Tag: Salem Arts Association

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Written Word – Best of Show!

Sheila

“Written Word” Exhibition at Salem Arts. Think of a word, any word.  Or think of many, many words.  Salem Arts Association invited their member artists to use the written word as their artistic muse for this exhibition.  

The troubled state of the world inspired me to create Wake Up Call, a mixed media piece of artwork which illustrates my feelings about the necessity that we all work together to get things under control ASAP. Divided U.S. politics and gun violence, international wars, the climate crisis! These topics and many more moved me to insert a sense of urgency into this artwork by my use of strong color contrasts, hard edges, eye-catching Op Art lines (yes, I used a printed piece from my Musing painting to show the bugle’s blare!), and a little humor. Wouldn’t it be great if my Wake Up Call worked?

The juror for the Written Word exhibition is Ms. Jean Marie Procious is Executive Director of the Salem Athenaeum and co-chair of the Salem Literary Festival. She is a librarian and archivist with degrees from Simmons University and Hiram College. An avid reader and pie baker, her activities also include serving as a trustee of Harmony Grove Cemetery, volunteering with local nonprofits, and game night with friends, her husband, two kids, and two cats. Who better to judge works based upon the written word?

I am honored to have been her choice for the Best of Show Award! This is what Ms. Procious had to say about my piece, Wake Up Call: “The crisp visual elements reinforce the artist’s words. Message received, loud and clear!” Thank you, Jean Marie! I couldn’t be more delighted!

  • Reception: Friday, June 28, 2024, 6:00-8:00 PM
  • Exhibition Dates: June 29 – July 27, 2024

Open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Salem Arts Association Galleries, 159 Derby Street, Salem MA 01970

Contact gallery@salemarts.org with questions.

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Journey Into Self

Sheila

While we may often think of art as a means to convey our message to the viewer, as artists, we are also looking within ourselves to find that expression, emotion, joy, or pain that emerges onto our chosen canvases, or through our lenses.  Salem Arts Association asked their artist members to take a deep dive within, and to really explore their own inner world.  They asked them to let the art tell their stories, perhaps even betray their secrets, and let go of those things they’ve pushed down and held on to so tightly.  Art should be cathartic.

I was pleased when my painting, Musing, was juried into the exhibit. Musing is painted in black acrylic paint on white illustration board and framed to 11″ x 14″. It is done in the Op Art style of Bridget Riley whose work I admired while growing up and forming my own style. The undulating lines, intersecting, streaming, remind me of the winding places my thoughts go when I am pondering.

The Opening reception on Friday, June 28, 2024 is free and open to the public. Come and enjoy the rooms full of original artwork in the galleries of our wonderful antique headquarters. While you are there, do not forget to visit the wonderful Gallery Shop on the first floor to treasure hunt through the multitude of exquisite one of a kind art made by the members of Salem Arts Association. My matted prints are in the bins for you to find, as well as my smaller paintings and children’s coloring book about Salem, MA — Salem: Which City? You will also find work by many other artists: jewelry, blown glass, ceramics, textiles, photos, paintings, drawings, etc.

  • Reception: Friday, June 28, 2024, 6:00-8:00 PM
  • Exhibition Dates: June 29 – July 27, 2024

Open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Salem Arts Association Galleries, 159 Derby Street, Salem MA 01970

Contact gallery@salemarts.org with questions.

  • Reception: Friday, June 28, 2024, 6:00-8:00 PM
  • Exhibition Dates: June 29 – July 27, 2024

Open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Salem Arts Association Galleries, 159 Derby Street, Salem MA 01970

Contact gallery@salemarts.org with questions.

Exhibitions

Holiday Showcase

Sheila

Coming up! Salem Arts Association Holiday Showcase, unthemed exhibit of members’ creations. My entry is an original acrylic painting on canvas, Frosty Dawn, 12″ x 24″, framed. It was painted from inside my warm house, looking out over my old neighborhood in Gallows Hill Salem at my neighbors’ beautiful yards. I just left out all the houses, cars, street lights, and everything except the lovely snowy scene.

Opening reception this coming Friday, November 17, 6-8pm — SAA openings are always a good time! While you’re there, check out the SAA Shop on the first floor and the Masters’ Circle show going on upstairs. 159 Derby Street, Salem, MA www.SalemArts.org #SalemArts These shows will be on display through December 16, 2023.

Exhibitions

Summer Member Showcase

Sheila

The Salem Arts Association #SalemArts is presenting the Summer Member Showcase at their beautiful seaside galleries. The opening reception will be held on Friday, August 3 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

The opening reception will feature live music by musical guest Brian Cogger performing original compositions. There will be refreshments and an opportunity to visit the SAA Gallery Shop stocked with exquisite one-of-a-kind handmade creations by the artists.

My painting in the exhibit is Emerald Woods, acrylic on canvas, 16″ x 20″. This was done en plein air and is a view into the conservation area behind my house. In the early morning, the sun shines through the leaves, making them glow. I had to work fast before the sun rose too high and the light completely changed. The woods are an ever-changing subject for my paintings!

The artists were free to use any medium, and any subject for this exhibit and there is a huge array of different styles.

Salem Arts Association gallery is located at 159 Derby Street and has lovely ocean views of Pickering Wharf. The exhibit will run until September 9.

Exhibitions

Be Still 5/19-6/17/23

Sheila

Salem Arts Association’s newest exhibit, Be Still, will host an Opening Reception this Friday May 19, 2023 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public! I shall be there and hope you can come by and say Hello! My painting of the Beverly/Salem Bridge, Making Connections (acrylic, 12×24″, $485) has been juried into the show which will run from May 20 to June 17 at their beautiful gallery, 159 Derby St, Salem, MA 01970. Salem Arts hours are Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 6:00 p.m. The first floor houses the SAA Gallery Shop and the Paul Nathan Gallery. Upstairs you will find the exhibits, including Be Still.

This show was open to both artist members of the SAA and to non-member artists. They were met with the following challenge: The Oxford Dictionary defines “Stillness” as the absence of movement or sound. Stillness can be a moment of solitude, the calm surrender that we feel during meditation, the quiet moment just before an intense storm, the tranquility of water, or the uninterrupted surface of a frozen pond. This exhibition features artworks that depict the stillness within and all around us, or the glimmer of the storm to come.

My painting, Making Connections, was painted from a photograph I took of the Beverly/Salem Bridge. The title reflects all the connections shown: the bridge between Beverly and Salem, the railroad bridge, the water, the sky, the radio/phone tower, and even the red light on top of it which communicates with the airplanes in the sky. One early morning as I drove from Danvers to Beverly, the sky and water were so calm and the color was so stunning that I had to pull my car over to capture the moment. When painting, I did take artistic license and placed the railroad bridge in the distance which allowed me to have the legs of the Beverly/Salem Bridge reflect directly against the water without having the train cut them in half visually. That is the fun of being an artist; I can control the world on my canvas.

Guest Juror: Claudia Paraschiv

2023 Salem Public Artist in Residence (PAiR) on Artists’ Row

Claudia Paraschiv is an architect, public artist, and educator. Born in Romania and raised in Los Angeles, Claudia now lives with her family in Salem MA, where she started her design practice, Studioful Design in 2016. Studioful takes on a varied constellation of projects for more meaningful living and engages people to participate in the transformation of their worlds as purposeful places of stewardship, democracy, social gathering, self-expression, and imagination.

Claudia will continue these explorations as the 2023 Public Artist in Residence (PAiR) on Artists’ Row with her project the Tree of Care + Wonder / Árbol del Cuidado + del Maravillas, a large scale sculpture of a whimsical tree featuring migrant stories and a magical canopy!

The Tree of Care + Wonder / Árbol del Cuidado + del Maravillas will transform streets in Salem into community spaces of art and friendship to demonstrate the potential of streets to do more than move cars: local artists (poets, visual, musicians, dance, and theatre) will collaborate to produce civic-art events centered on migration stories, food memories, local history, and novel visions of how a future city might take care of and bring wonder to its residents. 

Shore Lights
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Connectivity / Diversity Show

Sheila

Help Celebrate Arts Days in Salem MA and kick off the Memorial Day weekend! The Salem Arts Association will host an exhibit, Connectivity/Diversity, during the Salem Arts Festival. It is an open-themed exhibit showcasing the diversity of artistic and cultural expressions within the community.

My entry in the show is Shore Lights, acrylic, 16″ x 20″. This painting was inspired by an evening walk along the shore of the beautiful beach which runs from Swampscott, through Lynn and all the way to Nahant. That night, there was no moon and it was very dark. The water and sky were black, and the white foam of the waves was illuminated only by the headlights of the passing traffic and the streetlights. The ocean was brightened a bit by reflections from colorful taillights and traffic lights.

The artwork in this show will be on display from May 21 through June 25, 2022. The opening reception will be held Friday, May 27 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public at the SAA galleries at 159 Derby Street, and also at the SAA virtual online gallery, the online shop, and on social media. Salem Arts Association gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 6:00 p.m.

The judge for Connectivity/Diversity will be Linda Mullen. Following 15 years in architecture, Linda launched Grace & Diggs in 2016. Grace & Diggs began as a shop on Salem’s Artist’ Row where Linda sold hats made out of paper bags and provided photo backdrops made out of recycled materials. She credits that experience for helping her set down roots in Salem, grow as an artist, and expand her work into the area of public art. She is involved in multiple committees and advisory groups including Salem Main Streets Steering Committee and Culture House Advisory Board.