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.

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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.

Another Workshop About the Business of Art

Tomorrow (August 25th) from 7-9pm the Arts Council will present the seventh in the 2009 workshop series, What Every Artist Wants to Know, but Is Afraid to Ask. These workshops all cover the business of art and this one, focusing on non-profit law, is no different. Gary Schuster will be the speaker at this event, and will not only be running the workshop but will also be avaliable to answer any legal questions you might have. All questions can still be sent ahead of time to info@ocartscouncil.org.

Gary Schuster- taken by Andy Komonchack

Gary Schuster has had a long history in the law business as an attorney with Jacobowitz & Gubits, LLP in Walden, the largest full-service law firm in the Hudson Valley. While he has worked on almost everything (including business entity formation and transactions, work with non-profits, commercial transactions, franchises, commercial and residential real estate transactions and leasing, will drafting, probate, and estate administration, guardianship proceedings, and copyright and trademark matters), he focuses on the laws of arts and entertainment. He also represents a number of non-profits and artists, and knows the in-and-outs of the business.

Everyone who owns their own business or has to promote their own art should attend this workshop. For more information, visit our website. And please call us to tell us your attending or with any questions at 845-469-9168.

The (Entire) Orange County Calendar

Most sites have calendars. You'd be hard pressed to find an organization that doesn't want people to know what they have going on. But our calendar is different; our calendar has events from all over Orange County, searched for and checked for accuracy by the interns here at the Orange County Arts Council. From Library Poetry Readings to Street Fairs, what's going on every weekend (and most weekdays) can be found listed on our calendar.

Each event that ends up on our calendar is not only found on the internet, it’s double checked to make sure that it actually exists. We find who you can contact with any questions you might have and how to contact them. The entire internet is searched so you can be sure what's going on in your area next Friday.
As if this wasn't enough, we also give you the option to post your own events. Save the effort of sending us an e-mail or writing up an entire press release, you can just add the event to our calendar yourself. In one moment you are able to turn all the visitors of our website into possible attendees.


Our calendar is an underused resource that should be under everyone's "favorites" tab. There's rarely a day that goes by that doesn't have an event to go along with it. With us, you can know exactly what those events are.

A New Idea for Creative Contacts

Every artist has that pile in their house. The one of old paint brushes, scraps of paper, maybe some ink that you might use one day. And that pile sits there growing, like a junk pile in any other household times a hundred (or far more depending on the artist). The next meeting of the Creative Contacts series on August 27th is a way for artists to not only clean out that pile (or for the real packrats, just make it a little lighter) but help other artists in the process.

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For everyone who doesn't know, Creative Contacts is "a series of artist networking events that encourage collaboration, cooperation and sharing resources is "a series of artist networking events that encourage collaboration, cooperation and sharing resources." It gives artists a chance to meet other artists in their area, make contacts to help them proffesionally and creatively. For this meeting, in addition to artists getting a chance to network with other artists, there will also be an opportunity for artists to share old art supplies that they're never going to use but may be a treasure to someone else. Everything artists bring and take to the meeting is free.

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This is also an opportunity to get inspired by what others think of as junk, what might just sit in a closet or get thrown away. Maybe you make your masterpiece using someone else's collection of old shells or discarded pieces of fabric. Maybe that old instrument that stopped working thirty five years ago is exactly what you need to finish your sculpture, or that interesting piece of wood is enough to inspire your next poem.

For more information about this event, or to tell us that you're attending, click here or e-mail us at info@ocartscouncil.org.

Open Studios Around Orange County

In October of this year the Orange County Arts Council is hosting an Open Studio Tour for artists from all around Orange County. For one weekend, from October 17th-18th, local artists open up their studios to the public so people can see and experience how they work in their natural habitat. All artists listed in this entry are going to be part of the Open Studio Tour.

Artist Joan Kehlenbeck

The Open Studio Tour raises public awareness of art in the community. There are so many people who don't realize how many artists there are creating in this area. I was one of those people before I became an intern for the Arts Council. I had no idea how many working artists were in my area, and I'm so grateful to have had the experience to meet them. This will give everyone the chance to have the same experience I did when I realized that our little piece of New York is filled with wonderful creative people doing wonderful creative things.

Artist Roslyn Fassett with her work "Veiled Silence"

The tour is a self-guided one. Maps, found online as well as in galleries, businesses, lodging sites and tourist info centers, will show a list of studios that will be open for visiting. One of the stops on the list will be our very own Arts Council building, where we will have five artists using our lovely office to show how they work.

In addition to a weekend of open studios, there will be an opening reception on October 9th and preview weekend from the 10th- the 11th. During this time, one piece of art from each artist will hang in our gallery. Think of it as a way to let you know what you have to look forward to while you're touring around the weekend after. Also, take this as an opportunity to support the arts in your community, because artists need support from their friends and neighbors. I hope you enjoy the experience of getting a behind-the-scenes look that you wouldn't get to see otherwise.

Work by Artist Jill Brody

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor

Since we at the Arts Council work closely with The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor through the Arts for Vets program, we thought it would be a great idea to share their upcoming event in our blog. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the New Windsor Cantonment invite you to share our thanks to the sacrifices of America’s military. The day begins with a concert by the 89th New York Guard Band. Learn about our military history with a military time line representing the American soldiers from the17th through the 20th centuries, including weapons demonstrations. The Veteran's Administration will have outreach services for a wide range of veteran’s needs. Learn about the history of the Purple Heart, America’s oldest military decoration. We as well as many others, including artists who will be doing demonstrations during the event, will be attending. Artists include Daniel Mack, demonstrating traditional mortise and tenon joinery, Bob Breur, wood carving, and Najim Chechen with wood working and clay molding. We hope to see many familar faces this Saturday, August 8th from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.! Have a great weekend and see you there!

Chris Farlekas and his calling

Photo found at www.current.com

The brain child of writer, storyteller, educator, and arts advocate Chris Farlekas, the Council and Hall of Honor are working with Farlekas on the creation of a play, a series of vignettes, narratives and anecdotes based on the stories of those veterans from these recent conflicts.

Farlekas, who created a similar program in the late 60’s and early 70’s that travelled throughout the region telling the stories of returning Viet Nam War veterans, this is something he feels he needs to do.“No one is listening to these men and women coming home today from overseas,” he states, “and they need to be heard.” Farlekas approached the Arts Council because of our Arts for Vets Program, and we contacted the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor who we actually work closely with. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor records the history of Purple Heart recipient accounts through filming their personal stories.

Chris is a tremendous writer, a former vet himself, and completely dedicated to the causes of these returning veterans. We feel if anyone can pull this project together, he can. Anita Pidala, Director of the Hall of Honor, is helping to gather information from veterans with which she has already worked. We hope to put the pieces together by late fall with performances beginning after that with the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor being one of the venues for presentations.

The Orange County Arts Council and the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor are collaborating on a program that will tell the stories of the men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In order to start the project, the Arts Council is asking for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to send in their chronicles of either preparing to go, while they were there, or coming home. These accounts can be poignant, funny, hopeful, sad, terrifying or joyous.

Trying to Inspire

Painting by
Kseniya Konovalova

It’s the time of year, where once again as we prepare for the Hudson Valley Scholastic Art Awards. At last year’s ceremony 38 Gold and 46 Silver Key Awards were given to many extremely talented art students ranging from grades 7 to 12. With 84 Keys in total and many, many Honorable Mentions it was great to see who some of Hudson Valley’s future artists are, and to see the great variety in art work was remarkable. As a previous Silver Key award winner, I would like to encourage everyone to sign-up and submit this upcoming October. I can speak from experience when I say the Hudson Valley Scholastic Art Awards can open many doors to great opportunities. The art awards were actually also a great turning point for me. Thanks to many very impressive speakers, the award ceremony had made a few doubtful minds, open-up to the possibility that I could use my art work, something I love, as a career and live a happy and successful life doing so. Now as I sit inside of the Orange County Arts Council, I look back to one really spectacular night, where I got to walk on stage and receive an award I really didn't intend on receiving at all, and if it wasn't for my experience with the Hudson Valley Scholastic Art Awards and the help of a great teacher, I know for sure I would have never gotten the chance to meet Ms. Linn and receive the chance to work in such a beautiful, comfortable atmosphere as her new student intern.



I encourage all students, whether they are submitting or not. To express them self using what we all love, Art. Whether it is from creating some doodles in a sketchbook to painting the next greatest master piece, get out there and do it.

The Importance of Networking for Artists

Tomorrow July 28, from 7-9PM there will be a workshop at the Orange County Arts Council on Networking and Collaboration. You can learn more about that here.

You might look at this and wonder why you would ever attend. Businesses network, artists shouldn't have to. For an artist, perserverance and hard work towards their craft should be enough. But, as I'm sure many of you know, this is not the case. In order to meet clients and get jobs, artists have to be in the right place with the right people at the right time; something that, with the right networking, does not have to be an accident.

Networking can also help artists with business problems, that they might not know how to solve. When you expand your contact list, you're also expanding your knowledge base. Knowing who to contact when a problem arises can help you as an artist tremendously.

image from rachel-levy

Janice Valentino, the facilitator for Tuesday's workshop, knows the importance of networking. As Director of Marketing for Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties Inc., she has to use networking in her job every day.

Part of the "What Every Artist Wants to Know but is Afraid to Ask" series of workshops, Networking and Collaboration gives you skills for the future of your business as an artist.

More than an Illustrator

On July 31st, from 1-430pm, there will be an Opening Reception at the Vet Center in Middletown for an exhibition, showing artwork by the late John Gould. You can read all about that here.

But John Gould was more than just an artist and a consultant, he was also a teacher. In 1957 John Gould established the Bethlehem Art Gallery and Art School, so other artists could display their work, and so he had a place to continue to teach younger artists. He traveled America as a lecturer, teaching all things art-related (although he particularly loved to lecture about oriental painting). His sons are continuing his legacy, keeping the Bethlehem Art Gallery open, and having art classes avaliable all year round. They also display their father's work, his beautiful paintings of our Hudson Valley landscape,






the many trains he painted while working as a consultant to the Locomotive Division of General Electric,





and his illustrations- the one's that showed the United States of America in wartime through his eyes.







We are so happy to have have brought together a group of paintings for this Art for Vets show that span the 70 year career of artist Gould, and hope you can join us to see the art that John Gould created through the course of his long, full life.

First Post to Us Joining the 21st Century

Well welcome to the 21st century. The Arts Council has moved up the food chain and is now facebooking, twittering, blogging and, lord knows, what else. What do you give two 17-year old interns to do on a slow day? Turn them loose on the internet, what else. Having attended several workshops on Social Networking, I knew it was important that the Orange County Arts Council have a profile in this arena. Now granted I have a Facebook page and have connected with a few old friends (the operative word being old), but I was no where near ready to seek out fans, post photos, link all the entities, etc. But with the help of my two interns...Can we build it? Yes, we can. Although Leandra will be leaving me in September, Sarah will be staying around for another year and I fully intend on "exploiting" her services in keeping my tweets fresh and my blog witty.

For all who haven't visited us yet- this is a photo of our Sugar Loaf office.