Call to artists: Oxford arts commission slates showcase

OXFORD - The Oxford Cultural Arts Commission has announced The 2013 Gallery of Art Showcase to be held May 24-26.

There will be music, theater, and art demonstrations, art gallery tours and art instruction for children and adults This is a family-oriented, fun event.

A Meet the Artist Reception & Silent Auction will be held from 6-9 p.m. May 24 in the meeting room at Oxford Town Hall, 486 Oxford Road.

Showcase hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 25-26. More than $1,000 in prizes will be distributed.

Those interested in entering works for jury consideration should complete the Gallery of Art Artist Entry Form on our Web Site www.oxfordculturalarts.org.
 
Or download the forms and send entries on a disk with entry form and check made out to Oxford Cultural Arts Commission, P.O. Box 532, Oxford, 06478 no later than April 26.

Jury fees are non-refundable and are payable via check or PayPal.
  

Note: This is a re-post from the New Haven Register's View from the Valley blog.

Artist to teach adult ed course at Valley center

DERBY - Valley Arts Council Vice President Steve DiRienzo of Derby will teach a Beginner's Illustration Workshop starting Feb. 28 at The Valley Center of the Arts, 119 Caroline St.

The workshop is part of the enrichment courses offered by Valley Regional Adult Education.

The six-session course will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursdays.
Cost is $70.
 
Course description: "Learn basic illustration techniques and how they apply across several mediums. A fun and interesting workshop for budding artists who are just discovering their talents, as well as those serious about honing their skills for a career in the arts."


Register at: www.vrae.org using a MasterCard or Visa or by mail: VRAE-Enrichment, 415 Howe Ave., Shelton, CT 06484, or at 203-924-6651 using a MasterCard or Visa.

Valley Center of the Arts to host wine course

DERBY - Valley Regional Adult Education will hold "Wines of Italy" enrichment classes starting Feb. 25 at the Valley Arts Council's Valley Center of the Arts, 119 Caroline St.

Cost is $94; $60 materials fee is due the first night. Bring a wine glass.

The seven-session course begins Monday. Hours are 7-8:30 p.m. 

Register at www.vrae.org, with a MasterCard or Visa, by mail at VRAE-Enrichment, 415 Howe Ave.,  Shelton, CT. 06484, or by calling 203-924-6651. 

For information about enrichment courses visit http://www.vrae.org/

 

 

Note: I'm re-posting this announcement from the New Haven Register's View from the Valley blog.

Opening reception highlights photographer, painter

DERBY - Chartier An Arts Venue was alive with art lovers Saturday night at an opening reception for photographer Carli Freeman, third from left, and portrait painter Kimberly Joy Sessa, fourth from left.  
Freeman lives in New Haven, and Sessa is a Greenwich resident.  
  

With them standing in front of one of Sessa's paintings are Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo, left, Russell Chartier, gallery owner, and Chartier's wife and gallery manager Jill Treadwell, next to Sessa.
Close to 100 people turned out to support the artists, Treadwell said.

Galerie Chartier is at 35 Elizabeth St., next door to the Valley Arts Council's Gallery@37. 

Stop in to the galleries soon! There is always new artwork being added. 

Galerie Chartier in Derby plans opening reception

Painter, photographer to be featured

DERBY - Chartier An Arts Venue is hosting a wine and cheese reception from 7-10 p.m. Saturday at Galerie Chartier, 35 Elizabeth St. 
The gallery is next door to the arts council's Gallery@37.

The opening reception is for featured artist, portrait painter Kimberly Joy Sessa.
 

"Raw II" by Kimberly Jo Sessa

The gallery is also presenting photographer Carli Freeman, who is exhibiting an evocative series of photographs, Me Without You. 

"You Smell Like Chaos" - photo by Carli Freeman

Freeman’s photography display also will include a visceral collection of 35mm and Epson prints.

Chartier An Arts Venue will also project more than 40 international video artists’ work on multiple screens and in the Gallery’s storefront windows during the opening reception.


Check out http://chartieranartsvenue.org/new-newsletter.html as international video artists are added daily.

Chartier An Arts Venue is a progressive and experimental media gallery and exhibition space displaying a wide array of contemporary and video art, music, and performances from regional and international artists.

The gallery, located in downtown Derby, aspires to attract New Haven's diverse artistic community and beyond drawing crowds for established artists while giving emerging artists a place to exhibit as well.

 
The above information is taken from a press release from Jill Treadwell, gallery manager.
 

* Note: This information was posted Tuesday on the New Haven Register's View from the Valley blog.  

Thoughts on snow and winter cold

  This is how the Green in Derby, Ct. looked this morning as the snow started to fall.



"In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan, 
Earth stood hard as iron, 
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, 
Snow on snow, 
In the bleak midwinter, 
Long ago."


- First verse of a poem by 19th-century English poet Christina Rossetti, "In the Bleak Midwinter."


* I stumbled across this quotation and thought it a fitting one for those of us who live in Connecticut as we await the brunt of a blizzard today.

Students sculpt, get caught up in clay

In after-school art program

Shannon Cobaugh, 10, of Derby, Ct. works on an armature for a sculpture of an ice skater.
She is one of nine students at St. Mary-St. Michael School in Derby learning about sculpting in an after-school art enrichment program.
The six-week course is being taught by Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo and Vice President Steve DiRienzo.
 

 

DiRienzo shows students how to work with clay to build on an armature and create a sculpture.

DiCarlo supervises students' sculpting techniques.


For more on this program please check out my story in today's New Haven Register.

Thanks for reading!

Wanted: New members

 

Join the fun! 
Become a member of the Valley Arts Council and express your creative side. 



These photos were taken off a scrolling video at the Gallery@37, 37 Elizabeth St.,Derby, Ct.

You can learn more about us by visiting our gallery in downtown Derby. 
Or for information, call Rich DiCarlo, arts council president, 203-906-4343.

Arts council reaches out into community

Valley Arts Council Vice President Steve DiRienzo, left, and President Rich DiCarlo Thursday teach students at St. Mary-St. Michael School in Derby the process of creating armatures for sculpture.

Stay tuned for a story in the near future in the New Haven Register about the after-school program.