Dear GALA members and art supporters,

After serious consideration I have decided to step down as president. I have been president for such a long time now and feel this is a good time for me to step down and find new replacements on the board. GALA has come a long way to becoming a very strong and supportive organization, and I am proud to be a part of.

I have new goals in my life and one of them is to find more time to do what I love to do, and that is to create and paint. I have faith that the board will continue to be strong and active with help from our membership. Please consider being more active in GALA and join the board or committee. If you are interested, please email me with a letter of interest for the following available positions.

GALA will need to fill my position as President as soon as possible. We never had a Vice President, so this position is also now open. We need a secretary as we lost ours last year, so we need to fill that position on the board as well. I also feel we need a GALA Committee to help with all the various events. We are switching a few positions around so we will need the following.

You do not have to be an artist or musician to fill these open and new positions, as long as you love and support the arts. Come join our fun team. If you need more information on these positions, call 978-407-1419 or email debgiordano59@comcast.net.

For the Winter, we will hold our critiques at the Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon in the Trustee's room on the 3rd floor.

Go into the side building and take the elevator to the 3rd floor.

50 Pleasant Street, Winchendon

Free to all GALA Members

New artists, first class is Free

Bring a friend

You may bring a treat to eat, we will serve coffee & tea

Janet Dupuis will help guide us during our get-together.

Mark your calendar!

Email Janet to let her know that you will be joining us.

A great way to receive feedback from your artists friends. Come and bring up to 3 pieces of your art work to share with the group.

Come join us with coffee, tea, cookies and laughs. Together we can achieve our goals!

Coffee and Critiques sessions resume once monthly on the THIRD THURSDAY from 10-11:30AM, weather permitting. These gatherings will be held at the Keene Senior Center, 70 Court St., Keene, NH. Host is Alicia Drakiotes for the KSC. Bring your in progress work or come for inspiration!

For further information email: adrakiotes@aliciadrakiotes.com

From January 8- February 19, the Jaffrey Civic Center is will host a collaborative exhibit of the works of Joe Smith and Scott Niemi titled “Joe & Scott's New England Landscapes.” The show will feature paintings and scratchboard works inspired by the region. There will be a reception to celebrate the work on January 13, from 5:30-7:00pm in the Auditorium Gallery at the JCC.

Joe Smith (b. 1954) is a Massachusetts artist who best known for his scratchboard works featuring trees and forests. His art connects his lifelong enjoyment of drawing with his career as a forester and conservationist. This career has brought him to places off the beaten path, and his art has allowed him to preserve and honor the beauty he has found there.

Joe draws and paints in a variety of mediums, but he is best known for his scratchboard work. He began producing scratchboards in 2010 and they immediately earned rave reviews and awards. On the strength of this work, he was accepted as an artist member of the Copley Society of Art, The International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) and the Rockport Art Association and Museum. His piece, Branches, was awarded the Best in Show Award at the 2015 ISSA Annual Exhibition and he has been honored as a Copley Artist by the Copley Society of Art.

Joe’s favorite subjects are trees and forests, and his work is mostly drawn from the varied landscapes of his beloved New England home. His finely detailed work captures the unique character and spirit of the wild places that exist all around us, but just out of sight.

Scott Niemi is an award-winning fine artist/illustrator was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He completed his formal education at Florida Atlantic University where he earned a M.F.A. in Visual Art with a concentration in painting. Currently, he is a professor of Interactive Media at Becker College in Worcester, MA. In the past, he worked as a part-time art lecturer at Franklin Pierce University, at Florida Atlantic University as an adjunct art professor, and as an art handler/installer for the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art.

Scott has participated in many shows both on the national as well as the local level. His work can be seen, among others, in the corporate collections of the Oak Brook Bank (Oak Brook, IL), the Essex Inn (downtown Chicago), and in the Schacknow Museum of Fine Arts (Plantation, FL), UMass Ambulatory Center (Worcester, MA) and Clinton Hospital (Clinton, MA). He has work in hundreds of private collections, ranging from Beverly Hills to Australia. Scott’s artwork is carried by the following galleries: The Boulder Art Gallery (Fitchburg, MA) and Collins Artworks (Clinton, MA). He resides in Fitzwilliam, NH.

Water is a juried exhibition organized by GALA. The exhibition will be held at the Fitchburg Art Museum during the month of January 2022

Fitchburg Art Museum

Closed on Mondays

Check FAM Website for more info

Water is intimately familiar to us all: we are born clinging to it and spend a lifetime wading through it at every turn. Water is so precious that even life forms that don’t need oxygen for their survival absolutely need water. The artists have interpreted their art in any type of art style and material.

*Refreshments and Wine will be served with Awards*

Special classical and jazz performances by Jennifer Jones and Emily Mazzarella

Fitchburg Art Museum, 185 Elm Street

Come celebrate the new year with us & support local artists and musicians

Most art pieces are for sale

You may register at any time, even up to an hour before the reception.

All guests that register for the open reception get into the museum for free

Info contact: 978-407-1419

From Painting II & Drawing III

In these second-year courses, art students are challenged to find their own voice with chosen subjects or themes, approach, medium, and content as well as gain traditional skills and a new understanding of how the figure can be represented in both drawings and paintings.

For more information contact the Gallery Director at j_miller@mwcc.mass.edu

The Jaffrey Civic Center is pleased to announce that Bob Beck will be the next speaker in our “Stories to Share” series. His topic will be: “Was That a Grenade or a Mortar? Stories From a Terrorist Attack.”

One day after the 5th anniversary of 9/11, the US Embassy in Damascus, Syria was the target of a violent terrorist attack. Bob was serving in Damascus at the time and lived through the attack from his office on the third floor of the building. Please join Bob as he describes the assault and recounts stories from that tumultuous day, some quite harrowing, and some downright humorous.

Robert “Bob” Beck retired to the Monadnock area in August 2020 after a 30+ year career overseas serving in US Embassies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Bob currently teaches Foreign Policy for Keene State’s CALL program. He lives in Peterborough with his wife of 36 years, Meg.

The talk is the fourth in the Center’s monthly speaker series, which is held on the first Friday of each month, October to May. Joe Steinfield, who writes monthly columns for the Keene Sentinel and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, is the moderator for the series.

The program will be available as an in-person event at the Jaffrey Civic Center in the Auditorium Gallery as well as via Zoom. Pre-registration is required, and for this event, the center is requiring proof of COVID19 vaccination. Masks will also be required. These programs are free of charge, but to help support this event and others like it, donations are appreciated. The series is supported by Exclusive Platinum Sponsor, Belletetes, Inc.

To register for zoom please email: jaffreyciviccenterevents@gmail.com

The Jaffrey Civic Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit cultural facility founded in 1966. The mission of the Jaffrey Civic Center is to provide and sustain a public venue where citizens, residents, and visitors of the Monadnock region can pursue artistic, educational, and civic activities. The Center’s goal is to contribute to the cultural enrichment and enlightenment of the community. There is no admission fee to the Civic Center and all art shows and receptions are FREE and open to the public. The Center also hosts fee-based educational and other programs, as well as serving as the home to the Jaffrey Historical Society. The Jaffrey Civic Center, located at 40 Main Street in Jaffrey, is open Wednesday through Friday, 12pm-5pm and Saturday from 10am-2pm. For more information about other events and opportunities at the center please go to our website: jaffreyciviccenter.com.

You’ve been asking and asking, so we’re delivering! This February, we’re bringing back Art on the Line, a beloved ArtsWorcester fundraiser.

Artists donate small-scale, two dimensional artworks. We hang them from the ceiling with old fashioned binder clips and string. On February 12, attendees will line up at a ticketed event for their chance to grab artworks, all priced at $20. It’s fast-paced, fun, and a great way to add to your collection while also supporting ArtsWorcester.

All donated works must be delivered to ArtsWorcester by Thursday, February 10 at 5:00 PM. We will gratefully accept works in person or by mail.

Come meet with your fellow artists and drop off your work at the same time.

If you can’t make it to the party, you may drop off your works at any point during gallery hours, Thursday through Sunday, 12:00 - 5:00 PM, or by appointment. Please check our website for holiday hours and closings.

You may mail your work(s) to ArtsWorcester, 44 Portland Street, Worcester MA, 01608. Please include a piece of cardboard or paperboard to keep your envelope from bending. If mailing your work, please include your email address so we can thank you!

ArtsWorcester

44 Portland Street

Worcester, MA 01608

508.755.5142

Artists are encouraged to enter 2 original pieces of art created within the last 18 months which convey the relationship between mankind and nature in the Monadnock Region. When appropriate, “gallery edge” is acceptable. 2D artwork must be properly framed and wired for hanging and not exceed 18×24 in. 3D art is accepted, but artists must supply a base. 3D art not to exceed 432 sq. inches. Please contact the exhibit committee with specifics about 3D art.

$25 registration fee. For more information: adrakiotes@aliciadrakiotes.com

Artist compensation: Artists agree to contribute 25% of sale proceeds to the Historical Society of Cheshire County, but artists may designate more.

All proceeds contributed to the Society are tax deductible.

Townsend Artisan Market is looking for artists, photographers, and crafters to exhibit and sell their work in their new shop on Route 119 in West Townsend (the former Settle Shop). Spaces are available for rent on a monthly basis for craft items and wall space for artists at a 30% commission on sales. Contact Melissa Wison at melissa@townsendartisanmarket.com

Westminster now has a public art gallery open for showings by Westminster artists. "The Little Gallery at Town Hall" is now accepting applications from artists or artist groups who would like to exhibit 2-D work for a month-long show. For more information, visit the Town of Westminster website.

Art Support is a website dedicated to providing support and resources for artists of all types.

The following is just a small list of support provided to artists: Organizations Helping Visual Artists, US Government Art Organizations, State Agencies and Art Commissions, Non Governmental Art Organizations, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Laws Regarding Visual Arts, Artist Consultants, Grants for Artists & Grant Assistance, Artist Health Insurance, and many other legal support and resources for Massachusetts artists.

________________

Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and check out the MCC blog ArtSake

The Painter's Keys where you can subscribe to twice weekly letters from artist Robert Genn.

Visit the Arts Marketing Project website for info, ideas, tools and training on marketing art.

Mini Grants for Professional Development are available through NewVue Communities. More information.

Heywood Hospital Wound Care Center  Gardner, MA  (GALA Sponsored Venue)

Contact Vicki Heidorn at  surroundingsgallery@gmail.com  or 978-630-2340

The Townsend Meeting Hall Art Gallery Townsend, MA

Contact Alice Struthers at astruthers1@comcast.net or 978-597-2057

River's Edge Arts Alliance Hudson, MA

The Arts Alliance has quarterly exhibits at the Hudson Town Hall, so if you are interested in a solo exhibit of your work, contact Danielle Moskowitz at (978) 562-1646 or dmoskowitz@upwitharts.org.

Falmouth Artists Guild Falmouth, MA

Post Road Art Center  Marlborough, MA

Levi Heywood Memorial Library Gardner, MA

The Library is always looking for exhibitors to show their work in the Art Gallery. If you are interested in exhibiting as an individual or a group, please contact the Library Director, Kathleen D. Leslie at 978-632-5298 or kleslie@cwmars.org

Workers' Credit Union  Gardner, MA

The West Boylston Arts Foundation (WBAF) is always looking for artists, crafters, or musicians that would like to offer workshops or classes.

There are many ways to volunteer! Please email info@galagardner.org to express your interest in helping out with our organization.

Please send your news "publication ready" to news@galagardner.org. See previous newsletters for example formats and the type of info to provide. We strongly recommend that you include a digital image related to the news as well as your website address & links to any venues. Image filenames should include the name of the artist and the work. Please post your press releases online whenever possible and submit a link.

If you would like your business logo inserted into our monthly newsletter for only $50 per year, contact us at info@galagardner.org.