REVIEW: Phyllis Chase at Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier

By Theodore Hoppe

Being an artist is a curse, or so I've heard. While I consider myself artist I don't make a living as one. My art is little more than a hobby. It is difficult to be an artist. An artist needs to be prolific, producing a body of work in order to be recognized, but even this does not guarantee success. Struggling and starving for appreciation and acceptance of ones work is a lifelong struggle. The image of the struggling artist might well apply to Phyllis Chase, a local Vermont artist for the last thirty years, but she doesn't view being an artist as a curse at all. She welcomes the challenges and struggles that creating art for a living can present. When I spoke to Phyllis to ask her about the current exhibition, Vermont: Inside & Out, at the Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier, she told me, "I am delighted I get to be an artist in this lifetime. I love to paint and do silkscreen more than I can say."

Success in the art world can depend on the many moments of tedious labor; organizing showings, loading and unloading art work, the hours spent hanging exhibitions, and self promotion, as much as artistic ability. Chase seems to have forged the right balance.

Saturday mornings in the summer and fall months one can find Phyllis at the Montpelier Farmer's Market hawking her wares: prints of her paintings and silk-screens. The business of art is arguably the less rewarding, but the financially necessary side; the long hours of setting up and standing around in the hopes of earning some money, enough to pay the bills and to buy more art supplies. This is the struggle. But there is a positive side to the marketing and selling. Phyllis gets to hear first hand from the people that admire her art, and about how they are as moved as she is by the Vermont landscapes that has been preserved around us. She gets to share stories about the creative moments when, standing in a sun-drenched field, this deep sense of place that eases itself out of her brushes and paints form a red barn and field of golden grasses on the canvas. The ultimate compliment to how well she has captured this unique place we live in is when someone buys a painting or a print.

Her current exhibition at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library is a retrospective of both familiar and some unfamiliar landscapes, interiors and still-life. Chase has included over fifty pieces of art in the exhibition, an ambitious number for the space the library provides, but presentation is well laid out, thoughtfully display and does not feel crowded.

Chase, who started out forty years ago silk-screening, has included a small grouping of seven silkscreens in the Holmes Room that are an homage to the evening hours. Ranging from twilight to early morning, they depict simple landscapes: sliver of a moon rising, maple trees at sunset and sunrise, and moonlight on white birch. All contain a five pointed star somewhere in the print, a signature of Chase's silkscreens.

There are thirteen prints from the collection of Chase's paintings. All are landscapes that define the four seasons. Some of the prints, such as Autumn Afternoon, Mt. Mansfield, and Kent Corners Spring, will be recognizable to the viewer, but others are more personal and universal; Winter Sunset, moonlight shadows stretched across the snow, Boulder Creek, Autumn"reflected light on the moving water.

The paintings are the main body of work in the exhibit and the include several themes. Among the landscape paintings there is a strong sense of light in each. More than red barns and white houses, the paints capture the light of a time of day, or time of year. This is easily detected in the winter landscapes where the approaching spring light casts a more promising brightness on the snowy scene, as in the painting Kent's Corner, Winter, or in the pale mid-winter mood of the blue-gray sky and orange-pink sunlight of the painting Stan and Elaine's. One may also want to note the unique differences between painting and print, as both versions of Kent's Corner, Winter are part of this show.

All of Chase's paintings have an impressionistic style that employs a liberal use of paint and suggestive strokes that blend together in a seamless fashion. The Copper Beech is a fine example of Chase's plein air technique. The red barn with its seamed metal roof is carefully detailed with white window sill framing, yet the beech tree mentioned in the painting title is only hinted at with ochre and burnt sienna brown, vaguely outlining a large tree that is dotted with copper-orange to imply leaves that held on past autumn. Purple shadows of trees not depicted fall in the foreground on the blueish-violet snow of a late afternoon in winter.

The highlight of the exhibit is prominently displayed on the second floor, a painting titled The Kellogg Hubbard Library. It is a interior scene of an antique couch in the sun-drenched new addition to the library where the atrium is. The detailing in the painting, such as the eleven delicate squiggles evoking the words in a open dictionary are just exquisite. Chase lovingly paints in over one hundred and fifty single brush stokes of various colors that chain together to form the books that line the rows of shelves. It is a painting that belongs in the library and perhaps a benefactor will come along to see that remains at the library.

As much as I admire the landscape paintings, it is the still life and the interior paintings that demonstrate Chase's growth as an artist in an intimate and emotionally compelling way. Painting like Autumn Still Life and Winter Still Life stand out as classic exercises in traditional painting in both subject matter and style. My personal favorite is among the interior scenes located in the Louis P. Peck Foyer, Slice of Montpelier with Coffee. It is simple yet elegant: two empty parlor chairs set in front of a window. Chase's eye has knowingly selected a particular setting both warm and inviting in its detailed appointments of blue on blue. The blue printed drapes and sheer curtains, the stripes of the upholstered chairs, and the way the light dances on the edges of the wood chair makes the painting come alive.

Returning again to the business of art, Chase's success left her with a need to give back to the community she has been a part of for so long. "This year, I conceived of the idea of partnering with institutions whose work I admired, and mounting exhibitions that would in part benefit those institutions by donating 20% of the sales to them." Chase explains. The exhibition at the Kellogg Hubbard Library is the second institution Chase has selected to benefit from this arrangement. The first was the Vermont Law School this past summer.

Additionally, the library has arranged an event titled "An Evening with Artist Phyllis Chase" on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, at 7:00 P.M. The evening will be an interview with Phyllis as she discusses plein air painting, her hand-cut silkscreen process, and what it's like to be an artist in Vermont. The event is free and Open to the public.

Phyllis Chase – “Vermont Inside and Out” is on exhibit from November 1, 2011 – December 21, 2011. 20% of all sales benefit the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.

Photographs by Theodore Hoppe

PRESS RELEASE: Harriet Wood at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury

Harriet Wood:
New Painting

On exhibit at Catamount Arts during the month of December

Reception December 2, 5-7 PM

The exhibit, which occupies the entire gallery, contains six large scrolls that are 6' to 8 ' long by 42" wide. Additionally, the artists is exhibiting other works on canvas, as well as three clay pieces that she did while in Alaska last summer.

Image: detail from one of Harriet Wood’s large scrolls. Photo by Perry Heller

PRESS RELEASE: Holiday Show at Studio Place Arts in Barre

Celebrate Local Arts at Studio Place Arts

Whether you are looking for an original painting, a curvaceous, fringed scarf, flying fabric roosters, a crocheted orange carrot, or hand-thrown earthenware mug, the annual holiday season show called Celebrate at Studio Place Arts (SPA) offers a broad choice of options - and many great values.

This year, there are more than 75 artist members of SPA involved in the show
who, according to SPA Executive Director Sue Higby, "set the pace for imaginative, locally-made crafts and fine art." Like previous years, visitors are urged to explore the nooks and crannies of all 3 floors of the historic art center through the end of December to find special gifts for
family and friends.

On the first floor of SPA, visitors will spot a variety of functional and decorative pottery, jewelry and other wearable crafts, baskets, sculptures, and a variety of 2-dimensional works. Upstairs, the array of paintings,
drawings, collages, and encaustic works is extensive, and one could easily imagine redecorating a neighborhood of homes several times over. In some cases, artists who normally work on large canvases offer smaller sized works that fit into more gift giving budgets.

Come December, the SPA galleries will add hours, including late night hours on Thursdays and hours on Sundays to encourage visitors who have day jobs, and SPA will add more space to the show when the first floor Classroom becomes part of the show.

Celebrate takes place from November 16-December 30, 2011. The public is invited to the Opening Reception on Saturday, November 19, 4:30-6:30 PM. For more information and gallery hours go to: www.studioplacearts.com

PRESS RELEASE: Jolene Garanzha and Dana Dale Lee at Vintage Jewelers in Burlington

Loonatic Tales and Other Happy Omens: Jolene Garanzha, Prints and Dana Dale Lee, Paintings

Months of December and January
Vintage Jewelers
125 College Street Burlington VT

Opening reception on Friday December 2nd,
5:00pm-8:00pm with music by Astrocat.

About Jolene Garanzha:
Jolene, who received the MA and MFA in Painting from the University of Iowa, has exhibited her work locally and regionally. She teaches Art at the Community College of Vermont.

About Dana Dale Lee:
Dana has had several exhibitions in New York City and Montreal, as well as nationally. Born and raised in the Midwest, he received his MFA from the New York Academy of Art, and currently manages the Art and Graphic Design department at the Community College of Vermont.

The exhibition will run through the end of January 2012.

Images:
Dana Dale Lee, Kraken, 2011, oil on sized paper, 8 x 13 inches
Jolene Garanzha, Coyote Witch, Drypoint Etching, 7x5 inches

PRESS RELEASE: Sebastiaan Bremer Lecture at UVM in Burlington

The Department of Art and Art History’s Mollie Ruprecht Fund for Visiting Artists and Scholars presents: Sebastiaan Bremer, on Wednesday, November 30 at 5:30 PM in 301 Williams Hall.

Sebastiaan Bremer has developed a unique process that involves the direct manipulation of photographs, while they alternatively alter, transform and elevate specific familial imagery. A veteran of over twenty solo exhibitions, his work has been exhibited in many prominent museums and galleries including Air de Paris in Paris, France, and LACMA in Los Angeles, California. His work has been featured in publications including October, Harpers, and Artforum. Bremer hails from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, but has been based in New York since 1992.
Image: Egmont # 11, 2011, inks and acrylic on c-print

PRESS RELEASE: Cynthia Crawford at Zollikofer Gallery in White River Junction

Creature Kinships & Natural Affinities:
A Photographic Journey through the Upper Valley
Artist: Cynthia Crawford
Show Dates: Nov. 18, 2011-Jan. 18, 2012
Location: Zollikofer Gallery, Hotel Coolidge, 39 Main Street, White River Junction, Vt.
OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, Dec. 2, 5-7 PM (First Friday)

Artist Statement:
In the 30+ years I have lived in the Upper Valley, I've grown to love its ever-changing landscape and native flora and fauna. I started taking photographs about 5 years ago and haven't stopped since! I want to share with you, in this show, those special moments when the fox suddenly appears, the loon calls, the little red eft emerges and the birds sing, or are silent.
My photography is an evolving art-some of my prints are straight from the camera, and some are what I call "photo-paintings". My background as a watercolorist has led me to experiment with digitally "painting" my photographs.

The results are unique – neither strictly photo nor brush and paint. All the prints in this show were made with the finest archival inks and papers for maximum longevity. Some are limited editions. The show also includes some of my watercolors. Enjoy!

Images:
Hairy Woodpecker, Flight
Red Fox, Alert

PRESS RELEASE: The Mill Children at the Bennington Museum

The Mill Children – Child Labor Explored through Art at the Bennington Museum

What was it like to be a child worker in the Eclipse Cotton Mill in North Adams in 1911? This is the question that will be explored in The Mill Children, on view November 19 through December 31 in the Regional Artists Gallery of the Bennington Museum. The exhibit is a distillation of an exhibit previously held at the Brill Gallery at the Eclipse Mill in North Adams. It features responses by Realist Painter William Oberst and Abstract Painter Dawn Nelson to the photos taken in August 1911 by Lewis Wickes Hine at the Eclipse Mill for his child labor project.

Composer/Musician Matt Hopkins created original music for the original exhibition which will also accompany this exhibit. The art and music talk to the moods inside this Mill 100 years ago. “It's a centennial of sorts.” states Jamie Franklin, curator of collections at the Bennington Museum. “This exhibit is uniquely different than those previously installed.” In addition to the images from the Eclipse Mill, photos from the Bennington Museum collection reflecting mill housing on Benmont Ave. (formerly Mill St.) taken by Hine, as well as an image of the interior of the Bradford Mill taken around the same time by Frederick Burt are included in the exhibition. These provide local visitors with a sense of the conditions of the local mills at that time. On December 10, an Educational Presentation at 1:30 pm is scheduled to be given by artists and guests. This is followed with the Artists’ Reception at 3:00 pm.


History of the Mill Children at the Eclipse Mill
“From the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s as American society was morphing from a rural agriculturally based one to a more industrial urban one, it was the poor parents and their children that were among the mix of workers in most of the large mills. Many of the workers in North Adams during this period came from the farms in French Canada. Children as young as 6 years old were a part of the mix in this country’s Woolen Mills, Cotton Mills, Canneries, Tobacco Plants, Coal Mines, Glass Works, etc. The Child Workers in front of the Eclipse Mill in 1911 were a part of the 2 million under 16 years of age children that were a part of the American work force – many working at least 12 hours a day in rough conditions with lots of injuries and lack of schooling. Most had to work to keep their families from starving. Records show that a typical family got paid about $30 a week: $12 for the father, $9 for the mother, $5 for the girls and $4 for the boys.”
– Text from Brill Gallery Productions, Ralph Brill, Director. Studio 109, Brill’s Gallery, has taken over the space that was the Boiler Room of the Eclipse Mill in North Adams.

A Bit about Lewis Wickes Hine
In 1908 the National Child Labor (NCL) Committee retained Lewis Wickes Hine to photograph child labor practices in the various mills, factories, canneries, etc. around the country. Between 1908 and 1917 he crisscrossed the country taking approximately 5,000 photographs, mainly of young workers, which were used to bring the ills of child labor into the public consciousness. Over time, many of Hine's most powerful images became American icons, including his photograph originally known by the caption scrawled on the reverse of the photograph as, "Addie Laird, 12 years. Spinner in North Pormal [i.e., Pownal] Cotton Mill. Vt."

In the summer of 2002, noted author Elizabeth Winthrop saw this image of Addie Laird at the Bennington Museum. Winthrop was struck by the beautiful little girl, and the haunting photograph inspired her to write a fictional account of Addie's life, "Counting on Grace." After finishing her novel, Winthrop felt impelled to track down the identity of the real Addie. The child’s identity was uncovered, in part, by researching archival materials and enlarged reproductions of Hine’s photographs from North Pownal that are included in the Bennington Museum collection. A vintage photograph of mill housing in Bennington by Hine, taken in May 1909, and a first edition of the book "The Bitter Cry of the Children" by John Spargo, the founding Director of the Bennington Museum, an ardent social advocate, and a friend of Hine are among the other items relating to this powerful subject. It is the images captured by Hine that are the basis for the painted responses by Oberst and Nelson.

The Responding Artists
William Oberst holds an MFA in painting from Stony Brook University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University. He taught painting and drawing at Stony Brook for more than a decade and is the recipient of many awards, including the university’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award in 2002. He maintains a studio-residence in downtown North Adams, Massachusetts.

Dawn Nelson was born outside of Chicago in 1951 and grew up in the mid-west. Nelson received a B.F.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL, and attended graduate school at Lesley College in Cambridge, MA, where she received a degree in Expressive Therapies. After college she moved to Boston, and for 10 years worked in human services, both as an Art Therapist and as a program administrator. Following this, Nelson worked for 25 years as an Art Teacher mostly at the middle school level. She has also taught graduate level summer courses to Art Teachers at Northeastern University. In the fall of 2009, Nelson extended her reach by getting a studio at the Eclipse Mill in North Adams, MA.

Images:
-Mill Girl, Oil on Canvas, 2011, © William Oberst, All Rights Reserved.
-Row of mill houses belonging to Holden, Leonard Co., woolen mill, Bennington, VT.
May, 1909, Photo by Lewis W. Hine
-The Mill Children Exhibition Print, © Brill Gallery Productions. All Rights Reserved
-Grungy Vibrating Cathedral, Oil on Loose Canvas, 2011, © Dawn Nelson. All Rights Reserved.

PRESS RELEASE: Corrina A. Thurston at Blue Cat Cafe, Burlington

Corrina A. Thurston, an artist working out of Central Vermont, has a display of her artwork at the Blue Cat Cafe and Wine Bar in Burlington, VT, from November 15th to January 31st.

Showcased are a selection of Corrina's colored pencil pieces, for which she is known. Her vibrant detail and unique style make her artwork easy to recognize, and although her pieces are drawings, they resemble paintings and most admirers are shocked when they discover the medium used. With every piece Corrina tries to push the window of what colored pencil can do, and one of her goals is to bring colored pencil into the spotlight and have it be recognized and treated as the fine art medium it can be. Come see for yourself what colored pencil can do.

Corrina is an emerging artist, only 21, and began drawing after she was diagnosed with a chronic illness in 2010. She is self-taught, and although she cannot draw full-time, she spends what good time she has making art.

Come to a wine tasting or have a delicious dinner at the Blue Cat Cafe and Wine Bar on Lawson Lane in Burlington, VT, and view the artwork! They use many local foods, specialize in steak and seafood, as well as vegetarian options, and have over 300 different wine options. All art on display is for sale.

If you have questions or are interested in buying prints or greeting cards made from Corrina's art, visit her website:

www.CorrinaThurston.com.

PRESS RELEASE: River of Light Plans for procession in Waterbury

The streets of Waterbury will once again be filled with music and light with the second River of Light Lantern Procession, planned for Saturday December 3, from 5 to 6 p.m. Starting at the Vermont State Complex, the parade will make its way up Main Street, down Stowe Street and across Railroad Street, ending at Rusty Parker Park for the Waterbury Rotary’s annual Tree Lighting.


This year the procession will feature light and sound with Burlington’s 20-person street samba band, Sambatucada in the lead. Students from Thatcher Brook Primary School and Crossett Brook Middle School along with artists, volunteers, and community members from Stowe, Montpelier and Waterbury will literally form the ‘river of light’ as they walk carrying handmade lanterns.

Aside from the lanterns made in school, Montpelier artists Gowri Savoor and Angelo Arnold will be holding two community lantern-making workshops at the TW Wood Art Gallery, Montpelier, and the Helen Day Art Center, Stowe. In addition, a special two-day workshop was held in Waterbury for artists creating larger-scale luminaries. All will aim to depict the theme of this year’s parade – flight.

Procession sponsors are Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the Vermont Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Thatcher Brook Primary School PTO. Organizers hope it will be a particularly festive celebration bringing together the residents of Waterbury and its neighbouring communities after the extensive damage caused by August’s tropical storm.

Spectators are encouraged to line the parade route and join in celebrating the season with this evening of light, music, creative arts and community spirit. For more information, contact Thatcher Brook School art teacher, MK Monley, mmonley@wdsdvt.net or visit our website at: www.ariveroflightinwaterbury.wordpress.com

Photograph by Gordon Miller

PRESS RELEASE: Pat Musick at Equinox Village in Manchester Center

The Gallery at Equinox Village's featured artist for November is particularly special. Unlike the other artists we've featured, Pat Musick is an Equinox Village resident. She's also an accomplished sculptor. The beginning of November took her to Arkansas, where she celebrated the opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, where her work is featured. The museum, which was founded by the heiress of the Wal-mart fortune, is widely regarded as the most influential American art museum to open in a generation.

Equinox Village is pleased to invite the public to view Musick's work from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily November 19, 2011 - January 9, 2012. The exhibit opens with live music and hors d'oeuvres at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 18 at Equinox Village.

Please see Musick's professional website for insights into her artistic development and her work.

Image: Earthnest 6, steel, bronze, alabaster, 7" x 10" x 10"

PRESS RELEASE: Winooski Holiday Pop-up Art Market

Grand Opening on November 12th from 5-7PM

In November and December 2011, a vacant space on the circle in Winooski has been converted into a vibrant art market. The Winooski Holiday Pop-up Art Market features art, fine craft, and other locally made products. All of the vendors were juried by market organizers. A series of events and activities will be planned in the space. People are invited to visit www.winooskiwelcomecenter.com for details.

A Grand Opening Celebration of the Winooski Holiday Pop-up Art Market will take place on Saturday, November 12th, 2011 from 5-7PM. The general public is invited to stop by to enjoy music and food and a beer and wine bar provided by McKee’s Pub.

The market will be open Wednesday to Saturday from Noon to 8PM and on Sunday from 10AM to 3PM. It is located on the top right side of the circle in Downtown Winooski. While the address is 25 Winooski Falls Way, Suite 317, the entrance to the market is on Main Street/US2/US7.

Free on-street parking in downtown Winooski is available for 2 hours. Over a hundred 2-hour free parking spaces are available in the municipal parking garage which is located in the interior block across from the Champlain Mill. Car access is via Cascade Way; pedestrian access is via East Allen and Main Streets and Cascade and Winooski Falls Way. Take the elevator to Level 3 and exit onto Main Street.

Image: Work byJude Bond, from her new line of one-of-a-kind and limited edition hats and fascinators.

PRESS RELEASE: Fred Tomaselli lecture at UVM in Burlington

The Department of Art and Art History at The University of Vermont, though the Mollie Ruprecht Fund for Visiting Artists and Scholars presents: Fred Tomaselli on Wednesday, November 16, 5:30 PM in 301 Williams Hall

Fred Tomaselli is best known for his meticulous, seductive paintings made with unorthodox materials suspended in thick layers of clear, epoxy resin. These materials have included medicinal herbs, prescription pills and hallucinogenic plants, and images cut from books and magazines: flowers, birds, butterflies, arms, legs and noses, and are arranged in busy, carefully-crafted mosaic-type patterns. Tomaselli sees his paintings and their compendium of data as windows into a surreal, hallucinatory universe, “It is my ultimate aim”, he says, “to seduce and transport the viewer into space of these pictures while simultaneously revealing the mechanics of that seduction.” Recently he has also written that his investigations may be seen as an “inquiry into utopia/dystopia – framed by artifice but motivated by the desire for the real – (which) has turned out to be the primary subject of my work”. He is represented by the White Cube gallery in the UK and the James Cohan Gallery in the USA. His paintings have been the subject of museum and gallery exhibitions world-wide.

Image: Echo, Wow and Flutter 2000; leaves, pills, photocollage, acrylic, resin on wood panel Collection: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, Copyright the artist/Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York/Shanghai

PRESS RELEASE: Jeanette Fournier at Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville

Bryan Memorial Gallery presents The Art of Nature in wild life watercolors by Jeanette Fournier of Bethlehem, Vermont. Fournier's work is inspired by the mountainous areas of northern New Hampshire and Vermont. Her exhibit continues in the Bryan's Middle Room through December 23.

Growing up with family ties in both the White Mountains and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Fournier spent a great deal of time in and around the woods observing and drawing nature. It was during this formative period when she began developing her artistic skills.

She is a self-taught artist and specializes in watercolor paintings of animals and nature, which reflect a distinct and original style not commonly found with this medium. Her meticulous attention to detail is one of the hallmarks of her artwork. While she concentrates on close up, intimate portraits of animals, the background is no less interesting or compelling.

Jeanette's work hangs in private collections throughout New England and beyond, and has been accepted in the "Art of The Animal Kingdom", the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors" and the "North East Watercolor Society International Exhibition". In addition to these three prestigious national art shows in New England, her work has also been juried into a Society of Animal Artists show. She has won a variety of awards over the past several years.

Fournier's one person exhibition in Bryan Memorial Gallery's Middle Room is the 9th and final exhibit in a series of tributes to individual members of the Northern Vermont Artist Association who are also members of Bryan Memorial Gallery.

Bryan Memorial Gallery is at 180 Main Street, Jeffersonville, VT, 802-644-5100. The gallery is open 11 - 4, Thursday - Sunday, and by appointment at other times. A preview of the work in this exhibit is available at www.bryangallery.org. There is no admission charge at Bryan Memorial Gallery.

Images: Comfort Zone, Taking Flight

PRESS RELEASE: Joy Huckins-Noss at Vermont Supreme Court in Montpelier

You are cordially invited to:
The Texture of Light

Oil paintings by Joy Huckins-Noss

Vermont Supreme Court
111 State Street
Montpelier, VT

November 2-December 29
building hours 8-4:30 M-F

Opening Reception
Thursday, November 10, 5-7 pm.

PRESS RELEASE: Robert Black at Gallery-in-the-Field in Brandon

Editor’s Note: This description and photographs of Robert Black’s Memory Chamber, on exhibit at Gallery-in-the-Field was sent to us by gallerist Fran Bull. This is the final exhibit of the gallery’s Encore Season, after which the gallery is expected to close. It is a space that has always presented interesting exhibits, mounted in an elegant space. The run of the show has been extended through December 23

These are some photos of the Memory Chamber installation (measuring about 8’ by 21’ by 7’) by Robert Black at Gallery in-the-Field. This show will continue through December 23rd. The show has two segments now: The Memory Chamber and Photographic Memory. The latter is an exhibition of photographs by people of all ages, some of them children, some professional photographers, including Don Ross who took these shots. Robert invited a number of people to submit photos and short essays on the question Why are we here? The photographs (not reproduced here) all address that question in a variety of ways.


The Memory Chamber is a large structure, designed and built by architect and artist Black, that occupies a good part of the gallery space. Viewers are invited to walk through it. Inside are three main chambers, the first being a space that evokes an experience of water, and suggests beginnings, the fluid from which we emerge when we are born, etc. The second chamber contains a beautiful slide show of images set side by side designed to provoke comparison, surprise, and contemplation. In this chamber there are images on the walls suggesting the ancient caves – Lascaux, Chauvet.


The third chamber is awash in light and bright reflections. There are objects arranged to suggest some unnamed ritual or prayer space. My own sense is that Black wishes to remind us of the dimension of human experience often overlooked in today’s world--the soul dimension, the poetic sensibility, the interior realm from which creativity springs.


Black provides art supplies and invites viewers to leave a “mark” on one of the outer walls of the Memory Chamber. I have no photo of this wall, but it’s getting filled up with art, writing, graffitti--a wide range of expressions left by those who have walked through the Chamber.

Gallery hours are 12 to 5 pm Friday through Sunday and by appointment. Robert leads groups through the Memory Chamber (also by appointment; contact info@galleryinthefield.com) and will hold small workshops , hands on sessions for those interested. His interest is in assisting people, artists or not, in reawakening the creative impulse.

Images: Details from Chambers 1, 2, and 3

PRESS RELEASE: Mr. Masterpiece and (michael smith) at Dostie Bros. In Burlington

In celebration of November, fallen leaves and the waning colors of Autumn Dostie Bros. Frame Shop & Art Gallery at 308 Pine Street Presents: MASTERPIECE & (smith), an exhibition of four vibrant paintings by two of Burlington's most enduring artists. Mr. Masterpiece is known for sunny dispositions, humorous and rather enigmatic paintings…watch out!

(michael smith) is the Vice President of Art's Alive and its senior board member. His paintings offer a whimsical façade which often give way to a deeper magic.

This First Friday Artwalk, November 4, 5-8pm, The Dostie Bros. invite you to join them for an Artist’s Reception, with some hot cider (spiked with rainbows) and cookies!

MASTERPIECE & (smith) runs November 1-30, 2011. Regular gallery hours are Mon-Fri 10am - 6 pm.

For more information regarding this exhibition please contact: Alex Dostie 802.660.9005 email dostiebros@gmail.com

Images:
Mr. Masterpiece, Clowny Clown Clown, Acrylic on Wood, 2011
michael smith, the king and i, Acrylic on Cardboard, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: Reception and Exhibit at Flynndog in Burlington

We are celebrating the publication of AlphaBetaBestiario, a new collection of poetry by Antonello Borra, translated by Blossom S. Kirschenbaum, with art by Delia Robinson.

Opening Reception for the Artists and Book Launch is Friday, November 4, 6:00 to 8:30. At 7:00 (ish), Antonello will read from the original Italian and Delia will read from the translations.

Newly printed First Editions will be available and a percentage of books sales will be dedicated to Green Mountain Animal Defenders http://gmad.info/ .

The exhibition of AlphaBetaBestiario artwork and Captive, a series of new paintings by Delia Robinson will run from November 4 thru December 29, 2011.

http://www.fomitepress.com/FOMITE/AlphaBetaBestiario.html

Images: book cover; Jacob Wrestles, 2011, Delia Robinson

PRESS RELEASE: Vermont Artisan Festival at Smugglers' Notch Resort in Jeffersonville

Presenting The Vermont Artisan Festival at Smugg's. The Vermont Artisan Festival is a 2 and a half day long festival and tradeshow featuring the most talented and the most unique Vermont artists, craftsmen, musicians, performers and chefs. The event takes place at the fantastic Smugglers' Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, VT, Friday, May 25th, 2012 through Sunday, May 27th, 2012.

Spaces are now available in the Vermont Artisan Festival! Visit www.vtartisanfestival.com for vendor information. The weekend's festivities will include a two and a half day artisan tradeshow with up to 64 unique crafters showcasing each day. Tradeshow hours are Friday, 5/25 from 3-6pm and both Saturday and Sunday, 5/26 and 5/27 from 9am-4pm. Events also include a live auction, several musical performances by accomplished Vermont bands, and a vaudeville-style variety performance courtesy of The Real McCoys. On Sunday, a professional grilling competition will take place on the Village Green at Smuggs. Contestants include a number of Vermont farmers, caterers and restauranteurs serving up the finest of Vermont products. Visit www.vtartisanfestival.com for schedule and information.

PRESS RELEASE: Gabriel Tempesta at River Arts, Morrisville

Gabriel Tempesta - "The Dynamic Vermont Landscape and Figurative Works”

November 9 – January 12

Opening Reception – November 17, 5-7pm

River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant Street, Morrisville, VT

River Arts is pleased to present "The Dynamic Vermont Landscape and Figurative Works"- paintings by Gabriel Tempesta, in the Common Space at the River Arts Center in Morrisville, VT, November 9 – January 12, 2012. There will be an opening reception on November 17, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The upcoming exhibit, "The Dynamic Vermont Landscape and Figurative Works", will feature new charcoal landscapes and figurative work by Gabriel Tempesta, a visual artist living in Craftsbury. Tempesta has developed a process of painting with charcoal-powder & water to "capture" his vision of the Vermont Landscape.

Tempesta grew up in Wolcott, VT and graduated from Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA with a BFA in Illustration in 2002. After moving back to Vermont in 2005, he has worked commercially in illustration as well as in the fine arts.

The Gallery at River Arts is located at the River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant Street in Morrisville, VT. Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10-2. 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.

PRESS RELEASE: Victoria Blewer at Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury

Featured Artist of the Month: Victoria Blewer will be on view at the Edgewater Gallery through November 30. Victoria Blewer grew up in Manhattan, but bolted for the quiet hills of Vermont. She works entirely with black and white films (sometimes using black and white infrared film), and then she hand-colors the images. Her hand-tinted photographs have been featured in full-length photo essays in the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, Vermont Life,Vermont Magazine and Yankee Magazine. In addition to winning national and regional awards for photography, Ms. Blewer’s photographs have appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines and books. She lives in Lincoln, Vermont, with her husband and daughter.

For more information call 802.458.0098, email info@edgewatergallery-vt.com or visit our website, www.edgewatergallery-vt.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Small Works at Gander Gallery in Manchester Center

Gander Gallery, 4716B Main Street, Manchester Center, is pleased to announce our first annual Small Works exhibition on view from December 9, 2011 through January 8, 2012. Work of current gallery artists will be represented. An opening reception will be held on Friday, December 9. Please come in and join us for hot chocolate and cookies from 4 pm to 6 pm. All are welcome.

Gander Gallery is a recent addition to the Manchester, Vermont art scene but has much deeper roots that go back to our family art gallery, the Bittersweet Gallery, which was an exciting place to find emerging artists in Montauk Long Island during the 1970s and 80s. At Gander Gallery, we continue our dedication to showcasing the work of established and emerging artists of Vermont, and elsewhere, who have been selected for their creative passion and excellence in their chosen genre.

Our purpose is to sell original fine art to clients who will enjoy their selection for years to come. We believe that when you bring a piece of artwork into your home you also bring home your connection with the artist. During the year you will have opportunities to meet our artists and discuss their work, background and viewpoints.

General Information: Gander Gallery, 4716B Main Street, Manchester Center, Vermont 05255 Tel: 802.768.8396 E-Mail: Gandergallery@gmail.com Web Site: www.gandergallery.net Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 12 pm - 6 pm; Sunday 12PM - 4 PM.

Image: Dale Sherman Blodget, 5 Lemons, Oil on Panel, 6x6

CALL TO ARTISTS: Holidays in America

Art's Alive will present a 2 month group exhibition from Dec 1, 2011 until Jan 31, 2012 in both galleries at Main Street Landing's Union Station and Wing building of artwork representing Iconic images of the Holidays in America with a focus on the relationship between commercialism and belief.

We need at least 40 pieces! This exhibition will run for 2 First Fridays and have a closing reception tba in late January.

Artists who are interested in contributing to this exhibition should email:artsalivevt@yahoo.com Intake is Sunday, November 27, 2011 at Union Station from 12:00-3pm.

2d or 3d mediums - ready to hang (must have wire and be able to be hung on s-hook and chain); 3d pieces must be delivered with pedestal - 2d pieces no larger than 40" x 60" - 1 piece per artist.

REVIEW: Janet Fredericks “Minute Particulars” at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery

by Jocelyn Grayson

While visiting refugee camps abroad with her husband Tom, who founded the organization "Magicians Without Borders”, Janet fills her sketchbooks with elaborate observations of places seen on her travels. When she is at home in her quiet garden and studio, she spends time observing what she calls the most common of plants, becoming increasingly attuned to their amazing intelligence.

For the past 15 years Janet has been drawn to water as a subject and motif for her work. Early on she drew hulls of boats and ships, which especially in her ' burning boats' series became metaphors of universal human experience, which took on an epic quality in association with symbols taken from classical myth and allegory. The more she has become fascinated by what she calls the “language” of water itself, the more intimately engaged she has become, not only with the mapping of those things that can be seen on the surface, but also with those things that “lie beneath”, that cannot be defined in literal ways, but can only be sensed on a deeper level. Water combines aspects of the ephemeral and the eternal which affect us in different ways. In its randomness, Janet has also allowed herself to discover what she calls " a regulatng force" which unites the dissimilar and the disconnected in its ever moving flow.

"For me," she writes,"drawing is about discovery, recording with marks on paper the language of my environment."

Her current exhibition is entitled Minute Particulars after a line from visionary poet and artist William Blake,"He who wishes to see a vision, a perfect whole, must see it in Minute Particulars." And it is, interestingly enough, this rare combination of passion and patience, to see things large that are writ small, that distinguishes Janet's work, and makes it memorable.

These new drawings and paintings explore her increasing absorption in the life of insects and what this life has to tell us. This interest began when she started to go outdoors to draw plants in her own garden, discovering what she describes as "common plants in disturbed soil.” Her attention to the plant itself was arrested by the quantity and variety of insect life that were being drawn to them, pollinating, eating, mating, living... and she became aware of a kind of Indra's Net of interdependency and diversity. "One cannot sit quietly and observe these creatures without pondering some big questions, like what intelligent force drives this miraculous activity, and what role do we as humans play in all of this?"

In a recent waking vision, Janet was visited by her brother who died when he was ten years old. He appeared to her with a swarm of bees hovering over him, one speaking by his ear. It was as if this was a signal to pay attention to what the bees could be saying and Janet has since been alerted to the language of the smallest of creatures and what they might have to say concerning the seismic shifts which are beginning to affect us on this planet. As Joanne Elizabeth Luce said, she is beginning to hear "the voice of the infinite in the small."

These paintings of insects and the world of plants depict the beauty and the fullness of life ascending, spiraling upwards with a rich, ripening fecundity. Her palette has changed from the more subdued colors of some of her earlier works, and they shimmer with rich ochres, brilliant blues, golds and reds, as if dazzled by the beauty of butterflies (the symbol of Psyche or the soul in classical myth). But there is a disturbing radiance. These paintings celebrate the miraculous bio-diversity of the world, while combining the sense of fear and wonder. Words not completely heard carry messages to us on the wind.

Like most great art, Janet's finest works ask questions rather than providing answers...What are the insects prophesying to the wind? Yet the predominant sense of her works still remains one of beauty, intimate and rare, which is captured lingeringly, intricately in the spell of the moment.

Minute Particulars will be at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery through November 29.

Images:
Luminosus, 2011, 48 x 48"
Of the World in its Becoming, 2011, 30 x 40"
Psyche's Ascent, 2011, oil on canvas, 28 x 39.5"

Press Release: Robyn Pierce and Jennifer Palkowski at Green Bean Visual Arts Gallery, Montpelier

Robyn Pierce and Jennifer Palkowski have traditionally exhibited together at the Green Bean Visual Arts Gallery. Their work complements one anothers in a simple child-like demeanor.

While Jennifer’s watercolor paintings offer an imaginative storybook theme, Robyn has a mix of media that evokes raw instincts of a child-like happiness.

Robyn and Jennifer’s art creates a balance of playfulness. Come view, “Origins and the Species” at Capitol Grounds starting November 1^st to November 29^th.

Closing reception is held on Tuesday, November 29^th. 4-6PM. Cupcakes provided.

For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fans-of-Green-Bean-Visual-Arts-Gallery/176207625774864 or email curator@capitiolgrounds.com

PRESS RELEASE: New Work by Carol Boucher, River Arts, Morrisville

Gallery at River Arts Presents: New Work by Carol Boucher November 10 – December 23, 2011 Opening November 10, 5-7pm Artist Talk 6pm River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant Street, Morrisville, VT

The Gallery at River Arts is pleased to present New Work by Carol Boucher at the River Arts Center in Morrisville, VT, November 10 – December 23, 2011. There will be an opening reception on November 10th, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m, with an Artist Talk at 6p.m. The exhibit will feature oil pastel paintings created from imagination, memory and personal photographs this year.

Carol Boucher has been a professional artist for over 20 years, selling her oil pastel paintings, oils, acrylics and monotypes at juried art shows across the US. Boucher is represented locally by Burlington City Arts, and in Stonington, CT by Devon House Country Collections Gallery, and has won numerous awards. Please see www.carolboucher.com for gallery and news.

The Gallery at River Arts is located at the River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant Street in Morrisville, VT. Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10-2. 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.