Hampshire Council of Governments

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.)

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

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.

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.

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.