THE ART OF GIVING

Each holiday season the members of the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts transform the gallery to showcase original ornaments and hand-made gifts. The gallery’s 22 members work in a variety of media, providing a wide array of fine art and fine craft for holiday shoppers. The glass art includes hand-blown vessels, ornaments, solar lights, paperweights, and jewelry. Fiber art on display includes framed fabric collages and hand dyed stitched cloth. The jewelry in the show covers a variety of styles and techniques, from copper and bronze to sterling and fine silver necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings, some with gold accents and stones. Visitors will also find metal sculpture, handmade art dolls, pottery, turned wood, and carved ironwood with turquoise and silver inlay. Fine art photography, oil and acrylic painting, scratchboard, and mixed media work festively surround the three dimensional pieces on pedestals.

Come explore the wonderful art exhibited at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts; you will find a perfect gift for that special person.

 

Opening Reception

Nov 30

6-9

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TRILOGY

 

Michael Selemi

The current Featured Artist show at Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is called “Trilogy.” At first, the name suggested to me nothing more than that there were three featured artists. But then it occurred to me that Trilogy suggest a challenge—making interesting triples. Stepping up to the challenge has been a lot of fun and produced some interesting pieces.

The signature threesome of the show is a group of “multi-axis” statuettes which I call Day, Night and Dusk. I made the statues from Holly, a white wood, and Wenge, a black wood. I laminated Holly and Wenge to make the blank for Dusk. I then turned the blanks around two different centers creating forms which remind me of African female figures.

A second grouping in the show is a series of “pool cue” vases. The blank for each of the vases was created by taking a core rod of wood and then adding lamination layers in contrasting colors. Turning through the blanks reveals the sort of colored curves that one sees pool cue handles.

A third grouping is a set of Cherry hollow forms each with an undercut rim. I made the forms as close to identical as I could and then distinguished each by dying the rim a different color—red, blue and a very deep purple that is nearly black.

A fourth grouping is a double set of three—six ikebana identical in all respects except for the wood employed. I chose woods that created a gradual transition from white to black by starting with Holly, then using both light and dark Cherry, then using the pinkish Ebiara, and finally using Walnut and Wenge. Each of the Ikebana is of Asian form with a square downward sloping rim and a slightly rounded crown.

A fifth group is a set of cantilevered bowls made from three different species of Australian burl. The shapes of each bowl are quite similar with the rim of the bowl following the natural edge of the burl used to make it and with the curve of the bowl continuing through the rim. The burls themselves contribute great beauty to the pieces with pleasing color gradations and swirl patterns.

I also created a group of nesting Sycamore bowls, three square-rim bowl forms in Red Hear, Purple Heart and Walnut, three plates with laminated stripes, and three small Padauk boxes with identical finials but slightly different covers.

Making threes has not only been fun but it has also challenged me to create differences Waamong wood turned pieces while preserving the feature that defines the group. The show which includes work by Marcy Lansman and Alice Levinson will be on display until October 21. I hope those who visit enjoy seeing my work as much as I enjoyed making it.

 

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The Art of Giving

 Each holiday season the members of the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts transform the gallery to showcase original ornaments and hand-made gifts. The gallery’s 22 members work in a variety of media, providing a wide array of art and fine craft for holiday shoppers. The glass art includes hand-blown vessels, ornaments, solar lights, paperweights, and jewelry. Fiber art on display includes framed collage quilts and hand dyed stitched cloth. The jewelry in the show covers a variety of styles and techniques, from copper and bronze to sterling and fine silver necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings, some with gold accents and stones. Visitors will also find metal sculpture, handmade art dolls, pottery, turned wood, and carved ironwood with turquoise and silver inlay. Fine art photography, oil and acrylic painting, scratchboard, and mixed media work festively surround the three dimensional pieces on pedestals.

Come explore the wonderful art exhibited at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts; you will find exactly the right gift for that special person.

Opening Reception

Friday Nov 24

6-9

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Let the River Answer

Arianna Bara describes the inspiration for each of her new one-of-kind creations in sterling silver: “My pieces for this show are about questions. The ones we all have about why we are here and what we are here to do. Believing as I do that we are spiritual beings having a human experience and that nature is our partner and guide in that experience, the search for answers leads me to look to what is right beneath my feet, to what is right beside me as I walk in the woods or along the river. I believe the answers surround us and are there for us to discover.”

Wood turner, Michael Salemi writes, “Normally, rivers contain the flow of water within their banks. But when water is too powerful to be contained, the river answers by changing. My work for this show displays the same tension. Some pieces are controlled shapings of wood to classic and expected forms, but others reflect the power of the wood itself—the work becomes what the wood would have it be.”

Of his new work for the show, Eduardo Lapetina states, “My paintings are a way for me to enter the world, not an escape from it. A painting opens a door into a space in which a play may be staged– where conflict, climax, and resolution all come together. In the process of creation, a painting becomes a battlefield for my struggles about what is, what is not, what ought to be, what I like, what I love, what I hate, frustrations, disenchantment, embarrassments. My art exposes to the world my most private thoughts and feelings, forming a spatial connection between what lives within me and what is alive in everyone else. I want my spaces to be painted without intention, without conscious technique, without anything that might interfere with the connections I seek to create. I do not want to keep a tradition. I am not looking for beauty, but the viewer might find it in my art. My paintings are not about any particular theme or motif, they are attempts to convey the immaterial through materiality. My aim is to project energy, visual vibrations, light, voices, excitement, and enthusiasm, and to capture them in a physical form that you can take home with you.”

Opening Reception

Friday March 31st

6-9

 

 

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Branching Out

 

Michael Salemi

Not infrequently, folks who view my work at galleries or art fairs ask about the function of some of my pieces. Of course, they don’t ask about bowls, ikebana, vases and other pieces with obvious functionality. But they do ask me about pieces like the one pictured. They want to know its use.

Woodturning is both a craft and an art. As an artist, the woodturner endeavors to create a form that is pleasing to the eye. The form might be pleasing because of the character of the wood employed, or because of the shape of the vessel, or because it showcases the artist’s skill, or simply because it is.

We don’t ask painters what their paintings are for. We understand that they are meant to please the eye—nothing more and nothing less. It is the same with woodturning. While woodturners frequently make vessels that are meant to be used in everyday life, they try even harder to make their vessel beautiful—to delight the eyes of those who see them and acquire them.

So what is the pictured vessel? Is it a plate with a box? Is it a serving bowl for nuts? Is it a leaf and a flower? Yes to all but the more important question is: “Is it pleasing?” Please come and view my featured artist show at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts between now and May 22. Perhaps your eyes will be delighted.

 

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Branching Out

Eric Saunders, Chris Graebner, and Mike Salemi are “Branching Out” with their new work.

Eric Saunders is a photographer who uses many techniques to digitally enhance his photographs. For Saunders [branching out] “can mean branches growing on a tree, or it can mean exploring new directions in technique and content.” He explains, “In the past few years, I have made photographic images that are literally of branches on a tree, and images that pursue new directions from outdoor landscapes using various digital enhancements, and images that feature man-made subjects.”

Saunders will have 15-20 new images in the show.

Appropriate for Branching Out, wood is Mike Salemi’s medium. The newest member of The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, Salemi describes his love of wood and his process as a backdrop for the pieces he will present at the April show. Salemi says, “I have always liked working with wood. While a graduate student, I would escape to the campus woodcraft studio each day to find peace and a sense of satisfaction. After I retired, I decided to make a serious effort to develop as a wood turner. In my work, I attempt to strike a balance between classic design prescriptions and my belief that many blocks of wood have something to say. The former leads me to create pleasing proportions in my spindles and pleasing curves in my bowls. The latter leads me to look to the wood for suggestions of shape and texture. I am particularly attracted to blocks of wood that have started to decay. A partially decayed piece of wood can reward the turner with dramatic color and pattern but requires that the turner navigate voids. Handling the negative space in a funky block of wood is a challenge worth taking.”

Chris Graebner is a painter whose work is often inspired by nature. Graebner refects, “One of my earliest memories is watching in awe as my mother painted the oak tree in our front yard. Instead of a brown stick with a green blob on top, her tree had bark, branches, and individual leaves. I was so amazed; I wanted to do that too!”

Working primarily in oil, Graebner will introduce new paintings this April in Branching Out.

Opening Reception

April 29

6-9

 

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Art All Around

Each year the members of the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts has a group show. We decide on a title at our end of year retreat and slip the show in before we begin our monthly Featured Artists shows.  This year Ali thought of the title Art All Around and it’s a lucky thing because we are doing some reconstruction where the work was supposed to hang so now it is literally Art All Around…the gallery. Each one is labeled and easy to find.

Please come join us for our opening reception  the last Friday in January.

 

Opening Reception

January 30

6-9

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the art of giving

Please come join us for the Opening Reception at our Last Fridays celebration.

 

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Preview of the Orange County Studio Tour

Please come join us for the Opening Reception at our Last Fridays celebration.

 

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Deadline Sept. 15 !

Resolutions 2015

Calling all North Carolina Artists!

The deadline to enter your artwork in the inaugural Hillsborough Gallery of Arts juried art show, Resolutions 2015, is September 15th.  North Carolina artists 18 and over working in 2D an 3D media are encouraged to apply.

The show will display in the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts featured exhibit gallery from January 5th through 25th of January 2015. An opening reception will be Friday, January 9th from 6-9 pm.

Awards juror for Resolutions 2015 will be Timothy Riggs, the Curator of Collections at the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, NC.

This is an opportunity to share your work in an established and welcoming gallery and connect with new collectors and fellow artists.

Complete prospectus and application can be found at
 http://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/Default.aspx?OJSID=299 

Artists can also find a link from our website, 
http://HillsboroughGallery.com/juriedshow.html

The Fifth Element

Pat Lloyd

This past year presented some challenges that temporarily limited my ability to turn wood. I needed to find new ways to express my frustrated creativity. Woodturning was set aside, while photography took the lead. Then, a chance encounter led to my discovery of Kumihimo braiding and braided jewelry design, a rather unexpected turn I must say; strange twists and turns.

While in Oregon last fall, I visited the Portland Japanese Gardens. The guide pointed out a large Japanese stone lantern and described the 5 traditional elements in Japanese Buddhism of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void. I was most intrigued by this Fifth Element of Void. Void represents spirit, thought, creative energy and inventiveness, the “here,” or the center.”

Once I let go of the need to control the uncontrollable and accepted the “here” and found my center, I was able to release the creative energy and inventiveness resident in my inner spirit, in that Fifth Element of Void. The discovery and exploration of the ancient art of Kumihimo braiding gave me a new voice.

In this new year, I am back to woodturning, with a renewed energy and passion. And, the discovery of Kumihimo that energized that creative emptiness last year, has taken on a life of its own. Kumihimo design is filled with endless possibilities. Of course, photography continues to influence my everyday life. Some days it is just hard to know what to do first, it’s such a blessing.

The Fifth Element

Artists Arianna Bara, Pat Merriman and Pat Lloyd join their creative energies to present a show called “The Fifth Element.”

What is the Fifth Element?  Each artist describes it a little differently – void, spirit, thought or path, creative energy, inventiveness, intuition, the “here” or center, a signal that the soul is speaking.

For Pat Lloyd it began with a journey to the Portland Japanese Gardens last fall. “The guide pointed out a large Japanese stone lantern and described the 5 traditional elements in Japanese Buddhism: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void. I was most intrigued by this Fifth Element of Void.  Void represents spirit, thought, creative energy and inventiveness. In the Navaho culture, their fifth direction (element) represents the ‘here,’ or the center.”

This past year has been a struggle for Lloyd to find her way through some physical challenges that temporarily limited her ability to turn wood and she needed to find new ways to express her creativity. Woodturning was set aside, and photography took the lead. Then, says Lloyd, “a chance encounter led to my discovery of Kumihimo braiding and braided jewelry design. Once I let go of the need to control the uncontrollable, I was able to release the creative energy and inventiveness resident in my inner spirit, in that Fifth Element of Void. The discovery and exploration of the ancient art of Kumihimo braiding gave me a new voice.”

“In this new year, I am back to woodturning, with a renewed energy and passion. And the discovery of Kumihimo that energized that creative emptiness last year has taken on a life of its own. Kumihimo design is filled with endless possibilities.  Of course, photography continues to influence my everyday life. Some days it is just hard to know what to do first, it’s such a blessing.”

Metalsmith Arianna Bara, brings together all five elements in her jewelry. “The metal is extracted from the earth, air (wind) is needed  to fuel the flame (fire), which is used to connect metal to metal. Water is used to cool metal after heating. The fifth element, creative energy or inspiration, is what the metalsmith contributes to the process. ” My pieces for the Fifth Element show are inspired by the five elements and the characteristics attributed to each. The Fire element, for example, represents energy and passion, and the stones and metal textures I used in my piece reflect that.”

Arianna describes one of the pieces for the show: “In the pendant I created for Spirit, I paired a glowing champagne pearl with an agua nueva agate, and set them on a swirling sterling silver arched background. To me this piece is about the energy of the creative process.”

For painter Pat Merriman, the Fifth Element is a signal of the soul speaking. “It seems to come at the beginnings – like a blank canvas or a fresh sheet of paper; or during transitions of anxiety about which path to take – like shape versus color decisions. And finally, perhaps, when an artist knows a piece is finished. Maybe it is also the “Aha” moment that mindfully moves me, the artist, on a new path.”

Her reading led Merriman to the philosophy of ancient Chinese poet and philosopher Lao-Tzu, who wrote: “Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is. Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance…. If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop “trying,” if we stop putting in so much extra effort, if we stop looking for results. In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected. …In other words: Simply be.”

Says Merriman “Often when painting, I get lost in time – in the zone – which is the process of painting without inner criticism. On the following day comes the critique, though often it is minor: redrawing some lines, heightening some color splashes, accenting or softening edges. When, on day one or two, I play with colors and shapes, I am in the Fifth Element.”

Opening Reception

May 30

6-9