Art for Giving!

It is too easy to spend money. The other day I went to the drug store to buy toothpaste, but I came out with dog treats, a magazine, gift wrap, a package of scotch tape, a box of batteries, chewing gum, hand cream, light bulbs ... AND toothpaste!



Store owners know this: many of us are too easily distracted by the interesting, the eye-catching, the useful - and we too easily part from our money as a result.



When it comes to shopping for gifts, it is WAY easy - for me at least - to bust the budget! But I strive for discipline. I try, in choosing and purchasing gifts, to be thoughtful. Sometimes, a gift that's not too expensive or flashy provides the best return on investment: the best long-term value for enjoyment and delight.



Artists know this: many of us seek thoughtful, long-lasting, not-too-expensive gifts of beauty for those we love.



Around the North Country, many venues are trying to provide shoppers just these types of gifts.



Tomorrow, Saturday December 12, the Artists' League of Lake Placid is hosting "A Holiday Event of Original Fine Artworks: 100 (almost) UNDER $100" at St. Eustace Episcopal Church on Main St., Lake Placid. This event begins at 10 am, and will feature smaller works: pieces priced for maximum value.



In Saranac Lake, Bluseed Studios is hosting an exhibit and sale of work by members of Saranac Lake Art Works through the month of December. Like the Lake Placid event, this show highlights less expensive works, both decorative and practical.



Besides these holiday opportunities, many galleries and gift centers offer affordable art all year. The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts in Blue Mountain Lake sells the work of exhibitors. In addition to their usual offerings, the Center also has a selection of repurposed/recycled lighting fixtures which, I'm told, are fabulously creative and fun.



The Arts Center of Old Forge has a shop too, as does the St. Lawrence County Arts Council . According to the SLCAC website, their gift shop features "artwork, hand crafts, music and books by more than 200 artists from around Northern New York".



And of course there is the Adirondack Artists' Guild in Saranac Lake, whose members are always creating new, exciting works. Member artist Donna Foley has recently stocked the shelves with skeins of hand-woven, naturally-dyed yarn, as well as cozy scarves and other woolen treasures.



Chances are, there are sources for one-of-a-kind gifts near you. I am sure there are galleries and gift shops I have not mentioned here. Post a comment! Let us all know where the gems are to be found!

The Great Outdoors

En Plein Air: painting outside.

In the second half of the 19th century, this was a revolutionary concept. Paintings were to be created in studios; sketches made on location, outdoors, might be used for reference, but the studio was the proper place for actually executing a work of art.

The Academy-cracking idea that works created "en plein air" were Art, every bit as much as studio-made pieces, was advanced by the Impressionists in France, and spread around the world. Light, not form, was their subject; as this notion gained traction it inspired painters in new ways, and drew them to new places.

Our North Country was also pioneered by artists looking to discover new challenges, new subjects, and to explore the natural lushness of a young nation. The book "Frederic Church, Winslow Homer, and Thomas Moran: Tourism and the American Landscape" describes the Northward movement of people thus: artists came to the sparsely populated North Woods, to discover and create; their works attracted wealthy visitors, to confirm and enjoy; finally, working folk came, to meet the needs of the wealthy and to flex entrepeneurial muscle on a new land.

Now, painting "en plein air" is so far from being revolutionary, it is a highly respected technique, recognized as difficult and rewarding. I quote the website Artist Tours Group:

Painting from life is a pursuit unlike any other painting technique. It challenges the artist to concentrate every sensory nerve on the information in front of them. They absorb it all, from sight to sound, from temperature to atmosphere, and then channel those feelings from head to hand, re-creating the vision in paints on paper or canvas.

People continue to venture North from more settled parts of the nation to explore our inherent beauties, our picturesque wealth of nature. Works thus created continue to be highly prized, valued both for their quality as art and for the fresh breezes, the glint of sun or shift of shadow, which seem to waft and glow from the surface.

Saranac Lake Art Works, a group dedicated to promoting the Saranac Lake area community through the arts, is hosting the First Annual Adirondack Plein Air Festival the weekend of August 21, 22, and 23, 2009. Artists from everywhere - anywhere - are invited to come to Saranac Lake and spend the weekend creating. The Festival will conclude Sunday afternoon with a show and sale of the work so produced.

On Friday afternoon, Aug. 21st, participating artists may join a tour, given by Historic Saranac Lake, which will highlight some of the town's architectural and cultural background, providing a richer context of the location. Afterwards, all participating artists are invited to a welcoming reception at the Adirondack Artists' Guild on Main Street.

Saturday morning, artists will be asked to create a 5x7 piece (using a surface provided by Borealis Color) of a scene or building or location right in town. These small pieces will then be placed in a silent auction, with all proceeds donated to the Saranac Lake Young Arts Association.

In the afternoon on Saturday, artists will be free to choose any of several scenic locations in the greater Saranac Lake region (maps will be provided), and there to create, in any suitable medium, their unique impression of it.

Sunday, the artists may return to the site of Saturday's work, if they wish, or they might choose a new location. In the afternoon, a show and sale of all work created by participants during the weekend will be held at the John Black Room of the historic Saranac Laboratory. 100% of proceeds from these sales go to the artists.

Artists who join the Festival will be given identifying signs; as they work around the Village of Saranac Lake and its surrounding area, the public is encouraged to enjoy observing the creative process.

Intrigued? More detailed information can be found at the Saranac Lake Art Works website, linked above, or by contacting me at (518) 891-1490.

(Photo above: Mackenzie Mountain as seen from Lake Flower in Saranac Lake)

Art Works

News flash:

Art works in Saranac Lake.

By this I mean, art is an effective engine of both cultural enrichment and economic growth. Art functions to draw the community together socially and to attract visitors to enjoy our village.

Of course, this is not unique to Saranac Lake; a recent Plattsburgh Press Republican article points out that "several development studies have concluded that a real revitalization of downtown cannot happen unless there is a strong arts corridor." To read the whole article, click on this link:

http://www.pressrepublican.com/ed_choice/local_story_160232423.html

Saranac Lake's "arts corridor" is dazzling. Perhaps because it is a relatively small town, art-related vitality permeates nearly everything. In recent months, a group called Saranac Lake Art Works has been re-energized, and is actively working to use the arts as a vehicle to promote and strengthen the whole town. (Click the link to see their website.)

At present, Saranac Lake Art Works consists of 11 arts-related businesses and individuals, and, since formally associating about 6 months ago, they have engaged in multiple promotions and events.

Over the winter, the group drafted an article about local arts for the 2009 - 2010 Visitors' Guide produced by the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. Besides the advertising support of several member businesses, the group itself created a full-page ad to highlight the village's creative wealth.

In April, they mounted and staffed a collective booth the Adirondack Living Show in Queensbury. Pictured above, it featured work representing each group member and also general information about Saranac Lake.

In August, Saranac Lake Art Works will be hosting the First Annual Adirondack Plein Air Festival. Plein air, or working outside in natural light, is favored by many artists, and many more are curious to try it. (Click here to see a previous NCPR report by Todd Moe about plein air artists.) Artists of all suitable media (painting, pastel, photography, etc.) will be invited to spend a weekend working en plein air in the Saranac Lake region from August 21 - 23, culminating in a show and sale of the weekend's work on Sunday afternoon.

And of course, Saranac Lake hosts the Third Thursday Art Walks every June, July, August, and September. The Saranac Lake Art Works group certainly didn't start this (though one of the group's members, Tim Fortune, did), but they are active in helping promote it. Similarly, the Artists at Work Studio Tour, a soon-to-be three-year-old event, was initiated and is run by others, but Saranac Lake Art Works invests in advertising it. (And again, one of the magnates of the Artists at Work Studio Tour, Sandra Hildreth, also belongs to Saranac Lake Art Works.)

Art works. A community with arts-related industry works. Saranac Lake is one of the most vibrant arts-related industrial centers of the North Country.