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September 04, 2011
Art and Activism: A One Day Event
“ART AND ACTIVISM”: A ONE DAY EVENT AT PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY IN CONJUNCTION WITH GREEN MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION GROUP
CENTER SANDWICH: Art and Activism is a one day event featuring work that addresses the issues facing not only New Hampshire but also our world today. Join us at the gallery on Saturday, September 17th from 5 – 7 p.m. for an exhibit of painting, and sculpture that talks about clean water, conservation, our environment, endangered species and our sociopolitical problems. Blair Folts both an artist and conservationist will give a short talk about the work she has been doing with the Green Mountain Conservation Group. Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street. A percentage of sales will benefit the GMCG. For more information please visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.
There is nothing new or mysterious about art and activism. For years artists have been protesting against social movements through their creative efforts. Perhaps Picasso’s politically charged painting, “Guernica” is the most famous example of activist art. Our exhibit includes work by local artists who wish to express their thoughts about today’s issue.
Several months ago Blair Folts asked me to jury an exhibit that the Green Mountain Conservation group, together with the Youth Coalition (a pilot program of the GMCG to invite youth to learn and advocate for natural resource conservation) was organizing in Eaton, NH. The exhibit contained art by professional artists as well as some work by young artists still in high school. The purpose of the exhibit was to make people more aware of the problems facing our region . At the time I offered to bring the exhibit to the gallery and to add to it with the hopes of generating more interest for the work of the GMCG, Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery has been interested in Conservation since its inception.
“The Green Mountain Conservation Group is a regional conservations organization founded in 1997. Its geographic scope is primarily the” Ossipee Watershed” – of the Saco Watershed in New Hampshire, including the Ossipee and Bearcamp Rivers, Ossipee Lake, Silver Lake and Lake Cocorua, other surface waters…” Among towns with a majority of their lands in this watershed is Sandwich.
“GMCG’S primary natural resource focus is water. Natural resources such as water, forests, soils, wildlife and air quality are interconnected and are influenced by human, commercial and recreational activities. GMCG advocates the wise use of land in a way that will not violate the integrity of the natural resource.”
Our speaker, Blair Folts, holds a BA in English and Art from the University of Maine, Orono and a graduate certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She is founder and Executive Director of the Green Mountain Conservation group and has received numerous awards for her environmental work in the Ossipee Watershed.
It is our hope that you will join us for an interesting evening of art and conversation on Saturday, September 17th.
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JAMES KAO: “PAINTINGS FROM MEAD BASE,” PRESENTED BY PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST‘S ARTIST IN RESIDENCY PROGRAM, THE ARTS ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE THE FRIENDS OF MEAD BASE CONSERVATION CENTER.
CENTER SANDWICH: Earlier this year Chicago painter, James Kao, was named White Mountain National Forest artist in residence. The artist in residence program is new this year and is partnered by the White Mountain National Forest and the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire. Kao’s residency began in early August and will end later this month. His mission has been to create new work inspired by the forest. He has been staying at Mead Base from where he can be deep into the woods after a very short walk. James Kao is an abstract painter. He sees not only trees that you and I see, but also he sees the shapes in between them. These shapes are essential components of his paintings. Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is happy to present James Kao’s paintings from his residency at Mead Base. The opening reception will be Sunday, August 28th from 5 to 8 p.m. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. A part of the proceeds from the exhibit will benefit The White Mountain National Forest, The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire and the Friends of Mead Base Conservation Center. For more information call 284 7728 or visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com.
In July Frumie Seltzen of the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire called me up to tell me of James Kao, the new Artist in Residence, who would be staying at Mead Base and painting the National Forest as part of the Artist in Residence program. She mentioned that it would be nice to exhibit the work he would create while here and was looking for a possible venue. An image of many trees flashed through my mind but Frumie had been certain that I would like the work so I got off the phone and onto Google. James Kao is to my mind an exceptional artist whose work is fresh , serene and perhaps even a bit playful His shapes are suspended in a quiet space that makes the viewer want to gaze forever.
I include a quote from his artist statement which perhaps has everything to do with the work he is creating here:
“July, 201l
Hokusai envisioned thirty-six views of Mount Fuji. Cezanne gased at Mont Saiinte-Victoire with fresh energy over sixty times. I, too, am looking for my earthly motif that rnages into the heavens.
I am dreaming of white mountains cast in numberless shades of summer green”
The AIR program is a partnership of the WMNF and the Arts Alliance, which is coordinating the White Mountains Cultural Festival:8 Days of Weeks, a celebration of the arts, heritage and environment in the White Mountains and the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act - - the law that helped launch the eastern national forests, including the WMNF. The residency program seeks to use art and creative expression to explore the ways in which people relate to forests in general, and to the WMNF in particular.
Thank you to the White Mountain National Forest and The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire for bringing such talent to our area and thank you for beginning a program which I hope will be vibrant and alive for years to come. Thank you to Mead Base for making housing an artist for an exceptional program.
“Terra, Terra: Landscapes from Paris to Provence to Squam Lake and Beyond” will open next week at Patriicia Ladd Carega Gallery, 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. The opening reception will be on August 18th from 5 to 7 p.m. This summer the gallery has received some very beautiful landscapes and gardenscapes from its artists working abroad and here in the Lakes Region. Among exhibiting artists is Donna Balsan who lives in Paris and Melvin Village. Her new work includes studies of roses and paintings of trees in oil on kraft paper. Mark Stewart painted charming landscapes in watercolor remembered from his ride on the train from Paris to Nice while Saira Austin’s work reflects her studies last summer in Provence. Sandwich artist, Sallie Wolf, exhibits new lake views and panoramas of Sandwich Bay. Jen Van Cor’s new work remembers vacations on the Maine Coast as well as time spent in her garden in Effingham. Gail Robertson’s moody work from Mill Valley, California is as ever soft and quiet while Moultonboroough artist, Kay Ives has given us a different perspective to local s scenery. Rushing brooks define Kathryn Field’s paintings while Liz Nelson’s work begins with a photograph and ends with a painting. For more information on the exhibit visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.
Landscape painting primarily depicts natural scenery. This exhibit uses the term loosely as not all the work is representational of rivers, lakes, mountains or even sky. Vignettes of landscapes are featured along with abstract renditions of classic “landscapes”.
The tradition of painting landscape goes back thousands of years. The two principle types of landscape painting derive from Western Art and Chinese Art. The earliest example of the Western tradition comes from a fresco found in ancient Greece (60-40 BC) while the earliest example from the Chinese tradition dates back to about 600. Throughout the years landscapes have been a favorite subject of artist and collector alike. Nature is a spiritual subject and thus landscape painting offers a peace and majesty to the viewer.
WORKSHOP: On Saturday, August 20th at 11:00 a.m. Sallie Wolf will give a workshop on basic drawing: “All drawing uses a basic, simple vocabulary to create simple or complex drawings. Learn this basic vocabulary and experiment with drawing in a free, one hour workshop at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Taught by Chicago and Sandwich artist, Sallie Wolf, this workshop is appropriate for ages 6-106. Materials will be supplied, and feel free to bring whatever drawing materials you already have. Says Sallie, “I believe I can teach anyone to draw. What you may learn is that drawing isn’t what you think it is.” Please call the gallery at 284 7728 to reserve a place.
“OPPOSITES ATTRACT”: SANDWICH ARTISTS JOIN OUT OF TOWNERS IN AN EXHIBIT OF FIGURATIVE AND ABSTRACT ART AT PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY
CENTER SANDWICH: On July 20th “Opposites Attract” will open at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Have you ever turned a figurative painting upside down? If it is a good painting, it will work perfectly as a balanced abstract piece. Thus the idea for this exhibit that explores the similarities and differences of abstract and figuratvie work . The viewer is asked to compare the the composition, color, light, depth, perspective and balance of each work. Participating artists for Team Abstract are Ashley Bullard and CC White, (both from Sandwich), Michael Rich, Cathy Stark and Barbara Brady. For Team Figurative artists are Michael Doyle and Frances Hamilton (both summertime visitors), Gay Freeborn, Stoney Conley and Susan Landor Keegin. Summertime resident Andy Tavarelli perhaps fits both catagories as his work is figurative in process but abstract in thought. We look forwrad to having your opinions and reactions to this exhibit. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 12 to 5. For more information contact the gallery at 284 7728 or visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com.
Team Abstract artists are faithful to their process and technique. Perhaps they have reduced a landscape to forms or even blocks or they may simply be interested in expressing ethereal ideas through line and color. Mostly working in oil but also in mixed media, collage and watercolor the abstract artist uses color as a way of expressing emotions. Light is flat or absent but depth finds its way into the work as the viewer is pulled back into a space beyond. Forms can appear to float in a composition and marks add balance. Collage gives texture as do brush strokes, palette knives, and blobs of paint. Though both figurative and abstract artists may use the same techniques, abstract painting begins with the process of reduction.
Team Figurative artists tell their stories through a more classical approach. The direction of light , the arrangement of the composition and color are true to the image the artist wishes to paint. The luminosity of water, the texture of fabric, the detail of an interior are all important components in figurative painting. Perspective may be linear or aerial. Light may come from the front , the back or the side depending on how the artist wants to depict his scene. Light may also be flat. The figurative painter is less apt to combine media and different techniques in his or her work. Oil, watercolor or acrylic are the usual choices. Where the abstract painter reduces his or her subject, the figurative painter builds his or her subject up.
We hope that this experiment in hanging “Opposites Attract” will be both educational and entertaining particularly to those who wonder what they are looking at in an abstract piece.
On July 6th Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery will open an exhibit of objects inside the gallery and outside on the lawn. The exhibit is entitled Inside and Out. Outside Boston artist, Madeleine Lord’s Flower Garden is already installed. Flowers made from scrap metal gleened from her local dump have become ingenious specimens of nature. Inside the gallery Bridgewater artist, Shandra McLane’s new fused glass bowls are colorful and instantly intriquing. Sandwich artist Robin Dustin exhibits her skillful wood turned vessels and Kathryn Field, also from Sandwich, exhibits her metal work combining her talaent as a painter and sculptrice. The exhibit will continue through late July. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. For more information visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 603 284-7728.
Madeleine Lord gives new life to metal and steel scraps found at the dump. The transformed pieces become flowers, dogs, fish, birds, clothing and anything her grand imagination can conceive of. To visit her studio is to encounter old refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers awaiting new life. On view at the gallery is her latest creation: Madeleine’s Garden. It is fun to try to identify some of the pieces she has reworked to realize her flowers. In Beg Red an old type writer is the flower’s center. In Sun Flower the top of a grill is the flower’s center while horse shoes climb the stem. Madelienie Lords pieces are energetic, intriguing, playful and simply ingenious.
This season Shandra McLane has created a series of magnificent fused glass bowls. The simplicity of the bowls‘ form combined with vibrant color woven into the designs are instantly appealing. These bowls are each sculptures that command their own space and presence. McLane writes about her work: “ Luminous , strong….clear, direct…delcate yet bold. These complementary opposites in glasswork are evident, both in the material itself, and in the design and process I employ in my studio. Light, color, form and texture are combined at its essential core.” Last year the gallery presented McLane’s work for the first time, this season’s work is spectacular.
Sandwich artist, Robin Dustin, is becoming a household name when it comes to woodturning. Her bowls, plates, platters and rolling pins continue to fascinate visitors to the gallery. Incorporating the pattern of the wood’s grain into a piece, or sometimes leaving holes just where they are….no, not a salad bowl…are part of Dustin’s inspirations that perhaps separate her from other woodturners. Adding color and sometimes other creative materials give her pieces a very special artistic quality. Dustin began woodturning five years ago when joined a group of woodturniers at Kennett High School. A passion was begun and Dustin’s work only gets better as she grows and challenges her skills.
Kathryn Field is a teacher at The Holderness School, a sculptrice, painter and most important an artist who dares to explore a host of different media to combine her talents. For several years the gallery has exhibited her metal “sculpture paintings”. Laser cut images are incised into steel sheets. Landscapes, fish and birds are Field’s subjects. Most often the pieces are painted on one side. Light passes through the cuts in the piece and reflects the images on the wall behind it. These pieces combine Field’s talents as both a sculptrice and a painter. They have been exhited at the gallery for the past two years and have attracted a great deal of attention and interest. The work emphasizes a marriage of the artist’s talents.
Patricai Ladd Carega Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5, and Sunday from 12 to 5. For more information visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 603 284 7728.
CENTER SANDWICH: On Saturday, June 25th Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery will hold a reception featuring the Peregrine Press Portfolio. For the first time prints from the Portfolio collection are available for individual sale. The exhibit demonstrates the variety of print making techniques and the skill involved in accomplishing a master print. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich. The reception to meet the printmakers will be from 5 – 7 p.m.
“The Peregrine Press was founded in 1991 as a non-profit, fine arts printmaking cooperative in Portland, Maine….Currently there are 33 active members who work in a variety of printmaking techinques such as colograph, woodcut, monotype, etching, photo-etching, lithography, and other mixed media processes.”
Three years ago Peregrine artists conceived the Portfolio Project. Twenty four artists each made a print of the same size in an edition of ten. Each of these prints were placed in ten Portfolios. One of the Portfolios was framed. This work is now on view at the gallery along with one entire Porfolio. Seven of the Portfolios have been sold. The Portfolio is now contained in such permanent collection as the Portland Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, Colby College Museum of Art and Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
Reading a review of the exhibit in the Maine Sunday Telelgram, I especially liked Philip Isaacson’s comments. He writes: I left “First Impressions” inspired. That’s not a frequent feeling for me. I felt that I had been close to a congregation of artists who were reaching out in behalf of a form of art – printmaking- and that their effort was for my benefit as a viewer and not an opportunity to out perform one another.”
Four artists who regularly exhibit at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery are members of the Press (some of whom live and work in New Hampshire). Last summer the idea was born to have an exhibit of Peregrine Press artists. When the Portfolio was suggested, it seemed a wonderful exhibit to bring to New Hampshire.
Gallery hours are from 10 to 5 Monday through Saturday and 12 to 5 on Sunday. For more information, visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 603 284 7728.
During the month of June Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery will concentrate on the art of printmaking. The opening exhibit, will be a retrospective featuring the etchings and lithographs of Sandwich artist Bunty Walsh (1927-2005). Though the exhibit opens on Memorial Day weekend, the Opening Reception for the show and the season will be on Saturday, June 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome and especially those who remember “Bunty”. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich.
Bunty Walsh was the first person I met when I moved to Sandwich. She impressed me as being a Renaissance woman: She was at once a real estate broker, a painter, printmaker, antiques dealer and rarely missed an auction. Bunty spoke Italian and French. The languages and her artistic talents gave us much in common. Bunty’s daughter, Nina, has filled in a bit of her history:
“Her nickname came from the lead character - a bonnie and clever lass of 20 who
managed to find a way out of very awkward situations -1910 Scottish play "Bunty
Pulls the Strings" by William Graham Moffat.
She was born in NYC and raised in Greenwich to appreciate the arts. She went
from Brearly to Putney to University of Chicago. She started drawing early and
then painting. In her 20s she worked with clay, kept a kiln in the kitchen of
her Georgetown townhouse and in her 40s she studied lithography at the
University of Maryland.
Her parents bought the farm on Basket Street in 1940 and Bunty from all accounts
made a splash. After her mother died she moved her husband Dick and three
younger children to Sandwich full time and she opened the Sandwich Gallery,
featuring her lithographic prints and paintings. After her father died in 1982,
she moved the family - expanded to include goats and chickens and a horse - to
the house on Basket Street where she continued to run the Sandwich Gallery until
opening the shop on Main Street [now Mocha Rizing].
Although she was 49 years old when she moved to Sandwich, she thought of the
town as her true home. She would have loved this show.”
Bunty Walshes work exudes charm. Her etchings and lithographs encompass subject matter from Sandwich lore to historical studies. She is artist and storyteller. The generous use of lyrical line breathes life into her compositions, Nymphs, horses, and figures dance across her paper. Landscapes depict Squam Lake and the town of Sandwich. Bunty Walsh was a talented artist ever ready to experiment with new technique and new ideas. Her humor and energy will always be remembered. The gallery is happy to present her Retrospective.
Over the winter I have had several conversations with a some of my artists about how to approach galleries when searching for gallery representation. It has been said that galleries do not respond,when contacted by artists and therefore make the artist feel like a second class citizen whose work is perhaps not worthy of a reply, In most cases this is far from the truth. Galleries are inundated with work to review. There are too few of us to represent all the artists looking to show and sell. Add the recent downturn in the economy which has closed many businesses, and the result is not easy for either artist or gallery. Though we try to look at all work that is sent to us and are happy to do so, we are guilty of not always responding in a timely fashion. As a result of these winter chats, here are some ideas for those in search of placing their work in new venues.
I am speaking personally but I am sure that many dealers, like myself, are wedded to their computers. That means that email is the best way to get my attention. It is a lot easier for me to click on someone's website and/or view several images included in an email than it is to have to refer to CDs and letters that pile up on my desk where they probably will remain piled for years. CDs are okay but better for later use than initial contact with a gallery. It takes just a few seconds to view an image and know whether it is of interest or not. That quick second could make or break a future show.
If I like what I see in the initial email, I will move on to bio, resume, and artist's statement. If I really like what I see, I will ask for a studio visit. Having said all of this it is a good idea for artists to have their work easily available on line. Websites are the best but there are alternatives such as facebook, flickr and other internet sites. It is most important that Google can find you.
When searching for a gallery, try to match your work with the gallery you are approaching. There is little point in presenting a dealer in realism with abstract art.
Do not necessarily feel you have to stay close to home. The more important part of the equation is to find galleries that love your work and can sell it. This does not mean you should not solicit nearby galleries, it simply means don’t be afraid of distance.
If you have a lot of friends or family in a place or you can bring a crowd of supporters to your show, it is also interesting to a gallery. Not a vital point but your supporters are new supporters for the gallery.
Finally if you live near a lot of galleries patronize them. Go to openings and follow what they are doing. After deciding that this is the gallery for you make an appointment with the director. Tell him or her how much you admire, enjoy their space and ask them if they would mind critiquing your work. Flattery could get you everywhere!
If anyone has thoughts from you own experiences to add to this blog I hope you will feel free to do so.
Enjoy the Spring and we are looking forward to a great season for 2011.
Patricia
Soon it will be December 21st, the shortest day of the year, the winter Solstice. I love the coziness of the short days with crackling fires, hearty food and the promise of the new year soon to come.
December is a time of festa, fiesta,and fete. 'Party' just doesn't sound quite as magnificent. Perhaps the best word is "celebration". It is a word that reminds of lights, hats and blowers, fire works and music but it also reminds of all that we have to celebrate: family, friends, animals, nature and the love that surrounds all the above. We give presents at this time of year and we receive them too, but most of all we remember those who have touched our lives and our hearts.
On the first weekend of December, I went to Miami. Talk about a celebration!! The whole city celebrates ART. Different Art Fairs take over the city. Sculpture, painting, photography, prints and work in all media are on view. Dealers come from all corners of the world to exhibit. The largest fair is Art Basel at the Miami Convention Center. The most important dealers from art capitols participate in this fair. As I walked through, it seemed I was looking at "who's who in Modern art..... Certainly a feast for the eyes.
The next largest fair is Art Miami. Located in a large white tent in the design district, this venue is a lot airier than the convention center. Again artists from around the world are on exhibit but the focus seemed to be more contemporary. I saw some wonderful work that was both fascinating and refreshing. Color was everywhere. Sculpture was innovative and work was engaging. Though there were lots of visitors, it was not a problem to tarry a while in front of a favorite piece.
Next came the smaller art fairs: Scope, and Red Dot are also in tents in the Design District but I did not have time to visit either. Instead I moved back up town toward the Convention Center where Holly Manneck was exhibiting with a Miami Gallery at a small art fair called Verge. Verge, Aqua, Zoom and a few other small fairs are located in hotels that become small art centers for the weekend. Usually the beds are removed, but sometimes not. Some of the spaces are lit better than others but all in all it was fun to see art exhibited in these alternative spaces.
As we move on to Holiday time and New Year's, we approach the biggest celebrations of the year. The gallery wishes you light, color, beauty and peace as 2010 comes to a close. For the New Year we wish you good fortune, happiness, joy and freedom. We look forward to seeing you again next summer but in the meantime stay in touch through the website and remember art is an everlasting celebration!
Thanksgiving in my house means brisk walks in the chilly New England air, the tantalizing aroma of roasting turkey, and family and friends gathered around a sumptuous table. In my dining room the art on the walls is a reminder of many years of art collecting. The work has grown with me and continues to challenge and nourish those seated at my table. Michael Rich, CC White, Amy Stacey Curtis and Philip Jamison join older masters Alfred Jonniaux and an unknown artist whose wax portrait of George Washington has been with me since childhood. My collection is unquestionably eclectic.
On Thanksgiving Day I am thankful for all of those special people who have the need to create. I am most thankful for the art that I have collected for it continues to engage me in a very personal dialogue each day.
The shorter days of winter bring with them a time to reflect on the past season while at the same time Summer 2011 takes shape. This is an exciting time of year. Though the economy has been tough on the art business, the enthusiasm this summer for our exhibits and the number of visitors to the gallery was reassuring. The feeling was that the gallery never looked better. We exhibit an eclectic collection of work which makes it a challenge to rehang the walls every two weeks . Coupling work for a theme exhibit is like re-hanging an entire home. Each piece needs room to breathe and speak for itself. It needs to be shown off at its best. Family Ties, The French Connection, Flora and Fauna, and Landscapes were all large exhibits involving multiple artists.
Among new artists featured this summer were Shandra McLean, Deborah Falls, Gail Roberson and Ronnie Gould. Their work was enthusiastically received.
Over the winter we will be posting exhibits on line as well as previews of work that will be in the gallery next season. Work may be purchased throughout the year.
We welcome any suggestions, or ideas and of course are willing to review work.
Look forward to hearing from you.
What do artists Ronnie Gould and Gay Freeborn have in common? The answer is that both artists have a love of animals and create exqusite renderings of their four legged subjects. Gould works is a ceramic artist and Freeborn is a painter. The exhibit opens on September 18th about three weeks before the Sandwich Fair and will continue through Fair Weekend. There will be a reception to meet the artists on Saturday evening, September 25th from 5-7 p.m. This exhibit is a must see for all animal lovers.
Ronnie Gould explains her work and her process:
My work emanates from a background in drawing and painting but mostly as an observer of the world. I rely on visual information such as how people and animals move, their body gestures and expressions to create my sculptures. Every animal has it’s own personality and my goal is to highlight these traits.
My selection of animals is always expanding including both domestic and exotic. All of my animals are individually hand-built in stoneware. The finish firing varies from raku, smoke, or saggar over colored slips and stains.
By manipulating the firings I influence the desired results, but the lick of the flame and smoke leave their own signature. Just as animals have their own personalities, the firing process adds unique and exciting traits to the sculptures.
Gay Freeborn comments on her paintings:
As a painter I have been searching, as we all do, for that which touches my heart. I have painted all of my life; from childhood horses, college figure drawing to images of those in distress, sad people, beautiful people, dogs and their people. I began breeding Labrador Retrievers on my farm in Maine and watching them, noticing their curves, their motion and their devotion, finally I have found an urgency to my brushstrokes that were not evident before. Using oils on canvas as my medium, I portray the dog with love for the animal as my driving force. The space that surrounds the subject is as important as the figure itself as they swirl, sit, sleep or stare back at me from the light engulfing them. The Dog, unconditional and unpretentious sits at my feet as I paint and I don't think I could ask for anything more.
Freeborn’s paintings are not uniquely about dogs. Goats, Sheep and even children join her canine friends.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: LANDSCAPES; BIG AND SMALL AT PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY
CENTER SANDWICH: When work began arriving the gallery this spring, I was surprised that many of my artists had turned to painting small squares. A sign of the times? Small squares are certainly cheaper than larger pieces and they fit nicely into anyone’s space. One day Chris Thompson (a gallery artist) walked in with the largest canvases I have seen in years. The other extreme had arrived at my door. The exhibit “Landscapes; Big and Small” was born that day. Two new artists, Ann Carlisle Beyer from Wolfeboro and California and Gail Robertson from California join gallery artists in this show. The opening reception will be on Saturday, September 4th from 5 to 7 pm. The exhibit will continue through mid September. Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street (route 113) in Center Sandwich.
Ann Carlisle Beyer has always been interested in painting and drawing but it was not until her children were grown that she began a daily regime in her studio. “. I have summered in New Hampshire at a family compound all my life. I have looked since childhood at huge white pines just across the lawn from our house. The current Grandfather Pines series is based upon this. Now I have my own studio nearby where I can continue painting these wonderful colors and light.
My muses lie mostly in the beauty and complexities of nature. The strength and underpinning of trees, the elegance of flowers, and the amazing power of animals fascinate me. These subjects enter my dreams, too, which I paint from time to time.”
Gail Robertson lives and works in Mill Valley, California. She has travelled extensively and lived in many different countries. Her work is quiet and mystical. It speaks to the moody climate of the Bay Area. Her paintings “reflect the depth and influences that life in different cultures can stimulate.” Robertson describes her process: “What I like about being a painter is the process of seeing/becoming empty, and without thinking painting from that place. Have you ever noticed that no one asks a writer to paint about her writing?”
Among the gallery artists participating in this exhibit are Barbara Brady, Katherine Field, Anne Garland, Herb Hollingsworth, Jay Rancourt, and Chris Thompson,
For more information please visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.
Four artists connected by their love for France will exhibit their work at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Amazingly enough each of these artists has ties to the Lakes Region and visit regularly. Saira Austin and Lissa Hunter who both were working in France last year join Anna Jeretic and Donna McLeod Balsan who both live in France. Opening August 18th, the exhibit will be on view until mid September at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, 69 Mapble Street (Route 113) in Center Sandwich. Like the White Mountains, the south of France and Paris have attracted artists for centuries.
Last winter while talking to Lissa Hunter in her studio, I discovered that she had been working in Vallaurois during the Fall of 2009. Vallaurois is a medieval town located between Cannes and Antibes. It has been a ceramics town since then. Picasso discovered it in the 1940s and made all of his ceramics there until his death in the 1970s. During our conversation I asked Lissa to describe what was special about working in France and why she had chosen to go there.
Her reply: “My interests were in speaking French as much as possible, to have the uninterrupted time and concentration to develop some ideas that I had stored up, and to draw. The drawing was the big revelation. I drew as I never had before. I had always drawn some, but mostly as note-taking and engineering, not as a means of expression. And usually I worked small. Now, as a result of my time in France, I am doing large drawings in various media and loving it. The stay there has changed my art-making practice in wonderful ways.
I have had a love affair with France for about 12 years or so beginning with my studying the language. I have no idea why I chose France, and not Italy or Finland or Chile or...
But I'm sure that it has to do with the food, the landscape, the sound of the language, the prizing of intellectual life, the wine, the history, the architecture, and did I mention the food? I like who I am when I'm there. But the irony is that I feel totally American, not French, and that's ok”.
When I left Lissa’s studio, the idea of a French exhibit was born. Saira Austin had also been in France on a residency during the summers of 2009 and 2010. She describes her experience: “Last year I was able to stay nine weeks in Saint-Remy de Provence. I rented a two-bedroom 18th century Mas on the property of a Chateau that was built adjacent to the 16th century home of Nostradamus’ brother (still standing), which was built on a former Roman site. The roman pool still functions.
I returned to the same Mas this year for three weeks, and afterwards rented an apartment in Paris (Ile Saint-Louis) for nearly three weeks.
I think the art I've made in Provence reflects the gentleness and joie de vivre spirit I encountered in Saint-Remy, the generosity of the people, the ancient art of the caves, the old towns, the sculpted landscape, the sheep, and the wild winds. An intensity of history and a profound inner happiness.
In Paris, my paintings remember history and respond to place.”
Anna Jeretic is a painter and print maker who lives in a small town outside of Paris. An American by birth, France is her home. Fluent in French and accostomed to life there, it is curious as to wether or not the culture effects her work. A long time member of the stable at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, Jeretic will exhibit her etchings and monotypes. Her animals are soft and friendly even though they live in the jungle. They were observed by Jeretic on safari in Africa. The secoond series of etchings involves a copper oxicdation process. The work is reminds of vines, leaves and is nature based. It is more contemporary in feel and is reminiscent of Japanese of Japanese prints. One of Jeretic;s most popular images is “Avenue de L’Observatoire. Birds fly fly down the “allee” lined with trees and remind anyone of their last trip to France’s capitol.
Like Anna Jeretic, Donna Balsan is an American artist living in Paris. Her window views, flowers and fruits are painted in vivid color. Balsan paints in oil on kraft paper or canvas paper. Her work feels like a painterly excursion into the essense of French Life. Balsan has studied trompe l’oeil, faux marbre and faux bois. She exhibits in France and her commissionos have included Renaissance Cruise Lines, The Hilton Hotel in Munich and a number of private homes in the USA and abroad.
Center Sandwich: Sallie Wolf’s newest book, “The Robin Makes a laughing Sound: The Birder’s Journal” was released earlier this year in February. The original watercolors used for the iluustrations will be exhibited for the first time at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Charming paintings of Towhees, Flickers, and Cardinals will be on view. Michelle Taft of Bayswater Books will also be here with fresh copies of the book for sale. Join us a t a reception to meet Sallie Wolf on August 4th from 5 to 7 p.m. at 69 Maple Street (route 113), in Center Sandwich.
Sallie Wolf lives in Oakland Park, Illinois and has spent her summers in Center Sandwich since you was a child. Her Panoramas and paintings of Squam Lake have gained her notoriety as an artist in our community. Last summer Hoag Island was the subject of a new series of work. Those panoramas will also be on view with a percentage of sales benefitting the Squam Lakes Concervation Society.
On Saturday, July 7th at 10 a.m. Sallie Wolf will host a workshop entitled “Discovering Your Creativity : Keeping a Journal/Sketchbook”. Wolf’s art and writing begin with her journals. Her large paintings start as tiny notations in watercolor on a small page . Her books begin in the same way. Participants in the workshop will bind together a sixteen page journal and then explore different ways to work in it. The workshop is free of charge but places are limited so please call the gallery at 284 7728 to reserve a spot.
“The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: The Birders Journal” will be available at Bayswater Books in Center Harbor after the opening reception. Copies will also be available at the gallery.
For more information visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.
FAMILY TIES – THE ART CONNECTION explores the differences and similarities found in the work of artists who live together or have lived together. Partners, couples, Mothers and daughters, nephews and Aunts exhibit together in this delightful show. Join us on Sandwich. Wednesday, July 21st from 5-7 p.m. to meet the Family! Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street (route 113) in Center Sandwich.
Participating artists include Michael Doyle and Laura Marconi have summered in Tamworth for years. Stronger than ever, Doyle’s loose impressionistic style lends itself to the lakes and mountains in our area. Marconi’s jewel like palate reminds of 19th century Italian art. Not surprising as she is from Rome. Stoney Coneley and Mary Armstrong, both Boston artists whose subject matter stretches from the Maine Coast to Venice, Italy. Conley’s peaceful landscapes are challenged by Armstrongs paintings that are influenced by ancient maps. Frances Hamilton and Peter Thibeault are also both from Boston. Hamilton is a painter best known here for her paintings of the camps on Squam Lake. Thibeault is a sculptor whose work is both precise and whimsical. CC White and Tyler Pope: White is from Sandwich while her nephew. Tyler Pope lives in Maine. White’s “interior landscapes” explore life through color and line while Pope crafts masks and bracelets from copper. Breton Morse is a long time gallery artist. His humorous and painterly work has delighted viewers for years. His daughter Alice Morse lives in Spain. Her work has an ancestral quality that is expressed in her highly tactile painting. Blair Folts from Effingham is showing encaustics and monotypes based on her last trip to Mongolia. Her Mother, Eshther B. Folts, an artist from Connecticut works in charcoal on paper. Marian Purviance and her Mother, Virginia Purviance have been visiting relatives on Squam for years. Marian Purviance creates landscapes and flowers in pastel and charcoal. Her Mother, Virginia Puriance’s, creations are made from found objects, printed matter and encaustic. The work is clever and amusing. Finally Sam Falls, a photographer living in New York, joins his mother Deborah falls in this exhibit. Deborah Falls has mastered beautifully the technique of painting on silk with dye. Her botanical pieces are precise and delicate.
CENTER SANDWICH; Michael Rich’s “Intimate Landscapes” in mixed media are beautifully complimented by Shandra McLane’s “Fire and Ice” in glass. Both artists explore light, color and form as they work in two different media. Their exhibits will open on July 7th at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich,
Rhode Island artist, Michael Rich has exhibited at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery for the past seven years. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and Savannah College of Art & Design, his work continues to fascinate and intrigue. An abstract artist, Rich has always been interested in painting land and sea. A practitioner of yoga, his work invites us to join him in meditations on color and form.
“My paintings and drawings of the past decade have explored through the language of abstraction the notion of place. Places once visited, invented or discovered, vaguely take shape in the colors of space and light.
The gray skies of Providence, the expanses of sky and sea surrounding Nantucket Island, the warm of New England Fall, are subjects now mined in my work. In an effort to understand my own place among these fleeting images, I seek a language that draws on personal history as well as the history of painting while forging a new path between abstraction and the realization of the image of place.”
Michael Rich is exhibited in galleries across the country. His work is contained in museum, corporate and private collections.
Local artist Shandra McLane is new to Patricia Ladd Carega gallery. Her exquisite glass pieces are strong, sleek, playful and contemplative in their elegance. A native of California, McLane, now lives and teaches at her home in New Hampshire. She has studied glass technique both at Pilchuck School of Glass in Stanwood, Washington and at the Rhode Island School of Design. She has taught at Plymouth State University and also completed graduate studies there. McLane’s multiple and complex process results in work of stunning simplicity.
“Luminous, strong – clear, direct – delicate, yet bold. These complementary opposites in glass work are evident, both in the material itself and in the design and process I employ in my studio. Light, color, form and texture are combined at its essential core.
I come to glass by way of an interest in Scandinavian and Modernist design cultivated in my twenties. For me, the pleasure of the design, fabrication and finished piece, are the framework of a life filled with beautiful objects which make our lives richer and more meaningful. In this Scandinavian tradition, one finds an understated refinement, which is stylishly unobtrusive and accessible by all.”
….”I strive to create work that embodies elements of joy, integrity, practicality and , of course, aesthetics. “It is my hope that you and your family enjoy these pieces as much as I enjoyed creating them.”
NEWS
The first opening of the summer was a huge tribute to artists CC White and Ashley Bullard. The work of both artists was enthusiastically received by a large crowd. CC White's Life Calendar Project is a wonderful installation that captures the curiosity and imagination of all who view it. Ashley Bullards bold colors on mylar have also enjoyed an amazing success. As a colorist, Bullard is at her best with this new series of paintings. The mylar is an added curiosity as it seems to make the work shimmer. Though the installation will come down this week, it will be back to enjoy in book form throughout the summer. Ashley Bullard's work will also be here. If you missed the exhibit, it is not too late to enjoy the work.
WORKSHOPS
Shandra McLane is a new artist to the gallery this summer. Her creations in kiln forming glass are exquisite. She will be giving a workshop at her studio on July 24th and July 25th. Students will learn the fundamentals necessary to pursue fused glass, one of the most common forms of kiln-glass. For further information contact her at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or contact this gallery.
Sallie Wolf will be giving a workshop at the gallery in August. Sallie is a water color artist known for her wonderful panoramas of Squam Lake. On exhibit will be the original art from her new book "The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound". The workshop is entitled "Discovering your creativity, Keeping a Journal/Sketchbook. Participants will learn to bind a 16 page journal and explore different ways to work in it. The workshop is designed for adults, teenagers and school age children if accompanied by an adult.
CENTER SANDWICH: Squam Artists Kay Ives and Margaret Barnaby join Deborah Falls and Sui Witherell in an exhibt focusing on plants and flowers to open June 26th at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Meet the artists at reception from 5 –7 p.m. The gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich.
Since she was a small child, Margaret Barnaby has spent her summers on Squam Lake. Her winter residence is in Volcano, Hawaii. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Barnaby is an accomplished jeweler, painter, sculptor and printer. On view this summer are her woodblock prints. In size and color Barnaby has mastered the printing process to perfection. Both large and colorful her work is inspired by culture, color and the unique life that surround both her Island homes.
Kay Ives also has spent summers on Squam lake since childhood. She is a resident of Boston and like Barnaby summers by the lake. The natural enviroment especially found here influences her work. A graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Ives paintgs and drawings of plants and flowers are intriquing. A free and loose stroke, combines watercolor, pencil and charcoal into an exploration of lotus, roses and other flora. Her pieces created in diptch form give them the feeling of studies. The work combines the figurative and the abstract adding to the notion of two pieces in one.
Deborah Falls lives and works in Vermont. Upon returning to New England after a sojourn in Sourthern California where she prefectted her printing and artistic talents, Falls planted a vegetable garden. She became intrigued by her plants and the intricacies of their design. The abstract artist and fabric designer combined her disciplines to develop her own technique of painting on silk. In Falls’ words: “I focus on the individual flower or plant, trying to discover its essence through the simplicity of line, form and color. I’m interested in the light and intimate space within which we perceive these plants and enjoy the timeless sense of antique botanicals in a contemporary translation.”
Sui Witherell lives and works in Maine though she has deep roots in New Hampshire. For twenty years she and her husband operated a greenhouse business in the White Mountains and for this reason she knows and loves plants and flowers intimately. Witherell’s monoprints exhibited here explore water lillies in a variety of backgrounds.
Color, marks and lines are trademarks of her compositions. Her works are a response to the nature that surrounds her.
Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street (Rooute 113) in Center Sandwich. Gallery hours are from 10 –5 Monday through Saturday and from 12 –5 on Sundays. Please visit our websiter at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284-7728 for more information.
THE GALLERY IS OPEN FOR THE 2010 SEASON. The first exhibit will be "New Work" by Ashley Bullard and "Life Calendar Project", an installation by CC White. The press release follows:
PRESS RELEASE: TWO SANDWICH ARTISTS OPEN THE SEASON AT PATRICIA LADD CAREGA GALLERY
CENTER SANDWICH: Two Talents from Center Sandwich, Ashley Bullard, “New Work” and CC White, “Life Calendar Project will open the summer season at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Join us at reception to meet the artists on Saturday, June 12th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
White’s “Life Calendar Project” is an installation of daily calendars that she has been making since 1996. The calendars began as a way to keep track of daily events, weather, and temperature. The project has grown into a work of art to be seen for the first time hanging as one. Like the time these calendars mark, this engaging installation takes time to view.
White describes her calendar project:
“At first, I drew stick figures, or used cards and photos; now I make my own images specifically for each month, sometimes painting directly on the page, other times making a collage or cropping something from an earlier work. Occasionally David shows intedrest in adding his own touch, and I love having his images included.
Eventually, what began as an informal way to keep track of events has become an integral part of our daily lives. The first thing one of us does in the morning is to check the temperature and write it on the calendar for that day. At the end of the day, we record the day’s “events”, so that the lower half of the calendar is every bit as important as the images: we focus especially on our interaction and intimacy with Nature, (for example, the notations are about such things as seeing a mother bear and her cub in our clearing on April 24 of this year, what day the shad first bloomed, when the black flies arrive, what day we harvest our garlic, and when the V’s of geese fly over on their way South in the fall). The act of recording honors the importance of these small daily occurrences that make up such a large part of our lives.
Some of the art on these pages seems embarrassingly awful to me. However it ALL reflects exactly where I was, physically, emotionally and spiritually while I was painting it, (quite literally in the case of December 2006, when my right arm was broken and in a cast….). So for this installation I’ve included everything, “warts and all”. This calendar is NOT about perfection, but about process and progress, about continuity and daily practice. It is about conscious living and observation, awareness and choice. It is my own personal form of pure record keeping, a journal in which I combine words and images to evoke memory.”
White has also produced a yearless calendar to record birthdays and dates to remember that don’t change. The calendar includes some of her best images. It will be on sale at the gallery.
For those who follow Ashley Bullards work her new exhibit will not disappoint. The work is fresh and colorful, resourceful and innovative. Painting on mylar, Bullard has returned to landscapses. She calls this series “deconstructed landscapes” meaning that the viewer knows what he or she is looking at but the focus of the work is on color and shape.
Bullard’s work has almost come full circle. Her first exhibit at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery was a very successful landscape show. As time went on Bullard’s work continued to emphasize color and energy but her subject matter became emotional as she endeavored to deal with the news and events recent years. The work was strong and compelling.
The new paintings are not emotional as they lack the intensity of subject. They are expressive of seasonsonal color and the changing climate that New England offers. A passionate colorist, Bullard is at her best. Fat layers of paint adhere to the mylar. The effect seems to be an invitation to touch.
Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street (Rte.113 N) in Center Sandwich. Gallery hours are from 10 to 5 Monday – Saturday and from 12 to 5 on Sunday. For more information please visit our website at http://www.patricialaddcarega.com or call 284 7728.
Though we have lived through hard economic times I am happy to say that the gallery has remained “level” for the last two years. The markets are not back to where they were in 2007 but the continued interest and enthusiasm of visitors to the gallery has been heartening.
As we begin our seventh year in business in Sandwich and 17th year in the gallery business in general, it seems art market indicators are optimistic. Friends in the auction business also seem to be encouraged. As the snow flies, it is hard to think that plants will bloom, we will all swim in the lake and the barn will host many visitors to our area.
January should be a quiet month for a 'seasonal' art gallery but not so for Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. Emtype is doing over the website and I am very excited about the new design. I am looking forward to the launch. I hope that visitors to the site will find it easy and informative. As much as I liked my old one at the beginning, the artists grew too numerous and the site became hard to navigate.
The calendar for next summer is set. Gallery artists will be presenting their new work and new artists will be joining the stable. The barn doors will open on Memorial Day weekend with the first opening (Ashley Bullard and CC White) on Saturday June 19th. This summer exhibits will be every two weeks in an effort to introduce the maximum amount of new work to the Lakes Region Community and the gallery mailing list.