The Choco l’Art fun BVAA art show is now live at the Whitinsville Library! This is a PEOPLE’S CHOICE award – please stop by and vote! Your vote determines the winner! Share the news with family and friends!
FREE fun chocolate reception this Saturday 2/15 from 10am-2pm all warmly welcome!
CANCELLED!!
Carol Arnold’s oil painting class for tonight Feb 3rd has been CANCELLED!
Please mark your calendar for her March class on Monday March 2nd!
Contact Carol directly for more details.
Thank you so much to Judith Potter for taking these photos for us!
This was a free BVAA Pastel Class -it was an awesome time with a great group of talented and fun people!!!
Instructor: Ella Delyanis.
Thank you to the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Uxbridge / Northbridge Cultural Councils for funding our demos so most of them can be discount rate or free.
The Blackstone Heritage Corridor is an organization which manages and promotes the beautiful Blackstone Valley. They have a visitor’s center in Worcester at the northern end of the “Millbury Bike Path” (we take photos here regularly). They have a central office in the Linwood Mill complex in Northbridge. They run all sorts of delightful nature walks in the area.
You can learn more about the Blackstone Heritage Corridor group here –
https://blackstoneheritagecorridor.org/In their Linwood Mill office they have a gallery hall created with beautiful granite. They would like to have a display of 12 artwork items there which celebrate the beauty of the Blackstone Valley. The items can be paintings, photos, drawings, anything that can hang. You can see the area here:
The way this wall is wired is that there’s a long block of wood running the entire length of that upper area. Screws are screwed into the wood at regular intervals, with wire coming down from those screws. One then ties that wire to the wire at the back of the artwork.
The spacing allows for artwork which is about 18×22 in size or smaller. Larger art items would “run into each other”. Bonnie just measured the hooks and they are 23″ apart. Since we have art of varying sizes, we could put the 18×22 pieces alongside smaller pieces to create space.
Also, the artwork should be reasonably light. Heavy frames wouldn’t do well on this hook/wire setup.
We’re looking for 12 artists to each have an item to submit for this. The wall is currently empty, as shown. So the sooner we could get art into here, the better. Please contact info@bvaa.org if you’re interested in participating. The idea is to have the art up through March. Then in April we’d swap out for a “pollinator” show celebrating bees, butterflies, and the like, for spring.
NOTE: THIS SHOW IS CURRENTLY HUNG! THANK YOU TO THE PARTICIPANTS WHO JUMPED IN TO BE A PART OF THIS SHOW!
Where
Blackstone Heritage Corridor office
Linwood Mill complex (in back)
670 Linwood Avenue
Whitinsville MA 01588
Blackstone Heritage Corridor Webpage
Submissions
Email info@bvaa.org if you’re interested in participating. We’d like to get the art in as soon as possible. There’s no fee. Sales would give a 25% commission to the Blackstone Heritage Corridor (a great cause!).
Drop-Off
This show was fully hung on Monday, January 20th, 2020. Thank you to everyone who is participating in this show!
Public Reception
We are aiming for Friday, March 20th – right around the Spring Equinox! for our reception. We’re still confirming that.
Pick-Up
Late March / Early April.
Ask with any questions!
Our 2020 Choco l’Art show is the perfect melding of chocolate and art! Enjoy the taste sensation! This our 9th Annual celebration of the theme!
All forms of hanging art are welcome – photography, watercolors, acrylics, oils, fabric art, drawings, etc. The art must be wired to work with our panel system. The art doesn’t have to be about chocolate. It can be about anything you wish :).
Where
Whitinsville Social Library
17 Church Street
Whitinsville, MA
Whitinsville Library Webpage
Submissions
The submission deadline is Saturday, February 8th, 2020 at midnight EST. 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 Monday, February 10th, 2020 from 10am to 2pm. We’ll be setting up the panels during that time and will hang things as we get close to 2pm. If you can’t make that timeframe, let us know and we’ll arrange another time to coordinate – maybe you can drop off at the gallery the previous Saturday and we can take it in from there, for example.
Public Reception
The reception is on Saturday, February 15th from 10am to 2pm. All are welcome! There’ll be lots of chocolate in all shapes, sizes, and varieties. Artists – please bring in some chocolate of your own to share (no nuts please). If you know of a local store that could donate chocolate, please let us know.
Pick-Up
Pick-up for the show is Tuesday, February 18th from from 1pm to 2pm. Note the library closes at 2pm.
Prizes
This show has the visitors vote on a “People’s Choice” award. There’s a ribbon plus a cash prize. The prize amount is based on the number of entries.
Theme
You can do a romantic theme or a chocolate 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 Mon Feb 10th
* Watching over the reception for time blocks of your choice between 10am and 2pm on Sat, Feb 15th.
* Bringing of chocolate for the chocolate reception (please do not include any nuts)
* Take-down of the show from 1-2 on Tuesday, February 18th and return of panels
Let us know on your submission form how you’re able to help out.
Past Shows:
Choco l’Art 2019 Details – 8th Annual
Choco l’Art 2018 Details – 7th Annual
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 :).
Here’s what Carole did for 2018 :).
Again, you don’t have to include chocolate in your submission. For some reason it seems that the “people’s choice” voters seem to vote for chocolate things while they are eating chocolate. So it does help your chances. Still, we’ve had non-chocolate winners in the past!
Ask with any questions!
To explore the changes our Earth is undergoing, we are holding an art show on the theme of Climate Crisis. All interpretations in all media are warmly encouraged.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead
We had originally intended to hold this show in the Uxbridge Art Gallery over Earth Day in April, but due to the pandemic we have instead adjusted this show to be an online-only show held in June.
This Climate Crisis show is for all BVAA members to participate in. Art can be in any media in any size. We look forward to seeing your interpretations of this important topic!
When:
June 2020
Where:
Online on our BVAA pages on Facebook and YouTube. Milford TV also runs our videos.
Each BVAA member may exhibit up to five artwork images. There is NO FEE and NO JUDGING. This show is for publicity and exposure. If you enter artwork in this show, you can still enter it in any future BVAA show.
All art must be family friendly.
All art items which are entered are included. There is no “pre-selection” process where some are accepted and others are rejected. If you submit artwork, and it is family-friendly, it will be part of our show.
To enter, check your latest BVAA newsletter. We have the entry information in there. The deadline to get your JPGs to us is Sunday, June 7th, 2020. We will then coordinate with you about the narration for the images.
Opening Reception
The opening reception date will be Thursday, June 25th at 6pm! The video will go live both on YouTube and Facebook on that date. Here is the YouTube link!
Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information
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!
The reception for the 8th Annual Blackstone Valley Art Association “Anything Goes” Photography show was on Friday, January 10th, 2020 from 5-7pm. We had a great turnout to the reception. Thank you to everyone who attended!
The show was judged by talented photographer David Long. Be sure to attend his talk on landscape photography on Sunday, January 19th from 1-3pm.
Winners:
First place – Debra Boucher – “Nesting Egrets”
Perfect light, unbelievable detail, great use of complementary colors, excellent composition, everything about this shot is perfect. I would give it a 10.
Second place – Luke MacNeil – “Good Morning”
Excellent sharpness, wonderful composition, superb bokeh, nice skin tones, spot on colors, a sense of mystery is a plus.
Third place – Gene St. Pierre – “Ferrari #1”
Wonderful colors, superb job of cropping, tones are spot on, lines are pleasing, works as an abstract but you know what it is.
Honorable Mention – Debra Boucher – “Three Poppies”
Perfect composition (would like a little more room on right) brilliant colors that also complement themselves, excellent detail.
Honorable Mention – Bob Evans – “Circe”
Great mood, excellent leading lines with hair, framing to lead to pink lips is dramatic, eyes create a storm (small hot spots)
Honorable Mention – Blair Boudreau – “Puffin Leapin'”
Very good composition, tack sharp on eye, light is good, nice complementary colors.
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!
In January to February 2020, the Blackstone Valley Arts Association held their annual “Anything Goes” photography show. As part of this celebration, we dedicated the rear gallery space to the group of Open Sky clients who participated in the Crossroads Digital Media Arts project. This project took place during the Fall 2019 season. The project helped clients learn more about photography, composition, and Photoshop.
Michelle Benjamin organized this show, including putting together labels and hanging for the artwork.
Bob Evans was the judge for this show.
Here is the artwork participating in this show. It is on display through February 21, 2020. The gallery is open from 10am to 3pm from Monday through Saturday. The Blackstone Valley Art Association manages the gallery hours on Saturdays and will have a series of free photography workshops throughout that time period. Come on out to enjoy a free workshop and to enjoy this show!
Judge Notes from Bob Evans:
Overall this was a great show and really like the passion and the thought going into these photographs and the topics that they have chosen.
Best in Show: Jared with Monkey See: Very moving and a great composition and framing the out of focus animal combined with the sharply focused fence gives a definite sense of confinement and yearning to be free.
Honorable mention: Tom with A Cold Dark Sky: I thought that this had a striking composition was well executed a great sense of movement combined with dynamic diagonals of subject and sky.
Honorable Mention: Philip with In Tune: a nice subject again well executed but the sky I thought was blown out maybe this was his desired effect not sure about that but I had a good proportions and color rendering.
Art Listing:
Crossroads Digital Media Arts Lab Student Works
Crossroads Digital Media Art Lab is a program run in Worcester, MA by Open Sky Community Services and is open to the public. The student work exhibited here shows a variety of skills learned in the Fall 2019 session. For more information on this program, please contact Michelle Benjamin, Community Membership Coordinator at Michelle.Benjamin@OpenSkyCS.org or (508) 234-6232.
A Cold Dark Sky – Tom $ 60.00
Bees Nest – Erin NFS
Birds of a Feather – Conrad NFS
Breaking the Chains – Shared Work NFS
Fist – Jared NFS
Golden Glove – Anthony $ 40.00
Gopher It! – Conrad NFS
Have a Seat – Jared NFS
I See a Sea – Phillip NFS
In Tune – Phillips $ 20.00
Jump – Susan NFS
Mind Your Beeswax – Erin NFS
Monkey See – Jared NFS
Monkeys in Space – Brendan $ 15.00
Peek-a-Boo – Ashley NFS
Places to Go – Jared NFS
Shell We…? – Jorge NFS
Stripes – Conrad NFS
Sun Shower – Tyrone $ 25.00
The Gears – Phillip NFS
Tiger Eye – Brendan $ 30.00
Traffic Jam – Brendan $ 15.00
Urban Garden – Jared NFS
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!
The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring the 8th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – this show is open to the public! All styles of cameras and cellphone images are showcased in this delightfully eclectic mix. Come to our fun public reception to meet the artists and explore the world of photography!
When:
Friday, January 10th, 2020
5-7pm
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
To see all the details of this fascinating show, read below!
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!
It’s our second 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 painting 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 Roger Fenton photo. You can stage a photo which resembles a Vermeer painting. Maybe you paint Mona Lisa as a cat.
The sky’s the limit!
It doesn’t have to be a painting. You can imitate a famous photo. Play with a historical sculpture. 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 1923. Art which is under copyright, after 1923, has its rights controlled by that artist. You would need to ask that artist for permission to use their work in any exhibit.
When:
February 28 to March 27, 2020
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
Each BVAA member may exhibit up to three photos. These will be judged for cash prizes.
Entering the Show
The entry fee for this show is $8/piece for 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. 3M stick-on hangers are notorious for falling off – please don’t use those. 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.
Some reading material:
Creating Art Based on Another Artist’s Work
Fakes Forgeries and Parodies – The Terms
How Easy is it to Copy a Famous Painting?
Inside the Underground World of Legal Art Forgery
Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The deadline to submit is midnight on Saturday, Feb 22nd, 2020. Work must be dropped off by Saturday, Feb 22nd, 2020 at 3pm. All work which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly). Please bring along a photo of each of your source artwork items, so we can post those next to your artwork. That way visitors can see what you were working with.
We will hang the show on Wednesday February 26th from 4-6pm. We’d love to have you join us!
Judging
Judge to be announced
Opening Reception
The opening reception for the show is Friday, February 28th, 2020 from 5-7pm. Invite family and friends – all are welcome!
Here’s a video walkthrough of this show!
Pick Up
Saturday, March 28th, 2020, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make that, please contact us for other arrangements.
Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information
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!