Tonight was the opening reception for the summer art exhibition at The Syracuse Tech Garden gallery (235 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York 13202). It is titled Cool August Moon. I saw my high school friend and fellow art teacher Audrey Levinson there!
Artist Steve Nyland (another Jamesville-DeWitt alum) is the curator and a participant in the show. He told me that he signed a new contract to continue with these exhibitions for at least another year. They take place in the lobby of this building, which is across the street from the Syracuse Marriott (Hotel Syracuse).
Other local artists contributing to this show –
Laura Audrey Terry Lynn Cameron Richell Castellon Fletcher Crangle Kathy Donovan Ryan Foster Larry Hoyt Lisa Ketcham James P. McCampbell Sally Stormon Rabekah Tanner Mitzie Testani Ray Trudell Kayla Cady Vaughn Ryan Wood
Massachusetts transplant Lisa Ketcham creates these kitschy assemblages and frames. They are sort of a cross between steampunk and macabre via the use of gears, timey-wimey-ies and skeletons.
Terry-Lynn Cameron brought her originals to share. I met her on Sunday at City Market where she was selling prints of these lovely acrylic paintings.
Richell Castellon Ferreira is the real deal – a painter and woodworker by trade. He comes to us from Cuba. His paintings of the Syracuse landscape would make perfect additions to any local collector’s art stash! He paints from photographs and from memory. These originals are only $175.
Ray Trudell focuses on the invisible in his black and white photographs taken of the surrounding area. He “slows time” by defining a glimpse of a moment using sharp contrast in his compositions.
The exhibit will be on display until September 20, 2019. For more information contact Steve Nyland at gallery.ttg@gmail.com. To purchase artwork, contact the artists directly. They have left business cards and also have contact information on their respective art tags.
And with that comes the answer to the question I have been asking myself – what happens when I exhaust all the art venues in my area and I have to start duplicating them – I mean, where’s the spin, the angle? How do we make the old new again?
I haven’t technically exhausted venues. There are plenty around this town that I haven’t written about or ventured to yet! But then, there are certain places that I seem connected to, as if they are the set decoration to my personal reality show and the Syracuse Tech Garden is, apparently, one of those spaces.
Steve Nyland chose this time out to curate a seven-artist show, which to my delight, makes this show new and different. I prefer this to juried shows or the free-for-all themed show (anyone want a bunch of abstract watercolors with baseball-themed titles? because I have fifty I can sell you today, lol). You know what I’m talking about. 🙂
April Showers: Technically Irrelevant is at the Syracuse Tech Garden until July 8, 2016, which offers you plenty of time to get down there. It is on Harrison Street (235 Harrison, Syracuse, New York 13202) right across from the Hotel Syracuse, which is currently being renovated for a spectacular re-opening in June.
The artists in the show include my work colleague Sherry Allen, plus Facebook and personal friends Penny Santy, Lauren Bristol, John Fitzsimmons and Ken Nichols along with Robert Kasprzycki and Stephanie Roeser. Each offers a strong sense of character and style – all different, and so the show is very cohesive.
According to the literature/curator statement, Steve chose the artists based on comraderie, friendship and inspiration. There is definitely a positive vibe to the artwork here, a mutual admiration society of artists complimenting and encouraging each other to provide us all with a footprint of their souls, as seen in color, texture, brushstroke and commitment to their respective visions.
I have showcased Penny’s work before, but in this space these bulls have enormous presence. The large canvases give credence to her sweeping brushstrokes and color combinations. Really breathtaking stuff.
I know that John Fitzsimmons will paint your portrait if you head over to his studio at the Delavan Center on Fayette Street in Syracuse (and if you have several hours to spare!) His portraits are done with straight painting – no drawing it first with pencil or charcoal, and yet they are so proficient with accurate placement of proportions and an uncanny ability to capture one’s essence.
Here, he is showing ethereal landscapes with magnificent mastery of color choice. They are simultaneously deliberate and spontaneous and seem to represent the sky’s fickle ability to change on a dime. A dark cloud approaches on the horizon with hurricane force, and yet, with the smaller works, they are sized to the give the appearance of a landscape at rest – long and narrow horizontals.
I absolutely love the texture in Sherry Allen’s work. There is dimension as well, the idea that the painting jumps into space and becomes a part of your life. Her work certainly does not sit back passively waiting for anyone to notice.
She is retiring from her teaching job at Chittenango High School at the end of the school year. I am really looking forward to the direction her artwork will take once she has more time to devote to it!
I know Ken Nichols as a potter. We keep running into each other at events. His mugs are also being sold at Natur-Tyme in Dewitt, New York and at the Clayscapes gallery, even though he isn’t mentioned in either gallery’s literature. It is because his work sells. It’s in and out the door in a flash due to exceptionally perfect price points and of course, quality.
Here, he introduces us to his paintings, which are so colorful. It’s almost as if he is a kid in a candy store with the control he can get out of acrylic paint – very different than the you-get-what-you-get attitude that comes with glazing pottery.
Hopefully, I can connect with him to share these paintings in my middle school library gallery next year. They are delightful confections that remind me of zentangles.
Lauren Bristol can crochet! She creates the pattern on large point graph paper and I have never seen this before. Loved it! My grandmother tried to teach me to crochet, but that was a disaster, as she couldn’t slow it down enough for me to understand what she was counting out in her Vlashki language (una, dow, tre, patrou, cin-cee, sha-cee, shap-tee, optou, now, zhad-cee…)
Lauren uses crochet as an art form. She includes abstract paintings in her display as well to fill her space. I cannot imagine where she finds the time to create all of this, as I know from watching my mom now and my grandmother years ago, how long it takes to string together that work.
I don’t know anything about Stephanie Roeser except to say that her artwork is whimsical. Very youthful and alive.
And Robert Kasprzycki’s giclee prints have the attitude of technically proficient. Not at all irrelevant.
The Syracuse Tech Garden is open to the public Monday – Friday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. Contact the gallery at gallery.ttg@gmail.com for more information.
Let’s face it – back to school is all about the fashion. And it’s not just me. I’ve had plenty of conversations in the last two weeks with my colleagues where we spend time between classes complimenting each other’s outfits and that’s with both men and women. The new principal walked by me twice in a day and said, “Talking about fashion again?” (I was…to two different friends).
I love what the kids are bringing to the table too. The boys wear shorts, socks and sneakers that all match in colors like bold yellow and turquoise. The girls like what I call shimmer-shammer, tops with sequins in heart motifs or positive message text. Of course, my favorite thing is when someone is wearing cammo sandwich (head-to-toe camouflage) and I say, “Whoops, I didn’t see you there.” Yeah, that joke never gets old.
The day I wore the above outfit, I was up on my step ladder finally adding posters to the walls of my classroom once the humidity died down a notch (no aircondish). I literally fell off…and landed perfectly on my four inch heels. Alex, one of my students, is still talking about that. He was like, “How did you DO that?”Answer – cat-like reflexes, if cats wore heels.
BCBGMaxAzria dress, BCBGGeneration sandals
As you know, I’m attempting to save money so that I can start a sentence with “One time, in Greece….” My friend Shelly said I should start by not buying any new clothes. She’s right. No one in Greece has seen me in person in these clothes (except my cousin Michele) so there’s that. But I will literally die if I don’t continue to buy new stuff. I’d rather do that than eat or fix the brakes on my car. I’m honestly not sure how I will manage.
BCBGMaxAzria dress, BCBGGeneration sandals, Honora watch, Coach tag on velvet necklace (homemade/one-of-a-kind – my cat ate the string; pooped it out the next day!)
There is a way I could have both new clothes and the trip, and that is to do with the business of selling art. In a dream scenario, I would sell every painting I have for sale at Natur-Tyme before the witching hour.
BCBGMaxAzria top Banana Republic pants, BCBGGeneration sandals, Fossil bracelets
I take them all home next Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 9:00 am. Right now, aside from the very reasonably priced 18″ x 18″ cat paintings ($75), I am selling unframed watercolors in different sizes for between $75 and $200. I only need to sell ten of the latter for that ticket and some pocket money. And we all know how much better these abstractions look in multiples, right? I know there is someone out there who wants to help me. I can feel it.
Lifeline, 18″ x 24″, watercolor, 2002, $200
Also, I have cards there for only $5. Those cards are an absolute steal at that price since they take me close to three hours each to create.
I am soooo happy. The accolades have been such a gift. So many people telling me they love my artwork. So many people congratulating me on the article in Women of Upstate New York. The summer has been seriously laced with magic. I am so grateful for all the adventures, for the love and the friendships and for the amazing things that happened with regard to my art career. Some of the best times of my life…moments I will cherish, and never, ever forget for as long as I live. I am a very lucky person. I know that.
Trina Turk dress, BCBGGeneration sandals
I wish I could just give the artwork away and if I didn’t need the money for this trip and another romantic notion – to go to Paris, you know I would. Like if travelling was free.
The only way to manifest those dreams is with your help. I will be forever grateful and you will have a Tashkovski original, a piece of my soul, kinda like a horcrux only better because it was made with love.
Bailey 44 top, Trina Turk skirt, BCBGGeneration sandals, Fossil bracelets
The thirty-two framed paper collage and watercolors will remain at Syracuse Tech Garden until October 9, 2015. Contact Steve Nyland to make a purchase – gallery.ttg@gmail.com.
The sweeper in soccer is a defensive player who usually works her magic to intercept the ball when the opponent has penetrated the line of defense. This player can also move the ball up field and even score on occasion, and is typically one of the fastest players.
In baseball, a pinch hitter’s role is to bat for another player. Usually this person is an outfielder who is also a good hitter. And yes, I am as well-versed in sports as Amy Schumer’s character is in the movie Trainwreck, lol, which is to say not at all. I had to Google search these definitions because I was trying to create a sports analogy that defines my role in the new art exhibition at the Syracuse Tech Garden (235 Harrison Street, Syracuse, NY 13202).
Forty-six paintings are on display in The Boys of Summer: Baseball Meets Art with a reception this Thursday, August 20, 2015, from 5 – 7 pm. Steve Nyland is the curator.
My role in this show is a blend of sweeper and pinch hitter. I added thirty-two paintings and paper collage pieces to round out the show and fill the walls. My watercolors were untitled before and now they have baseball themed titles – cliché, perhaps but whateves. I think it is kind of hilarious and fun, and makes me feel like a part of a team, the way Amy did during the climax of what was really a pretty terrific rom-com.
Steve is also sharing his paintings in the art show, which will run through October 9th if you don’t have a chance to make it to the opening.
