday June 1st  |  7pm  |  

$10 donation suggested

802 875-1018 

VTica.org

MONTPELIER: Jan Ghiringhelli's "Recent Works"

EXHIBIT runs May 5 - June 14, 2013 
Montpelier Senior Activity Center

 "Recent Works" is an exhibition of oil and pastel paintings by Central Vermont award winning artist, Jan Ghiringhelli.

 Round Barn - oil on linen by Jan Ghiringhelli

Exhibited in Montpelier's newly renovated Senior Activity Center, her plein air paintings capture scenes that serve as a glimpse into the here and now of local areas. In the main hall seen on a wall painted a soft rusty orange a group of snow scenes is a beautifully balanced vibrancy against the juxtaposition of warms and cools.

Montpelier Senior Activity Center
58 Barre Street
Montpelier, VT 05602

Open Mon - Fri.
802-223-2518





Jan Ghiringhelli is a plein air painter or paints from life in the studio. She is a Vermont artist working in multiple elements of pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolor and mixed media. Her works have been selected in many juried shows and she has had many one person shows. She currently has memberships in the Vermont Pastel Society, the Art Resource Association, Studio Place Arts, the Northern Vermont Art Association, and is a member of the Bryan Gallery.  

3 B's - Buttercups, Brazier, Barns - oil on Wallis by Jan Ghiringhelli

Covered Bridge - oil on linen by Jan Ghiringhelli

CHESTER: The Tao of Watercolor Course

RUTLAND: Don Ross "Photographing Quarries" at the Downtown Gallery

Opening Reception with artist Don Ross: Friday, May 31, 6-8 pm
Downtown Gallery in the Center Street Alley
(between the Paramount Theater and the Sunapee Bank
Rutland, VT

photograph by Don Ross

The Castleton College Downtown Gallery is pleased to exhibit “Photographing Quarries,” 
a collection of 15 photographs from artist Don Ross of Brandon, Vermont.  
May 15 – June 15, 2013 
Opening Reception Friday, May 31, 6-8 pm

Walk into a still, cool, meditative space and stand before Don Ross’ photographs of the quarries of western and central Vermont.  Look into the quarries through his camera lens, and you see the long history of the earth, as well as the brief impact of man’s practical industry.  Ross says, “Men were digging big holes, and these inadvertent works of art are what is left.”

He looked into these places of utter utility, and saw the serene, implacable surfaces of antiquity:  the geometry of nature and the slow motion of eons. Ross explains that he has been walking the quarries since 1993, and that he went there to experience the quiet strangeness and to look intently at the scale, line, color, planes, and the drama of light on the cut marble and granite.

His 20-year quest to present these images represents a learning continuum for him; so, like most artists, he returned to his subject for repeated looks, adding new layers of expertise and insight to his photographs each time he went. The photos in this exhibit come from his work during the past four years.

Since 1993, photographic technology has transformed itself.  Now, he explains, his digital photographs contain an overwhelming amount of visual information; so much, in fact, that small prints would not reveal it.  To accommodate this craving for detail, the photographs are large.

However, in spite of their imposing size and the abundant visual data they present, Ross’s pieces frame the abstract essence of what he sees.  At times, looking into the quarry pieces, it is difficult to discern what is actually pictured.  Is it a wall of stone, or a reflection?  Or both?  Which way is up, which down?   How can such an angular place be crossed by a languorous curve?

Ross’s photographs leave the viewer with a quandary to contemplate:  the juxtaposition of profuse exhaustive information and of pure sensory impact.  

Visit the Downtown Gallery in the Center Street Alley (between the Paramount Theater and the Sunapee Bank) in Rutland from 1-6 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and 1-7 pm on Friday each week.

The Opening Reception with artist Don Ross will take place on Friday, May 31 from 6-8 pm.

Read more about the Downtown Gallery:
http://www.castleton.edu/news/index.php/downtown-gallery-now-open/ 

Read more about Don Ross:
http://donrossphotography.com/

WOODSTOCK: Bill James Exhibit at ArtisTree

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, May 31 at 6 pm

2013 marks the centennial of a painter who captured people and places familiar to the Woodstock area over 50 years ago. Bill James, grandson of the philosopher William James, spent a prolific period working in the Woodstock area making lasting connections.

Please join Artistree Gallery in celebrating the work.
Exhibit runs: May 31 to June 15, 2013.
Opening reception: May 31 at 6 pm

 

ArtisTree Gallery

1206 Route 12
281 Barnard Road (e911)
Mount Tom Building
Woodstock, VT 05091

map | vcard


 Visit www.artistreevt.org or call 802-457-3500 for more information. 

STOWE: Helen Shulman paintings & Karen Petersen sculpture at West Branch Gallery

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 25, 2013, 6-8:30 p.m.

  Please join us

 Saturday, May 25th from 6 - 8:30pm

for an exhibition of new works by
Helen Shulman and Karen Petersen


Helen Shulman's approach to painting is two fold, she describes building a painting as being similar to an architectural structure- starting from the inside and working out. Developing a relationship with a painting though, starts from the outside and works in. The magic happens when these two things intersect. With titles like, "Take a Left at the First Light, You Can't Miss It", or "Your Journey will be Satisfying in Unexpected Ways", the works featured in Love Songs speak directly to the feeling of setting out on a journey with no known destination; exhilarating and so full of anticipation. 

A perfect metaphor for the process of creation Shulman experiences with each painting.

Karen Petersen describes herself as a sculptor of organic forms. The motive is always to create a solid shape of emotional consequence in space. Petersen's cast bronze figures, animals and flowers all begin in the same way; shaped by her hands in clay, imbued with a quiet, contemplative love as she creates each form. The resulting sculptures capture the grace and energy of the spirits they represent.
Spirit into Form brings together Petersen's vast body of work, including life size cast bronze horses, "Stallion" and "Lady". "Kenya" an African antelope stretches tall in the gallery, and shares the space with smaller sculptures of flowers, buds and seeds to propagate her own spring at West Branch gallery.

A gallery talk will be given by Meg Brazill, writer for Art New England. 

Music will be provided by Ira Friedman Trio, and catering will be provided by Susanna's Catering.

www.westbranchgallery.com • art@westbranchgallery.com

MIDDLEBURY: Fran Bull - Sound & Color Exibit at Jackson Gallery

Opening reception: Friday, May 24 from  5 – 7 pm.
On exhibit through July 6, 2013.

The Jackson Gallery at Town Hall Theater presents FRAN BULL: Sound & Color, an exhibit of opera portraits on paper inspired by Japanese woodblock prints of Kabuki actors.

Fran Bull has been collecting Japanese woodblock prints for many years, enchanted by their beauty. She is especially drawn to depictions of actors, costumed and bewigged for their roles.  “You look, then you look again—because the woman shown in her feminine splendor is, in fact, a man! The nuances of femininity fully present, brought vividly to life with a few graceful lines, broad flat planes of color, ornate kimonos, the face in make-up. Yet, look again and you’ll see the actor, the man ‘underneath’.  Here is the un-pretty face, and something subtly ambiguous in the mien of the figure.” 

The fascination with this double aspect has inspired her to create a series of opera portra in homage to the Japanese woodblock print.  “Western Operatic tradition itself includes every sort of character­—women as men, men as women, gods, devils, angels, gypsies, clowns, even dolls. My portraits seek to echo the ambiguous nature of the Japanese actor portraits. The subjects are in disguise; they are playing roles. Each role is conveyed through sound, as the Greeks understood it—per-sona, and this phenomenon translates as a series of visual cues: the singer’s physiognomy is determined in two ways, according to the drama and with regard to the technicalities of singing.”

_____________

The exhibition will be on display through July 6, 2013.
Gallery hours are noon to 5 pm, Monday through Saturday, and for an hour before each Town Hall Theater performance.

The Jackson Gallery at Town Hall Theater
68 South Pleasant Street
Middlebury, Vt.
(802) 382-9222
jacksongallery@townhalltheater.org

Photo 1 (on left):  Scotto in Concert, acrylic on handmade paper

Photo 2 (on right):  Marion Anderson as AZUCENA, acrylic on handmade paper

NORTH CHITTENDEN: Open Studio Weekend with the North Chittenden Women's Art Collective

Memorial Day weekend, six local women artists, Althea Bilodeau, Bonnie Baird, Elizabeth Holland, Gabrielle McDermit, Kathryn Milillio, and Jeannie Podolak will be showing for their 4th year at the North Chittenden Grange Hall from 10am-5pm each day. Follow the Yellow open studio signs and look for 82-87 our studio site numbers. Come visit us and be inspired!

SHELBURNE: "Parallels," Recent work by Dick and Nancy Weis at FSG

Opening Reception: May 31, 6-8 pm
Exhibition Dates: May 24 - June 25, 2013

Parallels: Recent work by Dick and Nancy Weis
Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery
86 Falls Road
Shelburne, VT

Maintaining Composure by Nancy Weis

Artists Dick and Nancy Weis of Castleton, VT each have their own inspiration, style and medium, but this upcoming show puts their work side by side and invites viewers to make connections.  The couple formed Otherweis Limited in 1974 as an umbrella for their various art activities, including their studio work in painting, drawing, printmaking, fibers, handmade paper and installation as well as their work as artist-educators. With graduate training at American University and George Washington University as a foundation, they have exhibited and taught in many locations throughout the United States and abroad.


 Richard Weis has an affinity for the land that is rooted in his Northern Minnesota origins where the family’s hunting, logging, and seasonal work was a matter of survival.

Dick’s undergraduate studies at Bemidji State University in Minnesota under the mentorship of one of Josef Albers’ students provided him with a solid foundation for a long career as an artist-teacher. Graduate study at the University of Oregon was interrupted by military service in the late 1960’s however he was able to return to his studies with a fellowship to American University in Washington D.C. where he won the David Lloyd Kreeger award for graduate painting in 1973.

Morning Struck Gold by Richard Weis,
©2013  35"x24" acrylic on canvas

Dick taught in a number of schools in the Midwest before joining the faculty of Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont in 1989 where he helped build the four-year art program. During his 21 years at Green Mountain he taught in the art department and served a period as Director of International Programs.

Red Dancer (©2012) by Dick Weis 18"x 11" Acrylic

In 2002 Dick was invited as artist in residence to Aberystwyth University in Wales and received an award as Fulbright Scholar/artist-in –residence in South Korea. He returned to Korea as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in art in 2010 to work with graduate and undergraduate students in art education.

Dick is currently Professor Emeritus of Art at Green Mountain College and continues to maintain a studio in Poultney Vermont. He lives with his wife, artist Nancy Pulliam Weis, near Castleton Vermont.

Nancy Weis has worked in encaustic painting, handmade paper, fiber and other media over the years. She is particularly interested in elements of culture that are common to many different societies. "Nearly every non-technological society has used similar natural objects (feathers, stones, bones, twigs) for decoration. Circles, spirals, and handprints have been universally used as symbols, but their meanings and purposes vary. There seems to be a common visual language that leads us to similarities in what we recognize as purposeful and meaningful,” she says.

Listening to Wind by Nancy Weis 

Her encaustic assemblages are attempts to call on that universal language to create emotional response or ritual space. The work does not intend to be read literally or to explore any particular culture, but rather to make ordinary objects particular and important, making them into a symbolic language.


Nancy studied at Bemidji State University, and completed her MFA at George Washington University, where she was awarded the David Lloyd Kreeger prize in Printmaking. She has done post-graduate studies at Ohio  State University and University of Colorado.She has exhibited across the U.S. and abroad.  She has taught at Castleton State College and the Community College of Vermont.

Parallels will be on display at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne, VT from May 24 to June 25, with an opening reception on May 31 from 6 to 8 pm.

Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery
Blog: fsgalleryvt.wordpress.com

Website: www.fsgallery.com

MORRISVILLE: Janet Wormser exhibits oil paintings at River Arts

Janet Wormser
May 16 - July 5, 2013

The Gallery at River Arts is pleased to present an exhibit of oil paintings by Janet Wormser, May 16-July 5, 2013 at the River Arts Center in Morrisville.

Interested in pictorial harmony, visual artist Janet Wormser uses color, shape and composition to pursue the sensation of authenticity in her exhibit of paintings at River Arts (May 16 to July 5). Though her body of work focuses primarily on landscape, Wormser explores portraiture, providing another avenue for registering emotional presence. Her paintings are at once atmospheric and direct, abstracted yet alert to the allure of representation.

Janet Wormser studied art and graphic design at Simmons College in Boston, and architecture and the Boston Architectural Center. Wormser resides in Cabot, Vermont.

The Gallery at River Arts is located on the second floor at the River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant Street in Morrisville, VT.  Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10:00a.m.-2:00p.m.  For off hours, please call River Arts: 802-888-1261. 

Admission is free. For more information, call or visit their website at www.riverartsvt.org.

NEWPORT: Call for Artists from the Northeast Kingdom - MAY 20 Deadline

Note: Diane Peel is opening a new art gallery in Newport, "The 99 Gallery and Center", which will show the work of Kingdom artists, other artists, and the work of her father, the late Seattle artist Donald William Peel, as well as being a small community meeting and educational space. It will be located in the Carriage House behind the Bigelow Building on Main Street.  First show to open June 9, 2013. 

View the Peel Collection online:
http://www.donaldpeeldreamseries.com
 

MILTON: Outdoor Art Day with Milton Artists Guild

The Milton Artists' Guild is having an Outdoor Art Day!  

Everyone -- and we really mean everyone -- is welcome to participate on May 18 by painting, drawing, photographing, crocheting, fingerpainting, collaging... whatever you do or would like to try -- Milton's beautiful scenery, buildings, people and/or animals.

There is no skill level required, just a willingness to enjoy the day and artistically express yourself. Visit milton250.org for details.

Summer Fun 48” x 60” oil by Gisela Alpert

Join the Milton Artists' Guild for a fun day creating outdoors on May 18. All ages, skill levels and mediums are welcome. Bring friends and your own supplies (basic art supplies can also be purchased at registration) to set up at designated sites. Registration will be at 8:00 AM at the Milton Grange on Route 7 and creating will last until 2:30 PM. Come to the reception at the Grange from 3:00-5:00 PM to see the works that were made. Some of the works can be for sale or simply for sharing. The public is welcome to visit with the artists all day and come to the reception.
Pre-register by emailing:
cherrystreetstudio@yahoo.com

BARRE: Big Arty SPA Happening with Silent Auction and The Mellow Yellow Band. Yowsa!!

Friday, May 10, 7-9 pm at Studio Place Arts (SPA) in Barre

Big Arty SPA Happening

annual fundraiser for nonprofit art center SPA

The annual BASH (Big Arty SPA Happening) takes place on Friday, May 10, 7-9PM and your friends at Studio Place Arts hope to see you!  It’s a fun way to raise funds for SPA educational and exhibition programs.

SPA will have 3 art exhibits on view:  Two by Two (main floor gallery); Specimens by Jason Galligan-Baldwin (third floor gallery), and BabyProof by Jenna Kelly (third floor gallery).

On the second floor of the art center, there is a Silent Auction to benefit SPA with a variety of art, crafts, antiques, and gift certificates to local restaurants and organizations. Bidding starts now and concludes at the end of the BASH; 100% of bids support SPA programs.

Upstairs, guests will create a group mobile with founding artist Janet Van Fleet -- and raise funds for SPA programs.  Using metal stamping tools, participants will imprint with their name, initials or a short message onto tin disks that will hang from a large mobile displayed prominently at SPA following the BASH.  (This arty fundraiser costs $10 for 2 disks or $7 for a disk that flies solo.)  

Mellow Yellow Band - photo by Jack Rowell

There will be light refreshments and award-winning wines served by the Grand View Winery (cash bar).  The BASH features a return performance by The Mellow Yellow Band (see link, below).  Some guests will dress for the event – if you’ve been looking for an event where you could wear your bell bottoms and fringed vest, this is it!

Call to SPA to reserve your tickets:  $15 Advance/$25 Day of Event

Check out The Mellow Yellow Band

http://www.mellowyellowband.com/

Studio Place Arts (SPA)

201 N Main St

Barre, VT  05641

PH: (802) 479-7069

FAX:  (802) 476-8627

www.studioplacearts.com

FACEBOOK.COM/STUDIOPLACEARTS

WOODSTOCK: "Cosmic Scales" at ArtisTree

Cosmic Scales
Opening Reception: Friday, May 3rd 6-7:30pm
Exhibit runs May 3-14, 2013
Artistree
1206 VT Route 12
Woodstock, VT

How does your perception of a place change when you observe on different perspectives or scales? How do lenses expand our understanding of the universe and help us make connections? Area 5th & 6th graders considered these questions and found answers through the amazing images they captured at the microscopic, human, and astronomic scales. Join them in celebrating these artistic discoveries. Exhibit runs May 3rd-May 14th, with opening reception on Friday May 3rd 6-7:30pm.

More information is available at:
sites.google.com/a/wcsu.net/marshbillings

Contact us for more information:
Artistree
1206 VT Route 12
Woodstock, VT
gallery@artistreevt.org
802-457-3500

SOUTH BURLINGTON: Art Affair | Johanne Durocher Yordan at Shearer

RECEPTION: Friday, May 10, 2013, 6 to 8 pm
EXHIBIT: May 1 - June 30, 2013

WHITE RIVER: Elinor Randall's Monoprints at Two Rivers Printmaking

Opening reception:  First Friday, May 3, 5-8 pm | Artist's talk at 6 pm

Monoprints by Elinor Randall Tilting: Molly Keane's Sliding World Opening reception: First Friday, May 3 5:00-8:00pm Artist's talk at 6:00pm Exhibition runs through May 31, 2013 This exhibition of monoprints by Elinor Randall, celebrates the life and work of Molly Keane, a 20th century Anglo-Irish playwright and novelist. She began writing in the middle of the Downton Abbey days, satirizing the horse-and-hound set - and had to publish under a pen name in order to safely skewer her neighbors. She stopped writing for 30 plus years, stunned by the early death of her husband, then began again in her last decade and a half. And she finally was able to write under her own name. (She was short-listed for a Booker Prize in 1981.) Keane saw the stratifications of her world breaking up -"tilting" as in Randy's title, and Randy sees a parallel tilting in her own world.

©2013 Two Rivers Printmaking Studio | 05001

BURLINGTON: Art Walk Opening Receptions at S.P.A.C.E. Gallery | Backspace | SODA Plant | Studio 266

In The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery.................................................

By the Skin of My Teeth, collage work by Ashley Roark Coping with Reality, collage work by Ashley Roark Opening Reception: Friday, May 3 from 5 – 9 pm On exhibit in The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery 266 Pine Street, Suite 105 Burlington, VT 05401 www.spacegalleryvt.com Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 11 – 5 pm The exhibit will be on display May 3 – 31. ‘Coping with Reality’ is an exhibition of mixed media collage work by Burlington artist Ashley Roark. In this new series, Roark explores paper as a place holder for memories and uses the act of creating as a meditation. Her collage utilizes vintage paper that features muted tones, textures, and typography. She layers these assemblages, until the objects achieve a desired harmony, striking a balance between structure and chaos. Through this process, Roark liberates the objects from their intended purpose and invites the viewer to dissect each part of the piece. RSVP on facebook

In The Backspace Gallery.............................................

Caution!, collage work by Benjamin Peberdy Caution!, collage work by Benjamin Peberdy Opening Reception: Friday, May 3 from 5 – 9 pm On exhibit in The Backspace Gallery 266 Pine Street, Suite 106 Burlington, VT 05401 www.spacegalleryvt.com Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 11 – 5 pm The exhibit will be on display May 3 – 31. Living in the age of crisis can be hard, but all you need is Caution! All the modern hazards are explored in this new series of collage by Benjamin Peberdy, specially designed to inform and inoculate. You can’t afford to miss out! RSVP on facebook

In The Soda Plant.............................................................

Slip like Space by Craig Maines Large Works Closing Reception to be held during First Friday Art Walk, May 3rd On exhibit in The Soda Plant 266 Pine Street Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 578-2512 www.thesodaplant.com Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday from 9 – 5pm, Saturday from 11 – 5pm The Soda Plant hallways wind through some of the most creative studios and businesses in the South End. For the past few months those halls have hosted their own creative works from around the region in a ‘Large Works’ exhibit, in which each piece must measure at least 3′ in one direction.

Across Pine @ Studio 266................................................

Plein Aire in a Different World by Ann Street Bailey

It Came from Space! - Continues with Silent Auction

Opening Reception: Friday, May 3 from 5 - 8 pm

On exhibit at Studio 266
266 S. Champlain St.
(behind New England Floor Covering)
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 578-2512
Additional Gallery Hours: By Appointment

The S.P.A.C.E. Gallery is 'launching' a Satellite Arts space on Pine Street this summer. Space themed artwork is on display in a 50/50 fundraiser to help with the cost of building new artist studios for the creative community in Burlington's South End.

A selection of these works are traveling to Studio 266 for a silent auction, where pieces will start at 50% of their full value. Bid during First Friday Art Walk and online at www.facebook.com/spacegalleryvt May 3 - 31.

SOUTH BURLINGTON: Essay from abstract painter Johanne Durocher Yordan

Editor's Note: Written by JDY just as spring was trying to arrive, but winter held it back. I'm finally posting Johanne's essay as her sunflowers will be on exhibit at Shearer Chevrolet in South Burlington starting this week. May 1 - June 30, 2013. Opening Reception: May 10, 6-8 pm

A Personal Essay: Contemplating Abstraction
by Johanne Durocher Yordan

On a sunny day in my studio I sat and thought about what I wanted to work on next. I had just finished up an 11-piece series titled “Contemplation” and I was trying to figure out what my next body of work would be. While lost in my thoughts, a friend stopped by. She had never been to my studio and had not seen all of my work. She was amazed and seemed to loved all of it, but then she stumbled on my portfolio of past work. Prior to 2006 I worked primarily with watercolor, painting landscapes and still lifes. This portfolio held the series of sunflowers I had done and she fell in love with them.

As much as I would love for everyone to love and understand my abstract work, I realized a long time ago that not everyone does. I myself was not a fan of abstract work until 2006 so I cannot fault anyone for not “getting it.”  All I can do is help people understand where the inspiration for my work comes from.

After finishing “Contemplation” I knew I wanted to do something different, that I needed to step away from the style of painting I've been doing for the past six years. When this friend of mine saw the sunflowers, her exact words were, “Now this work I can relate to. I love it, it is just more me.”

After my friend left an idea started to unfold – my next series would once again be sunflowers. Many people have been asking if I would ever do another sunflower series so I thought that the timing was perfect. The catch? That I needed to stay true to myself as an abstract painter. These paintings would not be in watercolor and would have to be done in an abstract way; they would need to be a reflection of who I am today as an artist, but with a twist. I also knew that I didn't want to work using only acrylic paint, but also wanted to use paper and/or mixed-media. So off I went to purchase my canvases. They needed to be smaller than the canvases used in the body of work that I had just finished (primarily 30x50) so these would drop down to 24x24. I had also started a collection of papers, newsprints, sheet music and maps.

I have used Vermont maps for several of my pieces; they have given my work much more interest and have a “close to home” feel to them. I think people will find them interesting and may even find where they live in the background or on some of the petals. As I develop my idea and my composition, I then start to tear my paper into many different sizes and the appropriate shapes for the sunflower petals. I work my painted background first and when I feel the background will coexist well with the idea that I have, I then adhere the paper to the canvas.

I apply a thin wash or two with paint, but not enough to hide the paper that I've used. The paper selected for each piece is very important and is a unique element of each one. I paint the stem and leaves on some of them but have also used paper to do
this as well. The sunflower that I look at everyday seems to make this cold, harsh winter seem non-existent in my studio: it represents hope and beauty.

 This body of work has been refreshing to do and has been a much needed break from the more emotional work that I have done. Branching out and trying new things is what keeps artists “fresh” , there is nothing wrong with developing and trying new techniques and applying these newly found concepts to your work, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Johanne Durocher Yordan
Email: johanne@ybba.com
Website: www.jdyart.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jdyar