Category: Art

The 7th Annual Rocky Neck Art Colony Winter Show Begins November 18th

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Rocky Neck Goes to Town

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The Seventh Annual Winter Exhibit and Sale –
Rocky Neck comes to downtown Gloucester for its seventh annual winter exhibit and sale from November 18 through December 29, 2011 at 130 Main Street in Gloucester. The public is invited to a Meet the Artists Opening Reception on Saturday, December 3, from 5 to 8 pm, featuring tastings from your favorite local restaurants.
The special focus of this exhibit will be the abundance of the Captains Table. The show will feature painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, ceramics, and jewelry by members of the Rocky Neck Art Colony where, during the summer season, over 50 working artists display their work in Rocky Neck galleries and studios.

The exhibit will be open Monday-Wed 10-6, Thurs 10-6 but to 8 on Thursdays in December, Friday-Sat 10-6 and Sunday 12-5.

For more information contact: Marie Sweeney at 978 281-6130 or email    sonomarie@comcast.net

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The Center at Rocky Neck COMMUNITY-WIDE MEETING Wednesday Nov. 16, 7 pm

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Karen Ristuben writes-

Hello friends and supporters of The Center at Rocky Neck (our new working title for the former Christian Science Church):
This is a friendly reminder that we will meet at The Center next Wednesday, November 16, at 7 pm.
  Since our first community-wide meeting on September 15:
* the Rocky Neck Art Colony voted 55-3 to move forward with next steps toward the building’s purchase, specifically, to conduct a Feasibility Study (est. $10,000) and to pay for the option to purchase the building ($1,000/month for the 2012 calendar year).  We are in the process of our initial fundraising drive to collect donations toward those efforts.  A convenient Paypal system is now in place at www.rockyneckartcolony.org. 
* Jay Paget, the lead administrator for the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural Facilities Grant visited the building and offered support and  encouragement through our application process in the upcoming 2012 funding cycle.
* Mayor Kirk conducted her State of the City address at The Center last weekend (photo attached) and again offered her support for the building project, indicating that Community Preservation funding may be available.
* At her fundraiser luncheon yesterday, Rep. Ann Margaret Ferrante enthusiastically discussed the building project as a beacon of cultural economic development for East Gloucester.
* Necessary building improvements are underway by present owners Steve and Kathy Archer.
At Wednesday’s meeting, we’ll discuss:
1.  planning and development to date;
2.  The Center’s mission and vision;
3.  the role of the RNAC and the broader community in The Center’s programming;
4.  The Center’s governance and management.
If you have any concerns or questions before the meeting, please feel free to call me or contact any of the other officers of RNAC. 
PLEASE come and show your support – we hope to see you there!
Yours,
Karen Ristuben
President
Rocky Neck Art Colony

Henry Allen TheatreWorks is NOW Casting for The LobstahCrackah Ballet!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Henry Allen writes-

Hi, Joey!
On the heels of our latest success at The Annie, ‘Song of the Sea,’ comes what is sure to be a new Cape Ann holiday tradition:
The LobstahCrackah Ballet – a homespun spoof of The Nutcracker! Rehearsals begin next week for a Dec 15th opening. Thanks for posting!

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Gloucester Harbor Village, 1856

Posted on by Sharon

Gloucester Harbor Village, 1856 H. F. Walling/ ©Fredrik D. Bodin

The Gloucester Harbor Village map was a small inset on a larger map, A Topographical Map of Essex County Massachusetts, which measured 62 inches x 62 inches. It was a wall, or scroll map, and was printed on linen and hand colored. The surveys and map were made by civil engineer Henry Francis Walling (1825-1888),  Superintendent of State  Map. Some of the 49 insets, which were approximately 5 inches  x 9 inches, were Annis Squam Village, Lanes Ville, Rockport Village, and Pigeon Cove Village (which I have). Interesting features of the Gloucester Harbor Village map include: Canal Street (the Boulevard) and the long Cordage Mill (rope factory); Fort Defiance at the end of Peach Street (The Fort); Front, Spring, and Jackson Streets running the length of the Gloucester waterfront (no Rogers Street yet); Rocky Neck with it’s first wharf – the Walen Story Wharf; and the end of the railroad line is in Gloucester. Also significant is the now non-existent Vincent’s Cove, and Five Pound Island, which is now the terminus of the State Fish Pier.

Printed archivally from a scan of the original map. Image # AM04-001

Title Section of A Topographical Map of Essex County Massachusetts, 1856 H. F. Walling

 

~Fred

 

Deb Clarke Wants to Know. Questions for Artists!

Posted on by capeannpainter

 

Deb Clarke Wants to Know. Questions for Artists!

Deb Clarke Wants to Know. 

where have you had the most success selling your work?

in a traditional art gallery?

an artist cooperative gallery?

a vanity gallery? (pay for the privilege of exhibition)

a restaurant showing?

on-line marketing efforts?

how much time on a weekly basis do you spend marketing your work?

do you sell prints of your work?

how many on-line sites do you have?

if you donate work to non-profit fundraisers/auctions…have you ever made additional sales?

if you belong to an art association, do you make sales to cover your membership, get referrals?

http://debbieclarke.blogspot.com/

 

Art Haven Fall Session Starts Monday!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Our new Fall Session starts Monday!

November 7th-December 9thimage

Color & Design: Wikid Awesome Watercolors

Mondays 3:30pm-5:00pm | Ages 6-11

Learn some fun, new watercolor techniques you never even thought were possible!

3-D Discovery: Teddy Bear Workshop

Tuesdays 3:30pm-5:00pm | Ages 6-11

Create an instant best friend by learning to make your very own teddy bear.

Furniture Funtime

Wednesdays 3:30pm-5:00pm | Ages 8-12

Got an old piece of furniture around that needs some sprucing up? Have your child make it his own by learning how to transfer a beautiful work of art to it.

And as always.. Don’t forget to join us for our Youth Open Studios, Youth Open Darkroom,

Pottery Classes, and Family Studio!

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Gloucester Film Maker Emile Doucette & Co Are At It Again! His 100 Hour Film Is In The Running

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

100 Hour Film Race 2011 Top Films

His film has made the top 20 and if you feel they deserve your vote you can support their efforts by clicking the ballot below

The top films created for the 100 Hour Film Race 2011, a competition that challenges filmmakers to create short films in just 100 hours based on a theme, action, and prop assignment.

Click here to vote and help determine the Audience Award!

The winners and awards will be announced by November 18, 2011.  Good luck to the filmmakers competing!

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Wheeler or Wheelers Point?

Posted on by Sharon
Wheeler Point, Mill and Annisquam Rivers, circa 1950 Don Felt/ ©Fredrik D. Bodin
You say Wheeler, I say Wheelers;

You say Wonson, and I say Wonsons;

Let’s get the whole thing right…
My friend Cliff McCarthy and I disagreed on whether it’s Wheeler Point or Wheelers Point. We based our opinions on what we’ve heard people say and maps we’ve looked at. Who’s right? The United States Board of Geographic Names (US BGN) is right – they define the official names of everything geographic. Their database holds the Federally recognized name of every feature’s location by state, with USGS topographic map, geographic coordinates, altitude, and even includes undersea features. This is the gold standard for place names. In the American West after the Civil War, rapid westward expansion led to confusing names for geographic features. This was a serious problem for surveyors, map makers, and the military. In 1890, President Harrison created the US BGN to standardize geographic names.
The final word on Wheeler(s) Point and Wonson(s) Cove is here: http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/index.html Click on Search Domestic Names, type in what you’re looking for in the Feature Name box, select the State, select the County, then press the Send Query button. You’ll see that Wheeler Point is correct (with Wheelers Point as a variant name))and so is Wonson Cove (with Wonson’s Cove as a variant name). Cliff, you were right!
Here are some interesting official names on Cape Ann: Cressy Beach (with Cressys Beach as a variant name), Dog Bar (an underwater bar), Dog Bar Breakwater (a dam) , Dog Bar Channel, and Dogtown Common ( listed as a Populated Place with an elevation of 79 feet). Some places we know are not listed, such as Cripple Cove. The US BGN invites any person or organization to propose new names, name changes, or names that are in conflict.
Fred
Printed from the original 4×5 inch film negative in my darkroom. Image # A9245-546
Fredrik D. Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Chickity Check it! Kids Make the Darndest Things Pumpkin Edition :)

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hey Joey – A few pictures from Saturday for you on Aja’s blog! Thanks!

Check Out Aja’s blog-

http://www.arthavendarndestthings.blogspot.com/

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Click the picture blow for the slide show

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What Do You Think?

Posted on by capeannpainter

What Do You Think?

Mass Produced Art in China.

Published: July 15, 2005
SHENZHEN, China – Zhang Libing has painted more van Goghs than van Gogh ever did.

At 26, Mr. Zhang estimates that he has painted up to 20,000 copies of van Gogh’s works in a paint-spattered third-floor garret here where freshly washed socks and freshly painted canvases dry side-by-side on the balcony.

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Zhang Libing estimates that he has produced up to 20,000 copies of paintings by Van Gogh.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES 

 
 

Newest Scene of Essex River Marshes From Deb Bretton Robinson

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Deb writes-

Hi Joey,
Here is the latest painting of Cape Ann from the Brettonarts Studios.  Its the Essex River Marsh.  I love all those reeds.  Enjoy!
-Deb
Debra Bretton Robinson
Fine Artist
http://tinyurl.com/brettonarts

new essex marsh pnting

The News From Rocky Neck via Judy Robinson Cox

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Pledge to support the Cultural Center Building Fund

former Christian Science ChurchSend in your pledge today to support the initial phase of the purchase by the Rocky Neck Art Colony of the former Christian Science Church property at 6 Wonson Street on Rocky Neck. The Center will be the organizational base and cultural center of the RNAC, and serve its core mission as an arts organization. In addition, the Center’s mission will be to enable positive community-building through both the arts and non-art-related uses.

Former Christian Science Church at 6 Wonson St. in Rocky Neck.

Download Pledge form or
Donate to the Rocky Neck Art Colony Building Fund. Click the Donate Button below to donate now by credit card. All donations are tax deductible.

Rocky Neck Art Colony

Join the Rocky Neck Art Colony now and your membership
is good until March 2013

If you are considering joining the Rocky Neck Art Colony, you can join now and participate in this year’s Winter Show in downtown Gloucester .(Information about the Winter Show willl be available early next week). Your membership will be good through all of 2012 until March 2013.

Click here to download a 2012 Rocky Neck Art Colony Membership Erollment Form

You’re invited to attend the State of the City in Rocky Neck

Saturday, November 5, 9 am, 6 Wonson Street (former Christian Science Church)

Hear Mayor Kirk explain the State of the City and what’s at stake for Gloucester’s future. Then participate in a round table discussion with Mayor Kirk, members of the City Staff and Residents.

GMG Web Cam installed at Rocky Neck Accommodations

Web Cam

M E M B E R   N E W S

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Punkin Carvin! Contest At Art Haven This Saturday!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Dawn Gadow writes-

Hey Joey – Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest on Saturday afternoon! If you could get this out for us that would be awesome 🙂 Open to all ages – we’ve got pumpkins and fall snacks, just have to bring a costume and fun ideas!

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Trail Ride in Vermont

Posted on by Sharon
Fall Ride, South Woodstock, Vermont ©Fredrik D. Bodin
Only once have I seen fall foliage so brilliant that it was hard on my eyes. Driving north to Woodstock, Vermont, with the writer for Yankee, we preferred to keep the sunglasses on. Our destination was the Kedron Valley Inn in South Woodstock, built in 1793. The next day’s assignment was to photograph the Green Mountain Horse Association’s annual Fall Foliage Ride. This 14 mile long meandering trail ride offered great opportunities to photograph the horseback riders amidst the spectacular scenery. This is the image Yankee chose to run across two pages in the magazine.
Today, Woodstock and central Vermont are still recovering from the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. Although the Kedron Valley Inn was untouched, the Green Mountain Horse Association’s facilities were heavily damaged, and the headquarters of the Vermont Standard newspaper, located in Woodstock, were completely destroyed, In spite of this, Vermont’s oldest newspaper continues to publish. Send a little love their way and plan a vacation in beautiful Vermont.
Photographed on 35mm Kodachrome 64 transparency film. Image #FDB7835-002c
Fred
Fredrik D. Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Janet Ruth Young, Author of The Babysitter Murders, to Read at Gloucester Bookstore Thursday October 20th

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Babysitter cover

Gloucester author Janet Ruth Young will read from her novel The Babysitter Murders at The Bookstore of Gloucester, 61 Main Street, on Thursday, October 20, at 7 p.m.

The Babysitter Murders, published in July by Simon & Schuster, is a book for everyone who’s had a thought they’re afraid to say out loud. Seventeen-year-old Dani Solomon adores Alex, the little boy she babysits. But one day, Dani has a vision of harming Alex—an image so gruesome she can’t get it out of her mind. Dani becomes convinced that she may try to kill Alex. She confesses the thoughts to keep him safe, setting off a media frenzy that makes "Dani Death" the target of an extremist vigilante group.  Soon, everyone in town will have an opinion on Dani’s character, and those closest to her will have to choose loyalty or betrayal.

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called the book a "provocative exploration of a community’s response to the mere possibility of a horrific crime" and "a realistic and disturbing look at our cultural response to mental illness."

Young has set the story in the fictional North Shore town of Hawthorne, Massachusetts. Cape Ann readers will spot variations on familiar places and events including a popular ice cream restaurant called Icey’s, a forest called Havenswood with a landmark known as Shark’s Jaw, a scandal that brings an unwanted media circus to town, and a slew of anonymous commentators who stir up trouble on the website of the town’s newspaper, The Hawthorne Beacon-Times.

For more information contact the bookstore at 978 281-1548 or go to janetruthyoung.com

Janet Ruth Young Oct 2011

Beth Williams Studio Panorama and New Pendant Line

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

click the picture for the full sized panorama

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You can check out Beth’s website here- http://www.bethwilliams.com/

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Beth Won the first ever GMG  Downtown Gloucester Flowerbox Competition

The News From Rocky Neck via Judy Robinson-Cox

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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New Community Art Center?
Main room of the chuch property, photo by Tom Cox

At last Tuesday’s general meeting, the following proposal was approved
by an overwhelming majority:

That the Rocky Neck Art Colony undertake preliminary efforts toward purchasing the property at 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester (the former Christian Science Church) for the purpose of developing it into a center in the spirit of the mission outlined here.

Rocky Neck Art Colony

Join the Rocky Neck Art Colony now and your membership
is good until March 2013

If you are considering joining the Rocky Neck Art Colony, you can join now and participate in this year’s Winter Show in downtown Gloucester. Your membership will be good through all of 2012 until March 2013.

Click here to download a 2012 Rocky Neck Art Colony Membership Erollment Form

RNG Sign

SAT, Oct 15: Last Day of the Season for the Rocky Neck Gallery

Hours: 11am to 6pm

Rocky Neck Gallery, 53 Rocky Neck Ave.

The gallery is offering a 10% reduction on member’s work from Oct 1 to closing day, Oct 15.

The Roseway
The Roseway, photo by EJ

Did you Know? (Roseway)

(by Good Morning Gloucester contributor, EJ LeFavour)

That the Schooner Roseway hauled out this morning at Marine Railways? She’s a beauty. Stop by the Railways and check her out. Here’s some interesting history about her.

History of the Schooner Roseway
In the fall of 1920 a Halifax, Nova Scotia, newspaper challenged the fisherman of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to a race between the Halifax fishing schooners and the Gloucester fleet. Therefore many schooners, such as Roseway, built at this time were not strictly designed for fishing but in order to protect American honor in the annual races.

Click here to read the whole story

M E M B E R   N E W S

NSAA

North Shore Arts

North Shore Arts Association concludes its 2011 Season
“Featured Artists” Exhibits with shows by Dianne Panarelli Miller and Cathy Landergan

Diane Panarelli
Last Light by Diane Panarelli Miller

From Monday, October 3 through Sunday, October 23, portrait and landscape artist Dianne Panarelli Miller’s works will be on display in the Gordon Grant Room.  Miller has received many awards locally and nationally in the thirty years she has been painting and is represented in many fine galleries, as well as in hundreds of private collections.  She is a signature member of the New England Plein Air Painters and has the distinguished honor of having been named “Copley Master” at the Copley Society in Boston.  She is also a member of the Portrait Society of America and Oil Painters of America.  A full-time painter, Miller is comfortable doing portraits and landscapes as well as murals and cityscapes.  In an effort to produce work unlike anyone else, she paints in her “own voice” from life and not photographs.  To see more of her work, visit www.diannepmiller.com.

Old Salt, circa 1890

Posted on by Sharon
Old Salt, circa 1890 Anonymous/ ©Fredrik D. Bodin
I love this photograph, and affectionately call the subject  “Old Salty.” I like it so much it’s my profile picture on Facebook. This is a classic Gloucester fisherman image, with oilskin, sou’wester hat, and old fashioned beard. What’s really striking is the far away look in his eyes. He’s seen it all: Weather, endless ocean, severe hardship, and extreme danger. The portrait is carefully posed and lit – probably taken for the tourist trade. I was told that Old Salt could be Jessie Bates or Rufus Bates Parsons, and was taken in Gloucester.
If you know Salty, please let me know. In the meantime, today’s tourists who have seen my Facebook page will come to the gallery looking to meet the fisherman with the beard.
Printed archivally in the darkroom from a 6×7 cm copy negative. Image # AC020128-02#11
Fred
Fredrik D. Bodin
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930