More found money! Added a dime and a quarter to my 2026 collection. Up to ninety-nine cents.
All posts by Karen Tashkovski
Road Trip in Rain Finds Garden on Main
I took a road trip today to visit Main Street Arts, 20 W. Main Street, Clifton Springs, New York 14432. My painting, Mustang Dance, will be in the next group show, Horse Power!, which opens Saturday, June 6, 2026 with a reception from 3:00 – 6:00 PM..
The current display, The Garden Within, will be up until May 27, 2026.
The abstract work in this collection was created by former Arts-in-Education colleagues Sara Michalak and Jari Poulin. For more information about them click here.
This is a beautiful art gallery! I’m in love with this place. It is worth a visit – rain or shine! My trip was 100% rainy, lol, but so worth it.
I will be back on June 6th for the Horse Power! opening. Join me if you can. It will be nothing but horses-horses-horses-horses…..
The Heraldic Shields
Here are the twenty-four encaustic & collage paintings that I literally just finished.
I am very excited to announce that these paintings, along with the encaustic & collage target paintings, Arcadia 1 and Arcadia 2, will be in an exhibition at the Canastota Public Library (102 Center St., Canastota, New York 13032) during the month of June 2026!!!
Photographs never do my work any sort of justice – they are very colorful and layered with texture. You really need to experience them in person.
They will be for sale during the show.
Ann’s World View
Ann Clarke is one of four artists selected by the CNY Arts Initiative to exhibit artwork in that gallery I call the crawl space (it is actually the Member’s Art Council gallery tucked into the corner of nowheresville) in the Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202.
The work here is all new and is a study in the contemplation of family, life, mortality and the camaraderie of the sewing circle – techniques and skills passed down through the generations preserving and respecting this predominantly female handiwork while creating a modern tapestry, which she refers to as “Under the Canopy”, implying both the idea of a landscape as subject matter, as well as the broader landscape of shared experiences in community and education.
The work is fresh and new, and yet, masterful and mature. To take a medium like rug making and turn it into an emotional infusion of love and all the heartbreak that unfolds from that to the extent that the art breathes, well, it is exquisitely sublime.
The only thing that would have made this show better is if Ann had created a rug that was actually displayed on the cold cement floor, allowing the community to walk upon it in order to participate in the group spirit of said canopy. I mean, it would get dirty, but that is kind of the point, that life presents unexpected challenges and hardships – that art is both a pursuit in solitude and an opportunity to connect with people, reminding us that we are not alone – not ever, really. <3
The exhibit runs through June 7, 2026.
Hours:
Mon./Tues: Closed
Wed. 11:00am – 5:00pm
Thurs. 11:00am – 8:00pm
Fri. 11:00am – 5:00pm
Sat. 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sun. 10:00am – 5:00pm
Heraldry
On Friday night, I went to the spring art reception at the Everson Museum of Art (401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202). While in the Robineau Gallery, I had a fully developed vision of an art exhibition of my own in that space. It was this strong realization that all of my various encaustic and collage series are creating a kingdom.
There are the houses, the landscape of trees and flowers, the fans, the crowns…and so I went home with the clear idea for my next series: heraldic shields.
You can see the progression here. I’ve been working on them all weekend and I am almost finished. I feel like they have always existed and I just pulled them out of the ether, the way I will manifest that dream art show.
I feel incredibly content. I will finish them in the next few days. There are twenty-four encaustic & collage paintings – 6″ x 8″ that will be mounted on 8″ x 10″ cradled hardboard and framed.
Then I will title them and photograph them.
And possibly make more. 🙂
Encaustic Horseshoes
I framed my encaustic horseshoe paintings. There are two sizes: 9″. 12″ and 11″ x 14″. Pictured here: the remainder of the two series. Many of these were sold when they hung on a wall in the lobby of Syracuse Yoga (in 2017).
Every home needs one of these, IMO. They are lucky!!!
Horses Refreshed
Seven of the twelve encaustic & collage paintings in this series of horses are left. I created them in 2012 and had previously mounted them on 18″ x 18″ chalkboard. Now the 12″ x 12″ masonite boards are mounted onto 12″ x 12″ cradled hardboards.
I also added collage items to some of them.
The Cow Has New Clothes
This collection of cows was part of the ensemble of about one hundred paintings I created during the six-week period in 2012 when I took the best Syracuse University course of my life – Encaustics with Davana Robedee.
They are 12″ x 12″ encaustic & collage paintings on 1/8″ masonite board that are now mounted onto cradled hardboards. Previously I had them mounted onto 18″ x 18″ chalkboards. This made the presentations much larger.
They look so much better now. Fresh and new. I also added collage materials to some of them. I did the same thing to the encaustic horse paintings – I will share those tomorrow.
I had originally created several cow stencils to be used in connection to a farm animal project I presented to first graders many years ago, so I had several stencils. Davana encouraged me to play with the animal shapes to allow for a more dynamic flow and this lead to the upside-down and backwards stuff. I know that some of them are rather unsettling.
Finding an audience for non-traditional constructions can be a challenge if I allow it to be, so I won’t let it be. I really love how weird they are.
Photos @ Canastota Library
How adorable is this venue? It is in the Canastota Public Library, 102 W. Center Street, Canastota, New York 13032. The library was built in 1903. It is an Andrew Carnegie library and it is a spectacular place – three floors of books, videos, games and more with the basement space designated for both the art gallery and an event space (complete with a full kitchen!,) hosting regularly scheduled clubs. You can also reserve the space for small parties. I will be exhibiting artwork there later this year. I might do an art reception, which would be fun, but I’m not quite ready to commit to that – stay tuned.
For the month of May 2026, the library is hosting photographer Ted Nicholson.
LIBRARY HOURS
Monday: 9am – 8pm
Tuesday: 9am – 8pm
Wednesday: 9am – 8pm
Thursday: 9am – 8pm
Friday: 9am – 5pm
Saturday: 9am – 12pm
Sunday: Closed
The Bungalows
I am delighted to reintroduce The Bungalows! Created last year, these paintings went through a series of transformations. At first, I had mounted them on collaged chalkboards. They felt too busy. I decided to switch out the chalkboards in favor of these 8″ x 10″ hardboards then framed them in the same frames I used for the Fan-Girl series of paintings.
But that still didn’t feel right. Yesterday I reframed them and I am now very satisfied with this version. I love them!
Many of the collage materials attached to these paintings were items I found while metal detecting the yard of my one-hundred-twenty-six-year-old home. So, this series is very personal to me because it is about me and all the other people who have lived in and loved my home. The paintings represent the little houses that sort of encompass my neighborhood even though they are all technically mine. My corner of the world. I know there are people out there who love the Arts & Crafts movement, who find joy in the craftsman style and can relate to this cherished history.
I recently acquired another venue for a future art exhibition and will inform you of the details as soon as tomorrow. There is a possibility that these paintings will get another show soon, but I am still pondering what to do, as I will be having multiple shows happening at once, which is crazy. So much is happening!
