New Visions at Cape Ann Giclee

new visions_carol mckenna

This Friday.  Carol McKenna’s New Visions Opening Reception at Cape Ann Giclee.  Don’t miss it.  Openings at Cape Ann Giclee are always great.

E.J. Lefavour

National Geographic Travel Photography Seminar – Hartford

I signed up for this National Geographic Travel photo seminar. It is next Sunday in Hartford. Check the link for the details and if others sign up maybe we can figure a car pool.. http://bit.ly/1ifiS5L  It says Fall Series 2013, but don’t believe that. The link takes you to the registration for next Sunday.

 

Baby it’s cold outside…

Now that Paul Morrison has officially launched the winter Ice Crystal photos
here’s a few more. -Len Burgess

IceCrystalBirds_2336IceCrystals12-'13_2312IceCrystals12-14'13_2358

Manchester by the Shop – Nor’East Frameworks

Nor’East Frameworks was opened in October of 1995. Owner CF “Chuck” Haybeck offers ready made photo frames as well as custom made frames in all sizes and various shapes. He uses a variety of woods including such things as recycled wood from fishing boats in Thailand.

Of the unusual things he has framed there was a shadow box frame he made to contain the x-ray of a broken bone along with a custom bent titanium rod that was used to set the injury.

There are all sorts of stories with every custom frame. A man and his wife to be were in Italy where he proposed and they celebrated (she accepted…) the moment with a bottle of wine. The gentleman was able to buy another bottle and have it shipped home where he held it for their tenth anniversary. Chuck was asked to build a shadow box to hold the empty bottle. I think Chuck could write a book of such stories.

On the fine art side Chuck has framed a 1914 John Singer Sargent painting. In this category Chuck provides restoration or replacement of museum quality frames.

An artist as well, Chuck has a BA in Fine Arts from Boston University. As a result he looks at all projects with the eye of an artist, not just a framer.  He says that a new or increasing problem for preserving artwork for the long term is protection from ultra violet rays from the sun. Special glass is needed to provide such protection, but Chuck now recommends UV protecting glass in more situations as a result of the increased use in homes of compact fluorescent lights. An unintended consequence of going green.

Chuck displays artistic items that are for sale like 3-4 color silk screens on paper with images from around Cape Ann, suitable for framing! Artists often display their work for sale on the walls of Nor’East Frameworks so its worth checking out Nor’East Frameworks if you need a frame, or not. Nor’East Frameworks is located across from the train station in Manchester at 40E Beach Street.

Time to order your 2014 Cape Ann calendars! BY SHARON

sharon lowe Cape Ann calendars make a great gift for those who used to live here, someone in the service, or for friends who would love to live here someday! They can be mailed directly or you can pick them up at Present, 33 Main St here in Gloucester. Here’s where you can order: http://slowephoto.com/?p=6864

These calendars have become favorites for people all over the country! Year after year folks re-order for gift-giving or to keep for themselves. I love the notes I get from those who                                                         have received calendars during the holiday season.

The calendars make great holiday gifts for:

-Your kids’ teachers
-The dog groomer
-Your hairdresser
-Friends who have moved away
-An elderly person
-Mail delivery person
-Babysitter
-Your favorite waitress
-Party host(ess)
-Newspaper delivery person
-Your mother-in-law
Just about anybody! (Even your therapist!!)

sharon calendar set up

This calendar comes in a unique cd-type case which flips into a stand for the monthly pages. s 1

Good Harbor Beach desk calendar:

s2 gh-back-front-copy And the 8.5 x11 Cape Ann  wall calendar : cover-copy back-big

Artist Spotlight Series – Kathy Gerdon Archer

spotlight_Kathy Archer

Spotlight on Kathy Gerdon Archer

Kathy owned and operated White Bird Gallery on Rocky Neck for many years where she sold her fine art photographs. Separate from her gallery, she also sells her work commercially to hospitals and hotels.

Above are some of the work she will have at the Rocky Neck Holiday Art & Fine Crafts Show.  Her images of flowers are typically produced on a very large scale but for this event she plans to produce them smaller, making them a more affordable gift possibility.

Kathy is on the Board of The Rocky Neck Art Colony and The Goetemann Residency Program here in Gloucester.  She is also a member of The Copley Society of Boston, The Cambridge Art Association and The Kingston Gallery in Boston’s South End, where she will have a show in February of 2014. http://www.Kathleengerdonarcher.com

You can see more of Kathy’s work at The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, East Gloucester during the Rocky Neck Holiday Art & Fine Crafts Festival

Saturdays and Sundays, Noon-4 PM

November 30 – December 29

http://www.rockyneckartcolony.org/winter.php

E.J. Lefavour

Artist Spotlight Series

Spotlight on Carol McKenna

spotlight_carol mckenna

Carol is a Gloucester native who lived away for 22 years and has happily been back on Cape Ann for 14. She has been a member of the Rocky Neck Art Colony for two years.  A renegade from the traditional work worlds of Education and Psychology, Carol is now being true to that little girl who was given her first camera at the age of six, primarily spending her time photographing nature around Cape Ann with her little yorkie, Zoe.  Carol also writes Japanese haiku, tan rengas and posts her photography, poetry and a bit of art on her blog http://www.acreativeharbor.com.

You can see more of Carol’s work at The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, East Gloucester during the Rocky Neck Holiday Art & Fine Crafts Festival

Saturdays and Sundays, Noon-4 PM November 30 – December 29

and look for her during one of the fun parties:

Friday, November 29, 5-7 PM Gala First Choice Preview Party

Saturday, December 7, 2-4 PM High Tea

Sunday, December 15, 3-5 PM Happy Hour

Saturday, December 21, 2-4 PM Winter Solstice Party

Sunday, December 29, 2-4 PM Pre New Year’s Party

E.J. Lefavour

 

Sequencing, Editing & Direction – Photography Workshop with Nubar Alexanian

nubar alexanian

Sequencing, Editing & Direction

with Nubar Alexanian

Two-Day Photography Workshop, October 26 & 27

10:00am to 5:00pm
Limited to 12 photographers
Tuition: $325 Lunch included
A $100 Refundable Deposit is required (see below)
Apply by contacting nubar@nubar.com
More about Nubar here: http://nubar.com/gallery/bio.html

The Workshop will be held at the Rocky Neck Cultural Center – 6 Wonson St. Gloucester, MA  http://www.rockyneckartcolony.org

A two-day workshop for intermediate & advanced photographers to build, edit & sequence a strong portfolio or body of work. Whether you’re working on a long-term project, building a portfolio, a book or trying to find a cohesive thread in your work as a whole, each participant’s work will be reviewed with emphasis on how to strengthen their ability to communicate ideas visually.

In this workshop, you’ll gain important perspective on the editing process as you work to refine your own portfolio, and how to look at your work and see what it’s asking for. We’ll also explore how sequencing and context can alter the power and meaning of images. Our goal is for you to leave this workshop with greater insight and confidence in the direction of your own work.

http://nubar.com/rncc_workshop.html

 

Gloucester fire engines

So important, and so cool! Thanks to all the firemen who put their lives at risk on a regular basis to keep our people and our property safe!

– Matthew Green

Ice Cold: Natural Extracts at Rocky Neck Gallery

Rocky Neck Gallery’s Summer Artists Series: Ice Cold: Natural Extracts New photography by Skip Montello and Tom Robinson-Cox Wednesday, August 14 – Tuesday, September 4, 2013 Artists’ reception this Friday, 8/16 @ 6-8 PM

natural extracts RNG

Rocky Neck Gallery: Skip Montello & Tom Robinson-Cox

rngSkip Montello & Tom Robinson-Cox are exhibiting photography at the Rocky Neck Art Gallery starting tomorrow, Wednesday, August 14 for three weeks. But don’t wait, or at least, don’t miss the artist’s reception this Friday from 6-8PM.

Click the Rocky Neck Art Gallery Banner above to go to the Gallery Website for details or the artist’s names to go to their sites.

Fun Fact from the gallery website: You have walked by 55 Rocky Neck a million times but did you ever wonder why the building looked like that? The Answer: Those shingles are Russian stamped steel painted with copper boat bottom paint.

Another Fun Fact: the name of their exhibit is “Ice Cold: Natural Extracts”.  Now if you were going to have a reception on a Friday night (6-8PM) in August with a name like that you might expect some nice cold natural extracts, maybe a pitcher of Margaritas or even martinis so cold you have those little flecks of ice floating on top? (Just thinking out loud here.)

St. Anthony’s by the Sea

This lovely little chapel of St. Anthony by the Sea (near Niles Beach) belongs to Holy Family Parish. It is open for Sunday services at 9:30AM only in the summer, and for weddings until the fall.  I think the stained glass windows are absolutely beautiful, real works of art.

 

For more about the history of the chapel, visit this link (thanks to Fred Bodin for the great info)!

Matthew Green

Vintage 211 (and photo fun with Bob)

One of the perhaps lesser-known antique/vintage stores in Gloucester is Vintage 211 (211 East Main St., open Fri-Sun 11am-6pm), aka “Bob and Dave’s place”.

It’s right across the street from Scout Vintage Finds, so it’s easy to visit both at once! They also have similar hours, which is convenient for planning.

I heard about this store by word of mouth, and I’m glad I did!  Bob stocks a wide variety of things, but is unique in having a focus on men’s vintage (and not) clothes, and wool sweaters.  Other stores I’ve visited for this series of posts have some mens’ clothes, but no one else really has it as a special focus; most often, there are as many or much more women’s clothes than men’s. Here are a few photos of the many things in stock:

And Bob is a really nice guy, too. He actually looks a lot like an uncle on my father’s side of the family, at least in this photo:

The prices are good, in some cases excellent! I ended up buying some things while there… Including a great green corduroy coat, with a tie that Bob gave me as a gift:

and a leather coat which he sold me for $30, at least a 90% discount compared to buying new (and it is in like-new condition).  Since he is also a photographer, we had some fun… I pulled a “Game of Thrones” pose on a wicker chair in the store and Bob snapped some photos. He’s really good at it! I had some fun with them afterwards in Photoshop:

I like this one because it looks like I’m thinking something devious, when really Bob just said, “Look over that way!” and snapped a shot…

Matthew Green

GMG was all over the block party

The first block party of the season got a pretty good crowd:

 

 

I got a few photos of GMG contributors at work (Craig Kimberly, Fred Bodin, and David Cox):

 

 

 

Matthew Green

 

Block Party Moon

How many Block Party participants noticed the beautiful, nearly full moon?  As wispy clouds passed across the sky, they made the face of the moon seem to be changing constantly.

 

 

 

Matthew Green

 

More nature closeups from Dogtown

 

 

 

 

Lots of beauty in the details!

Matthew Green