BELLOWS FALLS — Judi Forman is the current artist participating in Canal Street Art Gallery's Working Artist Program. This program provides an artist studio and exhibition space within the Gallery. The studio is open during the Gallery's regular hours, Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on 3rd Friday Gallery Nights from 5 to 7 p.m.
According to a gallery news release, the goal of the program “is to provide an affordable space to complete a project, explore a new body of work, gain exposure and sales, or prepare for a solo show.”
New artists participate every one to three months, and the program contributes opportunities for the community to discuss art and engage in classes and other events.
“I find inspiration in the work of my teachers and other jewelry artists, but then it boils down to just what happens between me and the materials,” Forman said in her artist statement. “I love the synergy between the metal, my ideas, and the tools.
“Some of my favorite pieces are the result of serendipity, such as how a particular piece of copper responds to the heat of a torch on a particular day and acquires a one-of-a-kind patina.”
Forman, based in Westminster, creates one-of-a-kind jewelry. She works with silver, copper, niobium, titanium, and steel, using metalworking techniques such as anodizing, imprinting texture, and drawing with colored pencil. Forman uses layered sheets of metal shaped into works, such as “Three Moons Brooch,” and riveted together.
She creates abstract compositions often inspired by nature on the multiple surfaces she has shaped.
The Working Artist Program is open to all, giving priority to local artists. Working artists are expected to interact and converse with gallery visitors about their artwork, process, and practice.
Artists process their own sales and curate their own space, and upon completion of the program, present a self-curated solo show within their space to coordinate with Gallery Night.
Canal Street Art Gallery is located at 23 Canal Street in Bellows Falls. For more information about the program or gallery, go to canalstreetartgallery.com, call Mike Noyes by phone at 802-289-0104, or email [email protected].