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.

Consider Art

This morning, I sorted gloves.



I found 11 individual gloves - and two matched pairs.




How does this happen? Perhaps glove manufacturers secretly infuse one of each pair with a ferrous nano-fiber so sensitive that it is drawn to the earth's magnetic core. Maybe it's a diabolical conspiracy with sock manufacturers...



At any rate, I decided that (yet again) I will be giving my family gloves for Christmas.

On Christmas morning, most of the gifts under the tree in our house are practical, useful items, and not terribly expensive. Often we just gift wrap things we would have gotten each other anyway - a jar of honey, say, or an interesting book.

But I do try to give everyone on my list one special gift - something distinctive and meaningful.

Original artwork can be a highly distinctive, deeply meaningful gift.

And in the North Country, fine art prices are outragously affordable relative to other areas. I recently spoke to an artist who exhibits both in the North Country and in Westchester County, near New York City; she told me that she at least doubles her prices for the southern market. She explained, no one in that region would take her seriously as an artist if she offered her works at North Country prices, so, ironically, she would not be able to sell as much.

At the Adirondack Artists' Guild, most of the work sells for under $200.00 - much of it under $100.00. You can buy a large, perfectly framed, compelling and original piece for under $1,000.00.

For fine art - that's a steal.

Bluseed Studios is currently featuring a show, called "Unique Blend", of work by 10 diverse local artists. Every piece is available cash & carry: in other words, if you buy something, you can take it right away instead of the usual SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) whereby you would have to wait til the close of the show. When a piece is sold, the artist will replace it.

I haven't been there yet myself, but I plan to go soon - and I will write about it for you.





The other day, my older son asked me the difference between an "artist" and an "artisan". I didn't really know - and the dictionary wasn't very illuminating. He thought a moment, and said, "An artist has another job and does artwork on the side, but an artisan makes a living through his art."





By that definition, several of the participants in "Unique Blend" are artisans - but even the artists ride an edge where their art needs to be financially viable to justify the time involved.




Tim Fortune, Saranac Lake's godfather of art, is quoted in a recent issue of Adirondack Life as saying,



"Artists are businesspeople. A lot of people think the arts are a nice diversion created by people who have the time to do so and don't understand that we are running a business and have to make money."




As you think about gift giving this holiday season, remember that your choices impact local business people of all sorts. And if you, too, like to give just a few exceptional gifts each year, consider art.

Where? Saranac Lake

Of all the hot spots for North Country art, Saranac Lake is the hottest. At least, I know more about the Saranac Lake art scene than any other. I will enumerate the places of which I am aware - again, please correct my omissions with your comments.

Bluseed Studios is a dynamic cultural center - an abandoned warehouse, rescued from its slow decay by Carol Vossler and re-imagined as a beacon of creativity.

Another former industrial site now houses the 7444 Gallery, right next to the train depot. Artist and owner Todd Smith rotates shows featuring works of local artists.

If you are near the depot, stroll down the street past the playground and you will see Greens & Beans, an eatery which offers yummy, healthy foods along with locally made artwork. In the same vein, the Blue Moon Cafe on Main St. fills its wallspace with the works of local artists to enhance your dining experience (which will be fabulous anyway!).

Never miss a chance to visit the Saranac Lake Free Library, near Berkley Green. Not only will you find yourself in an oasis of tranquility, but if you go downstairs you will find another gallery space, this one called the Cantwell Room. And, if your taste runs this way, a collection of taxidermy is just across the hall.

A wealth of art defines Main Street. Tim Fortune has a tiny but magnificant storefront, The Small Fortune Studio. I love to walk in and smell the paints, the papers, the very air of creation. And Tim has long been amongst my favorite artists anywhere.

A few doors down from Tim's place, Georgeanne Gaffney also has a small storefront studio. Her paintings are luminous and varied, featuring landscapes and figures bathed in light.

On the other side of the village parking lot, further down Main Street, is my own favorite spot - The Adirondack Artists' Guild. This Guild (co-founded by Tim Fortune 20 years ago) is a co-operative of 14 artist members, each of whom helps pay expenses. They take turns minding the shop, so on any given day, you don't know who will be there.

This place is practically a museum - but better, in a way, because the artists are people you can meet, and their work is available for purchase! In it, you will find a broad range of media on display. There are oil paintings, watercolors, and acrylic paintings -- but wait! There's more!

You will find works in silver and gemstones alongside fine pottery. One of the member artists works in fiber which she shears, combs, spins, naturally dyes, and weaves from her own flock of sheep.

Several of the members use cameras to produce images of all sorts. From near-abstract polaroid transfers, to sweeping Adirondack vistas, to close-ups that make familiar objects seem alien, the photographer members push the boundaries of their medium.

Do yourself a favor the next time you are in Saranac Lake: visit some - or all - of these venues, and revel in the riches of North Country art!