Author: Blackstone Valley Art Association

February 2020 Monthly Meeting – Critique

Blackstone Valley Art Association

Open Critique Session

Since February can sometimes be snowed out, we use this month for a session which is casual. We all bring in our latest works or images and then offer each other suggestions and advice. You can bring the works in in person or bring JPG images on a thumb drive for us to view on a laptop. You can bring in paintings, drawings, or sculptures. Whatever you wish! It’ll be fun, relaxed, and conversational.

Our February 2020 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 18th from 6:30-9pm.

Location:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

This meeting and workshop is free and open to the public. No experience is necessary. The fun of our workshops is that we all try new things we’ve never done before.

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening. Feel free to come for whichever half interests you the most. In general, our monthly meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month unless otherwise announced.

All are welcome – this workshop is open to members and non-members. Feel free to bring along a friend! We’d love to see you there to try some new things and explore your creativity!

Ask with any questions!

This Uxbridge gallery is supported in part by BVAA member dues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and by ValleyCAST. The space use is kindly donated to us by ValleyCast, the community outreach department of Open Sky Community Services. Open Sky uses this space for special-needs client activities during daytime weekdays. They allow the BVAA use of the space – and its gallery walls – on evenings and weekends. We actively support their inclusive mission. All are welcome to all of our events and activities!

Massachusetts Cultural Council
Massachusetts Cultural Council

Spring Bull Gallery Favorite Views and Places

Blackstone Valley Art Association

The Spring Bull Gallery is a delightful gallery in Newport. Rhode Island. Many of our BVAA members have participated in shows there.

In February 2020 they have an open call to artists for their upcoming show “Favorite Views and Places”.

THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT IS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26 2020.

Exhibition: March 7 – April 18, 2020
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 7, 2020 5:00-7:00 pm

Here are the details for this show. Contact the Spring Bull Gallery with any questions!

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Favorite Views and Places

Show off your favorite places to play or to party,
to rest or to ramble, or to contemplate the beauty of nature …

EXHIBIT DATES: March 7 – April 18, 2020
OPENING RECEPTION: March 7, 2020 5:00-7:00 pm
GALLERY NIGHTS: March 13, 2020 and April 9, 2020 5:00-8:00 pm

JURY FOR ENTRY:
Submission for “Favorite Views & Places” must be completed online via Smarter Entry
Submission Start Date: Sunday, February 16, 2020 12:00:00 AM (EST)
Submission End Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2020 11:59:00 PM (EST)
Acceptance Notification Date: February 28, 2020
Juror’s Awards will be announced at the Opening.

DROP OFF DATES FOR ACCEPTED WORKS*:
Saturday, February 29th, Sunday March 1st,
Wednesday March 4th and Thursday, March 5th
12:00 to 4:30 pm

PICK UP DATES: Sunday, April 19th – Wednesday April 22nd 12:00 – 4:30 pm

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS*
• Please Note above drop off and pick up dates – no exceptions without prior approval from Spring Bull Gallery. If you plan to ship the entry, please call the gallery for shipping instructions.
• Exhibitors may submit up to three original works in any medium
(excluding photography, laser prints, or computer generated)
• Size not to exceed 175” overall perimeter including frame.
• Artwork must be professionally presented, ready to hang with proper wiring, name of artist, and title of work marked on back. [no sawtooth hangers, clip-on, scratched or damaged frames accepted]
• Framed works on paper must be under glass or acrylic glazing
• White or off-white mats are highly recommended
• Works on stretcher bars must be properly stretched and wired for hanging
• Framing is optional for gallery wrapped or cradled panels
• All entries must be for sale and will remain on exhibit until the show closing date

FEES
1 Entry $25, $15 for each additional entry
Payment is made at the time of submission through Smarter Entry
Gallery sales commission is 35% for each work sold.

PLEASE NOTE: Artworks are not insured by SBG. Artists should maintain their own insurance while work is on SBG premises. Although we take the utmost care of all works submitted, SBG is not responsible for any damage incurred after drop off. All packing material must be taken away by the artist upon drop off. SBG retains the right to reproduce images of your work for publicity for the exhibition.

*Your entry in this exhibition constitutes agreement with the above terms.

To help promote attendance, SBG provides announcement cards at the time of drop-off for personal distribution to friends and fans.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (#springbullgallery).
You might see one of your entries for this exhibit posted there.

We look forward to your participation and welcome your support of Spring Bull Gallery.

Welcome to Spring Bull Gallery & Studio

Morini Gallery Call for Art “In The Zone”

Blackstone Valley Art Association

This is not a BVAA show, but many of us have had art in the Morini Gallery in the past. It’s a great location and well worth submitting to. This is a juried-in show, meaning you submit JPGs to them to evaluate. If you’re chosen for the show, you then drive your artwork down to them.

In the Zone   Call for Artists

The Morini Gallery at MMAS is committed to supporting our local artists.

The Morini Gallery at Mass Music and Art Society (MMAS) is seeking submissions for its upcoming jury selected exhibition “In the Zone”. Artists are encouraged to submit works in all mediums 2D including photography. Images should not exceed 48” in any direction including frame.

In the words of Emily Hill, the journalist, being “in the zone” is delicious, immersive, and kinda trippy.  Time collapses. Sound falls away. Suddenly we look up, and it’s 4 a.m..  This tunnel-vision phenomenon is reported by athletes, creatives, and psychologists alike as a hyper-focused, sometimes spiritual, state of mind where anything is possible. It’s where we become our most productive, creative, and powerful selves.

Take a moment to recall that feeling and show us examples of when you truly felt you were…..

“In the Zone”.  

Artists may enter up to five (5) images.

Show dates: March 27th – June 21,  2020

Submission Deadline:  February 26, 2020

Notification of work(s) accepted:  March 9, 2020, Accepted artists will be listed on the gallery website. 

Drop off dates: March 23rd and 24th, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Artists Reception: Saturday, March 28th,  5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Pick up dates: June 24th and 25th 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

SUBMIT https://www.jotform.com/build/200203468047144

About the juror: 

Denise Driscoll 

Denise Driscoll is an abstract painter whose large-scale acrylic paintings involve extensive time “in the zone”. She has instigated, organized, or juried exhibits including “Material Meditation” at the New Art Center, “Multiplicity” at Fountain Street Gallery, “Iteration” at Gallery 263, and the “Storefront Art Project” for Lesley University. Her work has been shown throughout New England and her paintings are widely collected. Driscoll earned her MFA in Visual Art at Lesley Art + Design, where she currently teaches. She maintains a studio at Norwood Space Center, lives in Framingham, and is represented by Fountain Street Gallery.

BVAA Pastel Class with Ella Delyanis Jan 2020

Blackstone Valley Art Association

Thank you so much to Judith Potter for taking these photos for us!

This was a free BVAA Pastel Class -it was an awesome time with a great group of talented and fun people!!!

Instructor: Ella Delyanis.

Thank you to the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Uxbridge / Northbridge Cultural Councils for funding our demos so most of them can be discount rate or free.

Blackstone Valley Themed Art Show at the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Linwood Mill

Blackstone Valley Art Association

The Blackstone Heritage Corridor is an organization which manages and promotes the beautiful Blackstone Valley. They have a visitor’s center in Worcester at the northern end of the “Millbury Bike Path” (we take photos here regularly). They have a central office in the Linwood Mill complex in Northbridge. They run all sorts of delightful nature walks in the area.

You can learn more about the Blackstone Heritage Corridor group here –

https://blackstoneheritagecorridor.org/

In their Linwood Mill office they have a gallery hall created with beautiful granite. They would like to have a display of 12 artwork items there which celebrate the beauty of the Blackstone Valley. The items can be paintings, photos, drawings, anything that can hang. You can see the area here:

The way this wall is wired is that there’s a long block of wood running the entire length of that upper area. Screws are screwed into the wood at regular intervals, with wire coming down from those screws. One then ties that wire to the wire at the back of the artwork.

The spacing allows for artwork which is about 18×22 in size or smaller. Larger art items would “run into each other”. Bonnie just measured the hooks and they are 23″ apart. Since we have art of varying sizes, we could put the 18×22 pieces alongside smaller pieces to create space.

Also, the artwork should be reasonably light. Heavy frames wouldn’t do well on this hook/wire setup.

We’re looking for 12 artists to each have an item to submit for this. The wall is currently empty, as shown. So the sooner we could get art into here, the better. Please contact info@bvaa.org if you’re interested in participating. The idea is to have the art up through March. Then in April we’d swap out for a “pollinator” show celebrating bees, butterflies, and the like, for spring.

NOTE: THIS SHOW IS CURRENTLY HUNG! THANK YOU TO THE PARTICIPANTS WHO JUMPED IN TO BE A PART OF THIS SHOW!

Where
Blackstone Heritage Corridor office
Linwood Mill complex (in back)
670 Linwood Avenue
Whitinsville MA 01588
Blackstone Heritage Corridor Webpage

Submissions
Email info@bvaa.org if you’re interested in participating. We’d like to get the art in as soon as possible. There’s no fee. Sales would give a 25% commission to the Blackstone Heritage Corridor (a great cause!).

Drop-Off
This show was fully hung on Monday, January 20th, 2020. Thank you to everyone who is participating in this show!

Public Reception
We are aiming for Friday, March 20th – right around the Spring Equinox! for our reception. We’re still confirming that.

Pick-Up
Late March / Early April.

Ask with any questions!

9th Annual Choco l’Art Show Whitinsville Library 2020

Blackstone Valley Art Association

Our 2020 Choco l’Art show is the perfect melding of chocolate and art! Enjoy the taste sensation! This our 9th Annual celebration of the theme!

All forms of hanging art are welcome – photography, watercolors, acrylics, oils, fabric art, drawings, etc. The art must be wired to work with our panel system. The art doesn’t have to be about chocolate. It can be about anything you wish :).

Where
Whitinsville Social Library
17 Church Street
Whitinsville, MA
Whitinsville Library Webpage

Submissions
The submission deadline is Saturday, February 8th, 2020 at midnight EST. This show is displayed on panels so works submitted need to be less than 36″ wide in order to fit on a panel. There’s a $5 fee for up to 3 works. It’s open to all BVAA members. As this is a judged show, only pieces which have not been previously entered into a BVAA judged show are eligible for participation. Any sales will include a 20% BVAA commission. Full BVAA terms: BVAA Show Terms and Conditions

Drop-Off
The drop-off for Choco l’Art is Monday, February 10th, 2020 from 10am to 2pm. We’ll be setting up the panels during that time and will hang things as we get close to 2pm. If you can’t make that timeframe, let us know and we’ll arrange another time to coordinate – maybe you can drop off at the gallery the previous Saturday and we can take it in from there, for example.

Public Reception
The reception is on Saturday, February 15th from 10am to 2pm. All are welcome! There’ll be lots of chocolate in all shapes, sizes, and varieties. Artists – please bring in some chocolate of your own to share (no nuts please). If you know of a local store that could donate chocolate, please let us know.

Pick-Up
Pick-up for the show is Tuesday, February 18th from from 1pm to 2pm. Note the library closes at 2pm.

Prizes
This show has the visitors vote on a “People’s Choice” award. There’s a ribbon plus a cash prize. The prize amount is based on the number of entries.

Theme
You can do a romantic theme or a chocolate theme if you’d like, but it’s not required!

Use the BVAA online submission form to submit for this show.

Volunteers Needed
The BVAA is run by volunteers – please lend a hand! We need volunteers for the following activities:
* Bringing of Panels and Hanging the show from noon-2pm on Mon Feb 10th
* Watching over the reception for time blocks of your choice between 10am and 2pm on Sat, Feb 15th.
* Bringing of chocolate for the chocolate reception (please do not include any nuts)
* Take-down of the show from 1-2 on Tuesday, February 18th and return of panels

Let us know on your submission form how you’re able to help out.

Past Shows:
Choco l’Art 2019 Details – 8th Annual
Choco l’Art 2018 Details – 7th Annual
Choco l’Art 2017 Details – 6th Annual
Choco l’Art 2016 Details – 5th Annual
Choco l’Art 2015 Details – 4th Annual
Choco l’Art 2014 Details – 3rd Annual
Choco l’Art 2013 Details – 2nd Annual

If you have photos from the first show please let us know!

The 2016 winner for this show was Carole Plante with her chocolate lab! Quite appropriate :).

pic4

Here’s what Carole did for 2018 :).

Again, you don’t have to include chocolate in your submission. For some reason it seems that the “people’s choice” voters seem to vote for chocolate things while they are eating chocolate. So it does help your chances. Still, we’ve had non-chocolate winners in the past!

Ask with any questions!

BVAA Climate Crisis Art Show 2020

Blackstone Valley Art Association

Earth Day happens on Wednesday, April 22nd. To honor this special day, and to explore the changes our Earth is undergoing, we are holding an art show on the theme of Climate Crisis. All interpretations in all media are warmly encouraged.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead

This Climate Crisis show is for all BVAA members to participate in. Art can be in any media in any size. We look forward to seeing your interpretations of this important topic!

When:
April 3 to May 1, 2020

Where:
BVAA Alternatives Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

There is a TON of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.

BVAA Alternatives Uxbridge Community Art Gallery Information

Each BVAA member may exhibit up to three photos. These will be judged for cash prizes.

Entering the Show
The entry fee for this show is $8/piece for up to three pieces.

Artwork can be any size. That being said, please contact us first if you plan on bringing anything over 20″ x 30″ in size. We need to arrange for space for those separately.

All art must be family friendly and properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. 3M stick-on hangers are notorious for falling off – please don’t use those.  If you are new to preparing art for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions. This includes all details including the 25% commission for any sales of exhibit artwork in the gallery. You may also choose to have your artwork listed as not for sale.

All art items which are entered are hung. There is no “pre-selection” process where some are accepted and others are rejected. If you submit artwork, and it is family-friendly and wired properly, it will be part of our show.

Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The deadline to submit is midnight on Saturday, March 28, 2020. Work must be dropped off by Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly). Please bring along a photo of each of your source artwork items, so we can post those next to your artwork. That way visitors can see what you were working with.

We will hang the show on Wednesday April 1st from 4-6pm. We’d love to have you join us!

Judging
Judge to be announced

Opening Reception
The opening reception for the show is Friday, April 3rd, 2020 from 5-7pm. Invite family and friends – all are welcome!

Pick Up
Saturday, May 2nd, 2020, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, please contact us for other arrangements.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

Ask with any questions! We look forward to seeing your entries!

This Uxbridge gallery is supported in part by BVAA member dues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and by ValleyCAST. The space use is kindly donated to us by ValleyCast, the community outreach department of Open Sky Community Services. Open Sky uses this space for special-needs client activities during daytime weekdays. They allow the BVAA use of the space – and its gallery walls – on evenings and weekends. We actively support their inclusive mission. All are welcome to all of our events and activities!

Massachusetts Cultural Council
Massachusetts Cultural Council

BVAA 8th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show Reception

Blackstone Valley Art Association

The reception for the 8th Annual Blackstone Valley Art Association “Anything Goes” Photography show was on Friday, January 10th, 2020 from 5-7pm. We had a great turnout to the reception. Thank you to everyone who attended!

The show was judged by talented photographer David Long. Be sure to attend his talk on landscape photography on Sunday, January 19th from 1-3pm.

Winners:

First place – Debra Boucher – “Nesting Egrets”
Perfect light, unbelievable detail, great use of complementary colors, excellent composition, everything about this shot is perfect. I would give it a 10.

Second place – Luke MacNeil – “Good Morning”
Excellent sharpness, wonderful composition, superb bokeh, nice skin tones, spot on colors, a sense of mystery is a plus.

Third place – Gene St. Pierre – “Ferrari #1”
Wonderful colors, superb job of cropping, tones are spot on, lines are pleasing, works as an abstract but you know what it is.

Honorable Mention – Debra Boucher – “Three Poppies”
Perfect composition (would like a little more room on right) brilliant colors that also complement themselves, excellent detail.

Honorable Mention – Bob Evans – “Circe”
Great mood, excellent leading lines with hair, framing to lead to pink lips is dramatic, eyes create a storm (small hot spots)

Honorable Mention – Blair Boudreau – “Puffin Leapin'”
Very good composition, tack sharp on eye, light is good, nice complementary colors.

Landscape Photography Tips with David Long – Jan 19 2020
8th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show

This Uxbridge gallery is supported in part by BVAA member dues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and by ValleyCAST. The space use is kindly donated to us by ValleyCast, the community outreach department of Open Sky Community Services. Open Sky uses this space for special-needs client activities during daytime weekdays. They allow the BVAA use of the space – and its gallery walls – on evenings and weekends. We actively support their inclusive mission. All are welcome to all of our events and activities!

Massachusetts Cultural Council
Massachusetts Cultural Council