Author: Blackstone Valley Art Association

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is proud to announce a special pop-up Holiday Art Gallery on the Grafton Common! This delightful collection of artwork will be live from November 1, 2017 through December 15th. All of the artists are local, and many of their works are of local scenery and landmarks.

The gallery includes:

Janet Aleid, painter
Joe Altruda, photographer
Carol Arnold, painter
Deb Bottomley, painter
Gary Cunningham, painter
Bonnie Frederico, painter
Carol Frieswick, painter
Muriel Funka, fabric artist
Betty Havens, painter
James Hunt, photographer
Katie Messina, painter and photographer
Lisa Shea, painter and photographer
Bev Tinklenberg, painter
Al Weems, photographer

Where Are We?
We’re right on Grafton Common! We are officially One Grafton Common, immediately next to the Unitarian Univeralist Church. We’re in the building with Apple Tree Arts and the Grafton Historical Society.

Regular Hours
The Grafton Common Art Gallery will be open:
Wed to Fri – 12 noon to 6 pm
Sat – 10 am to 6 pm
Sun – 11 am to 5 pm

Free Demonstrations and Workshops
We’ll be hosting free art demonstrations and hands-on workshops throughout the holiday season. Be sure to check back to find out when you can come to watch portrait painting, origami ornament folding, and much more.

Saturday, November 4th 6-8pm:
This is a hands-on workshop! Learn how to make origami hanging ornaments. The store will be open until 8pm with special hours.
Origami Workshop Details

Sunday, November 5th 1-3pm:
oil painting demo with Carol Arnold
Oil Painting Demo Details

Saturday, November 11th 3-6pm:
Meet the Author Lisa Shea, creator of the Sutton Massachusetts Mystery series
Meet Lisa Shea Details

Thursday November 16th Special Holiday Reception from 5-8pm
All are welcome! Come join us on Thursday, November 16th for food, drink, meet the artists, a free raffle, and much, much more! Feel free to invite family and friends!
Holiday Reception Details

Saturday, November 18th 3:00-6:00pm:
Meet the authors! Paula Sullivan, Tom Johnson, and Jane Nozzolillo are all local authors with great books to share.
Meet the Authors Details

Saturday, November 25th 11am-noon:
colored pencil demo with Bonnie Frederico
Colored Pencil Demo Details

Saturday, November 25th noon-6pm:
Meet the authors! Lisa Shea, Ophelia Sikes, Lily Pinter, Tom Johnson, Christine Beauchaine, and Jane Nozzolillo. Get signed copies!
Meet the Authors Details

Sunday, November 26th 2pm-5pm:
Camera Photography Basics – free workshop
Camera Photography Basics Details

Tuesday, November 28th 5:30-8pm:
oil painting demo with Carol Arnold – open special hours!
Oil Painting Demo Details

Friday, December 1st 6-8pm:
oil painting demo with Carol Arnold – open late with special hours!
Oil Painting Demo Details

More events will be added soon!

Here’s a virtual tour –

If you see something you like in the video, or on an artist’s website, please let us know. We’re happy to ship art.

Questions? Comments?
Feel free to Email Us or leave a comment below. We’ll get back to you as quickly as we can!

We look forward to seeing you!

Come join us on Tuesday, November 14th, 2017 for a fun workshop on turning your artwork into pendants, key chains, and rings!

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

Time:
6-9pm (it’s fine to show up late if you need to)

Whether you paint with watercolors, acrylics or oils, create cyanotypes, draw with pen and ink, or use any other form to create your artwork, it’s fun to then turn those images into gifts you can sell or give to people. This workshop shows how you can turn your art into various types of jewelry.

First, we’ll discuss how to get a clear image of your artwork in question. You have to get an image which is PERFECTLY SQUARE to the artwork in question. It needs to be lit well so that the photo version is clear.

Second, we’ll discuss how to then use that image to create the jewelry. This will be a hands-on session where we make the jewelry in question.

If you bring one piece of art we’ll do our best to get a clear photo for you, to show you how this works. We’ll have a printer on hand to then be able to print out the images at the size to work with the jewelry. It would be best if most people could send their chosen image ahead of time, so that we have the images ready ahead of time.

The workshop is $10 for BVAA members. It is open to the public; cost is $20 for non-BVAA members. This covers the supplies of the trays, cabochons, key chains, and so on. You will go home with a selection of items made from your artwork (or from other artwork if you wish).

Please be sure to use our online registration form to reserve your space!

BVAA Online Registration Form

Here are some examples:

All attendees get a free copy of Lisa’s how-to ebook.

Come join us on Tuesday, November 7th, 2017 for a fun workshop on turning your artwork into cards and gifts!

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

Time:
6-9pm (it’s fine to show up late if you need to)

Whether you paint with watercolors, acrylics or oils, create cyanotypes, draw with pen and ink, or use any other form to create your artwork, it’s fun to then turn those images into gifts you can sell or give to people. This workshop shows how this can be done with no setup costs.

First, we’ll discuss how to get a clear image of your artwork in question. You have to get an image which is PERFECTLY SQUARE to the artwork in question. It needs to be lit well so that the photo version is clear.

Second, we’ll discuss how to then use that image in a variety of online systems to create cards, t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, tote bags, and all sorts of other products. You can do it simply to buy them, yourself, to give away as presents. You can do it to set up an online store to sell your work in a variety of new forms.

If you bring one piece of art we’ll do our best to get a clear photo for you, to show you how this works.

The workshop is free to BVAA members. It is open to the public; cost is $10 for non-BVAA members.

Please be sure to use our online registration form to reserve your space!

BVAA Online Registration Form

Our 2018 Choco l’Art show is the perfect melding of chocolate and art! Enjoy the taste sensation! This our lucky 7th Annual celebration of the theme!

Where
Whitinsville Social Library
17 Church Street
Whitinsville, MA

Submissions
The submission deadline is Monday, January 29th, 2018. 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 Thursday, February 1st from 10am to 2pm.

Public Reception
The reception is on Saturday, February 3rd from 10am to 2pm. All are welcome! There’ll be lots of chocolate in all shapes, sizes, and varieties.

Pick-Up
Pick-up for the show is Friday, February 9th from 10am to 2pm.

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

Theme
You can do a romantic 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 Thu, Feb 1st
* Watching over the reception for time blocks of your choice between 9am and 2pm on Sat, Feb 3rd.
* Bringing of chocolate for the chocolate reception (please avoid nuts)
* Take-down of the show from 10-12 on Friday, February 9th and return of panels

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

Thank you so much to Eaton Farms for donating some of the chocolate. Be sure to “like” them on Facebook!

Past Shows:
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 :).

For one night only, the BVAA will hold a pop-up show and Halloween costume party at our Alternatives Uxbridge location!

5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA

About the Show
Spooky. Unsettling. Wisps of mists and dark shadows. Macabre brings out the fascination with the off-beat side of life.

Submissions
The submission deadline for the Macabre show is Monday, October 23rd, 2017. You can submit up to three works which can hang on our panels or sit in or on a case. It’s open to all BVAA members. This is not a judged show – it is primarily a visibility and sales opportunity. Any sales will include a 20% commission which goes toward the gallery. Full BVAA terms: BVAA Show Terms and Conditions

Drop-Off
Drop-off will be Wednesday any time they’re open, or you can bring your works with you Friday at 4pm to help us with the hanging and setup of the panels. Note that we can’t set up the panels before 4pm because this room is in use by Alternatives before this point.

Reception
We’ll have our pop-up celebration on Friday, October 27th from 5-8pm.

Pick-Up
We will take down the show Sunday afternoon. If you can’t make it Sunday, we’ll leave the art in the conference room and you can pick it up during Alternatives’ normal open hours.

Theme
This show is Halloween. Spooky. Shadowy. Here are photos from last year – Macabre Show 2016

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

IMPORTANT NOTE: The BVAA is running TWO Macabre shows this year. One is this one-day-only pop-up show at the Alternatives Uxbridge location. Because Alternatives uses the space for other things during the week, and because we are doing this on panels in the middle of the room, we can only have it go up Friday afternoon once the space is done being used. We need everything done and out by Monday morning.

IN ADDITION we are also running a full-month Macabre show at the Canal Restaurant in Worcester where the artwork will get a lot of visitors and views. The Canal’s walls have space for 14 artworks so this will be a smaller show. For information on the Canal show visit: BVAA Canal Macabre Show

You are warmly encouraged to participate in both!

Our May 2018 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 15th from 6:30-9pm at the Uxbridge Community Gallery, 5 South Main Street, Uxbridge, MA.

This is our annual Spring Pot Luck Dinner. All members are welcome to attend!

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the eating and celebrating.

We will have the main courses catered by the Uxbridge First Night group. This includes:

Porketta
roasted chicken
Pasta & sauce
Green salad
Coffee
Oven roasted potatoes
Rolls & butter

The cost per member will be $16/person for this. Please let us know if you’re planning on attending! It’s fine to bring a check or cash with you to the dinner. We Need to Know by Noon Friday May 11 2018 If You Are Attending!

Please also bring an appetizer or dessert to share, or something to drink. Let us know what you’re planning on bringing so we can make sure we have a selection of items. This can be a fun way to let your creativity shine!

We hope to see you there!

Our April 2018 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 17th from 6:30-9pm at the Uxbridge Community Gallery, 5 South Main Street, Uxbridge, MA.

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.

The topic of this hands-on workshop is:

Topic: Hand Coloring Black and White Photos
Instructor: Carol Frieswick

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening.

We will post about supplies as we get closer to the event.

Ask with any questions!

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

**IMPORTANT! DATE CHANGE!!** Due to instructor availability, our March 2018 monthly meeting will be held on FRIDAY, March 23th from 6:30-9pm.

Where:
BVAA Uxbridge Community Art 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.

The topic of this hands-on workshop is:

Topic: Sculpture
Instructor: Robert Collins

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening.

Ask with any questions!

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

For more information about Robert Collins, be sure to visit his website: https://www.robertcollinspaintings.com/

* * *

Our February 2018 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 20th from 6:30-9pm at the Uxbridge Community Gallery, 5 South Main Street, Uxbridge, MA.

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.

The topic of this hands-on workshop is:

Topic: Critique Session
Instructor: the full group

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening.

Since February can sometimes be snowed out, we use this time 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 for us to view on a laptop.

Ask with any questions!

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Our January 2018 monthly meeting is all on the topic of photography!

When:
Tuesday, January 16th, 2018
6:30pm – 9pm

Where:
BVAA Alternatives Uxbridge Community Art 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

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.

The topic of this hands-on workshop is:

Topic: Photography
Instructor: BVAA award-winning photographers

Here is the current cadre of photographers who will speak about their photographs. Each will showcase their photos on a large monitor and then explain exactly how they arranged the composition, lighting, and other settings to achieve their goal. Questions are warmly encouraged!

Carol Dandrade
Bob Evans
James Hunt
Donna Manley
Lisa Shea
Al Weems
Mike Zeis

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening.

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Here are Mike Zeis’s notes from the meeting:

Mike Zeis Photography Notes