BWA's Group Events
6th annual Fine Art and Craft Sale moves to Main Street
month of December
For the sixth year in a row, the art and crafts of Brattleboro-West Arts will make their way eastward for a downtown exhibit and sale. This year, the Brattleboro-West Arts Fine Art and Craft Sale will expand to the entire month of December as it moves to the River Gallery School's Gallery 34 at 34 Main St. in Brattleboro. And during a special weekend event Dec. 14 and 15, the sale will spill over to fill to the school's classroom space that adjoins the gallery. The event will offer works by 10 BWA member artists, with pieces ranging from paintings, photography and pastels to encaustics, pottery, woodworking and jewelry.
Atrium Hallway Gallery features new works
Ongoing
BRATTLEBORO: A new exhibit in the Brooks House, 130 Main St. opened July 6, spotlighting the artwork of three Brattleboro-West Arts members.
The show, titled New Passage, will feature paintings by Kay Curtis, Julia Eva Bacon and Cai Xi in the Atrium Hallway Gallery. The new works will be on view starting with Brattleboro’s July 6 Gallery Walk and through the summer.
The ongoing exhibit is at the invitation of fellow Brattleboro-West Arts members Petria Mitchell and Jim Giddings, who worked with the Brooks House management to create a venue in the hallway to showcase local artists. Read more.
Individual Members' Events
Unusual Threads exhibit by Sharon Myers
May 11 through June 23
Textile artist Sharon Myers will present an exhibit titled Unusual Threads May 11 through June 23 at the Southern Vermont Arts Center at 930 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive, Manchester, Vt. There will be an opening reception from 4 to 6 p.m. May 11.
Torch work glass with BWA member Marta Bernbaum
Book an experience with Marta though Airbnb and learn how to torch work glass rods into beads small sculptures and marbles.
Walter Slowinski a winner in ACW Second Acts
American Craft Week announced Walter Slowinski as a winner of its 2017 Second Acts contest, which was held to identify and honor exceptional artists who began their professional life in a career other than craft. The winners are profiled and their work can be seen in a special Second Acts digital exhibit. According to Slowinski, whose first career was as a physician, “My wife says I’m an artist who happens to be a doctor, not a doctor who happens to be interested in art."
Winners also will be featured in upcoming edition of Handmade Business.
Arts marketing articles spotlight BWA members
Three members of Brattleboro-West Arts are the subjects of recent and upcoming articles by Boston-area marketing professional and fine art photographer Cindy A. Stephens. Her May post titled How to Become a Successful Full-Time Fine Artist focuses on the work and career path of pastelist Lesley Heathcote. July's article, How to Sell Wearable Art Jewelry, is the result of a conversation with Chris Lann about the importance of face-to-face contact in building a customer base. In her August edition, Stephens wrote How to Make Teaching Art a Full Time Profession, which looks at textile artist Jackie Abrams's experience traveling the world to create her work and teach others to weave.
Jim Giddings rebuilds after studio fire
When painter Jim Giddings lost his studio and a lifetime of work to fire on Aug. 29, it sent a ripple of sympathy through the arts community of southern Vermont. That ripple grew into a wave of support, as dozens of his fellow artists lined up to donate their work for a benefit auction a month later to help him rebuild and get back to painting.
“The response is almost overwhelming. I’m really thankful to all the people who are doing the work to put this together, because I couldn’t even start to do it all myself,” Giddings in September. “It’s an amazing community of artists and broader community of people.”
The auction and other efforts raised more than $20,000, and as spring returns to southern Vermont, construction has begun on the new studio.