The work of three artist friends, Sally Dillon, Susanne Personette, and Ruth Rinard, who share a love of painting in soft pastels. The title was inspired by the answer they often find themselves giving to viewers of their work who inquire: “What is that? Is it oil paint?”

Sally says,” The pastels themselves — and the simplicity of using them — are as inspiring as whatever scene I am painting. The method of applying color is direct and every mark can vary in size and intensity. With an infinite number of colors and textural possibilities, I feel like a kid again, making bright colored marks with pastel on sanded paper. Pastels are such fun! Who could ask for more?”

Susanne says: “For as long as I remember, my eye has been caught by the color of light and color of shadow in nature. Pastels are the most richly satisfying way for me to joyfully respond to what I see. I am thrilled by the intensity, vibrancy, and purity of these colors and their intensely tactile application to sanded paper. Pastels are deeply colorful, completely engaging, generously forgiving, and incredibly flexible.”

Ruth says: “I have always felt a deep connection to the visual world, and I’ve drawn since childhood. It is only within the last ten years, though, that I found the medium that allows me to fully express what I both see and feel. When I am drawn to an object or scene, I want to explore what makes it special and worth observing, what qualities might be easily overlooked or passed by. A shape, a color, a line, or a mood — all can compel me to see and explore with awe in pastel.”

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, November 2nd, during Amherst Arts Night Plus, from 5pm to 8pm.

About Sally Dillon:
Sally has been a fiber artist for more than 40 years, specializing in hand-painted silk and more recently felted wool.  After retiring from the craft fair circuit a few years ago, she decided to try her hand at some more traditional artist’s materials and techniques, and fell in love with pastels. 

About Susanne Personette:
Susanne has been drawing, painting, and studying art since childhood. In the midst of a 30+ year career in architecture, taking a pastel workshop was the “eureka moment” when she found “her” medium.  Painting as often as possible during the past ten years of her career, her recent retirement finds her eagerly pursuing her passion for plein air painting in pastel.

About Ruth Rinard:
After careers in academe and health sciences, Ruth became intrigued with the freshness of pure pigment and the tactile possibilities of pastel. When she realized she could use her drawing skills within the painterly framework of pastel, she never looked back! Ruth has studied painting with Christine Labich and exhibited work with the Connecticut and New Hampshire pastel societies.

New work by local artists Rhys Davies and Ann Knickerbocker. This show marks new and live experiments in approach and process for the two artists. The two artists will be painting live in the gallery a few hours each week, separately on their own work and together on a single piece, a growing arrangement of painted brown paper to reach, they intend, to the gallery ceiling.

Ann Knickerbocker paints large, gestural bright-colored abstractions more inclined to light than realism. Ann says her new works are “abstract paintings about abstraction”, a different approach to painting than her usual method of beginning with a specific topic. Rhys Davies paints tangles of flowers, not-quite flowers, in deep colors, nature woven into secretive shape and shadow. In his new body of work, Rhys aims for less control of his process, to “let the images appear”.

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 5th, in conjunction with Amherst Arts Night Plus, from 5pm to 8pm.

About Ann Knickerbocker:
Ann and her husband, Charles Tarlton, moved to Florence from San Francisco in 2014. Her painting “You Must Thrash This Out for Yourself” will be included in a show of Gallery One Connecticut artists at the Marquee Gallery in New London, September 13 – October 7, 2017. She has exhibited in solo shows at The Emily Dickinson Museum (September 2016) and at Cider House Media in Easthampton (September 2015) and is a former member of Amherst’s Gallery A3. Her work was selected for juried shows at the Essex Art Association in 2017 and 2016, for the Northampton Biennial in 2015 and for the 105th Juried Annual of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts in Mystic, Connecticut in 2016.

About Rhys Davies:
Rhys is a Welsh-born artist and illustrator who currently lives in Amherst. In this new body of work, he aims to not over-control the process and let the imagery slowly happen. He has exhibited in the UK and Denmark, and locally at Wunderarts and The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, and The Elusie Gallery and the Grubbs Gallery in Easthampton. This will be his fourth show at Hope & Feathers.

September 7th – 30th, 2017

“Why do you paint? For exactly the same reason I breathe.”

A selection of sketches, drawings, and paintings by E.E. Cummings (1894-1962).

It is not generally well-known that the poet E.E. Cummings was also a visual artist, who experimented with art as he did with words. He devoted as much time to drawing and painting as he did to poetry, and considered himself equally an artist and a poet. Cummings said art was his “twin obsession“; painting and writing were daily routine, both necessary means of expression. He published sketches and drawings and exhibited paintings early in his career, but ultimately withdrew from the New York art scene in the early 1930s. Art became a private pursuit as his writing increased in popularity and his reputation as a poet was firmly established. His art reflects some of the more modern and boundary-pushing art trends of the time, especially post-impressionism and fauvism, and the influence of artists like Cézanne and Matisse can be clearly seen in much of his work.

This exhibit is a selection of Cummings’ artworks curated to show a range of his artistic experiments. Most have not been shown publicly; most were probably not intended to be seen by the public.

The pieces in this show are from the collection of Ken Lopez of Hadley, MA. All works are for sale. A portion of the proceeds from sales at this show will benefit Reader to Reader, Inc., a nonprofit literacy organization.

An opening reception will be held Thursday, September 7th, 5-8pm, during Amherst Arts Night Plus.

Saturday, September 16th, 5:30-7:30pm: “Flash Poetry, Spoken Word, and EE Cummings” – a special event in conjunction with the Amherst Poetry Festival, featuring readings of Cummings’ poems, poems inspired by Cummings artworks, and poetry mad-libs! Readers will include local poets Dara Wier, Lori Desrosiers, Paul Richmond, and more! Organized and emcee’d by Alison Murchie, local writer and creator of the popular monthly “Unbuttoned” spoken word evenings in Easthampton. Event starts at 5:30pm, readings begin at 6pm.

August 3 – September 2

New work by Easthampton artist Kim Carlino.

Kim Carlino is an interventionist, mining the space between painting and drawing. She explores the evolutionary nature of mark making and relationships between color, geometry, line, form and design. In this series, she begins with the language of painting, creating an organic and fluid form to improvise into. This is an arena in which pattern and form engage and accentuate the contradictions, opposites and contrasts that exist in this fabricated world. These works playfully employ shifts of scale, opticality, illusion and disillusion of space and a nonlinear construction of time in hopes of finding equanimity in disparate elements. This is Part I of a two-part show. Visions of a Fragmented Landscape, Part II, will show at the von Auersperg Gallery at Deerfield Academy in November.

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, August 3rd, in conjunction with Amherst Arts Night Plus, from 5pm to 8pm; an artist reception will be held on Wednesday, August 23rd, from 6pm to 8pm.

About Kim Carlino:
Kim works in Easthampton, MA. She received her BFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011. Her exhibits in the US include shows at the University Museum of Contemporary Art in Amherst, Caelum Gallery in NYC, ArtPrize, Gallery 263 and Bromfield Gallery in Boston; MASS MoCA, and as featured artist in the Pierogi Flat Files and Boston Drawing Project. She was a member on the team of artists that installed the 25-year Wall Drawing Retrospective of Sol LeWitt at MASS MoCA in 2008. Carlino received the Prutting Award for Painting and was the finalist for the Bromfield Solo Competition in 2014. In 2016, she received a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship in Drawing and Printmaking, and in April 2016 was invited to be the Dehn Foundation Visiting Artist and Lecturer at Manchester Community College in Connecticut. In the summer of 2017, Carlino was selected for the exhibition SELECT at Garvey Simon Gallery in NYC, and will complete a public art project in Springfield, MA. www.kimcarlino.com

How old were you when you created your first artwork?
I was in my early 20s when I made my first artwork with a capital A. However, I’ve been a maker my whole life, taking up needlework, knitting, sewing, building things, playing music, and writing stories from an early age.

How has your style changed over the years?
In my early 20s I lived in NYC and began studying Expressionistic painting with Avron Soyer at the New School. I was drawn to the emotional connection to color and the human figure was the vehicle. I would say that the interest in color has remained while the figure has been removed to focus more on interior landscapes.

Why did you choose your medium?
I wanted transparency, luminosity and the portability that paper and paper-like surfaces have. This desire led me to yupo and tyvek as my current surface of choice.

Any advice to young artists?
Keep going. It’s a marathon and requires the stamina to create a sustainable and healthy practice. Be open to failure– that’s how you know you’re on the right track.

July 6th – 29th, 2017

An exhibit of varied works from Mary Carroll, Sharon McCartney, Bobbie Salthouse, and Andrea Zax. These four local artists celebrate the common themes that flows through their art.

Seven years ago, several artists formed a group to share work, ideas, and inspirations. Each was looking for creative community, for a way to temper the isolation of working independently.

Initially, their work seemed to have little in common. The artists have diverse styles, differing approaches, and a use wide variety of mediums and materials. Paints, textiles, hard components; small intimate pieces, large canvases, wearable art, public installations. Despite these differences, they share a dedication to creating art and an eagerness to share thoughts and ideas.

They soon learned they had much in common. All had relocated to the Pioneer Valley to embrace its slower pace and natural beauty. They share a deep appreciation for nature, which is strongly reflected in their art;  similarities in subject, surface textures, and the use of found objects in nature inspires, enriches, and connects their work. They continue to influence and inspire each other along this common path.

The intent of first Sticks & Stones show at Hope & Feathers in 2014 was to reflect the similarities found amongst their work. The concept has since developed deeper meaning for the impact they have had on each other, and the strong bond between them and their works.

This new body of work celebrates the ways that objects found in nature feature in the content, materials, and intent in their art. Viewers will enjoy the way the art works together yet still represents them as individual artists. Also on display is a large, compelling group piece: “Foundlings“; a collection of numerous small and precious pieces using found objects.

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, July 6th, in conjunction with Amherst Arts Night Out, from 5pm to 8pm.

Mary Carroll: Terra Cotta Ceramics
Mary has been making pots all of her adult life. Most recently she has been exploring low-fire terra cotta; she loves the warmth of the red clay. She alters the surface of her pieces with textural objects she finds in the natural world and adds color with tinted clay slip. Terra Sigillata slip (the literal meaning is “sealed earth”) was used by ancient Romans instead of a glaze to finish ceramic work. The ultrafine slip burnishes to a lovely satin finish that begs to be touched.

Sharon McCartney: Textile Constructions
Sharon’s work is about collecting and a life-long passion for objects found in the natural world, her source of sanctuary, wonder, and personal rhythm. Birds, wildflowers and insects rendered in extensive detail, are set within layered histories of surface pattern. They have become personal icons, representing themes of vulnerability, transformation, and survival. Integral to her work is the use of layering and collage. Images are embellished with stitching and personal “text” markings.  These elements reflect encounters with the natural world where with collected views and flashes of details pass through our senses and form our experiences.

Bobbie Salthouse: Mixed Media / Assemblages
Bobbie is fascinated by cast off objects from beaches, forest floors, boatyards and other places she might pass by chance. These objects often find their way into her work, either by suggestion, or by their physical presence. She never knows precisely what’s going to happen when she starts creating and she enjoys the process of experimenting with combinations of color, texture and form. If she’s lucky she has something she’s happy with at the end of the process.

Andrea Zax: Weavings
Andrea loves the whole process of weaving. She’s always felt the relationship to life with weaving, the way we have to move on and make space for the new experiences in our lives. She learned how to weave at the Worcester Craft Center when she was 15. Along with her weaving she has worked in theater doing costume design and all facets of costuming. She has a studio at Cottage Street Studios in Easthampton where she weaves and has a bridal business. Andrea has her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, but she has been designing costumes and clothes since she got her first Barbie Doll.

Hope & Feathers Framing and Gallery hosts Secret Garden, paintings by Amherst artist Ali Moshiri, from June 1 through July 1.

Oil paintings created between 2010 to 2017, represent various interpretations of nature and the natural world.

Moshiri’s work is based on observations from nature, primarily landscape. His work over the past fifteen years, while still based on these observations, has veered toward abstraction, though he does not see it as such. Moshiri explains: “The ultimate result is that of the paint and the painted surface, in an attempt to capture its own nature with only minor hints or references to anything external to the painting.”  His continued experiments in the expression and abstraction of nature ensure his work is always fresh and vibrant.

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 1st, in conjunction with Amherst Arts Night Out, from 5 pm to 8 pm.

About Ali Moshiri:
Born in Iran, Ali Moshiri was educated in England and the US, returning to his native country for medical school. After his residency in Cincinnati, he worked at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge where he met his mentor, Leo Garel, who had been the artist-in-residence and a pioneer in art psychotherapy. After a period of painting on his own, he sought guidance and instruction from Garel, developing a relationship that lasted until Garel’s death in 1999. Moshiri and his family live in Amherst. ww.alimoshiri.com

Image: detail from “spring garden coral red“, oil on linen, 31×31”, by Ali Moshiri

How old were you when you created your first artwork?
10 years old when I started oil painting.

How has your style changed over the years?
Moved slowly in 1990’s to abstracted depictions of nature. I go back and forth in different series from pure abstractions to ones with references to the natural elements.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
1983. When I went to my teacher to buy a painting for my first house. “$800”. Hell I can do that. Very quickly I became aware that I could not and thus began my serious attempt to try.

Why did you choose your medium?
After several years of larger gouache paintings I moved to oils that I was always drawn to. Love the lushness and the versatility.

What inspires you?
The utter thrill of getting to the point in the painting when IT begins to tell you what to do, and paint and I can abandon most of the initial intent.

Where do you work?
Studio at home. This allows me pop in for minutes to hours.

What is your creative process like? How do you work?
A tempo, color or an effect in nature that I then paint in different ways in my head and come up with a direction that usually leads to a series of 2-20+ paintings.

What do you like about being an artist in the valley?
Surrounded by great nature and other artists.

Which artists do you admire?
Pierre Bonnard, Vuillard, Diebenkorn, Arshile Gorky, Rothko, Howard Hodgkin.

What is your favorite piece that you’ve created?
Maybe the world without us is the real poem: on the opening page of my website: www.alimoshiri.com

April 6 – May 27

Strength. Inner or physical. Actual or symbolic. What does strength mean to you?

Thirty-four photographers answer this question in the 2nd Biennial Juried Photography Show. Juried for First, Second, and Third place awards by three nationally recognized photography experts: Stephen Petegorsky, Stacy Waldman, and Frank Ward. Cast your vote by paper ballot for the People’s Choice Award!

Camryn Adams
Alexa Briggs
Greg Brown
Leah Caldieri
Joanna Chattman
Jim Gambaro
Hope Gray
Meredith Jones
Melissa Karoutas
Bernie Kubiak
Sara Lechner
Linda Leighton
Julius Lester
Marilyn London-Ewing
Sara Lyons
Arthur Mange
Conrad Marvin
Mara Meagher
Ian Moraino
Jodi Nicholas
Diane Norman
Chris Page
Julian Parker-Burns
Paul Pereira
Tom Pitta
Darren Port
B.Z. Reily
Dave Rothstein
Anja Schutz
Lita Sorensen
Paul Specht
Jill Toler
Sloan Tomlinson
Lori Whalen

The sixth annual Small Works Show is here! Featuring 100+ works by local artists—from photographs to paintings, illustrations to sculptures, the show features works in all mediums. Prices range from $35 to $500. All works cash-and-carry!

Please join us on Thursday, January 5th, 5-8pm, during Amherst Arts Night Plus, for a free raffle for a chance to win one of the remaining small works, winner’s choice! (note: you must be present to win – drawing will happen around 7.15pm).

Info for Artists: 

A big THANK YOU for showing your wonderful small works in our gallery! It’s been a pleasure to show your work, and to meet so many of you. 

Payment: we mail out checks for sold work in three batches. Some of you have received payment already. The next batch will go out after the Reception / Arts Night Plus and the raffle. The third batch will go out shortly after the end of the show.

Unsold works will be available for pick up January 19-31, during business hours. If your piece sells by the end of the show (the 14th), we’ll let you know so you don’t have to waste a trip.

If you have any questions, please call or email us!