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What Meets the Eye: Eileen Seeley Schlag

what meets the eye and touches the heart

Cooperative Gallery 213 Welcomes New Artist Eileen Seeley Schlag

On First Friday, July 7th 3- 9 pm the Cooperative Gallery 213 will open an exhibit by new member Eileen Seeley Schlag entitled What meets the eye and touches the heart. Also on display are New Works by Karen Fedczuk, a long time gallery member known for her fine print making.

Eileen writes of her paintings and encaustics, “

My paintings using acrylics and oils (often both in the same painting) depict my journey both to places in the world and in my imagination. I look for images that are dramatic, colorful, amusing or intriguing and have some emotional connection for me.  Although my work is representational I attempt to create an atmospheric quality with my handling of light and shadow."

Eileen also creates art using the ancient method of encaustic painting which involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. The liquid or paste is then applied to a surface; she uses prepared wood.  The oldest surviving encaustic panel paintings are the Romano-Egyptian Fayum mummy portraits from the 1st Century BC.  She says, "I have used the method to create a design oriented series based on jewelry pieces (I was a jeweler for a period at one time) and called Medallions and a non-representational series called Light and Shadow."

Karen Fedczuk speaks about her work: "Hawaiian mythology and legends tell the stories of the ancient Hawaiian indigenous culture. Their deep connection with nature is evident in their stories and folklore. This is what has inspired my depictions and renditions of the beauty of the land and people of Hawaii."

The Cooperative Gallery, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, located on Artists Row –State of the Art, at 213 State Street in Binghamton, is open on First Friday 3- 9 pm and regularly Fridays from 3-6 and Saturdays from 12- 4 pm and by appointment with the artist. They are on Facebook at Cooperative Gallery 213 where the public can sign up for a weekly e-newsletter or at the website at  www.cooperativegallery.com.  

Image: "East Beach" by Eileen Seeley Schlag

Winners Announced in Photo Competition

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6th BOB JOHNSTON MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW AND COMPETITION

SPONSORED BY Cooperative Gallery 213 and the Two Rivers Photography Club  January 6 – 28, 2017

The exhibit received 105 entries, which have been judged by Chuck Haupt, a former photographer at the Press and Sun-Bulletin and a member of the Cooperative Gallery.  “The response from area photographers has been outstanding,” commented Haupt, “and the quality of the photos is excellent.”

The winners are as follows: Best of Show “Clyde” by Peter Mason; Judge’s Choice Color: “Liberty Hosta” by Thomas LaBarbera and “Harbored” by Sandra Kirker;  Judge’s Choice Black and White: “Turbulence” by Mary Lou Shapinas and “Another Dimension” by Paula Friedman.

Honorable Mentions: “II” by JM Hogan; “Gone Fishing” by Mary Lou Shapinas ; “Flatlined” by Jessica Fridrich; “Snow on My Nose” by Grant LaBarr; “Under the Bridge” by Andrew Thayer; “Circles” by Lesli Van Zandbergen; “Summer Moonrise” by Kirk Van Zandbergen; “Ballooning” by Mike Ricciardi; “Preserved in a Puddle” by Dan Harendza; “Defying the Odds” by Jessica Fridrich; “Asylum” by Greg Chianis; “Lion” by Scott Anderson.

To see some of the winners follow this link: https://spark.adobe.com/page/JM40Wqr9B9PRf/

The Competition is named for Bob Johnston, a lifelong photographer and a gallery member who died in 2010. “Bob Johnston was an ‘Ansell Adams’ kind of photographer who worked mostly in black and white film and favored both urban and natural landscapes,” said Bill Gorman, also a photographer and member of the Cooperative Gallery. Bob Johnston defined a good photo this way: “For me, the successful photograph is one in which both the abstract elements and the subject matter of the image reinforce each other to provide an emotional experience for the viewer.”

The Cooperative Gallery, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, located at 213 State Street in Binghamton, is open on Frist Friday 3- 9 pm and regularly Fridays from 3-6 and Saturdays from 12- 4 pm. Find us on Facebook at Cooperative Gallery 213 and sign up for our weekly e-newsletter on our website at  www.cooperativegallery.com or on our Facebook page.

Photo Credit: "Clyde" by Peter Mason, Best of Show

TRASH! A Collaborative ECO Art Exhibit Call for Submissions

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TRASH! A Collaborative ECO Art Exhibit Curated by Peg Johnston

June 2- 25th,  2016 at the Cooperative Gallery 213 Binghamton NY

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

“I am fascinated with materials that most would call waste and creating something new from them,” says Peg Johnston, an artist at the Cooperative Gallery in Binghamton NY.  TRASH!  invites other artists, both local and national, to join a first- ever exhibit of Eco Art in this area June 2- 25th, 2016. Works using any of a variety of waste materials from paper to plastics, fabric to scrap metal, styrofoam to recycled wood are welcome. Beyond use of non-traditional art materials, works in this show will bring attention to the plight of our environment and our role in both creating and remediating destruction.

Submit jpegs of your work to m.r.johnston@icloud.com by May 15th, 2016. Accepted works must be received by May 26th for non-local works. There is no fee for entry, but the usual 20% commission to the gallery applies.

A series of workshops on Eco-Art media will lead up to the June exhibit: the first is "Cardboard Art" on Sunday March 6th from 12-4 pm, an exploration of cardboard as a sustainable and versatile medium. (Download flyer below) The second is a workshop April 9-10th with Bruce Greig on making sculpture out of styrofoam. Bruce has experience in set design after working on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and King Kong. The workshop will appeal to theater set designers. There is a $60 fee for the two day workshop. The third workshop is in Handmade Paper Making in May TBA.

Says Johnston about this collaborative exhibit, “This show builds on my long term interest in giving voice to environmental concerns which I have addressed in the Book as Art show and the “Plastic is Forever” waterfall of water bottles in the Gallery’s Off the Wall show. It was immediately inspired by picking up fast food container trash in my neighborhood.”  A series of workshops are planned to explore the re-use of various materials to create art.

TRASH! takes its creative inspiration from several contemporary artists who are working in various media, all using materials found in the waste stream.  El Anatsui of Ghana creates elaborate tapestries from flattened liquor bottle caps and other scrap paper. He says, “I have a desire to manipulate the material to get something else out of it.” He models a personal mission that encourages artists to look at everyday consumer products and see their potential as high art, as vehicles for expression that go beyond craft making or green initiatives.

South African Mbongeni Buthelezi states, “I collect rubbish and create something beautiful from it. I collect something that has no value and give it new life.” He recycles plastic into his artwork.

Bryant Holsenbeck of North Carolina says, “Americans continue to create more garbage, per capita, than any other culture, yet we are blind to our waste…. I collect many things, among them, bottle caps, credit cards, plastic bags, straws and lids, beach plastic and chop sticks. I use these everyday items to make work, which transforms the objects and surprises us.” She creates installations using massive amounts of discarded plastic and other materials as well as creating small animals, re-purposed books, and birds made of credit cards, all of which bring attention to our impact on the environment.

Mark Bradford, of South Central Los Angeles creates monumental works using layers of paper found on streets and from discarded materials. His work has been displayed worldwide and in prestigious museums.

 Rosalie Gascoigne (1917-1999) used different materials in  distinctive grid patterns and other assemblages. “Through the artist’s skill in making poetry of the commonplace and her intrinsic response to both her chosen materials and the particularities of the Australian landscape, we are able to witness her unique ability to evocatively capture and convey the essence of nature and the transitory and captivating effects of light, air and space,” according to a review of a 2009 show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Johnston Photography Show and Competition: Don’t Miss It!

Judge's Choice: “Arboreal Spirit I” by David LoParco

5th BOB JOHNSTON MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW AND COMPETITION
SPONSORED BY Cooperative Gallery 213 and the Two Rivers Photography Club

January 1 – 23rd, 2016

            The Cooperative Gallery 213 and the Two Rivers Photography Club are sponsoring the 5th Bob Johnston Photography Show and Competition January 1-23rd, 2016. “We are looking forward to the best photography this area has to offer,” according to Peg Johnston, Cooperative Gallery president and daughter of the late Bob Johnston. It is an open themed Photography Show and Competition and all photographic media and all photographers are eligible to enter. Photographs will again be judged by J. W. Johnston (no relation), a local professional photographer.

             The Exhibit will be open Fridays 3-6 pm, Saturdays 12-4 pm and by appointment until January 23rd.

            The winners are as follows: Best of Show– “Courthouse Detail” by Kirk Van Zandbergen; Judge’s Choice in Black and White—“Phaseolus coccineus (Scarlet Runner Bean)” and "Asclepius tuberosa (Butterfly Weed)" both by Susan C. Larkin; Judge’s Choice in Color—“Arboreal Spirit I” and “Arboreal Spirit II” both by David LoParco. Ten Honorable Mention awards will be awarded to (in alphabetical order): “Dew of the Morn” by William Bay; “The Silhouette Maker” by Barry Biddle; “Colors of Darkness” and “Indiglow” by Jessica Fridrich; “Urban Construction” by Bill Gorman; “Creepy Crawler” by Dan Harendza; “No Corner for the Devil” and “Fall Oak” by Sandra Kirker; “Selfie” by Peter Kofira Jr; “JD2040” by Lesli Van Zandbergen

            The Competition is named for Bob Johnston, a lifelong photographer and a gallery member who died in 2010. “Bob Johnston was an ‘Ansell Adams’ kind of photographer who worked mostly in black and white film and favored both urban and natural landscapes,” said Bill Gorman, also a photographer and member of the Cooperative Gallery. Bob Johnston defined a good photo this way: “For me, the successful photograph is one in which both the abstract elements and the subject matter of the image reinforce each other to provide an emotional experience for the viewer.”

            The Cooperative Gallery, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, located at 213 State Street in Binghamton, is open on Frist Friday 3- 9 pm and regularly Fridays from 3-6 and Saturdays from 12- 4 pm. Find us on Facebook at Cooperative Gallery 213 and sign up for our weekly e-newsletter on our website at  www.cooperativegallery.com or on our Facebook page.

Slow Art Day at Two Local Galleries

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The Tate in London is in.

So are the Harvard Art Museums.

Ditto, the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  

And the Cooperative Gallery and Orazio Salati Gallery in Binghamton NY.  

These and 173 galleries around the world are celebrating Slow Art Day on April 11, 2015. “Slow Art Day is the global all-volunteer event with a simple mission: help more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art,” according to the website SlowArtDay.com. “Slow Art Day was created as a grassroots movement to empower museum visitors to change their museum experience. Unlike the standard 8-second view, Slow Art Day participants are asked to spend 10-15 minutes looking at several specific pieces of art.”         

The event is at Cooperative Gallery 213 on State Street and Orazio Salati Studio & Gallery at 204 State Street located across from each other in Binghamton’s Downtown Arts District. The program will begin in each gallery at 1pm on Saturday April 11th and will feature the work of Exhibiting Artist Members at Cooperative Gallery and the work of Orazio Salati and Provincetown MA artist Jerome Greene at Salati’s gallery. Participants will enjoy a brief introduction to the program by Judy Salton (Cooperative Gallery) and Orazio Salati. They will switch galleries midway through the event and follow-up with an open discussion over refreshments at the Cooperative Gallery.

 “Our Slow Art event will allow the participants to view the pieces with very little input from us but we hope to have a lively discussion afterward,” comments Judy Salton, organizer of the event. The event starts at 1 pm and the discussion, with refreshments, will follow at 3 pm. It is free and open to the public.

Contact Information: to RSVP: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=pjztkndab&oeidk=a07easnd9ugb32cee99

Web: SlowArtDay.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/SlowArtDay

Twitter: @SlowArtDay

Tumblr: SlowArtDay.Tumblr.com

Contact: Judy Salton or Orazio Salati

Phone: 607 584-4715 (Salton) or 772-6725 (Salati)

 

Bob Johnston Photography Show and Competition Returns in January 2015

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4th BOB JOHNSTON MEMORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW AND COMPETITION
SPONSORED BY Cooperative Gallery 213 and the Two Rivers Photography Club
January 2 – 31st, 2015

The Cooperative Gallery 213 and the Two Rivers Photography Club are sponsoring the 4th Bob Johnston Photography Show and Competition January 2-31st, 2015. “This is one of our most popular shows at the Cooperative Gallery,” according to Peg Johnston. “It speaks to how many great photographers we have in this area and their desire to share their art.” It is an open themed Photography Show and Competition and all photographic media and all photographers are eligible to enter. Photographs will be judged by a local professional photographer.

The Competition is named for Bob Johnston, a lifelong photographer and a gallery member who died in 2010. “Bob Johnston was an ‘Ansell Adams’ kind of photographer who worked mostly in black and white film and favored both urban and natural landscapes,” said Bill Gorman, also a photographer and member of the Cooperative Gallery. Johnston’s work was also featured in his daughter Peg’s recent “Binghamton: a Photographic Memoir.” This fourth Exhibit is a tribute to his photography. Bob Johnston defined a good photo this way: “For me, the successful photograph is one in which both the abstract elements and the subject matter of the image reinforce each other to provide an emotional experience for the viewer.”

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Each entrant may submit up to 3 photos with an entry fee of $10 each. The open themed show will be judged and cash prizes will be given for Best in Show and two Judge’s Choice photos one each in Color and Black and White. Photos may be sold and the standard 20% commission will be paid to the gallery. All photos must be framed and ready to hang. Two non-adhesive labels must accompany each entry with Title, Name of Photographer, Medium, Price using Arial 14 pt type on a label no larger than 2” X 3” (labels in envelope attached to wire is recommended). In addition, name and complete contact information must be affixed to the back of each photo.

Submissions may be dropped off at the Cooperative Gallery 213 State St. Binghamton NY on Saturday, December 27, 2014 1-3 pm or Sunday, December 28th 6-8 pm. Photos may be picked up Sun. Feb 1st 2-5 pm and Monday Feb 2nd 3-6 pm. Contact info@cooperativegallery.com or ggould@binghamton.edu (607) 7757-0499 for more information.

Prizes and cash awards for the winners will be announced at First Friday, January 2nd at 7 pm at a reception for the artists. The Cooperative Gallery 213 is regularly open Fridays 3-9 pm and Saturdays 12-4 pm; there may be additional events announced.

 

Binghamton: A Photographic Memoir by Peg Johnston

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         Peg Johnston mines her family’s archives for images of Binghamton to create a narrative about the city’s evolution in the last half century. “Binghamton has gone through major changes, losing a significant part of our downtown and half of our population. I want to tell that and other stories about my hometown in a visual way,” comments Johnston, a photographer who often does installations at the Cooperative Gallery. Included will be some of the photographs of Robert Johnston, now deceased, and a former gallery member. In addition to recently digitized photos from the city of her childhood, Johnston explores Urban Renewal, documents several decades of protests in Binghamton, and looks forward to the future.

          All images have been digitized and are in black and white. “I feel that memories are best represented this way, and all of my father’s photos were originally in black and white. But these images are "contrasty" and sometimes grainy, not the fine prints my father would have produced. I want to generate images for the Facebook generation, images that swim into your consciousness,” explained Johnston.

          Binghamton: A Photographic Memoir will be on display September 4- 27th, 2014 at the Cooperative Gallery 213 State St. The opening is on Thursday Sept. 4th from 6-8 pm. On the First Friday Art Walk  Sept. 5th, the gallery is open from 3 pm to 9 pm. A panel discussion on the “Evolution of Binghamton” will take place at the Third Thursday Art Discussion Sept. 18th at 7 pm with Roger Luther of the Preservation Society, Mark Bowers, planner, and other speakers to be announced. Finally, a closing reception will show the locally made video “Rust to Roots” by Kevin Hannagan Sat. Sept. 27th. All events are free and open to the public.  

          The Cooperative Gallery is a popular stop on the Art Walk and is regularly open Fridays 3-6 pm, Saturdays 12-4 pm, and by appointment with the artist. The website is www.cooperativegallery.com and events are also listed on the www.binghamtonbridge.org site and on www.Facebook.com/cooperativegallery213.

The Bob Johnston Memorial Photo Competition co-sponsored by the Cooperative Gallery and the Two Rivers Photography Club is scheduled for January 2015.

 

 

 

The Art and the Environment in Environmental Art

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The Cooperative Gallery 213 is known for breaking ground in the local art scene and the current show "Off the Wall" continues that tradition. The theme is taking art "off the wall" literally and figuratively, and the curators found a theme of "environmental art" among the 30 artists who submitted works. Most directly addressing environmental problems is Peg Johnston and Shawna Stevenson's "The Waterfall: Plastic is Forever" which is made of many hundreds of cut up water bottles to form an inside/outside "waterfall." Inspired by the work of North Carolina environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck, the piece makes the point that our dependence on plastic rather than more sustainable drinking containers is polluting the Earth. "We in the USA create more waste by far than any other country in the world," said Peg Johnston, "Art installations like this may help us raise awareness about our own impact on the environment." 

Don Sharpe's delightful sculptures of found objects also use waste to create art. Sharpe finds discarded objects in his walks along the river and uses them to create fantastical creatures or elaborate tableaux such as "Mouse Trap", a re-creation of the Rube Goldberg type children's game. He has several sculptures in the show worth a visit to "Off the Wall."

Aubrey Clark and Irene Lawson also created decorative fish and birds out of scrap materials such as coat hangers, credit cards, plastic bags and scraps of fabric. Fish extended the water theme with Judy Salton's giant fish made of chicken wire and John Thomson's delicate balsa wood fish/bird hanging from the ceiling.

The artists will speak about their art and the artists that have inspired them. "Found objects and environmental art, have been used by artists since the beginning of the 20th century," commented Judy Salton, "and we will explore those antecedents at Third Thursday, July 17th at 7 pm. There is no entrance fee to the program at the Cooperative Gallery 213 State St Binghamton.

For more photos, go to Facebook.com/cooperativegallery213.

 

Off the Wall at Cooperative Gallery in July

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Off the Wall Exhibit in July at the Cooperative Gallery

“We challenge you to take your art off the wall,” say the organizers of the “Off the Wall” Exhibit scheduled for July 3-26, 2014 at the Cooperative Gallery. 3-Dimensional artist are encouraged to “step out” a little with the unusual and 2 dimensional artists must create something on the ceiling, the floor, or 90 degrees from the wall. And also included are video artist, sidewalk artists, and performance artists. Contributors to this show must be members of the gallery ($30/year) and must submit their idea for Off the Wall by May 31st to ensure space availability and appropriate scheduling. Form is attached at . For more information call curators MaryRose at 5eight4-4733 or Judy at 5eight4-4715.

Events: Drop off date is June 29th, 2014
Opening Reception July 3rd 5:30- 8 pm
First Friday Art Walk July 4th 3- 9 pm

 

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