Autumn 2012 

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Member

NEWS & EVENTS

      
Artist Salon 
On Fri, Nov 30 at 7:30, the Guild will host its first Artist Salon. The Guild will be open for conversation and a chance to meet our Artists in Residence, Adelka Polak and Justin Perlman.  No reservations are necessary --  just show up.  Bring your own refreshments if you like.
Last Call 
Member Katherine Evans ...
Sat, Nov 3, 6-9pm 

Sun Nov 4, 2-4 pm Reception  

Living Room Gallery

170 Post Road West

Westport, CT 

Gallery Hours: Tues-Fri, 12-4pm and by Appointment 203.257.3799

Cindi Mullins, Merritt Parkway exhibit at Absolut Gallery, The Inn at Newtown
19 Main Street, Newtown, CT
(203) 270-1876
Artist's Reception: Nov 11, 2-4 Drinks, hors d'oeuvres, live music.  

  

Annual

APPEAL 

Our annual appeal for donations is coming up in November, so be sure to look for the envelope with "weaving artistic magic into the fabric of our community" on the front. Your donation to the Guild goes a long way toward helping keeping the doors open and the lights on, and everyone in Ridgefield benefits from your generosity. Thank you for your continued support!

  

Help

WANTED

Please email Guild Coordinator Joan Isaac at the Guild if you are interested in helping out with ANY of these fun opportunities rgoa@sbcglobal.net. 

 

Festive Home and exhibitions are the fundraising mainstays of the Guild, and  provide members and non-members important opportunities to put their work in front of audiences and jurors. You can make a real difference at the Guild by helping with ANY of these events.      

 

Volunteer Coordinator

For the past couple of years, the Guild has been growing a list of members who are willing to help out during the year for a variety of events.  We're looking for someone to continue building this vital Guild function.

 

Publicity Archiving

This is a short-term, small commitment that involves bringing our publicity files up to date.  Call Joan directly if you can come in to help with this project this month.

 

Festive Home

The Guild needs a small group of volunteers to unpack merchandise, move items to the galleries, paint and move some of our displays into place, etc.   Call immediately if you're interested! 

 

Juried Member Show

Need 2 co-chairs to run this show, which opens April 13 and closes May 12.  Board members are already working on identifying a juror.   Co-

chairs will manage receiving, organize the jurying day, opening and pick up of art work.  

 

Bedlam.  Looking for 2 co-chairs to run this show that opens August 23 and runs through September 11.  It is a hang-your-own "bedlam" free-

for-all that really is a lot of fun. There is an opening party, and co-chairs need to be in the galleries as members come through to put up their art work.

 

36th Annual Juried Show.  Need 2 co-chairs to help run next year's show. 

   

Satellite 

GALLERY
Featuring Guild artists at local businesses  
Sarah's Wine Bar  (20 West Lane, Ridgefield)
  • Rachel Volpone exhibiting paintings Nov 4 - Jan 27  Opening Reception:      Sun, Nov 4, 3-5pm at the restaurant.  For more info visit  bernardsridgefield.com or call 203-438-8282.  
Nature's Temptations
(32 Prospect St, Ridgefield) 
  • Marilyn Gordon's Chinese Brush Paintings.               Nov - Dec, 2012 
  • Paintings of Erin Nazzaro.              Nov - Dec, 2012          
Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce
(9 Bailey Ave, Ridgefield)
  • Mary Harold  Photographer
  • Antonio Muņoz
    Graphic Artist
    www.amunozdesign.net
Susi Laura Massage Therapy
(20 Prospect St, Ridgefield)
  • Dana Hilty    
    Abstract paintings   Artist's Reception:       Sat, Nov 17, 5-7pm          
Please contact Cindi Mullins at ckmu1@aol.com for more info on the Guild's Satellite Galleries.   

 

Guild

MEMBERSHIP

Not a member?  Please support the Guild by becoming a member today.  Thank you! 
Click here to join/renew. 

- Events Party & Rental

Thanks to our 

 SPONSORS 
 
- Capital Investment Marketing
 - Events
- Fairfield County Bank
- Nature's Temptations
- Ridgefield Magazine   
 
President's Letter

Dear Friends,  


It seems that Mother Nature is providing us with another October surprise in the form of Hurricane Sandy.  I hope you are safe and warm and taking all the weather news in stride. I very happy to report that the Guild had its power restored on Wednesday, October 31, and we are open for business! If you need a warm, well-lit space we will be here this week, busy preparing for the opening of Festive Home. On the evening of Friday, November 16, we open our doors for a great Preview Party from 6-8pm.  Please call the Guild if you have a few hours to help us in the next two weeks.  Due to the storm, we can really use the extra help. Since some of our deadlines have passed, if you have any consignments or art to drop off, please call the guild to make sure we are there.


In addition to Festive Home, the Guild has many opportunities to make your mark as an artist and as a volunteer, and I hope, as you read the newsletter, you will consider how you can join us -- for the Artist Salon, the Satellite Gallery or a class by Jock MacCrae and Laura McCormick. 


In this and coming editions of the newsletter, the Spotlight will be on the work of members who have made a huge difference at the Guild.  Cindi Mullins describes our Satellite Gallery and what she has done to revive the program.  And, as part of the Installation Committee and as Recording Secretary, she is a great example of a Guild member who has made her mark.  We all benefit from her careful work and dedication. Thanks, Cindi!


Cheers,

Mary Louise

 

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Festive Home: Color Your Holidays 


Twelve interior designers are planning their vignettes which promise to be eye-popping.  The galleries will be brimming with member art and wonderful items to purchase.  Plan your holiday shopping now around our Preview Party, November 16, 6-8pm, when admission is $10 to get first dibs on our treasures.  Festive Home officially opens on Saturday, November 17, 11-5pm.  We will be open every day 11-5pm but Mondays, and we will be closed Wednesday & Thursday, November 22 & 23.  Festive Home closes on Sunday, December 23, but don't wait until the last minute to visit!

  

Decorators have made their choices of art to display in their vignettes, and we thank all the members who submitted work for this. Artists who will be part of vignettes have been notified.  
Seated are designers Beth Rosenfield of Beth Rosenfield Design, Terri Reilly of TR Design and Lisa Bartro of LB Interiors, and standing, Christie Kinsman of The Little House Shoppe, Maggie Hudson Blau of Hudson Blau Designs, Carol Kurth of Carol Kurth Interiors with guild president and Festive Home committee chair, Mary Louise O'Connell. Missing from photo are Molly Hirsch of Molly Hirsch Interiors, Donna Von Holdt of Tables of Content, Andrea Anderson of Hazel & Sid, Margaret Wilson of Margaret Wilson & Company, Olley Court's Susan Buzaid and Robin Curnan and Gilded Nest's Jeanne Rowella and Lisa Casagrande

The Guild's Upstairs Gallery will feature small works (no larger than 16x20 inch framed) priced at $300 or less again this year.  Work must be properly wired for hanging.  We still can accommodate a few more artists, so please contact the Guild if you are interested in participating in Festive Home Upstairs.  We can only accept 1 small work per artist, and work will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis - so call the Guild at 203.438.8863 to reserve a spot.  Works must be delivered to the Guild on Fri, November 2.

 

Remember that the Festive Home commission rate of 50/50% applies for works in the upstairs gallery, so price your work accordingly.

 

Festive Home Canvases

The Guild is asking members to DONATE a small canvas on theme "Colors of Ridgefield" for display in the main galleries.  Please stop by the Guild to pick up a 9x12 inch or 12x12 inch square canvas.  This year, there is no stenciling.  We are accepting acrylic, watercolor, wax/encaustic, graphite/

charcoal, and collage/photos applied to canvas.  Please, no wet oil paint or 3-dimensional works this time!  The small canvases are a valuable resource for the Guild's fundraising efforts, and we really appreciate the time and creativity members put into these works.

 

Creative Canvas Workshop

On Sunday, November 4, from 12-4, come to the Guild for a Creative Canvas Workshop to create your donated art. The studio will be open; some materials will be available to share, and bring your own things, too. We will have a fun afternoon with drinks and cookies and make some art. No need to register-just come!  All canvases must be returned to the Guild no later than Friday, November 9.   

 

If you are consigning items for Festive Home, please download the inventory sheet from our web site so you can fill it out before you come in (and we do have paper copies at the Guild).  If you have not yet done so, please contact the Guild to let us know you are consigning goods. Drop off dates for consignments are Wed., Oct. 31 through Sun., Nov. 4, from 12-4pm. If you cannot come during our regular gallery hours, please contact the Guild to make arrangements.  We cannot accept any consigned items unless you contact the Guild prior to drop off.  

 

All merchandise must be securely and visibly price-tagged with your own inventory numbering on it, and RGA's inventory sheet must be filled out completely. The commission rate for consignments is 40/60%.

 

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Resolution 2013


Resolution isn't just a word for the effort we might make at the beginning of the year to lose weight or re-cycle more.  Resolution can also refer to a conflict, for example, within the artistic process, which has been brought to conclusion -- or not!  Our art-making presents us with many challenges, and this members-only show seeks art that reflects the ways the concept of resolution applies.

For more information, visit our website at rgoa.org.
 

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: 
Cindi Mullins 
 

Cindi Mullins, a local artist known for painting the Merritt Parkway as well as landscapes and still life, moved to Ridgefield 26 years ago.  She raised her three children while doing a slew of community volunteer activities as well as honing her artistic skills.  But it was not until seven years ago that she discovered the Ridgefield Guild of Artists down at the end of Halpin Lane, with it's newly remodeled gallery space.  Cindi submitted paintings for various shows, got to know some Guild members and then joined the Board in 2006 as secretary while volunteering in other capacities, too.
 
One of her volunteer activities was to revive and manage the Guild's Satellite Gallery Program.  A former member, Wayne Chou, had run it but when he moved, the program folded.  Seeing a need to get members' art out into the community, Cindi started it back up and now places member art in Ridgefield businesses like Nature's Temptations, Susi Laura Massage, Sarah's Wine Bar @ the West Lane Inn and Ink!  This has been a great venue for emerging and established artists as it provides an opportunity to get many eyes on the art, get more name recognition and make a sale.  Visit the Guild's Satellite Gallery.
 
Cindi has been secretary of the Board most of her seven years and for the past three has worked with Kim Hanna, the Guild's Creative Director, co-designing and installing the shows and exhibits.  Cindi really enjoys doing this, as the Guild's three white-walled rooms are a wonderful space to hang and view art.  As a team, Cindi and Kim enjoy the "puzzle" of making all the differing works come together to present a unified show meant to appeal to the viewer in different ways - certain aspects may be evocative, soothing, graceful, fun, colorful, challenging or just plain good looking.  She notes that getting each piece to sit well with others is key, as is the physical placement on the walls or floor.  Sculpture or three-dimensional art, can strengthen an exhibit by adding visual variation and contrast to the two-dimensional art. Some shows seem to be more difficult to design than others.  The Guild's last member show had over 100 pieces on the walls, but it all worked out well and people reported having great fun seeing all the work.
 
Cindi has greatly enjoyed volunteering at the Guild and mixing with other artists. She feels that this has brought her a lot of joy as well as opportunities for growth - personally, artistically and career-wise.

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Call for Volunteers
Contact Mary Louise O'Connell (mloconnell@sbcglobal.net) or Joan Isaac (rgoa@sbcglobal.net) at the Guild if you can lend a hand for any of the events and projects you read about here.  We need you!  Any two hours you can give the Guild is a huge help, whether you are helping at receiving, tagging items for sale for Festive Home or painting walls, so please help! 
 
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RIDGEFIELD GUILD OF ARTISTS is a regional and community-based art organization that promotes the visual arts and arts education by providing high quality gallery space for exhibitions, art classes for children and adults, opportunities for artist-in-residency programs, and art lectures on-site and in collaboration with other cultural organization.