June Notes
Artwork by Sue Davies
Hello and Happy June!
It’s finally feeling good to be outside, going on adventures studying the clouds, the landscape as it greens up and watching the action on the water, whether it be water sports or the simplicity of a tadpole pond. Jim and I recently took a trip to one of our favorite areas of MN near Rochester called Mantorville. Have you been? We stayed overnight, had dinner at the Hubbell House, visited the local art guild (of course!) and took a walk around town, where we found the aforementioned pond, teeming with GIANT tadpoles. Rochester is about the northern range for bull frogs in Minnesota, so we were pretty sure that’s what we were looking at. Fat wobbly polliwogs, just floating around doing not much. Little legs were starting to show on some. Totally had us fascinated for about an hour.
The Mantorville Art Guild has it’s own shop right in town, open four days a week, manned by the artists themselves, volunteering their time. My dream! It was a lovely space, well stocked, and I had a nice chat with the artist there that day. We talked about how fun it would be to do field trips to different artist guilds or art areas.... hmmmm......
I will always be game to go to Mantorville!
A little 3” x 3” painting I bought there. Couldn’t resist! Artist is Tammy Schneider.
While in Rochester, we ALWAYS visit the library. Unfortunately, the day we were there, their bookstore was closed. We have found some cherished items there and were sad to not be able to add to our collection. Fortunately, once we exited the building and looked to our left, the Rochester Art Center was right next door! Of course, we went in. They were in the process of installing a new exhibit, so there wasn’t a lot open. BUT, we did see a lovely fiber art exhibit! Right up my alley! Photos below show you the interesting hoop exhibit, which was spread throughout the atrium of the building. Hoops hung from every floor over the atrium, each one about 3 feet in diameter. They were really vibrant and beautiful in that airy, sunlit, space and presented a unique challenge for the artists to create.
The fiber river mentioned in the brochure was all three stories high, beautiful fibers swirling together and falling from floor to floor. All of it just so unique. I didn’t take pictures—I guess I was too immersed in the moment and wanted to soak it all in.
Our artwork is up at the venues as of this week. Thank you to the TEAM that has worked so hard to help me with this. OutDo Work has said we could drop by to see all the artwork hanging, so I would call or email first as their hours aren’t the same every day. The bank was so excited to see all the sunset art we created, and it went very well with the burgundy color on their walls. Dan is getting the vet clinic done this Thursday, so, thinking about all of this, I am amazed at the amount of artwork we have created! Thank you so much members, for bringing this joy to our community and all who see it.
June’s meeting will be back at the airport, on the 16th, and Sue Davies will be presenting that evening for us. Here is the write-up from Sue:
Meet local artist Susan Davies for an inside look into her current series: “Into the Unknown.”
Hear about her experience at Dorland Arts Colony in California and get details about her use of surface media, her process and sources of inspiration. View samples of her work and participate in an informal Q and A session.
Should be an exciting meeting! Looking forward to seeing Sue again—it’s been awhile.
The end of this month, on the 28th, we are participating in the great outdoor fair. The event will bring many people, so having a booth showcasing US is important. We will have new business cards, new flyers for handing out, and I would like to have art from our members on exhibit. We need a couple people to help man the booth. I am debating on whether we should have a simple make and take—it will depend on if we have people in the booth. Naomi and I for sure will be facepainting across the way and cannot be in our actual booth for the Guild. Please consider helping out that day. Even if it’s a short shift, every bit helps.
Please contact me if you can assist. So far from previous emails, I have zero...
July brings our annual picnic and I am happy to host, but I also live fairly distant from Buffalo and it makes it a drive. If anyone would like to host our picnic, reach out to me! It’s potluck, and we will also discuss our next artist emulation project at that time. That will be due in October.
In the meantime, we also have our courthouse project to be working on. I am going to reach out tomorrow to WCHS to see when they would like us to exhibit. I will have a better due date time frame for us then, as well. Kudos to Gayle Kubista, who already submitted her beautiful artwork for this project :) The reference photo for the project is seen to the left.
Finally, I will be forwarding you an email from the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce. It is their weekly newsletter, and waaaaay down towards the end is information about a contest to create the new logo for the Buffalo Area Community Center, which is where we will be housed in the near future. I encourage you to give it a try! We are artists, after all. 😎
May your June be filled with sunshiny days, lots of garden planting, and stunning and beautiful skies to inspire you! A perfect time to try Plein Air painting. Oh, and check out every little pool of water you see as it is probably filled with polliwogs!
Tamra