NOVEMBER 2023 AAC NEWSLETTER
IN THIS ISSUE
Happenings this Month
Small Art Show and Art Loop Marketplace
First Round Acceptance into Earth Day Show
Mini-Market at the Buzz
AAC artists in the world
January Retreat Updates
Renewal for AAC Website listings
Newsletter Archives
HAPPENINGS THIS MONTH:
November Art Loop on Friday, November 3:
Ron Meick will be showcasing his recent sculptural work on the Mezzanine Gallery at 820 N. French Street, Wilmington, from 5-7 PM. The work will be on display through November 24th.
Jill Althouse-Wood, is having a solo show, ALL THE FEELS, at the Buzz. from 5-9 PM. In addition to paintings and digital art, Jill will have gift merchandise for sale, perfect for the holidays. The exhibit will be up throughout November.
Afternoon with the Artist featuring Sadie Somerville, Sunday, November 12th from 1-3 PM
Sadie Somerville presents “A Personal Journal Through Art- Paintings, Linocut Prints and Photographs.” Her work is a mixed media showcase of prints, photography and fine art paintings, along with lovely print cards for sale.--Another opportunity to buy local art for holiday gifts. Sadie will give a short talk about her work at 1:30 PM.
Holiday Shop at The Arden Gild Hall, Sunday November 26th, from 10 AM-4 PM
Many Arden Artisans are taking part in the Holiday Shop at the Arden Gild Hall. Lots of vendors and more opportunities to buy local this holiday season. The Holiday Shop also features lunch items for purchase. Come support your neighbors. The Holiday Shop is located at The Arden Gild Hall. Many thanks to Mhairi and Stuart Craig for their organizational efforts.
SMALL ART SHOW AND DECEMBER ART LOOP MARKETPLACE:
For the second year, the AAC is putting on a "Small Art" Show in Room 3 at the Buzz for the December Art Loop. Arden Artisans (Any maker who lives within the Ardens, from high school age on up) is welcome to submit two small pieces to the show. 2D work must measure 18" or less in any direction, including frame. 3D work must not exceed 12" in any direction. 3D artists must supply their own pedestals and must remove unsold pieces after the Art Loop Event on December 1. All work must be for sale. 20% fee will be taken from all sales (10% to the Buzz and 10% to the AAC). Drop off of work and applications will happen on Tuesday, November 28th from 4-6 PM. Download an application today. The December Art Loop event will take place on Friday, December 1 from 5-9 PM. Artisans are encouraged but not required to be at event. All unsold 2D work must be picked up on Sunday, December 17th from 2-4 PM.
The Art Loop Marketplace, while not an official AAC endeavor, will happen simultaneously to the Small Art show. The Marketplace will take place in Rooms 1 and 2. As of now, they have eight vendors, but would like 10 to make it more robust. Applications are past due but if anyone wants to be included, please email or call Bernadette Donohue at 302-981-4811 ASAP, if you would like a table or would like to refer someone. Tables are $30 and vendors don't have to pay a percentage of sales.
FIRST ROUND OF ACCEPTANCE EARTH DAY ART SHOW:
Thank you to all who applied in the first round for the AAC Earth Day Art Show happening at the Delaware Center for Horticulture. What will happen now? Betty O'Regan and Jill Althouse-Wood will sort through applications and select several works for the show. We will be informing artists of pieces that have earned early acceptance by email by late November. We are looking for pieces that will make a splash for the DCH in their marketing for the event. We are only accepting a few pieces for this purpose. Just because a particular piece has not been earmarked for early acceptance, does not mean it will not be in the show. We will keep all submissions to see how they relate to second round submissions and how many we can fit in the space. Final acceptance will occur in late January after the second round of applications has been received and considered.
MINI-MARKET AT THE BUZZ
The BWVC seeks to keep interesting displays in their showcases throughout the year. Here's a new idea we could try if there is enough interest. AAC members could create a tiny "shop" that would be up starting at the beginning of Dec. so that it would coincide with the "Small Art" Show and the December Art Loop Market. Items such as jewelry, cards, clothing (scarves,hats, and gloves), ceramics, sculptures, games, even chocolates) One or two AAC members would install the items, all of which would have price tags and the artists' contact information. Those interested in purchasing would contact you and arrange for a convenient time to pick them up. The Market would remain in place until March or so. Items sold could be replaced at any point. Email Betty O'Regan to let her know if this is something in which you would like to participate.
ARDEN ARTISANS IN THE WIDE WORLD
While we talk about our art in local terms, the members of the AAC are making a mark in the larger world. Recently, a painting by Janet Williams graced the cover of the magazine Philadelphia Stories. Janet, herself was busy completing Plein Air paintings in Martha's Vineyard. Ron Meick, had an exhibit of his sculptures in Washington D.C. last month. And Linda Celestian sold and shipped a sculpture to Hawaii. Recently, I learned that years ago, Cookie Ohlson took a trip to Kalmar, Sweden, one of Wilmington's sister' cities and saw a sculpture by Rick Rothrock. No surprise, really. We know that Rick's sculptures have been all over the world and in some important homes. When we think about Arden Artisans, we should think about the ripples we are sending out to the greater world. Is your work making the leap to places out there? Let us know so we can share with other members of the collective. How can we help our artists expand their reach? I'm particularly wondering how I can do an art exchange with Wilmington's sister city in Olevano sul Tusciano, Italy, Ciao!
PLANNING FOR THE JANUARY RETREAT CONTINUES:
We hope to have a finished brochure available and registration open at the SMALL ART SHOW on December 1st. Save yourself a trip and bring $25 cash/check to register that night. Register early for best selection of afternoon sessions. We hoping for a minimum of 30 participants and a max of 50, for the full-day event. Nobody will be turned away for inability to pay--scholarships are available, simply note on your registration form when you turn it in. Also, everyone will be welcome for the meeting portion of the retreat (9-10:45 AM) even if we have met our quota for the event. In the case of meeting only attendees, we will ask for a small donation toward the Buzz rental.
After the Small Art Show, we will be kicking it into high gear to prepare. While we won't have a general planning meeting in November, but we will be calling around to ask people to contribute in specific ways. Let us know if you have friends, family who would like to help us out on the day so that the Artisans themselves can get the most benefit out of the event. We especially need people to help with food, technology set-up. Since everyone lives locally, we are planning to have the event regardless of weather. If we need to, we will set up Zoom/Facetime to access some of our speakers who are coming from father away. On that note, does anyone have a Zoom account we can use?
*Mark your calendars for January 20th from 7-3 PM for the Arden Artisans Retreat at the Buzz. The fee for the all-day event will be $25 ($35 for non members) and will include light breakfast fare and a vegetarian lunch. More details including applications coming December 1.
RENEW YOUR LISTING ON THE AAC WEBSITE
The calendar year for our AAC website runs November 1- October 31. IF you have not done so, please renew your website listing by paying Jeanne Orr $20 for the year. Your payments fund our website. You can drop cash or check (Made out to Jeanne Orr) off to Jeanne on Monday nights at open studios at the Buzz. Or bring it to Art Loop on November 3. We will have a box behind the snack table to collect dues. If you bring cash, please put it in an envelope and mark your name on the outside. We will have a grace period until December 1st. After that time, if you have not paid, we will remove your listing from our website. If you would like to create a new listing, having never listed with us before, see the details in the bottom box of this newsletter.
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
AAC Newsletter archives are now found in the members section of the AAC website. Still working on formatting them uniformly, but they are there. Next up, we want to get our finances up there so we can be transparent and everyone can see what is on our books.
Yours in co-creation,
Jill Althouse-Wood
P.S. Thanks to Cecelia Vore for adding information and AAC stickers to the welcome prize pack for new residents of Arden. A great way to let them know about our organization as part of their initiation into the village. Ardencroft and Ardentown can talk to Cecelia (or me) if you are interested in doing the same.
P.P.S. Thanks to Megan Murphy King who stepped up and agreed to curate the July/August 2024 AAC show at the Baby Grand. More details will be forthcoming.
REMINDER: If you have news of exhibits, craft shows, workshops (that you are giving), etc that are happening December or later, get the information to me by November 15 so I can post on website, on social media, and in our newsletter. Additionally, you can send news of awards to post on social media. Your triumphs are the group's triumphs. Please provide all information to me in print-ready copy and provide an image, if applicable. Send info to ardenartisans@gmail.com
ABOUT WEBSITE LISTINGS AND PAYMENTS
Listings in our Arden Artisan directory are $20 per year. Our website year runs November 1-October 31. (Prorated, it will be $10 after May 1st). Make check payable to Jeanne Orr. Or give her cash. Jeanne can be found most weeks at the open artist studio at the Buzz on Monday nights starting at 7 PM. After you pay, you send a photograph to represent your work, as well as your name, primary medium, and website or social media link to AACupdates@gmail.com. If you don't have a website or social media presence and require a landing page directly on the AAC website, you can have one created for a one time fee of $50 (also payable to Jeanne Orr). $30 of fee will go to the website creator and $20 to the AAC. In this case, you need to send 5 images and a 500-word (approx) bio/artist statement to AACupdates@gmail.com