NH Craftsmen Keep it Interesting by Linda Chestney Experts like to talk about how often people change careers during their lifetime. This figure usually ranges between three and seven times, according to the United States Department of Labor. (The number of job changes tends to average around 12.) So it’s fascinating to learn that artists/artisans seriously skew that number downward. The extremely accomplished, award-winning, fine craftspeople I interviewed for this article have decades of experience in their work — anywhere from a couple of decades to over four. And it shows. When artscope’s managing editor, Brian Goslow, approached me with the assignment to cover the 83rd annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair, I asked what he had in mind. “Do as you wish.” Not sure that was well-defined enough, I queried further, “Do you have certain categories in mind? … [Read more...] about A Cross-Section of Craft
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Playing Hide and Seek in Amherst
The Magical Art of Eric Carle by John P. Stapleton As an artist with close to household name status from his children’s books, it’s not a surprise that Eric Carle would be putting so much of his family into his images. At the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, they’ve got a new exhibit called “Hide and Seek” that sheds light on the little family references he’s hidden in various pieces. “Easter Eggs,” as they’re called, are small pieces of a work that blend in, but are a direct reference to an outside subject. In Pixar movies, you’ll see Buzz Lightyear get thrown around in movies that aren’t Toy Story as a cute reminder of that classic movie, seamlessly dropped into the background of that new world. For Carle, he was a fan of initials, but didn’t shy away from the route of reusing characters for minor moments in his work. The Hungry Caterpillar himself … [Read more...] about Playing Hide and Seek in Amherst
Making Lemonade in Vermont
Gloria King Merritt's Happy Accident by Taryn Plumb It basically started out as a fluke. Four years ago, a tendon snapped in Gloria King Merritt’s thumb (the result of a 40-year-old injury). Her hand had to be rewired; she couldn’t do the simplest things, like fasten buttons or tie her shoes. Her doctors told her that in order to get her dexterity back, she should repetitively make quarter-inch marks with a pencil on a pad. That got old pretty quickly; it was not only boring, but mind-numbing. So instead, she picked up a tablet and a stylus and began experimenting with digital art. As she put it, she “devoured” software, and within 12 weeks, had a complete drawing. “Now I’m addicted,” said the Woodstock, Vermont-based digital artist, whose work will be on display through July 17 as part of “Domesticated Beasts and Dreams of Home: Early Summer Group Show,” also … [Read more...] about Making Lemonade in Vermont
Bierstadt in New Bedford
An Unlikely Partnership Makes Sense by Don Wilkinson The New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (NBWNHP) is a 16-acre urban park spread over thirteen city blocks, many of them cobblestoned, and is part of the National Park Service (NPS). In 2014, the NBWNHP approached the New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks! (NBAM/AW!) to invite it to participate in the centennial anniversary celebration of the NPS. It was decided that the museum would host an exhibition of works by the famed 19th century landscape painter of the American West, Albert Bierstadt. Born in Solingen, Rhine Province, Prussia in 1830, Bierstadt moved to New Bedford with his family the following year. But why a Bierstadt show to celebrate the NPS? There is a meandering, far-reaching connective thread. His paintings of the frontier, when exhibited and copied and published back East during the years in the … [Read more...] about Bierstadt in New Bedford
A Pattern of Success
Attleboro's National Juried Show by James Foritano Vibrant, funny, elegant, profound. Overall a deeply heartening and enlivening display of talent for a summer afternoon in Attleboro — or for anytime, anywhere. That’s “Patterns,” the Attleboro Arts Museum’s annual national juried exhibition whose call for art sought work in all mediums, sizes and concepts that related to, or included, a pattern: “Consider zebra stripes, the family tartan, flight patterns, nautilus shell curves, quilts, breathing patterns, a strand of pearls, dress patterns, kaleidoscopes, waffle irons, wallpaper …” And did the artists ever respond! I think of the alacrity with which Patrick leapt from his attendance at the front desk to assist me with sculptor Tim Dawes’ kinetic sculpture, “Amore-2016.” Patrick, with a practiced nudge, set in motion two wheels jutting from the gallery wall. Don’t ask me … [Read more...] about A Pattern of Success
Photographic Evidence at Griffin
Cassandra Klos' Abductees by Emily Avery-Miller "Photos or it didn't happen." Cassandra Klos, a 25-year-old fine art photographer from Boston, calls that mantra into question by following it to its next logical step. If there are photos, did it happen? And what was “it,” exactly? In Klos’s “The Abductees,” on view at The Griffin Museum of Photography this summer, “it” appears to be an encounter with another kind. The story seems to start with “U.S Route 3 II,” as a mid-century Chevy climbs a mountain road. “The Arrival” shows the backs of a man and a woman silhouetted against a white oblong vessel in a forest clearing, skirted with a green glow. “Betty” shows the woman face-on, wearing the blank shock of one who, like the viewer, has seen something she does not quite understand. There are crumpled typewritten documents. A view of the night sky in autumn. An … [Read more...] about Photographic Evidence at Griffin