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Now Showing at the Elusie Gallery
Astrid Sheckels Aug. 25 - Sept. 29
" To start at the beginning, my name is Astrid Sheckels. My parents named me Astrid, which is Old Nordic and means - the one filled with love - what a name to live up to. It is only by God's grace that I can live up to it, because it is indeed His love which fills me. "
Astrid Sheckels is a 2004 graduate from Greenfield Community College. She works out of her studio in Greenfield, in an old factory building with a beautiful view out over a waterfall on the Green River. The work shown in this exhibit includes recent still life oil paintings and watercolor landscapes from Western Massachusetts, Montana, Prince Edwards Island and Denmark, Astrid's country of origin.
Don't miss this outstanding show and come meet the Artist this Thursday August 30th, from 5 to 8 pm. at the Elusie Gallery: the only gallery, as Mo would surely not fail to mention, serving wine and beer in real glasses (in respect to the beverages and the environment)! |
Speaking of Mo:
she recently handed over the reigns of her very popular newsletter "The Art Newsletter Experiment" to Tom Hanus & Michael Crawford, better known locally as the creators of the monthly Arts Walk Easthampton. I would like to wish Michael and Tom the same success and quality that Mo has had, and personally THANK Meau for all the hard work and creativity she put week after week into this website, I mean newsletter. I for one will miss her dedication and her charmingly wacky sense of humor. If you are like me you can still read her on her blog benigngirl or hear her Wednesday mornings on Valley Free Radio (WXOJ-LP 103.3 FM) , but what you really HAVE to do is go see what Mo is really about and visit her exhibit "Domestic Reflections: The Sculptural Assemblage of Mo Ringey" at the Springfield Museum of Fine Art. And I mean: HAVE TO! Your perception of ironing boards and toasters and bar stools and fridges will never be the same again. |
The Elephants have gone home!
When Mary Colwell and her husband A.J. received this elaborate Thai Kalaga from their son as a wedding anniversary present, little did they know that it would take another 9 years until they could finally hang it up in their Northampton home.
A tapestry traditionally made in Burma and Thailand, a Kalaga is created by stretching a felt backing onto a frame. Next, cloth is cut in the shape of the figures that will be included in the design. The figures are decorated and then attached to the backing. The figures are raised by stuffing them with coton or a similar material, giving them a quilted quality. The last step in making the Kalaga is to fill in the background. Kalagas are famous for having backgrounds crafted in beautiful swirled patterns of silk, sequins and beads.
After waiting a couple of years before deciding what to do with this 55" x 32" artwork, Mary brought it to her regular frameshop who started working on it but soon after put it aside.
The Kalaga was still unframed seven years later when that framer closed its operation, sending Mary looking for a for a new one. We were very happy and honored that the owner and executive director of Snow Farm decided to give Eastmont a try. But also a bit worried, for that tapestry looked quite daunting!
Mary had fortunately a number of other items to frame, which allowed us to procrastinate a bit while still reassure her that she had made the right choice, before tackling "the elephants".
Working with the initial design and material, we started by stretching the artwork on heavy duty canvas stretchers, just like we would for an oil painting. The padded elephants featured in the center of the Kalaga being about 1 1/2" thick, we had to increase the depth of the initial frame by adding a stacker frame. The ensuing result looked quite boxy, so we decided to add another frame to it. We chose a molding with a scooped profile that "opened" up the frame and a design that complemented the intricacy of the artwork. A little black "fillet" was also inserted between the frames, to separate the 2 different molding patterns.
As is usually the case with shadowbox framing, the proper choice of glazing was also important, due to the increased reflection that the depth of the frame and the mostly black background created. We chose TruVue's Optium Museum acrylic glass. This glazing option has practically no reflection and has a 98% protection against UV rays (the picture above was taken with the museum glass on).
We completed, delivered and installed the Kalaga last Wednesday, which happened to be Mary and A.J.'s wedding anniversary, exactly 9 years after having received it! |
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The Eastmont Art Fund ~ UPDATE ~
We would like to thank all the groups and organizations that have requested information packages. We have started reviewing the applications and will announce the organization that will be the beneficiary of the next Art Fund Drive within the next 2 weeks.
Check out the press and your inbox. |
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| Eastmont's customers in the spotlight:
"Coastal Impressions, a retrospective show at 70" by Marjorie Tauer, at Cooley Dickinson Hospital's Locust Gallery, September
1 to 30.  and
"Getting Closer to Flora and Others...Images from Green World", scanography by Marty Klein, at the Apollo Grill, September 8th through October 2nd.
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Wow, you're still here! Once again thank you for reading and please forward this newsletter to whoever you think will be interested in getting some info about what's happening in and around Easthampton's Historic Town Hall.
Jean-Pierre Pasche Eastmont Custom Framing |
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