Dia de los Muertos

aRt Cottage is pleased to announce a very special new show. From October 18^th through November 9^th, we will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos. Given Concord’s strong cultural association with its Mexican and Hispanic citizens this should be a great show. We have received many strong works honoring deceased family, friends and pets. Please come by and learn about some of the stories.

A Reception/Celebration for participants and artists will be held in conjunction with All Saints Day on November 2nd from 5 to 7 pm. Through our art, we will be celebrating memories of those who have gone before us. ALL ARE WELCOME TO THIS FREE EVENT.

A Little Bit About Dia de los Muertos

This is a holiday observed in Mexico on November 1st and 2nd. November 1st is for honoring infants and children and is called Dia de los Inocentes or Day of the Innocents and also Dia de los Angelitos or Day of the Little Angels. November 2nd is Dia de los Muertos or Dia de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead). People go to cemeteries to build private altars containing favorite food, flowers, photos and other items in memory of loved ones who have died.

Historically, Day of the Dead comes from the Aztecs. It has been celebrated for hundreds of years. The Catholic Church had incorporated this celebration with the Christian celebration of All Souls Day or All Saints Day. Dia de los Muertos does not have anything to do with Halloween or Trick or Treat. It is a Mexican celebration, now extended to other cultures, celebrating and remembering family and friends, who we still love, honor and cherish in our memories.

This art exhibit expresses feelings and memories in a respectful, fun loving way. There are even remembrances of pets on display. Altars, sugar skulls, small chapels, retablos, favorite fruits, breads, photos, incense along with dioramas, altered books, paintings and sculptures, mono print flags, decorated shoes of those that walked before us...are all on display.

Bill Richards and Sandra Artru

The aRt Cottage is pleased to announce the opening of our next show, featuring the work of Bill Richards. Bill is a self-taught artist.  He has never had a professional art class in his life.  His paintings consist of life-like portraits and figures, both nude and draped.  He also is very proficient in painting animals and landscapes.  Every hair and every wrinkle can be seen in his amazing realistic portraits.  His medium of choice is oil and he paints on birch.  His work is on exhibit from coast to coast, and now at the aRt Cottage as well.

The opening reception will be next Saturday, September 7th, from 2 to 7 pm. Food and beverage will be provided. We will also have live music.

 We will also be featuring the work of Sandra Artru, in the Red Room Gallery.  Sandra Artru has been painting since 1997. She firsts learned techniques in a portrait class in a pivate setting in Brentwood. There wer 13 women present for an 8 hr session for 5 days. After that  experience, other classes and workshops were more of the same - private and in a small setting. Her first school experience with paint was in high school. Her paintings consist of oil, acrylic, watercolor and ink line drawings.For the last three years she has been working on painting famous people with using the palette knife and acrylic paint. Several of these will be on display for the month of September.

Everyone is welcome. See you on Saturday!
FRO

STUDENT WORKS

This month's show is an exhibit of Student Works. While the majority of the exhibited works are from our younger artists, students of all ages were invited to submit their artwork. And submit they did! This is one of our largest shows to date. the variety and originality are breathtaking.

Arian Mojaddidi

Katie Dowell & Adeline Lizarraga

Our opening reception was last Thursday evening and the event was a blowout. It was a wonderful crowd of children and adults. All seemed anxious to search for their work and show it off to relatives and friends. The children were enthusiastic to explain their recycled art material sculptures and demonstrate how they worked. Several pieces were sold within the first hour. Work ranged in age from Sr. citizens to preschoolers. Ceramic pinch pots, oil paintings, pencil drawings, photographs, watercolors, pastels, clay masks were only some of the mediums enjoyed by viewers. Live music was provided by the Delta Breeze. Their acoustic style country and rock 12 string guitar played by Tony Benedetti and vocals by Pauline Kilian added to the evening. If you did not get a chance to check out the art at the reception - come visit aRt Cottage before August is over and enjoy the variety on display. This is the month to make some purchases. All the proceeds go directly to the artists. aRt Cottage is here to help promote the beginning artists as well as the continuing "learning" student artists no matter what their age or experience is.

 FRO

Meiling Liu

 

WATER

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad

July begins with a bang (literally) and ushers in a new show here at the aRt Cottage - Water. How it is that a substance that is so simple can be so complex is mystifying. We drink water, we bathe in water, we fight wars over water... As you tour the galleries this month think about the themes behind the artwork. Water is portrayed in all of it's many forms. You will observe great power and placid lakes. Ships that ply the oceans and lakes for commerce and pleasure. And of course contemplation. Water is always good for contemplation.

Our reception  this month is Thursday, July 11 from 6 to 9 pm. Please come, enjoy the art, artists and perhaps join us for a glass of water.

All About Abstract...

All About Abstract...is our latest show here at the aRt Cottage and promises to be the biggest and most intriguing yet. We have a strong turn out of a dozen or more artists including painters, sculptors, photographers, pen and pencil artists and more. The variety is breathtaking.

The show officially kicks off on June 5th and runs through the 29th. We are having our opening Reception on Thursday evening, June 6th from 6 to 9 pm. This should be a great opening reception as it corresponds with the Opening of the Thursday night Farmer's Market down in Todos Santos Plaza.

If you haven't visited the Cottage in a while this is a great opportunity to come celebrate the Arts in Concord. Refreshments will be serve and there is always plenty of comradarie.

-FRO

More About Abstract...Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ... (it)  indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be only slight, or it can be partial, or it can be complete. Abstraction exists along a continuum.

-From Wikipedia

Print Making and More!

The aRt Cottage is proud to announce our newest show, "Print Making and More". Print making is an art form that we are all intimately familiar with since the dollar bills in our wallets and purses are produced by an Intaglio printing process. This show will focus primarily on silk screening and monotypes but will include multiple other creative print types as well.

Drop by and visit the show any time we are open or come to our Opening Reception this Saturday, May 11 from 2 to 5 pm.

Prints by Aileen Natasha Nichols and FROgard

aRt Cottage Participates in AAUW Wine Walk

On May 11th from 1-4 pm the aRt Cottage will participate, along with many of Concord's Todos Santos merchants, in the 2013 Art and Wine Walk. This is a fundraiser for the American Association of University Women. Buy an ticket, join the stroll and find out a bit more about the artistic side of Concord while supporting a good cause.