Artist Down Under

A customer came into the gallery recently and after purchasing some jewelry for his wife (not for any reason, just because…nice, huh?) he mentioned in his awesome Aussie accent that his sister at home is an artist. He gave me her site to check out, which I did, and she does really cool work so I thought I would share. Have a look!

Artist: Tinka Theresa Martell

Sharing a display wall with previously featured artist Lisamarie Charlesworth and soon-to-be featured Longina Smolinksi, Tinka Martell exhibits a series of works of mixed media on handmade paper. Her designs present a relationship between both delicate and dominant materials with the use of copper foil, acrylic paint, ink and glass bead. The series is definitely worth a look!

"Everything I see in my world filters into my work as an artist: landscapes, clouds, the composition of my stone walls, arrangements of special items on a shelf. I work with several media including wood, paper and canvas. I also use many recycled and found objects. Mostly, I enjoy working with small scale collage, especially playing with copper leaf and ink. My large scale works are often three dimensional, and my medium varies. In the past I have incorporated bold colors, using lots of black to define my shapes. I create large asymmetrical compositions, adding hammered copper plate to imply a solid feeling. Now, I gravitate to layers of soft muted colors blending paint until the right color arrives. My home and studio are in Fairfax, VT. I find that working in the evening allows me the time to relax and to step back from work that is in progress. Ultimately, a piece is not complete until in ‘feels right’. In my studio setting, which is very much in the country, my environment can inspire the finished product. I have been working as an artist for twenty years. I have shown my work in New Mexico, New England and recently been accepted in online galleries from MA to Canada."

Artist: Lisamarie Charlesworth

Lisamarie has a great collection of her mixed media pieces on display and her bio gives a great description of how she arrives at the end result. She is an artist that gives careful consideration to each element of her work and it shows! 

"Almost all of the work I make draws inspiration from my ongoing fascination with the past. I grew up hearing stories about the “good old days” from my grandparents, aunts and uncles, many of whom were first and second generation Americans who lived through both World Wars and the Great Depression. Lucky for me, they saved everything…old papers, greeting cards, books, kitchen and instruction manuals, advertising and design samples, boxes, containers, tools and of course string. Their experiences and tangible remnants from their lives form the fabric of my personal history. As a result, their stories surface continually in my work. My work juxtaposes family relic with basement treasures or similarly rescued found objects. I relish the notion of historical patterns recycling themselves through time. This repitition is both alarming and comforting - an odd dichotomy that intrigues me. In my day job, I have spent 20 years in marketing and public relations for non-profit arts organizations. When not promoting visual art, the performing arts or music, I make art. I am employed as the Marketing Director for the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association. I studied art and art history at Trinity College, the L’universite de Besancon, France and at the University of Vermont. My work has been shown in galleries and private venues in Vermont and New York. A native of Buffalo, NY, I live and create art from my home and studio in St. Albans." 

Out and About with Kim…

Here's some updates from Kimberlee Forney, one of Staart's talented painters:

This weekend is the Taste of Stowe Arts Festival at the Topnotch Field in Stowe.
The hours are 10-5 Friday, Saturday and Sunday. for more info: www.helenday.com/tastestowe.htm

I will be there, somewhere in the big tent...not sure of my exact location. I will have lots of prints, originals, cards and a few wooden cow cut outs...I hope to see some of you there. Lots of yummy food too.

Also, wanted to let you know that I have been doing some live paintings while musicians/bands have been playing. I have done them at Nectar's, Higher Ground and other venues. The most recent one was of Electric Halo at Parima on Pearl Street in Burlington. I will have a live painting gallery on my site soon. This is my 8th live painting. A percentage of the proceeds of the sales of the giclee reproductions on canvas will go to the organization of the band's choice. If you are a musician and interested in me painting at one of your shows, feel free to contact me. And I hope some of you can make it at future live paintings. I have had some fans show up and given excellent feed-back. I guess it's interesting watching a blank canvas transform into a piece of art. I am so greatful for this gift.


On another note, looks like the house I have been renting since mid-january has been sold! so much for the hurting housing market. My landlord put it on the market about month ago (after my 6 month lease ended) and it has found a buyer. So, I will be needing to find another place for me, my dog and cat and my work. If you know of anything for rent that would be suitable for what I need, I would greatly appreciate any help and information.


Also, if you are looking for me on Church Street in the artists alley in Burlington, we have been temporarily moved to the alley between city hall and the firehouse gallery. I have only made it there the past two saturdays which also coincides with the farmers' market (held in city hall park).

A heads up for August events:

Artist reception at STAART Gallery in St. Albans on Aug. 22 from 7-9pm
August 30th and 31 is the MadRiver Valley craft fair.

Artist: Jane Bower

It's time to introduce some of the new artists displaying work at Staart for our summer season! We'll start off with Jane Bower. See her bio below and visit her page to see more of her work.

"Jane Bower began her life in Woodstock, VT and moved to Pittsford, NY when her father continued his professional photography career at Eastman Kodak in Rochester. Both parents encouraged her interests in music and art. When Jane retired from a 20-year teaching career, she returned to study art. Jane began her studies with three dimensional design, painting with acrylics, calligraphy, and pottery courses at CCV. She continued with a weekend watercolor course at the Fletcher Farm School, a Chinese ink painting weekend at Shelburne School for the Arts and Crafts and numerous other workshops. Jane is an amateur who enjoys experimenting with mixing many media in the same painting. She loves the flow of watercolors and the boldness and texture of acrylics. Often trees are the subject of her work because of their variety, strength and because to her they represent courage. "

Friday Highlights

We had another great turnout Friday night for our featured artist reception. Although some familiar faces were missing, it was great to see some new ones. The six featured artists included Deborah Benoit, Lisamarie Charlesworth, Robert Chaperon Jr., David Juaire, Tinka Theresa Martel, and Longina Smolinski. If you didn't get a chance to come by Friday night, their work will be up through the end of September. 

David chatting with some fans…

Lots of new painting and photography up to see…

Lisamarie greeting a guest…

Stay tuned for details on our next featured artist reception to be held on August 22nd!

Our Next Reception

Things to Do on Thursday

Another invite from the Artist in Residence Gallery. You know you're gonna leave work early Thursday anyway…go see some art!

You are invited to an artist reception at the Artist In Residence gallery 

to celebrate the artwork of this month's four featured artists:

Nancy Hayden - Oil Paintings / Mixed Media

Pam Kraut-Voss - Fiber Arts / Photography

Pat Murphy - Large Acrylic Paintings

Jo Ann Wazny - Photography

Date: Thursday July 3, 2008

Time: 5:00 - 8:00 P.M.

Please forward this invitation to someone you know who might also be interested in attending. Bring a friend!

Located at 349 Main St., Enosburg Falls, VT. 

The Artist In Residence is a Cooperative Gallery located on Main Street in Enosburg Falls, VT. The gallery is open Wed-Sat 10-5 and Sunday 12-5. Please join us on the first Thursday of each month for our monthly Artist Reception. 

(802) 933-6403