Devon Johnson, of Brockport, was among the GCC students on hand this afternoon for the opening of a new art show, "Illusions," in the Roz Steiner Art Gallery.
Her piece is a black and white photo of a friend in front of a mural in Rochester. She said she selected the piece because she liked the angle, the shadows, and the mural.
The show runs through May 12.
John Bruggman credits his dad’s past hobby for how the 21-year-old got involved in collecting and drawing — and now joining the ranks of being published for — the comics genre.
Bruggman just celebrated the debut of his first published book cover, Slumber #1, for Image Comics. It depicts a dark- and hollow-eyed woman holding a shotgun in a large doorway. He didn’t actually design the character, he said, but studied the sample pages, examples, and a brief description provided by the company. He submitted his version of lead character Stetson, which was chosen for the March cover release.
“I’ve always been interested in drawing, and in high school, I started taking it more seriously in my junior year. As a kid opening up my dad’s comics, this is like a dream come true to be published with this company. But also professionally, it's a confidence boost in a weird way," the Batavia native said during an interview with The Batavian. “ "When I first came to college I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find work or if my style would be popular with an audience. And it was a really nice confidence boost to see the praise from not only the company, but the people who bought it, and the orders that came in, and the support from the local area as well.”
The book is available at 3D Comics in Lancaster, Pressing Matters LLC in Buffalo, and through Bruggman’s website. It’s a freshly written comic with new characters and storylines. The premise features Stetson, a nightmare hunter and a dream detective.
From Image Comics:
"She runs a shoddy back-alley business where she helps clients sleep at night by entering their dreams and killing their nightmares. But Stetson’s past comes back to haunt her when she tracks down a literal living nightmare—a serial killer that murders people in their sleep. SLUMBER is an ongoing series from the twisted minds of writer Tyler Burton Smith (Kung Fury and Child’s Play), and rising-star artist Vanessa Cardinals.”
Bruggman remembers how his passion was ignited for classic comic books. The then-middle school student had been down in his family basement and discovered his dad’s filing cabinet full of old comics. The paper materials were kindling for his own desire to join in as a collector.
“It’s like our family thing that we do. My brother started doing it as well. So we got into comics that way,” John Bruggman said. “It’s mostly from the artists I’ve been influenced by who worked in comics, they kind of worked more in horror. I’ve also taken influence from several tattoo artists as well.”
Bruggman’s process for the cover submission was to select a few key details from the premise — in this case, a door, the woman and a shotgun — and began with a loosely based sketch of poses, he said. He then figured out which poses he liked and worked out a final compilation in black and white to get an idea of the light and shadow placement. He finished it by digitally painting the work in color.
A 2019 Batavia High School graduate, Bruggman is attending Daemen College pursuing a bachelors in illustration. His future goal is to be a freelancer working for Marvel and/or DC Comics. He’s into 1990s style comics, and likes “the diversity” of characters devised by individual artists. For example, Batman has been around since the 1930s, he said, and yet “no one has really drawn him the same.” He leans toward figures of horror with a punk, edgy influence.
His practice has been to nail down human anatomy, so often integral to comic book characters. Take a look at one of his favorites, Silver Surfer, depicting a well-chiseled body displaying many muscular poses. His work displays those fine-tuned details of muscles and curves, and he also appreciates the complexity of one’s limbs.
“Figure drawing has been a super big help, with live models. Hands and feet were the hard ones, because they’re so expressive,” he said. “We’re always progressing as artists and trying to be better.
“And I feel like my work, especially as I keep working, I've noticed a lot of improvement, even in this last year. My work has come a long way and I'm very excited to see where it goes moving forward.”
He has been influenced by such artists as Simon Bisley, Frank Frazetta, Bill Sienkiewicz and Glenn Fabry. He believes there has been “kind of a resurgence” in the comics market with exclusive and limited covers and special editions. Those items have drawn a wider pool of collectors, he said.
Drawing helps to relieve stress, he said, and is “a highlight of my day.” He hopes to work his way into a freelance status and sees this published book cover as just the beginning.
“I really want to promote that because I really do think this is going to go somewhere very special. And usually when it comes to artists’ first issues that they work on, are like drawings: they do become more valuable. And I could see this happening with this book,” he said. “And then just looking at the story, the book, it's very well-read and the writers worked on a lot of comics and movies that were more horror related and artwork on the interior. I didn't do it, but it's a very unique style, a little cartoony, a little loose, and it's a good read. And, I don't know, I love it.”
For more information, go to: johnbruggmanart.com
Top photo of John Bruggman's published book cover for Slumber #1, by Image Comics. Above, Bruggman works on a project at school. Photos courtesy of John Bruggman and Image Comics.
Take 8,000 posters from 130 countries and in 76 languages ranging from shockingly graphic, instructional and scary to tender and compassionate, and select a sampling for an exhibit. The late Edward C. Atwater, a former Batavia resident, physician and medical historian, donated the massive 30-year collection to the University of Rochester in 2007.
Donated to the University by Dr. Atwater in 2007 and housed in the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, the collection is one of the largest of its kind in the world, said Jessica Lacher-Feldman, whose related roles are co-editor of the book and curator of AIDS Education Posters Collection.
“I actually had a different role when I came, but I have literally been working on this project since I arrived. One of the first things that I did after coming here was going with our then dean to Ruth and Edward Atwater's home to meet them,” she said. “It’s actually very interesting, he was not an immunologist, he was not anybody who focused on HIV AIDS as a medical doctor. And what he discovered, in being a very curious-minded human being, led him in a lot of different directions.”
The collection became a six-plus years project as staff from the University of Rochester and Memorial Art Gallery chronicled it in a book and orchestrated an exhibit, Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster. Promising 165 of “the most visually arresting and thought-provoking posters,” it runs through June 19 at Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester and is the first major exhibition devoted to the University of Rochester’s vast collection of HIV/AIDS-related posters.
“The oldest poster is from 1982, which is really at the dawn of the crisis before, really before AIDS was really widely understood or named before the 1986 Surgeon General's report that actually spelled things out,” Lacher-Feldman said during an interview with The Batavian. “I work with the collection all the time, and I'm continuously amazed by the messages that are used in the posters and the different tactics that have been deployed in order to get that information out there. It really feels like a by-any-means-necessary thing.”
How it all began ...
Ever since she began at U of R in 2016, Lacher-Feldman, who holds many titles including rare books editor, and exhibits and special projects manager, has immersed herself into the posters, the project and the man who amassed a special history of the who, what and where of HIV and AIDS. Dr. Edward C. Atwater was a physician and medical historian as well as an avid collector of medical artifacts.
Those in the Atwater circle know the tale well of how he spotted the first collection piece while on a subway car; it was a poster promoting AIDS prevention. At a time when sex and conception weren’t even widely discussed in public, he was awestruck by how the topic was depicted on a wall hanging in such a public venue.
His interest grew from there, and Atwater scoured various sources, wrote to or visited health departments and related officials, and requested copies of their AIDS awareness materials. From 1991 to 2019, the year he died, Atwater’s collection went from one to 8,000 pieces. One of them is from Canada, done in several different languages, and others are from Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Lachman-Feldman had just been editing a poster translated into Moroccan, she said.
”And we've done a ton of really interesting projects with the classes, that you can actually talk with them in so many other different disciplines, including working with medical students or medical humanities classes, but also linguistics and foreign language, translation, anthropology … and graphic design,” she said. “It's amazing how incredibly multifaceted they are.”
Show organizers said that the posters inspire people to protect themselves, protect others, and change their own behaviors through a broad range of creative expression. The posters widely range in content, she said, from those geared toward night clubs and bars to others for prisons by instructing corrections officers how to search a prison cell and avoid contact with possible sharps. Spanning from 1982 to present day, the materials show how social, religious, civic, activist, and medical organizations have addressed this controversial subject in all ways, from mild to aggressive.
“Sometimes there is a need for shock value. But there's an intentionality in every single poster. They're demonstrating how to do something or not do something, or, you know, trying to evoke something emotional or sentimental or instructive, or whatever it happens to be,” Lacher-Feldman said. “And I think the biggest takeaway for me also is that hammering home the notion that it affects everyone, and it's often seen in the United States as a, quote, gay disease.”
“We've lost a lot of people, and a lot of incredibly talented people very, very young. There's a lot that's very treatable in the United States, and we're seeing a lot of progress in other parts of the world,” Lacher-Feldman said. “So it's important to know that and remember it, and that this is recent history.”
Some of the celebrities who died from AIDS and demonstrated that it attacks all social circles include Rock Hudson, Freddy Mercury, Arthur Ashe, Liberace, Gia Carangi, Perry Ellis, Halston and Eazy-E.
The doctor ...
Edward Congdon Atwater grew up in Batavia, attended Batavia Public Schools, followed by boarding school at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario. During World War II, he served in Europe as a combat infantryman in the Third Army, 101st Infantry. In 1950, the history major graduated from the University of Rochester. During his fifth year, he fulfilled the requirements for medical school, and in 1955, he received a medical doctorate from Harvard Medical School. He served as an intern, assistant resident, and chief resident in medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital. He eventually became an associate professor of medicine and of the history of medicine, teaching medical students and residents and practicing internal medicine, specializing in rheumatology. In the early 1970s, he had a sabbatical year at the Institute for the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins.
Atwater was author of a number of papers, both in clinical medicine and in the history of medicine, and belonged to several professional medical, historical, and community organizations. Locally, he served on the board of the Landmark Society, plus several other boards including the Friends of the University of Rochester Libraries, the Rochester Academy of Medicine, the Harvard Medical Alumni Association and the American Association of the History of Medicine.
The historian and collector ...
Lacher-Feldman met the Atwater couple and continued working with Dr. Atwater after Ruth died in 2017. Over time she grew to know him as so very “curious, smart and engaged."
“The last time I saw him, I went to palliative care at Strong, and he died within the next day, later that day, so I was very close to him and worked with him really closely. He would say that what he witnessed there was social history and a show of a major shift in the way that information about sexually transmitted diseases, and protection in a very intimate way, was being shared with the world. That crisis, that's what drew him to begin collecting these posters.”
She saw in him a deep commitment to document the issue, and how its prominence shifted, for posterity. And that's what he did, she said. Far from over, the collection will continue to grow and be used for educational purposes, she said. There are QR codes in the gallery for posters with “deep captions” from others sharing their own thoughts and stories. Once the exhibit reaches its deadline in June, the plan is to take it on the road to share with other locales.
“And the fact that we've actually digitized every single poster and made them available, searchable online, has made it really accessible. And that was something that Dr. Atwater wanted to make sure that we did. And we committed to doing that, as part of the agreement for accepting the gift,” she said. “So now, people all over the world can view them, compare them, think about and reflect on how the AIDS crisis has been addressed in different cultures and in different means, and how different messages resonate with different populations.”
Organized by New York-based curator and historian Donald Albrecht, Up Against the Wall will fill Memorial Art Gallery's 5,000- square-foot Docent Gallery and explore the messages and methods used to educate, inform, and provoke audiences worldwide, organizers said.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays and select Fridays. Admission is $20; $17 for senior citizens, $11 college students with ID and children 6 to 18; free to members, University of Rochester faculty/staff and students, children 5 and under.
For more information, call (585) 276-8900 or visit mag.rochester.edu
Photos/images from the University of Rochester
The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center is pleased to share in celebrating Arts Awareness Month in Genesee County! Our tourism website calendar currently features nearly 100 musical events, artisan workshops, exhibits, and more for you to enjoy! Whether you want to dig in and create something yourself, or be inspired by those who do, our community offers something for everyone! We invite you to join us in supporting our local arts community. Read our latest blog for more information!
Find a full list of locations and cultural events on our website!
Press Release:
Genesee Valley Conservancy is seeking 100 painters for this year’s Genesee Valley 100: Community Painting Project.
Painters will be given a 12x12 canvas upon which to create a piece inspired by the Genesee Valley landscape. The project aims, through art, to celebrate the diversity and importance of the
Genesee Valley landscape that the Conservancy works to protect. The subject and style of the painting is up to each individual artist. Paintings are due October 14 in preparation for the in-person and online show. Signups will be accepted until all slots are filled.In person signup and pickup of canvases is taking place in Perry at the Silver Lake Brewing Project, 14 Borden Ave., on Sunday February 6 from 1-3.p.m. After that, artists can visit the
Conservancy website for details on signing up and receiving their canvas. All paintings will be pulled together at the end of the year for a show at the Silver Lake Brewing Project in Perry where the paintings will create a mosaic that represents the diversity and beauty of the Genesee Valley. The works will also be online for viewing and purchase.There is a $10 fee to participate, but school classes are encouraged to reach out to Ben at the Conservancy to waive this fee as part of a class project. The Genesee Valley 100 is proudly underwritten by Steed Energy.
Press Release:
The TableTop ArtShow is a one-of-a-kind art show that runs yearly in the month of March. The show was conjured up during a brainstorming session involving Melissa Flint and Brian Kemp. The duo was talking it up about how to bring art to the people during the height of COVID when no shows were taking place. With Galleries being closed due to the pandemic, the duo came up with the idea of placing the show right in front of an audience. Restaurants had just re-opened with guidelines that were prohibitive to a traditional gallery show of any kind. "Put it on placemats," Melissa says. And, Boom!!! The TableTop ArtShow was conceived.
The show now consists of area artists submission of up to 3 pieces of art. All artwork submitted is featured in the virtual portion of the show that can be viewed on the worldwide web. 15 of the submitted pieces are selected by the TableTop ArtShow crew to be featured in a gallery show located on the walls of Eli Fish Brewing in Downtown Batavia. Cash Prizes will be awarded to the 1st ($200), 2nd ($100), and 3rd ($50) place winners from the TableTop ArtShow pieces. There will also be a Cash Prize for the Peoples Choice Award selected from all entries: online voting will take place from March 1st - March 31st.
This March, we invite you to take part in this unique event. Visit our site to view the virtual show, visit a participating restaurant to check out the TableTop ArtShow, and/or swing by Elif Fish Brewing to view the 15 actual pieces of art.
If you're an artist or know any, please submit to the show and/or spread the word about this opportunity. Visit our Facebook (@TableTopArtShow) page or our website @ https://tabletopartshow.secure-decoration.com/contact
We also have sponsorship opportunities available. Please email Brian at sales@myTshirtsEtc.com if you’re interested in sponsoring this unique event. Sponsors will have an ad on the TableTop ArtShow, a linked logo on our website, and a logo on any swag that can be purchased through the site as well.
If you own a restaurant and would like to take part, please send a message to Brian at sales@myTshirtsEtc.com and we can add you to the list of over 20 participating restaurants. Restaurant participation is at no cost. We just ask that you display the TableTop ArtShow on your tabletops for the month of March.
We would love your support as events like this do not happen without the support of our community. Thank you and Enjoy the Show!
https://tabletopartshow.secure-decoration.com/
Press release:
The Batavia Society of Artists will host Artist Shauna Blake on Tuesday, Nov. 9th at Go-Art/Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St., Batavia at 7 pm. Shauna will demonstrate Acrylic Pour Painting on an ornament. Everyone who comes gets to make one of their own to take home. Please call or text Teresa Tamfer to reserve your spot at (585-506-2465. Non-Members welcome for a $5.00 fee.
Press release:
Take in the unique and peaceful beauty of our local landscapes with a free art exhibition at the Genesee County Park & Forest Interpretive Nature Center!
The All-Weather Gang, a group of local artists, is sharing an exhibit of 20 paintings at the park starting this summer on July 10th through Oct. 27th. Artists will be hosting the opening reception on Saturday July 10th from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Genesee County Park & Forest Interpretive Nature Center, located at 11095 Bethany Center Road, East Bethany.
The collection of vistas will be displayed in the Discovery Zone. Art lovers and scenery lovers can visit the show during open interpretive center hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays – Saturdays and 12 to 4 p.m. Sundays. After Oct. 3rd, the center opens at noon on Saturdays.
Since the mid-1980s, every Saturday of the year is reserved to "paint the scenes that everyone looks at, but no one sees" for the All-Weather Gang. That leaves the suspicion that the invited group of painters is either immune to heat, cold, rain, snow, and insects or, perhaps, simply flirting with lunacy.
During a normal year, an outing begins with coffee and conversation at a local diner before setting out to find the scene. However, over the past year, a number of outings began by meeting at the Genesee County Park & Forest. This exhibition, "The All-Weather Gang Paints the Park," is the collective result of those pursuits.
On Facebook, find the All-Weather Gang here.
For more information visit the Park & Forest website, or contact Shannon Lyaski at: Shannon.Lyaski@co.genesee.ny.us or (585) 344-1122.
Submitted photos and information from Mary Alice Loucks.
An Attica artist will be carving an abstract totem from a tree in Genesee County and the work starts tomorrow.
Jeffrey Loucks was given an Individual Artist Award by the Arts Council of Wyoming County to carve the totem into the shape of an obelisk on Maplewood Road in Alexander.
The project will take approximately one week. The public is welcome to come and see the sculptural carving and watch the tree transform and take its shape. Look for the safety cones and scaffolding surrounding the tree.
Loucks uses a chainsaw and burns the wood to preserve it using a Japanese Shou Sugi Ban technique. His work is remarkable and beyond surprising to everyone who sees it, according to Mary Alice Loucks.
The artist award grant is made possible by the NYS Council of the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature; administered in Wyoming County by the Arts Council for Wyoming County.
Top photo: Jeffrey Loucks with the tree on Maplewood Road in Alexander that he will carve with a chainsaw into an obelisk.
Below, a completed carved obelisk by Attica artist Jeffrey Loucks.
Submitted image by Batavia artist Jill Pettigrew and press release:
Tops Friendly Markets and the Taste of Buffalo are pleased to announce that Jill Pettigrew, a talented artist from Batavia, is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2021 Taste of Buffalo Tops Poster Art contest.
Pettigrew was the winner for artists in the 18+ year old age group. Her artwork will be featured on the festival poster and in the event’s marketing materials. In addition, she will receive a $1,000 prize.
Anna Valece Bauer, a 17-year old resident of Williamsville, was the winner in the 13-17-year-old age group and will be presented with $500.
The prizes are courtesy of Tops Friendly Markets and The Taste of Buffalo.
“As is always the case, we were incredibly impressed with the talent of Western New York’s many artists who sent in entries for our poster contest,” said Amber Hartman, 2021 Taste of Buffalo chair.
“The Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops looks forward to sharing this year’s winning poster inside all of our participating restaurants and on the cover of our digital festival guide, which will be available on TasteofBuffalo.com.”
This year’s festival taking place July 10-11, will be back as a live event and is planned to take place in Niagara Square and on a portion of Delaware Avenue. This year’s festival will be modified to comply with any COVID-19 restrictions that may still be in place in July.
About Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops
It is the nation's largest two-day food festival. The 38th annual Taste in 2021 will take place on July 10 and 11. The Taste is a not-for-profit organization with more than 1,000 volunteers helping to put on the annual event.
Approximately $541,000 has been raised at the festival for local charities including three $1,000 scholarships awarded last year to local high school seniors pursuing a culinary or hospitality-related degree. For more information, visit tasteofbuffalo.com, and find us @tasteofbuffalo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
From Teresa Tamfer:
The Batavia Society of Artists is having a virtual hands-on watercolor art demonstration by artist Shauna Blake at 7 p.m. on Tuesday May 11th.
Members will get an email with sign-in info.
There is a $5 fee for nonmembers and they need to go to our Facebook page to sign up.
To participate in this hands-on demo on painting with watercolors you will need:
About Shauna Blake, Artist
She paints in a wide variety of mediums including, watercolors, acrylics, pen and ink, and silk dyes.
In 1994 she graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a major in Graphic Design and Illustration.
She worked in the Graphic Design field for seven years before joining her husband, Brendan, in his glass art business in 2001. Here she expanded her art by studying and creating lampwork glass beads.
Shauna currently sells her hand painted silk scarves, silk ribbons and art prints worldwide on her website -- www.QuintessenceSilk.com -- and on the popular online Etsy handmade crafts site.
Top image, submitted by artist Shauna Blake, is her whimsical rendering of the early spring fuzzy catkins of the genus Salix, aka pussy willows.
Submitted photos and press release:
As part of their Black History Month studies, Byron-Bergen fourth- and fifth-grade students created art projects with, and inspired by, acclaimed Rochester public artist Shawn Dunwoody (on classroom monitor above).
While Dunwoody has visited the school in past years, this year his presentation took place on an online meeting platform to maintain health and safety guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.
In his presentation to the fourth-grade classes, Dunwoody discussed murals and public art. In his own work, he has used murals to inspire in a variety of community spaces, from donut shops to waterfall viewing platforms.
“The murals I’ve done in communities, I’ve wanted to get people excited about their community,” Dunwoody said. “I want to make people feel good about themselves and the environment they are in.”
Dunwoody then created a collaborative mural design with the students, discussing the artistic process as well as font design and placement. The completed design featured the words “U R Wonderful” in bright colors.
Students then designed their own murals, using Dunwoody’s work as inspiration. Their finished projects included messages of support for environmental and social causes, as well as simple words of kindness such as “You got this,” “Love yourself,” and “You are awesome.”
In a similar presentation to fifth-grade students, Dunwoody discussed his original comic characters, the Legion of Legends, which includes local historical figures Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass and George Eastman. His Legion of characters fight villains like Trinity, a character encompassing racism, miseducation and poverty.
Life-sized cutouts of the super heroes stood behind him as he described his creative process.
After creating a collaborative character with the fifth-grade classes, students created their own super heroes with special powers to fight for social justice. Among the heroes were those with the powers to fight for freedom and create peace. Their collaborative hero was “Super Miss Stephen” with the power of writing and the ability to make drawings come to life.
Dunwoody’s presentations were part of a Black History Day of Learning organized by fourth-grade teachers Jenna Carney, Colleen Hardenbrook, Alyson Tardy, and fifth-grade teachers Taylor Haupt, Ken Rogoyski, (Super Miss) Kelly Stephen, Diane Taylor, Erin Varley, and Special Education teacher Lisa Haller.
“Shawn uses art to uplift urban communities and discuss social justice,” Tardy said. “I’m extremely excited grateful that he takes the time to share his talents with our students.”
A new mural was commissioned for the dining room of the Alabama Hotel, located at routes 77 and 63 in Basom.
Owner Bonnie Woodward says, the mural in the main dining room was painted as a display of gratitude for all the hotel’s guests, and it encompasses many the highlights of the local area. The theme of the mural is “All Roads Lead to the Alabama Hotel.”
Bonnie explains the elements in the mural:
Signatures of artists Susan Weber from Alden and Daniel Riggs originally from Elba
Submitted images and information.
The Batavia Society of Artist is hosting a Virtual Art Demonstration at 7 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 8th.
Adrian Morris is an Irish artist from Ireland. He has lived in Batavia for 12 years. He was a pencil artist for many years before becoming a full-time painter. He will be demonstrating acrylic portrait painting via a virtual Zoom meeting.
Tickets are available on the BataviaSocietyofArtists facebook page for $5 for non-members.
For more info check out our facebook page or call Karen Crittenden, the facilitator of the Zoom meeting, at (585) 584-3296.
Above, "Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse" by Charles Malone, of Oakfield, who uses soils from the area to color his work.
Submitted images and press release:
This week marked the opening of the "Genesee Valley 100: A Community Painting Project" of the Genesee Valley Conservancy.
The project had only two simple directives for artists: use the provided 12X12 canvas, and paint something inspired by the Genesee Valley.
Organized by Genesee Valley Conservancy, a nonprofit celebrating 30 years of protecting habitat, open space, and farmland within the Genesee Valley, this project aims to capture the beauty and undefinable essence that the organization has been working to protect.
The Genesee Valley 100 exhibit of paintings is viewable online on the Conservancy’s website and in person during regular business hours at the Silver Lake Brewing Project in Perry (Wyoming County) through the end of the year. It is located at 14 Borden Ave.
Online is where all sales take place, which benefit both the local artist and the Conservancy.
This year, three Genesee County artists participated and one close by in Attica: Charles Malone, of Oakfield; David Burke, of Bergen; Susan Kinney, of Oakfield, and Linda Fix, of Attica.
In creating such a collection of work and exhibiting them to the public, the organization hopes to inspire people to recognize the importance of the local lands and natural resources that surround and benefit us. Lands that future generations will be grateful if we properly care for them today.
Agricultural lands provide jobs and local food, supporting a large part of our rural economy. Lakes providing drinking water depend on the open spaces and forests surrounding them to naturally filter runoff so it is clean and safe to drink. Thriving habitat provides unique places to explore, recreate and enjoy fresh air while breaking from screens and devices.
A range of diverse styles are on display and artists of all levels of experiences participated. High school students and amateurs have pieces hung next to lifelong and professional painters. This is another unique part of this show. No one is juried to get in. Everyone interested is welcome to submit their painting, no questions asked.
The goal is to see what inspires people about the Genesee Valley and, in turn, present those images to the public to inspire others to recognize what a beautiful and special place we live.
While each individual piece warrants up close inspection, hung together at the brewery the collection is an impressive mosaic that is a work of art itself.
In trying to reach a broad audience for the project, the show is intentionally hung in a nontraditional space for art, that is to say, not in a gallery. The hope is people not seeking art out will be confronted by the project and be exposed to some great local artists and to images of our beautiful landscape.
Paintings represent locations within the Genesee Valley from the headwaters of the Genesee River in Pennsylvania all the way to the shores of Lake Ontario, and everywhere in between.
Forty-three communities are represented by painters this year. Fifty-one artists are first-time participants in the Genesee Valley 100. Thirty-four return from 2018, the first year of the project, that also featured original paintings. Eighteen artists this year are returning from last year’s project, which was oriented just to photographers, but held the same 12x12 requirement and that the work be of the Genesee Valley.
About Genesee Valley Conservancy
It is a nationally accredited nonprofit conservation organization working to protect the habitat, open space and farmland in the Genesee River watershed. Over 21,360 acres of natural habitat and productive farm and forest land have been conserved by Genesee Valley Conservancy and private landowners. The organization also owns nature preserves open to the public year-round for recreation and education.
For more information visit www.geneseevalleyconservancy.org
Below, "Bergen Swamp Trail" by David Burke, of Bergen.
Below, "Rainy Morning at Armson Farms" by Susan Kinney, of Pavilion.
Below, "Nature's Wonder" by Linda Fix, of Attica.
Below, a portion of the 12" by 12" works in this year's "Genesee Valley 100: A Community Painting Project."
Submitted images and press release:
The Batavia Society of Artists is hosting its debut Virtual Art Demonstration at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10th. Shauna Blake will demonstrate painting on silk with dyes via a virtual Zoom meeting.
Tickets are available on the Batavia Society of Artists Facebook page for $5 for non-members. For more info check out the Facebook page or call Karen Crittenden, the facilitator of the Zoom meeting, at (585) 584-3296.
About Shauna Blake, Artist
Shauna Blake started painting in her early teens and has devoted her entire working life to her artwork. She has a love for nature and the outdoors and uses the inspiration and energy it provides to create her art.
She paints in a wide variety of mediums including, watercolors, acrylics, pen and ink, and silk dyes.
In 1994 she graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a major in Graphic Design and Illustration. She worked in the Graphic Design field for seven years before joining her husband, Brendan, in his glass art business in 2001.
Here she expanded her art by studying and creating lampwork glass beads.
Then in 2009 she discovered silk painting. She found that painting on silk was the perfect fit for her creative and expressive artistic style.
Shauna currently sells her hand-painted silk scarves, silk ribbons and art prints worldwide on her website. www.QuintessenceSilk.com and on the popular Etsy handmade crafts site online.
Press release:
Reality Check programs of Western New York are getting creative to honor this year’s Great American Smokeout. As communities continue to grapple with the challenges of COVID-19, the youth coordinators in the GOW Region decided the safest (and fun) way to help young people demonstrate their leadership is through an art contest.
The deadline to submit entries is Nov. 13. Winners will be announced on Nov. 19, the date of this year’s Great American Smokeout.
“We miss doing group events like cigarette butt pickups, educational events, and watching our young people champion issues they believe in,” said Brittany Bozzer, GOW Reality Check coordinator. “This art contest will build awareness on the impacts of tobacco use and help ensure that youth voices are a part of the solution for healthier communities.”
The American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout is an annual event that encourages and offers support to smokers to make a plan to quit smoking or to quit smoking on the day of the event – Thursday, Nov. 19. By quitting – even for one day – smokers will be taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing their cancer risk.
Contest Details
Creative Western New Yorkers between the ages of 12 and 18 are encouraged to virtually submit a piece of artwork that highlights the dangers of tobacco use or why they want their community to be tobacco free. Artwork can be a poster, poem, comic, photo or video. Winners will be chosen in two age groups: 12-14 years old and 15-18 years old.
Youth are asked to submit their masterpiece, along with their name, age, school name, phone number and guardian’s name, to: rcofwny@gmail.com
About Reality Check
Reality Check is a youth-led movement in New York State that empowers youth to become leaders in their communities in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The organization’s members create change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education.
Reality Check groups work in their communities by trying to limit the exposure of tobacco marketing in stores, help make smoke/vape-free public, work, and housing spaces, and limiting the exposure to smoking/vaping in movies.
These initiatives are to help discourage young people from becoming new daily smokers and encourage current smokers to quit. More information can be found at realitycheckofny.com and tobaccofreenys.com
Above: "Inspiration -- Miranda the Tempest," a 9-inch by 12-inch painting in soft pastels by Linda Miranda Fix, based on the painting by John William Waterhouse.
From information provided by Holly Gordon:
Attica artist Linda Miranda Fix, 66, is proud to announce that her artwork is among 100 pieces chosen for exhibit by the Islip Arts Council and the Islip Art Museum at Historic Brookwood Hall.
Their virtual statewide art exhibit "Art at 50 Plus: New Beginnings" -- A Virtual Exhibition 2020 opened on Sept. 15 and runs through Nov. 7. It is billed as "a stunning orchestration of hope and inspiration." Click here to watch the virtual exhibit and here for the gallery exhibit.
"I have always loved the art of John William Waterhouse and this particular painting (above) is my favorite," Fix said, adding that his works are now in public domain. "I work with several different mediums; watercolor, acrylics, oil, alcohol ink, and soft pastels."
The exhibit Fix is featured in is sponsored by AARP Long Island and features a poignant and uplifting video, a unique work of art unto itself that captures this historic moment in time.
“It is times like these that organizations can help members of the public cope with social isolation and loneliness,” said Bernard Macias, AARP associate state director for Long Island. “Art and creativity can help improve or maintain our emotional wellness, while dealing with constant change.”
Holly Gordon, Islip Arts curator, has taken this exhibition to new heights to achieve an intimacy beyond expectation. She masterfully wove a cohesive visual story that includes the art and narrations of 100 juried works by New Yorkers.
These were selected from nearly 600 submissions to create a moving exhibition of art and artists' statements that awes and inspires viewers with discovery and renewed hope and a sense of unity for new beginnings.
“They really occur on a daily basis," Gordon said. "Art is a wonder drug and seniors are our country’s greatest asset.”
As Gordon planned the virtual exhibition, within her own COVID-19 isolation, the hundreds artists who planned to submit entries were experiencing similar challenges learning to adapt to new technologies.
“All are to be commended," Gordon said. "By doing so, a community of artists connected. The experience turned this virtual exhibit into an intimate and personal experience."
The inspirational video was produced by Waldo Cabrera, who set the works to music and choreographed an extraordinary show.
The subject of new beginnings took on a new meaning for the artists creating during the COVID-19 lockdown. Created by people age 50 to 94, their work encompasses New York State and all levels of artistry from beginners to lifelong artists.
Mediums used are animation, pencil drawing, painting, pastel, watercolor, mixed media assemblage and collage, fabric and felt, photography, digital painting, gouache on paper.
Overall, the exhibition represents positivity through self-challenge, transformation and renewal.
Many topics are covered by the artists, including:
This video is the antidote to anger, devastation and negativity that permeates (nearly) every media outlet. Each artists found purpose to create a response to these ills.
"Be prepared to be wowed as you watch and hear the artist's voices," Gordon says. "This production is one for the ages, intended to unite us all, the same way that 2020 connected us all.
A "Sip and See Virtual Reception" via Zoom for artists and guests will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 4. Here's the Zoom link. The meeting ID is: 465 443 2677. The password is: 122583
There will also be a virtual closing reception via Zoom hosted by of AARP Long Island Art from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 7. During that time there will also be a meeting with authors for "Parallel Perspectives: Art of Collaboration."
For more information, contact Holly Gordon at: Holly.isliparts@gmail.com
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