Guild Ink -- March 2008

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."
– Joseph Chilton Pearce

Guild Ink editor: Karen Talbot, karentalbotart@gmail.com 

From the President
Those of you who knew Eileen Gorton Shanley knew her, among other things, as an inspired artist, a great teacher, and a just simply wonderful human being. She was also a founder of The Portsmouth Arts Guild back in the winter of 2002-2003 and has been a loyal supporter ever since.

It is with great sadness that I report to you that at age 91 she passed away of pneumonia on Feb. 11. Last year the Exhibition Committee of the Arts Guild voted to honor her contribution to the arts in Portsmouth and to the Arts Guild in particular with a retrospective exhibition of her work in May 2008. Eileen always had a great sense of humor, and when I called to follow up on our written invitation, she replied to my inquiry, "May 2008? You must be an optimist." Unfortunately, time and circumstance has proved her comment prophetic.

We still intend, with the family's consent, to mount the retrospective exhibition, but now as a memorial show. I only wish that Eileen were still with us to enjoy the celebration of her life's artistic work. It's been extraordinary. Eileen, even now, continues to support The Portsmouth Arts Guild, as she had designated the Guild as a recipient of contributions in her memory in lieu of flowers. As of this writing, we have received 20 donations, totaling $765 in the memory of Eileen Gorton Shanley. Many were accompanied by written notes of how Eileen has touched their lives.

Eileen, on behalf of more than 180 members of The Portsmouth Arts Guild, I want to say thank you for all that you have done for the Guild and for the arts in Portsmouth. Without your inspired leadership and wisdom back in the fall of 2002, there would be no Portsmouth Arts Guild today.

~ ~ ~

This newsletter is being redesigned. You can expect a more colorful, better-looking Guild Ink in April. However, if you have not renewed your membership by March 15, this will be your last newsletter.

March begins another season of art for the region, beginning with the March 2nd opening of the Annual Members' Show. Next month will bring, in addition to our second regional students' show, a host of new artwork displayed by our panel renters. Make sure you check the Guild Calendar below so you don't miss any show entry dates. Winter is coming to end; it's time to display your art!
See you at the gallery!
~ Eric Broudy


OPENINGS AND EXHIBITS
Portsmouth Arts Guild. PAG Members' Show Opening Reception is Sunday, March 2, 2-4 pm and runs from February 28 through March 30. Please come if you can. Also, if you're able, bring something to contribute to the reception refreshment table. PLEASE let our show coordinator, Sandra Tolley, know what you'll be bringing, as she's the host coordinator for the opening. Her contact information is: lancashirelass@fctvplus.net ; 254-0356. Thank you, and please attend the opening anyway, whether you're able to contribute something to munch/drink or not.

In addition, beginning in April, the gallery will be featuring ongoing displays of work by: Wanda Perkowsa Coderre, Libby Gilpatric, Anne Winthrop Cordin, Jerry Landay, Lenny Rumpler, Rita Heymann, John Tolley, Carol Gates, John Foraste, Carol Lynn Hall, Nancy Isherwood, Toni Petersen, Sue Moreira, Barbara Ney, Laura Collins, P.J. Renwick, Martha MacNaught, Mary Ann Martin, and Linda Freeman.
See you there!
Eric

Hope Gallery of Fine Art & Fine Craft. Hope Gallery, 435 Hope Street, Bristol, RI, www.hopegalleryfineartfinecraft.com  (401) 396-9117, reopens with a Grand Opening and reception March 7, 2008, 6-9pm. Featuring returning as well as new artists, the gallery is under the new management of owner/director Anita Trezvant. Fine Craft along with Original Art offers a diversity of style and mediums. Returning Artists are: Anita Trezvant, Mixed Media Sculpture & Textiles; Sarah Fielding-Gunn & Lorraine Trenholm, Pastel & Oil; Pat & Bob Benoit , Art Glass; Toni Peterson, Watercolor; Lenny Rumpler & Chris Alvanas, Photography; Jay Egge, Portraits; Kathy Armor, Sculpture; Lyle Rudloff, Sculpture & Painting; Wanda Perkowska Coderre, Painting & Original Prints.
New Artists are: Robin Grace, Acrylic; Nicole Bertoline, Mosaics; Lori Bradley, Ceramics & Painting; Ann Marie Balasco, Photography & Painting; Laura Collins, Jewelry; Ann Libby, Jewelry; Suzanne Smith, Jewelry & Painting; Sue Butler, Oil; Michael Chatterley & Ginny Yanyar; Pottery; Elena Obelenus, Raku Pottery.

Pawtucket Arts Exchange."Experiencing the War in Iraq", March 7-29. Show opening March 7, 2008 at the Arts Exchange (Pawtucket Armory), 172 Exchange St. and Machines With Magnets, 400 Main St., Pawtucket as well as AS220 and the Cable Car Cinema in Providence, RI through March 29th. The aim of the exhibition is to give a human face to the complex conflict in Iraq. Through the language of art, the exhibition seeks to transcend the limitations of mainstream media coverage and engage the public in a broad-based dialogue that promotes awareness, understanding, and healing. The exhibition will include work from both soldiers and civilians that utilizes video, audio, photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and the written word. The exhibition is being organized by reconnectUS.org, an ad hoc group of artists who have exhibited nationally and internationally and are longtime residents of southern New England, and also volunteers from RI and MA. Artists include: Leif Goldberg, Raphael Lyon, Jeff Carpenter, (President of Arts United/Fall River), and Erin Rosenthal. Artists selected to appear include: Wafaa Bilal, the Iraqi installation artist who was tortured under Sadam Hussein's rule and who teaches at the Art Institute of Chicago, Dahr Jamail, the author of Beyond the Green Zone, Benton-C Bainbridge, the video artist known for real-time performances at Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and Kenny Carnes, the veteran who performs a solo oral history in dramatic verse. A special preview will be held for patrons of the exhibition on March 6th. Film screenings, presentations, and performance will be scheduled throughout the duration of the show. The hope is to reach thousands of people locally, perhaps tens of thousands by media exposure and the project website, which will become an active archive. After the exhibition closes in Rhode Island, it is set to travel to Fall River in April and Boston in May. For more info: www.Reconnectus.org/ 

AS220. Portsmouth Arts Guild members Sheila Clark, Suzanne Lewis and Kathleen Morton will be exhibiting their work at AS220 with the Ceruleans painting group. "Rhapsody in Blue" opening on April 6, from 4-7 with art work created in the theme BLUE by the Ceruleans will be on exhibited in the downstairs gallery of AS220 in Providence. The month long exhibit will include a presentation by Keith Fox, a RISD teacher, entitled The Color Blue as Interpretive Tool" on Friday April 11th from 5:30 to 7pm, free and open to the public. A workshop "Printmaking in the Sun" will take place in the printmaking room on April 19th from 10am-1pm. Taught by Suzanne Lewis, one of the Cerulean Printmakers, will assist in creating your own print using sun light. Early registration is encouraged by calling 401-831-9327. The fee for this course is $25.00 plus $10.00 materials fee. AS220 is located at 115 Empire St., in Providence.

New York Photography Show. The AIPAD Photography Show New York will run from Thursday, April 10 through Sunday, April 13, 2008, at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street in New York City. Show hours will be:
Thursday, April 10 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 11 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 13 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The admission is $25 daily and $35 for the run-of-show, and includes a show catalogue. No advance purchase is required. Tickets will be available at the door. More info: http://www.aipad.com/photoshow/ 

CALL FOR ARTISTS
VSA arts of Rhode Island. "All Kids Can CREATE". VSA is working with CVS on a great new project open to ALL children, ages 5-15 years. In addition to the artwork being submitted to the national program, via an electronic submission process, VSA arts of RI will collect the artwork and create a local exhibit of RI student work from this call. Deadline: March 14, 2008. To view the complete guidelines, visit www.vsartsri.org/  and click on the link "All Kids Can CREATE Guidelines" on the front page.

Pawtucket Arts Festival. Call for proposals from artists, dancers & musicians for the 2008 Pawtucket Arts Festival. The festival will be held from September 5-14, 2008, at various locations such as the Visitor Center, the State Pier, Slater Mill and at Slater Memorial Park. The deadline for applications along with required supporting materials is March 15, 2008. PAF's Program Committee is seeking proposals for all artistic media, including poetry, spoken-word, sculpture, dance, music (classical, rock, folk, blues, salsa, reggae, jazz, etc.), theatre, and film. Proposals for education workshops (glass, wood, ceramics, stone, polymer, fiber, painting and photography) will be also considered. Proposals will be reviewed and juried by the PAF Program Committee comprised of local artists. The proposals will be discussed and reviewed for scope of work and funding requested. Specifics must include: cost, scope of work, time-frame, installation requirements, stage requirements, sound and lighting requested and finally, equipment needed. A completed application with supporting materials such as CD's, DVDs, newspaper clippings, photographs or other marketing information is required. The PAF has the right to refuse all proposals. A variety of methods are being used to find new artists. For more information call Diane Agostini, Pawtucket Arts Festival Coordinator at 401-724-5200, or visit www.pawtucketartsfestival.org/  for a sample of last year's events and application form.
Application deadline: March 15, 2008. Send to Pawtucket Arts Festival, c/o Pat Zacks, Program Chair, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860.

Gallery 297. The Art League of Rhode Island 2nd Associate Members' Juried Exhibit. Over $750 in cash and merchandise awards. Juried from actual work by painter, Gretchen Dow Simpson. Hand delivered only March 28th 3-6pm and March 29th 10am-noon. Open to RI, CT, and MA artists 18+. Gallery 297, 297 Hope St. (located on second floor in Green River Silver Co.), Bristol, RI (401-253-5005). Prospectus online: www.artleagueri.org/  or www.gallery297.com 

Art and Literary Submissions. Balancing the Tides – A Newport Journal: Volume IV 2008 seeks art and literary submissions that explore 'architecture and neighborhoods' in a variety of ways, connecting the coastal communities of Rhode Island. Deadline for submissions: April 2, 2008.
Holidaymakers and voyagers have been arriving on our coastlines for generations, drawn by good sailing, meandering walks, by pleasures simple and splendid. But where do the weary and the revelers rest their heads at night and into the wee hours of the morning? And for those who call Newport County home, what structures hold us, and which do we hold dear? Who have been and are today the architects of our residences, and thus our lives?
As Thornton Wilder in Theophilus North explored his own archeological schema for Newport, the "nine cities of Newport," we too know today that our neighborhoods are indeed cities within themselves. Some exist simultaneously and some are historical and bear little resemblance to their origins – The Point, The Hill, Ocean Drive, Little Compton, Common Fence Point. What of festivals, street fairs and events then and now? As much as we are interested in like-mindedness there are paces, streets, communities that are imagined and have yet to be built. Details for submissions: http://www.balancingthetides.com/

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES
G. Scott Gallery. G. Scott Gallery@ Custom House Coffee, Clock Tower Sq. (next to King's Grant Plaza, Rt. 114, West Main Road, Portsmouth RI, Contact: Nancy Crimmins - Director (401)935-8858
List of Custom House Coffee Exhibit Themes so you can plan with some advance.
April - Spring
May - Floral
June - Nautical or Sea
July - Pop Art, Abstract or Graffiti
August - Travel or Food
September - Recycle or Green
October - Coffee Time
November - Satirize and/or Emulate the Masters
December - Small works
January - Still Life
February - Valentines or Special Jewels
March - Favorite Work

NEW MEMBERS
Kerry Hood, photography, kmh59@cox.net
Verney Sellers, watercolor, pencil, acrylics, clifwalkr@hotmail.com
Hildi Rezendes, photography, hildi_loft500@yahoo.com
Mary Lou Smith, oils, mlsmith.newport@cox.net
Mark Wholey, sculpture, markwholey5@verizon.net
Suzanne Lewis, drawing, printmaking, oils, suzannelewis@fctvplus.net
Richard & Gloria Schmidt, photography, schmidtgh@verizon.net


MEMBER CLASSIFIEDS
Do you have something to sell or give away? Something you're looking for? Send info to info@portsmouthartsguild.org  for a free listing in the Member Classified.