Festival of Art: Our Artists

Featuring the works of

Nova Scotian Artists

Karen Harvie

Cheryl Rutledge

David Howells

Carlos DaRosa

Sharol Ogilvie

Tacha Reed

Liz Robinson

Carol Morrison

Kelly Mitchelmore

Audrey Goucher-Millet

Dora Warren Davis

Terrie Greencorn

Gerald Jank

Al Simm

Avery Vaughan

Jim Tracey

June Brown

Jaki Durocher

Pauline Sulivan

Kristie Sheehy

There are still a few remaining spots open for interested Artists, Artisans, Independent studios, galleries, businesses and not-for-profit organizations wanting to participate in this Culture Days event. For more information please contact us at hcacfestivalofart@gmail.com or visit www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca

5th Annual Festival of Art

The board of directors for the Hants County Arts Council is thrilled to announce that this year's Festival of Art will be held in the soon to be opening Vaughn Shand Centre.


Known locally as the former Hawboldt's Furniture store, this site is a blank canvas just screaming to be brought to life with local art and culture!


The high ceilings and natural light combined with the rustic wood and brick walls create a cozy atmosphere perfect for experiencing great art. The speckling of the various nooks and crannies throughout have our planners just itching in anticipation to get started on decorating this space with art!


This year's Festival of Art committee is working hard to create an all inclusive event, inviting artists in various mediums including painters, sculptors, print makers, photographers, carvers, musicians and performers - all coming together to help us celebrate the magnificent arts and culture of Nova Scotia, and in particular Hants County.




Applications are available on the website www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca and the deadline for entry is September 1^st 2011. 

The entry fee is $45.00, payable to the Hants County Arts Council. Since the space is much larger than our previous venue we are upping the total amount of entries per person to 8 and if you would like to display more pieces (or less) you can do so at $10 per piece.

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

Since this is a fundraising event for the Hants County Arts Council a commission of 25% will be deducted from the retail sale 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!

HCAC Summer Newsletter

Greetings fellow artist and art enthusiasts! Hopefully you are all enjoying these lovely days of summer.

Guest speaker Evan Maxwell and Vice President Andrew Harvie

There has been much going on lately with the HCAC these last few months. This past spring we began a series of speaker's nights, held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month in the Flying Officer's Mess of the Spitfire Pub.  

So far, Evan Maxwell has shared valuable tips on how to market your art, Laurie Dalton has told us about the work and holdings of the Acadia University Art Gallery, and Twila Robar DeCoste (juried and elected to the Society of Canadian Artists) shared many of her secrets for composition and design.

The series will continue this Fall.  We're still lining up speakers so stay tuned for announcements.  Besides being informative, the pub nights are a wonderful chance to share conversation and a cheerful glass in the company of interesting folk who share your passion for art.

In other news, this past June we applied for a grant from Heritage and Culture to fund the printing of an updated version of our Arts Digest. Over the next month we will be asking for your help with this publication.

If each of you could please reference the website www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca and make sure that your individual information is up to date and accurate. Please send any revisions or additions to  hcacartsdigest@gmail.com  by August 3oth.

Inclusion is free for members who renew for 2012, $20 for non-members. This provides you with a 1/8th page write-up, providing your contact information and a brief description of your art.

If you have an event planned for 2012 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.

You may also choose to increase your visibility by purchasing an advertisement. Rates are as follows:

• $45 1/8 pg. ad (1.75" H x 1.75 W)
• $75 1/4 pg. ad (1.75" H x 3.5" W)
• $150 1/2 pg. ad (3.75" H x 3.5" W)
• $300 Full pg. ad (8" H x 3.5" W)

We will be following up with courtesy phone calls in August for those of you who may not be as active with emails.

Another big project we are getting ready to start planning is the 5^th annual Festival of Art, which will be held September 30 – October 2^nd. This event will coincide with our participation in Culture Days, a national event www.culturedays.ca

Guests enjoying the 4th Annual Festival of Art

We are still negotiating the location and are considering moving the festivities from the canoe club to the former Hawboldt’s building. We will keep you updated on the venue as we progress.

Applications are available on the website www.hantscountyartscouncil.ca and the deadline for entry is September 1^st 2011. Late entries will not be accepted. 

The entry fee is $45.00, payable to the Hants County Arts Council. Exhibiting artists must be members of the HCAC; memberships may be purchased at the time of entry at a cost of $15.00. Payment is to accompany the entry form. Please email entry forms to hcacfestivalofart@gmail.com 

Artists are permitted up to 5 pieces each, space permitting. Artists’ work may be displayed for sale or not for sale. A commission of 25% will be deducted from the retail sale price of works for sale. The commission is payable to the HCAC.

Works accepted for the show can be in the following categories:

Painting, Illustration, Photography, Pottery, Sculpture, Textile, Glass, Stone

If you have something else in mind, please contact us. All art work must be originals, no reproductions. All work must be mounted and ready to hang.

Please supply a biography with your application; these will be on display during the show.

Art work is to be dropped off at the venue Thursday September 29^th between 10 am and 8pm.

*Insurance: We do not carry insurance to cover the value of your work. If this is a concern please contact your insurance agent to make arrangements.

Work must be removed following the festival on Sunday October 2^nd after 3pm and no later than 5pm. Artists will be paid for their sales by cheque no later than October 31^st, 2011.

If you would like more information on the Arts Digest or the Festival of Art then we welcome you to join us at our next meeting Wednesday July 27^th at 7pm at the Inspire Art School on Stannus Street in Windsor.

In the meanwhile have a great summer and happy creating!

Mark your Calendar!

The countdown to the next AGM is on and we whole-heartedly invite you to join us in shaping the next year for the Hants County Arts Council. Scheduled for Thursday April 28th at 7pm at Inspire Art School on Stannus Street, Windsor, just a few doors down from Pharmasave; we hope you will come out and offer your input and support.

One item up for discussion during the evening will be the planning of this year’s Festival of Art occurring in the fall during Culture Days. We will be putting a call out for volunteers to head the organization and execution of the event. With a little time and effort this year's festival could really be something special!

We are currently working on a grant application to produce an updated Arts Digest for 2012 and we are looking to assemble a team to aid in its production over the next few months. We will be looking for volunteers with talents in design, layout and marketing to help put together a publication people are really going to want to pick up and share.

There are several positions opening up on the board of directors such as President, Vice President, Membership and Secretary. We are also looking for someone to take on the role of composing our newsletter, as well we are planning to collectively define a few new specific roles; we invite you to step forward and share your particular skills and help contribute to the growth of our local Arts community.

Perhaps you’re a communication junkie and just can’t get enough of the ever-advancing social network – well then we’d love for you to join on perhaps as our Public Relations representative. Or maybe you have a great knack for documentary photography and would like to wear the hat of the HCAC resident paparazzo? Always fancied yourself a fair and honest Art critic? Dare to put pen to paper… or rather, finger to the key? Well if so – congratulations, we have a job for you reviewing local cultural events! Maybe you’re an amazing chef and would like to share your scrumptious goodies at openings… really the list could go on and on! So bring what you know and love and we’ll find a job for you!

In order for the HCAC to grow we need your support, realizing that the majority of our membership resides in Windsor and it’s nearby surrounding communities we recently relocated our monthly meeting site. As of March the Inspire Art School became our new home; hopefully making the meetings more accessible to members will encourage future participation.

Also relocating over the spring is our member’s gallery. We are very grateful to Jeff Redden and Home Furniture for the opportunity to share the work of our many talented artists, however the limited response from membership made us wonder if perhaps we should find a more suitable venue that is more directly focused towards the arts? This is a question that we hope will entice you to come out on the 28th and play a role in mapping out the rest of 2011 and 2012 for the Hants County Arts Council.

Just in case you can’t wait until the 28th to share your ideas on how you can give back to the local Arts community, well then we invite you to join us this evening for the first in a series of public lectures at the Spitfire Pub in Windsor. Tonight’s topic will be marketing your art with guest speaker Evan Maxwell http://www.evanmaxwell.ca/

As I see it, my purpose as an artist is a simple one: to take any ability I have been given and use it, and then share what I've gained with others. Art can open our eyes & ears and hopefully our hearts to the world around us. It provokes, stimulates, inspires; it's the child that stands and says, "Look at me, see what I can do!"    Evan Maxwell

Program:

6:30 - 7:00 Arrive at the Spitfire and make your way upstairs. A server will be on hand, or you may want to buy a beverage on your way in.

7:00 - 8:00 (give or take 15 minutes) - Evan Maxwell

8:00 - ?:00 Questions and discussion.

Hope to see you there!

April 2011 at the FEG: Ken Spearing

Roller Skates

The son of a cabinetmaker, Ken Spearing was born in Cambridge, Nova Scotia in 1944. 

Ken’s interest in Art started at the early age of six, however he went on to complete his formal education as a graduate chemical engineer while studying in Ontario.

  

Ken eventually returned to Nova Scotia where he opened Riverwind Gallery. 





In his historic studio located in Summerville, Ken is able to nourish his artistic instincts while he works on commissions, teaches art and offers various workshops. 

Ken has studied with many prominent artists throughout the years and attended several workshops.  Known locally for his detailed murals Ken has also participated in numerous group and solo shows during his artistic career, building an international reputation as a fine artist.

Ken at work on a mural for the Credit Union in Windsor, NS

“Find the true beauty, not in my work, but in nature’s creations that inspire me to portray them.”

This painter’s passion is the portrayal of rural scenes, of particular interest is the forgotten past of Nova Scotia agriculture and the detailed depiction of the rural textures.  

For more on Ken and his artistic practices please visit kenspearing.com

Coming Soon to the FEG: April 2011

March 2011 at the FEG: Carlos Da Rosa

Tree at Blomidon Cliffs

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.

 

Recent trips to Europe and Italy have also served as inspiration, evident in his various bold and colourful tributes to Tuscany.

 

“To my eye, the most important aspect of every creation is the sense of light, especially at different times of the day and seasons. The acrylic medium on larger canvasses allows me to express these subtleties in landscapes as well as exploring human form (nudes).”

 

Tuscan Hills

Carlos has had the good fortune to distribute his work through the former Utata Gallery in Windsor NS as well as the "Art Sales and Rental” Gallery located at the Art Gallery of NS. He regularly participates in the "Great Little Art Show" held each year at Newport Landing, Hants County Arts Council’s annual “Festival of Art” in Windsor and this is his second time showing at the Fort Edward Gallery.

 

Carlos and his wife now call Falmouth, Nova Scotia their home after relocating from Ontario in 2001.