34Th Annual Madison Art Society Juried Show

34Th Annual Madison Art Society Juried Show

First Prize Winner Elizabeth Boyd - Mixed Media - Glimpses

Photograph: Rick Odermatt's photo of Elizabeth Boyd's mixed media art work - Glimpses

MAS Artists and Juried Accepted Artists

Julia Pavone and Jean Dalton, the two show jurors, selected 85 works of art from 274 entries resulting in a strong diversified show of abstracts, realistic landscapes, still lifes including sculptures. They also selected all of the awards. MAS artists were well represented in the show (66 out of 85 pieces of art). The Madison Art Society and Guilford Art League's SAA Visual Arts Scholarship ($1,000) winner was a photography student, Scott Bradley. His winning photograph is on display at the show.

Our co-chairs for the Juried Show, Denise Casey, Sandra Kensler and Karen Wiesner, have done an excellent job in coordinating this event along with the strong assistance by their co-chairs and 80 volunteers on the various committees. We could not have accomplished this event without all of their help. Our Award Committee headed by our Vice President, Don Trownsell, out did themselves in obtaining support from the community and local businesses (over $2,500 in prize and gift certificates will be awarded this Friday evening). Also, a special thanks to John Tubb for all of his work on our promotional posters, award plaques and programs.

Any work that was not selected by the jurors needs to be picked up by this Friday, May 8, from the Historical Room on the second floor of the library.

Juired artists that are not currently members and If you would like to join MAS, you should contact our Membership Chairperson Maude Schmidt at 203- 245-0807. Also, we still need volunteers to bring food to the reception on Friday and if you have signed up already - thank you in advance (contact Ellen Fabian at 203- 245 - 2652) and we still need volunteers to sit the show (contact Penny Chittenden at 860- 669-7144).

You are invited to attend the following events sponsored by MAS.

UPCOMING MAS EVENTS

May 8, Friday, 5–7 pm — Opening reception, 34Th Annual Juried
Show.
May 17, Sunday, 1:30 pm — Juror, Julia Pavone, will give a slide
presentation and talk on “Understanding Abstraction” in
the Community Room at the Scranton Library. Julia is the
co-founder and curator/director of the Alexey von
Schlippe Gallery of Art at UConn’s Avery Point campus.
May 21, Thursday, 7 pm — Members of the Guilford Poets Guild
will read poems they have written inspired by works in
the juried show and you are invited to attend a wine and cheese reception.

The following demonstrations will be held at the Madison
Memorial Town Hall:

Pastel Demonstration with Laurel Friedman:
June 4th, 6:30pm.

Marine Art Watercolor/Acrylics Demonstration, with Brec
Morgan: July 9th, 6:30pm.

Portrait oils Demonstration with Jerry Weiss: August 6th,
6:30pm. Demonstrations are open to the public

MAS Members Only

Plein air Painting sign up (MAS members only) - Wednesday mornings- Bschirmeier@yahoo.com

Outdoor Exhibitions

August 1- Seymour Page seymourpage@sbcglobal.net
August 29 - DeaconGrave House and October 17 at Bauer Park - Plein Air Painter's work of the park - Bschirmeier@yahoo.com

NEWS and UPDATES

MAS Artists

Plein Air Painting

We went to Hammonasett to paint on the 24th, if the weather is good, I suggest that we go there again. If not, we will try for October 8th. It is located at the very end of Meig's Point beyond the regular parking lot (large rocks and pond). No park fees to get into Hammonasett now.

MAS Artists on display around the State

Pat Barrone has a show starting with two other artists at the Case Memorial Library in Orange CT from October 1st - 31st "Three Visions". Corina Alvarezdelugo notified us that there is a showcase of open studio's in the New Haven area "Artspace - Citywide" October 3 - 5th. The following weekend many of our MAS artists are taking part in opening their studios for the Art Trail in the Shoreline area. At the LAA recent show, MAS members: Denise Casey, Tony D'Amico, Patricia Seakamp and Maryanne Rupp have paintings on display.


October 4Th and 5Th - Flutes, Feathers, and Fine Art

About 30 MAS artists are exhibiting our paintings at Hammonasett near Meig's Point on October 4Th and 5Th. For every painting that is sold, the artist will donate 25% of their proceeds to the Friends of Hammonasett to help build their Nature Center Exhibition facility. Please come and support us. Joe Fire Crow will be performing both days now and there will be Birds of Prey exhibits plus food vendors.

October 9th - Watercolor Demonstation by Gayle Asher at 6:30 PM at the Old Memorial Town Hall

Gayle Asher received his art training at the National Academy of Design in New York City and the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida. He was a Graphics Designer and an Art Director in New York for more than 30 years. Since his retirement, he has devoted his primary energies to fine art, in particular watercolors. He has been an active member of the Fairfield Watercolor Group, the Rowayton Arts Center, and the Darien Arts Center where he was teacher and former board member. He has won awards at the annual Connecticut Watercolor Society Annual Award Show, the Spectrum Show in New Canaan, the Mavis Fenner Juried show at the Rowayton Arts Center, and the Guilford Art Society Show. In 2004 and 2005 he received a first place award at the Walter Brooks Memorial Juried Show and a first place at their All Media Show, both at the Rowayton Arts Center. He also won first place in watercolor at the 2004 and 2005 Darien Arts Show. He exhibits regularly at the Darien Arts Center, the Post 53 Cooperative Art Show, the Rowayton Arts Center, and the CCNS Art Show. He has also exhibited his works at the Darien Library, and the Connecticut Watercolor Society. His work was purchased by the Darien Library for their Fundraising Art Auction in October 2006.

October 18th - Bauer Farm Outdoor Paint Out and Sale

On October 18th, Saturday, MAS artists are invited to join us at the October Bauer Farm Festival in Madison. It officially starts at 11 from 3. We will be painting during the Festival (we can start earlier than 11 and end whenever we want to stop painting) and we will have a display stand to showcase some of our work of Bauer Farm (11 -3). There is no fee for the artists and no sale commisssions. Let me know if you want to join us.
If you have a Bauer Farm painting to display, let me know and if you can sit at the display stand to answer questions about MAS - your help would be appreciated (split up the time about 1/2 hour each). Bschirmeier@yahho.com

If it rains, there is no rain date. The following artists have confirmed their attendence so far (Paula Solimene, Pat Barrone, Jay Babina, Joan McPherson, Maryanne Rupp, Lesley Braren, Karen Wiesner,Beverly Schirmeier, and Patricia Seakamp).

Beverly Schirmeier

Plein Air Paint Out Udate and More Member News

Plein Air Update and Schedule

We have have been lucky so far with the weather and Ashlawn Farms was no exception. If we can trust our weatherman, it looks like it will be sunshine again next week on Wednesday, September 3rd. We are scheduled to paint at Charmyard Vineyard in Clinton. Take exit 63 off I95 and turn North on Route 81. Drive just pass the outlets and turn left on Walnut Hill road. Go down 8/10th of a mile and it merges with Cow Hill Road. The vineyards are on your left. We can get there to paint at 9 as usual but the inside facilities do not open to the public until 11.

September 3rd - Chamyard Vineyards ( B. Schirmeier has received permission)
September 10th - Chatfield Hollow
September 17th - Guilford Town Green


Member News/Shows/Awards

Many of our MAS artists are also Guilford Art League members. Make sure you take the time to see their Juried show at the Guilford Mill Gallery. Karen Weisner, Mike Boyd, and Corina Alvarzdelugo won awards. At the Clinton Art Society's Juried show, we also had many of our MAS members exhibiting their work and Jan Blencowe, Karen Weisner, Beverly Schirmeier, Bernard Mctigue, Elizabeth Haigus, and Jennifer Holmes won awards.

Pat Barrone and Ellen Fabian won awards this summer at the last Essex Association Show.

Gloria Nilsson will be the Clinton Art Society's Artist of the Month at the Liberty Bank as well as at the Killingworh Town Hall Exhibit.

Bev Schirmeier had a one person show at the Old Saybrook Esturay Council for the month of August and will be showing her work at Malone's Coffee House in September - November.

Joe Veckerelli and Linda Loen are the Artists of the Month at the Madison Town Hall for August and September.

Don Townsell coordinated at art show at the Madison Club this August with many artists such as Seymour Page and Susan Mc Winney.

Maureen Wilkenson won an award at the Stoney Creek Art Show.

Hammonasset Outdoor Art Show UPDATE

Artists planning on showing their work at Hammonasett on October 4th and 5th. Please make sure you send your permission and commitment sheet Bev ASAP. She needs to alert Dr. Don Rankin as to our final numbers and who is planning on going to the reception Saturday night at 5.

If you would like your artwork featured here, perhaps a painting that won an award or was accepted into a show, just e-mail me a jpeg. jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Chris Zhang Painting Demo Aug. 7th,2008

On Thursday, August 7Th, the Madison Art Society and the Madison Beach and Recreation are proud to sponsor an portrait demonstration by the nationally recognized artist, Chris Zhang. It will be held at 6:30 P.M. at the Old Memorial Town Hall. The public are welcome to attend and a small donation of $5 is appreciated to offset a portion of the expenses.

Chris Zhang was born in Shanghai, China where he acquired his BFA and then earned his MFA in the United States. During his studies in China, he was strongly influenced by the Russian realistic paintings of the 19Th century and the Soviet times. The studying of color contrasts and dark and light values as shown by different brush strokes inspired him. After coming to America, he studied Western art theories and master pieces from the Renaissance to modern ages. He was especially fascinated with Rembrandt's unique lighting, Velazquez's fluent brush work and Renoir' s brilliant coloring. Chris is able to combine his Eastern and Western training to use the color and the brush strokes from both art training influences.

In addition to portraits, he also does landscapes and subject matter paintings of still lifes. His primary medium his oil. As a professional artist, Chris has focused on two types of paintings in his subject matter: the Chinese minorities and their indigenous cultures and traditions and classical ballet dancers. He has published three books. Chris teaches art at the Lyme Art Association and he has a show coming up at the Alexey Von Schilippe Gallery, UCONN's Avery Point Campus, Groton. Reception is August 1st at 6 to 8 and it runs until September 14Th.

Hi-Lights On-Line

MAS Hi-lights 2008

Letter from the President

As we enter the New Year, it is hard to remember the Madison Art Society without our past president, Jay Folger, as our guiding force. His wit and wisdom guided the Madison Art Society for over a decade. It is for that reason that we are dedicating our 33rd Annual Member Show to Jay. A framed photograph of him and one of his paintings will be on display throughout the month of February. On behalf of the Madison Art Society, a gift certificate from Acer’s Garden Center was sent to B J Folger, Jay’s wife, as a living tribute to his memory.
I hope that all of you take an opportunity to enter the Madison Art Society Member Show this year. The receiving date is Saturday, February 2, 2008 from 9 -12 at the Scranton Library. Our reception is on Friday, February 8th from 5 – 7 P.M. and the Artist Critique will be held with John Massimino, a renowned artist, on Sunday, February 10th from 1 – 4 P.M. at the Scranton Library.

The Board of Directors and I have been very busy developing plans for 2008. There are exciting demonstrations that have been planned, the Winter Studio has over 19 members, a Juried Show is coming up in May and we have just completed re-writing our Bylaws. One of the key items in the Bylaws was the need for our members to volunteer their time throughout the year to provide our membership with continued opportunities to showcase their artwork. Please take the time to fill out the attached Volunteer Form and mail it to us. If each of our over 200 members did their part to volunteer, we can continue to plan in providing new programs and increase our chances to showcase our art. Please help us during the year and take a minute to fill out the form and let us know what new programs you would like us to pursue in the future.

Beverly Schirmeier






Winter Studio
Nineteen Madison Art Society members have been meeting on Mondays at the St. Andrews Church. Two still-life setups are brought in each Monday or artists can bring in their own inspirations. After painting from 9 -2 P.M, the artists gather around for an hour and provide each other with feedback on their paintings. What a great way to spend 10 Mondays in the winter.
Photo Attached – Penny Chittenden and Mike Boyd. Patricia Seakamp in the background.

Madison Art Society Bylaws

It was in 1997 when the last Madison Art Society Constitution changes were adopted by the membership. Many things have changed in the past eleven years; the Board of Directors decided that it was time to rewrite the Bylaws to reflect our current structure and the purpose of the organization. We also wanted to construct them in a way to gain approval under the 501c3 Federal Non-profit status. This will allow us to apply for grants and put us in a better position for potential donor’s gifts and juried money awards. A small taskforce headed by our president, Beverly Schirmeier, spent many hours writing and re-writing the Bylaws. The members of the taskforce are Don Trownsell, Dick Christofferson, Patricia Seakamp, Denise Casey and Maryanne Rupp.

A copy of the new MAS Bylaws is available to any member. Please let Beverly Schirmeier know if you would like a copy or if you have any questions or comments. Electronic copies can be sent to you by sending a note to Bschirmeier@yahoo.com. The Bylaws revisions will be put up for a vote at the Critique session on February 10th at the Scranton Library. A summarization of the major points that were changed is as follows.
- Wording was written to line up with the Federal 501 c3 guidelines. For example, officers do not get paid or receive any financial benefit from serving.
- The officers will serve a two year term. They will be chosen by the Board of Directors from the Board of Directors following the September Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors are chosen by and voted upon by all the members of good standing at the September meeting.
- The Board will consist of four officers and 16 Board of Directors.
- Two new committees were added to the BOD: Membership and Marketing.
- An Artist Members must be accepted at two Juried Shows within five years. If the Artist Member is delinquent in paying their dues after receiving written notice, they will lose their Artist Member status and can re-apply under the Associate Artist Member status until they meet acceptance in the two Juried Show guidelines.
- Associate Artists are entitled to vote and have full privileges such as being elected to the Board of Directors.
- Two new categories of Members: Life and Honorary Members and Friends of the Madison Art Society.
- Annual meetings shall be held in September of each year.
- A quorum for voting on MAS issues is 15% of the membership
- Dues will be paid in January of each year and the membership year is January to December. The Board of Directors will determine the amount of the dues on an annual basis.

Looking Forward to 2008

MAS Members Show

Receiving at the Scranton Memorial library Saturday, February 2nd.

Opening Reception is Friday evening February 8th.

Critique Night is Sunday February 10th.

Members should be receiving their propectus in the mail very soon which will include complete information about the show.

2008 Dues are Due!

All members should have received a membership renewal form in the last isue of the Hi-Lites newsletter. Dues must be paid before the MAS Members Show in February. Any questions please contact membership Chairperson Maude Schmidt mws3637@sbcglobal.net or 203-245-0807.

Annual Juried Show

Receiving at the Scranton Memorial library Saturday May 3rd.

Opening Reception Friday May 9th.

MAS at Fine Art America

If you would like your work displayed and listed for sale on our page at Fine Art America please e-mail jpeg images to jan.blencowe@comcast.net. Visit the MAS page on Fine Art America at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/madison-art-society.html

Your Website Linked to this MAS Page

If you would like a link to your website displayed in the sidebar of this page please e-mail the website address (URL) to jan.blencowe@comcast.net