Arts

The Artist’s Loft has overlooked Main Street for almost 25 years and this will be the last Gallery Walk for William Hays’ studio and gallery.

Hays opened The Artist’s Loft Gallery and studio in June of 1990. It has been in continuous operation since that time. Although initially the gallery showed the works of a variety of artists, in 1995 the gallery began presenting only Hays’ work. He says, “After a few years of being an artist and operating a gallery with rotating shows , I became exhausted by organizing the exhibitions each month. Besides, I had enough of my own paintings to fill both rooms of the gallery.”

Sunday March 15, I will be reading aloud, ” The Revolt of Mother” by Brattleboro resident, Mary Wilkins, on WVEW, as part of the Write Action Radio Hour. This is one of her most anthologized stories, and is considered a small masterpiece. It is told with compassion, anger, attention to detail, and humor.

How her life in Brattleboro helped shape her life, is touched on . In addition to “The Revolt of the Mother” we will also hear a brief newspaper account from the Vermont Phoenix, about the Hanson Tyler, the man she fell madly in love with, but whom declined her romantic overtures. He remained the love of her life, and themes of independence, as well as frustrated love, became repeated themes of her stories. The article is from the 1880’s.

West Brattleboro, Vt. — The Arts Committee of All Souls Church is hosting an opening reception for “A Mix of Oil and Water,” an exhibit of oils and watercolors by John Dimick of Guilford, on Saturday, March 7, from 2 to 4 p.m. Three dozen works are featured, primarily landscape paintings and prints of scenes in the surrounding region. Several studies of downtown Brattleboro capture the town from unusual vantage points, such as along the railroad tracks. A few of the featured works are pairings of the same scene in both mediums to allow viewers an interesting comparison of Dimick’s creative techniques.

Photographer, gallerist, and magazine editor Alfred Stieglitz was a seminal figure in the history of twentieth-century photography.

Middlebury College professor Kirsten Hoving examines Stieglitz’s work and his advocacy for photography as a fine art, with special attention to his quarterly journal Camera Work. Wednesday March 4th, 7 pm – 9 pm. 

Lots of art at the Library this month! Mezzanine Wall & Main Floor: Student Art Month. The Arts Council of Windham County is inviting the community to join them in recognizing and honoring the many young people in Windham County who are involved in a wide range of the arts.

So, for the 34th consecutive year, they have set aside March as Student Art Month, a time to spotlight, through shows and events, the terrific kinds of work coming from our young people and the teachers and school programs which help these young artists to blossom. 

Mary Wilkins Freeman is one of Brattleboro’s “lost treasures” and on the third and fourth Sundays of each month,

Write Action will be featuring some of her best stories, as well as biographical and historical information.

This Sunday, February 22,  at from 5 -6 PM, the Write Action Radio Hour will offer a reading of “The Revolt of Mother”, one of her most anthologized and critically acclaimed stories. Freeman’s story, The Revolt of Mother, is one told with both humor, anger, compassion and detail. It’s a small masterpiece. 

ON EXHIBIT at Brooks Library in February:

MAIN FLOOR: Sequencing paintings by local artists and students River Gallery School of Art. The RGS is a vibrant hub for Brattleboro’s artistic community, with bright, spacious studios on Main Street overlooking the Whetstone Brook.

Founded in 1976, RGS offers classes, community workshops, and summer and school vacation programs for students of all ages.  Our core faculty members are all professional working artists, and teach a wide range of visual media including all types of painting, drawing, printmaking, and encaustics. RGS also partners with community organizations to offer classes to seniors and adults with physical and cognitive challenges

Do you write poetry?  Or perhaps you write prose ? Either way this Friday you will have a chance to read your work in front of an audience. 

This Friday, February 20th, is the third Friday of the month, and at 7:30 PM on every third Friday, Write Action hosts the Open Reading.

We meet at the Blue Dot Studio, in the Hooker Dunham Building to share our poems and stories. Each person gets about 7 minutes

Starting Friday, Feb. 6, the Gallery at the Garden features two exhibits: “Touring New England through Oil Paintings” by Shawnna O’Connor, and “Lights, Camera, Action….Motion Pictures,” an exhibit of photographic works by Sam Groves. Both shows will continue through February.

O’Connor is mainly a self-taught artist.  She uses oil paints to create bright works illustrating historic sites in New England.

She originally focused on smaller canvas depictions of cats.  After the 2011 fire that ravaged the Brooks House apartments where she lived, O’Connor began to paint larger pieces, featuring some of New England’s many historic landmarks.

This Sunday and every Sunday at 5 PM, the Write Action Radio Hour, brings ;literature to the air waves. This Sunday, I will be reading Mary Wilkins Freeman’s crime story, “The Long Arm” My mission is to give it a reading worthy of the story, and worthy of radio. If you are interested in reading this story yourself,

This story was printed in numerous publications, including Brattleboro’s newspaper, the Vermont Phoenix, in 1895.

We are open for registrations at the In-Sight Photography Project!

This semester we have a great selection of classes in both film and digital photography that are filling up fast. 

Students can get their photography fix from the following classes…

ON EXHIBIT at Brooks Library

MAIN FLOOR:  Local artist Matti Salminen curates an exhibit of works by other local artists in various media, about issues of mental illness.

2ND FLOOR CHILDREN: Picture book author and illustrator Anna Dewdney. 

On Exhibit at Brooks Library:

MAIN FLOOR:  Local artist Matt Saliman curates an exhibit of works by other local artists in various media, about issues of mental illness.

2ND FLOOR CHILDREN: Original hand-painted relief etchings by Brian D. Cohen from his recent alphabet book, “The Bird Book,” with rhyming couplets about each bird by Holiday Eames

River Gallery School will display the work of Jamis Lott, artist, puppeteer, maskmaker, and philosopher, throughout January with a public opening during Gallery Walk. Jamis, along with his father Steve, was killed recently in Townshend. He was 28.

Since early childhood, Jamis had an exceptional interest in and talent for art. Along with his friend and teacher, Margaret (Missy) Stearns, he worked on art projects exploring his vivid imagination. When he was a child, she helped him collage a giant dragon, which hung for years in his family’s kitchen. They remained close and important friends throughout Jamis’ life.

Thursday, December 18, 8:30pm – 10:30pm, join us for a celebration of performance poetry in a unique visual arts environment.

Featuring:

• Clara Rose Thornton, 2014 Dublin (Ireland) Slam Poetry Champion whose work examines memory, lust, social justice and racial injustice.
• Nye Ffarrabas, innovator and word alchemist, active since the New York Fluxus scene of the 1960s.
• Alec Silver, actor and enthusiast of language.
  

Post Oil Solutions, continuing its innovative efforts to raise awareness about the growing climate crisis, is organizing Climate Change & the Arts, an evening of poetry, music, and dance that will be held on the evening of Saturday, May 2, 2015 at the Hooker Dunham Theater in Brattleboro. An art exposition will also be held in the Hooker Dunham Gallery.

Members of the literary, visual and performing arts communities of Windham County, both professional and amateur, interested in contributing their time and talent are invited to answer our call for poetry and performers. For more information consult the event website: http://www.climatechangeishere2015.com/, or contact Linda Brown at rise.up.vermont@gmail.com.

Brattleboro-West Arts members are collaborating with Strolling of the Heifers to present an art exhibit entitled “Harmony: Health” in the hallways of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, beginning on Friday, December 5.

Expanding on the agricultural themes featured in twoshows presented by the organizations last summer, the artwork will explore pathways to better health including spiritual pursuit, engagement with the natural world, and through local agriculture.

All of the works are for sale, and proceeds will benefit Strolling of the Heifers as well as the artists.

Middlebury College artist-in-residence Jule Emerson will discuss the fashions worn by Lady Mary and her family in the popular PBS series Downton Abbey in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro on December 3 at 7:00 pm.

Her talk, “The Costumes of Downton Abbey,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public. 

Emerson has been an Artist-in-Residence, costume designer, and professor at Middlebury College since 1990. Prior to coming to Middlebury, she worked professionally as a costume artist for television, feature films, commercials, and the professional theatre.

Flash Fiction writers who have written pieces on the theme of hope will be reading their stories at the Blue Dot Studio in the Hooker Dunham building on Friday, Dec 5 at 7 PM. The prizewinners of Write Action’s writing contest, Anna Blackburn, Stephanie Greene and Helen Neswald will read as will other talented writers, including Olivia Howe, Jennie Reichman, Pamela Mandell, and Elayne Clift.

After these readings, there will be 20 minutes reserved for anyone who wants to read a flash fiction piece on the theme of hope. Bear in mind that all readers are limited to no more than 5 minutes to read. This is about excellence, hope, and brevity.

16th Annual Cotton Mill Open Studio and Holiday Sale at 74 Cotton Mill Hill, Brattleboro, VT on Saturday, December 6, 10am-6pm and Sunday, December 7, 10am-4pm.

It’s that time of year again to share in the holiday spirit with family, friends, and artists at the much anticipated 16th Annual Cotton Mill Open Studio and Holiday Sale, Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 7, 2014.

Everyone is invited to experience the hospitality of 25 resident artists, musicians, bakers, cooks, dancers, circus performers, and craftspeople of the Cotton Mill, and an additional 32 juried, local participating artists and artisans. Putney Grammar School’s K – 8 student art will also be on display. This is a festive event for the entire family. So much to see, so much to do, so much to sample and to buy!