ARDEN ARTISAN COLLECTIVE NEWSLETTER--SUMMER 2024
In this issue:
SUMMER IS HERE!
June Studio Art Tour
Baby Grand Art Show update
Arden Fair—UPDATED
Update: Arden Club—UPDATED
Update: Public Art
Field Trips--Check this out now
Summer Book Club—UPDATED
Coming, this Fall and beyond
Have a program idea?
Changes in publishing Member Happenings
Membership: residency qualifications
SUMMER IS HERE!
This is the newsletter for the whole of SUMMER 2024. Summer is a slower time, so I will not be sending out a monthly newsletter. Instead, I will be sending out small email notices as needed; and putting reminders on Ardenistas Facebook group. The steering committee is also taking a break and will not meet again until late August, right before the Arden Fair. As always, you can find this newsletter as well as steering committee meeting minutes online in the Members dropdown menu on www.ardenartisans.com, should you need to reference anything throughout the summer.
2024 ARDEN STUDIO ART TOUR
Saturday, June 8th 10-4 PM. Raindate June 9th. While not an official AAC event, it is still a great opportunity for our members. While those of us who are on the tour will be planted at our locations, we can all cross-pollinate by encouraging visitors to come to Arden and to hit more locations. Thanks again to David Burslem and the DE Division of the Arts for making this possible. In the future, the AAC may be sponsoring an event like this, so make sure to jot down feedback we can use for future events. Remember to advertise on social media for the event as it will help our members. Also remember to collect emails and take photos. Not for AAC, but for your own marketing. Click for information.
BABY GRAND ART SHOW
The show has been set. Curators will be communicating directly with the 14 participating artisans. Some important dates and times to remember:
Tuesday, July 9th from 8-10 AM Artists must deliver artwork or have their piece(s) delivered to the Baby
Grand (818 N. Market St, Wilmington, DE 19801)
The curators and helpers will be hanging the show that day. If you would like to help, reach out to Meghan
Friday, July 12th: Opening Reception from 5-7 PM. Participating artists are being asked to bring food/drink to share. Details will come in an email from curators.
Non-participating artists, please come to the opening to support the group endeavor. We had a great turnout for the Earth Day Art Show. We want to replicate that. It may be a little more difficult considering it is summer and people are vacationing, so it is even more important to get the word out.
Tuesday, September 3: 9 AM-12 PM pick up artwork. This is different from what was listed in application which was a typo.
Please All Members--help us get the word out about the show. Use the following Image File on social Media
ARDEN FAIR (this has been updated since the original newsletter)
We have a full slate of participating artisans for the AAC Arden Fair Booth for Saturday, August 31 from 10 AM-6 PM. We are looking for volunteers to help run the booth. The shifts are 2-hour, alternating shifts (Meaning that start times will be staggered. No two people will come on at the same time). Two people will be at the booth at all times. Duties include facilitating sales and talking to people about the Arden Artisan Collective and collecting emails for our marketing list. We also need help setting up and taking down the booth. Please contact Rachel Kantner if you (or someone you know) would like to take a shift. You do not need to be a participating artisan or even a member of the AAC. All art-lovers are welcome to volunteer. Email Rachel to volunteer and be the first to select hours.Megan King is heading up the Face painting booth. Email Megan if you can lend your artistic sensibilities to that endeavor.
As you know--there are many volunteer opportunities at the Arden Fair. We are trying to be proactive and fill our rosters early.
JOINING THE ARDEN CLUB (this has been updated since the original newsletter)
At the last AAC Steering Committee (5/28), members decided we do want to pursue creating an Arts & Crafts Gild, but that--at least for now--the AAC will remain a separate entity. That said, we imagine there will be much overlap between the two groups. Megan King has volunteered to spearhead this effort--after the Baby Grand Show, which she is curating, comes down in early September. The AAC is trying to secure the Buzz for an Artisan Social on September 10 (Mark your calendars). That will be a good time to gather signatures for our Gild proposal, so please make sure your Arden Club membership is in good standing so you can sign. We are not going to debate the creation of this club. We are moving forward. Our intention is to start small and build. Perhaps quarterly events at first. If you would like to help Megan and be an organizing force in this new gild, please contact her.
PUBLIC ART PROJECT
No movement on this, but Bethany Rees is still working on it. When she has an update, she will let us all know.
UPCOMING AAC FIELD TRIPS—Anyone art lovers who want to join us are welcome
We had a great visit to the Chester County Studio Art Tour. Five of us (Jill Althouse-Wood, Pat Toman, Linda Toman, Bernadette Donohue, Jeremy Donohue) ventured out from Arden and came away with a lot of inspiration. For us as a group and as individual artists. Ask us about it!
Happening this Friday
*Biggs Museum of American Art to see Award Winners XXIV: Delaware Division of the Arts Fellowship Recipients Exhibit. This exhibit includes our own David Burslem. On May 31th, we will meet at 9 AM in the Gild Hall parking lot to carpool down to Dover. The cost of the museum is $10 or $8 for seniors (60+). The original plan was to go to lunch. But we will poll the group that meets at the Gild to see what they want to do. We may get lunch or decide to come home. Or maybe one car of each, some to stay for lunch and others to head back early.
*Philadelphia Museum of Art for Mary Cassatt Exhibit. Thursday, June 13th. We will meet in the parking lot at 10 AM. Please, if you plan to come, non-members need to get tickets for 11 AM. Do this as soon as possible as they sell out. BUT…keep in mind—member tickets are free and don’t require a timed entry. I recommend becoming an artist member. To become an artist member is easy and inexpensive ($40 for the whole year). All that is required is an artist website (I would think that your presence on the AAC website would count.) For this field trip we are asking you to sign up by emailing ardenartisans@gmail.com with subject line Mary Cassatt by May 31. At that point we will decide on transportation details—carpool or take the train in and where to eat lunch. I think we are leaning toward carpooling and parking.
*National Gallery in Washington D.C. to see the Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction Exhibit THURSDAY JUNE 27th. Text Jill 717-799-7286 to let her know you are coming. We will make a plan to carpool to train station.
IF YOU PLAN TO COME GET YOUR AMTRAK TICKETS NOW!
AMTRAK NORTHEAST REGIONAL 181 Departs Wilmington at 7:35 AM and gets to DC Union Station at 9:07. Currently this ticket is $32
The Museum is a 24 min walk (or 18 min bus ride) from the Station. It opens at 10, so we can walk leisurely, stopping for coffee on the way. Admission to museum and exhibit is free.
Return Train is AMTRAK NORTHEAST REGIONAL 176 Departs Wilmington at 3:35 PM and gets to DC Union Station at 5:03 PM. Currently this ticket is $32
SUMMER BOOKCLUB (This has been updated since the original newsletter)
As promised, we will have a summer bookclub. Mark your calendars for July 17th. 6:30-9 PM Location: Sherwood Green. We will be discussing the trilogy by Austin Kleon: Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going. These books are short, comprised short of plenty of quotes and visuals, but they contain some big ideas. These books will meet you wherever you are on your art journey. We invite our teen artists to also participate. The books are readily available in the DE Library System. Even if you don't read them, you can come and discuss the ideas they present. Participants are invited to get food at the Summer Dinner Gild or bring a picnic. Wander to the green (Bring a chair and bug spray) We will gather and eat at 6:30 PM. Book Discussion at 7. I imagine it will go to 8:30, but plan for 9 just in case. *Contingencies for bad weather will be announced on Ardenistas and by email.
COMING IN FALL OF 2024 AND BEYOND: (UPDATED)
We will have an Artisan Social in Fall of 2024. Our Tentative Date is Tuesday, September 10 from 7-9 PM. Shay Seaborne has stepped up and will oversee it. Thanks, Shay. Date and Time TBD. If you are interested in being one of the presenting artists at the social, email Shay.
We will once again be having a "Small Art" Show for the December Art Loop. This year it will take place December 6th. We generally hang the show in the days before the opening. In the past, we have asked for 2D artwork, not exceeding 18" in any direction, including frame. All work must be for sale. Each artisan can submit 2 pieces to the show.
Looking ahead to 2025, we will be having a meeting for the entire membership. Last year we had the artisan retreat. We won't be having anything of that scale, but we will schedule a general meeting, perhaps in conjunction with a January Artisan Social. Stay tuned.
HAVE A PROGRAM IDEA?
We have a great new feature on the AAC Website in the members section where anybody can fill out a form with a proposed program idea. Whether you want to facilitate an exhibit, field trip, workshop, lecture, demonstration, social gathering, film screening, book club, studio tour, youth event, public art project, online offering, or any other creative concept, we want to hear from you and help you gather a team to make it happen! Just give us a general idea of what you want to do along with some basic information on proposed time, place, scope, cost and we can get the ball rolling. Right now, 2025 is light on activities. We don't have anything on our collective calendar. Think ahead to the activities you want to see and then...be the spark! The happenings don't have to be large or formal.
CHANGES IN ANNOUNCING MEMBER HAPPENINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES:
We are taking a break from putting member happenings on our website and in our newsletter. It is a lot of work and has to potential to snowball with so many members participating in so many things. Likewise for member opportunities--places to show, contests, grant possibilities, outside classes, residencies . While we wish we could be the resource for all these things, we don't have the bandwidth right now. We will continue to announce group activities--even if it only involves a small group of members. We are looking into have a public Facebook group where members could post things to the public as well as post artist opportunities. Right now we have a closed FB group that the public can't see and also a Public Page that only the admin can post to. We are looking for a solution that is a better fit for the needs of our group. Be patient.
MEMBERSHIP RESIDENCY QUALIFICATIONS:
Since its inception, the AAC has had a few members who moved outside the Ardens. The steering committee feels that living in the Ardens, past or present, is good enough to continue membership--should the artisan care to continue to engage with our group. This extends to Arden Youth who move away. This is not set in stone. We can be fluid, but this is a conversation we have been having. We look forward to discussing the idea of this with more members. We would love your feedback.
Warmly,
Jill Althouse-Wood on behalf of AAC Steering Committee
2024 AAC Steering Committee: Jill Althouse-Wood, Shay Seaborne, Megan King, Stevie Nolan, Cookie Ohlson, Rachel Kantner, Linda Toman
Steering Committee Meeting Minutes can be found in the members section of the AAC Website
Treasurer: Jeanne Orr
“To create one’s own world takes courage.” Georgia O’Keeffe