Pompanoosuc Mills in Thetford, VT is a wonderful venue for exhibiting art.  Unable to attend the opening, I recently drove up to view the exhibit.  How interesting to see art work hung in homelike settings, surrounded by beautifully designed and constructed furniture.  The exhibit, "A Celebration of Upper Valley Artists," was a delight to be to a part of.  The exhibit continues through September 22.  Here are some tea bag and joss paper pieces that were included in the exhibt:

Sydney Writer's Festival installation

During my stay in Sydney earlier this year I had the great fortune to join Sydney Book Arts Group (BAG).  What fun to spend a couple of hours each month sitting in a circle of interesting, creative artists whose passion is to make books!
While I was there the group decided to create an installation, a joyful piece called Life Cycle for the Sydney Writer's Festival 2013 (which took place in May).  743 pages from abandoned books were each individually made into a piece of art, then attached together and hung from a Hills Hoist clothesline, one that is found in backyards throughout Australia.

 I made a small contribution compared to the other artists as I had to return to Vermont.  But it was great fun to participate and then see the photos of the finished piece.  Wish I had been there to help put it all together!

The Art of Tea II

It has been ages since I've blogged.  Somehow life has been too full.....of making art and all the other things that go into daily living.
The big focus has been preparing for my upcoming show at AVA Gallery in Lebanon, NH.  There was a big push to complete a number of pieces, and then the huge task of organizing and getting the word out.  Most of that seems to be done now.
So yesterday and today the show was hung.  It was a pretty daunting process, but Margaret and Kayla at AVA were terrific, very experienced and professional.  Here are some photos of the process (so glad I wasn't the one balancing on a high ladder!):

Now I look forward, after a bit of a rest, to the opening, which occurs on Friday evening.  I wonder what it will feel like to walk into the gallery and see all those pieces, work that occupied me so fully for almost three years, displayed together.

Summer Studio and Gallery

It's been a lot of work but now I think I can say the Summer Studio and Gallery in our barn/garage is just about complete thanks to my dear husband who did all the cutting, nailing and painting!  Thank you, Rick....

We used homosote panels painted dark brown to hold smaller works....

When the doors are open, the space is filed with north light--a perfect spot to finish plein aire paintings....

Smaller, unframed pieces reside in bins....

And I found a great old drawing table at a used furniture store--with a bit of sanding it's perfect....

Just a few more finishing touches and we'll be finished.  Then, we'll have an opening and you're all invited!  If you'd like a personal preview, just email me and we'll set it up!

MUD (Season) Exhibition at ArtisTree

That time to be cautiously optimistic is back, inspiring the creative sap to flow!   Please come to view how local artists interpret the season by looking ahead, thinking back, and...

looking down.

MUD (Season) Exhibition

March 31 to April 2, 2012 at ArtisTree Gallery, Woodstock.  

OPENING RECEPTION

Saturday March 31, 5:30 to 8 pm.

"Images of Irene"

This month, I am participating in an exhibit "Images of Irene" which opens tomorrow at ArtisTree Community Arts Center and Gallery in Woodstock, VT on route 12 just north of downtown.  I hope if you are in the area on January 6th between 6 and 8 pm, you'll plan to attend the Opening Reception.

This exhibit reflects the work of six community members who participated in a photography class lead by Carla Kimball entitled "Telling Our Stories Through New Eyes".  Over the course of seven sessions at ArtisTree, students wove together photography, poetry and stories to chronicle each individual’s experience of Tropical Storm Irene. The exhibit presents both their visual and poetic narratives of the storm.  Through images and poems, the galleries will reflect the personal and universal expressions of Irene and its effect on ourselves, our communities and our land as well as examples derived from the new way of seeing the world through class exercises. 

Photographs will be for sale by donation and proceeds will be donated to the Sustainable Woodstock Flood Relief Fund. The exhibition will be available for viewing Tuesday through Saturday, January 7-21st from 11am-2pm or by appointment. For more information about Sustainable Woodstock’s Flood Relief Fund visit www.sustainablewoodstock.org.  

I hope that if you can't make it to the Opening on the 6th, you'll be able to visit the exhibit during Gallery hours through January 21st.

Note Cards are Finished!

It's been a long time coming but finally I have finished two sets of note cards.  The first is a set of four floral prints....

and the second is a set of pear watercolors....

These images are taken from the pear watercolor and floral print calendars just off the presses.  It is is an exciting departure for me--from fine arts into a bit of the commercial!  They will be packaged and for sale in the area in the near future....

The Art of Tea

Last Friday Chris and I hung my new show at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. When I first heard that I would be exhibiting in glass cases in the Main Rotunda, which won't accomodate large pieces, I wasn't sure how it would work. But as I organized the show I began to realize it would be an advantage to show the tea work in a protected environment and I managed to gather and create enough smaller pieces to fill the space.


The show highlights a number of different pieces, using flattened tea bags, filled bags, tea tags and strings and a variety of construction techniques. Here are a few of the pieces:


The show will be up until early November. I'm delighted to be exhibiting in a venue that will allow many people, including those who wouldn't enter a gallery, to be able to view the work!

Paintings at the Chandler

Here is an excerpt from Dian Parker's review of the current Area Artists Exhibit at the Chandler Gallery in Randolph, VT where I am exhibiting plein aire paintings.  I am pleased that my painting, "Swimming Hole on Locust Creek" was singled out by her for favorable comment...


"Saturday, June 11, 2011
REVIEW: 50 Area Artists on Display at the Chandler Gallery in Randolph

Every spring the Chandler Gallery offers an opportunity for area artists to exhibit their work. This year 50 artists display more than 140 pieces of their art in the expanded gallery. You’d think it would be impossible to show that many pieces without the gallery feeling crowded, a mish-mash of art. Instead the show is a wonderful surprise. Not only is the show pleasing as a whole, there are also many different genres of art displayed. To consider each of the artists is not possible so I have selected only a few.

"Swimming Hole on Locust Creek"

12" x 16" - oil

Two landscape artists, Kathleen Fiske and Katherine Ravenhorst-Adams, have 3 paintings each in the show and they alone would be worth the visit. Fiske’s Swimming Hole on Locust Creek, oil, is striking with its meandering stream with sunlight splashing across the water, and when seen from a distance takes on new dimension."

This review first appeared in the Randolph Herald on June 9, 2011.

Here is the link to the complete article....  http://vermontartzine.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-50-area-artists-on-display-at.html

Holiday Open Studios at Tip Top

Today from 5 until 8, and tomorrow from noon until 5, artists at Tip Top Art and Media Center in White River Junction will have Holiday Open Studios.  There will be artwork, refreshments, music and more.  In addition to oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings, I will be showing my floral prints both hand colored and black and white.  Please come tonight to enjoy the festive atmosphere!

The latest print in my floral series is just finished.  I think it looks like the flowers are dancing in the summer breezes....

"Foxglove and Black Eyed Susan" 

linoleum print   •   9" x 12"

"Foxglove and Black Eyed Susan"

hand colored linoleum print   •   9" x 12"

And tomorrow, don't forget the Opening of the Holiday in Miniature Exhibition at ArtisTree at 6:30.   Small works perfect for holiday gifts at the gallery just north of Woodstock on route 12.

Art of Blogging

I was invited to do a guest post about my paintings and how I use them on my food blog by Alisha of The Ardent Epicure. Here's what I said:

I like to make food that tastes good and the way things look is as important as how they taste. Perhaps that because I am a painter who cooks and I am a cook who blogs…

I use my watercolor paintings to illustrate my blog. Sometimes an image has a direct connection to a recipe I post as in my post Buttermilk is Cool,

and sometimes it's a whimsical choice. as in my post for Linguini with Fresh Tomato Sauce.

Recently I found a cookbook published in Vermont in 1954. It's filled with recipes and hints that reflect what was happening in kitchens in the 1950s. I have been combining selections from this cookbook with my paintings to create posts. Here’s one for a Peanut and Bacon Sandwich.

I also design bookmarks, labels and notecards that can be downloaded and printed for free. I call these PIN’s and PIN means Print It Now. When you visit my blog you'll see PIN - Print It Now in the column on the left under the basket of blueberries. I hope you find something there you like.

The words that are in bold are all links that will take you to my food blog and the the post that is referenced.

Carol Egbert

Art as an Incentive - A Free Fathers' Day card & more....

In order to increase traffic to my food blog I offer a new design in a series of free cards, bookmarks and more that can be downloaded and printed at no charge.

This week I created a card for Fathers' Day that can be download here.

We Made the New York Times!

White River Junction and Tip Top Art and Media made today's New York Times travel section as a travel destination! Be sure to select the slide show option to see photos of the town, including one of the orange wall in the lobby of the building, displaying work by the visual artists at Tip Top.... Way down to the left is my painting, "Eagle #2".

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/travel/13surfacing.html

Holiday Open Studio Weekend at Tip Top

This has been an exciting couple of weeks at the Tip Top as we worked to get ready for this weekend. Brochures should arrive today and with lots of measuring and leveling and taping, the downstairs wall has been striped a lighter tint of orange....

Yesterday, we artists met and hung our work and added the finishing touch -- the sign at the top....

Later this week we'll finish hanging the first floor gallery just in time for our Open Studios this weekend. Please come visit Upstairs at the Tip Top Friday from 5 to 8, and Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5, at 85 North Main Street, White River Junction. I will be working in my studio and serving refreshments.

In addition to supporting Upper Valley artists by purchasing their work, there will be free activities all weekend long. Friday, at 7:30 there will be a gallery talk by photographers Sara Wight and James Patterson at the PHOTOSTOP Gallery, followed by an opening reception for “Winter’s Depths” from 6 to 9. At 6, Georgina Forbes will be demonstrating her unique technique of pouring liquid color washes onto canvases positioned on the floor. On Saturday, at 2 Kathy Parsonnet will offer an interactive session on color and space and at 4 Larissa King will give a wire sculpture demonstration. On Sunday, at 2 Rebecca Gottesman will show how she moves from vision to canvas.

Come and join the festivities!

The Paper Cuts Book is Printed!

Cynthia Emerlye:

This morning when I collected my mail, I discovered the long-awaited Paper Cuts book in my box. To my surprise, one of my kirigami keepsake cards is on the cover! The book includes a basic explanation of different kinds of papercutting and many examples of projects you can make. Two of my items are presented: the kirigami card and a kirigami mandala. I chose very simple designs to present because the kind of complex work I do would be too difficult for most beginning papercutters. Also, kirigami involves cutting through many layers of paper, which is much more difficult than cutting through single sheets, which is the case for most paper cutting methods, such as scherenschnitte. Shown above is the book cover. You can find this oversized paperback on Amazon.com for pre-order HERE.


In case you are not familiar with my work, here is an example of my most recent mandala:


You can find similar items for sale in my Etsy shop: www.EmerlyeArtsKirigami.com

I hope all of you in the USA had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. I wish you and yours the best.

Primrose at the Library

Most of my oil paintings are spending the holidays on the walls at the Norwich Library.

Seeing thirty six paintings gathered in one place brought some things into focus for me. My first thought, after dealing with the details of hanging the show was, "Wow! I've done a lot of work."

I was struck by the warmth of color and to see the range of my palette. I began to paint with oils because I wanted to paint dark, it seems that I also wanted to paint warm.

My show is up until the end of December and hope that lots of people take the time to see it.

Carol Egbert

AVA Holiday Exhibition 2009

This Friday, November 27th, the 2009 AVA Holiday Exhibition opens and runs through December 30. I have entered two small oils, the first shown here on the blog last week and the second, below....

"Fall Farm"

The Holiday Sale and Exhibition has an abundance of wonderful, hand-made artworks and crafts on display. With well over 300 original pieces in the gallery – including painting, photography, and sculpture, as well as greeting cards, jewelry, and textiles -- it's a great place to see and purchase beautiful artwork at nominal prices--most everything is under $400--and support the arts in the Upper Valley.

On the Wall at the Norwich Library

Being an artist is so much more than form, color, design, execution, editing, framing, matting, stretching, pricing, hanging, selling, etc....it also involves dealing people, coordination, face-time at the computer, etc.

Charles and I arrived at 10:30 to hang the show at the Norwich Library, in Norwich, Vermont, and because of a mix-up we couldn't get in until 1 and we had to be out by 3 on the dot. Two stomach wrenching hours of fiddling with fishing line and hooks we managed to get everything up.

Today, I will spend a couple of hours at the computer to create labels, a price list, etc. and the go back to finish setting things in place for the opening reception, Friday, November 6, from 5 to 7.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you there. The show will be up until the end of December so if you can't make it to the opening I hope you will have time to stop by and see it. - Carol Egbert

Gilfeather Turnip

I have painted pears, apples, lemons and peaches, landscapes, still life, dogs and fish, common subjects for many painters. I have also painted less common subjects - jelly shoes, umbrellas, hairdryers and blenders. I'm not sure how to list turnips - common or uncommon, but I can list it as soon to be appearing in a magazine.

The Gilfeather Turnip Festival takes place each October in Vermont and will be the subject of a story in the Fall issue of Edible Green Mountains. This painting will illustrate the story. Food and art collide again!

---Carol Egbert

Pears at Woodstock Coffee and Tea

Woodstock Coffee and Tea is a great little shop in downtown Woodstock where Mary and her staff serve absolutely scrumptious coffees, teas and smoothies--to say nothing of the pastries!

This morning, with the help of Wayne, who stopped by for his daily visit and shared his expert opinion, I hung six pear watercolors for the month of September. And here they are....

These pear still lifes use space, light and composition to fashion a small world where the viewer is invited to imagine relationships, conversations, and human contexts amongst the pears. The titles, reading clockwise from the top left are: "Together", "Gossip, "Triplets", Outsider", "Follow" and "Hide".

Come by, relax over a delicious cup of whatever your choice of beverage might be and check out the paintings in person!