More About the County Arts Awards

The actual awards this year were absolutely stunning. Created by the Center for Metal Arts in Florida, NY, these small sculptures really represent the arts in Orange County-beautifully-crafted, creative works of art. Check out their studio at 44 Jayne Street; it's really quite something, and visit their website at http://centerformetalarts.com/.

Arts Awards Event a Wonderful Success

The Harness Racing Museum simply glowed last Friday night from the smiles on the faces of our Award Winners. The food was great, the awards beautifully made by the Center for Metal Arts, the setting elegant, the auction bountiful, and all in all, a lovely evening. Thanks ro all who helped make it possible.

From left to right, Nicole Regan, Orange County Music Educators, Outstanding Organization; Mary Evelyn Whitehill, Lifetime Achievement; Christopher Dean Sullivan, Champion of the Arts; Ray Yannone, Architecture; Richard and Susan Logothetis, Lycian Stage Lighting, Corporate Champion; John Creagh, Champion for persons with Disabilities; Nick Zungoli, Outstanding Artist; Giovanni Palladino, Archtecture; Sara Giarrtanno, Youth with Exceptional Promise; and Dr. Kenneth Eastwood, Champion for Arts-in-Education.

Congratulations to all!

Arts Council Makes a SPARK
Spooning out Funds for the Arts….
July 28, 2010 - 6pm
Hudson Street Café, 237 Hudson Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson
Creative Contacts, a program that the Arts Council began in October of 2008, has been a great way for net-working with artists, showcasing work, and sharing conversation and a meal. And as the Orange County Arts Council continues to grow so do the programs; hence the Council has de-cided to step it up a notch and add a new and really exciting component called SPARK. Based on the St. Louis’ SLoup, Brooklyn FEAST and our Creative Contacts, this will be a bi-monthly event designed to use community-driven financial support to democratically fund artmakers.
The inaugural SPARK is being hosted by the Hudson Street Café, 237 Hud-son Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson on July 28 at 6pm and is sponsored by Sloan Publishing. Here’s how it works. Artists will submit a brief de-scription (500 words or less) of their project by Tuesday at noon prior to the event on Wednesday. Everyone pays $10 and gets to have a meal (something simple like soup and bread). Proposals are distributed to the attendees and then artists will be given 2-3 minutes to talk or give a presentation about their project. All those in attendance will then vote for their favorite project and the winner gets the proceeds to assist with their project. Depending on how many people are there determines the amount of money awarded.

The important thing, isn't the money, it's about sharing your project with the community (well, the money’s important too, but…). There are now events like this in Boston, Portland and Chicago and the number is grow-ing. The hope is that this model will not just change the way art is funded but change the relationship between artists and patrons and make the art world feel less exclusive and more like a dinner party with friends; and the more friends that attend, the more money there is to distribute.

The Orange County Arts Council is a non-profit arts service organization dedicated to strengthening the Arts in Orange County by providing educa-tional, promotional and informational services to artists, arts organizations and the community. The Council also works to facilitate relationships be-tween the arts, schools, businesses, government and the public through its various programs. These include: Arts for Vets, Arts in Education, Annual Arts Awards, Advocacy, discounted Health Insurance, Workshops & Seminars and Town Meetings & Artist Mixers.
For more information about
SPARK or the Council, contact
Susan Linn at 845.469.9168 or www.ocartscouncil.org

Open Studio Tour: Susan Minier

Continuing on our series of Open-Studio Tour introductions, artist Susan Minier will display her custom designed functional art for the home using fabric and collage.

"Residing in New York's Hudson River Valley, I love the freedom of being a full-time artist. Since I began my adventure with fabric collage in 1994, I have enjoyed creating vibrant landscape and flower collages. Later, I learned how to make beautiful floorcloths, table runners and placemats using acrylics, faux painting techniques, and collage. Sharing these techniques, I regulary lead workshops in these areas."

Susan's educational background includes graphic design at Broward Community Collage in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and fine art at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. Her artwork has been shown in numerous group exhibitions on the East Coast. Since 2008, three were solo shows including an exhibit at the Woodstock Artists Association in Woodstock, NY.

All images and quote were taken from Susan's website http://www.susanminier.com/. To see how Susan Minier creates her exquisite works, be sure to stop by her studio in Highland Mills as you explore the riches of Orange County's artists and craftspeople.

Along the Studio Tour: Clayton Buchanan

The Open-Studio Tour, will feature nearly 40 Artists, each artist is incredible in what they do all are very different from each other, from Painters to Sculptors, Photographers to Craftsmen. We even have a dance studio on our tour. We want to bring people in to see who is in Orange County, and the delightful things they create.

Clayton Buchanan is another fellow artist that is going to be seen with in our County-Wide Open Studio in October. Clayton Studied Impressionist Painting with Henry Hensche, Provincetown, MA, 1968-1974, Worked in the Graphic Arts Industry for 30 years and is now painting full time. Clayton who is very well known for his pastels, creates wonderful vivid in color pieces. His work is described as Colorful, Realism and he has some exciting new artwork in preparation exhibition.

"I paint the real world" says Buchanan, "- those endless combinations that we see everyday. The spontaneity and natural fitting together of colors and shapes is a remarkable learning ground." His goal in painting is to comprehend and interpret what is in front of him and share his vision. "Composing those colors and shapes drives me from painting to painting and I am always searching to do it better - to capture that intrinsic mood, that fleeting moment of recognition when light gives birth to the poetry of color."

All Photos and Quotations were taken from his website, http://www.claytonbuchananart.com/. If you want to see more of his work he has a link to his great profolio, and if you have any questions to ask him, he has placed his contact info for anyone who wants to speak to him.

Along the Studio Tour: Daniel Mack

The Orange County Arts Council blog will be doing a series on the artists that you might see while following your open studio tour map. The first of these is Daniel Mack, a talented artist from Warwick who is often a teacher and writer as well. While you drive along Welling Avenue, you'll come along the Victorian Carriage House that Dan has made into his studio (which happens to be safe, accessible, and have a public bathroom). On display will be sculpture and furniture made from nature. In the artist's words he "explores the forms, textures and deformities of the trees. [He] separates the trees from the forest, re-present and re-member them. [He] wants to keep the history of the tree present in the work and still reflect the hand and heart of the maker.

Dan has been working on a series of Memory Chairs (part of the Mnemosyne Series) that incorporate found objects to tell a story, whether that story be about nature, life, or golf. He says this idea makes sense, because "chairs are part of the story of life. They witness events. They become part of Memory and Family History." The Memory Chairs are his way of making a chair's role in life more evident. These chairs often end up in museums, but during the Open Studio Tour you may be able to see some that are in the process of being created, and perhaps become part of its story yourself.

Dan's imaginal artifacts (misnamed sculptures by society) also tell a story. He believes that when people make something, like a sculpture or a chair or a friend, it is their way of being in the world. He says that "Making is a way of outering or uttering what we know, feel, believe, desire." When he creates things, he's telling both the story of his unconscious and the story of the materials that go into the sculpture.


all pictures from Daniel Mack's website

If you'd like to talk to Daniel Mack before the Open Studio Tour feel free to e-mail him at rustic@warwick.net. And if you'd like to see the story of his work, be sure to make his studio a stop along your map.

Artist Swap Meet

On Thursday, August 27th, Orange County Arts Council, will be hosting our fourth installment of our "Creative Contacts" series. Right here at our office, 23 White Oak Drive, Sugar Loaf at 6:30-9 p.m.

We are pretty sure that everyone, especially artists, have that one particular draw that is filled with many different items of nonsense. Many call this their 'junk drawer' and many are in denial of having one at all, but we are encouraging you to open that draw and bring whats inside to the Artist Swap Meet! So go and get your art supplies, old play scripts, old instruments, buckets full of shells, bundles of yarn, thread or fabric. Bring whatever is in your space that you don't feel is any use to you anymore. By doing so you may be helping out another artist and maybe someone will bring something they could do without but was just the thing you were looking for. Everything you give, and everything you take is free.

source

A delicous home cooked meal and refreshments will be available to enjoy before the swap session begins. We are very sure that the Artist Swap Meet will a great time, so please come stop by and bring your junk.