.
.
Open! Wednesday – Sunday 10:00-5:00
Located in historic Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, NY, and amidst the rolling hills of Washington County in upstate New York, Valley Artisans Market is one of the oldest arts cooperatives in the country. Local fine artists and craftsmen work in a variety of hand-crafted media including glass, paper, cloth, photography, oil paintings, pastels, wood, mosaic, sculpture, metal, jewelry, ceramics and more. The Small Gallery features rotating shows by members and guest artists, and the market is always staffed by one of its artisan members.
Small Gallery
July 5, 2024 - July 29, 2024
Artist reception will be held July 6th, 3:00-5:00. The public is welcome!
Regina Wickham, Vessels |
About the Artist
I belong to the tradition of vessel makers. I’ve been a studio potter since 1975 and studied at Bennington with Stanley Rosen and Jane Abersold. I work on the wheel, forming containers for flowers, food, air. Clay is the skin to contain a volume, the line to draw a profile. I think of long tall vessels as forms that stand as a person, defining and incorporating space. I feel a kinship with Chinese ceramics and like to sketch vases to understand the success of their curves, the space they envelop and the space they exclude. I think of platters as canvas for color and, with their concave shape, as holders of volumes beyond themselves as the line they begin to define is completed in the mind. I think of glazing as painting, as landscape, seascape, night sky. I layer and juxtapose color and texture, incorporating the breaking- up effects of glaze on glaze, working with or against the geometry of wheel thrown pieces. I fire to cone 10 reduction. There are the surprises in the final piece – subtleties of proportion, stance, interaction of color and object, serendipitous melding of glaze, oxide and flame pattern. And always there is the tradition of the gifts of the kiln.
Click here for video of artist’s work and studio
Featured Artist
Featured artist: Jean Clark
Jean Clark’s environmental portraits of animals are engagingly intuitive. A goat munching dandelions peers placidly at the viewer in a colorful monoprint, while in another, a great ape savors a ripe banana. The coy gaze of a hippo by a riverbank seems nearly human, while a squirrel ‘s delight at a trove of acorns is almost palpable.
Then there is the small black dog with foxy ears, a frequent figure in Clark’s work. Whether shown exploring the wider world or homeward bound, Clark’s depiction of the little canine nails the specie’s characteristic curiosity—and loyalty. “We’ve always had dogs,” she explains their lure as subject matter. “I simply observe them at home.” In fact, her 12-year-old rescued black Labrador retriever, Tucker, is her occasional muse.
Viewers have often remarked on the whimsy and sense of wonder in Clark’s work. Joy is implicit.
Another frequent subject in Clark’s art is houses. In bright, warm colors, she captures their allure as a place of respite, of home. In “Reflections,” she shows how their images ripple into the peaceful void of a lake. “Houses are my portraiture,” Clark explains.
Another favorite subject is weather’s many moods, as in the monoprint “Stormy,” which captures the swirling drama of thunderstorm clouds.
Clark grew up in the suburbs of Westchester NY, one of eight girls and five boys. She recalls “being serious about art” from an early age. There in the Greater New York area, she remembers that “my inspiration was graffiti. I lived on a small island in the Bronx and loved the daily commute into the city, with pop art by Keith Haring all over the sidewalks and on the subway walls. It got me excited about fine art and the Neo-Expressionism movement that was emerging in the late 1970s and into the ‘80s.”
In high school, she studied commercial art and a teacher’s mentoring led her to get a scholarship right after graduation to the Art Students League. Subsequently she enjoyed a career designing stained glass reproductions for museum gift shops and the gift trade.
After years of downstate life, she and her husband relocated about thirty years ago to the outskirts of Greenwich, NY, where she finds the rural lifestyle congenial to her creativity. Long a perennial gardener, she’s nurtured Lenten roses (Hellebores), yellow irises, and the tree -climbing hydrangea. Perhaps not surprisingly, flowers occasionally show up in her art, such as a lush bouquet of blush roses in a blue checked vase.
Clark’s work has been exhibited in many local venues, among them the Saratoga Arts Center, the Troy Arts Center, Lake George Arts Project and the Agricultural Stewardship Association’s “Landscapes for Landsake” show. An important influence has been taking printmaking classes with Sunghee Park, an instructor at the Troy Arts Center. “She was so inspirational,” Clark says. “Having such a wonderful teacher just drew me to printmaking. I found that it’s an exciting process with a whole series of steps involved that I immediately took to. I really do enjoy the whole process of printmaking, step by step.”
Upcoming Shows
- Molly Czub, Elysian Visions
August 2, 2024 - August 26, 2024
- Annual Overstock and Seconds Sale
August 17, 2024 - August 18, 2024
- Deborah Ann Salat, Embroidery
August 30, 2024 - September 23, 2024
- Timothy Achor Hoch: Studio Migrations: Bird paintings
September 27, 2024 - October 21, 2024
- Karin Vollkommer. Paintings and other works
October 25, 2024 - November 18, 2024
- Members, Holiday Show
November 25, 2024 - December 24, 2024
- After Christmas Sale
December 26, 2024 - December 29, 2024
See past shows →
News
Remembering Joyce Decker
We just found out that one of our founding members of VAM passed away in 2021. We are sad for the news. Joyce Center Decker (B) 8/22/1924 (D) 9/8/2021 She didn't beat Grandma Moses (whom she met) in longevity but at 97 she survived most. Joyce was a fierce individual,...
Small Works Show Winners!
The Valley Artisans Market SMALL WORKS SHOW WINNERS ANNOUNCED Thanks for casting your vote during our Small Works show! Here are the winners! Best in Show: Maude White won first place for “Bluebird” (cut paper) Honorable Mention: Isaac Semko for “Woman in the Woods”...