July Newsletter: All Thriving Is Mutual

To Collect? - It Depends - And It Is Essential

The Northwoods are on fire! Throughout my life I have had a relationship with the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on the border of Minnesota and Canada. My family has been going there since before it was designated a wilderness area in 1964. The year of my first trip I was four years old. I learned many lessons travelling by canoe from lake to lake, depending on the bow and stern paddlers to work together, depending on family to keep me safe and fed, depending on cartographers to have made an accurate map to refer to as we find our way from portage to portage between lakes, depending on fellow travelers in the wilderness to care for it, and by extension, each other. Like the French fur-trading voyageurs did 300 years ago, singing their songs to keep themselves and each other thriving under the heavy burden of paddling and portaging with a “brigade” of four to six in each canoe.

Recently in these North Woods, lightning struck. The very dry terrain of the BWCA ignited and erupted into some massive fires. Everyone in the wilderness area depended on each other to get out of harm’s way. Harrowing as it must have been, the stories coming out describe extraordinary efforts by people to help people that they have never met before. 

As the smoke from these fires poured into our Western Pennsylvania skies I thought to search for a recording of those chansons d’aviron produced in the 1960s by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. Sung in French by a 30-voice male choir of the Universite de Moncton of New Brunswick, Canada, it captures my imagination. It turns out that my brothers have the album and cassette tape. I have…nothing. You see, people don’t OWN music very much any more. We stream it. We borrow it from digital warehouses that loan music to us. When it comes to something like “The Voyageurs and Their Songs” these digital companies don’t seem to sense (or value) my need to hear them.

What Has This To Do With Art?

Will art go the way that music has? It is too soon to know what the impact of AI will be on visual arts. Most believe it will be as profound as anywhere else in our lives. Some artists are incorporating generative AI tools into their art. Some thought leaders are embracing how it enhances art. Others are stridently working to oppose the slop and ethical problems inherent in developing AI tools that seem aimed to eliminate artist’s livelihoods. It seems likely that advances in novel art works that change how we view a subject will always require human creation. All worrisome, all difficult challenges. 

I propose that we “consume” visual art - specifically art separate from graphic design  - differently than we do music. It doesn’t require a “player” for instance. We can collect art. Touch it. Behold it without a device that shows it to us. Is it essential? I think so, yes, to

truly thrive. We need it. World history bears this out.

We depend on artists to hold space and time for us to see and feel our lives. We depend on their creative drive. Consider a painting of a teacup, (or an abstract rendering of courage). We might say, “it speaks to me” and indeed it does. The artist that needed to make it has connected to the story of your life somehow. Maybe their painting reminds you of tea with a friend. Or it beautifully suggests the feeling of morning rituals. Whatever the case, then you can acquire what the artist made in a way that will continue to bring you joy every time you encounter it. By purchasing locally made art at The Artists Hand you can even come to know a little about the artist that made it. Unique art chosen and placed in your home or workplace connects the story of your life to a thriving, interconnected world.  

And yes, I have searched for and found a vinyl recording of “Songs of The Voyageurs.” It will be part of the fabric of my thriving life.

FIBER TO FASHION

A Folk Arts Mentor-Apprentice Pathway

Speaking of fabric, and fiber, and fashion,this resident artist at The Artists Hand took on an apprentice and together they transmitted folk knowledge to its next generation. Sandy Trimble has been running her “Weaving Together” studio in an apartment over the gallery for several months now. She took on an apprentice, Abigail Heit, with funding from the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Sandy and her apprentice Abigail invite you to explore the transformation of fiber into fashion through handwoven textiles. Their mutual creations will be shown in a brief, week-long exhibition August 9th to 16th. It is a collection of their work created as part of their mentor-apprentice partnership. It honors the rich tradition of handweaving and the continued passing of craft from one generation to the next. Stop in and learn how to trace a path from fiber to fashion, the first step in every

garment’s story. 

SUMMER STUDIO DAYS

Summer Studio Days continue to sizzle with local teaching artists providing creative experiences for young people. Beginning at 10am Saturdays in the gallery studio, in ninety minutes kids have a blast focusing on a creative task. Courtney Crowe guided young artists through the asian art of kinusaiga, and Angela Pinizzotto provided a smorgasbord of creative play these past two weekends. Next up, Bonnie Chovanec’s make and take milkweed pods repurposed into creatively painted art objects.  These are a favorite of Monarch Butterflies you know. Registrations for this and future Summer Studio Days on the gallery website EVENTS.

JULY IS ABOUT NEW ART IN THE GALLERY

Did you know?  Every quarter the Artists Hand Gallery artists bring in new work to display. July is one of those months where the gallery gets a make-over and visitors get to see a ton of new art. Sometimes this shows a shift in theme, sometimes we introduce a new artist like Candace Joseph this July, and sometimes an artist decides to dip their toe into a whole new medium. Maybe, just maybe, you should jot a note on that calendar of yours to stop by and wander the gallery for a while. Our baristas can even fix you up a delicious drink-of-the-week to make it an exceptional experience. Stop by and see her original artwork, made for beyond a digital screen!

Sincerely,

Brian Jones

The Artists Hand, Gallery Owner