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n Vermont, the signs of a healthy creative economy pop up around every wide corner, hilly country road, and small city street. Here, art takes on all forms—and is completely approachable. It’s local, yet also surprisingly grand and global. Vermont itself is a cultural campus where curiosity, ingenuity, quality, beauty, history are celebrated—in galleries and art centers, museums and music halls, but also on farms, in restaurants, and in visitor centers and resorts. Yes, the Vermont experience is academic. Yet no one—Vermonter or visitor—is being graded or judged. Here, creativity flows freely. Diversity in expression is appreciated. The language of art in all its forms is spoken. Vermonters have the gift of world-class assets, and travelers are given the gift of authentic Vermont. So when you’ve got the time to travel to or just through Vermont, so much awaits you. Any direction you head—from Burlington to the Northeast Kingdom to Stowe, down Route 100 to Rochester, and everywhere in between— encourages you to start exploring, get inspired, be delighted. Here are places to see and people to meet along the way. Distinguished as the nation’s first state affiliated craft center, Frog Hollow’s Burlington gallery offers a unique collection of fine, traditional, and contemporary Vermont art and craft representing a community of more than two hundred Vermont artisans, from Dug Nap’s cartoons to the Celtic-inspired jewelry of Deirdre Donnelly to Kate Pond’s Corten steel sculptures. Frog Hollow is dedicated to the exposure and appreciation of Vermont fine craftsmanship, and works statewide to enhance art education. Its Church Street location is an open invitation for the discovery of Vermont art and artisans. Located on the fourth floor of the Burlington City Arts Center (also on Church Street in Burlington) the Vermont Metro Gallery presents and sells the artwork of Vermont artists working in a wide variety of contemporary media. Since 1995, The BCA Center has built an exceptional reputation for its contemporary exhibitions and ability to attract and cultivate regional and national talent in Vermont. Now, by harnessing BCA’s experience and pride in the Vermont-made, the Vermont Metro Gallery features an ongoing rotation of distinctive work for sale by local and regional contemporary artists. Proceeds from the sale of artwork in the gallery
Charles Movalli, The Church, Vermont, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36".
support Vermont artists and BCA’s education and arts programming. The Robert Hull Fleming Museum of Art houses Vermont’s most comprehensive collection of art and anthropological artifacts on the campus of the University of Vermont. With more than 20,000 objects, the Fleming’s collection offers a unique opportunity to study visual cultures from early Mesopotamia through contemporary America. From didgeridoo and gamelan music performances to painted word poetry in the museum’s Marble Court, the Fleming Museum engages audiences with fresh ideas in the context of the history of civilization. Like UVM, Vermont’s other accredited institutions deliver local communities access to a healthy variety of public programming, while also luring new neighbors to the green mountains with the promise of quality education in the arts. With spectacular views of Sterling
Ridge from its hilltop campus in Johnson, Johnson State College offers undergraduate degrees in art (B.A.) and media arts (B.F.A.), as well as an M.F.A. in studio arts that includes residencies at the renowned Vermont Studio Center in town. The college’s newly renovated Visual Arts Center features gallery and studio space for painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, woodworking, ceramics, media arts and more. Sculpture and artwork are on display throughout the JSC campus buildings and grounds, and the Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, housed in Dibden Center for the Arts, exhibits work by student and visiting artists year-round. Undergraduate degrees in the performing arts include music, theater and drama, musical theater, technical theater and music education. Widely known in visual and written arts circles, Goddard College in Plainfield is an M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 4
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NORTHERN NORTHERN VT VT experimenting college dedicated to growing and changing along with the needs of its students. The campus is a spectacular estate that immediately conjures up an awareness that fresh ideas are cultivated there. It was the first college in the nation to develop a low-residency model for higher education, which enables adult students to be part of a supportive academic community while also advancing their creative practice where they live and work. Goddard’s undergraduate and graduate programs place the student truly at the center of their own education, while they work one-on-one with accomplished faculty advisors who offer personalized guidance and support. Just down the road from Plainfield is Vermont’s capital city, Montpelier, where the Artisans Hand Gallery features the fine craft work of 140 exhibitors. Recognized as a Vermont
State Craft Center, and begun as a collective of local craftspeople for marketing and selling their work for the holiday season, the Artisans Hand celebrated 35 years in 2013. Among the gallery’s features are an extensive offering of handmade Wearable Art—silk scarves and clothing, felted hats and bags, handmade aprons, and an extensive range of designer jewelry from gold with gemstones through brass, wood, glass, clay and paper. Many of the artisan designers have been long-time members of the gallery. One is Maggie Neale, a painter at heart, who moved through weaving clothing to chenille scarves, and is now a silk painter using dyes infused into fibers to create expansive wearable silk abstract paintings. Neale describes how “the movement of colors mingling through fibers and then the dance of silk, when worn, is inspiring for both the creator and for the wearer.”
west branch gallery
HUGO MESA STUDIO
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sculpture park
Another painter and photographer, Karen J. Lloyd of Nature Heart Studio in Winooski, grew up inspired by the vibrant arts community in her hometown of Mystic, CT. Immensely inspired by the natural world, her photography captures the landscape of Vermont and New England through the seasons. Lloyd produces a stunning variety of works including custom model horses, decorative stone tiles, and hand-painted glass ornaments. Lloyd’s award-winning art features in juried exhibitions throughout Vermont and graces private collections elsewhere in the United States as well as internationally. Lloyd explains, “I continue to explore the realm of natural aesthetics, embracing whimsical beauty in art with the hope of evoking an emotional thread to our natural surroundings: the animals and landscapes increasingly overlooked
673 WEST HILL RD, CRAFTSBURY, VT HUGOMESASTUDIO.COM • 802-586-7537
ARTISANS HAND Contemporary Wearable Art
ANONYMOUS CONTEMPORARY TIBETAN ART
Contemporary Fine Art & Sculpture Stowe, Vermont www.westbranchgallery.com
Color Musings Silks by Maggie Neale
Designer Jewelry
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www.flemingmuseum.org www.contemporarytibetanart.org
89 Main at City Center, Montpelier artisanshand.com ~ 802-229-9492
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Dedron, Mona Lisa, 2012. The Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection
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Interior view of Janet Van Fleet’s studio in Barre, VT. Courtesy of Studio Place Arts (SPA).
in our fast-paced, human-oriented society.” Hugo Mesa is an ingenious artist who can take any idea or design and transform it into a custom designed carving to fit the architecture and ambiance of a home. His work is hand carved with “Old World” craftsmanship perfected from more than 50 years of experience. While Mesa draws his inspiration from “the nature and changing seasons” that surround him in Vermont, it’s clear that “home” is a special concept for him. Born in Columbia, and after having a successful career as a craftsman in southern California, Hugo made his dream of a private, quiet life in the mountains a reality when he moved to Vermont. Here, his self-built family home and studio in Craftsbury doubles
as a personal gallery where everyone is welcome to visit, and even share a beer and some conversation while touring the property. That same kind of comfortable, open invitation can be found at first-rate galleries throughout Vermont. Since 1991, the Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne has been Chittenden County’s oldest commercial gallery displaying 50 of New England’s finest contemporary artists and 25 artisans of fine crafts. Situated near the Shelburne Museum in an historic Queen Anne Victorian, FS Gallery is known to experienced collectors as well as beginning art enthusiasts for the quality, diversity and affordability of the collection. Not a place for the predictable, but rather showcasing
Sculptor Won Lee, M.F.A. 2006, with “The Meditators,” his gift to the college
Studio Arts Media Arts Music (vocal, instrumental, sound
Representing over 200 Vermont Artists
engineering, creative pathways)
85 Church Street | Burlington, VT (802) 863-6458
An exciting new gallery space on the 4th Floor of The BCA Center dedicated to exhibiting and selling the work of contemporary Vermont artists in all mediums.
www.froghollow.org
work of individual distinction and integrity. Longtime artists associated with the gallery include Bonnie Acker, Kathleen Kolb, Gail Salzman, Matt Brown, Beth Pearson, Jeri Lynn Eisenberg, and Janet Fredericks among others. A relaxed atmosphere is welcoming for all browsers. In Jericho, the Emile A. Gruppe Gallery is located in a renovated 1860s English Sheep barn on an historic farm. The gallery shows and sells the works of noted landscape artist Gruppe as well as local New England artists. Gruppe is best known for his impressionistic landscapes, and is considered among the most prominent of the Cape Ann school of artists. The Gruppe Gallery hosts the annual Jericho Plein Air Festival on July 19th. Since 2003, BigTown Gallery has brought to Vermont exhibitions by artists deeply dedicated
1 35 CHURCH STREET, BURLINGTON, VT V TMETROGALLERY.ORG
Musical Theater Music Education Theater & Drama Technical Theater
www.jsc.edu | 800-635-2356 DibDen Center for the Arts JuliAn sCott MeMoriAl GAllery VisuAl Arts Center | sCulpture GArDen
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NORTHERN NORTHERN VT VT to an exploration of what fine art means: both to create and to experience. Owner Anni Mackay has devoted her energies to bringing the arts together with community. The gallery space and its featured exhibitions, performance art, and reading series are the culmination-to-date of an uncompromising belief in the soundness of that partnership. BigTown Gallery is located in the very center of Vermont on Route 100’s historical and still-unchanged rural corridor, in quaint downtown Rochester. Stop in for the Members Show: Juice Bar through April 5th. A Vermont adventure is incomplete without a taste of the small-batch, locally produced food products the state is famous for. Vermont is, quite simply, synonymous with yum. A reputation earned as a result of agricultural communities working together to make the lifestyle viable.
A decade ago, Andy and Mateo Kehler started Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro in an effort to “find meaningful work in a place they love.” Their connection to the place evolved from generations of family visiting the area. Their distinctive cheeses—such as Bayley Hazen Blue—have earned nationwide recognition. But the discovery of the work they were truly meant to do came from the challenges they faced as farmstead cheese makers, and a mission to help other local producers focus on quality milk production and cheese making technique, while leaving the aging and marketing of the cheeses to someone else. And, so Cellars at Jasper Hill was born as a piece of infrastructure designed to help other local farms succeed in a national marketplace. Cellars at Jasper Hill serves as “a bridge between
small-scale production and large-scale markets.” Their collection of artisan cheeses can be found in stores all over the country, and online. Every Vermont adventure requires a place to rest at night. Luckily, Vermont is a small state, and most anything can be explored from one comfortable epicenter. Topnotch Resort is not only ideally located in Stowe—a vibrant and easily commutable town in the center of Northern Vermont—but also defines itself as a perfect launch for any journey one would desire. A knowledgeable and imaginative staff can offer personalized itineraries and insider info on all kinds of activities all over the state. And, coming “home” to Topnotch’s mountainside setting, modern style and comfortable amenities is icing on the cake for an artsy, foodie, or outdoorsy expedition of any variety.
let the
JOURNEY begin Explore your ideal getaway.
Become a member today — vtssm.com Stowe Vermont USA
802 253 9911
Vermont = The Art of Community 802.253.6445 . 4000 Mountain Road, Stowe, VT . topnotchresort.com
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NORTHERN NORTHERN VT VT Staying close to “home” at Topnotch is no less interesting than traveling around. So, while in Stowe, catch a show at the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center. The intimate 420-seat theatre delivers a regular and active agenda of music, dance, theater, comedy and film. Showcasing both established and emerging performance artists, the SPPAC’s programming supports a vision of an inspired and educated regional population that embraces and respects diversity. West Branch Gallery & Sculpture Park in Stowe also embraces an inspiring vision, with a uniquely respectful thoughtfulness in selection and exhibition of art. The gallery is committed to promoting exceptional contemporary art by emerging and mid-career artists. An indoor/ outdoor art space, the experience at West Branch
is defined by the peaceful and meditative environment. So be prepared to spend some quality time there. (See page 10 for information on their new exhibition space opening in March.) The Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum found an obvious home in Stowe—widely referred to as the Ski Capital of the East because of its famous Mount Mansfield terrain and glamorous social scene during skiing’s original heyday. On Main Street, the VTSSM chronicles the story of Vermont’s favorite snow sports. Thoughtfully curated, the museum houses a sophisticated and vast collection of historical artifacts—gear, signage, fashion, medals and more—and special exhibitions that even people who’ve never been on the slopes will surely appreciate. “Skiing and riding in Vermont makes you part of our community,” says
director and curator Meredith Scott. “I hope that the artifacts, the stories, and the places connect people together.” The Stowe Visitor Center (also on Main Street) is a must-stop shop for travelers to the area. The artfully executed info center offers a library of brochures of activities to peruse, bulletin boards of events to consult, a rotating collection of art on loan from local galleries, and cozy fireside couches on which to sit and plan your next move. The staff will happily assist you with ideas for dining, shopping, and playing and will provide directions to anything your heart desires: a distinctive Vermont experience perhaps? Or, a discovery of surprises? No matter which you are after, down the road, you’ll find both. Enjoy! —Jasmine Bigelow McLean
Nature Heart Studio
Karen J. Lloyd
natureheartstudio.com
Photo by Ronald Hagan
“The Celestial Unicorn,” 2013, acrylic on stretched canvas, 16 x 16 x 1.5"
Winooski, VT (802) 338-0217
natureheartstudio@gmail.com etsy.com/shop/NatureHeartStudio
Paintings & Photography
Goddard in the World: Alumna Cara Hagan is a recipient of the 2011 Arts in Society Conference Graduate Scholar Award and a 2012 Cultural Enrichment Grant, among other honors. The above photo is from Hagan’s dance film “Kitchen Table.”
MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Committed to art as transformational practice. Goddard students are artists, academics, educators, and activists. Each student designs and pursues an individualized course of study with one-on-one support from a faculty advisor. Areas of study are based on unique personal interests, intentions, and professional goals. We believe meaningful studentcentered education is transformational and has the potential to inspire social change and personal growth.
Old Timer, Emile A. Gruppe
LOW-RESIDENCY, INDIVIDUALIZED GRADUATE EDUCATION IN THE ARTS
22 Barber Farm Road, Jericho, VT 05465 Thursday–Sunday 10–3 or by appointment emilegruppegallery.com (802) 899-3211
FURCHGOTT SOURDIFFE
Fine Art Gallery Custom Framing • Restoration 86 Falls Rd, Shelburne, VT • 802-985-3848 www.fsgallery.com
PLAINFIELD, VERMONT | PORT TOWNSEND & SEATTLE, WA
WWW.GODDARD.EDU 800.906.8312
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