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