BluSeed looks forward to 2023 schedule — and its next 20 years

SARANAC LAKE — BluSeed Studios has just come off celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022. While it was much fun and worthy of celebration to look back on its first 20 years, the focus at BluSeed most recently, and will be for the upcoming months and years, is the next 20 years.

While adhering to BluSeed founder Carol Vossler’s vision of creating a space where the alternative arts can flourish, either by being practiced in the studios or experienced in the gallery and performance space, BluSeed looks to the realities of maintaining that vision while keeping an art center open and available to the community — everyone in the community.

BluSeed Studios added the tag line “Community Art’s Center” to its sign in front of the building, as well as the header on the website and Facebook page and letterhead, to remind us — BluSeed board, staff and volunteers, and the community at large — that BluSeed is open to all, to experiment, to experience, to take that first step in creating some art, or take that next step of pushing an experienced artist’s own envelope.

The three primary experiences at BluSeed continue to be art exhibits, studio spaces for making art, and concerts. Each of those offer opportunities for the community:

¯ Exhibits all have an artist’s gallery talk/conversation component to the exhibition;

¯ Studio opportunities are expanding, in addition to the long established ceramics and printmaking studios, textiles and, coming soon, letterpress studios are offered at BluSeed;

¯ And concerts, along with the Sober Open Minded Mics, offer community involvement, either through performing at/attending open mics or attending concerts at

Continued on page 7 an especially intimate concert space, where the concert goer feels very connected to the performer.

BluSeed maintains a year-round schedule of art exhibitions, concerts and studio classes — for details go to BluseedStudios.org or stay tuned in with the BluSeed Studios Facebook page. A couple of programs BluSeed has planned for this summer include a printmaking retreat with Katherine Levin-La and a cyanotype workshop with Evelyn Klein, as well as the 2-person exhibit of Anastasia Osolin and Janet Millstein.

While the “big blue building” is quite noticeable on Cedar Street, BluSeed is still one of the better kept secrets in Saranac Lake, partially because it’s off the beaten path, on the outer edge of downtown Saranac Lake. BluSeed Studios — a former hardware warehouse that was located on an RR siding — has not always drawn attention to itself, but that’s changing as BluSeed works more to connect directly with the community.

Located directly on the new Adirondack Rail Trail, BluSeed will be a convenient stop for visitors as well as those that want to walk or bike or ski to BluSeed Studios — keep an eye out for the new kiosk that talks about the building and BluSeed’s history, with bike and ski racks.

A more recent addition to BluSeed is “Shop at the Blu,” an art supply store of lightly-used art supplies, especially attractive to artists that may be looking to expand their own art supplies at prices that work with a limited budget.

Seen above are monotype prints made by printmaker and painter Katherine Levin-Lau, on display during BluSeed’s 20-year celebration in September 2022.

BluSeed Studios also offers its performance/exhibition space for rent as a space to groups and organizations for special events or parties. For more information, contact Executive Director Marissa Hernandez at 518-891-3799 or admin@bluseedstudios.org.

BluSeed has weathered COVID-19, man- agement transitions from a founder-driven organization to a board-driven organization, financial challenges and is still making art. BluSeed plays off its strengths: people (staff, volunteers and visitors), collaboration (with other arts and community organizations), and a sense of community with access to the arts for all.