The Guild unveiled its NEW “Pop Up” Upstairs Gift Gallery in January.  This gift gallery showcases small works and hand-made items by Guild members as well as vintage and curated finds that our Festive Home decorating team has specially sourced for us.  As always, our price points are reasonable and all proceeds go towards the Guild’s day-to-day operations. Your support is always appreciated. Currently on show, Small 2 & 3-dimensional works by Guild members.

INK Fine Stationers, 109 Danbury Rd, Ridgefield

Currently showing floral works by Cindi Mullins.

Opening Reception

Feb 25, 2-4pm (Snowdate: Feb 26, 2 – 4pm)

The Guild asked for work, in any medium, from abstract to figurative, that speaks to the subject of a journey, an adventure, a voyage, a narrative of self or other discovery.

Members were asked to interpret the word ODYSSEY – whether it represents great strides or tiny footsteps.  Artists engaged in their own exploration in the process of thinking about this exciting opportunity.

This is an unjuried Guild member show.

Visit the Guild and view this wonderful show!

Examples below of ‘Odyssey’ work showing a range of style and mediums …

Ridgefield Guild of Artists’ Second Annual Juried Member Show opens Saturday, May 12^th with a reception from 2-4pm at the gallery barn on Halpin Lane.  Prizes will be awarded for First, Second and Third Place.  It is free and open to the public

Please click here for 2012 Accepted Artists.

Photos by Mary Harold

Second Annual Juried Member Show Opens Saturday at the Guild

by Mary Pat Devine

Ridgefield Guild of Artists’ Second Annual Juried Member Show opens Saturday, May 12^th with a reception from 2-4pm at the gallery barn on Halpin Lane.  Prizes will be awarded for First, Second and Third Place.  It is free and open to the public

This year’s juror, Kenise Barnes, is director and owner of Kenise Fine Art in Larchmont, NY.  Founded in 1994 on the belief that art is essential, the gallery represents emerging and mid-career artists working in a variety of mediums.  Ms. Barnes gained early experience working in New York City at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art and as a specialist in charge of contemporary art at Christie’s East.  With more than 20 years of experience in the arts, she is a frequent guest curator, speaker and advisor.

Ms. Barnes reviewed nearly 300 entries and selected 88 pieces for the member exhibition.  “With so many quality works to look at, Ridgefield Guild of Artists makes it hard for a juror to make swift decisions!  The presented paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures were consistently interesting, thoughtful and well constructed.  The experience was thoroughly enjoyable from the guild’s beautiful setting to working and swapping art tales with wonderful guild members.  I look forward to seeing the installed exhibition and matching faces to art work.”

Kim Hanna and Rachel Volpone are co-chairs: “We are excited to have a juror of Kenise Barnes’s caliber involved with this show.  The works she selected showcase the diversity of mediums and talent of guild artists.”  Nature’s Temptations sponsors the exhibition and provides food for the opening.

The exhibition continues through Friday, June 22^nd.  Please note: special gallery hours for this show only are Tuesday through Sunday, 12-4pm.  For more information, call 203-438-8863 or visit rgoa.org.

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 12, 2pm

Cost is $100 for members ($115 for non-members)  

Material fee:  $15 (material list will be provided)

Instructor Laura McCormick will introduce students to multiple media including watercolor painting, pastels, ink, charcoal and more.

Laura is a freelance artist specializing in charcoal and pastel portraiture and has a unique and engaging way of teaching.

Class sizes are limited so please call 203-438-8863 to register!

Note:  RGOA membership is $55 per year

Festive Home: Objects for Living & Giving

This year, the seventh annual Festive Home will feature an Art in Interiors theme.  The participating decorators chose Guild member artists who submitted work for consideration earlier this fall.  Each decorator chose an artist whose sensibility appealed to them and a specific artwork was then used as the major inspiration in each vignette design.  This year a record-breaking 13 designers are involved with this exhibition and holiday emporium!

Visit Ridgefield Guild of Artists’ Gallery Barn Nov 18 – Dec 24 and discover decorative and useful objects for the home, apparel and handcrafted jewelry from the area’s finest artisans – all in a holiday emporium setting.  Find the perfect gift while supporting the arts!     

Holiday Gallery Hours:  Tuesday - Sunday, 11:00 to 5:00, closed Mondays.

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Images of Festive Home 2011 …

Festive Home Workshops - Ladies Nights Out

Silk Scarf Painting - November 29:  Using an abstract method or stretching the scarf on a frame, you will create a beautiful, unique hand-made silk scarf for that special person.

Felted Soaps – December 6:  Felted soaps are a soap and washcloth in one!  You will make a colorful and useful gift during this workshop…for your friends, family or  a one-of-a-kind hostess gift for the holiday season.  Students will also create an acorn ornament, using a real acorn, to adorn the soap.

Photo Resin Creations – December 13:  Make your own photo accessories during this workshop using a favorite photograph.  You can make a pendant, winestopper, card case, set of coasters, or pill case.  Don’t forget your photo!

Repurposed Sweaters - December 20:  Learn how to “upcycle” and “repurpose” old wool sweaters to make hats, scarves and fingerless mitts.  Each piece will be uniquely yours – only minimal sewing skills required.

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Festive Home 2011 Designers

Festive Canvases

Calling All Guild Members -- Please consider donating a painting towards our Festive Home stencil project. This year’s theme honors the local farming communities. The 9″x12″canvases with 3 designs feature a cow, a rooster, and a horse, as well as a blank canvas with a horizon line. This blank canvas is for members who prefer and wish to donate a landscape. Any media is acceptable. Even if you choose a stenciled animal, feel free to paint outside the lines! All of these canvases will be for sale at Festive Home and priced at $50 with 100% of the proceeds going to the Guild. This is a fun and easy way to help the Guild raise the necessary funds that keep our doors open and all the high-quality exhibitions happening.

In addition to helping out with this Guild fundraiser, rumor has it, some artist members enjoy working on this project every year because it allows for a ‘safe’ creative exploration yielding some very interesting results that would not have been possible if they had not participated! So give one or two canvases a try and see what happens. They are available at the Guild during regular business hours. Deadline for drop off is November 7th.

Holiday Gatherings

The Guild is also a venue for the Holidays … Festive Coffees before opening at 11am and Cocktail Parties after hours.  Not-for-profit groups can use the Guild as a venue for no charge and there is a low fee to rent the Guild for a private party. 

Thank you for your support!

For more information please contact the Guild at 203.438.8863. 

1st Annual

123 SOLO Guild Shows

The Guild’s first annual 123 Solo Show, created to identify and support emerging and mid-career artists, will open January 21, 2012.

OPENING RECEPTION: SNOWDATE:  SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2-4pm

Last February artists were chosen by juror HELAINE POSNER OF THE NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART to exhibit a body of work in the Guild’s main gallery space.

Congratulations to artists Ann Conrad, Heidi Lewis Coleman & Fruma Markowitz!

Fruma Markowitz (Gallery 1)

“The seemingly endless variation of form, texture, light, and composition in my kitchen sink, captured on almost a daily basis, has become a journal of my family’s shared experience.  These mundane objects have turned into metaphors for how we live and dine together, our celebrations marked by the “good” china and silver, a dinner on the run by the plastic containers that once held “leftovers,” the daily remains in coffee mugs of “caffeine-o-holic” adults, fragile wine goblets, sturdy frying pans, porous sievers, razor-sharp knives…meals shared, memories made, the ongoing tale of the daily routine that is family life.”  Fruma Markowitz

Ann Conrad (Gallery 2) 

 

“The works in The Bitmap Series and Diffraction series were created in 2011 using multiple solar intaglio plates printed in layers and in varying combinations. After the weeks of printing were complete, I brought the prints back to my studio and worked on them by hand. While each series begins with a common matrix of solar intaglio plates, the varied inking and handwork results in each print being unique. Both series begin with an extremely close digital look at landscape. Digital tools offer me ways of seeing something familiar from a new vantage point.”  Ann Conrad

 

 

“My work reflects an ongoing exploration into the aesthetics of using language in art. While most conceptual artists incorporate text into their work as a means of analyzing popular culture or for making political and social commentary, I am more intrigued with developing text as a visual design element. I am particularly inspired by Asian art and have studied the intricate calligraphy used to decorate ancient scrolls and screens. The columns of simple, yet elegant characters may express specific meanings, but a viewer is not required to understand that meaning in order to appreciate the grace and integrity of the artwork.I create mixed media pieces and steel sculptures which incorporate my own automatic, abstract writing. Originally, my invented languages were painted on paper, cut out and then applied to a painted canvas. As the work has evolved, I’ve continued to develop new characters by deconstructing and reconstructing my original text, creating languages which are visually richer and more complex. More recently, I have extended this process by incorporating “Mandalas” into my art, circular forms which were originally used by the Hindus and Buddhists as focal points for meditation. For me, the languages have an ancient, almost mystical quality. I believe that because my artwork communicates in the abstract, individual viewers are not forced to translate it specifically, allowing them to “feel” the energy of each piece and to take away their own unique messages on a subconscious level.”   Heidi Lewis Coleman

Join us Tuesday evenings from 7-9 pm for Debbie Crichton’s popular workshops.  

Bring your friends and learn how to make these creative crafts for Holiday gift giving!

Cost:  $35 per night  (materials included).  BYOB and food for a fun-filled, memorable evening

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Silk Scarf Painting - November 29:  Using an abstract method or stretching the scarf on a frame, you will create a beautiful, unique hand-made silk scarf for that special person.

Felted Soaps – December 6:  Felted soaps are a soap and washcloth in one!  You will make a colorful and useful gift during this workshop…for your friends, family or  a one-of-a-kind hostess gift for the holiday season.  Students will also create an acorn ornament, using a real acorn, to adorn the soap.

Photo Resin Creations – December 13:  Make your own photo accessories during this workshop using a favorite photograph.  You can make a pendant, winestopper, card case, set of coasters, or pill case.  Don’t forget your photo!

Repurposed Sweaters - December 20:  Learn how to “upcycle” and “repurpose” old wool sweaters to make hats, scarves and fingerless mitts.  Each piece will be uniquely yours – only minimal sewing skills required.