Fun free stuff: Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Library this month

Hi Joey,

Get over to the library! This month, the Matz Gallery at the Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free library is featuring the creative proposals of 15 semi finalists artist/artist teams for the HarborWalk Public Art Challenge.

Gloucester Engineering and the Matz family created a lovely exhibition space and lobby!

image

Bring your kids and grandchildren. There are games and small prizes and discoveries for all ages. Here’s a printable sample “hidden pictures”.

Leave some extra time to admire more art at the library, the neighborhood quilts, the always excellent Children’s Library and programming, and the fountain. Remember to peer past the construction screen to see what’s coming! The exhibit is open when the library is open. Come for the 8:30AM opening time of the main library, and then head down to the Children’s room, which opens at 10AM. Tuesdays and Thursdays the library is open until 8pm.

Adults are welcome, too. Here are some of our city planners visiting with Utile while they’re working together on the downtown work plan.

image

image

image

Gloucester on a cloudy day

“Dance of the Cranes” with City Hall in the background. I took this photo on a “photo walk” with participants in my photography workshop at The Hive.

Matthew Green

 

Meet James Owen Calderwood one of three artists awarded a public art project

Hi Joey,

If you’re downtown, have a look at Parsons Street from either Main Street or Rogers. The Gloucester Committee for the Arts is pleased to announce that the first of 3 public art award projects has begun right there. Stop by today or over the weekend, and next week. You might see artist James Owen Calderwood at work on his 190 foot idea.

image002

Calderwood proposed a temporary painted abstract fishnet to extend the entire length of Parsons Street (alley way from Main Street to Rogers Street). He wrote, “This street acts as an important pedestrian link, and I am hoping to catch lots of visitors…I have been creating exterior public art for 20 years, and am interested in enriching public spaces with art that engages with the site’s history, culture and native surroundings.”

Here’s some before pictures:

image003 (2)

image004

Some proposal ideas

image

image010

Action from yesterday:

image011

image012

DPW was working on a multi step process to ramp and level the transition from the sidewalk to the street. A manhole casting was raised, new concrete had to dry, and then there was some paving. There are also 2 new bollard/perch seats.

There’s art on Parsons now, here fleeting:

image016

And substantial: sometimes there’s a peek through of artist Robert Stephenson’s transportive entrance. Fittingly his was the first signature on Jamie’s visitor sign.

image019

And the harbor calling in one direction; and in the other, Main Street, City Hall and Cape Ann Museum, just quick steps away.

image

Many City departments are involved with any public art project.

Here’s Jamie meeting with Victoria Caldwell at City Hall.

image

Jamie rented equipment from nearby Gloucester rental (air blower, rake, weed whacker, weed sprayer—vinegar Kim Smith!)

Don’t forget to stop by the library this month to see the ideas from all 15 semi finalists on exhibit.

  1. James Owen Calderwood, awarded project
  2. Justin Desilva, awarded project
  3. Bartek Konieczny, awarded project
  4. Mike McNabney & Troy Zaushny, Hard Hat Painters
  5. Anna Chirico, Joann Chirico, Dave Blakney (no photo)
  6. Frank Morbillo
  7. Angelina Marino-Heidel & Joel Heidel
  8. Tiffany Carbonneau
  9. James Sardonis
  10. Juni Van Dyke
  11. Andrew Thurlow & Andrew Doyle
  12. Lise Breen & Laura Piraino (no photo)
  13. Robert Trumbour (photo), Anthony Sanchez, Jared Steinmark, Alex Cabral
  14. Kim Smith
  15. Gary Duehr (no photo)

image

No Mug Up Sunday, But Come to Marion Hall’s Opening Reception Sunday Afternoon

no mug up

announcement_marion hall 2013

There will be no mug up this Sunday morning, but do come by Sunday afternoon from 2-5:00 pm to the Opening Reception for Marion Hall’s truly wonderful watercolor exhibit, Life is a Beach.  Marion is from Manchester and is a member of both the North Shore and Rockport Art Associations.  If you love well executed traditional watercolor paintings of our beautiful area, at incredibly reasonable prices, you don’t want to miss this exhibit.

E.J. Lefavour

Life’s a Beach

announcement_marion hall 2013 copy

Saturday, July 13 – Friday, July 26th Manchester watercolor artist, Marion Hall, will be exhibiting her beautiful beach and seaside watercolor paintings at Khan Studio and the Good Morning Gloucester Gallery, 77 Rocky Neck Ave., Gallery 3. 

There will be an Opening Reception on Sunday, July 14th from 2-5:00pm. 

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

Twentythirteen at Rocky Neck

2013 exhibit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Stevie Black/ Marketing Director

marketing@rockyneckartcolony.org

617-872-5296

The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck Presents An Exhibition entitled, “twentythirteen” Selections by Ms. Blythe Hazen, of Montserrat College of Art, on view through August 4, 2013 June 10, 2013 – Gloucester MA – Works by eighteen artists in a wide variety of media have been selected for the “twentythirteen” exhibition on view from July 11 through August 4 at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester. Hours are from 12–6 PM, Thursday through Sunday and the public is invited to a reception on Saturday, July 13 from 4-6 PM.

Juror Blyth Hazen, professor of art at Montserrat College of Art, selected the work for

“twentythirteen” from submissions to an open call for entries sent to artists from Boston to the North Shore. 18 works of art were selected from more than 130 submitted. Works on view are those by Beverly Arsem, David Barber, John Carney, Kathy Chapman, Anne Cowman, Nicole Dahlmer, Nina Fletcher, Margaret Furlong, Kim Gulino, Bob Hesse, Susan Johnson, Jane Keddy, Elynn Kroger, Katia Mason, David McCoy, Leila Namin, Lois Tarlow and Juni Van Dyke. Seven of the artists are from Gloucester, but most are new to the Cultural Center; some hail from as far away as Jamaica Plain, Newton and Worcester. Four artists will be honored with gift certificates, compliments of Blick Art Materials.

Professor Hazen was “drawn to work that articulated or played with space and the related qualities of light and scale.” She revealed in a juror’s statement, “While the works I selected for this exhibit are not particularly about seaside life, they are all in some way about how the ocean has impacted my awareness of space and place.”

She continued to observe, “I am attracted to the abstract space formed by the colors and grays in Beverly Arsem’s quilt and the macro-micro worlds of Lois Tarlow and Juni Van Dyke’s 2D compositions. I have a similar interest in Katia Mason’s paper constructions. There are atmospheric spatial plays in both Elynn Kroger’s abstract landscape and Bob Hesse created a fantastical space composited from images of real places. Lelia Namin’s woman knitting, invites a rather odd yet intriguing psychological space.”

“I selected three photographs, each with a different twist. Susan Johnson’s “Swampscott”, pops in and out of deep and flat space. Nicole Dahlmer’s photograph is of an object of unknown scale. Kathy Chapman’s “Essex Garden” is seen as if in compressed space/time. Kim Gulino and David Barber both present more humorous works that play with the notion of bodies in space. Jane Keddy’s painting of a shoreline hints of space by overlapping and downsizing distant objects but at the same time flattens space with solid color. Anne Cowman and Margaret Furlong’s simplified landscapes use color and light to make us feel the distant horizon or overpowering sky. Last but not least the sculptures of John Carney, David McCoy and Nina Fletcher, though made from very different materials cut through and carve out interesting places in actual spaces.”

The Rocky Neck Art Colony is honored to show such diverse work. Viewers will find sculpture and prints, quilts and photographs; the range of media make the show interesting in itself and well worth the trip to Rocky Neck this summer.

EXHIBITION LISTINGS

“twentythirteen”

Sculptures, Prints, Quilts, & Photographs

Exhibit runs from July 11 – August 4, 2013

Thursdays – Sundays, 12–6 PM

Meet The Artists Reception

Saturday, July 13, 2013, 4–6 PM

The Cultural Center At Rocky Neck

6 Wonson Street, Gloucester MA 01930

Check here for Rocky Neck Art Colony exhibitions and special events.

About Rocky Neck Art Colony

The crown jewel of Gloucester’s harbor community, Rocky Neck is home to mostly year-round residents and has a thriving summertime population of artists, art galleries and restaurants, and the Rocky Neck Art Colony, one of the oldest working art colonies in the United States and a 501(c)3 arts organization since 1973. Rocky Neck recently became one of the first five “Designated Massachusetts Cultural Districts” in the state of Massachusetts; this designation denotes past traditions and contemporary vibrancy along with the area’s orientation towards a local creative economy. The mission of the Rocky Neck Art Colony is to nurture excellence in the visual arts and to celebrate the artistic culture of Rocky Neck and the entire Cultural District.

Local Cape Ann buses and seasonal trolleys serve the area and the Gloucester Harbor Water Shuttle makes it easy to visit East Gloucester by water.

Origami class for kids at Art Haven tomorrow, 3:30PM

Tomorrow there is an an origami class for kids scheduled at Art Haven, 3:30-5PM! But no one has registered yet, so the content and level of difficulty of the class is entirely flexible according to the needs and interests of those who sign up.

So, for example, if your child (or a child you know) has an origami book and has stopped using it because he/she is stuck on a difficult model or discouraged, register them for the class and bring them with the book in question! I will help them through whatever difficulty they may be facing, and we can fold some model(s) from the book with the other students.

IMG_5597
A glimpse at part of my own origami library…

Or, we can do basic water-themed origami, learning things like how to make a paper cup that holds water, origami boats that float, and the (in)famous “water bomb” that you can full up and throw like a water balloon! And maybe jumping frogs, made out of business cards. They are fairly easy to make, and the best jumpers I know (better than the traditional jumping frog made from an ordinary square). And a fish or two…

IMG_5599

The possibilities are endless! Contact Art Haven for details on pricing and registration, and if you do register and have a specific interest or need, let me know ahead of time so I can prepare if necessary (you can comment on this post).

Matthew Green

Rocky Neck Vignettes

judythe meagher opening
Judythe Evans Meagher celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of her 
gallery at 37 Rocky Neck Avenue with new paintings of Rocky Neck  
scenes on July 12, 13 & 14, noon to 8 pm.  Opening Reception is  
Friday, July 12th 4 pm to 8 pm.  All are welcome.

Yesterday’s clouds

Yesterday afternoon I drove from Rhode Island back up to Gloucester, and stopped several times to take photos of the clouds. In my photography workshop this afternoon at The Hive, I will be explaining (among other things) the techniques I used to bring out the contrast and detail in these photos.

 

Matthew Green

Today is your last day to see Art on the Rocks

On Friday night, I stopped by the opening of Art on the Rocks at the Cultural Center at Rock Neck (in the downstairs area).  I was already familiar with some of the work of the artists, so I was really looking forward to seeing this show.  It was well worth it! Stop by while you still can!

Here are some photos of the artists and their work, in a slideshow.

Matthew Green

Gallery Talk at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck

This Sunday, July 7, is the last day of the “Griffin Museum’s Photography Atelier 17” show at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck.   I twill close with a special event: form 5-6PM, the director of the Griffin Museum will give a free gallery talk! The photos are remarkable, so I am sure the gallery talk will be well worth attending.

Matthew Green

Community Stuff 7/6/13

Presentation for Photographers by the Griffin Museum of Photography in Rocky Neck, Sunday, July 7, 5-6pm

SUN July 7, 5-6pm : Gallery Talk by Paula Tognarelli,
Executive Director, Griffin Museum of Photography and
Meg Birnbaum, Photography Altelier Instructor

at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, Rocky Neck, Gloucester

Paula Tognarelli, the Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography and Meg Birnbaum, Photography Atlelier Instructor, will talk about how the Photography Altelier Program has helped launch the careers of dozens of photographers over the last 13 years.  Photography Atelier is a unique portfolio-building course for emerging to advanced photographers. In addition to guidance and support in the creation of a body of work, the class prepares artists to market, exhibit and present their work to professionals.

Paula and Meg will also answer questions from the audience about jurying, sequencing, group critiques and other photography-related issues.

image

n the Atelier, students may choose to photograph with digital media or film; use SLRs, plastic cameras, cell phones, and other methods for image capture and select from the range of options for image presentation. Instruction in the Atelier includes slide presentations and discussions which consider contemporary trends in photography as well as the history of photography. Assignments are designed to encourage experimentation in both subject matter and approach. Supportive group critiques help each participant create strong images as well as edit and sequence their work to produce cohesive portfolios. In addition, final formats such as photobooks, mixed and multi-media works and installations are encouraged.


Joe Ciolino writes-

Joe, just want to pass along to you The Weathervane’s featured clothing line for the July 4 week. 

As we all know the best live lobsters in town can be found at Captain Joe and Sons. The Weathervane is featuring a different type of lobsters for the July 4 week.  Shown in the photo is our line of lobster clothing for children, we have bibs, socks, tees, onesie, PJ sets, and of course lobsters plush, and for a sweet treat barley flavored lobster pops.

So start the day with a real lobster feast, and then bring some Weathervane Lobster Clothing home as a reminder of the week.  Remember “Butter Me Up!” Gloucester

Joseph A. Ciolino

The Weathervane

153 Main Street

Lobster Gear Children

Thursday First Night on the Neck of the Season

July NOTN

announcement_mary bowles and kerrie bromberger2013 copy

Not only do you have the first Night on the Neck on the 4th of July, but you also have the opening reception for Mary Bowles and Kerrie Bromberger’s Summer Garden by the Sea at Khan Studio.  A night on Rocky Neck you should not miss.

E.J. Lefavour

Community Stuff 7/3/13

THE SARGENT HOUSE MUSEUM invites you to join us for cocktails and
                  hors d’oeuvres at the home of Dana Hawkes. This historic home, once the
                  Summer residence of T.S. Eliot, will be the setting of this year’s silent auction
                  and raffle to benefit educational programs at the Museum.
  DATE: August 9th
                                TIME: 6 PM
                                COST: $50 pp 
                                PLACE: 18 Edgemoor Road, Gloucester, MA. 01930
Purchase your tickets on line @ sargenthouse.org

 


Hi Joey,

Can you help us spread the word on this month’s book club event at Duckworth’s Bistrot? Last month we had a packed house for JoeAnn Hart’s discussion of The Botany of Desire. Ken Duckworth made a breathtaking spread. Great food, excellent wine, and killer discussion.

I’ve attached a Word doc with details on this month’s shindig taking place on July 14. Hope that works.

Thank you for EVERYTHING!

Chris

Hi Joey,

Can you help us spread the word on this month’s Eastern Point Lit House & Press book club event at Duckworth’s Bistrot? Last month we had a packed house for JoeAnn Hart’s discussion of The Botany of Desire. Ken Duckworth made a breathtaking spread. Great food, excellent wine, and killer discussion.

image

On Sunday, July 14 author Tim Horvath will be leading a discussion of the National Book Award winning novel Mating by Norman Rush. You can find more details and buy tickets here: http://www.easternpointlithouse.com/#!events/c1vw1

Tim Horvath is the author of Understories, (Bellevue Literary Press) and Circulation(sunnyoutside). His stories have appeared in journals such as Conjunctions, Fiction, The Normal School, and elsewhere. His story “The Understory” was selected by Bill Henderson, founder and president of the Pushcart Press, as the winner of the Raymond Carver Short Story Award. He teaches creative writing in the BFA and low-residency MFA programs at the New Hampshire Institute of Arthttp://www.nhia.edu/, and has previously worked as a counselor in a psychiatric hospital, primarily with adolescents and children and young adults with autism. He received his MFA from the University of New Hampshire, where he won the Thomas Williams Prize. He is the recipient of a Yaddo Fellowship, occasionally blogs for BIG OTHER, and is an assistant prose editor for Camera Obscura. 

Mating by Norman Rush: The narrator of this splendidly expansive novel of high intellect and grand passion is an American anthropologist at loose ends in the South African republic of Botswana. She has a noble and exacting mind, a good waist, and a busted thesis project. She also has a yen for Nelson Denoon, a charismatic intellectual who is rumored to have founded a secretive and unorthodox utopian society in a remote corner of the Kalahari—one in which he is virtually the only man. What ensues is both a quest and an exuberant comedy of manners, a book that explores the deepest canyons of eros even as it asks large questions about the good society, the geopolitics of poverty, and the baffling mystery of what men and women really want.

Future book club events include Anna Solomon leading a discussion of Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (August 18) and Steve Almond discussing Stoner by John Williams. These are sure to sell out, so I’d suggest buying tickets early.

Thank you for EVERYTHING!

Cheers,

Chris
Eastern Point Lit House & Press

Pastel Workshop with Gabrielle Barzaghi at Rocky Neck Cultural Center

pastel workshop

July 19, 20 and 21, 10 am – 3 pm

This is an intensive three-day workshop that explores traditional and contemporary approaches to drawing with chalk pastels. There will be an ongoing conversation about color (observed and expressive), formal and technical drawing concerns, and meaning and metaphor as it relates to our work. There will be demos, critiques, and lots of one-on-one attention. Participants should have basic drawing skills. If you love to draw and would like to learn how to use pastels, or would like to brush up on your pastel technique and try new things, this would be a great workshop to take. Painters will find this medium a welcome addition to their studio practice.

Artist and Educator Gabrielle Barzaghi is a Senior Lecturer at New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University and has taught college level drawing since 1980. You may see her work at www.gabriellebarzaghi.com

 

Cost: RNAC members $300, Non-members $330
Details: Minimum enrollment 5 people, maximum 8. A supply list will be provided. Students must bring their own drawing boards. Easels are provided.
To sign up or for more information, contact Gabrielle Barzaghi at gb@gabriellebarzaghi.com

Community Stuff 6/27/13

Cape Ann Ceramics Festival

image

Excitement is building around the Cape Ann Ceramics Festival, the first annual, multi-week pottery event designed to promote understanding and appreciation for the art of ceramics on Cape Ann.

The festival will feature collaboration with Pucker Gallery in Boston by showing the work of world renowned ceramic artists Randy Johnston, Ken Matsuzaki and Phil Rogers, as well as a number of local and regional potters. The mission of the festival is to spotlight Cape Ann ceramic artists and increase awareness of the skills and talent present in this historic, scenic area.

The festival will be held through out the month of August in various locations around Cape Ann, named one of the top 25 Small City art destinations by American Style Magazine for the second year in a row.

Events will include a three-week show at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, entitled Beauty in Use: Ceramics from Cape Ann, Pucker Gallery & Beyond. The show runs from Aug. 9 through Aug. 25 with a gala opening reception with food and music on Sunday, Aug. 11, from 4-6 pm. Don’t miss this!

On Saturday, Aug. 10, the day before the show’s grand opening, Randy Johnston will give a demonstration workshop from 10 am-5pm at Cynthia Curtis Pottery, 80 Pigeon Hill Street, Rockport. Sign up for this workshop and get other Festival info at www.capeannceramicsfestival.com

A Raku workshop – already full – will be held on Aug. 4 at the studio of Seyrel and Chris Williams in Manchester. If you are interested in learning about Raku, please leave your name on the Ceramics Festival website. If demand is great, there may be a second workshop added!

The weekend of Aug. 17, 18, you will have a chance to travel around Cape Ann to visit local potters’ studios. The Pottery Trail is from 10 am to 5 pm each day and will give you an opportunity to see where, and in some cases how, the clay treasures are made.

On the last weekend of the Festival, a two-day show of all local potters will be on the Mezzanine level of the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson St., Gloucester. The gala opening of this show is Friday, Aug. 23, from 4-9 pm. Food and music will make this a festive event you must attend. Small bowls, created by the exhibiting artists, will be given away to the lucky people who arrive first.


Some exciting things are happening at The-Painting-Party this summer!

Some exciting things are happening at The-Painting-Party this summer!

During the July and August we will be offering adult classes at 33 Main St on alternate Saturday nights only.

Dec01-5Dec01-10

Also on several Wednesday evenings during the summer we will feature Painting parties at The Castle Manor.  These classes will be held on their spectacular outdoor veranda.

We will be offering children’s classes (ages 7 to 12 years old) on several Saturday. These classes will begin at 10:30.

We will be offering private parties on a demand basis.

Sign up for all classes at The-Painting-Party.com.

Check out our video

you may even see yourself!!!

Don’t forget that we supply all materials and instruction. You supply the fun.  Come relax, enjoy, create, and take home a finished painting.

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU CREATED!!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Gauthier

www.The-Painting-Party.com

Origami and Photography Workshops

I will be directing an origami workshop for kids at Art Haven and a digital photography workshop at The Hive this month! Here are descriptions of both. For pricing and additional details, see official websites (at the links provided).

Origami for Kids at Art Haven
Thursdays, June 27, July 4, 11, 18, 25, 3:30-5:00PM
“Origami for Kids” will introduce young artists to the world of origami. Besides learning a variety of basic fun models across a variety of themes, we will go over the essentials of origami terminology and symbols involved in reading origami diagrams, so that the children can learn to fold on their own more easily.

Digital Photography Workshop at The Hive
Tuesdays, July 2, 9, 16, 23
July 2 and 16, 4-7PM: Before going out to shoot, we will meet at Art Haven, where the instructor will explain key camera features and shooting tips and techniques, including the differences between file formats (with their relative advantages and disadvantages), how to use manual settings, basics of composition, and shooting HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. We will then go to shoot photographically interesting locations throughout Gloucester, with some suggested themes and perspectives.
July 9 and 23, 4-6PM: We will meet at The Hive to share our favorite photos from the past week and critique each other’s work. Besides providing creative feedback about the shots, the instructor will give instruction on techniques for post-processing using popular software.

– Matthew Green