Friday, January 18, 2013

"Art from the Heart VII" The A Team Artists of Trenton

                      "Art from the Heart VII" The A Team Artists of Trenton


About The A-Team Artists of Trenton
In February 2001 with the support of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) Board of Trustees, a group of artists who regularly use the services of the soup kitchen formed an artists' cooperative known as the A-TEAM Artists of Trenton.

The purpose of the group is fourfold:

1. to promote the work of TASK artists in all media;
2. to work together as a group to support and encourage each other's success;
3. to learn entrepreneurial skills by taking responsibility for developing and maintaining the A-Team as a business entity;
4. to generate good will and public support for the artists, the TASK community and the city of Trenton.

Studio space and basic supplies are generously provided by TASK, and the day-to-day activities of the group are determined by the artists with the assistance of a group of volunteers. The artists and volunteers meet once a week in the multi-purpose room at TASK for about five hours, during which time the artists work on projects of their choice. The artists are self-taught and work in a wide variety of media, including paint, pencil and ink, pastel, collage, and found-object construction. Their work is displayed throughout the year at TASK and at group and individual shows.

The group is open to all members of the soup kitchen community, and the "price of admission" is a piece of artwork and participation, when possible, at the monthly A-TEAM business meetings. The business meetings are devoted to planning exhibits and projects, making policy and budgetary decisions, showing and discussing new artwork, hosting visits from local artists and other guests and arranging occasional field trips. A-TEAM artwork is always on display at the soup kitchen, and proceeds from all sales go directly to the artists.

The A-TEAM artists are proud to share their talents and enthusiasm for art with other members of the Trenton community. Since the fall of 2007, they have traveled to ARC Mercer on the third Tuesday of every month to conduct a 2-3 hour art workshop for the ARC consumers. discover and develop their own artistic talents. The A-TEAM artists also host monthly visits from patients in the art therapy program at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital.

If you would like to visit the A-TEAM, donate art supplies or other resources, volunteer to work with the artists or just learn more about the group, please leave a message at 609-695-5456 begin_of_the_skype_highlightingend_of_the_skype_highlighting, extension 129 or contact Susan Darley at sandarley@gmail.com.

We sincerely appreciate the encouragement and generous support we receive from the staff and Board members of TASK and from the many artists and other friends who help us throughout the year. Thank you.

Susan Darley, Arts Program Coordinator: sandarley@gmail.com
 
 
                          "Art from the Heart VII" The A Team Artists of Trenton
At the Gourgaud Gallery, Town Hall in Cranbury, NJ.
February 2-24
Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM - 4 PM
First, Third and Last Sunday 1-3 PM, closed on 2/18.
Reception: Saturday. February 2 from 1-3 pm
The A Team artists return to the Gourgaud Gallery with many new exciting paintings that they have created. Please come and support this wonderfully talented and important group of artists of the TASK community who share their work every February at the Gourgaud Gallery. All artwork is for sale and all proceeds will go directly to the artists of the A Team to support their work. Food and refreshments will be served during the reception.
The purpose of the group is fourfold:

1. to promote the work of TASK artists in all media;
2. to work together as a group to support and encourage each other's success;
3. to learn entrepreneurial skills by taking responsibility for developing and maintaining the A-Team as a business entity;
4. to generate good will and public support for the artists, the TASK community and the city of Trenton.

For more information on the A Team, go to their web site ateamartists.com.




Monday, December 24, 2012

ART TO CURL UP WITH- JAN. 2013 EXHIBIT


"Art to Curl up With"

January Open Call Exhibit 2011

January 6 – 27

Reception Sunday, Jan 6 from 1-3 PM

Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM - 4 PM

First, Third and Last Sunday 1-3 PM



This will be the fourth annual "January Open Call for Artists" exhibit hosted by the Gourgaud Gallery. Daniel Thomas, Chairperson for the yearly event and member of the Gourgaud Gallery Committee is pleased to announce that he is expecting the usual great attendance for this annual event. Last year there were over 22 artists with 45 pieces of original art on display. All art will feature the theme of "Art to curl up with" and various mediums from oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, photography and collage will fill the walls at the Gourgaud Gallery through the month of January.


The reception will be on Sunday, January 6 from 1-3 PM in the Gourgaud Gallery, located in Town Hall. This year we challenge artists to think of their favorite book and let that inspire them or reflect on things that they do when it's cold. Many of the artists will be available to share and discuss their work with the visitors and what inspired to paint for this theme.

 
Winter Walk
Daniel Thomas
It's that time of year again to prepare for another " Winter Scenes" January 2013 Exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery. This is our fourth annual event and the theme this year allows you to think very creatively:

It's Winter...
Curl Up with Good Art.
or
Art to Curl Up With.

Think of your favorite book and let that inspire you, but you could also reflect on things that you do when it's cold. For example a painting with yarn or knitting and/or do something more mixed media. Or you might dream of warm tropical places that might inspire you. You might like perusing the gardening catalogs which come in the winter. Also it might be fun if you do a paragraph about your inspiration too. We hope that this allows you to have some fun with the theme and it will make for a very interesting exhibit.
SEE FACEBOOK PAGE: GOURGAUD GALLERY FOR PICTURES FROM THIS CURRENT SHOWING



 


 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Ten Year Anniversary Exhibit

The Gourgaud Gallery (December, 2012)

 

             GOURGAUD GALLERY NEWS: Cranbury, New Jersey

 

Ten Year Anniversary Exhibit

Cranbury Art in the Park X

December 2-30

Reception Sunday December 2 from 1-3 pm

Hours: Mon-Fri 9 am-4 pm, first, third and last Sunday 1-3 pm

 

 

The Sunday Artist Reception at the Gourgaud Gallery, Cranbury Town Hall, will celebrate the art created from the Art in the Park plein air series sponsored by the Cranbury Arts Council for the last ten years.

 

Each month from May to October, a different Cranbury property hosts local artists to capture the scenes offered at the beautiful gardens and historic homes in Cranbury. The program is free and artists who participate are invited to present the artwork from the sessions in the annual December exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery titled "Cranbury Gardens- Works from Art in the Park". Local artists visit the gardens, farms and historic properties and are able to paint from noon to 4 pm, rain or shine. Art in the Park has become a wonderful way for artists to meet and paint together in an open air environment.

This year the artists also painted in parks and on Main Street in Cranbury. The art will be on display through the month of December making it a great time to purchase art for holiday gifts.

 

All art that is sold gives a 20% donation to the Cranbury Arts Council in order to continue in its mission to promote and support the arts through its programs, classes, exhibits, summer art & technology camp and winter theatre camp.

see facebook page:Gourgaud Gallery for pictures :
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gourgaud-Gallery/108657442495068

 

 

 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Cyndi Girardet---Watercolors Nov. 4,-Nov 25, 2012


Cyndi Girardet---Watercolors  Nov. 4,-Nov 25, 2012--reception Nov. 4, 1-3 PM    refreshments served
see facebook: Gourgaud Gallery for pictures by Cyndi Girardet

            Cynthia Barten Girardet studied watercolor painting with Finis Collins in San Antonio, Texas for two years and with Erica Hoyt in Columbia, South Carolina for four years.  In the early 1980s, her paintings were displayed in shows in South Carolina and in western New York.

            Upon moving to Cranbury, New Jersey with her husband, Wayne, and their two children in 1982, she took a short hiatus from her painting to restore their c. 1826 home, teach music at Princeton Montessori School, and sing with Princeton Pro Musica.  In 1992, she reentered the art world with a one-person, sell out show at Tucker Anthony in Princeton.

            In 1995, she retired from teaching to concentrate on saving their historic home by moving it to a new location in Cranbury.  With the completion of that project, she again began dividing her time between her watercolors and her musical activities.

            In the late 1990s, her artwork hung in Holsome Teas & Herbs on Nassau Street in Princeton for eighteen months.  Most recently, she has displayed paintings in Garden State Watercolor Society shows, the University Medical Center at Princeton, at the opening of Princeton Fuel Oil’s new headquarters and at the International Headquarters of Johnson and Johnson in New Brunswick.

            Since moving to New Jersey, Ms. Girardet has participated in workshops with several prominent artists including Earl Lewis, Robert Sakson, Gail Bracegirtle, nationally acclaimed watercolorist, Don Andrews and most recently Lian Zhen.  She has also done a number of works on commission.  Her specialty is painting old houses, farms, and buildings with a voice from the past.  When not singing or painting, she enjoys gourmet cooking, gardening, traveling, needlework, and playing the piano.  More importantly, she takes great pleasure in spending time with her five grandchildren and their parents, as well as her husband of 43 years.

 
Quiet Dignity

 
Thoughts of the Artist – Cynthia Barten Girardet

 
It is unfortunate that we in this country have become so materialistic over the last fifty years.  There is beauty in simple things and we miss that beauty when we are so absorbed in attaining material wealth.

 
Perhaps that is why I have always been touched by the plight of those less fortunate than I am.  I feel there is often a quiet dignity in the poor – not dignity in being poor, but dignity despite poverty.  I first tried to portray that dignity in one of my early paintings, “Pride and Poverty.”  I saw that pride during my childhood in my aunt and uncle who owned a small dairy farm in western New York.  I saw it again in many of the poor when we lived in the South.

 
I guess that’s also why I’ve always loved painting old, dilapidated and worn out buildings with a voice from the past.  They speak to me of courage, struggle and stories untold.

 
When we visited Russia a few years ago, I saw that same dignity in the faces of the Russian babushkas, despite their plight of poverty.  I have tried to capture that intangible spirit in my series of “Babushka Paintings.”

 
Last winter my husband and I spent two months driving around South Africa.  We observed this quiet dignity throughout that beautiful country, especially in the townships and among it’s poor.  (My next artistic journey is to try and depict the dignity of the Black Africans we met during our visit.)  We also spent hours observing South Africa’s elephants and were overwhelmed by the quiet dignity those gentle giants exhibited in their relationships with each other.  My most recent endeavor has been to try to capture their majesty in my paintings of them.

 
It seems that throughout my life I have had a burning desire to express something inside me that I can’t verbalize.  Maybe it is the beauty in simple things.  Maybe it is an appreciation for the past.  Maybe it is a desire to move past materialism into a more simple, uncluttered pure existence.  I’m trying to capture that “something” in my artwork.  I would be so gratified if even just one of my paintings would speak to you.


The artwork is for sale with 20% of each sale going to support the Cranbury Arts Council and its programs (see www.Cranburyartscouncil.org). Cash or a check made out to the Cranbury Arts Council is accepted as payment.

The Gallery is located in Town Hall- a Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street in Cranbury, NJ: and is free and open to the public Mon- Fri from 9 AM. – 4 PM the first, third and last Sunday. You can meet the exhibiting Artist(s). Refreshments are served at the Artist Reception. Anyone wishing to exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery can obtain an application at the Gallery or at www.cranbury.org. For information on upcoming programs and events, LIKE us on FACEBOOK: GOURGAUD GALLERY, and at the Gourgaud Gallery blog: www.Gourgaudgallery.blogspot.com . If you are interested in CAC membership or participating in any way, please email us at cranburyartscouncil@gmail.com.

 


 

 

 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

“Transitions”

OCTOBER EXHIBIT -GOURGAUD GALLERY-  "TRANSITIONS"---Oct. 7-28, 2012

COLLEEN CAHILL                                        CRANBURY, NJ

This month the blog will feature an autobiography from Colleen Cahill, instead of an interview.


I grew up as most children do w/ my crayons and color pencils doodling and sketching. Very soon it became apparent that ART was something that I needed to explore. I started painting with oils and doing pen and ink sketches. Early on in my middle school years I became enamored with fashion and fashion illustration. I pursued this direction through high school and entered into the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore where I took classes in fine art and Fashion design.

 I worked at Head Sportswear a ski wear company where I assisted the designer while I attended college classes. This was my first official foray in the fashion industry.  I loved it all. I was hooked, line and sinker. I then transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City to finish up my classes. I worked as a fashion designer for a total of 15 years in NYC and Los Angeles.  Most of my sketching time was spent on clothing but I somehow managed to do a painting or two in my spare time between raising a young family and working full time. 

In the mid-nineties I started to pursue more fine art projects. I was working with a close friend who is a photographer. We collaborated on many photo based art projects such as Polaroid manipulations and transfers and painted black and white photos. 

The last few years, I have been studying watercolors and pastel painting. However I would be hard-pressed to narrow down my favorite medium to ONE choice. I love the freedom of water and watercolor paint, the ”hands on” messy ness of pastels, freezing time and mood with Photography, the endless possibilities of collage and mix media, and I really wish I had the time it takes to paint with oils.

I have given my recent collection the title “Transitions” which mirrors my life at this time. I hope you enjoy my most recent efforts to translate my emotional vision to 2 dimensional surfaces.
 
Benny's Landing
additional photos of Collen's paintings will soon appear on Facebook: "Gourgaud Gallery"
The artwork is for sale with 20% of each sale going to support the Cranbury Arts Council and its programs. Cash or a check made out to the Cranbury Arts Council is accepted as payment.
The Gallery is located in Town Hall- a Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street in Cranbury, NJ: and is free and open to the public Mon- Fri from 9 AM. – 4 PM and the first, third and last Sunday of the month from 1-3 pm. You can meet the exhibiting Artist(s). Refreshments are served at the Artist Reception. Anyone wishing to exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery can obtain an application at the Gallery or at www.cranbury.org. For information on upcoming programs and events,  LIKE us on FACEBOOK: GOURGAUD GALLERY, and JOIN the GOURGAUD GALLERY BLOG at www.Gourgaudgallery.blogspot.com . If you are interested in CAC membership or participating in any way, please email us at cranburyartscouncil@gmail.com.
Tree Dance
 
 
 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

WINTER WORKSHOP ART EXHIBIT


Winter Workshop Art Exhibit-Sept 8-30, 2012


                                       

The Winter workshops at the Gourgaud Gallery sponsored by the Cranbury Arts Council has given local artists the opportunity to remain painting 12 months of the year. CAC has hosted Art in the garden sessions all around the area for the spring/ summer months for plien air painting. Colleen Cahill started this program to supplement it, so that even in the doldrums of winter we are able to assemble to learn, to paint and to create together. The focus has been on watercolor, collage, pastel and many specialized topics such as perspective drawing and still life with drama.



CAC employs working artists to facilitate these workshops and each year we get a great turnout to these sessions. We celebrate the work done at the workshops (collage, pastels, and watercolors being among the classes) with a gallery showing. Work can be submitted late August from workshop participants that are reviewed and possibly juried, based on the response. We also try to hang a piece from each of our artist and instructors.



The Winter workshop gallery show is one of the highlights of Cranbury Day and we hope many can come see these artistic efforts and join us at the official opening Sunday Sept. 9th from 1-3 PM at the Gourgaud where ART happens.



The Gourgaud Gallery will also offer matted paintings for sale outside of the gallery, as part of Cranbury Day.



The artwork is for sale with 20% of each sale going to support the Cranbury Arts Council and its programs. Cash or a check made out to the Cranbury Arts Council is accepted as payment.

The Gallery is located in Town Hall- a Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street in Cranbury, NJ and is free and open to the public Mon- Fri from 9 AM. – 4 PM and the third and last Sunday of the month from 1-3 pm. You can meet the exhibiting Artist(s). Refreshments are served at the Artist Reception. Anyone wishing to exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery can obtain an application at the Gallery or at www.cranbury.org. For information on upcoming programs and events, join us on FACEBOOK: GOURGAUD GALLERY, and on the GOURGAUD GALLERY BLOG at www.Gourgaudgallery.blogspot.com . If you are interested in CAC membership or participating in any way, please email us at cranburyartscouncil@gmail.com.

pictures posted on Facebook : Gourgaud Gallery
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.495700590457416.124829.108657442495068&type=1#!/pages/Gourgaud-Gallery/108657442495068
 






Friday, July 20, 2012


AUGUST 2012 EXHIBIT AT GOURGAUD GALLERY:


ALL ABOUT THE BIRDS – THE ART OF NECATI   ITEZ




By Bob Gilbert

This month’s exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery features the acrylic and watercolor paintings of Mr. Necati Itez.  The thirty works of art capture interesting birds with landscape as background.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Itez and he told me more about the exhibit and about himself.  Mr. Itez considers himself a self-educated bird enthusiast, and he loves to paint all sizes of birds from the small fly catchers to the large eagles.  He selected birds as the topic of this exhibit because they make such interesting subject matter.  He apparently has quite a knack for capturing our fine feathered friends with a paint brush, as he has been told that he “paints birds like nobody else”.  So bird lovers (and others) – come on down and see this exhibit.

As to his background, Mr. Itez attended art school in New Jersey many years ago, and that led him to a career as a textile designer.  As such, he created paintings (mostly floral) that were transferred to fabric (“yard goods”), and ultimately were made into upholstery or clothing.  So it’s possible that if your couch is several years old, you may be sitting on an “Itez design”!

Mr. Itez is retired, and eight years ago he moved to an active adult community in Monroe Township.  At that time, he decided to take up fine art painting.  In recent years, he has displayed his work in many group shows and competitions, and this year he won the first prize in a painting competition at the Middlesex Community Senior Center (it was a painting featuring birds).  This exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery will be Mr. Itez’ first one-man show and he is very excited about it.

As to whether he paints subjects other than birds, Mr. Itez informs me that he does and is presently working on a series of paintings of international folk dancers from all over the world.  He intends to display these in a future exhibit.

Here’s wishing much success to Mr. Itez on his one-man show – it really is a “feather in his cap”!   



                             The Gourgaud Gallery
                                     Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street
                                              Cranbury, New Jersey      
“All About the Birds” the Art of Necati Itez
Reception August 5th from 1 to 3 PM
Exhibit from August 5-26
Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM – 4 PM
    First, Third and Last Sunday 1 PM – 3 PM

The Gourgaud Gallery is part of the Cranbury Arts Council, a nonprofit organization. Any art purchased at the gallery will benefit the Cranbury Arts Council for various programs by receiving 20% from all sales. Cash or a check made out to the Cranbury Arts Council is accepted as payment.