Call to Artists: 16th Annual Great Little Art Show

The Avon River Heritage Society (ARHS) invites you once again to attend this year’s Great Little Art Show in Newport Landing.

 

For our 16th year, the flagship show at the ARHS will be entirely organized by the Hants County Arts Council. We are thrilled to expand our on-going relationship with one of our long-standing community partners fostering local art talent of all ages, right here at home.

The Great Little Art Show is a major attraction in the community and is a significant fundraiser for the Avon River Heritage Museum.

The opening is Friday, May 9th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with a wine and cheese reception and an introduction from guest speaker Brandt Eisner, the owner and director of one of the hottest galleries in HRM, Swoon Fine Art and Antiques, located in Hammonds Plains.

 

Viewing times throughout the weekend are:   

Saturday, May 10th        10 a.m.   -   5:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 11th          11 a.m.   -   3:00 p.m.

Artists are currently being accepted and you can register and pay securely online at http://www.avonriver.ca or by mailing in the attached form. Registration closes April 18th, 2014

 

On behalf of the Avon River Heritage Society and the Hants County Arts Council's Board of Directors and our dedicated team of volunteers, we look forward to seeing the artists of Hants County's latest creations!


Best regards,

Ken Greer,
ARHS President

Tacha Reed
HCAC President

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

Bread Gallery May & June Exhibit: Opening Friday May 18th

The most recent show at the Bread Gallery celebrates it's opening this Friday from 6-8 pm.


Running until June 24th, this show features work by a few members of Lushes with Brushes; including paintings by Pauline Sullivan, June Brown and Audrey Goucher Millet.


Also on display, the whimsical folk art carvings of Jim Tracey.

A Look Back at the 14th Annual Great Little Art Show

On Friday April 27th the Avon River Heritage Museum played host to the 14th Annual Great Little Art Show.  24 local artist's work was on display for this annual fundraiser. Here is a selection of images from opening night.

Patrons admiring a painting by Kelly Mitchelmore

Sculptures by Alison MacNeil

Sculpture by Carmen Dalrymple

Chief by Jim Tracey

Various works by Mira MacNeil, June Brown, Tacha Reed and Linda Barkhouse

Metal work by Al Simm

Pottery by Elspeth MacKenzie

Rug hooking by Rose Marie MacDonald

Various works by Greg Dickie

Boat Builders by Jim Tracey

14th Annual Great Little Art Show

Avon River Heritage Museum, 17 Belmont Road
Newport Landing, near Avondale, Hants County

Friday April 27- Sunday, April 29

For longer than a decade, this show has been an important means for promoting visual arts in Hants County.

Casually the organizers say it's "a great little show with a lot of great, local art!"

More officially, it is a venue for both professional and novice local artists to display and sell their work in a semi-formal environment. Each spring we look forward to seeing the work of participants and the blossoming of new talent.

"The Great Little Art Show is our most important fund raising event. Sales of the exhibits provide the Avon River Heritage Society with the needed capital it requires to keep our community museum operating from year to year."


The show will get under way with a wine and cheese reception on Friday, April 27 from 7pm to 9pm with a special guest speaker sculptor Alison MacNeil.

The show continues over the weekend with viewings at the following times:
• Saturday, April 28 10am – 5 pm
• Sunday, April 29 11am – 3pm

Admission: $7.00 for Friday night opening; $2.00 Saturday and Sunday; Children under 12, free.




For more information contact:
Andrew Fisher, 757-2787glas@avonriver.ca
General Museum enquiries, please call 757-1718 and leave a message
Or you can email: info@avonriver.ca

GREEN THUMBS UP! For Windsor's First Organic Community Garden

New Boundaries in Windsor is a non-profit organization that usually provides learning opportunities for mentally-challenged adults. Now they are opening the garden gates for everyone to participate in their current project and hoping public interest in their new community garden will grow.

Called the "No Boundaries Community Garden", Windsor and county residents are invited to take ownership of one of the 27 raised-bed allotments that will be available this spring on New Boundaries' property. Each space will have wooden boundaries to improve overall garden management, but the project name means there are no restrictions on who can participate. 

Working in conjunction with the West Hants / Uniacke Community Health Board, the group recently invited residents to a planning meeting to explain the project and gauge interest. Half of the spaces are now assigned and three additional spaces are being created specifically for New Boundaries to help improve the centre’s nutrition and local food delivery. 

Milbury says the idea stemmed from some of the Community Health Board members wanting to support a project that would yield a wide range of health and social benefits for participants. "Gardening is obviously a great way to support physical activity and produce cost-effective healthy, local food.  It helps people pay more attention to what they are eating,” says Milbury.

“Participants can share each other’s bounties and knowledge, and also have a great social activity where they are learning as they go.”

It’s also a great opportunity for those who usually engage in solo gardening at home to branch out. “If I am in the garden working by myself sometimes I feel alone and abandon it for some other activity to be with others,” says Milbury.

 
“You can enjoy tending to your garden while being social and reap all the benefits that go with that.”


Project Co-ordinator Jessica Moore adds some residents may not be able to afford to manage a garden alone, or have a brown thumb and want some mentoring to improve without having to fork over a lot of start up cash. “This is a perfect way for them to dig in,” she says.

Moore also hopes to see some school-age children participating in the project to help raise awareness of nutrition and physical 
activity for those children who may not have an interest in sports. “It’s also about helping to grow their confidence.  “Growing your own vegetables gives one an enormous sense of accomplishment that  
usually comes with the temptation to eat them.”

With a variety of ages participating, the opportunities to share traditional gardening methods rooted in Hants County also increase. “Historically local families are growers. They have a lot of farming and harvesting expertise in their families that would benefit future generations and promote local food security,” said Moore.

The community gardens will be organic, which means no use of any synthetic additive in a raised-bed soil in favour of organic 
fertilizers, leaf mould, compost and compost teas to feed the soil.  Non-pressure treated lumber will also be used to create the beds and a shed will be constructed to securely store garden tools.

And, yes, the project’s tart-up funding did originate from a Community Development Grant (SEED  funds)  provided by the community ealth board.  A group in Hantsport also got some funding from the board to help establish a community garden near Churchill House.  Milbury anticipates the funding will cover a third of the Windsor garden's expected costs so the Centre will be hoping for an influx of financial “green” to cover the rest.  The project committee will soon begin consulting with local landscaping companies and suppliers to assess resources and donations in kind. Members of the community are also encouraged to donate materials and garden tools they  no longer have a need for.

Contact Sandra Milbury, West Hants/Uniacke Health Board or Jessica Moore  at 798-2210 for more information.


Submitted by Heather Desveaux



Do you have a creative story to share about our local community? Reviews of art shows, plays or cultural events? If so please send your article and any photos along to hcacfestivalofart@gmail.com and we will help to spread the word!

The Smell of Art is in the Air!

Many of us artists and artisans are relieved by winters arrival because it means a break from the constant back and forth between production and sales. This time allows us a chance to relax and experiment again, taking us down new paths, creating brand new work. After several months of a slightly more relaxed schedule I know that I suddenly have the spring itch to get out there and show the world what I've been making during my hibernation.

This spring there are a lot of local great shows scheduled and many have application deadlines coming up quickly.

With only 1 day left to apply, interested young folks should get themselves in motion for a chance to take part in a Gifted Young Artist Retreat hosted by Ross Creek Centre for the Arts. The centre is inviting talented high school students to apply for a unique opportunity for young Nova Scotian artists to collaborate across the arts. Nova Scotia educators (including the Department of Education and the NS Teachers Union) will be holding a Summit on Gifted Education and Talent Development at Mount St. Vincent University on May 23–25. Ross Creek Centre for the Arts is inviting NS high school aged arts students to apply for a week-long experience to collaborate with their peers under professional guidance, culminating in a presentation at the Summit. This is an amazing opportunity for young creative individuals! If this sounds like a perfect fit for you, then quick, ask a teacher and and an artist for their endorsement so you can take advantage of this amazing experience! DEADLINE MARCH 9th

One event that has been creating a great deal of excitement locally is the Avondale Art Fair. This juried show will be accepting 100 artists for their one day outdoor event being held in pastoral Newport Landing, overlooking the Avon River and its spectacular tidal bore. On Saturday, June 16th this charming little village will burgeon into the best art fair venue around! The organizers are looking to showcase exceptional artwork that will include paintings, jewelry, pottery, glass, sculpture, fiber, leather, photography and more! DEADLINE MARCH 15th

Another event I'm personally really looking forward to is the 2nd Annual Art vs Craft, taking place in Halifax July 21st & 22nd at the Forum. This show is for the more quirky creative folks, like myself, who might be a little bit out there with our creations. Since this show is held in such a large space it has the ability to feature a wide variety of artists and there will definitely be an emphasis placed on including really unique creations. DEADLINE MARCH 23

Another wonderful local show, now in it's 14th year, is The Great Little Art Show. This 3 day show running April 27th-April 29th has proven itself an important means for promoting visual arts in West Hants, creating a venue for both professional and novice artists to display and sell their work in a semi-formal environment. Sales of the exhibits provide the Avon River Heritage Society with the needed capital it requires to keep the museum operating from year to year. DEADLINE APRIL 10th

So, those of you, like myself who have enjoyed a winter of creating - it is now time to photograph all that work and start applying so that you too can share your creations with everyone else this spring!

Good luck!

Submitted by Tacha Reed, originally posted on www.pistaciapages.blogspot.com

Local Artistic Opportunities on the Rise

Just in case you missed this article in the last issue of What's Going On? here it is again!

Local Artistic Opportunities on the Rise
BROOKLYN BAKERY TO Host 6-Week ART Show

by Heather Desveaux


It almost goes without saying that artists thrive on opportunities to create, so it is not surprising to learn they also encourage new ways to promote what they produce.  Art shows increase opportunities for artists to sell works but also motivate them to create more, according to the President of the Hants County Arts Council, Tacha Reed. "Regular shows give me access to other artists, who in turn provide me with inspiration and a sense of belonging. Both are essential ingredients to my creative process," she says.


Reed credits the annual Great Little Art Show, organized by artist Andrew Fisher, hosted by the Avon River Heritage Society and now in its 14th year, for providing a drawing board for the Arts Council to organize its own annual group show, Festival of Art, now held in October. Reed says the frequency of art shows is very important to artists in rural areas such as Hants County.  "In the city it is so easy to go out and make contact with other artists, and living here we are naturally limited to a handful of the art-related functions so the more of these functions we are able to participate in, the better." She adds, "I personally would love to have a hand in creating a constant space for artists to be able to come together to exchange ideas and create."


Reed isn't the only one. In recent memory,  the Utata Gallery and Inspire Art School, both artist-run facilities in Windsor, have unfortunately had to close their doors. It's left local artists feeling a little frustrated, but more determined to have a permanent home.  After Utata closed, HCAC members tried to find places that would "fit",  like the upper level of the Avon Spirit Museum during its summer season, the Fort Edward Gallery, and HCAC member Jaki Durocher's Inspire Art School, where the group held its meetings until it recently closed.


Enter Brooklyn business owner Joan McKenzie. McKenzie, a dairy farmer turned real estate contractor who sought to have a building for community-use when she was planning her bakery business.  Located in the former Brooklyn Home Hardware, the turn of the twentieth-century building she purchased features a unique space that needed to be used for something equally appropriate.



McKenzie aptly named her business the Bread Gallery.  "I've dabbled in artsy things, but I mostly come from a family of art collectors and admirers," says
McKenzie. "So I thought it would be neat to mix the two together and it seems to be working out so far," she said. 


McKenzie intended to start hosting art shows when she opened the bakery last May, but opted to not bite off more than she could chew. The Bread Gallery hosted its first small show in December with two local artists. A larger HCAC show featuring twelve members' works will open on March 9 and run until the last week of April. This way, participating artists can also be in the Great Little Art Show at the ARHS Museum in Newport Landing: a traditional, key fundraiser for the museum being held April 27-29.


Reed says the partnership with the Bread Gallery makes sense because
artists are also entrepreneurs. "Thanks to other local entrepreneurs, like Joan
opening the gallery, Kelly Mitchelmore hosting fundraising events like Paint Windsor, and Kathy Monroe planning the Avondale Art Fair, Hants County
artists now have several opportunities to show and sell their work locally," she says. "Over the last year the HCAC has received a great deal of support from the local community and many other arts and culture-based business have stepped forward to join as members."  Last year the group changed the venue for the Festival of Art to the historic Vaughan Shand Centre, another recently renovated historic building intending to promote its own unique blend of personal and community awareness.


With her 1950s Airstream housing her mobile art boutique currently
located in Ellershouse, Reed has her own plans to renovate her garage to an open studio where she will be joined by folk artist Jim Tracey when she re-opens in the spring.  "I can't take the Airstream everywhere so it would be nice if we didn't always have to travel such long distances to share our work with the public."  - §

Participating artists at The Bread Gallery are:

HCAC Group Show opening March 9th at The Bread Gallery

June Brown
Carlos DaRosa
Dora Davis
Terri Greencorn
Andrea Hardy
Gerald Jank
Carol Morrison
Sharon Olgilvie
Tacha Reed
Sue Robinson
Pauline Sullivan
Jim Tracey