Photographers, Sculptors, Painters & Other Artists

Form A New Group, All For The Sake Of Art

By Shannon Hicks

For Art Sake, a recently formed group whose mission is to promote art and the artist, will present an “Art from The Heart” show and sale during February. An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 10, from 7 to 9 pm. The reception will continue on Saturday, February 11 and 12, from noon to 6 pm each day. In addition to the art that will be on view, the opening weekend will include a wine and cheese reception, a children’s table, and a raffle basket with one item from each of the event’s participating artists — at least 15 at last count.

The show and sale will then continue each weekend in February at Moose Hill Gallery, the former racquetball court-turned-art studio and gallery within the home of Barb Lopez. Mrs Lopez is one of the founders of For Art Sake. The gallery is at 451 Moose Hill Road in Monroe, easily reached off Route 110 or 111.

“Not everything will be Valentine’s Day based,” Mrs Lopez said last week. “There will be items with hearts on them, of course, but the focus will be on the heart of art.”

(That being said, however, a raffle basket being offered to all visitors will include at least one handmade item with a romantic theme from each of the show’s artists.)

“Art from The Heart” will offer original art including oils, pottery, sculpture, photography, and more.

For Art Sake is devoted to encouraging creativity among professional artists and those who are interested in various art forms including painters, photographers, sculptors and weavers.

The group’s first public event was in December, when it presented a holiday show at Moose Hill Gallery. That weekend event offered works of art including paintings and illustration along with metalwork, clothing, and photography, as well as a children’s table, caroling and musicians, and a wine and cheese reception. The raffle basket from that event had items from each of the show’s 17 participating artists.

“We set up an area where children can create their own art,” Mrs Lopez said. “We want families to feel comfortable about coming to our events.”

“We want people to bring their kids, even though we’re in a gallery setting,” added Linda Dohanos Gilchrist, the other founder of For Art Sake.

Last summer Ms Dohanos Gilchrist put an announcement into area newspapers looking for artists interested in forming an artists’ group.

“We didn’t have a name yet, but we started getting calls right away. There was a lot of enthusiasm,” she recalled last week. The women hope to attract artists from all over Fairfield County. “We’re not just a Monroe group. This group is for all the artists in all the area towns we can reach.”

Linda Dohanos Gilchrist is a painter and ceramicist. She painted boards with archetypal schematic scenes, and creates sculpture in ceramic. Recently she has been combining the two elements.

“My daughter had a dream about her toys coming to life, so I did a painting about that,” Ms Dohanos Gilchrist said. “The paintings are fun, playful. They’re not realistic.”

Mrs Lopez does large-scale floral paintings in oil.

For Art Sake already includes about 40 members, ranging in age from artists in their 30s to senior citizens.

“We would love to have high school and college students join us,” said Mrs Lopez. “Come with some friends, or on your own,” she encouraged.

“I think people in our group are inspired by each other,” Mrs Lopez said. “It can be hard to be an artist.

“It can be scary to bring your art and ideas into the world,” she continued. “It’s easy to become isolated when you’re an artist.”

“We’ve had emails from artists who tell us they enjoyed the holiday show, and that being around others has sparked them,” Ms Dohanos Gilchrist added. “I’ve gone home after meetings and have started working on new projects, and that’s great. We want to keep that feeling.”

In addition to presenting public shows and sales, For Art Sake is scheduling guest speakers and classes for members and the public. It is also interested in hearing from people who are not artists.

“You don’t have to be an artist to join us or attend our events,” Ms Dohanos Gilchrist stressed. “You can also be a friend of the arts.”

There will be a day trip into New York City in April, a monthlong show with a Mother’s Day/mothering theme is being planned for May, in June the group will host a picnic and demonstration at the home of sculptor Joe DeMarco, and in August the group will host an open design competition.

For Art Sake may even be represented this year in the Memorial Day Parade in Monroe.

Events have been loosely lined up through the end of the year, but Ms Dohanos Gilchrist admits there is always room for rescheduling.

“We like to keep things loose, organic,” she said.

A Newtown Photographer

Mary Jaeger is a Newtown resident who enjoys photography. Her dream is to be able to give up her career and devote her life to capturing the images she sees through her cameras’ viewfinders, but she is realistic about being a full-time artist.

“It’s so hard with artists,” she said. “They — we — really struggle. So many have to turn to jobs that pay more. It’s hard to live just as an artist.”

Photography is something Mrs Jaeger has enjoyed since childhood.

“It was something I really fell in love with at a young age,” she said recently. “My first camera was a K-1000, and my parents really encouraged me.”

Mrs Jaeger takes photos of flowers, children, insects, and birds. She has been using 35 mm film for most of her life, but recently succumbed to the lure of digital photography. One of the things she likes best about the growing medium is being able to crop and otherwise adjust her own images at home, not to mention being able to print her own work at home.

“I got my first digital camera last year,” she said. “I’m finding that more often I’m reaching for the digital camera.

“Digital is a pretty cool medium,” she admitted. Now the photographer who did not fully embrace the form is taking many of her 35 mm negatives and film prints and transferring them into digital files. “Digital gives the photographer so much more control.”

In the past Mrs Jaeger would put her images on blank notecards and offered the cards to friends, family and co-workers. She had a hard time getting public exposure.

When she heard about the creation of an artists’ group that was open to artists of all forms, she signed on immediately. It didn’t hurt that her sister is Barb Lopez, a co-founder of For Art Sake.

“When she told me about this group she and [Linda Dohanos Gilchrist were] putting together, it sounded exciting,” Mrs Jaeger said.

For Mrs Jaeger, being a member of For Art Sake finally allowed her to receive some public exposure. Her first public event was the For Art Sake holiday show in December, and she’s already looking forward to the February event.

“Right now I’m taking everything as it goes,” she said. “I really love photos, and have been trying to get my work out there. It’s exciting that we’re already having our second show.”

“Art from The Heart” will be presented at Moose Hill Gallery, 451 Moose Hill Road in Monroe, on weekends in February. An opening reception will be held Friday, February 10, from 7 to 9 pm, and then the opening weekend will continue on Saturday and Sunday, February 11-12, from noon to 6 pm each day. For more information or directions contact Barb Lopez at 261-5578 or BarbLopezArt@aol.com.