Arts and Craftsmen Guild Welcomes Special Guests

The Arts and Craftsmen Guild has been working hard to grow the last few months. The scholarship committee, headed by Jack Theisen, has reached out to local schools to secure applicants for our annual scholarship giveaway. The parameters were previously discussed in a release that went to local papers and also to members and supporters. The application period is now closed, and the scholarship winner will soon be announced. Please stay tuned for that update. Also, March saw the jury process usher in a new juried artist, Suzanne O’Brien, who works with felting to produce a wide range of items, including wearables and sculptural pieces. Congratulations to Suzanne, and also to the returning juried artists who retained their positions: Robin Yates, Jim Conell-Cordes, Marie Gniazdowski, Katie Giasecki, Vicki Schneider, and Yvonne Stoklosa. Juried artists have the distinction of being able to use the triangle rose shop mark on their work, and the Guild is exceedingly proud to have these talented artists on the roster. For any artist interested in jurying, the next opportunity is September, 2019. Details and updates will be found on the website. The Guild has enjoyed some informative meetings, and welcomed some noteworthy guests in the last several months. In March, Tim Brooks paid a visit, and gave an excellent talk about approaching galleries and retail spaces. Tim is the owner and curator at Expo68, a new gallery and shop in Williamsville. He shared his experience as a designer at Umbra and talked about approaching galleries from the perspective of an owner. In April the Guild heard from Paulette Krakowski, former owner of Enjoy the Journey Gallery in West Seneca, and herself an artist. Paulette gave an immense amount of information regarding opportunities for local artists, groups that are resources for artists, and what to expect when showing work in a gallery setting. Paulette has joined the Guild as a valued member of the Steering Committee, and we look forward to her insight in the future, as she is a true asset to us.

For the month of May, Guild members were treated to a presentation by juried artist Yvonne Stoklosa. She demonstrated the complicated and beautiful process of stained glass work. She talked about some of the old techniques of glass work, and how the process has changed today. Members got some insider information on dichroic and textured glasses. Some of our members gave glass cutting a try, and Yvonne even showed us her soldering process. Thanks to this demonstration, members came away with a much greater appreciation of the art of stained glass. Looking forward, the Guild’s June meeting will be a trip to Meibohm Fine Arts. The East Aurora business is in it’s 118th year, and Grace Meibohm is kind enough to extend us this invitation to come and learn about this local treasure. Our July meeting will be a summer party, generously hosted by Jack Theisen and his wife. There will be no meeting in the month of August. September sees the group headed to Expressive Glass, studio of juried artist Vicki Schneider. For October’s meeting, there will be a wood working demonstration by juried artist Jack Theisen. More details on the meetings for November and December will follow. One of the other initiatives that the Guild has started this year is our Spotlight Artist feature on FaceBook. For those not aware, we have a page that can be found by searching Arts and Craftsmen Guild. Upon searching, the Triangle Rose logo indicates our group. The Spotlight Artist will have a span of two weeks in which to post any work, or process shots, videos, and any other information that juried artist is inclined to share with the public. It is a nice way to get to know the Guild artists, and to understand the intricate details of their work. We invite our members and others to like our page, and share it with anyone who may be interested. Any growth is a positive for the Guild, and will aid in our goal of building a bridge between our artists and the surrounding community. We invite all of our members and guests to attend our open meetings, the second Thursday of each month on the Roycroft Campus. If you have any comments, suggestions or questions we are happy to hear from you. You may contact the Guild by emailing artsandcraftsmenguild@gmail.com, through our website at artsandcraftsmenguild.com, or on FaceBook. We look forward to seeing you soon!