Happy New Year!

 

Nora Krauss

Members of the Lamorinda Arts Alliance are filling the gallery with their work for January and February with a theme of New Beginnings.  

The show runs from January 5th through February 25th. Join us on Saturday, January 8th for the Artist Reception, 2-4pm. 

Ruth Stanton


Gene Gracey


Shop 'til you drop!


Our 10th Annual Holiday Boutique is filled with so much delight! Cute crochet, cool ceramics, playful paintings, jammin' jewelry and more. Nothing is better than a gift from the heart of an artist who created it with love.

Original art and handmade wares from more than 25 local artists are ready and waiting for you to enjoy - bring a snack and a friend to sit on the patio for a chat. Being surrounded by creativity is good for the soul!

New artists have set up shop in downtown Concord


We're delighted to report that even more art is happening in downtown Concord! Three of our friends have set up their working studio spaces at 1924 Grant Street, across from Todos Santos Plaza (upstairs from Baskin Robbins).

Cheryl Jones (center) is in Suite #6, which she calls Cheryl's Creative Corner

Pat Viera (Viera Arts - left) and Lisa Fulmer (Local Artists Rock - right) share Suite #10 right next door.

Pat's collage class at the aRt Cottage earlier this month

All three artists offer small workshops in their studios - Pat teaches collage and tee-shirt painting for 1-2 people on whatever day and time is best for you. Lisa runs Arty Play Dates on Friday nights for up to 5 people where you can create artful décor items for your home. Cheryl has paint-n-sip classes for 4-5 adults, as well as fun painting days for small groups of kids.

Cheryl's recent mother/daughter paint class for Halloween

Drop by to visit - they work in their studios several afternoons each week (including weekends) and they have their own artwork on display for sale. If you miss them in-person, their event schedules are posted in their windows. Now go make some art!


Happy is a child who makes art!

 

Kids and teens love hanging out at the aRt Cottage to make art. Some have been working on pet portraits, others are creating whatever comes to their imagination. Contact us for rates and available days/times - we look forward to helping your kids make something special. We have classes for grown-ups too!





Holding Space for 800 Souls

 

When Lisa Dell'Anno (above left) from the Diablo Valley chapter of Moms Demand Action learned about the Concord Art Association from a podcast, she went into action herself. She went looking for a local spot to display 800 small, handmade paper origami boxes that are part of a national community effort to raise awareness about gun violence in the US - the Soul Box Project - and she discovered our little downtown gallery.

CAA and the aRt Cottage came together and we are honored to host this small but mighty exhibit in one of our gallery rooms during the month of July. Several CAA members, including Patti St. Denis (above right) and Jennifer Granat (center), came together to create a wonderful display. 

Each 3" square box represents one American life lost to gun violence - homicide, suicide or accidental. Statistics show that an average of 100 people die from guns every day in this country. This community art project is helping people grasp the gravity of that number in a visual way. 

The Soul Box exhibit runs July 6th through July 22nd in the back gallery. The collection will travel from here to Portland for the rest of the summer, then on to Washington DC to be part of a huge national display of more than 200,000 Soul Boxes in the fall. 

Join us on July 10th (2-4pm) for our Artist Reception
for the Land, Air & Sea Scapes show.

Supplies and instructions will be on hand for you to make your own Soul Box. 

Horsing around in class

 

Ten students were caught horsing around in class this past Sunday! Pat Viera taught the first of two paper collage classes, featuring a beautiful horse made with her own handpainted papers. The process is fun and the end result is fabulous for beginners and seasoned creatives alike.


Call us to register for her next class on June 13th; 1-4pm.
The price includes refreshments and time to relax on the patio.







Congrats to our young art students!

Vote for #1967

Five of our aRt Cottage students recently entered their artwork to CCWD's Water Awareness Youth Art Calendar Contest.

And guess what? All 5 made it to the finals! Now the public gets to vote for their favorite kids' art that portrays the importance of water conservation. The top 12 will be featured in the Water District's 2022 wall calendar. Each of the 12 kids will also receive a $50 art supply gift certificate and get their original work professionally framed. 

CLICK HERE to vote for our 5 kids' masterpieces (you'll see these numbered images on the ballot), plus 7 more of your favorites. The deadline to vote is 5 pm on Monday, May 31, 2021.

Thanks so much for supporting our young artists!


Vote for #1966


Vote for #1968

Vote for #1964

Vote for #1965


Pots and pots and more pots!



We had 14 students here on the patio this past Sunday for our clay pots class - it was an amazing clay day! So many creative ideas for making slab, coil and pinch pots. Now it's on to the glazing, on to the kiln!

Join us for our next patio art class with Pat Viera, local collage artist. Call to make your reservations early.







Amongst the Animals

 

Our closing reception for All Creatures Great and Small was filled with so much creative energy - we were bursting at the seams! 

There was art, there was food, there was music, there were flowers. There were artists, there were children...and there were smiles and laughter behind each and every mask! Many thanks to Lynda Weir for capturing so many great moments from the day.










Painting with alcohol inks


We all had a great time learning something new at our April patio class with Lisa Fulmer. Lisa showed us to use alcohol inks to tint glass jars and paint on glossy photo paper. We got messy and happy and super creative! 

Thrift store bottles and jars became colorful sun-catchers and bud vases to sit in a window or outside on the patio. We also learned easy techniques for dripping, brushing, blowing and smudging alcohol inks to create cool mini art postcards.


Thanks to Lynda Weir for capturing these happy moments from the day!
Call us to register early for your spot in the May class.

The art of succulents


Here's a lovely recap of our March First Sunday class from Lynda Weir...

"I took the succulent class at the Art Cottage - it was a perfect day full of sunshine that made smiles bloom! There were six students, and I must say everyone in class had a grand time. 

Fro gave us a tour of her garden and said we could take cuttings from any of her plants and then she used a little rhyme to explain the elements of creating a pleasing design when planting a pot or container - something thrilling (tall plant), something filling (ground cover) and something spilling (hangs over the edge). She also said we were free to use whatever treasures we found in the garden, such as small clay pieces, shells, or painted rocks,  It was like being a kid on an Easter egg hunt! All of us very adult ladies became so excited and we were dashing throughout the garden, looking in every corner. 


Fro had all manner of planting containers on hand, which included clay pots, tin boxes, wooden drawers, large shells and more. While we were all doing some creative planting, she served everyone a slice of pound cake with berries and cream, along with a glass of pink lemonade. 

It was such a pleasure meeting the other women and seeing joy on everyone’s face. Fro is such a giving, gracious person and a wonderful teacher - not only of art but also of life!"

Call us to reserve your space now for the April class, which will actually be held on the second Sunday due to the Easter holiday.  We'll be painting glass jars and paper flowers with alcohol inks.

Attendance is extremely limited, but we will create a waiting list and offer a second session if there's interest. All supplies plus refreshments are included!

Free MIni Art Gallery

 

Fro is on the phone letting everyone know the news!

We are so pleased to be partnering with the Concord Art Association to bring you Concord very first Free Mini Art Gallery!  

We converted our existing mini library book cabinet out in front of the aRt Cottage. There will still be some space for a few free books, but now we have local artists keeping the box filled with small artworks and other crafty handmade treats. Come by and find a treasure to take home.

If you're an artist or maker yourself, feel free to add some of your mini items to give away to someone else (be sure to include your business card or name on your work). 

Our little gallery box is like a random act of kindness - let a little free art make your day a little brighter.






Sneak Peek - Salon des Refusés

 


The idea for this show came to me when a call for art from the de Young Museum went out to Bay Area artists several months ago. The Museum accepted several hundred pieces from local artists, however, there were several thousand more who did not make it. 


This got me thinking about the French Impressionists and how they had initially been treated when the big shows opened at the Museum in Paris. They did not paint like the traditional Masters; they expressed themselves in a new style with color and light, painting their impressions of what they saw. And they were refused! So Napoleon ordered the museum to host a show that would be open to all the artists who were refused and not “juried in.” 



Salon des Refusés runs Saturday, January 9th through February 26. We're partnering again with Made in Concord, so you can shop two ways - in person at the gallery (full show) or online at MadeinConcord.com (partial selection).