ARTISTREES Exhibit and Reception

What better way to start off the holiday season than with a party? We've got cookies and cider and champagne for nibbling and the shop is filled with decorations and delights for the eye to behold!

Join us this Sunday, November 13th from 1-4 for a reception celebrating the 2011 Artistrees Exhibit. The Artisans are busy creating lots of new pieces for the exhibit - like the cute owlet perched above by fiber artist Jean Henry. Add a new collectible ornament from jeweler Barbara Gilbert's series of Swarovski crystal icicle drops or Marilyn Fegan's limited edition glass globes handpainted with scenes of Cazenovia. Come be festive with us!

"For The Birds" exhibit - An Artist Challenge

American Craft Week is October 7-16 and that means big doings at the popular Cazenovia Artisans Gallery with an artists' reception from 2-5 pm on October 15. The public is invited to the free reception.

President Marilyn Fegan announced recently that some 25 local artists are expected to participate in the week long "Artist Challenge" For the Birds. This is an opportunity for all members of the coop to take a "flight of fancy" and produce art using the challenge theme as inspiration.

Visitors to the gallery will be "blown away" by a broad representation of the artisans' work. New pieces ranging from newly created paintings, fabric art, pottery, glass work, photography will be featured. Also, the work of two new artists will be on display for the first time in the gallery - watercolorist Ceil Pigula and fabric artist Wendy Edwards.

Please join us on Saturday, October 15 from 2-5 pm for what promises to be a real "tweet" time!

Tom Dwyer photo serves as artist inspiration

I just wanted to let everyone know about an exciting event for me. This coming weekend, June 17-19, the Crawl Space Gift Shoppe and Art Gallery, 5966 Rt. 281, Little York, NY, will host an "Artist Collaboration," a season opening show featuring the work of 12 Central New York artists. It's especially exciting to me because the whole show keys off of one of my images, Pine Creek Reflections (seen here), as the other artists exhibit work "inspired by my image." The Crawl Space welcomes back some 30 talented artists again this year and it's a bone fide thrill to have so many of them kicking the year off based on one of my images.

I hope some of my new friends at the Cazenovia Artisans will be able to take in the show and I'll be anxious to hear your impressions.

Artists will be on hand to discuss their individual work Friday from 5 to 8 pm; Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm; and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. The show will hang through the middle of July. I encourage anyone electing to visit after the opening weekend to check the Crawl Space website for current hours of operation beyond this weekend.

Sue Ellen Romanowski included in Stone Quarry Art Park Exhibit "Not Your Grandmother's Bedspread"

Cazenovia Artisan Sue Ellen Romanowski is one of several quilters chosen to exhibit her work at the Stone Quarry Art Park in Cazenovia, NY. Her 52"x 40"quilt is titled "Spiraling into Summer"
The exhibit titled "Not your Grandmother's Bedspread" opens June 12. Sue Ellen's quilt is one of 66 pieces on display and was chosen from among 144 entrants representing 10 countries and 19 states.
ArT-QuILT ExPERIENCE is presented in conjunction with Cazenovia College, The Art Quilt Experience (TAQE) group and Stone Quarry Art Park. The opening receptions will take place Sunday June 12 at the Art Park from 3:00- 5:00 pm and at Cazenovia College Reisman Hall Art Gallery from 4:30-6:30 pm. Both receptions are free and open to the public.

Holiday Ideas

If you are looking for some special items for your holiday decorations and gifts, check out the selections in our ArtisTrees collections.

Each year Marilyn Fegan creates a new design for her Cazenovia inspired ornaments. This year's design features local historic landmark Lorenzo, viewed from Cazenovia Lake. Add one to your collection of Cazenovia landmarks or choose one of her popular black and cream geometric designs.

Or bring a sweet whimsey to the season with a blessing angel by Lori Portka. Only a few are made each year, and this year they are quickly flying off to new homes. You can check out her other paintings, cards and prints available in the shop.

The cute factor is topping the charts with Heather Sackett's earthenware gingerbread ornaments and Joanne Gilbert's illustrated children cutouts. And there's always room on the tree for Barb Gilbert's and Peggy Van Arnam's crystal drops and snowflakes, Shauna Walsh-Watkins' glass globes or Paula Burke's porcelain snowmen. And there is so many more wonderful itmes to choose from.

Stop in, have a cookie and pick your favorite ornament to keep or share.

American Craft Week

Come and visit Cazenovia Artisans as we help celebrate American Craft Week from October 1 through 10. We are the only gallery representing Central New York in this first year of the celebration. Cazenovia Artisans is an artists’ cooperative, and this November we are proud to celebrate the start of our 9th year of showcasing fine arts and crafts and wonderful wearable art - all made locally. Stop by the gallery any time during the week and you just might find an artist demonstrating their craft. And whenever you visit, you will always find at least one of our artists ready to talk about what we love to do - art!

American Craft Week is a coast-to-coast celebration of handmade American crafts and the people who make them. The nation-wide festivities promise artful and fun answers to the question, “What is still made in America?” and feature more than 200 events where the public can meet artisans for whom crafting is a business.

Galleries, schools, museums, artists, guilds, and libraries across the country will be holding events showcasing American craft. American Craft Week is a project of the Craft Artists and Retailers for Tomorrow (http://www.craftonline.com/) and Craft in America (http://www.craftinamerica.org/). For more information on American Craft Week, and a complete listing of participants and events, please go to http://www.americancraftweek.com/.

Watch a glassblower or a cabinetmaker at work. Tour pottery studios or fine craft galleries. Art strolls, exhibitions, open houses, talks, craft demonstrations, trunk shows and festivals are scheduled in more than 40 states. The celebration will culminate with a national symposium, “Crafting a Nation,” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
“Now, more than ever, people are recognizing the enduring value of handmade craft,” says Diane Sulg, co-chair of American Craft Week. “Consider also the economic benefits of employing Americans to create and sell these beautiful, cherished items, and we can all support and celebrate American craft.”

A state-by-state list of American Craft Week activities and participating galleries can be found online at http://www.americancraftweek.com/ . Appealing to residents and tourists alike, these events feature contemporary and folk crafts in many mediums -- and many of the events are free.

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, craft industry leaders, scholars and enthusiasts will gather October 8-9 for “Crafting a Nation,” a national discussion about the roles of age-old craft in making a modern living, rebuilding America’s Main Streets and revitalizing the economy. The symposium is free and open to the public.

American Craft Week is a project of the Craft Retailers and Artists for Tomorrow (CRAFT) and Craft in America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of craft and the celebration of its impact on our nation’s cultural heritage.

Major sponsors of American Craft Week include the American Craft Council, AmericanStyle magazine, Americans for the Arts, ArtfulHome.com, Silver Dollar City, Ornament magazine, New York International Gift Fair, Society of North American Goldsmiths/Metalsmith magazine, National Association of Independent Artists, Sugarloaf Mountain Works and WholesaleCrafts.com.

“Crafting a Nation” is presented by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Americans for the Arts and Craft in America.

Dick English

It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of one of our beloved founding members, Richard English, on July 19.

Dick was an engineer for Carrier and after his retirement he pursued his great love of art. He was a well known water colorist and his work is dispersed around the world. A member of the Cazenovia Water Color Society, Central New York Water Color Society, Associated Artists and Rotary International, he still found time for his other love - sailing.

We miss him dearly.