PRESS RELEASE: Linda E. Jones at 215 College Gallery in Burlington

Sticks & Stones:
New Work by Linda E. Jones

October 8- Oct. 31, 2010
Opening Reception: October 8, 5- 8 pm
with informal gallery talk at 5:30

215 College Gallery is pleased to present "Sticks & Stones", a series of diverse new work by Linda Jones. Using materials as varied as encaustic (beeswax), foam insulation, rice paper, oil, graphite, and other mixed material, the exhibit contains constructions, paintings, digital prints as well as a site-specific gallery installation using a reconstructed Haitian tomb. Life from decay, shelter from the rubble are some of the subjects explored in this rich and complex work.

Linda has exhibited widely in museums and galleries throughout the US for over 35 years. She holds a BFA in painting and lithography from Antioch College and is represented in both private and public collections. The recipient of numerous awards, residencies and fellowships Linda was most recently awarded a Creation Grant for 2009/2010 from The Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to her studio work, Linda has been teaching painting and drawing with Burlington City Arts since 2000 and is one of the original members of 215 College Gallery in Burlington. She resides with her husband and two sons in Burlington Vermont, where she has lived since 1980.

Linda's work is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council & the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information go to: www.215collegegallery.com and www.lindaejones.com

Image: Fungus Tree, 39x32", 2010, oil, encaustic & mixed media on wood panel

Press Release: New Exhibit At Northeast Kingdom Artisan’s Guild, St. Johnsbury

“Continuous Threads – Creative Legacies of the Northeast Kingdom”

New Exhibit At Northeast Kingdom Artisan’s Guild

St. Johnsbury, VT -- From October 2 through November 20 the Northeast Kingdom Artisan’s Guild will present a multimedia exhibition “Continuous Threads – Creative Legacies of the Northeast Kingdom” in its Backroom Gallery. The public is invited to meet the artists at a reception on Saturday, October 16, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

The Artisan’s Guild was selected as one of a handful of organizations state-wide to host this Vermont State of Craft Showcase event. State of Craft is a multi-year collaboration of the Vermont Craft Council, Bennington Museum, and Vermont Folklife Center to document, preserve and interpret the history of the contemporary crafts movement in Vermont. The “flagship” State of Craft exhibit continues at the Bennington Museum through the late fall. Echoing the themes of the major show, the Guild’s “Continuous Threads” offers an opportunity to learn about the careers of individual artists as well as the mentors and organizations that have nurtured them. The exhibit will explore the creative threads local artisans have drawn from the region’s rich cultural and historic craft traditions; as well as the inspirational threads of the landscape and community which drew them to the region.

Featured artists include Jesse Larocque who continues the basket-making tradition of his Abenaki ancestors. Printmakers Mary Simpson and Sheri Pearl and paper cutter Carolyn Guest, who grew up in the Northeast Kingdom, will show how their work is inspired by examples of generations of craftspeople in their families. Delsie Hoyt is the fourth generation of women in her Northeast Kingdom family to braid rugs; in her work rug braiding evolves from the utilitarian to fine art.

Several of the artisans included in the exhibit were drawn to the Northeast Kingdom by its landscape and weather, as well as its people and tightly knit communities. Printmaker Claire Van Vliet finds a particular quality in the skies and weather patterns of Newark; the photographs of Richard Brown capture the character of the region’s farmers and working landscape. Potter Norma St. Germain was drawn here by an established and supportive community of artisans. Glassblower Harry Besett learned his craft through studio apprenticeships in the United States and in Sweden. He and his wife Wendy draw inspiration from the hills and meadows surrounding their Hardwick home in their collaborative creations in which her landscape painting is encased in his blown glass forms.

Besett and Hardwick blacksmith Lucian Avery will include examples of work created by their apprentices; illustrating the promising future of craft in the region.

The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild (748-0158) is located at 430 Railroad St., St. Johnsbury and is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 to 5:30

Decorating Ideas: Mixing Styles

This is a great hall display featured at Webb Marsteller in Atlanta. A modern console with modern chairs, modern lamps, traditional accessories and traditional mirrors. Mixing styles gives your space the spark it needs. Add a great piece of modern art on transitional wallpaper and there you have it!

Styles of modern and traditional makes this space unique. The traditional furniture is mixed with modern fabrics, a traditional side table with modern accessories, a salvaged wood cocktail table with modern accessories all sitting on a neutral rug and modern art to pull it all together. Try some of these ideas in your own home. See a closeup of the cocktail table below!  Sorry, already sold!

Webb Marsteller sells off the floor to the trade.

Press Release: Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Tom Golden Collection, at UVM

BURLINGTON- The University of Vermont's Fleming Museum is excited to announce the opening of a special exhibition featuring original drawings, sculptures, and collages by the celebrated artistic duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude. In addition to bringing this retrospective of their careers to Burlington, the Museum will also offer a unique opportunity to hear the artist Christo lecture about past and current projects. Opening on Tuesday, September 21, the exhibition, Christo and Jeanne Claude: The Tom Golden Collection includes over 125 original works and photographs that trace the artists' impressive careers from 1972 to the present. "This is an extraordinary opportunity for our community to experience one of the most engaged, and engaging artists of our time," said Fleming Museum director Janie Cohen, "In the course of realizing their remarkable projects around the world over the last 35 years, Christo and his late partner Jeanne-Claude have accomplished phenomenal feats of engineering, negotiation, and, above all, stunning beauty."

The collection, assembled by long-time friend and associate Tom Golden, captures the versatility, longevity, and international scope of Christo's and the late Jeanne-Claude's work. Drawings and collages of the large-scale public works, sold to fund the actual installations, are an important component of this collection. The projects include Running Fence, Surrounded Islands, The Pont Neuf Wrapped and Wrapped Reichstag, among many others. There are also a multitude of smaller projects represented in original drawings, from the whimsical Package on Radio Flyer Wagon to the hauntingWrapped Woman. In 2001 Golden donated his collection of works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude to the Sonoma County Museum in Santa Rosa, California. Golden's personal and professional relationship with the artists began when he met them during the 1974 public hearings for their project Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin counties, 1972-1976. Golden went on to manage or assist with a number of the artists' large-scale projects including The Umbrellas, Joint Project for Japan and the USA, 1984-1991 and, more recently, the as-yet unrealized Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River. Unique to Golden's collection are some small, poignant pieces made especially for him by Christo, including a wrapped bouquet of flowers. Actively engaged with the art he so loved for nearly 30 years, Golden passed away at his home in late 2002. Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Tom Golden Collection was organized by the Sonoma County Museum from their collection and the tour is being organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, California. The exhibition will be on view through December 18, 2010. At the Fleming Museum, this exhibition and talk have been generously underwritten in part by David Beitzel '80 and Darren Walker. Support for this exhibition has also been generously provided by the Kalkin Family Exhibitions Endowment Fund.

Mount Vernon Fabrics: Fabricut Collections

We are featuring the Mount Vernon Collection that is available through Fabricut. This beautiful collection features patterns from archives from the historic home of Mount Vernon. Here is just a sampling below.

Fabrics from top to bottom:

Parlor - Color: Harvest - This fabric is cotton with rayon embroidery. Very useful for bedding and draperies. A medium scaled print in a beautiful orange/spice color. It comes in 9 other colorways.

Arbor - Color: Plantation - This fabric is a large floral of 100% cotton. It is soil and stain repellent and comes in four other colorways.

Westmoreland - Color: Cameo - This fabric is a woven jacquard of viscose and polyester with a large scale design. This fabric can be used for upholstery and comes in 8 other colorways.

Lady Washington - Color: Mansion - This is a beautiful silk fabric with rayon embroidery with a large repeat. It comes in five other colorways.

Mount Vernon - Color: Gardens - This beautiful pattern is features a scene of the Mt. Vernon plantation and gardens. This fabric is a cotton/acrylic/polyester blend and has a medium repeat. It comes in one other colorway that features a darker blue sky background.

Back chair on left:  Fall harvest - Color: Potomac. This fabric is a floral jacquard in a woven fabric of polyester, cotton and viscose. It comes in 6 other colorways.

Chair on right:   Americas Home - Color: Glass. This fabric is a woven stripe of rayon and polyester. Comes in 8 other colorways.

Front Chair:   Westmoreland - Color: Glass. This fabric is a floral jacquard of viscose and polyester. It comes in 8 other colorways.

Contact your designer for more information. To the trade.

Press Release: Jon Gregg “Recent Works on Paper” at Amy E. Tarrant Gallery Burlington

BURLINGTON, VT — Talented Vermont artist and co-founder of the Vermont Studio Center, Jon Gregg exhibits all-new work in an artist’s reception on Friday, October 8 from 5:30 to 8 pm in the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery at the Flynn Center. The collection goes on display on Saturday, October 2 and remains on display through Saturday, December 31.

The Flynn is thrilled to present Gregg’s simply titled Recent Works on Paper, consisting of oil stick with mixed media on paper which, conforming to the artist’s philosophy, are untitled. Gregg prefers not to write the expected artist’s statement, holding to his belief that “painting is a visual language and the painting should speak for itself.”

Gregg holds a M.A. in architecture and practiced the craft from 1971 to 1983. After a life- changing event in the early ‘80s, he and his life partner, Louise von Weise, decided to focus on their art and went on to create an artist colony in Johnson that is the Vermont Studio Center— the largest international artists' and writers’ residency program in the United States. Gregg has won awards from the Vermont Arts Council, and the Preservation Trust of Vermont. A practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism since 1971, in 2006 he biked across the country to celebrate his 60^th birthday.

PRESS RELEASE: Forest & Field at Art on Main in Bristol

Art on Main announces its October-November 2010 Featured Artist Exhibit Forest & Field. The exhibit features oil paintings by Cynthia Guild Kling and wood sculpture by John Clarke, both of Starksboro. The community is invited to meet the artists at a celebratory reception on Friday October 8 from 5-7pm in the Gallery at 25 Main Street, Bristol. Both artists will be on hand and light refreshments will be served. The reception is part of Art on Main’s celebration of American Craft Week from October 1-10.

Painting and the arts have always been a part of Cynthia Guild Kling’s life. She says that where she is at the time influences the subject of her work. Today it is Starksboro; in the past New Hampshire, New Mexico and Sweden have given her inspiration.

“Many of the places I have painted have changed,” she says; “fields are developed, trees die and are cut down, buildings are lost or moved, and roads are built or widened. My work tells the story of ‘time when.’”

The artist has shown her work in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire with the Laconia Art Group, at Gilford Old Home Day Artists’ Exhibit, at Deerleap Books, the Starksboro Public Library, as well as in her own studio.

John Clarke has spent most of his life in a classroom teaching English but now works daily at the intersection of the human and the arboreal, exploring patterns that might explain what it takes to live. John taught at UVM for 25 years while living in an old farmhouse house in South Starksboro and Buels Gore. He found refuge in the woods where overgrown pastures generated wildly distorted trees struggling with each other to find a safe pathway to sunlight. At first he just pulled out firewood, but sometimes he stumbled onto strange shapes that he felt deserved a coat of oil. He began to focus on burls, whose tortured shapes could yield a fine bowl.

After retiring in 2000, burls absorbed his focus, not as bowls but as human figures whose growth was shaped by unruly circumstance. Attacked from the outside by disease, fungus, sand or damage, trees turned themselves inside out in their fight to remain upright. Sculpting a burl reveals the patterns a tree devises to remain standing among other trees. A burl could become a pregnant woman, a blinded king, a boy climbing a dead snag or a family of elves. John remains connected to the education world and sometimes brings his figures and tools to Vermont schools so young people can taste the allure of banging a chisel into some formless stump.

For more information, visit www.artonmain.net, find us on Facebook, or contact Carolyn Ashby, Gallery Manager at (802) 453-4032 or info@artonmain.net.

PRESS RELEASE: Liz Nelson Speaks at First Friday Art Talk at Art House in Craftsbury

Liz Nelson shows examples of her watercolor, acrylic, oil, and multimedia paintings at The Art House Gallery this Friday night, October 1, at 6:30 pm. She will discuss her work, techniques, and mediums, and speak about her life as an artist. Her talk will be followed by reception at 7:30. More information at vermontarthouse.com, or 802.586.2545.

On Thursday, September 30th at 7:00 pm author Lawrence Millman will read from his book A Woman in the Polar Night. Millman will read from two of his books at Stardust Books and Cafe, Craftsbury Common, VT and will answer questions about his books. Books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information on Millman, visit rolfpotts.com, or call 802.586.2200.

Image: Green River, mixed media, 2010, 24 x 36"

Press Release: Middlebury College showcases 40 Years of Acquisitions

“Friends Bearing Gifts: 40 Years of Acquisitions from the Friends of the Art Museum”

September 17–December 12, 2010

Middlebury, VT- On Fri., Sept.17 the Middlebury College Museum of Art will open its doors to all members of the community for an exhibition made possible through the commitment and involvement demonstrated by the Friends of the Art Museum (formerly Friends of Art) over the last 40 years.

Since the group’s inception in 1969 the Friends, an association of alumni, community members, faculty, staff, and students of the College, have used their membership dues to obtain new acquisitions for the College’s art collection and to support educational outreach programs for the benefit of the community.

The opening of the Christian A. Johnson Memorial Building in 1968 marked the beginning of the campaign to gather a permanent collection of art for the College. The Friends, along with faculty

members from the Art Department, heavily aided these early efforts and helped to shape the identity of the collection over the years. While the Museum has moved from its original location in the Johnson Building to the Mahaney Center for the Arts and is now run by a full-time dedicated staff, it is impossible to ignore the integral role played by the Friends in its establishment.

The success of the Museum has served to strengthen both the College and the local community.Middlebury students have benefitted from an acquisition strategy based in part on using art as a teaching tool in classes, while programs like MiddArts and the Museum Assistants Program have helped enrich art curriculums for schools in the surrounding area. The Friends have always corroborated the importance of these initiatives, exemplified by their creation of the Awards for Distinction in the Visual Arts, given annually to recognize significant contributions to the visual arts in Addison County.

This exhibition, celebrating four decades of generosity, includes 40 objects purchased using funds raised by the Friends. With an extremely diverse display of works—ranging from an ancient Chinese mirror and black figure lekythos (the Friends’ first ever acquisition) to works by modern masters such as Chuck Close and Jasper Johns—Friends Bearing Giftsdemonstrates the overarching impact that the Friends of the Art Museum have had on all areas of the Museum’s permanent collection.

Through this special exhibition, the Museum acknowledges the achievements and generosity of the community of Friends that remains as essential to the Museum today

as it was at the time of its establishment.

Organized by Chief Curator Emmie Donadio and Director Richard Saunders, the exhibition remains on view through Sun., Dec. 12. A wide range of viewpoints is reflected in the labels that accompany the works displayed, as current and past faculty and alumni in a range of disciplines have contributed to the information presented with the objects on view. An illustrated survey of the history of the Museum and its community of Friends, with an essay by Donadio, will also be available for purchase at the Museum Store.

The Middlebury College Museum of Art, located in the Mahaney Center for the Arts on Rte. 30 on the southern edge of campus, is free and open to the public Tues. through Fri. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sat. and Sun. from noon to 5 p.m. It is closed Mondays. The Museum is physically accessible. Parking is available in the Center for the Arts parking lot. For further information, please call (802) 443–5007 or TTY (802) 443–3155, or visit the Museum’s website at museum.middlebury.edu.

—end—

Image Credits:

Hiram Powers, Bust of Greek Slave, c. 1850-73, marble, 24 1/2 x 16 x 7 1/2 inches. Middlebury College Museum of Art, gift of the Friends of Art and the Salomon-Hutzler Foundation, 1970.006 (Photo: Tad Merrick)

Caparisoned Horse, Chinese, Eastern Wei dynasty (534–550), polychrome ceramic, 12 3/4 x 12 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches. Middlebury College Museum of Art, purchase with funds provided by the Friends of Art Acquisition Fund, 2004.015 (photo: Ken Burris)

Giuseppe De Nittis, Study for Alle Corse, c. 1874, oil on panel, 5 x 9 1/4 inches. Middlebury College Museum of Art, purchase with funds provided by the Friends of Art Acquisition Fund and the Christian A. Johnson Memorial Fund, 1989.007 (Photo: Tad Merrick)

Our Amish Bedroom Furniture Lynnwood Collection comes with the option of an Organic Oil Finish

The Amish Lynnwood Bedroom Suite is part of our Miller Bedroom Furniture Collection. This Amish bedroom furniture comes with the option of a Environmentally Friendly, 100% Organic, Hand Rubbed Oiled Finish.

At DutchCrafters.com we feel that properly respecting our resources is a must! The way we handle these profitable resources, the way we respect each other will make or break our world.



Our Amish Furniture Lynnwood Collection lends itself to more than just nature; it provides a balanced experience in your bedroom. This collection is clean and congenial. In a world of clamor and disarray that is turning into ill-consumption and waste, the Amish craftsmen purposed to develop a bedroom suite with refreshing spareness, usefulness and longevity.

Make this one yours and enjoy years of satisfaction that only the Lynnwood Collection accomplishes. Amish bedroom furniture at its best!

Call 1-866-272-6773 for more information on our Amish bedroom furniture! To view all of our Amish furniture please visit http://www.dutchcrafters.com/.

Greenwich Amish Bedroom Furniture Collection sets the standard for contemporary bedroom furniture!

Enjoy the beauty of Dutchcrafters Amish Greenwich Bedroom Suite - Miller Bedroom Furniture Collection

All of our Amish bedroom furniture is 100% solid hardwood.

Enjoy the time of life with the Greenwich Collection. Greenwich, England known for its astronomical observatories became home to the prime meridian and remains the standard of time today.

The Greenwich Collection is our way of setting the standard for today’s contemporary bedroom. Thrilling straightness, justly fitted flush mounted drawers, and concealed fully extended undermount slides will provide decades of satisfying service. The urban looking Greenwich Suite comes fully loaded with many hard-working features. Plus you can add smooth-motion, soft-closing slides and aromatic cedar drawer bottoms at your discretion.

A modern bedroom suite that knows no time. Greenwich.

Amish handcrafted furniture at its best! Call for more questions on our Amish bedroom furniture - 1-866-272-6773. Feel free to browse all of our Amish furniture at http://www.dutchcrafters.com/.

Robert Allen Fabrics Pairs With Dwell Studio!

Robert Allen Fabrics and Dwell Studio are now paired together to bring you luxurious fabrics in modern prints and wovens in an updated color palette. This new collection adds another dimension of contemporary fabrics to the Robert Allen family.

This photograph shows some of this new collection on the Carnegie Dining Chairs from the Roommates Collection from Robert Allen. You have a choice of finishes, fabrics and styles of chairs from this collection.

Fabrics from left to right:
Plush Dotscape in Peacock - A viscose/polyester blend.
Vintage Plumes in Camel - A linen/cotton blend.
Gate in Citrine - A linen/cotton blend.
Snake Chain in Brindle - In 100% linen.

 

Above is the Dwell Studio Eclectic Modern Fabric Collection.  Available through Robert Allen Fabrics.

Ah, the burn of a good cigar... box, that is.

I picture one of my early ancestors, thousands of years ago, forging a metal spear point out of bronze and laying the hot metal object down on a piece of wood. “Hey, would ya look at that!” he would say, as the hot metal spear point burned a design into the wood. Thus, the art of wood burning or pyrography was born.

As crude as that early experience might have been, my recent experiences have not been much better. I have taken up the art of pyrography, which means I have invested in a decent burner transformer unit, a few tips of assorted shapes and a tip holder pen. I’m just a beginner, and still in the experimentation stage, but I’m starting to really enjoy this new hobby.

I am very fortunate to have a cigar superstore about 5 miles from my house. They sell empty wooden cigar boxes for one dollar each, ten for $6.00. There are sitting in a huge crate right near the entrance to the store, which doesn’t seem to stay full very long. I’ve been stocking up on boxes for several months now. Some of these boxes are very well made out of solid exotic woods with beautifully crafted box joint corners. Why do I feel like I’ve just given away my secret? Oh well, there are lots of boxes to go around.


This new interest of mine combines art with recycling, which makes me feel good about the enterprise in general. I’m still not sure what I will be doing with the finished boxes, but Christmas is coming up and they might make good gifts.

Have you ever tried pyrography? Have you ever tried to turn old cigar boxes into new works of art?

Eric Cohler Carpets from Lee Jofa

These beautiful designer carpets are Eric Cohler designs sold through Lee Jofa. There are an infinite number of color combinations available within the 360 colors available from their palette. Carpet designs from modern to traditional with a unique flair!

Pattern: Arial - Hand woven in a flatweave with mixed texture in 100% wool.

Pattern: Cite - Hand knotted 100 knot count wool and silk.

Pattern: Drottingham - Hand woven in a flat weave with a mixed texture in 100% wool.

Pattern: Hound and Check - Hand knotted in 100 knot count in 50% high twisted wool and 50% silk.

Pattern: Kerry - Hand tufted with 450 weight in 100% semi worsted wool.

Pattern: Odalisque - Hand knotted with 100 knot count in wool and silk.

Pattern: Puzzle Work - Hand woven in a flat weave with 90% silk and 10% wool/cotton ground.

Pattern: Topher - Hand woven in a flat weave and a mixed texture in 100% wool.

Pattern: Xian/Fret - Cross stitch needlepoint and hand tufted pile. Wool 70% with 30% silk.

All carpets are part of the Eric Cohler Collection for Lee Jofa. Contact your designer for more information.

Fall Inspired

My favorite season in Utah is FALL because Sunday afternoons look like this.

Colors Inspired Me

Handcrafted Solid Wood Amish Bedroom Furniture!

It's been said that the most versatile tool in the world is the human hand. Perhaps that is why people place such high value on hand wrought Amish furniture.

Machines have speed, efficiency, uniformity. But there is a care to detail, a calibration of motion that comes only from the hand guided by the human eye. There is one key element in the matchless pieces you see in the Amish Bedroom Furniture Crossan Collection. The beauty of solid wood, enhanced by a finish to fit your home, always with the personal touch.

Craftsmanship from past generations creates furniture for future generations. And further, there is an integrity to all our work at DutchCrafters, rooted in our conviction that you are worth our very best effort. Check out our heirloom Amish Bedroom furniture within our Miller Collection.

You, and your home, deserve the enduring beauty of the Amish Bedroom Furniture Crossan Collection. Please visit us online at www.DutchCrafters.com to view all of our Amish furniture! You can also call to speak to a sales representative at 1-866-272-6773.