Letter from the President
We have just received our first significant snowfall for the winter. They say it is Mother Nature’s
way of cleansing the Earth for a rebirth in the spring. I’m hoping that 2013 brings all of us good
health and happiness filled with inspiration and creativity. For our part, the MAS Board of
Directors has been hard at work scheduling programs and shows to get your creative juices going
for the new year.
Last year we voted to cap the MAS membership at 250 members. The deadline to renew your
membership dues is March 31, 2013. After that date, we will fill the membership openings with
artists who are on the waiting list. We do not want to lose existing members, so if you have not
sent in your dues yet please do so as soon as possible.
We are grateful to the volunteers who have stepped up for 2013. Beth Wardwell and Betsey
Haigus are co-chairs for the member show in February, and Stu Lerner and Maude Casey will
co-chair the juried show in May. They need your help to make these shows a success, plus it’s a
wonderful way to meet your fellow artists.
Other members picking up key roles this year are Sandy Kensler and Mike Boyd, who will
coordinate our demonstrations this year. The winter studio is being chaired by Renni Ridgeway-
Korsmeyer; January 7 was our first day of the ten-week session. Jay Babina will again be in
charge of the plein air painting sessions on Wednesdays as soon as the weather warms up.
Patricia Seekamp is coordinating the Madison Town Hall artists-of-the-month shows. Outdoor
art shows and the elected artists small works shows are underway too.
I hope you will all be joining us again for a year surrounded by your artist friends at MAS.
Beverly Schirmeier
Membership Dues and Data
Annual dues will remain at $25. Please send your dues to treasurer Joan McPherson, Madison
Art Society, P.O Box 1383, Madison, CT 06443. Dues must be paid by March 31, 2013, in order
to maintain your membership standing. Include your name, address, phone, email, and volunteer
choice to help out during the year.
Membership Information
Maude Schmidt, membership chair, continues to do a wonderful job keeping the membership
data up to date. If you change your address or your email, make sure she knows ASAP. She can
be reached at mabill2@att.net or 203- 245- 0807. Board member Linda Loen will assist her this
year. Board member and volunteer coordinator Pat Barone may contact you to assist us with our
programs.
Winter Studio
Renni Ridgeway-Korsmeyer is coordinating the winter studio this year for the ten sessions from
January through March at St. Andrew’s Church in Madison. The class is currently filled, but if
you want to be a substitute, please let Renni know at rkorsmeyer@snet.net or 860-434-1181.
Members bring in several still life set-ups to work from each session, or you can paint from your
own sources. A group feedback critique is held at the end of each session.
Mark Your Calendars – Great Events
38th Annual Member Show
February is filled with exciting events for MAS members. Special thanks to our co-chairs
Beth Wardwell and Betsy Haigus. The prospectus is enclosed with the Highlights. Receiving
is scheduled for Saturday, February 2, 9:30 am–noon. If there is a significant snow day
cancellation, we will bring our work to the library the next day, Sunday, February 3, 1:30–
3:30 pm. Please be aware that fewer paintings will be able to be hung in the Community
Room because the library has revised the room configuration to provide additional storage.
To accommodate the change, the BOD recommended that we limit the maximum size of the
framed work of art to 30 inches in any direction. We have had several meetings with the library
director and their board chairperson. They have offered space on the main floor where we can
hang paintings during the shows. The advertising and the show program will note that paintings
are located on both floors. As always, artists should submit works of art suitable to be seen by
families with younger children since the room is used for youth programs.
Critique
Lou Bonamarte will conduct a critique for artists whose work is in the member show on Sunday,
February 17, 1:30 pm, in the library’s Community Room. He will also select the juror’s choiceaward and explain his reasoning for the selection. Lou is an exceptional watercolorist and oil
painter who recently published Artful Watercolor (2012, Sterling Publ.). Lou studied with John
Pike in 1968. In 1972 he won the Herb Olson award from the American Watercolor Society. In
1975 he and two other artists founded the Lyme Academy of Fine Art, Old Lyme, and in 1976
he was included in Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who in the East. Lou was chosen by
the National Academy of Western Art in Oklahoma as a juror of awards in 1993. He has won
over 65 major awards, including 2 gold and 1 silver. He is presently teaching oil and watercolor
classes in Madison on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and his work is displayed at the Marine
Museum at Mystic Seaport.
Art Slide Show and Lecture – Andrew Wyeth
Once again we have asked Fred Biamonte, educator from the New Britain Museum of American
Art, to present a lecture on “The Women in Andrew Wyeth’s World” along with his compelling
art work. The slide lecture will take place at the Scranton Memorial Library, Wednesday,
February 20, 6:30–8:00 pm. Fred has given talks on more than thirty-five American and
European artists. He worked as a management consultant and taught organization behavior at
NYU and Pace University.
38th Annual Juried Show
Our 38th Annual Juried show will be co-chaired by Marge Casey and Stuart Lerner. We are very
pleased to have nationally known oil painter and watercolorist Cindy Baron as our juror.
Putting on a show of this magnitude takes over 40 artists so we will need lots of volunteers.
Please let us know how you would like to help. Fundraising for prize money starts in March.
Receiving is Saturday, May 4, 9:30 am–noon. Jurying will be held the same afternoon, and we
will hang the show on Sunday, May 5, 1:30–4 pm. The reception will be Wednesday, May 15,
5–7 pm, and the Guilford Poets Guild poetry reading inspired by the show’s paintings will be
Wednesday, May 22. The show take down is Friday, May 30, 9 am–5 pm.
Demonstrations
Our first two demonstrations for the year are nationally known artists: Cindy Baron, who will
also be the juror for our juried show, and Robert Noreika.
Cindy Baron—Sunday, April 28, 1:30 pm, Madison’s Memorial Town Hall near the green.
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| Bathed in Gold |
the western mountains and coastal shorelines. A native of Indiana, she now resides in Rhode
Island, where she conducts workshops and teaches watercolors at the Rhode Island School of
Design. Her passion for art led her to watercolors, and in 2000 she was awarded signature status
of the American Watercolor Society. In 2012 she became a signature member of the Oil Painters
of America and won the OPA National Show and Landscape Merit Award. She is among a
small group of artists who have received acknowledgment from their peers in both mediums.
She is a plein air enthusiast in both mediums. Her work has been shown in galleries such as the
Tierney Fine Art in Montana, Maritime Gallery in Mystic, Greenwich Workshop in Seymour
CT, Donovan Fine Art in Tiverton RI, Harbor Fine Art in Newport RI, and many competitions
such as the Modern Marine Masters in Mystic, Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery, Texas,
the Salon Legacy, Scottsdale AZ, and the OPA Eastern Regional.
Robert Noreika—Sunday, May 19, Scranton Memorial Library, Community Room, 1:30
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| Tusks |
both corporate and private collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. He
is a graduate of Paier School of Art and has been a professional artist for thirty-five years.
In November 2009 the New Britain Museum of American Art acquired for their permanent
collection a piece from his Turtleesque series, “Catfish with Turtle.” His artwork was featured
in “100 Artists of New England” (Schiffer Publ.). He is represented in numerous galleries and
teaches and lectures throughout New England. In addition, he has illustrated several children’s
books and magazine editorials.
Bob is an elected member of the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, the
Salmagundi Club, Lyme Art Association, Connecticut Watercolor Society, Connecticut Plein
Air Painters Society, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, and a signature member of the New
England Watercolor Society. One of his watercolors was accepted in the American Watercolor
Society, where it won an award and was selected to join a traveling exhibit touring the country.
Future Dates for Demonstrations at the Memorial Hall—June 6, July 11, August 1, and
September 5. More details later. Stay tuned.
Bauer Farm Harvest Festival—Outdoor Plein Air Painting and Art Show
We have been invited back to the annual harvest festival at Bauer Farm in Madison on Saturday,
October 19. Members of our plein air group are invited to display their plein air painting of
Bauer Park and to paint that day.
Madison Town Hall—Artists for January and February
The Madison Art Society presents the work of MAS artists Tom Mayer and Patty Meglio. Their
work will be on display throughout January and February at the Madison Town Hall, 8 Campus
Road, Madison. The exhibit is open to the public free of charge and can be viewed during normal
business hours.
Tom Mayer
Plantsville artist Tom G. Mayer is a painter and teacher who creates his artwork using various
media, including oils, acrylics, and mixed media. He spends most of his time from the spring
to the fall living and painting plein air scenes of the shoreline marshes and beaches around his
summer home in Old Saybrook and in Florida during the winter season. Tom exhibits in juried
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| Chadwick |
He has won several awards, including the Peoples’ Choice Award at a Clinton summer art
exhibition and best in show at the Essex Art Association for his painting, “Ive's Farm.” He has
exhibited at the Florence Griswold Museum, Lyme Art Association, and Essex Art Association.
He has also shown his work in Hyannis and Provincetown, Massachusetts, and had solo
exhibitions in Brattleboro, Vermont, as well as in Connecticut in New Haven, New Britain,
Middletown, Berlin and Southington. Tom is a member of the Central Connecticut Artists,
Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society, Lyme Art Association, Essex Association, and Clinton
and Madison Art Societies.
All work exhibited is for sale. For further information, please contact Tom directly at
tommayer@sbcglobal.net
Patty Meglio
Patty Meglio was born and raised in Orange, Connecticut. She attended design school in Boston
and later moved to Houston, Texas, where she lived and worked for 22 years. She moved back to
Connecticut in 2000 and currently resides in Northford.
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| Downtown Madison |
In pursuit of a lifelong dream, Patty began taking drawing and painting lessons in the late ’90s
and in 2003 began studying painting with local artists, including Marc Antony Massaro in
Branford, Terry Oakes-Bourret in Durham, and Hagop Keledjian in Putney, Vermont. She paints
mostly in oil on canvas or linen that she carefully prepares herself. Patty’s work is modern
impressionist in style and mostly depicts country landscapes, seascapes, and still life.
Her inspiration stems from 20th c. impressionist art, including works by Sargent, Sorolla, de
Lazlo, and Boldini, and modern artists, including Schmid, Handell, Guzik, and Liberace. She
draws her inspirations, as they did, from early 20th c. architecture, the art deco and Greek
classical styles of urban buildings, weather-worn barns and open pastures of the country farms,
and rocky and sandy beaches lined with classic New England cottages.
Patty is a past participant in juried competitions for the Clinton Art Society, Madison Art
Society, Art Walk for the West Hartford Art League, and the Mavis Fenner Memorial for the
Rowayton Arts Center, and was a winner of the Merchant’s Prize at the Madison Art Show in
2007. She has exhibited in numerous venues throughout Connecticut and New Hampshire. Her
work is held in private collections throughout the country. She is a member of the Clinton Art
Association and the Madison Art Society.
For more information, visit her website at www.pattymegliostudio.com and her blog at
www.pennpaint.blogspot.com, or call her at 203-484-0733.
Artists in the News
Jay Babina and John Tubb are the featured artists for January and February at the Mill Art
Gallery in Chester. They will have an open reception on February 17, 1–3 pm.
Joan McPherson will conduct a watercolor demonstration at the Blackwell Library in Branford
on January 17, 7 pm.
Karen Wiesner will showcase her paintings at the Guilford Free Library during January.
Beverly Schirmeier has her paintings and pastels on display at the Essex Library during January
and at Simply Pearls, Water’s Edge Resort, Westbrook, during January and February.
Cindy Stevens has her oil paintings on view during the winter months at Simply Pearls, Water’s
Edge Resort, Westbrook.
Dan Dahlstrom and Robert Langer display their paintings and pastels at the Artist’s View on
Main Street in Old Saybrook.
Madison Art Society
Prospectus
38th Annual Member Exhibition and Sale
February 2 – March 1, 2013, E. C. Scranton Memorial Library
Eligibility: MAS artists & associates in good standing can enter ONE piece of original artwork.
Unpaid dues may be paid during receiving hours. For questions about dues call Maude Schmidt
at 203-245-0807. Artwork must be appropriate to be seen by young children.
Entry requirements: Original works in all media (no photography or computer-generated art).
No works done under the guidance of an instructor are eligible. Work must be signed, priced,
and framed with screw eyes and wire attached. “Gallery wrap” canvas without frame will be
accepted (i.e., if sides are painted as part of the painting). “Not for sale” works will be accepted.
Sculpture must be steady and accompanied by a safe, free-standing pedestal. Two-dimensional
entries cannot exceed 30 inches in length or width, including the frame. Work cannot have been
shown in any previous Scranton Library show.
Fee: $10.00 entry fee. MAS also encourage a 10% voluntary donation to the library on sold
works.
Receiving: Saturday, February 2, 9:30 am–noon. Snow Date: Sunday, February 3, 1:30–3 pm
Hanging: Saturday, February 2, 1–4 pm
Reception: Sunday, February 10, 1:30–3:30 pm
Critique: Sunday, February 17, 1:30–3:30 pm, Scranton Library, Lou Bonamarte
Slide lecture: “Women in Wyeth's World," Wednesday, February 20, 6:30 pm, Scranton Library,
Fred Biamonte
Pick-up: Friday, March 1, 9 am–5 pm. Please mark your calendars and pick up your artwork on
time. The library does not have storage space. New show will be installed on Saturday. MAS and
the library will not be responsible for artwork left behind.
The Madison Art Society reserves the right to remove or decline any submitted work for any
reason at any time, including inappropriate material. MAS decisions are final. Artwork should be
appropriate and sensitive to a venue used by young children and families. Submission of work
and payment of entry fee does not in any way constitute a guarantee of acceptance of any work
submitted.
Identification label (provided below) should be affixed to the lower left of the piece facing out,
visible below the frame.
Name___________________________ Name______________________________
Phone___________________________ Phone_____________________________
Title_____________________________ Title_______________________________
Medium__________________________ Medium____________________________
Price____________________________ Price______________________________
( ) Artist Member ( ) Associate Member ( ) Artist Member ( ) Associate Member
I hereby release MAS and the Scranton
Library from any responsibility for loss or
damage to this work.
I hereby release MAS and the Scranton
Library from any responsibility for loss or
damage to this work.
Signed ____________________________ Signed ____________________________
Date ____________________________ Date _____________________________
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