Film vs Digital 2016

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Thank you to Dennis Smith for inspiring this fun project!

The idea is for our BVAA artists to send in up to five each of digital and film images. Let us know which are which. All images must be in to us by Monday, October 31, 2016.

The film images should be as near straight-from-the-camera as possible. No photoshopping beyond simple contrast and brightness.

On the digital side, anything goes. You can try various techniques to try to make the image look “filmy.”

We’ll mix them all up, shake them around, and then put them on our website.

Everyone then has to guess which ones are digital and which ones are film.

The more unusual the better! Can you create strange light-leak and flare effects from your digital camera, using PhotoShop? Can your film image reach HDR levels?

We’ll find out!

2017 BVAA Calendar Project

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Last year we tried to make a yearly artistic calendar but we got started a bit late. This time we’re going to start early, so we can get done before the holidays!

The 2017 BVAA Calendar Project will end up showcasing 13 images. There will be the cover image and then the 12 one-per-month inside images.

All BVAA members are welcome to participate!

Begin by emailing up to five images to the main info AT BVAA.org email address. The images should all be LANDSCAPE (wide) because that’s how the calendar is laid out. The physical size of each image is 8.5″ x 11″. So aim for an image of that dimension and the maximum pixel count possible. Don’t artificially make your image larger – that tends to pixellate the image and make it worse. Just have it be as large as it can be naturally, without inflation. If you have any challenges taking photos of your oil paintings, acrylic paintings, etc. just let us know and we’ll try to lend a hand. If you’re a photographer and are having trouble cropping your image to the right dimensions we can help with that, too.

All images must be mailed in by Friday, September 30th, 2016.

We will then load all of the images up onto this website. Last year we used Facebook and it turns out many of our members don’t have Facebook accounts. So by putting them on this website everyone can participate. Each member should send us an email for their choice of their twelve favorite images. The votes should all be in by Saturday, October 15th.

We’ll tally the results and create the calendar!

Let us know if you have any questions.

Clinton Massachusetts Olde Home Day 2016

Clinton, Massachusetts is having their 15th annual Olde Home Day on Friday, September 9th and Saturday, September 10th, 2016. This fun festival includes music, art, food, drink, raffle, and much more!

The BVAA is looking to participate in their art show. The festival people will watch over the art for us. We can aim to set things up on Thursday evening and then take it down Saturday afternoon.

Officially the Clinton festivities run from 5-10pm on Friday, September 9th and then 10-4 on Saturday, September 10th. So it’s a fairly early end on Saturday to then take things down and be all set.

The location of the art show is:
Clinton Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 250 Church Street, Clinton, MA

From the Clinton website:
Registration Fee: $10.00 per piece or $20 for 3-pieces
Note: If you volunteer to watch the art for a few hours you can enter for free.

Set-up: Thurs., Sept 8th, 5:00-7:30pm at Spanish Church
Pick-up: Sat. Sept 10th, at 4:00pm (close of OHD event)
Payment: Make out to “Town of Clinton”

Purchased items MUST remain until close of this activity.
Limited Tables, table top easels and security will be available. A panel of judges from the Apatite Collective will determine prize categories and there will be a “Best of Show”.
Photography, watercolor, pastel, pen/ink etc. should be matted. Olde Home Day is a family event – all entries must be family friendly and entry to show is at the discretion of the coordinator – Laura Taylor.

…….

Please let us know if you’re interested in participating so we can arrange the right number of panels for our group and coordinate set-up and take-down! If you can’t bring the art up yourself, just get it to Carol F by Wed evening with the entry fee. Let us know if you have any questions!

For each piece you’re submitting to the show, email the following information to thetaylortrio AT hotmail.com – Laura Taylor. Also make sure the back of your art is labelled as well.

Pop-Up Art Show Registration Form
Name: (print)
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Phone:
Email:
Medium:

Description (briefly describe your piece):

Who will be picking up your work (we will ask for ID):

Official Website:

https://www.oldehomeday.com/

Witching Hour: Imagery from Darkness

The PhotoSynthesis gallery in Manchester, Connecticut is having a show themed “Witching Hour: Imagery from Darkness” – the deadline to enter is August 31, 2016. It’s open to any photographic medium.

From their description of the show:

“Historically, the witching hour is that time of night when witches, ghosts, and supernatural beings are thought to be most active. The exact time varies depending on particular beliefs, but is generally considered to be some period of darkness between dusk and dawn. An everyday use of the term might define the witching hour simply as “after dark.”

Whatever one’s beliefs or lack thereof in the supernatural, it is certain that the perception of one’s surroundings at night can be substantially different than the perception of one’s surroundings during the day. Moonlight creates soft shadows; forms merge together; imagination and fear lurk in the darkness. Perhaps fatigue sets in and feeds our mind irrational images—”a trick of the light and too much caffeine,” to borrow a line from the gothic rock band Bauhaus.

We are seeking images, in any photographic medium, that convey interpretations of the witching hour. How do you photograph darkness? Forty to fifty pieces will be chosen by the juror to be exhibited at Gallery 136½.”

Full details and the online entry form:

https://photosynthesisct.com/gallery/call-for-entries/

Happy Birthday to Man Ray

Happy Birthday to Man Ray! He was born on August 27, 1890. He was famous not only for his photography but also for photograms, which is when light-sensitive paper is used without a camera. Man Ray wasn’t satisfied just calling his “photograms” though. He called his works of art “Rayographs” after himself.

He was born Emmanuel Radnitzky in Pennsylvania but in Paris he re-invented himself. He was reborn as a new person.

manray Here is one of Man Ray’s rayographs. He lived in Paris for most of his life and loved the surrealism freedom. In addition to his wildly abstract works he also created highly acclaimed portrait photos of many of the luminaries of the time – James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and so on.

Man Ray even explored light painting! He would leave his camera exposure open and then move around in front of it with glowing items. He signed his name on one photo.

One of his most famous quotes is:

“There is no progress in art, any more than there is progress in making love. There are simply different ways of doing it.”

Man Ray at the Museum of Modern Art

Pow! Wow! Worcester Murals 2016

Pow! Wow! is an amazing artistic celebration where beautiful murals add color to a city landscape. In Worcester we’re having a Pow! Wow! Celebration from August 26 through September 4, 2016. There will be ten murals created in ten days!

There are all sorts of events taking place during this time period. There’s a festival kickoff fiesta at Mezcal on the 26th at 8pm. Various artist talks. The big ending Block Party to celebrate will be on Saturday, September 3rd from 3-7pm at the Worcester Common, hosted by Lock 50!

The BVAA is going to have a tent / booth at the Worcester Common. Our plan is to be there at 1pm because the people promoting the huge Kiss concert later that evening in the DCU are actively encouraging everyone to come into Worcester for the day and enjoy the Worcester Common festivities. There will be all sorts of artists, musicians, food, and entertainment. And the weather looks great!

Please let us know if you’re able to participate!

To learn more about Pow! Wow! visit:

https://www.powwowworcester.com/

Sept 2016 Meeting – Oil Painting with Dustin Neece

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Our first meeting of the 2016-2017 year will be a fun one! We’re bringing in talented oil painter Dustin Neece to discuss all sorts of topics. Oil painters can ask questions about oil painting techniques – but that’s just part of it! We can discuss color and composition, layout and balance – things that all artists will find useful.

The meeting is at the Northbridge Senior Center on Tuesday, September 20th from 6:30-9pm. All are welcome.

Come on out and join us!

Address:
20 Highland Street
Whitinsville (Northbridge), MA 01588

Our monthly meetings are always held on the third Tuesday of the month.

Daniel’s Farm Art Show with Claflin Hill 2016

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On September 11, 2016, the Blackstone Valley Art Association will once again team up with the fantastic Claflin Hill musicians to create an afternoon of art and music.

The wonderful event will take place at Daniel’s Farm in Blackstone, Massachusetts. It’s in conjunction with a farmer’s market, too! The farmer’s market runs from 11am to 3pm. There’s a grill for fresh food to eat from 11:30 to 2:30pm.

There are even house and grounds tours by docents!

The musical part of the day runs from 3-5pm.

We’re planning on being there from 10am to 5:30pm. Drop off before 10:30 and pick up by 5:30 to be part of the art show. Several of us are going to bring easels and paint. We’ll also have a picnic and get some group photos. Bring some flowers for the table to add ambiance! We’d love farm themes / Blackstone themes for the images but if you don’t have anything that matches bring what you can. Two per person so we all fit. Bin work sells well – bring some of that and bins, if you have any. We’ll share them. It is wholly FREE for BVAA members to participate in this show. Sales have the traditional 20% BVAA commission.

Please let us know if you’re intending on coming so we can plan out the panels! Please use the online submission form to submit your titles and prices – we intend to create labels for this show’s display.

For more information on Daniel’s Farm, including directions:

https://www.danielsfarmstead.org/

Come on out!