Author: Blackstone Valley Art Association

2018 The Somerville Toy Camera Festival

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It’s that time of year! The 6th Annual Somerville Toy Camera Festival! Perfect for fans of the Holga, Diana, and other fun plastic cameras! This is not a BVAA event but we have lots of fun entering photos into this show :).

From the official website:

EXHIBITION DATES:
September 2018

LOCATIONS:
Brickbottom Gallery, Nave Gallery, and Washington Street Gallery

JURIED BY:
Jennifer Shaw

The Somerville Toy Camera Festival seeks entries for its sixth annual celebration of toy and lo-fi photography.

Images of any subject matter, made with a “toy” camera – any low-tech camera with no or very limited exposure control, such as pinhole, Holga, Diana/Diana clones, Brownie, Ansco, disposable cameras – are eligible. The key criteria are plastic lenses and a lack of reliable exposure control. Straight Polaroid-type images, or images made with cell phones, digital cameras, or film cameras with full exposure control (such as the Lomo LC series), will not be considered.

Submission Deadline: June 24, 2018
Photographers will be notified by: July 20, 2018
Selected work must be received by: August 31, 2018

All shows will open by September 8, 2018. Gallery-specific opening dates and related events to be announced.
The final placement of work will be decided by the organizing committee. Accepted pieces must be delivered to the respective gallery framed and wired for hanging (or ready and equipped for display, in the case of viewing devices, constructions, etc). Artists are responsible for cost of shipping to and from the gallery.

HOW TO SUBMIT:
– There is a $25 submission fee per artist. Payment is made through the Nave Gallery – please include STCF in the memo
– A maximum of five pieces may be entered for consideration

Official submission:

https://www.somervilletoycamera.org/call-for-entries

Carol Arnold Oil Painting Class – June 2018

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NOTE: This class will focus on still life. Bring what you’d like to paint and your light and Carol will see you there!

Oil paint has been the medium of choice for a wealth of famous painters. Leonardo da Vinci. Claude Monet. Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Paul Cezanne. There is just something spectacular about the beauty of oil paint which captures the eye and the imagination.

Whether you’re a raw beginner or an experienced painter, this oil painting class will take you to the next level. It’s full of personal hands-on advice and a warm, welcoming atmosphere!

Talented painter Carol Arnold teaches a monthly oil painting class at the BVAA Alternatives Uxbridge Community Gallery! Carol is a member of Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik’s Putney Painters! All levels of painters are welcomed with open arms. The focus will be on drawing, edges, values and color. These are areas which a beginner can practice and an advanced student can hone to perfection.

Carol makes these classes fun and inspiring, while supporting you to the next level of your growth!

This monthly class meets on the first Thursday of every month from 6-9 pm.

Cost:
The maximum class size will be 10 students, to ensure plenty of hands-on time for each one.
If there are only 1 or 2 students registered for a class, the class will be cancelled.
If there are 3 or 4 students, each student pays $20/hr for the class = $60 total.
If there are 5-10 students, each student pays $15/hr for the class = $45 total.

Invite your friends! Share the news! The more students which attend, the less you pay and the more fun it is to learn from each other.

When:
Thursday, June 7, 2018
6pm – 9pm

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

This class is open to the public. It is open to all ages and to all levels of painting ability.

Please make sure you register beforehand so we know how many to expect. Carol will send you a supply list to get you started.

To register, email: carol@carolarnoldfineart.com

To learn more about Carol Arnold and to view her painting gallery:

https://carolarnoldfineart.com/

 

Plein Air at Foxfire Farm Uxbridge Sat 6/16

Blackstone Valley Art Association 2 Comments

We have some amazing news! Carol Dandrade has managed to arrange for us to do a plein air at the FoxFire Farm in Uxbridge on Saturday, June 16th 2018 from 8am to noon! The rain date is Saturday, June 24th.

From Carol:

* * * * *

The Blackstone Heritage Corridor invites members of the BVAA to paint and sketch Foxfire Farm in Uxbridge. The owner has kindly given us permission to capture her beautiful gardens, pastures, wildlife, pond, mill site, ponies, birds, etc.

This will be held June 16 from 8:00-12:00 with a raindate of 6/24.

We are limited to 12 people because of parking.

To register please email your name and phone number to Carol Dandrade, a Volunteer-in-Parks, at carol.dandrade@yahoo.com. She’ll get you full directions and everything else you need.

This event is for painters and sketchers only. Photographers will be invited later in the summer.

The Blackstone Heritage Corridor is an energetic non-profit that partners with organizations, local communities, businesses and residents to ensure the long-term vitality of the National Heritage Corridor.

* * * * *

This is a special event not to be missed! Make sure to contact Carol soon to put in your reservation!

The Foxfire Farm is located at:

215 Hazel St.
Uxbridge, MA

Sutton Common Art Festival – Sat June 9th

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It’s that time of year! No, not winter and snowy. It’s sunny and summery! It’s when the annual Sutton Common Art Festival is held. This year it’s on Saturday, June 9th, 2018. It’s on the Sutton Common. Put the Sutton Library into your GPS and you’ll find it.

The official public time for the festival is 10am to 3pm, so plan on getting there at 9am to get set up with our booth. We’ll have a tent and table. Bring along bin art, cards, a chair to sit on, and even some paints or pencils to make art with!

There’s always a great turn out at this festival and we tend to sell a lot of the smaller things – matted prints, jewelry, and the like. So it’s definitely worth participating.

We’ve brought the standing panels to hang larger art on in the past, but with the strong winds they nearly blew over. So this year we’re sticking with smaller items. If you have a small table to bring, feel free – we’ve got the full 10 feet by 10 feet and can spread out in that.

Commission at this show is only 15%, to help cover the cost of the booth.

Ask with any questions, and we hope to see you there!

Be sure to join the event’s facebook page to promote yourself and your art –

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1539408976306621/

Yoga in an Art Gallery

Blackstone Valley Art Association 1 Comment

Yoga brings calm relaxation. Art lifts us to a higher level. The combination of yoga and art is delightfully perfect!

Talented yoga instructor and BVAA member Christine Beauchaine is starting a weekly yoga class at the BVAA Uxbridge Gallery at 5 South Main Street. The classes will be held Saturdays from 3-4pm. The gallery is open for painting and relaxation from 10am to 3pm on Saturdays, so feel free to come early for the art and then stay for the yoga! The first class will be on Saturday, June 16th, 2018.

All levels of yoga enthusiasts are welcome. If you’ve never tried yoga before, definitely come out! Christine will start from the very beginning and get you moving with compassion and patience. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. Whatever your starting point, she’ll help you along your path.

Christine has been a certified yoga teacher since July 2012. She is fully certified in first aid and CPR. She’s also a talented artist and the author of several books!

The yoga classes are only $10 each. 10% of that payment goes to the gallery to support its activities.

Please contact Christine at edalynne@hotmail.com for more information, to ask any questions, and to reserve your spot! We hope to see you there!

Plein Air Mailing List for BVAA Members

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Summer’s here and the time is right for plein air painting! The challenge is gathering up friends to go with you when the day finally dawns with golden sunshine. That’s why the BVAA is creating a plein air specific mailing list!

To join the list, just send an email to Bob Evans at bob9750@gmail.com – he is the keeper of the list. Let him know which email address you’d like to add to it.

You can of course unsubscribe whenever you wish.

Any time any member of the group is thinking about going on a plein air outing, they simply send an email message out to the group. The whole group will get the alert. Then people can respond back if they’re interested, and an adventure is on the way.

If you have any questions at all, please contact Bob. He’ll let you know the list name and how to use it when he adds you to it.

2018 Premier Image Gallery Open Show

Blackstone Valley Art Association 3 Comments

The Premier Image Gallery in Ashland, Massachusetts is having its 2018 Summer Show! This will be a joint show between the Blackstone Valley Art Association and two other local art groups. There will be cash prizes!

Premier Image Gallery
290 Eliot Street
Ashland MA 01721

You can enter up to two pieces at $8 each. Pieces must be properly wired. The drop off dates are:

UPDATE: You can drop off on Monday June 11th as well! Call Don Gordon at 508-881-4730

Thu June 7 10-3
Fri June 8 10-3
Sat June 9 9-noon

If you can’t make it during those times, let us know and we can arrange someone else to coordinate with you to bring them in. You don’t have to fill out any forms with this. Just label the back with the usual artist name / title / medium / price and then the owner Don will fill out a hand-written inventory sheet when you get there.

The BVAA has historically done quite well at these open shows. It’s well worth entering!

The reception is Thursday, June 21st from 5-7pm. Bring a snack to share!

The pickup will be on August 16th and August 17th during the gallery’s normal business hours.

For more about the gallery including contact information visit:

https://premierimagegallery.com/

Call for Art: Show Us Your Notre Dame

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Photo by Lisa Shea

This press release came via ArtsWorcester. We’re already losing Our Lady of Mount Carmel, above. Let’s not lose two churches in a row.

Call for Art: Show Us Your Notre Dame
DEADLINE: Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Artists, here is a chance to win a significant cash prize and document our city’s living history! Please lend your talents to the effort to save the former church of Notre Dame des Canadiens downtown, slated for demolition within weeks—or at least, save its soul. An online, non-juried, and immediate exhibition will bear witness to this beautiful landmark building and fuel efforts to save it. Ten prizes of $250 each will be awarded by a group of Worcester’s leading art professionals.

The organizers seek artwork that conveys the beauty of Notre Dame, envisions how it could be repurposed to become the crown jewel of Worcester, and documents what may be its last hours–or the beginning of its new life.

This is urgent: they need your images or video by Wednesday, May 30. Send them your visual art, dance, music, poetry or prose, conceptual or performance art, anything that can be photographed or recorded and submitted electronically for us to upload to the exhibition website.

Bring your camera, your instrument, your sketchbook to Notre Dame this week, and let your art speak truth to power. Notre Dame itself is now fenced and off-limits, so artists must work from public vantage points (sidewalks, Worcester Common, Worcester Public Library).

Artwork must be submitted as a high-resolution jpg or video to savenotredame2018@gmail.com by Wednesday, May 30 at 6pm. Please include your name, youth/student status (if applicable), the medium, title (if there is one), and the day and time you made the piece. We will upload your work into the online exhibition in real time. By submitting images, you give permission for Save Notre Dame Alliance to use them for publicity purposes.

Jim Welu, Juliet Feibel, Luis Fraire, and Honee Hess will award ten cash prizes of $250 each, including youth/student prizes. These prizes are funded by visionary citizens who see Notre Dame as art and believe that art can help save it. The winners will be announced at a public event within a week after the submission deadline passes.

All artists are eligible to participate, regardless of where they live or previous experience. We encourage participation by children and student artists, amateurs and professionals!

Please share this call widely. New England is already watching what we do with Notre Dame. Help us all see this special place through your eyes, and bear witness to this moment in our city.

The Save Notre Dame Alliance thanks ArtsWorcester, the Sprinkler Factory, Worcester Center for Crafts, and WICN for their collaboration and support.

For further information:

https://www.savenotredamealliance.com/
https://www.facebook.com/savenotredamealliance/
https://www.facebook.com/Re-imagined-Notre-Dame-1181755798556522/

For the Birds Art Show Reception

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artwork by John Randall

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring the “For the Birds” show to celebrate the joy of our feathered friends!

The opening reception will be Friday, June 22nd, 2018 from 5-7.

Invite family and friends – all are welcome!

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

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

Full details about this show:

For the Birds Art Show

For the Birds Art Show

Blackstone Valley Art Association 1 Comment


artwork by John Randell

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring the “For the Birds” show to celebrate the joy of our feathered friends! All members are warmly encouraged to participate.

When:
June 22 to July 21, 2018

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

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

Participation is open to all BVAA members. Each current BVAA member may exhibit three works. A portion of all sales goes to support the gallery.

Entering the Show
There is no entry fee for this show. The theme is anything and everything having to do with birds and birding.

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 paintings must be family friendly and properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. If you are new to preparing artwork for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions

Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The deadline to submit is 3pm on Saturday, June 16th, 2018. Work must be dropped off either on Saturday, June 9th or Saturday, June 16th between 10am and 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).

Opening Reception
The opening reception will be Friday, June 22nd, 2018 from 5-7. Invite family and friends – all are welcome!

Fireworks!
Uxbridge will be holding their summer fireworks on Saturday July 7th – the gallery will be open! Hopefully we’ll get visitors in to check out our birds while they’re enjoying the celebration!

Pick Up
Saturday, July 21st, 2018, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, contact us for other arrangements.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

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