Author: Blackstone Valley Art Association

Thank You To Our 2018 Gallery Wall Painters!

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Up until September 2018, the Blackstone Valley Art Association Alternatives Uxbridge Gallery had no hanging system. That meant that every time a show was hung, actual metal nails were hammered into the walls. This was, as you might imagine, awful for the historic brick walls. We were chipping away at the mortar. It was also less than ideal for the regular walls, as they were getting peppered with holes and marks.

On Friday, August 31st and Saturday, September 1st, 2018, a team of BVAA members came together to do an incredible painting project. The opening reception for our Show of Hands show was only a week away – on Friday, September 7th. That meant we had to get the existing walls cleaned, spackled, painted with two coats of paint, and dried. Next, the hanging system had to be brought in and be installed. And then we had to hang the show.

It was a race against time.

With enthusiastic cooperation and great team spirit, it was all done! Now the compliments pour in on how wonderful the gallery looks.

For those who are curious, the Uxbridge gallery was painted London Fog grey. We used an eggshell finish on the walls and a semi-gloss finish on the ledges, frames, and doors.

Our spectacular painting team was:
Pam Siderewicz – the ring-leader extraordinaire
Michelle Benjamin
Rick Benjamin – did all the spackling himself!
Deb Bottomley
Patty Cahill
Marcia Ciak
Gary Cunningham
Carol Dandrade
Linda DeFeudis
Bob Evans
Carol Evans
Carol Frieswick
Betty Havens
Kelsey Loverude
Linda Palumbo
Karen Pendleton
Lisa Shea

Thanks to Alternatives Property Services Team for jumping in and coordinating the time to get the hanging system done, and to the installers, Leo and Jason, for installing the hanging system with a smile!

And a warm thank-you to the STAS Hanging System group, which are located right nearby in Millbury, for giving us a discount on their amazing hanging system.

We also want to thank the Uxbridge Cultural Council, who gave us a grant in 2017 to start the testing of the hanging system project. That initial section gave us the feedback and experience we needed in order to do the entire room.

Did we miss anybody? Please let us know!

With the hanging system now in place, so no more nails have to be used, this paint job should last us for years and years! It’ll also make hanging shows and adjusting shows far easier.

Here’s an image that showcases the hanging system on both the brick and the regular-wall surfaces. It features Jose Criollo with his amazing Wasp Hive sculpture.

The Uxbridge Alternatives BVAA Gallery is located at:
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA

We’d love to have you come out and visit us!

2018 Show of Hands Public Reception – 9/7/2018

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Invite Family and Friends! All are Welcome! Friday, September 7, 2018 from 5-7pm is the public reception for the Second Annual Show of Hands art show! We’ve got amazing sculptures, beautiful paintings, fantastic fabric art, and much, much more. Come on out and be inspired!

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.

Full details:
2018 Show of Hands Art Show

Open Paint – Sat Sept 8 2018

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NOTE THE SHORTER HOURS DUE TO OVERLAPPING EVENTS! 11am to 2:30pm!

If you’re interested in painting, drawing, and illustrating, we have the perfect Saturday lined up! It’ll be a great time with laughter, conversation, creativity, and the space to stretch out! It’s an open paint! All are welcome, including the public, family, and friends! It’s free!

If the weather is nice out, we’ll also do an Uxbridge sketch walk. We have the maps all ready. We just need some sunshine!

When:
Saturday, Sept 8, 2018
11am – 2:30pm

This starts a bit late due to the Jo Ellen sketching workshop at River Bend at 9:30am.
It ends a bit early due to the Sunflower Show reception from 2-4pm at Booklovers’ Gourmet.

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

This is an open paint session where all styles of art are warmly welcome. Whether you’re 12 or 102, whether you’re a new beginner or a seasoned artist, we would love to have you. It’s completely free to participate in the open paint. You can bring your own paints or we’ll have watercolors and brushes to share.

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

Feel free to show up for some or all of the day to paint. Some come for just the morning, some for the afternoon, and some for the entire time. There are several options on the same block to grab lunch if you’d like. We also bring in a pizza and those who want slices chip in a few dollars.

Ask with any questions – we’d love to have you join us!

Show of Hands Final Deadline Mon Sept 3

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The gallery is painted! Hurrah! That means we can now take in artwork for the Show of Hands show! Please make sure you submit your titles and prices by MONDAY NIGHT SEPTEMBER 3rd 2018 so we can get the titles and prices set. Then make sure you get your artwork in by Wednesday September 5th by 4:30pm so we can hang the show!

Let us know if you need any help with either step! Share the news with family and friends – this show is open to the public!

Show of Hands Details

Sunflower Show Images September 2018 Booklovers’ Gourmet

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This is our current roster of sunflower images for the September 2018 Sunflower-themed show at the Booklovers’ Gourmet in Webster.

If I missed anybody, please let me know! Apparently we can fit 20 images in this show so if there’s anybody I missed, I can still get them in. Just contact me (Lisa) quickly!

Here are the full details about this florally themed show :).

BVAA September 2018 Sunflower Show

When you drop your work off, please make sure the back of your work is labelled with your artist name, the work’s title, medium, and price. That way we can double-check that everything is right and that we put the right label with the right work. Thanks!

Gallery Wall Painting Project – August 2018

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Painting Deadline of September 7, 2018 for the first opening of our 61st year! The painting press is on!!

Our Blackstone Valley Art Association gallery in Uxbridge is beautiful. We have art shows there, seminars on marketing your art, workshops on photography, classes on oil painting, and much, much more. And now it’s time to give it a fresh paint job!

We are very fortunate to have experienced wall-painter Pamela Siderewicz in our midst. Our past president is leading the charge on repainting the wall surfaces. We will be painting the wall and trim light gray, while leaving the brick in its natural state. The trim will be painted a glossy light gray while the walls will be painted a washable eggshell light gray. Both will help us showcase art of all varieties, while hiding the random marks that happen in a location such as this.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

There are two dates in this process, and it’s important we get through both dates in order to be ready for our grand opening of the Show of Hands art show reception on Friday, September 7th, 2018. We need to get our painting done in one fell swoop. Then the hanging systems need to be installed, so that we can put the show up on the walls with that hanging system. This all needs to be done and complete before our Friday, September 7th show reception :).

We can do it!!

Friday, August 31st, 2018 4:30-6:30pm
We’ll have music and snacks. We need a group of people to assist with the preparations for painting. We’ll sand the spackle spots, vacuum the floor, and wipe down the trim and baseboards. It should be fairly quick and easy. If we can get enough people on Friday we could even start painting the trim. That way Saturday can be all about the main painting. Please let us know if you can come out on Friday.

Saturday, September 1st, 2018 8am-4pm
This is the main painting event. Again, Pam has done this many times before. We will begin in the morning with the trim. We’ll deal with getting the gloss on the trim areas. This will involve taping the walls and then small types of painting. Then, once the trim is done, we’ll move on to the larger walls. This will be where rollers and larger motions are involved. Pam has ladders and we have several ladder-fine people handling that, so you won’t have to go onto the ladders. We just need people who can handle moving rollers in lines. We’ll do two coats total, so while one section is drying we’ll work on the opposite section.

We’ll enjoy music, snacks, and fun. Let’s plan for 8am to 4pm and you can schedule a segment of that time. That way we have people rotating through to lend a hand.

We’ll need all sorts of people, so even if you’re not good with painting, you can help with other things. We’ll bring in pizza and there’s plenty of other things to eat in this area, too. Wear casual clothing :).

It’ll be a fun group event and in the end our gallery will be beautiful! Plus, with the new hanging system installed, we won’t ever be putting holes into the walls going forward, so our beautiful paint job will last years and years. This may be the only time we ever paint the walls. Don’t miss out on the fun! Get your chance to make history!

Please contact us at info@bvaa.org with when you’ll be able to help out. Together we’ll make this happen!

UPDATE:
Thank you so so much to everyone who pulled this project off! Here’s the details of how successful we were!

BVAA Wall Painting and Hanging Project Complete!

Millbury Bike Path Photography Workshop

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Come on out for a free, fun photography workshop along the Blackstone River!

The Millbury Bike Path is part of the plans for a long bike path / walking path / celebration of the entire Blackstone River from Worcester, MA to Pawtucket, RI. The stretch which is complete in the Millbury area starts at a parking lot near the Blackstone Shoppes mall complex and goes north along the river to the parking lot with the WalMart in Worcester.

It’s quite an interesting bike path. It wends along the Blackstone River quite a lot, so you get good images of the ducks, turtles, beavers, and other creatures. There are a number of train bridges and walking bridges to get photos of.

Plus, the Blackstone River goes right along the train lines here, so there’s ample opportunity to get cool photos or drawings of the trains in various configurations.

On our first two trips here we did the southern stretch of the trail, so this time we’ll do the northern stretch.

Directions and Time
We’re meeting at the MIDDLE Millbury bike path parking lot. It is immediately across the street from the Valu Gas Station at:
1255 Millbury Street
Worcester, MA

So if you search for that on your GPS, you’ll find the spot. Here’s a map so you can see where it’s located. The parking lot is just north of where Route 20 crosses Route 146 and the Mass Pike. You can get to it by going a bit north on 146 from there and taking your first exit, then taking a right. Alternatively, you can take Route 20 west from 146, then take your first left onto Park Hill Ave, and then two more quick lefts.

We’ll meet at the middle parking lot at 10am to gather up everyone, and then go for a gentle walk to explore photography and the path! Call or text Lisa if you’re running late and she’ll let you know where to find us.

Please let us know via our contact form if you’re planning on coming, so we know to wait for you. If you forget that’s OK to, just show up! Bring friends! It’ll be a great morning of learning about photography and exploring our Blackstone River history!

Here’s the details on the bike path itself:

Blackstone Valley Bike Path Photos

This is just one part of our month-long Celebrating the Blackstone artistic celebration. Be sure to check out all of our events!

This month-long celebration is sponsored by Constellation, an Exelon company.