Winter Warmtimes this Friday and Spark! Art Share 2013

If you are looking for great ideas for those last minute hard to figure out people, I might just have you covered.   This Friday, I'll be joining a few friends in Northampton for a small gathering and art show.   See the cute cat flyer below for details. 

Second choice, which is really the coolest gift I can think of, is a Spark! Art Share for 2013. If you give someone an art share, they'll get beautiful handmade things throughout the next year- it keeps on giving. If your recipient lives locally, they can pick-up their treats in Amherst at our quarterly Art Parties,  but you can also have a share shipped anywhere in the US! And this year we are offering one for just $250.  If you order a share as a gift, we'll email you a gift certificate that you can print and have ready for next week. Voila!

If you are looking for something in particular, but aren't sure who makes it, head to the Artisans of WMASS website to find local makers and shops that carry our work. Remember to support all the wonderful artists that are your neighbors.

Wishing you peace and happiness this holiday season, and looking forward to what the new year brings. 

Holiday Handmade

I hope everyone had great turkey times, quality time with family and friends, and some much needed relaxation this Thanksgiving. With the holidays coming quickly there are lots of opportunities to shop local and support the artists around you. Here's a taste of some of the things I'll be involved in during the next month. 

Spark! Art Share Update

We've just finished jurying the artists for next year's Spark! Art Share, and are busily working on updating the website, finalizing details and getting ready to sell next year's share. Based on feedback from our surveys, we've changed the structure of the share to include more choice of artwork, a lower priced share and fewer (but more fun) pick-ups for customer convenience. We hope these changes will keep Spark! accessible and exciting and work well for artists and customers alike. Take a look, let us know what you think, and sign-up today!  Consider giving a Spark! Art Share to someone really special this holiday.  (Earrings from a new Spark! Artist, metalsmith Heather Beck)

AWM Online Sale

Artisans of WMASS is hosting an online promotion throughout the next few weeks. Participating artists will have free shipping from 11/25-12/8 and 15% off from 12/9-12/15. Check out the Artisans of WMASS website to find out who's participating, and find us on facebook.  Snag some veggie earrings or other gifts during this sale from my etsy page. 

Holiday Pop-Up Shops

There are lots of holiday pop-up shops popping up. You can find my work at the Artisan Gala Shop in Greenfield, along with many other beautiful items such as this blue dragonfly set  from Good Dirt Pottery.  There's also the Hilltown Christmas Place in Williamsburg, and Spencertown Academy's Handmade Holiday Shop in Spencertown, NY.  For a list of more pop-ups and other local stores that carry handmade items, check out the shop local page compiled by Artisans of WMASS. 

December Shows

This Sunday, December 2,  I'll be at "A Classical Holiday" at the old Classical High School in Springfield from 12-5. Tour the renovated condos, check out artwork made by 20 local artists, and enjoy music and refreshments. 

Local art galleries are hosting Small Works shows for those of you looking more for fine art than functional art. Freedom Trails Gallery at Valley Frame Works Amherst and Easthampton City Arts are two that I can recommend. 

Last, I think, but possibly the most fun (for me!) so certainly not least, I'll be co-hosting a last minute shopping event and holiday party in Northampton on December 21st, from 5-8. More details coming on this one soon, but it'll feature work from Katie Ray Arts, BMW Ironworks,  Carolyn Clayton, Taylor Ceramics, and Heather Beck.  

Hmmm... I'm sure I'm missing something but I'm sure that's plenty for now! 

Roses and Cabarets

This weekend, I'm headed to Roseland Cottage Fine Arts and Crafts Festival for the first time, in Woodstock, CT. This show, hosted by Historic New England, is renowned level of quality and many years running. This two- day event features 175 artisans and their wares- jewelry, woodworking, pottery, glass, and more. I'll be there with a booth full of metal sculptures, old and new, for viewers and you to see. I'm particularly excited about my newest woodrack, and I've been working hard in the studio all week to make more favorites and new experiments. Come on down if you have the time, for what promises to be a really great show, and enjoy the beauty of fall in this beautiful corner of the northeast.   Also check out their facebook page here. 

If you can't make it to Connecticut but want a completely different kind of fall treat this weekend, I suggest a trip to theRoyal Frog Ballet's Surrealist Cabaret and Pumpkin Walk.  I couldn't explain it as wonderfully and mysteriously as the royal froggie herself, so read on for the details. I've contributed a few bits of metal to the enchanted fiasco, and I promise you'll be bemused and delighted. 

Please join us for a walk throguh a gorgeous farm landscape at autmnal sunset this October. If you're lucky, (and you come on the right night) you may chance to encounter a surreal collection of short performances, installation pieces, jack'o'lanterns and roving character created by local artists in various meis, exploring and celebrating themes of season and place. 

Magical, luminscent, and spooky, The Surrealist Cabaret and Pumpkin Walk is a buffet for the dream senses; a performance installation that draws on images familiar and ethereal, haunting and campy. With the wind full of the breath of apples, wood-smoke, the smell of fields turned under for the winter rye, violins will bellow among the cows, sequined show tunes will follow dirty and divine offerings to the dead, poets will mutter to the stones as sculptures and flags unfurls from the undergrowth. This is an evening not be be missed. 

 www.theroyalfrogballet.com 

Enjoy!

Fall Farm Festivals

Well the summer has been grand and I'm just pulling all the strings of life back together after a wedding/ honeymoon hiatus. Things came together really nicely just in time for our wedding and we got the place looking great, which is perfect because we are hosting the Chilifest so soon. I'm pretty sure we have the only bright blue barn in Hadley, so we are easy to find.

The 5th Annual Chilifest (formerly hosted by Stone Soup Farm, now Kitchen Garden) will be held on Sunday September 16, 12-5pm, and it is going to be awesome. We've really ramped it up this year- we've got great bands, food vendors, People's Pint beer, local artisan marketplace sponsored by Artisans of WMASS, chili cook-off, the whole nine yards. Mark your calendars because its going to be a lot of fun! 

But before that! Wait! This weekend is the Tomato Festival at Red Fire Farm. Katie Ray Arts will be there too, with lots of veggie gear, spiral mobiles, beads and more. Spark! Art Share will also have a booth, so come visit us. If you sign up for a Spark! share now, you'll be getting it for half the price for half the year. Its a great way to give it a try with less commitment.                                          Anyway, these are just a few of the great farm festivals going on this summer and fall. I hope you get to enjoy all that the area has to offer with these celebrations of local food, culture and community.   

I'm also teaching a beadmaking class this Sunday at Northampton Beadery. If you've been looking to learn, here's a perfect chance, and if you can't make this one, there are more coming. Here's a sneak peak into my studio, where you are always welcome to visit or come learn. 

Summer News and this Week's Events

Summer is sinking into me, punctuated by the fabulous fresh food I enjoy from Kitchen Garden and great hiking and biking. This week, I'll be heating it up in my studio though, preparing to be at the Northampton Tuesday Market tomorrow with lots of veggie gear, and then heading to Crafts on the Common on Saturday in Amherst with plenty of new sculpture.  We've also been working on barn renovations, and I'm excited that my glass studio now has proper ventilation and a beautiful window with views out onto my baby orchard! The barn has a new concrete floor, will be painted soon, and then my welding shop will be moving back.  Watch for an open studio weekend coming in the fall.

SHOWS
 Come visit me and sample all the tasty, local produce in Northampton tomorrow.

Then on Saturday, stop by the Common in Amherst for one of the best-established and most well respected craft fairs in New England to see a stunning array of local handmade products to benefit a great cause- Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Hampshire County.

Shop and support a great cause at the Amherst Crafts on the Common   Saturday, July 14, 2012 ● 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ● Amherst Town Common

 

Admission is free, and the event will be held rain or shine on the Amherst Town Common. The fair showcases quality jewelry, ceramics, furniture and more for sale from more than 100 juried artisans. The fair also features great food, a silent auction and booksale, and musical entertainment by some great groups. 

 

I'm focusing on metal sculptures for this show and I'll be using my great new mesh walls to display sculpture and other new metal work.  Stop by to see the newest addition to my repertoire- decorative planters made of a steel and glass to hang in your home.   

SPECIAL: Mention this blog posting at either event and get 20% off your entire purchase at my booth. 

SPARK

In other news, Spark! Art Share continues to flourish, and as we continue to spread the word, we hope you'll help!  This month's Spark! Art Share comes from 230am studio,  the creative home of mixed media and paper artist, Donna Beck. Working with handmade paper, pulp, surface-decorated papers, found objects, fibers, beading and stitching, she creates a wide variety of mixed media artwork.  She'll be at Food for Thought Books on July 21st distributing the Spark! shares and she'll have additional work on display for anyone who comes by. 

WORKSHOPS

In addition to my upcoming introductory beadmaking class at Northampton Beadery on August 26, I've joined forces with the new Yellow House- a community center for learning in Palmer, to teach a 2 part workshop in October.  Check out their websites, or as always, contact me to make arrangements to come to my studio or set up a workshop in your home. 

CHILIFEST

Last, but certainly not least, save the date for the 5th Annual Chilifest, hosted by Kitchen Garden (formerly Stone Soup Farm)- September 16, 12-5 at 81 Rocky Hill Rd in Hadley.  More details coming soon, but I can tell you it's going to be a blast. We've got a stellar musical lineup, 3 fantastic local food vendors, chili cook-off with prizes and People's Pint will be pouring brews. It'll be a great time!

Local ARTery and other spring things

This Saturday, May 19th, promises to be an exciting handmade filled day for me and many others. I'm hoping you can join to! Local ARtery, Artisans of WMASS's signature show, will be held at the Pushkin Gallery in Greenfield, MA from 10-5. This locally handmade event will feature over 30 artists and artisans from all over Western Mass, including the Pioneer Valley, Berkshires and North Quabbin Region. Local ARTery promises a fun, diverse and kid friendly shopping experience.  The Greenfield Farmer's Market will also be happening across the street in the morning so you can get your tasty local produce and beautiful artisan work all together. 

Also on Saturday is the 3rd Spark! Art Share pick up at Food for Thought books, this time featuring work by Taylor Ceramics. Taylor Ceramics make fantastic forms in clay with incredible organic and whimsical detail.  You can still sign up for a share, or check out her display on Saturday even if you don't have a share. 

I'll be teaching a glass beadmaking class at Northampton Beadery on Sunday, May 20th. I'm not sure if this class is full, but call if you are interested because there is another one coming up in August.  And as always, contact me for private parties or lessons at my home studio in Hadley. 

My line of veggie earrings, pendants and bottle stoppers has recently been added to the collection at Nash Gallery in Easthampton, MA and will be coming soon to Pete's Produce in PA.  I'm always looking to expand the stores and galleries I work with, so if you have suggestions, send them my way. 

If you didn't get to see my sculpture show at the Burnett Gallery, you can see some of the work at Tip Top Country Store where I'm the featured artist for May/June. The rest of the work is with me now, but will be heading to NAACO Gallery in North Adams soon, which is a fabulous gallery to visit. (It's also in the beautiful Berkshires and right next to MASS MoCA which adds to the package.) There are some images from that show on facebook here.  

That's all for now. Enjoy the amazing weather!

Sculpture Show Opens!

My big news this month- I say with a sigh of relief since its all done- is my sculpture show at the Burnett Gallery. The finishing touches just went up today and its ready for the opening reception on Thursday, April 5 from 5-8pm. Please come join us! The show is filled with almost all new work made in 2012 and is on display with beautiful photography by Bill Rowley. I've tried a few new techniques and components this time around that I'm pretty excited about. Here's a sneak peek...


In other news, save the date for May 19th, when Artisans of WMASS will be hosting its signature show, Local ARTery, at the Pushkin Gallery in Greenfield. Come out to see a great mix of artist and artisan work, handmade goodies and great creative energy.



Also, the Spark! Art Share is up and running. Our first month pick up with Mischa's Collages and Steve from Little Birch Soap was a great success. We continue to add new members and next month's share will be provided by Dan Gilbert of Warm Glow. Sign up for a share or stop by Food for Thought on April 21 to see what he's been making- likely a variety of stylish modern lamps.

Winter News

Wow I can't believe it's February already! January just passed me by. Probably because it was so busy. Here's what I've been working on...



First thing is that I've been working hard to organize and promote Spark! Art Share. It is coming together wonderfully. We have 15 great artists to provide the contents of the share, options for pick-up or delivery, and just a great model to collect high quality handmades and support a talented group of artists. It works like a farmshare, you pay for the year and get art every month throughout the year. Now is the time to consider if this could work for you. Shares will start in March. I think it'd be a cool, and very unique, Valentine's present for yourself or someone else:) Check out the website to see all the different participating artists or to sign uo.





Secondly, my friend Heather Berlin and I have been doing a collaboration a day, as part of the Fun-A-Day Northampton project, which encouraged local artists to try to work on a project every day in January. We made collages, poetry, claymation, drawings, cookies. We had a lot of fun. The show will be TONIGHT only! Friday the 10th, in the Dynamite Space in Northampton.


Last, but by no means least, tonight is the opening of the Youth Action Coalition show 'Who are "We the People"?', at the Northampton Center for the Arts. My group, Get Up Get Down, worked really hard to make some awesome metal work and installation. We're showing in the East Gallery with Video Vanguards, and all the fabulous photo work is in the West gallery. The show will be up through February, so check it out if you are in town. Though tonight is the time because it will all be happening at once. There is even a public show of ice sculptures tonight! How cool is that!

And if all that hasn't been keeping me busy enough, I've done some really special custom glasswork, I built a wood rack for our house (which is every calling for more projects), I've consigned with 3 more galleries- Frogtowne in Pottstown, PA, Happy Valley Gifts in Northampton, MA, and Sarida in Roslindale, MA- and I'm preparing for a sculpture show at the Burnett Gallery in April. Life is good... but I'm so looking forward to my week off hiking in California!