We had over 90 entries in our 2026 “Series Show” where each artist puts in two or three artwork items which are related to each other in some way. The judge was Ella Delyanis. She had a very challenging time choosing the winners amongst all of the great entries! Here are the artists who were chosen!
First Place: Beverly Tinklenberg – watercolor portraits
Portrait of Tom / Portrait of Leslie / Portrait of Gerhart by Beverly Tinklenberg
Second Place: Lynne Galluzzo – colored pencil kaleidoscope flowers
Solar System colored pencil art by Lynne Galluzzo
Third Place: Melissa Beyer watercolor boats
Waiting Out The Storm / Moored / Beached watercolor paintings by Melissa Beyer
Honorable Mention: Mike Backunas “Reeds of Dreams” photography
Reeds of Dreams photography by Mike Backunas
Honorable Mention: Merilyn Rocks oil, acrylics, and watercolor cottages
Rose Cottage England oil / Osprey Cottage England acrylic / Marie McGuiness’ Cottage Isle of Sky Scotland Watercolor by Merilyn Rocks
Honorable Mention: David Skillins acrylic tractors
“Left Out in the Cold” / “Ready for Work” acrylic paintings by David Skillins
Blue! What does the word “blue” evoke in your mind? Is it the brilliant blue sky on a summer’s day? Maybe a stretch of gorgeous blue ocean? How about a blue hydrangea, a blue heron, or a blue vase in a window? It could be a feeling of the blues on a misty morning. Let your imagination soar!
This 2026 art show is for all active BVAA members.
When: September 5th to October 17th, 2026
Where: BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery 5 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
There is a LOT of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.
Entering the Show The theme is on the topic of “BLUE”. You can represent ANYTHING with your art that, to you, calls up the concept of BLUE. Any topic can be addressed as long as it is family-friendly. 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 wall-hanging items must be 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 fee to participate is $8 per item or three for $20. The deadline to submit the online form for labels is Saturday September 5th at midnight.
Drop Off of Works Work must be dropped off on Saturday, September 5th between 10am and 3pm. Please only drop off at that specific day and time – it is when BVAA volunteers are at the gallery. All work which is brought in will be displayed in the show (as long as it is family-friendly and, if hanging on a wall, has proper wiring).
Opening Reception The show reception will be Friday, September 11th from 5-7. Invite family and friends – all are welcome! We tend to announce the prize winners at 6pm, right in the middle. We award cash prizes based on the amount of entry-fee money the show brings in. All the money that comes in for the show goes right back out to the people who win awards in that show.
Pick Up Saturday, October 17th, 2026, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, contact us for other arrangements. Please only come to pick up art on that Saturday. The Open Sky staff which handles this space during the week does not want to be responsible for allowing art to be taken away.
To get some inspiration,, here is our “Green” art show from 2025!
The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring our eighth annual “Show of Hands” open art show! The public is warmly invited to participate in this art show! The theme is completely open. Your art can represent anything. This show is open to all forms of artistic expression EXCEPT photography / digital art. It is the counterpoint to our photography-only show in January.
We would love to see watercolors, acrylic paintings, oil paintings, sculptures, pottery, mixed media, drawings, pastels, colored pencils, sketches, and other non-photographic / non-digital forms of artwork.
All levels of artists are enthusiastically encouraged to participate. This is a community show. You do not need to be a BVAA member to enter artwork into this show.
We award cash prizes!
When: August 1 to September 5, 2026
Where: BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery 5 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
There is a LOT of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.
Entering the Show The theme is wide open. You can represent ANYTHING with your art. Any topic can be addressed as long as it is family-friendly and is not photography / digital art. 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 wall-hanging items must be 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 fee to participate is $15 for members and $20 for non-members. You can submit up to 2 pieces for that fee. The deadline to submit the online form for labels is Saturday August 1st at midnight.
Drop Off of Works Work must be dropped off on Saturday, August 1st between 10am and 3pm. Please only drop off at that specific day and time – it is when BVAA volunteers are at the gallery. All work which is brought in will be displayed in the show (as long as it is family-friendly and, if hanging on a wall, has proper wiring).
Opening Reception The show reception will be Friday, August 7th from 5-7. Invite family and friends – all are welcome! We tend to announce the prize winners at 6pm, right in the middle, about 6pm. We award cash prizes based on the amount of entry-fee money the show brings in. All the money that comes in for the show goes right back out to the people who win awards in that show.
Pick Up Saturday, September 5th, 2026, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, contact us for other arrangements. Please only come in on Saturday – the Open Sky staff who are there during the week do not want to be responsible for allowing artwork to be taken away.
It’s our eighth annual Carbon Copies show! The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring a delightfully fun art show all about fakes, forgeries, and parodies!
Carbon Copies – Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
This Carbon Copies show is for all BVAA members to participate in. The idea is to find a famous work of art and then duplicate it! You can duplicate it exactly or you can add your own fun twist to it. You can paint a version of a Gertrude Käsebier photo. You can stage a photo which resembles a Monet painting. Maybe you paint Mona Lisa as a dog.
The sky’s the limit!
The submitted artwork doesn’t have to be a painting. You can use digital art to poke fun at a famous photo. You can stage a model to resemble a historical sculpture. You can arrange a photo scene of Legos to mimic a Japanese woodblock. It’s up to you.
Note that the source art needs to be in the public domain. In general that means it needs to have been created before 1930. Art which is under copyright, after 1930, has its rights controlled by that artist (or their estate). You would need to ask that artist (or their estate) for permission to use their work in any exhibit.
When: July 11th to August 1, 2026
Where: BVAA Open Sky 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.
Each BVAA member may exhibit up to three artworks.
Entering the Show The entry fee for the Carbon Copies show, open to all styles of artwork, is $8/piece or $20 for three. You can submit 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. 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, July 11th, 2026. To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. Work must be dropped off on Saturday, July 11th, 2026 between 10am and 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly). If you have one, please bring along a printout of each of your source artwork items, so we can hang those alongside your artwork. That way visitors can see what you were working with. If you don’t have printouts, let us know the artist & work title and we’ll track down and print those out for you.
Judging We are doing this as a PEOPLE’S CHOICE voting! Once the show is live, be sure to get your votes in!
Please vote on 1st 2nd 3rd place! Your votes choose the winners! Please share the video so more people can vote!
Awards Reception The awards reception is at the Uxbridge gallery on Friday, July 31st, 2026 from 5-7pm. We hold the reception at the end of this show so that everyone has a chance to vote. Please bring a snack or drink to share! All are warmly encouraged to attend! We announce the winners around 6pm.
Pickup The pickup for this show is Saturday August 1st from 10am to 3pm. Please don’t pick up art before that point – Open Sky doesn’t want to be responsible for knowing who is allowed to take art out of the gallery. Thanks!
To see what the Carbon Copies vibe is about, check out these videos from our previous shows!
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!
Summertime is a busy time for many of our artists, so we keep our summer workshops light and fun.
The workshop will involve Carol Frieswick’s book and card set “The Artist’s Muse – Unlock the Door to Your Creativity”. There are bunches of cards with all sorts of challenges and prompts to get you thinking out of the box with your art. We’ll have watercolors, paper, and brushes on hand. We’ll have acrylic paint, cyanotype paper, and more! If you have a preferred medium feel free to bring along your own paints, pencils, or camera. We will tackle the creative challenges with whatever we like to work with. Or, heck, if you normally work in one media, try changing over to another to see how it goes!
If you’d like to bring in a few of your works in progress, we’re happy to offer friendly ideas and suggestions on them!
Our summer meetings are casual and drop-in. Come and leave whenever you want, and work on whatever projects you’d like.
Our June 2026 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 16th from 6:30-8:30pm.
Location: BVAA Uxbridge Community Gallery 5 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
The space is fully handicapped / disability accessible with no stairs. It is immediately next to a large free parking lot. There is a bathroom.
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.
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!
Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
The unofficial mascot of our annual art-poetry pairing is Carole Plante’s amazing surrealistic painting which we have nicknamed “Propeller Girl”! Carole painted this as a fun project. She had her painting materials out while she was talking on the phone with a friend. Without telling her friend what she was doing, Carole asked her friend for two nouns. The friend obliged. Later in the conversation, Carole asked the friend for two more nouns, and so on. Each noun got incorporated into the painting as they went.
Carole’s husband Evan is a well-known local poet. Evan then wrote a poem to go with Carol’s fun painting.
Here are the results!
source artwork:
poetry response:
Propeller Girl
by Evan Plante
Whither goest thou, fair one… with thine colander hat and propeller lavaliere? I know your secrets, vixen… with your faraway look and your winsome gaze. You have captured my soul today.
I get it, by the way… that life is more an explosion than a stream (although both are true). But you… well… you know my truth, too — and that scares me a bit!
But I feel brave today, so slide on over. Let’s touch hips and not let anyone know. Let’s have a secret love… one that steams the place up — one that embarrasses the kids!
But before we run headlong together, know this: Living in the moment is not for the feint hearted! Indeed, it takes courage to live directly every day. But whatever the future holds for us, oh Lady of Whimsey, I vow to be worthy of your colander.
Want to have fun looking for birds in a beautiful garden? Join us on Friday May 29th from 2-4pm for our photography workshop at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill! All levels of artists, photographers, birders, and friends warmly encouraged to participate. This event is open to the public.
Note that because we are holding this month’s activity at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, YOU MUST SEPARATELY PAY AN ENTRANCE FEE TO THE NEBG. That entrance fee is $24 in advance or $26 at the desk. You can find discount or free tickets at many local libraries. Check with your libraries to find an inexpensive way to get into the gardens. If you are a individual served by Open Sky, talk with Open Sky about being sponsored for this event. You pay that entry fee directly to the NEBG when you arrive.
We will meet at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, past the entry gates, by the turtle fountain at 2pm. Photographer Lisa Shea will provide a brief introductory discussion of ideas for taking photos and sketching in an outdoor setting. Then we will explore the gardens from 2-4pm. You can roam on your own, stay with the group, and ask questions whenever you wish. Feel free to come early or stay late!
Location: New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill 11 French Drive Boylston, MA https://nebg.org/
Date and Time: Friday May 29th, 2026 2-4pm
Please be sure to RSVP to join the group. If you’d like camera help, let Lisa know what type of cellphone or camera you plan on bringing. Lisa can then send you a PDF of ideas to get you started. If you don’t have access to any cellphone or camera, we have a few we would be able to lend for the afternoon.
Let us know if you have any questions! And please make sure you research your New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill tickets beforehand. That way you can get discount tickets from your local library or from Open Sky (if applicable) to save on your entrance fee.
Whether you participate in the field trip or not, please consider then sending in a few of your bird photos to participate in the free ValleyCAST virtual art show. This show has a deadline of Sunday, May 31st, 2026!
It’s that time of year! BVAA Spring Party Time! This is when we celebrate the start of summer. All BVAA members are warmly invited to attend. At the start of this party, we hold elections for our officers for the 2026-2027 year, which will begin in September. Our BVAA calendar year runs from September 2026 to August 2027.
We will be holding our Spring Party on our regular monthly meeting date, the third Tuesday:
Tuesday May 19th 2026 6:00pm
Bob and Carol Evans once again set up all the details for us! Thank you Bob and Carol!
Each person can order whatever they want and will get their own bill, so it is wholly up to you what you want to eat or drink from that menu. There’s no up-front payments needed.
Please EMAIL US DIRECTLY at info@bvaa.org if you are planning on coming. That way we can create a table count for the restaurant. You’re welcome to bring one person with you.
If you’re interested in joining our BVAA Board of Directors, please let us know! We’d always love to have additional members. Being on the board is relaxing and fun. Every few months we hold a Zoom meeting to discuss upcoming activities. In between meetings we chat via email to plan events.
We would love to see you at our spring party. If you’re not able to come for any reason at all, we understand. We will miss you!
There will not be any event in the Uxbridge gallery on Tue May 19th. We will only be at the Grille 122.
Ask if you have any questions, and have a great week!
Worcester Center for Crafts, in collaboration with ValleyCAST, has invited BVAA artists to exhibit in their Community Gallery for their annual event Hot Night in the City!
This amazing artistic event draws in crowds of 3,000 people. Our artwork would be featured down the main hallway of the center. It is a prime opportunity for visibility and sales!
When: June 28 to July 25, 2026
Where: Worcester Center for Crafts 25 Sagamore Road Worcester, MA 01605
Each BVAA member may exhibit up to three art items. All forms of media are warmly encouraged – paintings, mixed media, photography, textiles, sculpture, and more.
Entering the Show Thanks to a kind donation from ValleyCAST, this show will be FREE for BVAA members to enter. ValleyCAST will cover the cost of the prizes and ribbons for us. Thank you, ValleyCAST!!
Note that as this is a non-BVAA-gallery show YOU CAN ENTER PIECES THAT HAVE BEEN IN PREVIOUS BVAA SHOWS. You shouldn’t enter any piece which was in the 2024 or 2025 Hot Night in the City show. Select the works which you feel best represent you!
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. If you are new to preparing art for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. You may choose to have your artwork listed as not for sale.
All art items which are entered are displayed. 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 your online details is midnight on Saturday, June 27, 2026 . Work must be dropped off at the Worcester Center for Crafts on Sunday, June 28, 2025 from 10am to 1pm. Please do not bring in art to the gallery at other times. All work which is brought in will be displayed (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).
We plan on arranging / labelling the show on Sunday, June 28 as work is being dropped off starting at 10:00 am. Please don’t be late! If you are unable to bring your work on that date, please contact us to make other arrangements.
As this show will not have a reception, and is not in our gallery, there will be NO commission on sales. The artist gets the full amount.
Judging Judged for monetary prizes to be determined. Thank you ValleyCAST!!
Opening Reception In lieu of an opening reception, everyone is invited to attend Hot Night in the City on Friday, July 17, from 4:00-9:00 pm. This is a free event.
Pick Up Sunday, July 26, 2026, from 10am to 1pm at the Worcester Center for Crafts. If you aren’t able to make that, please contact us for other arrangements.
Talented artist Randy LeSage will be joining us again for a FREE amazing printing hands-on workshop! Randy teaches at the Worcester Art Museum and we’re joyful to have him back. We had a blast with our last monoprint workshop back in 2015. We still talk about it!
Monoprinting means printing in a way which can’t be reproduced exactly again. This is different from ‘traditional’ printing. In traditional printing, when an artist for example carves a block of wood, inks it, and presses a piece of paper to the design, that print would be reproducible. You simply re-ink the carved block and put down another piece of paper. In comparison, monoprinting is a one-time-only print. The act of making the print alters the original.
Monoprinting is very creative and freeing!
Our April 2026 monthly meeting is open to the public. It will be held on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 from 6:30-9pm.
Location: BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery 5 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
The space is fully handicapped / disability accessible with no stairs. It is immediately next to a large free parking lot.
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 (-ish, sometimes we end the talking part earlier). Then we transition into the workshop part of the evening. Feel free to come for whichever part 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 BVAA 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!
Artist’s Statement
Randy LeSage is an artist and teacher. He works in printmaking, drawing, painting and mixed media. In the area of printmaking, he enjoys methods of etching, relief block, collagraph, lithography and monotype. Monotype offers him the chance to work in ‘painterly’ approaches, freeing up printmaking through its spontaneity.
Randy has exhibited in various venues in New England, including the Worcester Art Museum, the Fitchburg Art Museum and Creative Connections in Ashburnham, MA.
Randy currently teaches at the Worcester Art Museum and has taught at Framingham State University, Clark University and Worcester State University.
To learn more about Randy LeSage and his art, visit:
Lisa Shea did a two-hour video workshop on Gelli plate monoprint printmaking back during the Pandemic, when the BVAA was creating art-from-home videos. This video explores the basics of monoprinting.
