A Preview: August's Big Events at North Shore Arts!

The Cape Ann Sisterhood

The month of August opens with a festival of color at NSAA and a full roster of activities!

Exhibition III, the Artist Member Small Works show, enlivens the upstairs and front galleries with a variety of refreshing and inventive images, that promise to be a reminder of the warmth and color of these unhurried summer months for years to come.  One of the most anticipated shows of the season, small works provide the challenge of creating works, in a variety of mediums, within a limited canvas space of  20 x 24". Small works provide art lovers and collectors an opportunity to own a quite reasonably priced work that can easily grace smaller corners of a home or office. Perhaps most importantly, it is an opportunity to acquire works by some of Cape Ann's most notable artists.
Exhibition III opens August 5 and runs through September 17, with a "Meet the Artists" reception held on August 28th from 1 to 3 p.m. Mark your calendars! Receptions are free and open to the public.

Along with the Small Works show, stop into the Gordon Grant Gallery this month to take in a very special show, The Cape Ann Sisterhood. This exhibition, August 5- September 17, showcases the work and friendship of a group of women, all current or former members of the Board of the NSAA; artists whose bonds of friendship and loyalty have developed and deepened over the years and who are true "sisters in spirit". These connections of friendship and mutual interest have seen them through times of laughter and times of trouble. Come see  how their shared experiences and outlook are at the heart of what all great Art and great Art Associations are about! Opening Reception is August 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. Watch this Blog space for more information on the Cape Ann Sisterhood!

The North Shore Arts Association Annual Fine Art Auction takes place this year on August 20 and will be The Event of the season! A gala evening, always highly anticipated and well attended, this years' Artists & Scholars Auction supports two very deserving Gloucester non-profits and needs your support.  Make plans with your friends to wine and dine that evening as nature puts on one of the most beautiful sunsets on Cape Ann, as seen from the NSAA galleries! Come out to bid vigorously on the artwork of some of Cape Ann's most notable artists to support the non-profit North Shore Arts Association and the Gloucester Education Foundation!

Visit NSAA's air-conditioned galleries this month and see what the excitement is all about!

Bid Now!! Final Weekend brings a flurry of bidding as NSAA Slates Auction ends July 30th!

Bids for the silent auction may be placed June 17 through July 30 by visiting or contacting NSAA. One hundred per cent of silent auction proceeds will go to fund the ongoing restoration of the NSAA's gallery building and Ocean Alliance's Paint Factory headquarters.

Call the Gallery at 978-283-1857 today to place your bid!

A very exciting silent auction of original artwork is on currently on display in the NSAA galleries as part of the "Exhibition of the Sea and Science". Painted on period roofing slates removed from the historic Paint Factory building, these slates are donated to NSAA by non-profit Ocean Alliance and provide the substrate used by NSAA Artist Members to create original paintings, each approximately 12"x24" depicting a myriad images, many retelling the story of Gloucester's special relationship to the sea.

Click Here to View all Slates Available for Bidding

"Manufactory" by Anne Demeter

Jeff Weaver

"Ocean Applause" by Barbara Donnelly

"Sea Turtle" by George Martin

South Greets North Paint Out Event: Perfect Weather and Perfect Plein Air Painting Opportunities Were Enjoyed by all!

Paint Out Artists working at Lightkeeper's Residence, Cohasset

"I couldn't have asked for a better day", said Tina Watson of Cohasset," the weather was perfect!"
The second North Shore/South Shore Paint Out was held on Tuesday, July 19th, once again earning the highest praise and enthusiasm from the painters who participated.
Judythe Meagher, the North Shore coordinator and one of the originators behind this reciprocal event, initiated the first Paint Out, which was held last year in venues around Gloucester Harbor and which was hosted by the North Shore Art Association. "Last year's event was so much fun that we decided to do a reciprocal event this year."  Judythe said of this  year's trip to Cohasset, "It was a roaring success. The South Shore Arts Center members were wonderfully welcoming and treated us as honored guests. All of the participants raved about the experience. One of our North Shore Painters, Dale Blodgett, sold her painting to one of the South Shore artists, which was an additional bonus!"

Susan Drennan of Danvers and Holly Popeo of N. Reading

After a morning get together at the South Shore Art Center, the painters split off in groups, some painting portraits from life model on Cohasset Common, others finding their way to the Cohasset Sailing Club, The Lighthousekeeper's Residence at Minot Light, and picturesque scenes along Bailey's Creek and Cohasset Harbor. North Shore artist Shirley Hamilton said of her chosen spot, overlooking Bailey's Creek, "It's a gorgeous sight. It was definitely worth the trip!." After a day of painting the artists reconvened at the South Shore Art Center where they displayed their work and mingled with their fellow artists and new found friends.

Karen Ristuben presents : The Intersection of Marine Science, Conservation, Activism and Arts" Saturday, July 23rd, 3:00 pm at NSAA

PRESIDENT OF ROCKY NECK ART COLONY AND ARTS/CONSERVATION ACTIVIST, KAREN RISTUBEN, IN A SPECIAL PRESENTATION, "The Intersection of Marine Science, Conservation, Activism and Arts". This is the third offering in a series addressing the interconnection of the Art and Sciences as part of NSAA's "Art in Action-Connecting Communities" initiative for their 2016 season. Saturday, July 23rd, at 3p.m. Open Free to the Public.

About the Lecturer
Karen Ristuben, President of Rocky Neck Art Colony, Artist and Environmental Activist

Fascinated by the transparency and reflectivity of glass, and similarly those  qualities in our ocean waters, highly regarded Arts and Environmental activist and major force for the growth of the arts on Cape Ann, Karen Ristuben will offer a dynamic look at the ways in which marine science, conservation, and the arts can positively impact each other. Through photography, video, sound, and performance with "environmental advocacy at the core" her goal is "to expand the efforts of scientists working on issues of ocean contamination and public health" and to stimulate interest, involvement and awareness in the general public.

By using the arts to present fascinating information about our ocean environment, she believes that visual, sensory offerings provide an emotional experience allowing audiences to come away not only with new and interesting information, but also a desire to learn how they can make a difference. Aesthetically compelling experiences can be transformational in stimulating individuals' discovery that they can, in whatever way personally appeals to them, make a direct difference in the protection of our oceans and planet.
Karen Ristuben's presentation promises to be not only an innovative educational experience, but also a stimulating and exciting melding of the Arts and Sciences.
Supporting Ocean Alliance's mission to protect and preserve our oceans and marine life and North Shore Arts Association and Rocky Neck Art Colony's mission of supporting the arts, an "Art Exhibition of the Sea and Science" continues through July 30th in the galleries of NSAA. Although works of all genres will  be on display, the main focus will be works depicting the sea and Cape Ann.

 The North Shore Arts Association's galleries are open, free to the public, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m.           

           

           

Dr. Roger Payne and Lisa Harrow present "SEACHANGE: Reversing the Tide", Thursday, July 7 at 7 - 8 p.m. at North Shore Arts

Winslow Homer "West Point, Prout's Neck"

Please join us Thursday, July 7th at 7 p.m. for a presentation by Dr. Roger Payne, founder and President of Ocean Alliance in collaboration with his wife, well known actress Lisa Harrow.  The lecture/performance piece, "SEACHANGE: Reversing the Tide" is  one of the events tied to a special exhibition titled "Art of the Sea and Science" which Ocean Alliance and the North Shore Arts Association have launched in and  examination of the issues facing the marine environment and a celebration of the mystery and beauty of the ocean.  A $5.00 donation is encouraged.

"Paint Factory" slate by Sharon Bahosh

A very unique component of the "Art Exhibition of the Sea and Science" is the show and silent auction of works by NSAA artists painted on original roofing slates removed from the historic Paint Factory building. These historic slates were donated to NSAA by non-profit Ocean Alliance and they provide the substrate used by Artist Members to create original works, each approximately 12" x 24" depicting a wide range of images inspired by Gloucester, the sea, and its inhabitants. Bids for the silent auction may be place June 17 through July 30 by visiting or contacting NSAA. One hundred per cent of the silent auction proceeds will go to fund the ongoing restoration the NSAA's gallery building and Ocean Alliance's Paint Factory headquarters. Click here:  http://nsarts.org/2016_Slate_Auction.html to see all of the slates available for bid from now until July 30th at 5pm. Visit or  call the gallery to place your bid!  978-283-1857.

About the Lecturers and Performers
Dr. Roger Payne, Ocean Alliance President and Founder
Dr. Roger Payne states, "I am so disappointed that the Arts and Sciences are taught separately-both the Art and the Sciences lose. They should be co-mingled." Ocean scientist Payne embodies the best of the Arts and Sciences functioning together to do something probably neither could have done separately.
Ocean Alliance CEO Ian Kerr share, "Because Dr. Payne is a musician..because he is an artist/scientist, his training allowed him to identify, and make the most profound discovery about humpback whales. That whales sing songs!" Prior to his discovery in 1967, along with Scott McVay, whale sounds were a mystery. Payne knew, however, that "a song is a rhythmically repeated collection of notes" and was able, because of his music training, to identify the particular songs of individual whales that he later confirmed can be heard over thousands of miles of ocean.
Having worked aboard the sloop "Clearwater" in support of Pete Seeger's efforts to clean up the Hudson River in New York, Payne is considered a pioneer in his field. In the hope of sharing the work of artists/scientists, recordings of whale songs were place aboard American Satellites Voyager I and II. Drs. Payne and Kerr have also stimulated interest in conserving our oceans and marine life by testifying before Congress and presenting before the United Nations.
Lisa Harrow, actress, author, and environmental activist
Lisa was born in Auckland, New Zealand and is a noted actress well known in the UK for her roles in British theatre, films and television. Her career started at the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has performed on stage all across America, and has appeared in major television and film roles in the US. One role for which she is well known in this country is that of Nancy Astor, the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons. That BBC drama, Nancy Astor, aired in the US 1982 on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre.
Lisa Harrow is the author of the environmental handbook "What Can I Do?" published in separate editions for Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the United States.

About SEACHANGE: Reversing the Tide (performed by Dr. Roger Payne and his wife noted British actress Lisa Harrow
What is the most consequential contribution of science in the past 100 years? Is is E=mc2, the structure of DNA, decoding the human genome, plate tectonics, the computer revolution, putting a man on the moon, the development of nuclear weapons? None of those directly affects the lives of every human being on earth-most indigenous peoples are simply unaware of all of them. However, respect for the hundreds of species that make the world habitable for us, and with which we interdepend is utterly consequential. Indigenous people were first to guess at it but scientific discovery during the past 50 years has proved it. And the consequence of that discovery is-if we ignore the destruction of the wild world until it can no longer keep the world habitable, our species will not survive.
The evidence for and the consequences of this broad claim are explored in SEACHANGE: Reversing the Tide. In this hour long presentation Roger Payne and his wife, actress Lisa Harrow combine the knowledge of science with the wisdom of poetry to argue compellingly that man is not the overseer of Life on earth but an integral part of Life's complex web and conclude that the most consequential scientific discovery of the past 100 years is the realization that our species' survival requires that we attend not just to our own well being but to the well being of the entire web of Life-nothing else we can ever do will be nearly as consequential as understanding that point. The audience emerges with a clear understanding of humanity's role in the natural world and of the urgency of our need to start living sustainably.
Since 2004, Roger and Lisa have presented this program to audiences in universities, film festivals, schools, churches, conferences, libraries and other public spaces; off-Broadway, the UN, and in people's living rooms, throughout the US, as well as in New Zealand and the UK.
Currently, a team of New Zealand/Canadian documentary makers are raising the funds from international sources to make a film of the piece, which they are calling Pale Blue Dot after Carl Sagan's book, and extract from which are the last words of SEACHANGE.

"SEACHANGE moves its viewers. The strength of its ecological convictions derive from well-marshalled facts of the reality of our despoilment of the planet, and the emotional impact of the poetry the piece uses. Most importantly, Harrow and Payne turn away from despair to what is to be done."
-Roald Hoffman
Nobel Laureate, chemist and writer

"Thank you, both of you, for that haunting and lovely stage piece. You had me thrumming all the way home."
-Lawrence Wechsler
Director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU

Also on display in the galleries of the North Shore Arts Association is the Artist Members Exhibition II  "Art of the Sea and Science", and the New Artist Members Show. Both exhibitions are on display at our harborside galleries from June 17 through July 30th  and are free and open to the public.