HCAC 2nd Annual Spring Showcase

All are welcome to join the Hants County Arts Council next Friday March 15th from 6-8pm at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn as we celebrate the opening of our 2nd Annual Spring Showcase and the launch of our 2013 Arts Digest. 

Show continues until April 28th.


This year's participating artists are:

Sandra Aucoin, Pastels

Mary Lou Bennet, Jewellery

Jaki Durocher, Pottery

Sylvia Fullerton, Painted Furniture

Susan Geddes, Paintings

Terrie Greencorn, Paintings

Karen Harvie, Paintings

G.A. Jank, Metal Sculpture

Kelly Mitchelmore, Paintings

Tacha Reed, Feltscapes

Elizabeth Robinson, Paintings

Sue Robinson, Paintings
Naomi Slater, Photography

Jim Tracey, Folk Art

Dora Warren Davis, Paintings

Bread Gallery
7778 Hwy #14
Brooklyn, Hants County

Call to Artists: Spring Group Show at the Bread Gallery

Now that production of the Arts Digest is in full swing, it is time to start pulling together for our next event; our second annual spring show at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn which will take place March 15th to April 28th.

Last year a dozen artists participated in our very successful inaugural event, so it was no surprise when we started receiving letters of interest from several members looking to take part this time around. A big welcome to newcomers Naomi Slater and Sylvia Fullerton. Naomi will be displaying examples of her photography and Sylvia will have a selection of her painted, reclaimed furniture. 

We are also very happy to have Sandra Aucoin back with more of her remarkable pastel portraits and Mary Lou Bennet with her gorgeous line of  jewellery. We are hoping to put together a very diverse show this year and we would love to have as many of our members participate as possible.


Here are the details:


* The cost is $20 per member to participate. This fee goes towards advertising costs, including an ad in the 2013 Arts Digest (15 000 copies distributed locally), an ad in The Grapevine (distributed throughout the Annapolis Valley) and posters distributed throughout Windsor and nearby communities. (Handbills will be provided by the Bread Gallery)

* Each member may display between 5-7 pieces depending on the size (5 larger pieces or 7 smaller pieces). We also have 3 shelves available for artists displaying smaller items like pottery or jewellery (one shelf per artist/artisan)
* Each artists is asked to provide a high resolution photograph of a piece that they plan to display. This image will be used for advertising purposes. Please email images to tacha.reed@gmail.com by February 20th.
* The Bread Gallery receives 35% of the sales, keep this in mind when pricing your work. A consignment contract will be provided.

Artwork may be dropped off at the Bread Gallery the weekend of March 9th & 10th during business hours; Saturday 8am - 5pm and Sunday 10am - 4pm.

Take-down will be the afternoon of April the 28th. Please contact us if you need to make alternate arrangements for drop off or pick-up.

An opening reception will be hosted by the Bread Gallery on Friday March 15th from 6-8pm


For those interested in taking part please contact Tacha before February 20th at tacha.reed@gmail.com  to book your spot!

2013 Arts Digest; Call to Artists, Artisans and Advertisers!

For 2013 the Hants County Arts Council is once again pairing up with our community paper “What’s Going On?” to promote artists, artisans and local businesses with the latest edition of our arts digest.

We were very pleased with the success of our 2012 publication, a compact folded 17”x22” newspaper style format, which allowed us to include not only a detailed catalogue of our members but also a labelled map of studio and gallery locations, samples of artwork, a HCAC Newsletter, a Calendar of Events and a list of other Nova Scotian Art Societies,  while leaving plenty of room for additional advertising.

This year’s edition of the HCAC Arts Digest will once again be delivered directly to 14, 000 homes in Hants County with an additional 1000 being distributed locally at art centres, studios, galleries, boutiques, small businesses, bed and breakfasts, tourist bureaus and the Stanfield Airport. Each member and advertiser will receive a sizable number of copies to distribute as they wish.  Additional copies will be also made available for those who are willing to distribute at their place of businesses and at craft and trade shows.

We are again seeking additional local artists, artisans, designers, musicians, galleries, studios and culture related business who want to be included or to advertise.  With such a broad reach, our digest is a very affordable way to show your support for our local arts community and at the same time promote your business.

Inclusion is free for HCAC members and $20 for non-members. Each listing includes your name, address, phone/email and website address. 

Also included is a space for a 40 word write-up to describe your artistic practice or business. The Hants County Arts Council is open to all and is not exclusive to artists residing in Hants County. 

If you know of someone who you think would benefit by becoming a member then please feel free to forward this information. Membership forms and details on the perks of being a member are available on our website hantscountyartscouncil.ca

Each member may include a l.75” x 1” full color logo or photograph of their work for an additional $15!

If you have an event planned for 2013 that you would like included in the Calendar of Events please send along all relevant information and we will include it at no extra cost. This is a great opportunity to help spread the word about your event, performance or festival.

You may also choose to increase your visibility by purchasing an advertisement. Please contact us for rates.

We are also putting a call out to artists for images to be included on the cover of the digest. If you are interested in having your work seen by 15,000 people, then please send two or three high-resolution photographs of your work to us for consideration at hcacartsdigest@gmail.com

Please mail any payments to Hants County Arts Council Box 905 Winsdor, NS, B0N 2T0 

Up to date contact information, biographies and any artwork, ads or event listings may be emailed to hcacartsdigest@gmail.com  

Deadline for inclusion is Monday February 11th.

Thank you,

Hants County Arts Council Board of Directors

Welcome Winter!

 As we welcome in winter, the HCAC looks back fondly on the year that has just passed. 

The fall is always busy time for us here at the HCAC as we put together our biggest group show of the year, the Harvest Festival of Art. This past October 14th-16th we once again took over the Vaughan Shand Centre in Windsor for a weekend of art appreciation. 

 

Dr Avery Vaughan receiving his "Hall of Fame" award

Twenty of our members displayed over 150 unique art pieces and we were pleased that several members were able to provide artist demonstrations throughout the event. 

This year's event was very well attended thanks to the crowds from the Pumpkin Festival and sales were at an all time high, leaving everyone who participated eagerly anticipating next years event!
 

Even though today is just the first day of winter we are already looking ahead to the spring and our next group show. This will be a more intimate affair, taking place at the Bread Gallery in Brooklyn next March. 

If you are a member who has yet to participate in a group show, but would like to, then please contact us and reserve your space. There is limited space for this particular showcase so I encourage you to act quickly to ensure inclusion.
Another big project that will be taking up our time over the next few months is the publication of our 2013 Arts Digest. Inclusion in the digest is free for all members and includes a 40 word biography. With 15 000 copies printed, 14 000 of which are delivered directly to homes in Hants County, the Arts Digests has proven itself to be a very valuable promotional tool. 

Additional advertising space is also available at very a reasonable price allowing you to increase the visibility of your work and show your support of the arts and culture of our local community. Look for full details on our next edition of the Arts Digest coming this January.

 

With the holidays now here, we at the HCAC wish you all a lovely season filled with warmth, comfort and good cheer and we look forward to your continuing support in 2013!

Call to Artists: Harvest Festival of Art

We are thrilled to announce that this year's Harvest Festival of Art will once again be held in the upper level of the Vaughan Shand Centre, 69 Cedar Street in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

Last year we fell in love with the space with it’s high ceilings, natural light and weathered brick walls and wooden beams. Together these elements proved to be the perfect compliment to the work of our 20 presenting artists, creating a comfortable and  authentic gallery experience for all of  those in attendance.

This year’s event is our first to coincide with the Pumpkin Festival and in particular the Pumpkin Regatta. We are confident that by paring our event with this popular festival our attendance numbers are sure to reach an all time high.

With this in mind our Harvest Festival of Art committee is working diligently to ensure that as many local artistic genres as possible are represented including painters, sculptors, print makers, photographers, carvers, weavers, hookers and other various crafters, musicians and performers. 
   


Artist Jaki Durocher providing a
demonstration at last year's event

In an attempt to grow the festival we are inviting members to provide demonstrations, performances and/or workshops throughout the weekend portion of the event. In return, you will have your entry fee for the show refunded(*). Please contact Tacha (tacha.reed@gmail.com) if you have a particular idea and are interested in sharing and promoting your talents. We currently have 12 three-hour spots available; three each on Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon.

We are also looking for volunteers to be on hand throughout the weekend to greet patrons and answer general questions.

Exhibiting artists must be members of the HCAC; memberships may be purchased at the time of entry at a cost of $15.00.

The entry fee is $45.00, payable to the Hants County Arts Council and each participating member may show up to 8 pieces. If you would like to display more pieces (or less) you can do so at $10 per piece.  For example, if you would like to show 12 pieces the cost would be $95, if you just wanted to show 2 pieces the cost would be $20.

Since this is a fundraising event for the Hants County Arts Council a commission of 25% will be deducted from the retail price of the works for sale - please keep this in mind when pricing your work.

If you have any questions our would like to volunteer your time please contact us at hcacfestivalofart@gmail.com

We look forward to having your support as we celebrate our local creative talents!

　
Artist registration and drop-off is Thursday October 11th from 4pm-7pm

Show opens Friday October 12th at 7pm and runs Saturday & Sunday from 10am - 5pm

Artist pick-up is Sunday October 14th from 5pm-7pm

Deadline for entry is September 1st  2012.

* the fine print: entry fees are to be paid in advance. Fee for artists volunteering their time to provide demonstrations, performances and/or workshops to be refunded at the rate of $45 per 3 hour demonstration, performance and/or workshop completed.

$15 membership fee is non-refundable and must be paid in advance of the festival.

Save the date!

Greeting fellow artists and members of the HCAC!

There are many wonderful art related events happening over the next few months and we wanted to make sure that you were all aware.


First on our list is the Avondale Art Fair held on June 16th in Newport Landing. As you all know the HCAC will have a booth at this event and will be displaying a limited amount of work from our members.


If any one would like to have their business cards or any other promotional material on display during the event, then please drop off said material by Friday June 15th to Tacha Reed at Flying Cloud Boutique, 6075 Highway #1 in Ellershouse.



For more info on the Avondale Art Fair please visit: www.avondaleartfair.com








The Method in Selma

The next item of interest on our list is a Fine Art and Craft Workshop led by the department of Communities, Culture and Heritage, scheduled for June 28. The location is ‘The Method’ which is a repurposed church that is now offered to the community as a space to host and hold events. The address is: 8096 Hwy 215, Selma Nova Scotia.





Overall the workshop will present on program development and resources and product trends and areas of market development for producers in the region.

Is has been suggested for participants to bring samples of their work, portfolios, packaging, promotional materials, price lists, etc. for a table top trade show. That way, during the break, and lunch, presenters can take a look and give suggestions and specific answers to questions.

There will be 5 presenters:

Bernard Burton
Executive Director, Craft Alliance
President, Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council

Susan Hanrahan
Executive Director, Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council

Peter Kirby
NS Communities, Culture, & Heritage

Karen Williams
NS Communities, Culture and Heritage

Jennifer Dunbar
Nova Scotia Business Inc

There will be refreshments and lunch provided. The registration fee for this workshop is $15 which can be paid during registration in the morning.

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to contact  Katherine Wadden at the Hants RDA: kwadden@hantscounty.com

Anyone interested in carpooling can contact Tacha at tacha.reed@gmail.com





The next item on our list is a workshop and demonstration by Andrea Warren of Golden Paints being held July 14th at Flying Cloud Boutique from 12-2pm.

Andrea Warren is a painter and mixed media artist based out of Ottawa, Ontario, and is a Working Artist for Golden Artist Colors, a professional quality acrylic paint company based out of New Berlin, New York.    She has shown her work in BC's lower mainland and the nation's capital, and has given lectures and hands-on workshops on acrylic materials and technique for university and college art programs and art associations across Central and Eastern Canada. She is also an instructor with Artswell, an Ottawa-based charity which provides community therapeutic art programs. Andrea studied visual art and philosophy at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, and trained with Golden Artist Colors Greenville, South Carolina and upstate New York.  Andrea lives in Ottawa with her husband Andy, a fellow painter, and their chubby kitty Howard.  



Calooh Callay
by Andrea Warren

The Golden lecture demo is a free, information-packed two hour presentation that gives an overview of Golden products and acrylics in general - we  will be looking at the different kinds of paint, pigments, gels and mediums, pastes, varnishing, the new OPEN acrylics and Digital Mixed Media line, etc.  

Andrea will hand around wet and dry samples, and each attendee goes home with a product literature pack and a little goodie bag of samples. 

A sandwich lunch will be provided by the HCAC. Please contact Tacha ahead of time to reserve a space tacha.reed@gmail.com








We hope to see you all out enjoying all of these wonderful events this summer!

Until then, happy creating!







Bread Gallery Group Show: Our Artists!

For those of you who still haven't made it to the Bread Gallery to check out the Hants County Arts Council's most recent group show, you still have until April 25 to catch a glimspe of some of the lovely pieces our members have to offer!

June Brown was born and raised in the north of England. She and her husband immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada in 1975. Since that time they have lived from the west to the east coast of Canada, and in 2002 they returned to live in the beautiful Annapolis Valley.

June has been painting watercolours for approximately twelve years. June loves the breadth of creativity watercolour painting offers: from the most subtle and delicate work to the  most dramatic and vibrant of expression.

Dora Warren Davis was born and raised in St. John’s, NL and currently resides near Windsor, NS. Painting in acrylics, oils and watercolour, she is particularly fond of the vibrant colours seen in the row houses, dories and landscapes of NL and NS.Over a number of years Dora has studied with several well-established artists, both in Nova Scotia and in the USA.

Carlos Da Rosa notes the scenic beauty of Nova Scotia, particularly
the red cliffs of Blomidon and the tides of the Minas Basin, as sources of inspiration for his paintings.  Excursions to Europe and Italy have also served as inspiration, evident in his various bold and colourful tributes to Tuscany. Recently he has begun to explore the nude figure through his paintings.

Terrie Greencorn works in oil, acrylic and watercolour, specializing in mixed media designs that incorporate sculptural texture. She works in both the Fine and Decorative Art fields with subjects researched then reinvented with brush and paint.

Andrea Hardy is a mixed media artist combining drawing and painting with a strong use of ink and colour, intending to engage the eye and ask a question.

G.A. Jank's work incorporates iron, stone and sometimes crystal. Each piece carries a message about the mechanics and the power of nature,
where humanity must live in harmony with the things around them. Much of the metal in his work is reclaimed, found strewn about the shores of the Bay of Fundy.

Carol Morrison was born in Leeds, England and immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to work at the Halifax Laboratory of the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans as a research scientist. In 1997 she attended NSCAD in order to take her passion for painting to a more professional
level. Her interest in investigating the natural world around her, which led her to a career as a biologist, has also led to paintings of landscapes, still life and portraits.

Sharon Ogilvie paints in oils & acrylics with preference in land and seascapes. She is currently exploring still life and semi-abstract arts. Sharon is also a songwriter, vocalist, and bassist who is planning to study art therapy as a future passion.

Tacha Reed is devoted to up-cycling in all its infinite forms. This desire to make what was old new again led to her creation of a line of felted critters and 3-D wall hangings crafted from natural and re-purposed materials. Tacha is also the owner of Flying Cloud Boutique, a Nova Scotian Art and Artisan shop on wheels located in
Ellershouse, Nova Scotia.

Sue Robinson is an artist working in oils, watercolours, coloured pencils and acrylics. Born and educated in Montreal and Switzerland, Sue lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia and continues to improve her art through classes in the Annapolis Valley, Lunenburg, Rhode Island and New York States.  Sue has been painting for over 20 years and enjoys the painting challenges of nature, flowers and maritime scenes.

Pauline Sullivan paints in acrylics in a variety of Subjects. She is a member of the LB Painters group of Windsor. They are a group of six ladies who have painted together on a weekly basis for nearly 20 years, under the mentorship of local artist Ken Spearing. Pauline donates paintings to many local charities including the Hants Community Hospital Auxiliary
Gala and the Rotary Auction.

Jim Tracey has been carving his figures since boyhood.  Now near
retirement, he has decided to offer his work to a larger audience and has found himself being asked to exhibit in more and more venues. From his front yard to markets, from commissions to exhibits, Jim is finding greater demand for his works.The subtle humor and political correctness of his work gives Jim an unending supply of fodder for his creations.