Art shorts
Published: November 25, 2009
The Thanksgiving holiday is a time to be grateful for the abundance of talented people who make the Island their home. This weekend many Vineyard-based artists will reach out to the Island public, some of them by opening their studios and welcoming visitors into their work spaces to see the tools of their art and their working surroundings. Artwork will be available for purchase, and those interested will have a wonderful opportunity to ask questions and discuss art with the artists.
Wendy Weldon will show paintings like this one at her studio in Chilmark this weekend. Photo courtesy of Wendy WeldonWendy Weldon opens her studio
Known for her lush, shimmering color-intense canvases, Chilmarker Wendy Weldon has elevated bold rocks and simple barns into iconic artistic forms that hover on abstractions. Working in acrylics, incorporating gold and copper leaf, often adding an encaustic finish, she lends depth to her two-dimensional forms.
And this weekend - Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28, from 10 to 4 pm -you can see it all and take advantage of some well-priced pieces. Ms. Weldon will be selling her paintings, monotypes, and drawings out of her Chilmark studio.
Also included in the studio show will be the one-of-a-kind jewelry of Ms. Weldon's cousin, Monica Fernandes. Made with wire-wrapped stones, her pieces can be seen at lisbonstyle.com.
This is Ms. Weldon's first open studio sale since moving back to the Island in 1998. She is asking those interested to email her at wendyweldon@earthlink.net for directions to her studio. It is worth the trip, not only because of the beautiful, singular artwork, but also because the rustic studio is filled with the paraphernalia of the artist's inspiration.
Ms. Weldon, who shows at the Shaw Cramer Gallery in Vineyard Haven, will also be opening her studio by appointment. Images of her artwork may be seen online at wendyweldon.com.
David Fokos at North Water
For the first time, the North Water Gallery is hosting an artist's talk. The spacious and welcoming two-level gallery on North Water Street in Edgartown provides a perfect setting for such events.
The artist speaking is David Fokos, a photographer whose stunning representational black-and-white images create dramatic and powerful statements. He will speak and discuss his art on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 1 to 3 pm.
In photographing nature and objects, his long exposures range from 20 seconds up to 30 minutes. These exposures filter out what he refers to as visual noise and reveal the fundamental underlying forms of our world.
About his technique, Mr. Fokos writes "...I believe that our impression of the world is based upon our total experience. For example, the ocean has always made me feel calm, relaxed, and contented. If I were to take an instantaneous snapshot of the ocean, the photo would include waves with jagged edges, salt spray, and foam. This type of image does not make me feel calm - it does not represent how the ocean makes me feel as I stare out over the water. What I am responding to is the underlying, fundamental form of the ocean, its vast expansiveness and the strong line of the horizon, both of which are very stable, calming forms."
A San Diego resident who photographs at sites around the world, Mr. Fokos has been summering on the Island since 1976. His parents live in Chilmark year-round.
For more information, call The North Water Gallery, North Water St., Edgartown 508.627.6002.
A Vineyard landscape by David Tierney. Photo courtesy of David Tierney
Deborah Colter's "Leaving the City" 48 by 40 inches on canvas. Photo courtesy Deborah Colter
Jeweler Diana Stewart, posing at last year's Artisan's Festival. Photo by Susan Safford 
