Art
Each week the Vineyard Artisans gather at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury on Thursdays and Sundays during the summer and shoulder seasons. A stroll through the aisles can feel at times like a tour down Diagon Alley. Who knows what one will encounter around the next corner? There are homemade brooms, jewelry, alpaca fleece and blackmith fashions. The materials range from leather to clay, reclaimed wood to wool, whelk to sheepskin.
Island artist Leslie Baker received first place at the fall members show at the Copley Society of Art in Boston for her oil painting Fall Birch 1. With the award, Ms. Baker’s status in the Society has been elevated to that of Copley Master. The exhibition will run from Sept. 12 to Oct. 31.
Walk into the Simon Gallery on Main street in Vineyard Haven and co-owner Ronni Simon will most likely be knitting or crocheting. Her repertoire includes scarves, shawls, ponchos, sweaters, shirts, bracelets, cuffs, earrings and necklaces. The crotchet hook is like a third hand for her.
Jeffrey Churchill has been collaging since he was a boy, papering the walls of his room with photographs from Sports Illustrated and making collage posters from National Geographic for his friends. His mother wasn’t thrilled about the wall decorations, but the posters were a hit with his friends.
The Gay Head Gallery is nestled amid a stand of scrub oak along State Road in Aquinnah. An electric vehicle charges in the driveway and inside the cozy home/gallery artwork hangs on every wall. The art depicts scenes from around the Island — a thunderstorm rolls in over the south shore, a stiff wind blows through a green pasture. But the art, while beautiful, doesn’t just please the eye. The current show is called Changing Coastlines, and the art details the way that erosion is shaping, re-shaping and, in some cases, destroying the Martha’s Vineyard coastline.
On Friday evenings during August, Vineyard Gardens in West Tisbury is transformed into a community art gallery. Works of art are arranged among the plants and paintings are hung from benches turned on end.
“The idea came from wanting to support the local artists and knowing that our flowers would complement their work and their artwork would complement our flower plant displays,” said Christine Wiley, who owns Vineyard Gardens with her husband, Chuck Wiley.