August Happenings at the North Shore Arts Association!

Thank You, one and all!

By the time you read this, the NSAA Annual Fundraising Art Auction will be a  fete accompli and a gallery full of successful collectors will have wrapped up some wonderful purchases of original, one of a kind artwork! We thank our Patrons and Sponsors, who generously donated their time and  funding for the event, our Artist and Associate Members who donated their beautiful artwork, and the new and returning collectors who made some great purchases and supported the NSAA Building Restoration effort in the process. Fundraising efforts for the restoration at 11 Pirates Lane are ongoing and donations can be made on the NSAA website donor page http://www.nsarts.org/membership.html, or by calling Gallery Manager, Linda Cote, at 978-283-1857. Thanks to all for your generous support and for making the NSAA Auction Gala a great success!

Two Juried exhibitions are coming to NSAA in August; Exhibition IV "Small Works" an artist member exhibition which opened July 30 and runs through August 29th.
Many giants of the art world including Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer painted much treasured and highly prized small art works.  The appeal of small works is manifold with flexible display options:  the work can be clustered in and around other pieces; or placed in tiny, sometimes awkward spaces; or hung in discreet groupings, and easily placed on small easels atop a side table, and often lower price points are also an advantage.  The main appeal, however, is to enjoy an intimate and condensed expression of the artist's focused vision.
 
Always very popular, the Associate Members Show opens on August 6 through August 29th. This season we are offering two separate Associate Member exhibitions, the first of which is a juried event and showcases the work of our talented and dedicated associate members, whose energy, hard work and spirit are vital to the success of our organization. Look for many of these same Associate Members names among the list of New full Artist Members to be announced in the fall after the New Member Jury meets!
Opening Reception for both Exhibitions will be held on Sunday August 23, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., with refreshments served. As always, the public is very welcome!

Just in time to take a vacation break and try something new NSAA is offering three great workshops this August:

Susan Guest-MacPhail, Mixed Media, August 8th and 9th 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The workshop is designed to help you loosen up and 'paint' with paper. Sue leads the first session in how to create very interesting colored papers using a variety of new techniques including gelatin printmaking. During the second session students will be encouraged to rip and cut them up, and use them to create either realistic or abstract collage works. Guaranteed to bring your "inner child" out to play!  Go to nsarts.org to sign up or call 978-283-1857! www.susanguestmacphail.com

 Caleb Stone, Oil and Watercolor, Outdoor on Monhegan Island, August 15, 16 and 17th.

Paint on beautiful Monhegan Island! Each day will begin with a meeting at the Trailing Yew Inn front yard and then going to a painting location. Mr. Stone will demonstrate how to capture a strong composition and strong design. He will demonstrate how to make good value and color choices necessary to capture the feeling of light and atmosphere. Students will begin their painting with an assist from Mr. Stone in order to answer any questions. At the end of each day there will be a group critique to help participants improve and learn.Go to nsarts.org to sign up or call 978-283-1857! www.calebstoneart.com

Mark Shasha, Oil, Outdoors, August 29 & 30.Capturing the Living Landscape. 10:00 -4:00 p.m. Painting in oils outside is tricky enough, clouds, wind and sea refuse to stand still for the artist.    During this two day workshop, award winning artist Mark Shasha will help you tackle the problems and share his insights from 30 years of experience.  Mark will discuss composition, traditional materials, and methods to help you conquer the challenges and reap the rewards of capturing the natural color, light and mood of a landscape.

Go to nsarts.org to sign up or call 978-283-1857! www.markshasha.com

Save the Date! NSAA Annual Fundraising Art Auction, August 1st!

The event of the summer auction season is upon us! The historic North Shore Arts Association holds its highly anticipated ANNUAL FUNDRAISING FINE ARTS AUCTION AND GALA, ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 1st, starting at 5:30 p.m, with one hundred percent of the proceeds goings to its Building Restoration Fund.

 Always a fun-filled, gala evening not to be missed, this year, Frank Kaminski, of Kaminski Auctions, the North Shore's premier auctioneer for over 25 years, will conduct live and online bidding at the NSAA's exquisite harbor side galleries overlooking East Gloucester's Smith Cove. Over 80 original works, including oils, watercolors, graphics, and sculpture by the NSAA's extraordinary, multi-award winning and nationally acclaimed artists, will be offered for bidding. Among the many notable participating artists are Tom Nicholas, N.A., Charles Movalli, Judy Pumfrey, and John Terelak and Jeff Weaver.
This is a wonderful opportunity to add to your Cape Ann artists collection, and at the same time to help fund the North Shore Arts Association's restoration of its home for over ninety years. The Annual Fine Auction proceeds are paramount to funding the much needed restoration the the windows and exterior siding of its historic gallery building.
Tickets for the auction and elegant hors d'oevres and wine gala and are available through the NSAA website www.nsarts.org, by telephone, (978) 283-1857, or at the door. More information is available by emailing: arts@nsarts.org. The complete online catalog is available for preview and left bidding at https:/www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/75523_north-shore-arts-association-fine-art-auction/.

A sneak preview of some of the original artwork that will be up for bid:

Tom Nicholas, N.A., "Out To the Schooner", oil on board, 12 x 9"

Charles Movalli, "Smith Cove", acrylic on canvas, 20" x 24"

         
Judy Pumfrey, "Waiting", oil on canvas, 10" x 8"

       

John Terelak, " Sugaring Off", oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

Jeff Weaver, "The Work Float", oil on canvas, 10 x 18"

Save the Date! Hope to see you at the North Shore Arts Association Annual Fundraising Auction, August 1st, excitement begins at 5:30 p.m.! Bid early and often to join the effort to restore the character and history filled building that has been the home of the NSAA since 1923!

Important News: Orphan Works Act and the New U.S. Copyright Act

The North Shore Arts Association directs your immediate attention to an important subject for all artists: the ownership and copyrights to their own images. An email from the Illustrators Partnership has come to the attention of the NSAA Board through a number of our colleagues and Professional Associations. It speaks about the resurrection of Orphan Works in the latest US Copyright legislation that will be going before Congress soon. We want to alert our membership to the implications of the legislation as they apply to your artwork.
Below are the contact numbers for our legislators and the text of the email from the Illustrators Partnership.
Theodore.Speliotis@mahouse.gov

seth@sethmoulton.com

Bruce E. Tarr, Senate Minority Leader
Massachusetts State House, Room 308
Phone: (617) 722-1600
Fax: (617) 722-1310

Artists Alert: From the Illustrators Partnership  The Return of Orphan Works Part 1: "The Next Great Copyright Act"  JULY 1, 2015

For more than a year Congress has been holding hearings for the drafting of a brand new US Copyright Act. At its heart is the return of Orphan Works.   Twice, Orphan Works Acts have failed to pass Congress because of strong opposition from visual artists, spearheaded by the Illustrators Partnership.  Because of this, the Copyright Office has now issued a special call for letters regarding the role of visual art in the coming legislation.  Therefore we're asking all artists concerned with retaining the rights to their work to join us in writing.

When and Where  Deadline: July 23, 2015  You can submit letters online to the Copyright Office here.  Read the Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry.  Read the 2015 Orphan Works and Mass Digitization Report.

Here are the Basic Facts  "The Next Great Copyright Act" would replace all existing copyright law.  It would void our Constitutional right to the exclusive control of our work. It would "privilege" the public's right to use our work.  It would "pressure" you to register your work with commercial registries.  It would "orphan" unregistered work.  It would make orphaned work available for commercial infringement by "good faith" infringers.  It would allow others to alter your work and copyright these "derivative works" in their own names.  It would affect all visual art: drawings, paintings, sketches, photos, etc.; past, present and future; published and unpublished; domestic and foreign.

Background  The demand for copyright "reform" has come from large Internet firms and the legal scholars allied with them. Their business models involve supplying the public with access to other people's copyrighted work. Their problem has been how to do this legally and without paying artists.    The "reforms" they've proposed would allow them to stock their databases with our pictures. This would happen either by forcing us to hand over our images to them as registered works, or by harvesting unregistered works as orphans and copyrighting them in their own names as "derivative works."    The Copyright Office acknowledges that this will cause special problems for visual artists but concludes that we should still be subject to orphan works law.  The "Next Great Copyright Act" would go further than previous Orphan Works Acts. The proposals under consideration include:  1.) The Mass Digitization of our intellectual property by corporate interests.  2.) Extended Collective Licensing, a form of socialized licensing that would replace voluntary business agreements between artists and their clients.  3.)  A Copyright Small Claims Court to handle the flood of lawsuits expected to result from orphan works infringements.

In your letter to the Copyright Office: It's important that lawmakers be told that our copyrights are our source of income because lobbyists and corporation lawyers have "testified" that once our work has been published it has virtually no further commercial value and should therefore be available for use by the public. So when writing, please remember:   It's important that you make your letter personal and truthful.    Keep it professional and respectful.    Explain that you're an artist and have been one for x number of years.    Briefly list your educational background, publications, awards, etc.      Indicate the field(s) you work in.     Explain clearly and forcefully that for you, copyright law is not an  abstract legal issue, but the basis on which your business rests.    Our copyrights are the products we license.    This means that infringing our work is like stealing our money.    It's important to our businesses that we remain able to determine  voluntarily how and by whom our work is used.    Stress that your work does NOT lose its value upon publication.    Instead everything you create becomes part of your business inventory.    In the digital era, inventory is more valuable to artists than ever before.  If you are NOT a professional artist:   Define your specific interest in copyright, and give a few relevant details.   You might want to stress that it's important to you that you determine how and by whom your work is used.   You might wish to state that even if you're a hobbyist, you would not  welcome someone else monetizing your work for their own profit without your knowledge or consent.

Because this is a complicated issue, we'll follow up next week with some expanded thoughts of our own.   - Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner    for the Board of the Illustrators Partnership

The Illustrators Partnership has filed multiple papers with the
Copyright Office regarding this issue . 

You can download them from the Copyright Office website: 

Remedies for Small Copyright Claims 

January 17, 2012 

Orphan Works and Mass Digitization 

Initial Comments, February 3, 2013 

Orphan Works and Mass Digitization 

Reply Comments, March 6, 2013 

Orphan Works and Mass Digitization 

Additional Comments, May 21, 2014 

Exhibition III Award Winners and July Events at the NSAA

Exhibition III of the North Shore Arts Associations 2015 Season opens July 2 through July 25th. Public reception Sunday, July 12 at 2-4 p.m. Opening along with Exhibition III, we present Steve and Nella Lush "A 40 year Collaboration" and a stunning solo .by Carol Loiacano "Reflections of Cape Ann".
Three power packed exhibitions that you don't want to miss!

An Important Reminder for our Artist and Associate Members: The NSAA Annual Fundraising ART AUCTION is fast approaching! We count on each and every members participation in  this fun and vitally important event. Put on those finishing touches and bring us your best work on receiving day, July 12th. The North Shore Arts Association needs your help to keep serving you, the artist, by building a better and more effective platform to showcase your artistic efforts and bringing it before the public. Be an active member of the NSAA and you'll be surprised what we can accomplish together!

Congratulations  to all our participating artists and especially to our Exhibition III Award Winners.

Award Winners: Exhibition III (July 2 through July 25)

'Monhegan Painters' by Marilyn Swift - Vermont Community Foundation Mary Bryan Memorial Award and Medal for Excellence in Watercolor  ($1,000.00)

'Fall Tapestry' by John Terelak - Donald Allen Mosher Memorial Award for Excellence in Landscape ($300.00)

'Low Tide, Cape Ann' by Tom Nicholas - Paul Strisik Memorial Award for Excellence in Landscape Painting ($300.00)

'Hurricane' by Judythe Evans Meagher - J. Tweed Hill and Josephine Petrus Award for Traditional Still Life, Seascape or Landscape ($200.00)

'Chatham Light' by Michael Graves - Henry Kaplan Memorial Award for Representational Oil Painting of Cape Ann ($100.00)

'Janes Koi Being Coy' by J. Lee Benson - Art Supplies Wholesale Award Gift Certificate ($50.00)



Anita Johnson - Popular Award Exhibition II

Selections from the Museum Collection of the North Shore Arts Association

The newly refurbished Members Room of the North Shore Arts Association provides a gallery space for selections from the NSAA Museum Collection and a resource and meeting room for our members. The paintings on the wall include three recent additions to our permanent collection, very generous gifts by our artists and their family members.

The watercolor by Jack Jones is the gift of his widow, Phyllis Jones. The watercolor by Ann Williams is the gift of her cousin, Patricia Cassola. These two paintings were given in 2015. The small oil by Ken Gore, former President of the North Shore Arts Association, was painted circa 1950, and donated in 2013. The portrait of Jeff Weaver was the winner of the Art Supplies Wholesale Award and was donated in 2013 by the artist, B.J. Wayne.
Two works by artist Will Roland Davis, from our extensive holdings by this artist, underwent conservation treatment in 2014 and are also on display in the Members Room.
The North Shore Arts Association is always interested in increasing the holdings in our Museum Collection. We welcome new donations. Anyone interested in donating works can contact our gallery manager, Linda Cote.
With the acquisition of works to form a permanent collection comes a commitment to maintain and preserve works in good condition for the enjoyment of future generations. The conservation of works of art requires the expenditure of funds. Any donation, however small, for the conservation of works in our Museum Collection, would be most welcome. Please see Linda Cote if you are interested.
-Peter Tysver, Chair, Acquisitions Committee

'From Back Beach'  by Jack Jones

'Bandstand'  by Ann Williams

'New England Barn'  by Ken Gore

'Man With Mustache'  by Will Roland Davis

'Portrait of Jeff Weaver'  by B.J. Wayne

 'Ipswich Bay'  by Will Roland Davis