BRATTLEBORO — For the third year in a row, the art and crafts of Brattleboro-West Arts will make their way eastward next month for a downtown exhibit and sale.
Titled simply “14 Artists, 3 Days,” the show in the public event space at 118 Elliot St. will offer pieces ranging from paintings, photography, and botanical etchings to pottery, textiles, woven baskets, jewelry, and glass, according to a news release. The show will open with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 2 and continue from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 3 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 4.
Brattleboro-West Arts is a group of about three dozen artists who create their art and make their homes within the watershed of the Whetstone Brook in West Brattleboro, Marlboro, and Dummerston. Since 2009, many members have welcomed the public into their studios among the wooded hills to the west of Brattleboro for open studio tours in the spring and fall.
This December show brings Brattleboro-West Arts to the public under one roof during Brattleboro's bustling holiday retail season. The event coincides with Brattleboro's monthly Gallery Walk as well as “Holly Days, Holly Nights,” the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce's annual weekend holiday shopping event.
The group's coordinator, potter Walter Slowinski, said in the news release that the exhibit can provide more than just a shopping opportunity amid the divisiveness that has swirled around the recent presidential election.
“Art is a way to bring people together, get people on the same 'emotional page,'” Slowinski said. “Art is about caring, helping others express love and fond regard, about imagining and imaging life with its deep wonder and celebration.”
Those familiar with the artists of Brattleboro-West Arts will find plenty of fresh work at the show:
Stephen Lloyd will show new paintings, including watercolors he created in the past year, both at home and during a recent residency in France.
Glass artist Josh Bernbaum has adapted the ancient Venetian twisted-line technique called “mezza filigrana” to his designs. He will offer one-of-a-kind gift options, including drinking glasses and tumblers, both in opaque and transparent glass colors, as well as sculptural paperweights.
Fiber artist Karen Kamenetzky will offer smaller, more affordable versions of her textile pieces inspired by cellular imagery.
Textile artist Jackie Abrams will show her contemporary baskets woven of painted cotton paper and will be selling her instructional DVD for making woven baskets.
Silversmith Chris Lann's newest work incorporates basket-weaving techniques he learned from Abrams to create sculptural, fine-silver chains that complement his hand-knit silver chains and nature-inspired castings of recent years.
Naomi Lindenfeld will show her latest porcelain pieces with designs that result from her unusual technique of layering and carving into colored clay. Her pottery with nature-inspired patterns can be for daily use or special celebrations.
In addition to the work of the artists above, the exhibit will feature the paintings of Janet Picard, pottery by Slowinski and Matt Tell, textile art by Kris McDermet, Bobbi Angell's botanical copper etchings, turned bowls and furniture by woodworker Jason Breen, jewelry and encaustic paintings by Jen Wiechers, and the photography of Gene Parulis.