The Central Connecticut Woodturners will be holding a free Pen Turning Event on Saturday February 4th, 2023, from 10-2:00 at Knowlton Memorial Hall/Babcock Library, 25 Pompey Hollow Road, Ashford, CT. Mark your Calendars and bring a friend : The club supplies all materials, and will guide you in turning your own pen, which will be yours to keep!
There will be a sign-up sheet when you come in.
You do not need to be an Arts Council member to participate. A wood carver will also be present to enjoy.
Local members of the CCW club Joanne Mann and Dan Merlo of Eastford CT will be leading this event. Kindly offered to us by Dan Merlo, an Arts Council Member.
Tony Paticchio, Ashford’s Poet Laureate, will be hosting a Winter 2023 Poetry Reading and Writing Workshop via Zoom on the following six Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:30 PM:
January 25th
February 8th
February 22nd
March 8th
March 22nd
April 5th
The workshop is open to both writing and non-writing participants.
Sessions will begin with close readings and discussions of several selected poems, and readings and discussion of poems and short prose pieces composed by workshop participants. There will generally be a theme for each session’s readings, Writing participants may choose to follow the session theme, but are free to submit one to two. No prior experience reading or writing poetry is required. PLEASE EMAIL Tony Paticcihi IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORKSHOP AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, SPECIFYING WHETHER YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE AS A WRITER AND READER, OR SOLELY AS A READER.
Tony Paticchio, Ashford’s Poet Laureate, will be hosting a Fall 2022 Poetry Reading and Writing Workshop for up to ten participants via Zoom on the following six Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:40 PM: October 5, 19, November 2, 16, 30, and December 14.
Sessions will begin with close readings and discussions of several selected poems, focusing for the most part (though not exclusively) on free verse by 20th and 21st Century poets, followed by readings and discussion of poems and short prose pieces composed by workshop participants. We will generally have a theme for each session’s readings, and will consider and discuss not just the sense and meaning of the selected poems, but also how the poems are constructed, including, among other things, how word choice, meter, sound, tone, repetition, metaphor, line length, and speaker voice contribute to our experience of reading the poems.
Writing participants may choose to follow the session theme, but are free to submit one to two pages of any new or revised work at each session. No prior experience reading or writing poetry is required. I will provide to all workshop participants a selected reading list of resources, as well as a glossary of terms we will want to be familiar with and use as we consider and discuss poems.
Participants: This workshop is open to writing participants who are willing to share and workshop their own poems, as well as to those who are interested in reading and discussing poetry, but don’t now have work of their own to share. Please indicate your preference when you contact me.
PLEASE CONTACT TONY AT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORKSHOP AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, SPECIFYING WHETHER YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE AS A WRITER AND READER, OR SOLELY AS A READER.
October 22, 2022 2 to 4 P.M. Ashford Senior Center
Kathy Lepak is a calligrapher, graphic designer and illustrator. For over forty years her calligraphy has graced wedding invitations and envelopes, certificates, proclamations, and her own illustrated artwork, along with a wide variety of different calligraphic projects. Kathy has taught classes at Arts Center East, Vernon; the Coventry Arts Guild and the studios at Cheney Homestead Arts in Manchester.
Come join Kathy for a two hour excursion into the art of the calligrapher. She will be teaching the use of the broad-edged nib in the formation of each of the letters of the Italic hand. Exemplars will be provided, along with samples and guidelines. Also included in the student package is her booklet “Notes on Calligraphy”, basic materials used and a listing of online or local sources for materials. A $5.00 fee for nibs and pen holders will be requested plus $5 class fee for non-members (members class fee $0.
Please make certain to indicate when you register if you are right or left handed, as it makes a difference in the pen nibs that she will supply to each student.
Sign-up for this workshop must be received by October 13 so that nibs and holders may be ordered.
During a short, mid-class break, tea and scones will be served.
*AAC Annual Member appreciation meeting is at Knowlton Memorial Hall September 21st at 7:00 in place of our usual second Wednesday meeting. Please mark your calendar! The Babcock Band will perform and Pulitzer Prize winner (Political Cartoonist for Insider), Josh Adams will be our keynote speaker. There will be a short business meeting to talk about new positions for 2023.
October
*If you became a member before June of 2022, it will be time to renew your membership in October. As it becomes closer we will be sending out registration forms.
*Our workshop program is returning beginning in October. We’ll keep you posted.
*New event: AAC Members Show at the Vanilla Bean Gallery. We already have a list of 13 members who have responded. We will be hanging the show at the end of September. Date and time to follow. Let me know if you want your art to be included on the walls there.
November:
*Deb will reach out to former vendors of the annual Holiday Artists Market early in August before opening spaces to others. It will be held two days (Nov. 19 and 20 from 10 – 4:00 at Knowlton Memorial Hall) which is designed for social separation with half the vendors each day as we did last year. Like last year, each artist will enjoy extra space for their displays. You might need to renew your membership in October. The spaces will be $30
Kathy is working on her 300 year old loom making rugs to sell at the Holiday Artists Market on November 16 and 17 at Knowlton Hall in Ashford, CT. Kathy also will also have her all-time favorites including towels, scarves and mini capes. New this year are firewood carriers made with old clothing. Sturdy nylon straps make carrying easy; they hold at least 40 lbs of wood.
Kathy Weigold has made a career of production weaving. Subcontracting work from designers of handwoven fabrics, she makes their designs become a reality. Spanning 40 years plus, many miles of fabrics have been produced. Kathy learned production weaving skills at The Marshfield School of Weaving in VT. A lifetime of honing those skills, both in operating the loom and seeing how colors interact. Kathy also developed her own line of woven goods. First with rugs, having a practical bent and using things on hand. What better use for old worn out clothes, sheets, blankets and the like then to make them into something usable again. Dish towels that are 100% cotton and really work. Scarves that have their own personality; no two alike. Wooly ponchos, soft, light and warm. Color interactions that simply amaze. These are some of the things that comprise her work and life.
Fiber Artist Joan Blade Johnson of JBJ is a Hampton, CT-based fiber artist who exhibits nationally and internationally.
Joan’s journey took her from a traditional quilter to a contemporary fiber artist who employs several surface designs in her art quilting. She enjoys the creative process involved in composing fiber art pieces using non-traditional methods and materials to achieve her artistic vision, most often inspired by nature and her original nature photography.
The surface design materials that she regularly works with on fabric include paint, foraged natural plant dye, rust, fiber reactive dye, and photos printed onto fabric.
Writer’s Crawl, June 18, 2022, 10:30-1:30. Meet at Storrs Center with Marian Matthews, leader of the expedition.
Feel like being inspired through sharing your writing done in-the-moment and to the location with others? Then come to the Writer’s Crawl. We will be writing to art, nature, food, or whatever moves you. You do not have to be a writer to participate; just bring something to write with and something to write on. No pressure, no critique, just writing about whatever you want to write. Find the writer within you. AAC members – Free, $5.00 for non-members. matthewsmariank@gmail.com and 860-420-8544.
So far, these wonderfully creative people are registered to show:
Painting by Deb Gag
Debora Aldo, mosaics Lance Arnold, Glassware and Fairy houses John Boiano, Pottery Judy Doyle, original art Debra Gag, paintings Gretchen Geromin with Lauren Merlo, woodwork Freitha Lawrence, artwork and her book Dan Merlo, woodturner
Dana Monaco, fabric covered containers Charles McCaughtry, paintings Mike Metsak, HyHope soaps and lotions, Dan Rackliffe, pottery Jane Rackliffe, fused glassware Mike South, luthier Suzy Staubach, pottery, author Kathy Weigold, weavings
The Ashford Arts Council is sponsoring A Summer’s Palette at Westford Hill Distillers from 10:00 – 4:00 on July 9th (Rain date 7/10). Artists will be drawing painting en plein air and others, including you, may stop by to join in. There will be a paint and paper table for those who wish to try their hand at en plein air. The location is incredibly inspiring, with an over 100-year-old home and a lovely pond. The lilies and other flowers will be in bloom. There will be live music, and drinks and snacks will be available. Several artists will be displaying their work and offering some for sale. We appreciate the collaboration with Margy and Lou Chatey who operate the distillery and are kind enough to share their beautiful location. The Chatey’s will be creating a signature beverage for the event. Lou will be talking about the history of the local area and a little about the distillery.
My name is Lisa Gantick and I am the owner and designer for QuietCornerDecorCT. I am fortunate that I am able to run my business from my home. I am a wife to a wonderful man, a mother to three precious grown children, and Gramma to a very special grandson.
I have enjoyed crafting for most of my adult life. I began by sewing clothing for my growing family and by creating matching outfits for the family for Christmas and Easter. I then branched out and started quilting. For many years, I enjoyed paper crafting through the creation of greeting cards and scrapbook albums. My venture into wreath making and floral décor began in October 2017, after watching a hometalk episode for creating a burlap wreath. The episode featured a young man by the name of Nick Kreticos of Nick’s Seasonal Décor. I enjoyed making the wreath so much, that I looked Nick up on facebook. I was soon hooked and realized that for all of the wreaths I was making, I couldn’t just continue to give them away, so I decided to start my small business.
In December of 2010, I suffered a compression fracture of my thoracic spine. My world turned upside down. I was diagnosed in February of 2011 with Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer similar to Leukemia and Lymphoma. I am fortunate that I am a seven year cancer survivor. I have endured many cancer treatments over the years, including a stem cell transplant. I was an Executive Administrative Secretary for 24 years before I retired in 2016 due to complications from my cancer treatment. My cancer has slowed me down, but I just develop new ways to get things done. Creating wreaths and floral décor has given me much joy and a new focus.
Please join me in my journey and I hope to inspire you.
