Bristol—Art on Main announces its July-August 2011 Featured Artist Exhibit Home is Where the Art Is. The exhibit features quilts & quilted textiles by Jeri Canfield, Shoreham, and Vermont hardwood serving ware by Nick Rosato, Essex Junction. The community is invited to meet the artists at a celebratory reception on Friday July 8 from 5-7pm in the Gallery at 25 Main Street, Bristol. Both artists will be on hand and light refreshments will be served.
Jeri Canfield has been sewing since her 4-H Club days. She discovered quilting in the 1970’s and enjoyed it so much that it became a passion. She remembers, “My first quilt was our wedding quilt in 1974. It was a Goose in the Pond pattern done in the scrap fabric style.”
Jeri’s quilts are now made in various sizes and for many uses: to brighten up a wall (virtually all include a hanging pocket along one edge or attached rings), as a bedding accent, as a table runner or centerpiece. She uses traditional quilt patterns as well as new modern abstract designs of her own creation. Bright colors, themes, and shapes often distinguish her work: blues and reds and fabric featuring baseballs are just right for a young sport’s enthusiast’s bedroom or playroom, curved lines of many colors echo the waves on the lake and the ridges of the mountains, traditional stars pair with seasonal fabrics for the holidays. Piecing is done on a sewing machine for seam strength, and all quilts are hand tied and the edges finished by hand for a look of quality.
In addition to quilts, Jeri also creates practical home goods for the kitchen and table. Pairs of potholders in an endless variety of colors will brighten any kitchen, as will colorful aprons with a generous pocket and crazy-quilt pattern on the chest. Patterned tablerunners are finished with a complimentary fabric on the back for potential double-sided use.
“Creating beautiful products with all the gorgeous fabrics of today makes the hours in the studio worthwhile,” she says.
Nick Rosato began woodturning on a whim. “I saw a video online and thought it looked like fun,” he says, “so I took a class at a community workshop. I was hooked instantly.” Nick studied, and apprenticed, and spent all his free time turning, and now he works fulltime as a woodturner and teacher, balancing production work which is readily duplicable and more creative one-of-a-kind pieces, along with interaction with students. His studio, The Sculpted Tree, produces handcrafted woodenware for modern living using local timbers harvested sustainably within our region. He chooses local wood as part of a dedication to being environmentally responsible and because “each piece of wood has its own character, shape, size, weight, grain structure, and other features that make it unique.”
“Woodturning is an act of patience, harmony, and movement,” Nick asserts. “I build a relationship with the tools I use, which allow me to cut and shape the wood into elegant forms. I strive to create harmony and balance in my work.” Nick’s turned servingware strikes you first for its unusual shape: most often square with flared corners. This spring, he added a long, slightly raised platter with those same signature corners. Nick’s other practical and beautiful pieces include french style rolling pins in cherry and maple, almost-sculptural muddlers to make your mojito-making more memorable, and garden dibbles to perfectly measure for planting bulbs.
The exhibit will be on view in the Gallery through Monday August 15. Art on Main is open Monday thru Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 11am-3pm.
For more information, visit www.artonmain.net, find us on Facebook at ArtonMainVT, or contact Carolyn Ashby, Gallery Manager at (802) 453-4032 or info@artonmain.net.
