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C’ville Arts welcomes Barbara Shenefield, one of our newest members and graphic design talents during the month of July. She will be at the gallery to share her appealing collection of designs during the First Friday event on July 6from 6 – 8 p.m.

Barbara began by making posters celebrating the beautiful commonwealth of Virginia. All of her original designs and illustrations commemorate historic places and beautiful scenes of some of Virginia’s best features: mountains, history, wildlife, favorite sports and cultural attractions. Shenefield’s approach is a classic poster style, somewhat reminiscent of retro travel posters (National Parks, advertising). Her compositions are vibrant, eye catching, colorful, and just plain cool.

These creative period style posters often include one or more of her favorite animals.

“I will often sneak a horse or a dog into a poster, even of the historic houses” Barbara explains, “so look closely. I am constantly, restlessly, drawing and creating new designs. Art is what I do, all day, every day.”

These high quality, clean and contemporary posters are produced with only the best materials using ultrachrome inks, a very high resolution printer, on the finest quality Kao-Lin paper. Shenefield’s work is available online, in galleries and gift shops such as Montpelier, Monticello and vineyards across the commonwealth.

To learn more about Barbara’s work visit her web site: Shenefielddesign.com   

Stained and fused glass artist, Norma Geddes, will be the featured artist for the month of May. She will be at the gallery to share her stunning collection and answer any questions on May 4^th from 6 – 8 p.m. during the First Friday opening celebration.

After a long and satisfying career in health care, Norma Geddes discovered glass art quite by chance. While shopping for glass cupboard doors for her newly renovated kitchen, she saw a small ad for “Stained Glass Classes.” With her well-honed sense of adventure, she signed up for classes on the spot and has not stopped since!

Norma is inspired by the words of Georgia O’Keefe—“They showed me how they painted their landscape. They couldn’t show me how to paint mine”—and Joseph Campbell—“When you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that you didn’t know were there, and wouldn’t be there for anyone else.”

Norma’s art is both beautiful and functional, and can be found at galleries throughout Virginia. For a complete list of venues displaying her art, please see her website: www.normageddesglass.com.

Alex Pettigrew will be the featured artisan for March at the C’Ville Arts Cooperative Gallery on Charlottesville’s historic Downtown Mall.  He will be at the gallery to meet you and share his stunning work during the First Friday event on March 2nd, from 6 to 8.

Alex crafts functional and artistic accessories for home and office from local hardwoods in his North Garden VA studio. He lets the beauty of the wood shine through by using the natural color palette available in the wonderful variety of woods available in the Appalachian forest. He often makes a combination of woods a part of his design. Of particular interest is Alex’s work utilizing historic woods from the UVA Grounds, Monticello and James Monroe’s Highlands.

In addition to functional pieces such as boxes, chef boards, cheese boards and pepper mills, this show will highlight Alex’s recent work using electropyrography to create decorative pieces featuring Lichtenberg designs.

Alex is a juried member of the Artisan Center of Virginia and exhibits his work in numerous galleries and retail shops in Central Virginia as well as on his website:www.PettigrewWoodworks.com. His North Garden Studio is on the Monticello Artisan Trail and is open by appointment. Contact him atPettigrew.Woodworks@gmail.com.

Our gifted and fashion savvy fiber artist Karen Shapcott will be C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery’s featured artist during the month of February. She will be at the gallery to share her talents on February 2^nd from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. during the Historic Downtown Mall’s First Friday event.

Karen’s love for working with fiber developed early in life as a teenager knitting for her family. It was 23 years ago when she bought her very first needle felting kit. From that point on her fascination with felting in many forms would grow and her skills developed into the impressive talent she shares with us today.

“I find I get bored easily and constantly change the look of my pieces.” Said Karen, “I love exploring different combinations of color and textures of wool, silk, yarns, and other embellishments.” 

Shapcott’s dedication to details and her unique approach to working with felt has come from a commitment and enthusiasm to learn not seen in the average felting artist. Karen’s current work is partly inspired by several internationally respected felting mentors she’s known, who encouraged, motivated and inspired her over the years. Taking bits and pieces of their knowledge combined with her sense of style and genuine curiosity, are qualities that have united in a magical way. Producing one the most striking collections that you will want to own and surely adore.

To learn more about Karen and her work visit her web site: middlerivercreations.com 

Dave Heller will be our gifted featured artist in December at C-ville Arts. He will be at the gallery to meet you and share his breathtaking collection during the First Friday event on December 1st, from 6 to 8.

I have always drawn (and been drawn to) patterns. I have also made furniture for many years, initially for relaxation and more recently as a business. As my woodworking skills improved I combined these two interests to make embellished functional furniture. Patterns and ornamentation are fundamental to my designs, but functional requirements constrain excess. Marquetry and veneering combine the control of the graphic arts with the variability of wood grain, color, and figure. These techniques allow me to apply highly structured but unique and subtly organic patterns to my pieces.

My most recent works are jewelry boxes and game boards. I will be displaying wall hung and countertop jewelry boxes, chess boards and backgammon sets, in addition to decorated serving boards and trays and marquetry pictures.

My website is: http://hellerandhellerfurniture.com/  I am on the Monticello Artisan Trail, so open by appointment at my studio in Meadowbrook Heights in Cville. Email or call (703) 716-2939 to arrange a visit.

Our entire membership of talented artists will be featured in November at C-ville Arts. Many of us will be at the gallery to meet you and share our creative reflections about 20 years of serving Charlottesville and the surrounding community during the First Friday event on November 3rd, from 6 to 8.

Please come and join our celebration! November 3^rd will be a rare opportunity to meet a larger cast of our membership than usual. We’ve come a long way, from the pop-up shop beginnings at various locations on the mall, to our current permanent location in the center of the historic downtown mall. This will be a gala event you won’t want to miss. Our artists are creating commemorative works to mark this occasion. Here are just a few reflections from our group of over 60 high quality artists and craftspeople:

“I come from almost two hours away to be a part of C’ville Arts and to be around the art and these artists. So many talented artists here” – Dana Masters

“I grew up around cooperative businesses and communities. C’ville Arts is the best I’ve seen yet. The variety of creativity and talent is abundant. The skill, maturity and thoughtfulness of how the members work together unbeatable and top notch!” – Flame Bilyue  

“Artistic community coming together in spirit and creative ability!” – Meg West

“I frequently tell customers that if you cannot find a gift for that special someone at C’ville Arts, you are definitely in trouble.” – Ben Greenberg

“A true gem on the downtown mall, a variety of unique artwork where there is something for everyone!” – Susan Dukes

“I’ve been a member for almost 10 years, I can sincerely say, I’ve always been incredibly impressed by how supportive and caring this group is to one another. This is a high quality bunch of talent packed in one place working efficiently with a lot of love.” – Lisa O. Woods

As a cooperative group we recognize we wouldn’t have such an exciting milestone without the support from our community and customers. We’re doing something special as a token of our appreciation for this important landmark in our history by offering each customer 20% off one item they purchase on First Friday, November 3rd! We look forward to seeing you there and sharing our special collection of people and work.

Our talented stain glass artist and jeweler, Lynn Windsor, will be the featured artist in October at C-ville Arts. She will be at the gallery to meet you and share her sparkling collection during the First Friday event on October 6^st, from 6 to 8.

Nouveau Willow is the latest work from Lynn Windsor Creations. After staying at home with her children in their formative years, the last half decade have changed for Lynn to include a full time job, being away from her children (empty nesting) and then a move that did not include a studio space. Recently she settled into a new home and rehabbed one of the out buildings to be a dedicated glass studio. Nouveau Willow represents her latest efforts where trees and leaves continue to appear, and have become symbolic spiritual entities for her. Strong, resilient, weathered, ever growing and changing, Windsor has just started to leaf out and, with the help of her daughter, Emily Rose, Lynn is creating new and exciting work.

Many of the panels are formed with friends and family in mind, those who have helped her along her journey as an artist. The centerpiece of her show is the “Family Tree”, another panel featured is “Phoenix” which is symbolic of her rising out of the flames as she embarks on this new path. “Leaf Stream” shows the ever changing currents in her work flowing and evolving. All works in this collection are a result of what happened when Lynn started creating again, they simply flowed out of the glass, nothing preplanned, sprouting from her innermost conversations as if they were characters straight from her heart.

This exhibit reflects life cycles for Lynn Windsor. Numerous rhythms and routines occur in the universe, from the movements of the planets, to the cycles of earth’s seasons, the ocean tides, and in all of our lives. It’s moving to see Lynn open her inner connection to the natural world and following her creative consciousness to a place where her spirit is, at home once again.

Our gifted glass artist and jeweler, Diana Branscome, will be the featured artist in September at C-ville Arts. She will be at the gallery to meet you and share her stunning collection during the First Friday event on September 1^st, from 6 to 8.

In this show, Diana Branscome bases her new work on a lifelong fascination with the universe as a source of inspiration. She finds the tales and legends behind the constellations intriguing, from Orion the Hunter and his dogs to the Great Bear and Draco the Dragon. Diana loves to explore how many cultures have identified the same star groups and named them for different things. She has been interested in the marvels and beauty of the sky since she was a kid and lives by Neil de Grasse Tyson’s motto: “Keep Looking Up!” 

Branscome will be featuring constellation plates made from art glass where the stars she has melted into the surface sparkle like diamonds. The “Moon Lamp” stirs a certain rhapsody from space with its textural surface and composition. It’s made from upcycled art glass scraps, and the stone base is symbolic of earth with the iron stem connecting us to the moon shade. Her dichroic glass jewelry reminds one of shimmering star fields, while drops of bright yellow or frosty white are inspired by the sun and the moon.

Diana has developed her own creative language that twinkles with elegance throughout her line of jewelry and summons a broader sense of curiosity in her larger work. Going from wonder into wonder existence opens. She has captured this magical place in her work and will beckon a sense of joyfulness that will float in the hearts of her audience for many moons to come.  

To learn more about Diana and her work visit her web site: www.branscomeglass.com