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|
| OLD
COURTHOUSE ART GALLERY |
The
Hampshire Council of Governments is pleased to offer exhibit space
to artists living and working in the greater Hampshire County Area.
The
Old Courthouse Gallery
99 Main Street, Northampton.
Open to the public: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, M-F.
Enter through courthouse security at 15 Gothic Street. (Pocket knives
and cameras are not allowed.)
Most
artists will be also participating in the city-wide gallery open
house, ArtsNightOut,
sponsored by the Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce. These open
houses are usually from 5 to 8 pm on the second Friday of the month.
Occasionally, the open house is scheduled for a different night
to avoid a conflict.
ATTENTION ARTISTS: The Council is currently scheduling
exhibits of two dimensional artwork. To learn more about having
your artwork featured in the gallery here: Art
Exhibition Application and Guidelines |
CURRENT INDOOR EXHIBIT - "DISTINCTIVE ART"
Brandon Avery, David Jackson, and Don Blanton
December
1 - 31, 2011
in First Floor Gallery - Old Courthouse
99 Main Street, Northampton, MA
About
Brandon Avery: I have been drawing my entire life, and
very rarely some painting. For the last three years, I have taken
art lessons from Don Blanton, a local artist in Springfield. A few
years prior, I took lessons at an art studio in Westfield, "A
Piece of My Art". A few years before that (first few years
taking art lessons), I went to another local artist, Denise Griffin
who is located in Southwick. My favorite mediums to work in are
graphite, charcoal, pastel, and prismacolor colored pencils.
Recently, I won an award in the "Congressional Art Competition".
There are entries all throughout the US and there is one high school
student chosen in each district of each of the 50 states. I was
chosen for the western MA area, and represented by Congressman Richard
Neal. Southwest Airlines paid for two roundtrip tickets to Washington
DC due to the winning entries being hung in the capitol building
for the next year.
Many things inspire me to draw what i do. I love animals and nature,
and i enjoy drawing all different species, especially African wildlife.
A lot of the time i will find interesting photos in wildlife books,
National Geographic, or the internet and get ideas from those. I
also get a lot of my inspiration from other artists, whether they
are local or big names it doesnt matter.
|
About
Don Blanton: Don, a freelance artist, sculptor, and poet
is a native of Richmond, Indiana. After completing his tour of duty
in Vietnam, he settled in Springfield, MA. He studied at the Merrick
School of Art and Drama, Los Angeles, CA, from 1974 to 1976. Upon
completion of his schooling he returned to Springfield, the location
of his current Distinctive Art Studio.
His
versatility is expressed through a variety of medium: painting,
sculpting, and designing WearAble Art … a very distinctive
hand-crafted jewelry. While his carving is done in wood, stone,
and other natural products, his WearAble Art encompasses a variety
of medium embellished with wire sculpture, featherstone, and precious
gems.
An important
part of Don’s agenda is teaching and sharing his versatility
with others by coordinating programs for private and public schools,
retirement communities, hospital environments, and youth enrichment
programs. He also offers private instruction to children and adults
in his studio. An active member of the Springfield Cultural Council
and the teaching faculty of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art
Museum, Don is very involved in the community.
Recently he
was invited to be guest speaker at the dedication of the Elizabeth
Freeman Center in the Berkshires, where his nationally shown sculpture
“The Auction Block” provided the background for the
renaming of this women’s crisis center in honor of Elizabeth
Freeman. Ms. Freeman, better known as Mum-Bett, was a slave who
successfully fought to win her freedom in a court of law back in
the early 1800’s.
Don has been
recognized by the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. for
his judging of the Congressional Arts Competition, a duty he will
assume again this coming year. |
CURRENT OUTDOOR EXHIBIT
JAMES KITCHEN
May 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012
Sculptures on Courthouse lawn.
99 Main Street, Northampton, MA
James
Kitchen has been welding scrap metal for the past eight years at
his home and studio in Chesterfield, Massachusetts. He continues
to gain recognition in the world of fine arts and is eager for the
day when he will be able to create his intriguing sculptures on
a full time basis. “See, I’m caught in a web,”
says Kitchen pointing to a metal web in a corner of his workshop
with a bug swinging from it. “Like the bug, I’m just
hanging, I just want to be an artist and have more time.”
In
his large workshop behind his house he spends his free time creating
sculptures and managing his display (menagerie?) of finished pieces.
Several years ago, rusted scraps of metals, and deserted antique
objects began piling up in his yard. “When he started,”
says his wife Karen, “and piles of metal started appearing
on the drive, it was ‘what’s this junk?’ And now
that I know what he can do, it’s like ‘oh, we have more
inventory.’” Kitchen has a powerful sense of creativity
and a nonstop drive, which turns those piles into incredible works
of art. “He certainly does it on a large scale and with a
lot of humor behind it,” says Heather Haskell the Director
of the Springfield Museum of Fine Art.
Kitchen
shows a great passion for his art. Working a full time job of 50-70
hours a week, he spends the remainder of his free time welding in
his unheated workshop, which will soon be converted into a studio
as well. His art stems from an enthusiasm for history and a devotion
to his local community. “I feel part historian and part archeologist,
creating new life,” says Kitchen.
All
of the metal in his sculptures come from local farms, antique stores,
auctions, and the occasional drive-by neighbor who leaves piles
of interesting objects in Kitchen’s driveway. “I like
the fact that it’s my town and community and their history.”
He has even rescued cutlery, tossed from a closed factory, from
the Mill River. “I’m rescuing this poor old piece,”
Kitchen says holding a piece of metal, “and enriching someone’s
life.” Kitchen uses nature to mature and nurture his sculptures
into the finest rust patina and does little else to alter the metal.
“I don’t try to reshape stuff, if it goes then it was
meant to be there,” he says.
Learn
More at Kitchen's Official
Website. |
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