Summer might be behind us, but Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs is still going strong. Exhibitions abound, as well as plenty of opportunities to get your artistic juices flowing.
Executive director Ann Smith says, “The fall is a great time to enjoy the Island and all it has to offer. Featherstone encourages you to try something new. Take part in one of our art nights. Learn how to make a ceramic pumpkin for Halloween, design your own bracelet, or explore shibori dyeing with indigo. Your creative voice is calling!”
In the main gallery at the beautiful facility is “The Art of the Horse & Horse Farm” through October 6. The show’s focus is particularly apropos because Featherstone began as a horse farm named after a horse with the same appellation. “The Art of the Horse & Horse Farm” is one of the many community exhibitions Featherstone offers during the year. Inspired by the particular show’s theme, Islanders contribute their creations, which inevitably reflect a multifaceted interpretation in a far-reaching range of media.
Featherstone also curates the Feldman Family Artspace at the M.V. Film Center in Vineyard Haven. Artists are selected through a jury process, and Featherstone subsequently works with each to coordinate their exhibits.
Kicking off the fall is Billy Hoff, whose mysterious and fanciful large-scale paintings are on view through October 6. He fills his canvases with figurative imagery that invites our interpretation. He says, “I like short story fiction. If done well, it can capture a brief moment in time. Something distinct: a smell, a light, or a feeling . . . I like to think of my paintings as stories. There is implied narrative.”
Following Hoff at the Feldman Family Artspace is Kristen Park from October 7 through November 3. Her photographs, whether landscapes or of the villages dotting the Island, capture the Vineyard’s unique beauty. She says, “I often find myself reflecting on instances where a person or a place has left an imprint on my sense of self, even in the absence of future connections. . . My aspiration for those who view my work is that they not only consider the emotions they feel but also contemplate the myriad perspectives through which others perceive and interpret the world that surrounds us.”
“Tickled Pink and Peach (Fuzz)” delights us at Featherstone from October 15 through November 3, with a reception on Sunday, October 20, from 4-6 pm. The theme comes from October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also known as Pink October. And Pantone’s 2024 Color of the Year is Peach Fuzz. The result is an exhibition full of works in all media that include a touch of pink or peach.
Alex Elvin’s Impressionist-inspired paintings will be on view at the Feldman Family Artspace from November 4 through December 1. Elvin approaches painting as a “practice in attention and a way of more deeply appreciating the natural world.” He paints primarily alla prima — an Italian phrase that means “at first attempt” in which wet paint is applied to previous layers of still-wet paint, often in a single sitting. Elvin works primarily from life, favoring everyday subjects. He is drawn to the changing light and moving subjects inherent to outdoor painting, which require the artist to improvise and try new things.
The Holiday Gift Show, running from November 12 through December 15, is an annual favorite. Visitors and Vineyarders alike find it nearly impossible to resist the affordable Island-made holiday creations. Jewelry, art, candles, hand-fashioned clothing, cards, ceramics, bags, jellies and jams, blankets, and pillows are just a small sampling of the glories that fill the space.
Julien Jarreau closes the season at the Feldman Family Artspace from December 2 to January 5. Jarreau, an expressive land and seascape painter, states, “The Creative Explorer is always on the hunt for that particular image or scene that captures the essence of our lived experience. What inspires me is how we can’t know or understand light without the darkness; the opposite is also true. Being able to capture this contrast on a blank canvas is what motivates my creative vitality.”
There is plenty on offer at Featherstone for those who want to make their creative expressions. In addition to single- and multi-week courses, Featherstone offers a variety of one- and two-day workshops for anyone visiting the Vineyard for a short stay or interested in trying something new.
The beginner-friendly, two-hour Art Nights are a great way to tap into your creativity while enjoying a glass of wine or tea. This fall’s lineup includes ceramic, fiber, jewelry, and mixed media options — pottery pumpkins, ceramic mugs, scarf knitting, stamped cuff bracelets, holiday ornaments, and collaged cards.
There are several ceramic pottery opportunities. One-day sgraffito workshops involve a subtractive surface technique in which you carve out your surface design on greenware plates they have painted with underglaze. In the two-day Raku workshop, participants can experiment with raku, horsehair, obvara, and saggar firing. This low-fire process involves heating bisque ware and then placing it into containers with combustible materials that can produce a stunning variety of effects. Those interested in learning more about the glazing process will enjoy a workshop on glazing techniques, where students will learn details of glaze application, different techniques, and the science of glazing.
Fall fiber-based workshops include one-day instruction in Shibori dyeing with indigo to create custom linen napkins and needle felting with wool. For more advanced students, try Knitting with Color, which involves using two or more yarn colors in a single row or round to create intricate patterns, images, or textures.
Jewelry workshops, such as ones in cloisonné and copper enameling, are held every other Saturday morning, and individual one-day beading classes are held on Tuesdays.
Weekend mixed-media collage workshops are fun, interactive, and beginner-friendly, incorporating multiple mediums and themes. Watercolor In Bloom is a wonderful entry-level one-day workshop for those interested in painting with that medium.
More advanced options for oil and acrylic painters are two multi-day workshops. The first, Values, Shapes, and Composition, focuses on the fundamentals, instructed by a favorite local artist, Marston Clough. Abstracting from Nature offers an abstract take on landscapes with visiting artist Mary Moquin. And anyone wishing to work on their drawing skills will appreciate the Capturing Nature: A Landscape Sketching workshop.
Whether looking with your eyes or working with your hands, there’s something for everyone at Featherstone this season.
For more information, visit featherstoneart.org.
