Holiday Open House

Come join us for the Holiday Open House this weekend at Valley Artisans Market.  We are offering 20% discount on one item all weekend.  The train above was made by the wonderful Warren Stoker who has many, many beautiful items available for the children in our lives.  We are also having an invitational in the Small Gallery with paintings and other works of art done by local artists.

There are scarves for the ladies, beautiful gourd ornaments, nativity scenes, pillows, quilts and pottery and of course there is beautiful jewelry available too.  There are refreshments and a chance to win our annual gift basket.  Please come and join us.  See you there tomorrow!

"This Way Please"

This is only one of the beautiful pieces made by the very talented Caroline Serotta, who has a showing of Tin Movie Theater Fronts and Qualified Arrows in the Small Gallery at Valley Artisans Market.  Please join us for the opening reception of this talented artists work this afternoon, Saturday October 20th from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.  The show will be running until November 13th if you are not able to make it today.  Her work is whimsical and colorful and definitely worth a trip up to the market!

Diana Spencer Opening Today

Please join us today for the opening reception of Diana Spencer's beautiful work in the Small Gallery.  The opening is from 3:00 to 5:00, please come and meet Diana and see her beautiful art work.

Ian Creitz-Show at Bennington Museum

Ian is one of our newest members here at Valley Artisans Market.  He is a photographer and has such a mastery with light and innovation in his work.  He will be showing his photos at the Bennington Museum for the next six weeks as part of the regional artist program.  

There will be an opening reception today from 3-4:30 at the museum.  The admission is free today but there is a charge of $10 after today being as it is the museum.  We  at VAM wish him good luck with his show and we hope he has a great well attended opening reception.

He currently is showing smaller clip frame pieces and a beautiful large panoramic at Valley Artisans Market and we hope you will come in and see his work along with the work of other Valley Artisan Artists.Valley Artisans Market is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00AM to 5:00PM and Sunday from 11:00AM to 2:00PM.

The Very Talented Arleen Targan

Please join us for the opening of Monotypes by our very own Arleen Targan.  If you have been to Valley Artisans Market I am sure you have enjoyed her work.  The new exhibit is wonderful.  Please come and join us.  It is a wonderful opportunity to see what Arleen can do with a monoprint technique and an exhibit of work that she has not shown in VAM in quite some time.

 Arleen Targan
"Monotypes"  
June 22 - July 17
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 23  4 - 6
The Small Gallery

Welcome New Member Ariana Kolins

What do you make and how did you start creating your art?

I am a clay artist who makes sculptural, functional and sculptural/functional work.  I’ve been working with clay for over ½ my life, in Brooklyn, North Carolina, Maine, Tennessee, Northern Ireland, New Orleans, and most recently Portland Oregon- where I finished a post-baccalaureate in Ceramics from the Oregon College of Art and Craft.  Having just moved to Albany I’m continuing to make and learning about what this region of the world has to offer.

For most of my clay life I have worked with slabs, recently I fell in love with pinching, and I can’t get enough of it.    

If you could go back in time to the beginning stages of your venture, what advice would you give yourself?

I feel like I am still in the beginning stages of my venture.  And the advice I give myself daily is to believe in myself and everything takes lots of work and time, so be patient and go one step at a time. 

What inspires you?

Good conversation, good tea, an un-pinched ball of clay in my hands, the excitement of my last piece and the possibility it holds for the next. (…and a deadline.)

What makes your work different from other people who create items that are similar to yours or in your media?

Many potters make their pots using the wheel.  I have recently chosen to go back to the basics and perfect the first technique most people work with clay do, making a pinch pot. Pinching my pieces by hand, a slow meditative process, for me strengthens my connection to the piece, and strengthens my connection to the person using the pot. 

Where do you sell your work?

Currently VAM, local craft fairs, and within the next week or so, ETSY

How did you hear about VAM?

I heard about VAM from a new friend, encourager, and good resource (I just moved to the area a few months ago,) who said that there was interesting work, good people and a good organization.  So I decided to check it out, and here I am. 

More Beautiful Pieces from Cheryl and Cecily

 Please join us on Friday June 1, 2012 for the opening reception of  this beautiful show in our Small Gallery.  The reception runs from 6:00 pm to8:30 pm.

Both Cheryl Gutmaker and Cecily Callahan- Spaulding are members here at VAM and their beautiful works are available every day.  I have seen the show after it was put on display and it is just beautiful. 

 If you are not able to come to the opening, please come by in the weeks to follow to see this lovely work displayed. 

Valley Artisans Market is also sending out a call for artists to join our artist cooperative.  Please refer back to the Call For Artist's blog post which explains in detail our policies and jury details.  See you soon!

Glass and Paper, Cheryl Gutmaker and Cecily Callahan-Spaulding

Glass and Paper

Landscapes and History Books

Cheryl Gutmaker and Cecily Callahan – Spaulding

May 25 – June 19, 2012

Reception June 1, 2012 6:00 – 8:30 PM

Valley Artisans Market

25 E. Main Street

Cambridge, NY

      Landscapes have been a traditional art form for centuries. Recent developments in glass manufacturing have allowed a new type of landscape to be created by fusing glass. During the past two years, I have begun to explore the many possibilities available for use in the fused glass landscape.

      The work in this show reflects the beginnings of a major shift in the way I work with glass. I have moved more towards a painterly image rather than a purely functional approach. My landscapes are made totally from glass; there is no paint used in this process. The illusion of depth is produced through the careful layering of tiny bits of glass called frit, graduated size of components within the piece and multiple firing of successive layers of glass in the kiln. Using these techniques, I have endeavored to create the felling of beauty and joy that I experience when reflecting on walking in nature.

Cheryl Gutmaker

     

        Over the last forty years a rich and varied body of work has grown from craftsmen and artists creating traditional handmade books to new book forms of imagination and wonder. As an artist, I am fascinated by books and history.   My work is within the book as art tradition.  A variety of book forms have been the vessels over time that have given us a connection to our common past.  Information, stories, ideas, visions and mysteries have been transferred through language to make up a collective    body of thought that enriches and enables our modern life.  

     My work is a celebration of this connection.  Each piece is an expression of specific cultures, images, rituals and languages that are part of our collective memory.  They are a new take on what it is to be a history book.  The works communicate visions of our past through color, texture and a mix of old and new images.  Come see the show on a spring day and enjoy a creative history lesson like you have never seen before.

Cecily Callahan - Spaulding

DebraAnn Salat

DebraAnn Salat is a hand embroidery artist who has been with Valley Artisans Market since March of 2011.  DebraAnn learned how to hand embroider from her grandmother when she was just a child.  Hand embroidery has been a constant in her life since that time.  She starts with a simple drawing and lets her embroidery needles do the work from there.  That makes all of her pieces one of kind as she follows where ever the needle leads her. 

DebraAnn loves to use variations of color and she has said that her favorite projects are made of tangled up threads where she picks just the right color and then decides where to place it in her work, random and planned at the same time.  She does many different types of hand embroidery, from primitive, to abstract to realism and her favorite stitch is the french knot and many of her pieces feature them.  Debra also writes her own blog: http://www.tanglestitch.blogspot.com. and sells her work on Etsy.

Just a Reminder

Hi All!  Just a reminder that the our own Carolyn Kibbe and her daughter Kate Torpey are still our featured artists in the small gallery.  The opening was a great success and it was a pleasure to meet Kate for the first time.  Some of Carolyn's work is from a trip last year to Mongolia.  It is a beautiful exhibit and well worth a trip to Cambridge.

Carolyn Kibbe & Kate Torpey

Just a reminder that  the very talented Valley Artisans Market member Carolyn Kibbe and her very talented daughter, Kate Torpey are the featured artists  in our small gallery show.  The opening reception is tomorrow, Saturday 28th between the hours of 3:00 to 5:00.  Please join us for this wonderful opening and see the other beautiful works of art they have created.

Carolyn Kibbe and Kate Torpey in Small Gallery

 

What: "People, Places and Things," paintings by Carolyn Kibbe and Kate Torpey

When: Friday,April 27-Tuesday, May 22.

Where: Valley Artisans Market's Small Gallery, 25 East Main St. (Rte. 372), Cambridge NY 12816.

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 28, 3-5 p.m.

Figurative painters Carolyn Kibbe and Kate Torpey both work primarily with oil on canvas. For this exhibition, Kibbe's work will feature portraits from a recent overland trip through Mongolia. Torpey's paintings focus on family and neighbor portraits and local scenes. This is a mother-daughter show.

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Ken Evans - Artist Statement

I use a LATHE to HAND-CRAFT ITEMS OF WOOD.  It may seem strange to some to use the term HAND-CRAFT when using a machine, but the lathe is a very unique machine in that it is the only woodworking machine which "SPINS THE WOOD WHILE THE OPERATOR HOLDS THE CUTTING TOOL IN HAND.  ALL other woodworking machines spin a cutting tool while the operator holds the wood.  The lathe is unique in this regard.

My goal is not to TURN WOOD to produce functional objects.  MY goal is to create ITEMS OF WOOD for the enjoyment of those people who love wood and pursue the visual and tactile properties of that material. 

Often I am asked if the wood speaks to me?  Does the piece of wood  tell me what it wants to be?  I wish it did.  I wish it were that simple.  For me there is a constant search for a design followed by  a search for a piece of wood with which to faithfully render the design. 

The process I employ involves both art and craft.  The ART of the process involves the design and creativity  necessary to envision a particular piece.  The form must be conceived in the mind, refined in design true to the conception, and finally rendered to a design sketch.  Finally the craftsmanship of the lathe operator is applied to a carefully selected piece of wood to produce the envisioned piece.  The CRAFT of lathe turning is the ability of the lathe operator to precisely control the dynamics of holding a very sharp cutting tool against a rapidly spinning piece of wood while controlling the cutting process to produce a preconceived form.  This is the essence of woodturning.  This is the essence of my work.

There is a tension in the marriage of this art and this craft. The art conceives, while the craft strives to create, without compromise, true to the art.  This is not an easy marriage.  This marriage must be successful for the piece to survive.

I enjoy my work.  I love it!  I love the art process and the craft process.  It is a selfish process as it gives me great pleasure to produce a unique ITEM OF WOOD having visual and tactile qualities which may be enjoyed beyond my future by those who treasure wood.  The selfish nature of this process demands the ITEM please me.  If it does not, it cannot carry the signature

                                

Martha Starke

I have a passion for making things — stained glass windows, hand-carved ceramic tiles, jewelry, hand-bound books, quilts, dollhouse miniatures, letterboxes (google it!). I have every tool known to man for making art, from glue guns to glass grinders. Truly, I am happiest when I am creating.
The medium that stays with me, though, is handmade paper. I have been playing with pulp since 1992, creating greeting cards, paper sculptures, wedding invitations, place cards and favors, thank you notes and custom items. A few years ago, I began adding wildflower seeds to my pulp so that you can recycle my papers into your garden after use.
My papers go hand in hand with my love for botanicals. I grow them, press them and make whimsical figures out of them. You can find my original framed “Petal People” at Valley Artisans Market along with cards that feature digital prints of some of my favorite Petal People.
I am obsessed. I hope you will enjoy my obsession and feel the passion behind everything I make.
To see more of my items, please visit my online shop at http://PulpArt.Etsy.com

Happy Holiday

A Happy Holiday to one and all.  This is a brand new Easter design by Valley Artisan's member, Lise Winne. The design will be available as cards and gift tags at Valley Artisans Market. You can see much more of Lise's inspirational work at Valley Artisans Market.  She is a prolific artist and has designs for every special occassion and everyday sentiment.

Lise's inspiration for the design was not entirely because Easter is around the bend! About a month ago, she produced another design called "Bunny and Moon" (viewable through via her blog through this link: http://lisewinne.blogspot.com/2012/01/bunny-and-moon.html ). After she made the piece, she kept waking from dreams where a bunny was coming out from the brush to observe the moon. Lise doesn't know why she kept having these dreams, but she wondered if she was being made aware that rabbits are just another species, a brother/sister animal, who share the same planet that humans do and who also look at the same moon. Perhaps the Lagomorpha species think about the moon in the same way a toddler thinks about it.

There are certainly a lot of associations world wide between the Lagomorpha species and the moon. Figures of hares are often found at Chinese Moon Festivals. In western cultures during the middle ages they were often associated with the lunar cycle, femininity and longevity. In the Greco-Roman period they symbolised lust, romantic love and abundance.

This latest piece is a continuation of Lise's present fascination with the Lagomorpha species and the myths and symbolism around it.

Lise's website: http://www.LiseWinne.com

Lise's blog: http://lisewinne.blogspot.com

Jon Segan

Please come to the opening reception of Jon Segan's show of mixed media constructions this Saturday from 4-6 pm in the Small Gallery.  It will be a wonderful show so if you are not able to make it on Saturday please do stop in before April 24th to see Jon's work.
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In Honor of Spring

On such a beautiful sunny day, a little on the cool side a reminder of the beautiful flowers that will soon be peaking out from the ground.  What a lovely place Valley Artisans Market in the beautiful town of Cambridge is.

Today at the Co-op

Today I am working at the co-op here at Valley Artisans Market and I thought I would share some of the birds here at the co-op.  There are many more finely feathered friends to be seen and enjoyed so come over the visit and maybe bring home a pet.  A lovely little bird who will be oh so happy to be placed by a nice window or where ever you decide the best place for her to be.

Irene Berkson

Irene Berkson is one of our members here at  Valley Artisans Market, she takes discarded items and combines them into works of art.  She has a very unique style which makes her work very interesting.   She also does her part to save the environment by finding items that would otherwise be discarded  and adding them to her work.  She splits her time between Brooklyn and Vermont and should be back with us in Cambridge soon.  Her story can be found on this website http://www.vermontmossandstonegardens.com/irene.html.

Just a reminder that all of the artists at Valley Artisans Market have a unique and beautiful way of expressing themselves.  It is worth a trip to Valley Artisans Market to see each artist's personal vision because  there is something for everyone.  The ride to VAM is a lovely one.  Every day a different artist mans the shop so you will get to personally meet one of the artists.  And you will be inspired by all of the talented artists who have chosen and been chosen to be part of the coop.

Have a great day hope to see you soon at Valley Artisans Market.

Beautiful work available

Hi All!  First off apologies are in order as the blogger was ill and without a computer for a few days.  This is an extraordinary gourd doll house made by the very talented Chung Ah Park.  I picked this piece to show because Chung Ah's dollhouses are my favorite thing of all the favorite things I can find in the market.  They are just amazing.  They are furnished and have paintings on the walls and look like genuine homes except that they are located in a gourd.  I have absolutely no idea how she makes them but perhaps I can persuade her to share her secrets and some more doll houses later on.  She is also a very talented potter and I will share some of those pictures soon also.

I was at the market the other day and took so many pictures of the beautiful work available at Valley Artisans Market. I will be sharing them often so please check back every couple of days to see more beautiful work and to read more of our artist profiles.

MaryLou Strode

MaryLou Strode is one of our members here at Valley Artisans Market.  She is an incredibly gifted painter and if I could find a description for what MaryLou means to our coop outside of just her art I would be here all day.  She is one of the hearts and souls of the coop and her contributions are so vast I simply can't put it into words. I will just leave it at that.

“Summer Haze,” is the latest painting by Mary Lou Strode.  This rural landscape, seen through the lens of this longtime resident of Argyle in Washington County, epitomizes a summer day, probably in late afternoon, where the atmosphere has congealed somewhat making the distant hills partly obscured.  The yellow field in the foreground is newly mown and the remaining stubble has started to ripen.  More landscapes of the surrounding countryside and several of Acadia National Park in Maine can be viewed at Valley Artisans Market where Ms. Strode exclusively shows her  work.

Just a quick note the blog has been in the beginning stages of it's creation and there have been a few glitches. I think I have worked them out and the blog and the pictures of beautiful art will start coming much more frequently.  Have a great day and if you are in the area of Cambridge this weekend please stop on over and meet one of the artists as we all work there.

Warren Stoker - Valley Artisans Market Artist

Warren Stoker is a woodworker extraordinaire, he inspires everyone especially the child in all of us.  These are his words to describe his work process.  

 

Wood is an amazing material.  It allows me to create new toys and such every day which gives me both pleasure and fulfillment.  It is a wonderful thing to see children and their parents or grandparents live a new existence with a toy in their hands.  Wood trucks, cars, pull toys, trains, planes, and numerous other items makes smiles and a glint in the eyes of all who experience the tactile nature of wood.  All toys are finished with mineral oil and remain nontoxic.  Should any toy need repair, contact me at Valley Artisans Market and I will happily repair it at no cost.  Repairing, teaches me the ways improvements can be made. I look forward to making more smiles.

Warren Stoker