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
I am a member of the Rochester Contemporary Art Center (137 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14604. My encaustic & collage painting, “Girl”, is there (above). It is from my Fan-Girl series.
The Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s thirty-fourth Member Exhibition is in full swing through February 14, 2026. There are over five hundred pieces of art in this show and it is AMAZING!
All artwork is for sale with a portion of the proceeds going to the gallery. This exhibition is a must see! I think what happens is you will be drawn to a few things at eye level then you’ll step back and see that there is so much more. Sculpture, ceramics, paintings, photographs, abstracts, realism – it is the most eclectic mix of talent.
To the volunteers who erected this art show- I commend you! It must have been a giant puzzle to solve to place everything in such a way that each piece gets the respect it deserves. It is a glorious achievement.
In 1977, a small group of artists led by Tony Petracca, John Kavanaugh and Albert Robbins joined together to exhibit their artwork, present an alternative to museums and commercial galleries, and expand the cultural offerings in the region.
Early on, the crew faced considerable obstacles. Only days after the grand opening there was a significant fire that left the small Monroe Ave. storefront and many artworks damaged. Fundraisers were held and walls were rebuilt. Thanks to the perseverance of the founders and their fellow artists, the Rochester art community has been the beneficiary ever since. After formalizing the organization began to receive New York State and foundation funding and soon began to play a significant role in the artist-run space movement of the era. Still there was uncertainty and challenges. The Culture Wars and shifting foundation priorities altered the funding landscape. Through the decades and several different locations, RoCo’s individual members have provided a stable base for the organization. This significant community support has enabled RoCo to survive and thrive when other small art centers have struggled and even closed their doors. In recent years RoCo’s membership and stature has grown significantly. Now as we celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we’ve achieved outright ownership of our facility and are approaching 1,000 members for the first time in the organization’s history.
Joyce Hertzson, Pittsford, NY, The Fall Cometh, 2025, eco-print and watercolorJackie Dickinson, Aurora, NY, Shear Shape, 2025, found object in wood and metalSteven Assmann, Auburn, NY, Niagara’s Plumes, 2025, oil on canvasJune Szabo, Trumansburg, NY, Common Ground, 2024, Sculpture
I had the opportunity to preview the Schweinfurth Art Center’s Member Show 2025, on display now through October 11, 2025.
I am a member of the museum but I did not participate this year. They hang everything submitted. It is really astonishing how cohesive the show is – a lot of artists using blue, for example.
Address: 205 Genesee St. Auburn, NY 13021, United States.
BEST OF SHOW, Fuzzy Mall, Dundas, Canada, “Emma and Clarke 2 composition 1” 2023, $4,800
Full disclosure – I was hiding those turkey rocks in Emerson Park in Auburn, New York the other day and there was no bathroom there. I was all – maybe I can drive over to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center and use the restroom there?
I parked the car across the street and almost peed my pants because I thought it wasn’t open. There is scaffolding everywhere. The gallery is undergoing a huge renovation. Luckily, it was open.
And luckier still, I have a membership card. So after that mini drama, I was treated to this technicolor array of internationally produced quilts. The Quilts=Art=Quilts 2024 exhibition is on display and will be up through January 5, 2025.
It is spectacularly colorful. These large scale function-to-decorative objects brilliantly fill the walls and I must say these photographs do not do this show justice. They are stunning in person or as my Mom always says, they are “Wow-ie!!!” !!!
Lela O’Dell, Oklahoma City, OK, “Plush Curiosities”, 2023, $3,000Kerri Green, Dallas, TX, “tool Box”, 2024, $3,500; Viviana Lombrozo, San Diego, CA, “Ordered Chaos”, 2023, $2,750
The Schweinfurth is located at 205 Genesee Street, Auburn, NY 13021.
Gallery hours:Â Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sundays 1-5pm.
Yan Liu, Mubarak Al Abdullah, Kuwait, “Kuwait Futurism”, 2021, NFSPat Pauly, Rochester, NY, “Rite of Spring”, 2023, $4,800
Thank you, Cheryl Chappell, for curating an amazing art show at Edgewood Gallery, 216 Tecumseh Road, Syracuse, New York 13224. Dana Stenson, Lauren Bristol and David Robertson are three of the most positive energy-infused artists/wonderful people living and working in Central New York.
Stenson creates precious and semi-precious gem jewelry with silver and gold. Everything is handmade and completely gorgeous!
Bristol is a fiber artist – she is exhibiting coil baskets this time. They are beautifully crafted pieces made with natural fibers including silk threads.
David Robertson’s paintings dominate the walls. These paintings are from several different series of his work and all pertain to his Buddhist practice.
The show continues through November 15, 2024. The jewelry is cash and carry but I think the rest will be available at the end of the exhibition.
Aquamarine ring – sold!
The gallery is open Tuesday-Friday 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
Anne Clarke, The Heart of the Matter, needlepoint, oil pastel, colored pencil, graphite, 28″ x 23″, $1,500Anne Clarke, Interior Landscape, 2023, 87″ x 81″, fulled knit wool, cotton, silk, metallic, $6,000
Into the Woods is Anne Clarke’s latest art exhibit. It is currently on display at the Gandee Gallery, 7845 Main Street, Fabius, New York 13063.
This collection reflects her artistic journey – from student to professor and beyond (she will retire next month from her job at Syracuse University). The line quality in her drawings is exquisite. It was her first art love before she ventured into textile territory. Fiber Arts is Clarke’s current jam, incorporating crochet, tatting, felting and needlepoint into delicate creations in wool, silk and cotton. She is also a milliner, having made thousands of hats over the decades.
Anne Clarke, Deer in the Garden, 2014, 44″ x 34″, pieced textiles, $3,000
The energy that travels through her decorative and functional work infuses it with an incandescent spirituality and seems to unite us all in its path. She breathes love into each piece and it’s this positive feeling that allows the viewer to really inhale her depth of character.
This show acts as a retrospective, allowing Clarke to reminisce and re-evaluate her trailblazing path in order to prepare for its next turn.
Into the Woods will be on display through June 23, 2024. Click here for more information.
Anne Clarke, Net Series: 90 Lunches, 2010, 20″ x 20″, fruit stickers, cotton thread, $400Anne Clarke, Daily Drawings: Peaked Hill Trust Arts and Science Residency, 2019, 10″ x 10″, $100Anne Clarke, Hats, mixed fibers, all handmade textiles, $90
If you need another reason to visit the Everson Museum of Art, Mara Baldwin’s work is there. But hurry, because the exhibition ends on August, 6th, 2023.
Mara Baldwin is an educator, artist and historian, studying the artwork of local female artists like Adelaide Robineau. Baldwin pays attention to the detail and intricacies of Robineau’s carvings and replicates the essence into fiber art that hovers the walls and leaps off into three-dimensional space in this tiny tucked-away-in-the-way-back gallery on the museum’s first floor.
The exhibit is part of a local artist initiative, which is a good thing, but really – why not put the museum store in that space? Tucked away would not be an issue because shoppers can sniff out a store. Everybody knows that.
It would be a shame if visitors missed this show. Mara Baldwin tackles personal and historical conundrums about life and the pursuit of goals, happiness and freedoms while weaving herself into the fiber of that history with modern aplomb.
We are all a part of that collective fabric. Just don’t blink and miss it.
The AmeriCu Arts & Crafts Festival is celebrating its 50th year in downtown Syracuse, New York. Located on the streets surrounding Columbus Circle, there are about 150 artisans and crafters represented in this three-day event. It ends around 4pm today, July 25, 2021, so there is still time to check it out!
There’s food trucks, drinks and music too. My sister and I were there for two hours yesterday. So fun!
This is a juried exhibition. Lula Castillo’s booth at the festival won an honorable mention award. Her work is incredible. She uses plants, nuts, seeds and organic dyes to create exquisite pieces of jewelry. I’ve never seen anything like this!
The colors are so vibrant and fun. I loved everything about her sustainable materials collection.
She comes to us from Long Island, New York (formerly Columbia!)
I thought Erin Primerano’s presentation of her handwoven fine art clothing was wonderful. Her tent looked like a real store! The pieces are one-of-a-kind looks, using a mix of fibers from silk to cotton, to wool and can be hand-washed.
Her company is called Haute Made and you can find her on Etsy! She lives in Syracuse, New York.
Booth A4
I met Ted Greenfield from Chittenango, New York, last week at his City Market booth. These wood charcuterie boards are gorgeous! His company is called Bayside Wood Products.
It’s always a pleasure to see the effervescent Barbara Conte-Gaugel (Syracuse, New York) and her mixed-media handbags and satchels. Everything is handmade from recycled fabrics (including leather and old flour sacks). The larger bags are among my favorites with whimsical patterns that inspire positivity. She is selling these bags at the festival but she is also a fine artist – paintings and assemblages.
Devin Mack from Baltimore, Maryland, creates these fun wire sculptures of animals. He was in the process as I photographed him, said he does not use photographs, just whimsy, and the results are stunning!
Kathleen Scranton from Coventry, Connecticut, creates vintage book purses under the logo BeeZ. She comes to us from the business and marketing world. A chance rendezvous with a library eliminating old books sparked this plan to turn their covers into handbags. Purses come with a paperback version of the book.
Michelle DaRin, Pompey, New York, is a rock star around here. Her face is on billboards, as she is currently represented by Cazenovia Jewelry! I noticed that everyone who walked by Montgomery Street was a customer, including me (I was wearing three of her bracelets!).
Michelle DaRin Jewelry is a one person operation – she is the face of the brand. She selects the stones, cuts the metal, does all the metal-smithing and strings the leather.
The look is upscale Bohemian-chic/’70s vibe meets the new millennium.
Wildflowers Armory is a co-op – artisans who share in the responsibility of selling their wares in their store in downtown Syracuse (217 S. Salina Street). Co-owner Michael Heagerty posed for a few pictures with Kathy and me. He is an amazing person who has single-handedly changed the view of the local art scene in Syracuse – a beautiful person inside and out! <3
They have a double tent set-up on Montgomery Street at the festival with an eclectic mix of items for sale.
Merchandise includes clothing (like the awesome Everson is for Lovers shirt!), soaps, notecards, crafts, and artwork.
Finally, I want my Superintendent to buy these metal bear sculptures for our school (We are the Chittenango Bears!). And I want the cardinal sculpture for my back yard.
OMG, Dale Rogers! His work is exceptional. The sculptures are crafted from stainless steel in his studio in Massachusetts.
Debbie Grifka, Ann Arbor, MI, Notre Dame, 2019, Textile, $8,500
Victoria Findlay Wolfe, New York, NY, A Year of Moments, 2018, Fiber, quilt, $15,000
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Cashiers, NC, Playground of Her Soul, 2018, Fabric, batting, embroidery floss, and discarded dress, $3,800
Kerri Green, Dallas, TX, Eyes On You, 2020, Cotton fabric hand-dyed by the artist, and cotton batting, $2,500
Susan Lapham, Vienna, VA, Playland #2, 2020, Pieced, hand-dyed cotton, and machine quilted, $8,000
Kerri Green, Dallas, TX, Eyes On You, 2020, Cotton fabric hand-dyed by the artist, and cotton batting, $2,500Diana Fox, Ellen Blalock, Judy Kirpich
The Quilts = Art = Quilts exhibition at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center is up until January 10, 2021, so you have plenty of time to see it. It is only the second installation since the mandatory Covid-19 shutdowns. The Made in New York show was their toe-in-water – they have upped their safety and security measures to include weekend visits.
Margaret Abramshe, Shinhee ChinVictoria Findlay Wolfe, New York, NY, A Year of Moments, 2018, Fiber, quilt, $15,000
Not sure if a lot of people know the museum is open. It is – and it is BEAUTIFUL. A wonderful experience, especially when you practically have the place to yourself and you can enjoy that intimate discovery of art elements – line, shape, color, texture and size, while appearing incognito.
#coach #marcjacobs #kesnyc #theory #joesjeans #calvinkleinDebbie Grifka, Ann Arbor, MI, Notre Dame, 2019, Textile, $8,500Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Cashiers, NC, Playground of Her Soul, 2018, Fabric, batting, embroidery floss, and discarded dress, $3,800
Only some of these quilts are standard sizes – the rest are meant as wall decoration. Iconography runs the gamut from portraits and landscapes to the abstract. Traditional quilting techniques offer a stepping stone to what is and what can be.
This is a juried exhibition cultivated from a nationwide call for entries. Seventy-one quilts were selected.
Susan Lapham, Vienna, VA, Playland #2, 2020, Pieced, hand-dyed cotton, and machine quilted, $8,000
Valerie S. Goodwin is a mixed media fiber artist and architect whose works of fine art are included in museum and private collections. Most of her work is inspired by a love of aerial views of landscapes and cities. Many of her quilts are based on maps.
Goodwin’s art has moved through various stages from traditional quilting to an interest in abstract expressionism and, currently it is inspired by real and imaginary landscapes and cities. In some cases, her work shows an architectural sense of space with an archaeological perspective. In others, the network of the city and its built form is more prominent. These compositions work on several levels, from close up and far away as if one was looking at it from above.
She received degrees in architecture from Washington University and Yale University. Her award-winning work has been widely published and exhibited. She also lectures and gives workshops nationally and internationally. Currently she teaches architectural design at Florida A&M University.
Fiber artist Mary Lou Alexander’s two great passions are art and nature. She grew up in Northeast Ohio playing along the streams and paths of a nearby forest, drawing, and stitching together fabric scraps in her Godmother’s sewing room. She studied art and art history in college, but spent much of her adult life as a biologist, examining the ecology and reproductive behavior of small South American monkeys. She earned a PhD from Kent State University in Biological Anthropology, and holds an international Diploma from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London. She taught at Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine and in the Department of Biological Sciences at Kent State University.
In mid-career she resigned her tenured professorship to return to art and stitching full time. Over the year she had mounted 5 solo exhibitions in museums and galleries, and she has been represented in many juried exhibitions in the US and Europe including Artist as Quiltmaker, Quilt National, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Best of Ohio, Form Not Function, Focus Fiber, and others. Her work was invited to be included in Color Improvisations, which toured Europe in 2010 through 2013 in the Inaugural Exhibition at Edison Price Gallery in New York City and Material Pulses, which is touring the Us through 2023. Her quilts are part of many private and public collections including Marbaum Collection at the San Joe Museum of Quilts and Textiles. She has curated several exhibitions for the Butler Institute of American Art and written reviews for Fiber Arts Magazine. Natural phenomena remain a major inspiration for her work.
Carolyn Skei, Karen Schulz
The exhibiting artists are as follows:
Margaret Abramshe, Geneviève Attinger, Bobbi Baugh, Deb Berkebile, Margaret Black, Ellen Blalock, Holly Brackmann, Peggy Brown, Betty Busby, Libby Cerullo, Shinhee Chin, Gregory Climer, Tyrus Clutter, Holly Cole, Shannon Conley, Petra Fallaux, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Diana Fox, Kerri Green, Debbie Grifka, Carol Grotrian, Betty Hahn, Barbara Oliver Hartman, Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Virginia Holloway, Judy Hooworth, Beth Porter Johnson, Noel Keith, Natalya Khorover, Judy Kirpich, Elke Klein, Karen Krieger, Denise Labadie, Judy Langille, Susan Lapham, Niraja Lorenz, Valerie Maser-Flanagan, Alicia Merrett, Kestrel Michaud, Susie Monday, Kathy Nida, Frauke Palmer, Julia Pfaff, Heather Pregger, Wen Redmond, Denise Roberts, Irene Roderick, Barbara Schulman, Karen Schulz, Candace Hackett Shively, Carolyn Skei, Brenda Gael Smith, Gerri Spilka, Lee Sproul, Victoria van der Laan, Cynthia Vogt
Candace Hackett Shively, Libby Cerullo
The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center is located at 205 Genesee Street, Auburn, New York 13021. They are open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10AM – 5PM and Sundays from 1PM – 5PM. Call (315) 255-1553 for more information or email at mail@schweinfurthartcenter.org.
Ann Clarke, Syracuse, NY, Self Portrait 2020, wool yarn
I drove to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn, New York (205 Genesee Street) to view the Quilt=Art=Quilts show (blog post to follow). This fabulous show of textiles (or as she calls them – rugs) is by Ann Clarke and is located in the upstairs gallery through January 19, 2021.
It was only my second time up there due to the fact that previously, I did not know there was more than met the eye to the museum – there is a second floor accessed via stairs or elevator hidden behind the gallery shoppe and a basement room as well, where the museum hosts art classes and activities.
Ann Clarke, Syracuse, NY, Insomnia, 2020, knitted and fulled woolAnn Clarke, Syracuse, NY, Noah, 2018, wool yarn
Clarke’s show is more than meets the eye too. It is full of eyes – the hooked wool rug variety. Although this technique was introduced to me in the 1970s as craft, Clarke’s deft handling of the media allows for nuances of color that create a feeling of light flickering throughout, which reminds one of time passing. She has elevated this former stitch-by-numbers-style craft into legitimate art.
The show is titled Lessons of Empathy in Wonderland. Clarke shares a journey of self as artist, and care-giver to her elderly mother. It reads as catharsis. She is literally and figuratively weaving the fragility of life and its complex relationships with love-infused yarn. This journey into an alternate universe (where the family narratives have changed) seems to have inspired empathy for her relationship with family in addition to finding personal solace, strength and depth of character within each intricately detailed piece in this collection.
It is a breathtaking exhibition. All of this large-scale work has been completed in the last two years. It is all so uniquely personal and yet, so compelling as one feels the resonance.
I love how life shows you what to do, what to create based on where you are on the emotional scale. And wherever you are, there will be others who totally see you. <3
