FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cultivating Creativity While Nurturing Offspring
Great Barrington, MA
10 February 2010
The Berkshire Art Kitchen will kick off its spring season with a series of events organized by artists Karen Arp-Sandel and Suzi Banks Baum. In conjunction with Women’s History Month and aimed to celebrate women artists, the events focus on the daily-ness of art and the challenges of juggling mothering and creativity. The series will include an exhibition, artist talk, workshop and movie screening.
On the programs within the series, the artists state: “We hope to share with our participants- gallery viewers, workshop takers and moviegoers, the recognition that art is not separate, it is immediate and a healing force available to everyone without special requirements. With a glue stick and scraps from our day, we can begin a dialogue with our present world, and illuminate our perceptions. This playful engagement with our daily activities acts as balm for all sorts of need. The tools to begin are all we hope to help people discover what they already have.”
Opening on March 5th 2010 will be Fe-Mail :: An Exhibition of Mail Art by Karen Arp-Sandel and Suzi Banks Baum. The exhibition features the inspirational “Postal Discourse” between Baum and Arp-Sandel, consisting of over seventy-five mixed media postcards sent through the US Postal Service over a period of three years. The exhibition will run through April 30 and will be complimented with a series of events related to “The Daily-Ness of Art” mantra to which the two locally based artists subscribe.
Artists’ Reception
A public opening reception will be held on Friday, March 5th from 5:30- 7:30 pm. Meet the artists and read their mail! The event is free and open to the public.
Gallery Talk
Join Karen Arp-Sandel and Suzi Banks Baum on Wednesday March 31 at 7:00 pm for an intimate gallery talk about the quiet radical act of collage “snail mail” communication in the face of a fast paced electronic-tech world. The Fe-Mail artists will narrate a personal tour of the “front and back stories” encoded in 1,000 days of visual collaboration.
Workshop
With the Fe-Mail exhibition as a backdrop, Karen Arp-Sandel and Suzi Banks Baum will teach The Daily-ness of Art, a daylong experiential workshop to inspire participants with easy tips about making collage art on a daily basis using everyday ideas and materials. No muss no fuss! The Workshop runs from 9:30 – 4:30 on Saturday April 10th. The workshop is open to 16 participants. The cost is $ 80, which includes $5 materials fee and the evening program.
Movie & Discussion
The workshop culminates with an inspirational evening movie and discussion from 7:00 – 9:00 pm on Saturday April 10th of “Who Does She Think She Is?”, a moving documentary about women artists who navigate the balancing act between motherhood and artistic expression.
The screening, which is open to the community for a donation of $10 to support BAK, premieres “Who Does She Think She Is?” by Pamela Tanner Boll and Nancy Kennedy. The movie chronicles the lives of 5 working artists who are mothers. It explores the barriers to the creative process and how art ultimately transforms women’s lives and those around them. The discussion will be facilitated by three exhibiting artist-mothers Karen Arp-Sandel, Suzi Banks Baum and BAK founder, Gabrielle Senza. You can learn more about the movie at www.whodoesshethinksheis.net.
The Berkshire Art Kitchen was founded in 2009 by artist Gabrielle Senza as an alternative venue for creativity, connection and change. Part gallery and part art salon, the Berkshire Art Kitchen is known for its high-quality exhibitions and handcrafted gifts, intimate house-concerts and film-screenings, as well as an exceptional collection of one-of-a-kind Artists’ Books.
The Berkshire Art Kitchen is open Friday – Sun 12:00 – 5:00 pm, and most weekdays by chance or appointment. For more information, visit www.BerkshireArtKitchen.com or call 413.717.0031.
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Introductory Fiction Writing Class with Judy Seaman
Finding Your Voice
Have you always wanted to write?
Are you struggling to find your voice?
Join us for 4 sessions in February as we explore the work of several short story authors and the narrators they use to tell their stories.
- Try out their voices and find you own.
- Writing in class and at home
- Non-judgmental, accepting atmosphere.
Wednesdays at BAK 10:00 – 11:30 am | $60 for series
Please call Judy at 413.637-2821 to register.
Or find the listing on BerkshiresLive.com and click on the email icon.
Poster Design: John Clarke
Anybody that doesn’t already know Valerie Fanarjian is in for a treat!
High energy, upbeat and funnier than anything, Valerie is a collageaholic extraordinaire!
Stop by the Art Kitchen to see her new show: Rerun.
The show is up through February 28, 2010
Artist’s Reception on Saturday, January 30th 2- 5 pm.
Gallery Hours: Daily by appointment and 12 – 5 Friday through Sunday
Click here to read Press Release.
Six Hands by Valerie Finarjian, mixed media collage, 22" x 18" framed © 2008
Losilla by Valerie Finarjian, mixed media collage, 19" x 16" framed © 2007
We have an incredible year ahead!
Watch for more great exhibitions, films and music – plus exciting workshops, collaborations and art salons.
In an effort to help artists thrive, we will focus on offering useful professional development seminars and consulting services – strategies that will not only aid artists in getting their work out into the world, but will be practical, simple to employ and FUN!
Collectors and enthusiasts will have a wide range of exceptional offerings to enjoy, and, as always – unique opportunities to connect with artists and change-makers from the Berkshires and beyond.
2010 will be a year full of creativity, connection and change at the Berkshire Art Kitchen.
We look forward to seeing you!
Another helpful article for entrepreneurs from Lisa Caning’s blog, Entrepreneur the Arts – with a mention of the Berkshire Art Kitchen! Enjoy!
Introducing the latest brain-child of Entrepreneur the Arts Founder, Lisa Canning:
The ETA Resource Center
Courtesy of Entrepreneur the Arts
Here are some photos from our Vigil for Survival Candlelight March yesterday evening.
Thank you, everyone, for coming out to stand in solidarity with the world in asking the leaders in Copenhagen to come to an ambitious, fair and binding treaty to save the planet from spiraling climate change.
Got Self-Doubt? Great! Where Can it Take You? Another great post by Lisa Canning at Entrepreneur the Arts
So are you making the right decision? How do you know? Does self-doubt sabotage your willingness to experiment with new ideas, interests or meet new people? Self-doubt often increases our self-judgment, making us more self-conscious and less entrepreneurial.
Self-doubt serves an important entrepreneurial role– one of insight– offering opportunity to access a situation factually for evidence to support or deny our concerns, as well as gives us an opportunity to test our tolerance for risk. When you doubt you instantly create room in your mind to begin to learn how to set your emotions aside and access a situation, individual or circumstance, in the moment, and figure out how to maximize (or bring to light) the positives. What an important skill worth developing if you want to live life on your own terms by becoming an entrepreneur. read more…
