For our 2023 BVAA Art & Poetry Show pairing, one pairing was with poet Ibi Obomanu and artist Ellen Gould.
Here are the works they created!
Ellen Gould provided this artwork to Ibi Obomanu.
In response, Ibi Obomanu wrote the following poem.
The Beauty of Calabash
(response)
By Ibi Obomanu
Oh, the shapes and colors that trawls one. They care not what anyone else thinks. Take a glimpse at the invisible gourds. Calabash is the intrinsic nature of ‘Ahh.’ Using the natural drinking cups, Becomes ineffable. Can they be described? There are more to them. Dig for amazing perks. As long as water flows consistently, Grace will flow and blow out fresh air. Dash to capture the beauty of calabash.
…
The second half of this pairing involved Ibi Obomanu giving Ellen Gould a poem as a starting point. Ibi Obomanu provided this poem:
Comity (source)
By Ibi Obomanu
Inner dialogue creeps in on All shades’ door step. All shades have more similarities than differences. Their echo is chummy with a companion of ease. Stand tall against differences frights. Triumphant and Turmoil can capture All shades inevitably. Tossing life capabilities to all shades Can rescue or limit undesirable differences. Distorted images and inadequacy can be chased away by All shades. All shades’ efforts require intentionality and concerted effort to oneness. Different mechanisms set the stage for an organic comity. All shade can represent, connect and deliver at some level. All shades can shape, share and soar together.
…
In response, Ellen created this artwork:
To hear a reading of the poetry, and a discussion of the art:
For our 2023 BVAA Art & Poetry Show pairing, one pairing was with poet Robert Silveri and artist Louise Pigott.
Here are the works they created!
Louise Pigott provided this artwork to Robert Silveri.
In response, Robert Silveri wrote the following poem.
The second half of this pairing involved Robert Silveri giving Louise Pigott a poem as a starting point. Robert Silveri provided this poem:
Our Garden (source)
By Robert Silveri
Mother, our garden has grown. Since you first knelt there on your cushion furiously working the earth cultivating and nurturing our roots so that we might shoot up colorful and strong. Some of use grew big and wide as orange day lilies, and we in turn have multiplied. Some of us are tall and thin, blue bachelor buttons. Still others bright and happy marigolds. Short and stalky, orange and yellow. And others have been transplanted to add brilliance and texture to our display. We even have purple petunias, white snapdragons, and slim scarlet salvias. Our garden has flourished, proud and vibrant, in the rich black earth, with you always plucking the weeds from around our stems. Some amongst us are just budding, some wilting, all of us in different stages of bloom. What I want to tell you mother, is, since you first plunged your hands into the soil, such a long time ago, everything has come up flowers. 11/10/98
…
In response, Louise created this artwork:
To hear a reading of the poetry, and a discussion of the art:
For our 2023 BVAA Art & Poetry Show pairing, one pairing was with poet Evan Plante and artist Dennis Smith.
Here are the works they created!
Dennis Smith provided this artwork to Evan Plante.
In response, Evan Plante wrote the following poem.
Energies (response)
By Evan Plante
Color exists, sound exists and love exists
On two electromagnetic spectra.
One is physical… a mere sliver of which
Can be felt, heard or seen.
The other is spiritual… all knowing, all seeing
But stumm to those who say they hear
And hidden from them who say they see.
I took a walk on a woodland trail
Trying to stay in the moment
But I couldn’t… I simply couldn’t.
Thinking about the ancient stones transported me
Back to their origin, forward to their destruction
And inward to their essence —
To our essences, to our oneness.
We are both stardust… eroding and changing
Both mere slivers of light —
Light which merely hints at our manifold energies.
You see, every entity sings its own song.
Some sing colors and some sing sounds.
But as for those stones and me… well…
We sing love.
…
The second half of this pairing involved Evan Plante giving Dennis Smith a poem as a starting point. Evan Plante provided this poem:
Breaches (source)
By Evan Plante
Prologue (Joshua 4:6-7). That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? (7) Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
Breaches The top-most stone did not fall only suddenly, but reluctantly, at various functions of time, wind, freeze, thaw, moss and animal. He took the time to build the wall, this farmer, in between some desperate runs at agriculture, beating his will against our New England fields—yet defining them with the curious placement of one stone upon another. In time these lines became his lines, these lines became our lines—our boundaries real or imagined, but without care they would surely breach.
While the stones underground work their way up through the soil, the stones on the wall work their way down to the ground. When we stopped cultivating the good fields, we stopped considering their worth, their interruptions, their necessary weight and rightful place in the piles of stones. Without tilling the good earth, its good stones remain and its good walls breach.
I killed a squirrel with such a stone, a mighty toss from a place centuries unplowed. I breached life by cruel misuse. The farmer breached life by giving up. We all breach life by giving in, like the wall which bowed over the frost, its center of gravity drifting by microns to a tipping point beyond our vision where the people perish.
True, the stones were occasionally placed amiss—perhaps in the farmer’s hurried fatigue or even misjudgment, but where were the farmer’s sons that early December after the harvest and before the deep frost? What activity—or inactivity—did they chose to place before their mending wall? When did they decide that the carrying of stones, the inspecting of walls, the plumbing of their sides and the straightening of caps were no longer worthy of attention on a modern farm?
Their father handed over a completed work, his body spent both by using and by defining fields—dragging huge stones to their wall of opportunity. If they had just repaired that one breach—you remember—the one they made to placate the loggers, or if they had replaced that one key stone on the face by the corner, or added to the wall’s width, investing in generations, then I’d not have breached life. But gravity prevails, and blood will not unshed.
In the middle of this thick woods a rubble wall shoots across an impossible hill. A decoration now, shorter by sinking, by the increase of soil around it, and by the accumulating slopes of its breaches that spill mossy rocks over the leaf litter like Impatiens spilling out of those phony whiskey barrels at the corner of driveways. The days shall come when there shall not be left one stone upon another—a time beyond the mending—when we seek another city.
…
In response, Dennis created this artwork:
To hear a reading of the poetry, and a discussion of the art:
We have a treat for the month of April! Talented artist Sue Dion will be doing a demonstration on how to design your artwork with a focus on color composition. The information will be useful no matter what form of art you create. You are invited to bring along whatever supplies you like to work with – colored pencil, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, etc., and to create along with the group!
If you don’t have supplies, we’ll have watercolors on hand to use.
Meeting Location: BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery 5 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
This meeting and session is free and open to the public. No experience is necessary. The fun of our workshops is that we all learn new things we’ve never done before.
WE WILL BE STARTING IMMEDIATELY AT 6:30pm!! Normally we have business meeting talk from 6:30-7 but because Sue’s schedule is tight tonight we are going IMMEDIATELY INTO THE WORKSHOP. Please try to get there a bit early to set up! I’ll open the gallery at 6:10pm to give us time to prepare!
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 learn some new things and explore your creativity!
Ask with any questions!
Here is the video –
Thank you to the Uxbridge Cultural Council for supporting our workshops.
The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring its annual BVAA Spectacular Spring Show – this is our 65th year! The show is open to all BVAA members. If you’re not yet a BVAA member, now’s the time to join us!
When: April 8 to June 3, 2023
Where: BVAA / Open Sky Uxbridge Community Art Gallery 5 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
About the Show: The Blackstone Valley Art Association celebrates its 65th year with its annual Spectacular Spring show. This open-themed extravaganza features the very best artwork from its diverse membership. We explore stunning black and white photography, soaring landscapes, delicate watercolors, swirling acrylics, precisely detailed oil paintings, and much, much more. Our members range from teens to retirees, from those just starting out to award-winning Putney Painters. We warmly invite you to our opening reception where you can enjoy insightful conversations with the artists and infuse inspiration into your life!
Entering the Show The entry fee for the Spectacular Spring show, open to all styles of artwork, is $8/piece or $20 for three. You can submit up to three pieces. The theme is wide open. You can submit a portrait, landscape, still life, abstract, seascape, you name it. Your imagination is the limit. Because this show is judged, you cannot enter anything which has previously been submitted for a BVAA judged show. It’s fine to enter works which have been in non-judged BVAA shows.
All artwork must be family friendly. Any hanging artwork MUST BE properly wired for hanging. The gallery will not accept non-wired wall-hanging artwork. If you are new to preparing hanging artwork for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame Artwork. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions
Submissions To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The deadline to submit the online form is midnight on Saturday, April 8th, 2022. Work should be dropped off that Saturday, April 8th from 10am to 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).
We will have a sign-in sheet. Please make sure you sign your art in so we can track what is in the gallery.
The show will be hung on Wednesday, April 12th from 5-7pm. We’d love to have you come participate! Hanging is easy and fun now that we have the wall hanging system. It’s all about figuring out which artwork styles go together.
Judging This show awards cash prizes based on the number of entries received. The judge for this show is to be determined.
Opening Reception The opening reception for the show is: Friday, April 14th, 2023 5-7pm
There’ll be music, fun, and lively conversation! Bring a snack to share – just how creative can you get? Lisa might bring her ladybug-tomato-on-mozzarella! That is nice and springy!
Please invite family and friends – all are welcome!
Viewing Hours Mondays through Saturdays 10am-3pm. If coming during the week, note that Open Sky uses this space for their work with clients. Call ahead to make sure someone will be there.
Pick Up Pick up for this show is:
Saturday June 3rd, 2023 10am-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!
Full 2023 BVAA Uxbridge Gallery Art Show Schedule – https://bvaa.org/2023/02/02/bvaa-uxbridge-show-schedule-for-2023/
Here’s the show from 2022 to get an idea of what this is like!
It’s time for a critique session! 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 on a thumb drive for us to view on a laptop. You can bring in paintings, drawings, or sculptures. Whatever you wish! It’ll be fun, relaxed, and conversational.
If you aren’t able to bring the physical item in, and don’t have a thumb drive, you can email the image to our normal info@bvaa.org address sometime before Tuesday and we’ll handle it for you. Lisa Shea will be on laptop duty for the night :).
Our March 2023 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 21st from 6:30-9pm.
This critique will be moderated by the talented award-winning painter Carol Arnold!
Location: BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery 5 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569
This meeting and session is free and open to the public. No experience is necessary. The fun of our workshops is that we all learn new things we’ve never done before.
Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening. Feel free to come for whichever half 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 members and non-members. Feel free to bring along a friend! We’d love to see you there to learn some new things and explore your creativity!
Ask with any questions!
Some samples of Carol Arnold’s work:
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!
Enjoy this full walkthrough of the BVAA’s 2023 “Anything Goes” photography show! This community show was open to the public. It was held at our Uxbridge art gallery from January 7 to March 4, 2023.
Winners: 1st place: Al Weems “Bert” 2nd place: Heather Cassano “Sunlight on a Yellow Wall” 3rd place: Adam French “Highland Cattle” honorable mention: Lucia Hackett “Courting Great Blue Herons” honorable mention: Al Weems “Onion Field” honorable mention: Lisa Shea “Ukraine”
More about the 2023 Anything Goes photography show:
Glass painting is a beautiful, luminous way to express creativity! Come join us to explore the world of glass painting with talented instructor Pam Schwartz.
Our February 2023 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 21st 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 and then go into the workshop part of the evening. Feel free to come for whichever half 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 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!
Here are a few images of glass paintings by Pam to give you a sense of this lovely art form.
Ask with any questions!
Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Here is the proposed schedule for the BVAA Uxbridge Gallery for the year 2023. Please note that this schedule could adjust or shift based on weather issues or other issues. Please always look for a show’s specific page to get its final details.
“Anything Goes” Community Photography Show: Drop-off Sat Jan 7 Reception Fri Jan 13 Pickup Sat Mar 4 “Anything Goes” Show Details
Teen “Self Expression” Community Show: Drop-off Sat Mar 4 Reception Fri Mar 10 Pickup Sat Apr 8 Teen Show Details
Members-Only Spring Show (open theme): Drop-off Sat Apr 8 Reception Fri Apr 15 Pickup Sat June 3 Spring Show Full Details
Members-Only Series Show: Drop-off Sat June 3 Reception Fri June 9 Pickup Sat July 8 Series Show Full Details
