Attention artists: Studio spaces available in Derby

Arts council to host life-model drawing session Wednesday

DERBY - The next life-model drawing session will be held from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at the Valley Center of the Arts, 119 Caroline St.

Cost is $9 for VAC members; $10 for non-members.

These informal sessions are held in a relaxed atmosphere. 

They are open to all level of artists ages 18 and over.

The sessions feature all mediums, free parking, and light refreshments are served.
             

As arts council President Rich DiCarlo said, "We supply the model and chairs...you supply your talent and your art supplies."

Space is still available.

RSVP to Rich at 203-906-4343 or at studiochid@sbcglobal.net.

Reminder: Meeting Tuesday

DERBY - The next Valley Arts Council meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday (April 9) at the Valley Center of the Arts, 119 Caroline St. 

All members are welcome.

Photographers are focus of new discipline

A note from Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo:

The Valley Arts Council is starting a Photographers Discipline!

This discipline will be run by photographers, for photographers!

In addition to the ability to show pictures regularly at the Gallery@37 and participate in the annual exhibits and shows with the other art mediums...

Photography will have exclusive "Photography Only" shows and exhibits, individual shows* exclusive contests, outings, and workshops are being planned.

Open to all levels of photographers: amateur and professional, digital or film.
Valley Arts Council membership is required ($25 annual).

If you or someone you know is a photographer or interested in photography, We welcome you to be a part of something new!

Please RSVP to info@valleyartscouncil.org.


* Individual shows are available at Gallery@37, Valley Center of the Arts, Gallerie Chartier, all in Derby, and Spector Furniture in Ansonia, as well as some venues to be announced. 
Hanging fees may be required for some venues. Contact e-mail above for more information/questions. 

Models sought for drawing sessions at Center

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN OUR 2013 LIFE MODEL DRAWING SESSIONS?  

THIS YEAR WE ARE USING BOTH NUDE AS WELL AS CLOTHED/COSTUMED MODELS

We need to know who is interested in advance, so we can plan accordingly

PLEASE CONTACT RICH AT:

studiochid@sbcglobal.net

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BEING A MODEL? 

WE PAY $40 PER SESSION: COSTUMED/CLOTHED

$60 PER SESSION FOR NUDE MODEL

studiochid@sbcglobal.net

• Informal Sessions held in a Relaxed Atmosphere • Open to all level Artists (18+) • All Mediums
• FREE Parking • Light Refreshments served • We supply the model and chairs...You supply your talent and your art supplies.

New sessions begin soon!
At The Valley Center of the Arts
119 Caroline Street, Derby, CT 06418

VAC members - $9
Non Members - $10

limited space please RSVP to Rich at:
(203) 906-4343
studiochid@sbcglobal.net

Wanted: Members, volunteers to help us move forward

A note from arts council prez Rich DiCarlo:

 "The Valley Arts Council is asking members and non members to join us, get involved in the organization and be a part of art in the Valley region!

"We need volunteers to raise awareness and funds in the corporate community. 

"We need help with grant writing, art class and program development and to basically get involved!

"It's 2013 - a new beginning and a great time to step forward, make new friends, etc.

"Our next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8 at The Valley Center of the Arts, 119 Caroline St., Derby. I hope to see you there."

A different perspective on art

Welcome to the inaugural post of Brush Strokes, featuring the work and the members of the Valley Arts Council in Derby, Ct.

Or as I like to call it, "The Little Arts Council That Could," with apologies to Watty Piper, author of the classic children's book, "The Little Engine That Could."

Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo and Vice President Steve DiRienzo work on a mural depicting the first bicycle ride in the United States. The council was asked to paint a mural at the second annual Pierre Lallement Festival of Bikes in Ansonia, Ct. Sunday. Lallement lived in Ansonia when he invented the pedal bicycle in 1865.

Although based in Derby, the arts council's reach goes far and wide throughout the Lower Naugatuck Valley towns of Ansonia, Seymour, Shelton, Oxford, Beacon Falls, and Naugatuck.

Here Rich chats with artist Floatin' Fred of New Haven, a Valley Arts Council member, as Joel De Scheen of Derby, left, helps Steve with some detail work on the mural.  

Rich says the arts council's goal is to recognize and promote artistic expression in all its traditional and sometimes not-so traditional forms.

Painters, sculptors, illustrators, stained-glass artists, jewelry makers, fiber artists, poets, and creative folks of every stripe are all invited to join the group and share their art.

Their work is exhibited at the Gallery@37, 37 Elizabeth St., in downtown Derby.

The council also operates the Valley Center of the Arts, 119 Caroline St., Derby, two blocks away. The center is located inside a former firehouse that dates back to the 1920s, and features a meeting room, lounge and offices on the first floor, and studio space rented to artists on the second floor.

Many of the artists will be on hand at the 15th annual Derby Day, a festival featuring food, crafts, children's activities, live music and more, that will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 16 in downtown Derby.

The festival is run by the city's Cultural Commission, and I've seen firsthand how hard they are working to make the event a success.



Stay tuned to this site for more info about our upcoming events and the artists who make them happen.

And thanks for visiting!