Opening Their Doors To Inspiration by Brian Goslow For most, their first drive through the South Coast is an unexpected arrival to a land of beautiful back- road, water-enhanced scenery, farm stands bursting with local produce and restaurants, cafes and galleries conveying a warm invite to their owners’ special culinary and artistic dreams (see the accompanying Westport/Tiverton Wanderlust). And, since 2004, for two weekends each summer, a large number of area artists have welcomed art lovers to enjoy, experience and buy their locally-made and influenced art at their working studios during the South Coast Artists Open Studio Tour. If it is your first visit, you’ll discover two things immediately: you’d love to stay here for an extended period of time — and that it’s impossible to visit all of the nearly 90 participating artists. “If you’ve … [Read more...] about South Coast Artists
Issue Articles
Head For The Border
Westport, Mass. & Tiverton, RI by Don Wilkinson Just south and southeast of the old Massachusetts industrial mill city of Fall River are the border towns of Tiverton, Rhode Island and Westport, in the Bay State. The two have much in common beyond a shared town line as visual pastoral paradises, with more than a few working farms, that give way to stunning views of rivers, estuaries and the ocean. They also share a combined cultural community of excellent galleries, working studios, musical venues and fine restaurants that would delight any visiting connoisseur of the arts. A good place to start is at Sandy- woods Farm, off of Bulgarmarsh Road in Tiverton. It is a unique “intentional community” of homeowners and renters, devoted to promoting and supporting the arts, sustainable agriculture, affordable housing and land stewardship. The Farms are the home of the … [Read more...] about Head For The Border
ThroughOutsideWays
Sulzer Setting Her Own Paper Trail by Taryn Plumb When we see paper hanging on a wall in a gallery, we expect nothing less than perfect; stains, dimpling, buckling, rips or wrinkles all seem like faults. But this is where Andrea Sulzer challenges the conventional; the Brunswick, Maine artist purposely manipulates and exploits paper to its very limits, transforming it from a flat, formless and blank canvas for other ideas and materials into its very own unexpected and complex 3-D sculpture. Her most recent creations, inspired by both experimentation and improvisation, are on display in “throughoutsideways” at the Portland Museum of Art through August 24. The show is part of the museum’s ongoing “Circa” exhibitions, featuring the work of local living artists. The solo exhibit showcases a range of pieces that defy the traditional rules of paper. In “Night Flight,” for … [Read more...] about ThroughOutsideWays
31 Days Of Art
Dip Into The Mad River Valley Art Flood by Alexandra Tursi If you have skied Vermont, or peeped at the glory of fall foliage, or even sailed Lake Champlain in summer, you know that Vermont is a four-season smorgasbord of cultural, social and recreational activities. However, you might be surprised to learn that one of Vermont’s best ski towns also boasts its best summer arts event: the Vermont Festival of the Arts in Waitsfield, now in its 17th season. WHAT TO SEE Throughout August, the Festival will host more than 120 arts events. Yes, that many. Included are gallery exhibitions, musical and theatrical performances, workshops both to learn and to observe, as well as culinary extravaganzas. Local and international artists of all flavors will be on show. The signature event is the Big Red Barn Art Show, featuring works by more than 30 Valley artists. Other standout … [Read more...] about 31 Days Of Art
Point/Counterpoint
Hera Explores The Social Landscape by Suzanne Volmer Hera Gallery was founded in an endeavor to raise consciousness, particularly through creating exhibition opportunities for women. In forwarding a feminist agenda, and most recently providing exhibition exposure for all genders, it has developed a reputation for exploring issues aimed at sparking social awareness. On view through July 19, the twin billing of “Self Portraits: Under My Skin” by Amanda Swain Bingham and “Old World” by Viera Levitt are solo photography exhibitions paired side- by-side in the gallery’s ground level, bright-white loft environment in an old factory building in the center of Wakefield, RI. Swain and Levitt ply separate visual vocabularies in photography, but they both show a rich and varied medium in their work, which is displayed in counterpoint. If considered together, these two … [Read more...] about Point/Counterpoint
Midcoast Connecticut Turns On The Charm
From Old Lyme To Guilford by Kristin Nord With the advent of trolley service from New Haven running eastward to Branford, Clinton and Old Lyme in the early part of the 20th century, the Connecticut shore- line became accessible seemingly overnight. Among the visitors flocking to the state’s midcoast region were artists seeking to recreate the colony experience so many had encountered in Europe. FIRST STOP: OLD LYME Leaders in the American Tonalist and Impressionist movements, Henry Ward Ranger, Childe Hassam and Willard Metcalf among them, fell under the spell of Old Lyme. Even today, it’s still impossible not to be charmed by the architecture and scenery served up in this little town, which includes the same midcoast light and lush views of the Lieutenant River that drew artists to Miss Griswold’s Boarding House so many years ago. This summer, on July 25 and 26, the … [Read more...] about Midcoast Connecticut Turns On The Charm