New Year - New Exhibits - New Classes

Einstein (the elf) has had a busy season since Halloween.  He and Keiko (see Santa below) have had costumes fashioned for them by the Wacky Wednesday students.  Design and costume making was planned and executed by 2 very talented young girls.  New classes will be planned in our emergent curriculum program for 2016.  These classes are thought up by the students and then, with mentoring, the final project comes to completion.  If you are interested in making art please check out our Class Page and contact aRt Cottage.  If you would like to exhibit your work or know artists who would like to hang in the gallery, please contact aRt Cottage at 925 956-3342

All about Gift Giving for December

aRt Cottage is growing in students and wants you to know how much fun we have.  Go to the classes page and put in your interests.  A class can be arranged according to your schedule.  You pay as you go - only $15 per each one hour session.  All materials are supplied.  Together we can make beautiful art and have fun.

Encaustic (melted wax)

Sewing; a bandana for Keiko

 Ceramics - real clay

 Acrylic painting

TWIN BROTHERS OF DIFFERENT MOTHERS an exhibition of the art of spirit

The Current Show at aRt Cottage is
TWIN BROTHERS OF DIFFERENT MOTHERS

                                                                                   Mustang by Martin Biro

                           Pueblo Pottery by Jerry Dunbar

show is NOW OPEN through Sept. 2015

ARTIST RECEPTION 

SEPT. 12  5-8  OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

aRt Cottage has sooooo much to offer.  Check out our classes page and let us know what your interests are.  A class can be arranged according to your available time.  We have private and semi private classes for children ranging in age from 5 to 95!!!  Come check it out and join the fun.

watercolors from a spray bottle...

If this doesn't catch your fancy scroll down to see more.

Ceramics is fun too!

ARTIST GETAWAY

The aRt Cottage is pleased to announce our July show. For the second year we will be hosting the Artist Getaway. Artist Getaway is an adventure for artists who want to have an art trip without instruction.  This group paints in the Sierra foothills, redwood forest and at the beach.  These painting vacations are for artists of all mediums and abilities.  They are free to paint their way, their style, in a relaxing setting with artists on vacation.  For more information visit their website at www.artistgetaway.com.

The 2nd Annual Artist Getaway Show will be at aRt Cottage from July 1st to the 31st.  The Reception is July 9th from 6-9pm.  There will be music, refreshments, wine and wonderful art.  A People's Choice award will be presented at 8:30, so please come early to vote.

"PAINTINGS HAVE A LIFE OF THEIR OWN THAT DERIVES FROM THE PAINTER'S SOUL."
-Vincent Van Gogh

Best Wishes,
FRO

NUDES

This is the second annual show by a group of colleagues who paint the figure every Thursday.  They are experienced artists and enjoy the commitment to paint as well as the opportunity to paint from live, professional models, many of who are a part of the Bay Area Model Guild.  The exhibit will feature mixed media, oil, acrylic and many surprises. The viewer will see and appreciate that the body is truly a beautiful landscape.   aRt Cottage is honored to feature their work for the month of June
FRO

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May is the month for FROgard to share a little bit of herself with aRt Cottage patrons.  This is the fourth year of realizing a dream come true and reflecting on how aRt Cottage came to be and where it is going.  FROgard will be sharing her art with the general public by having her first solo show at aRt Cottage. The exhibit will include pieces from 10 years of her work exploring many mediums.  Ceramics, watercolors, charcoals, monotypes, acrylics, and oils will be featured.  Come meet FROgard and hear about her work and a journey of exploration.

AAUW 3rd Annual Wine, Beer and Art Walk

For the month of May aRt Cottage is featuring the work of its Propietor - FROgard.  Works on display will be watercolors, oils, acrylics,  monotypes, charcoals and some ceramics.

  May is also the Month where aRt Cottage has the honor of supporting the AAUW with Concord's third annual wine, beer and art walk.  This event takes place May 9th from 1 to 4.

  We hope to see approximately 350 people participating in this exciting event which starts in the town square and ends at the aRt Cottage.  Come join the fun!

Mark Jezerny and Students

aRt Cottage is currently showing an exhibit by Mark Jezierny and his students.  Mark has been a long time instructor in painting and drawing in the Adult Education Program around Contra Costa County.  There will be live music by a Ukelele group, wine, food, and good art on April 11 from 2-5 at the artist reception.  This is a free event where you can feel comfortable with your friends and family.  We hope you will bring many friends to see the beautiful work and enjoy the beautiful garden setting.

Concord Arts Alive! Emerge

Concord Community of Artists is proud to announce their first group art show and sale – Concord Arts Alive! Emerge – on display in March at aRt Cottage. This show, which runs from March 3 - 27, features the work of 21 CCofA members who all live in Concord, plus 16 art students from Clayton Valley Charter High School. The mediums are diverse, including sculpture, mixed media, painting, drawing and photography.

CCofA is a multi-discipline collective of artists, artisans and crafters who have come together to increase exposure for the visual and performing arts in Concord. “A strong arts scene strengthens a city like Concord through education, economic development and civic pride – it enhances the overall vitality of our community,” says CCofA founder, Sylvia Nuzzo Philis. “Including students in this show is an important part of the community-building aspect of our mission. We want to create a bridge between generations of artists and we want students to know that art opportunities do exist in Concord. We are committed to building a thriving arts scene, and everyone can help by supporting our local artists. We’re here to tell you…the arts are alive in Concord!”

The public is welcome to attend a wine and cheese Reception for the artists on Saturday, March 7th (2-5pm), and various artists will be on-hand at the gallery each Friday and Saturday in March to talk to the public about their work. If you’re an artist, performer, artisan, crafter or arts supporter living in Concord or the surrounding areas – you can become a member of CCofA (100+ and counting!) for free by joining their MeetUp and/or Facebook groups.

California Springtime by Pat Strout

 Mount Diablo by Ryan Idryo

EXPRESSIONS AND LIGHT

Our February show features two superb women artists.

Joan McCarthy  is an artist who experiments with a variety of  mediums, methods and styles of  art.  She plays, enjoys, and frustrates herself countless numbers of days and nights.

"I have fun, I find beauty and self expression in my work."

In this show she hopes you will share the feelings she has tried to express in her paintings.

Ruth Beeve is a native Californian.  She studied art at U C Berkeley, Ohlone College in Fremont, Pacific Union College in Angwin, and at workshops with many nationally known painters.  Although she paints many other areas as well, she has spent a lot of time painting on location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.  John Muir named them the "Range Of Light".  She travels to the high country and paints that light as often as possible.

The show runs from February 3rd through the 28th. We will have the opening Artists Reception onSaturday, February 7th from 2 to 5 pm. This promises to be a beautiful exhibit. Please come and join us!

FRO

Ring in the New Year with Bill Voigt and Mike Nelson

Happy New Year!

Can you believe that the aRt Cottage has been in operation for 3 years now. During that time period, the Cottage has hosted 34 shows, one each month. And 2015 is looking very exciting.

Our first show of the year features two unique artists; Bill Voigt and  Mike Nelson.

Bill Voigt grew up in the East Bay, and currently lives in Point Richmond, CA. In 2008 he attended a workshop by the Nature Printing Society, and was immediately attracted to gyotaku, or Japanese fish (gyo) printing (taku). This art form captures the details of scale, texture and essence of fish. Fish make ideal subjects for printing. They are (usually) bi-laterally flattened; they have a variety of scale textures, and diversity of colors, patterns, shapes and sizes. Also, they are readily available at local fish markets in the Bay Area. Each fish species presents a unique challenge.

Mike Nelson bills himself as a Designer, Illustrator and Painter of Friendly Things. He studied art at The Academy of Art in San Francisco in the 1960's and worked as a commercial illustrator for many years.

Desiring greater creative involvement Mike wanted to return to painting. His wife's family was involved in logging during this time period, in Boonville CA and had many great stories and old photos of logging the redwoods along the Mendocino coast. With the family experiences as source material and after reading about logging in the 1800’s, Mike began a very interesting series of paintings.

The show opens January 6th and runs through the 31st. We will be hosting an Artist’s Reception Saturday, Jan. 10, from 2 to 5 pm. Please come visit us at the aRt Cottage and view this unique show.

FRO