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!

Spark! Art Share and other December news

So the holidays are creeping up on us and I've got some fun news for you...


First, and most exciting, is the introduction of Spark! Art Share. Spark! is a unique and special gift for the holidays, as it gives someone art for the whole year rather than an individual item. Spark! works like a farmshare; you pay up front for the year and get art and handmade items from different artists once a month. The shares have just become available, but are limited, so check out the website today! I'm so excited to be presenting such a great array of work made by local artists, and offering a new, innovative way for art enthusiasts to connect with and support artists and the creative economy.

Next in line is the Artisans of WMASS Holiday Promotion. For 2 more days you can get 15% off from participating artists, and next weeks' promotion is free shipping. Check out the Artisans of WMASS website for a full listing.

Tomorrow, Saturday December 3, you can find me at the Northampton Senior Center from 9-2 for their Annual Holiday Crafts Festival.

And on December 11, I'll be at Craftopia in Pawtucket (near Providence, RI).

Another great place to find my work and lots of others, is the Brookline Craft Center where they are hosting an Artist Marketplace December 8-11.



Happy shopping and Happy Holidays!

November Events and News

Whew! We made it through what my friend coined the "snowpocalypse". I just got my power back after 5 days and I hope you did too! Here's what's going on with Katie Ray Arts in November.

NEWS
I'm excited to say I just finished setting up my glass shop in the new barn. It has great electricity, is insulated for the winter, walls are covered and painted, and glass torch is ready to go. The heated and dry space means that I can teach out of my studio all winter long, so if you've been thinking about coming over to melt some glass with me, now is the time.

Second exciting piece of news to share is that I'm working an ART SHARE for all you art enthusiasts! This will be a CSA type product where you pay for a year and get lots of handmade goodies by local artists throughout the year. This model is great for artists, as it is for farmers, because we make things knowing that they are already paid for, rather than hoping they might sell. As an art share member, you get the excitement of a new piece of great art, fine craft, or functional object once a month throughout the year. You get to support local artists and the creative economy. And this share will make a sweeeet gift for the holidays. I'll let you know when all the details are ironed out but keep it in mind.



EVENTS
Tomorrow, check out the Handmade with Love Craft and Gift Market in the Eastworks building in Easthampton. Put on by Aviva Seiber of Seiber Designs and Karen Shaw Suriner of Stargazer Studios this sweet and cozy event will run from 10-5pm. Look for lots of great items by Artisans of WMASS members. Speaking of Artisans of WMASS, we have a great online sale coming up. Starting November 20, there will be 3 weeks with a different promotion each week- free gift with purchase, 15% off purchase and free shipping, depending on which week you remember to check us out.



And finally, TWIST is the following weekend, November 11/12, at the Northampton Center for the Arts. Friday night from 4-9 and Saturday from 10-6. I'll be hanging out with my buddy Ben of BMW Ironworks in the side room, so make sure to come find us. This is one of the hippest crafty events around, and its always a fun time. On Friday there'll be drinks and a DJ, and if you feel like paying to come to the VIP party from 4-6, you get a swag bag, food and drinks. Definitely worth checking out whenever you can make it.

That's all for now. Happy November!

All that comes with fall...

The busy time for crafters is beginning! This weekend in Springfield is one of my favorite shows from last year, Mattoon Street Arts Festival. This show has been going on for a long time and has a great reputation. The website touts that "The Mattoon Street Arts Festival features 90+ exhibitors, food vendors, and strolling musicians. This is the longest running arts and crafts fair in Western Massachusetts, and one of the best in New England.Parking and admission are free. We are only three blocks from I-91. Come join us at this family-friendly event. Great for holiday shopping, seeing new craft ideas, or just walking on a beautiful Victorian street."



As you start to have thoughts about holiday shopping, remember to not only visit handmade shows, but also support those businesses who carry local artists' work. You can find my work in a variety of places throughout the area- Northampton Beadery, Red Lion Inn, North Adams Artist Co-op Gallery, Petersham Craft Center, Bridgewater Art and the Wandering Peacock. Coming soon you will also be able to find my work at Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls and Happy Valley Gifts in Northampton. If you do go shopping at one of these galleries, thank them for supporting their local makers and let them know that you care.

Artisans of WMASS is excited to announce that we are now officially a non-profit, and we have a beautiful new website, thanks to Vicki of Weyakin Designs. AWM is always a great source to find local handmade goods, and now you can search by types of products, or by artist. You can also find out where which shows we'll be at by looking at the shows and events page.

And finally, if you are still dying to take a beadmaking class, I have one coming up in Northampton on October 22. Contact Northampton Beadery to sign up. Limit 5 students so call quickly if you are interested. My new studio in Hadley will be up and running by the winter, so if that date doesn't work for you, you can also contact me to make other arrangements.

Enjoy the beautiful New England Fall!