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11/02/2016 06:00 AMArtists in Branford, Stony Creek, Guilford, and Madison open their studios to the public once again for the 15th annual Shoreline ArtsTrail weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 12 and 13.
All mediums are represented in this juried event: paint, photography, pottery, print making, sculpture, textiles, cut paper, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, and more.
The free event affords visitors the opportunity to meet dozens of artists one-on-one in their studios, ask questions, see their newest art projects, enjoy refreshments, and get a jump on holiday shopping for original, one-of-a-kind gifts, all while supporting local artists.
We spoke to artists from several shoreline town, each working in a different medium—both old timers and first timers—to provide a taste of the diverse and vibrant art one can expect to see when venturing out onto this year's trail.
Martha Link Walsh, Branford, paper artist
A charter member of the arts trail, Martha Link Walsh remembers meeting with a half a dozen or so artists in Stony Creek about 16 years ago to talk about creating some kind of joint venture.
"We brainstormed about how many people work alone in their homes," Walsh recalls, "and have to go out and show their work, and we thought, wouldn't it be neat if we could get people to come to our own studios to see how we work, where we work, and to sell our work."
They kicked off the first ArtsTrail in 2003 with 13 artists, eight of whom continue to participate.
"We were one of the earliest arts trails in Connecticut," Walsh notes. "There was really no outlet for artists per se. Now (among others) we have Open Studios in New Haven, and a new arts trail in Wallingford."
"The whole thing has gotten so much more professional, in terms of the photography and promoting it through advertising, the website, brochures," Walsh says. "We know have more than 40 participating artists, who are juried in, so we can keep the quality high."
Walsh is a self-taught paper artist who began doing paper cutting 43 years ago, while employed as a math teacher. Today she is a full-time paper artist doing both commissioned and fine art work out of her Martha Link Walsh Gallery in a turn-of-the-century building on Route 1 in Branford. She's also published two books on the subject.
"When I first started doing paper cutting, I only found one person in Pennsylvania doing it—the very traditional way," Walsh says. "Now they're teaching all kinds of paper arts in art schools, it's exhibited in museum shows, and if you do a Google search on paper cutting, you can spend days [researching] it!"
Walsh says she's always experimenting and has gotten into layering multi colors in her pieces. Flowers are a big subject, along with vegetables, seashore scenes, cats, and other animals.
In addition to her framed pieces, visitors who come to her studio can expect to see her 2017 calendar with a different flower for each month, 10 new Christmas ornament designs, her new Santa—she does one from a different country each year, and luminaria shades to put over wine glasses.
Robert Morris, Guilford, painter and pen-and-ink artist
This is the first time on the trail for Robert Morris, who lives with his wife Gitta in the historic Foundry tower on Fair Street in downtown Guilford.
He decided to join since two other artist friends on the same street—Laura Flaherty (painter and jeweler) and Estelle Nussbaum (oil painter) were already on the trail.
Morris's distinguished career as an artist spans six decades, beginning in the mid-1950s after he received his BFA from Yale University and his MFA from the University of Texas.
His work has been exhibited widely in galleries in New York City, Connecticut, and Texas. It is also in museum and private collections.
Over the past decade, Morris has switched from large acrylic paintings on canvas to pen-and-ink works in which he applies lines using a ruling pen that holds acrylic paints, and a straight edge to create his perfectly clear sharp lines. The result is painstakingly detailed scenes that combine reality with fantasy.
"My work almost invariably has something to do with architecture, and I think that's because my roommates were architecture students and I was always fascinated with the idea of architecture—without actually doing it."
Growing up in New York City, many of Morris's works on paper feature the Manhattan skyline and architecture, but not in a literal sense.
Morris has a grand time deconstructing and reconstructing buildings and in one drawing alone he may combine styles of architecture from different countries and historical periods—creating unexpected and intriguing new combinations.
He also likes adding cars and airplanes to his drawings, and birds have joined the skies in his recent artwork.
Morris says he never plans out his drawings and never tires of the hours of intricate work that goes into each one.
"I enjoy making it more challenging for myself [with each new drawing]. I like seeing it happen," he says. "You have this piece of paper and you can put something together that's reality—but it isn't. I have no idea how it's going to end up. I start with a building that gets my attention, and I take it from there."
Morris will be showing and selling framed and unframed original works at his home studio during the arts trail weekend.
Alice Chittenden, potter, Wildwood Farm, Madison
Alice Chittenden creates both functional and sculptural ceramic pieces on the wheel or using hand building methods and sometimes combining the two. Her rich, earthy glazes complement each piece.
Chittenden has been participating on the arts trail for 10 years. Up until three years ago, she exhibited her work out of her home studio in North Guilford, but has now joined fiber artist Laura Lyons at Wildwood Farm in Madison because it's more centrally located for the public.
"We usually have very good traffic," she says. "It's just great that people want to see your work and talk with you, so it's a win-win. It's such a wonderful mix of people who come—young, old, people studying themselves in whatever medium, people that just appreciate art and love to support local artists."
She's been a working artist since graduating from Hartford Art School, University of Hartford in 1978, and receiving an MALS degree from Wesleyan University. She has also taught for many years at The Guilford Art Center, as well as Wesleyan Potters and Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven.
Chittenden says she will never tire of working with clay.
"There are so many directions you can take with clay and new techniques all the time," she points out. "If you have a particular interest, you can incorporate it. [For example], if you're more of a painter, your work will reflect that in its surface design. If you're someone who likes textures or printmaking, people are printing on clay slabs these days. I love clay in all its forms. It's wonderful."
A recent trip to Japan proved very inspirational.
"I like older Chinese work, but I really like contemporary Japanese work, the clean lines," Chittenden says. "I respect their aesthetic standards and think that has encouraged me to increase mine. Form is so important."
Chittenden will be showing and selling functional stoneware during the arts trail weekend—bowls, platters, cups, mugs and serving pieces in a variety of glazes.
Hannah Baldwin, Stony Creek, oil painter
On the art trail for many years, Hannah Baldwin took off the last several years after her husband Joel died and she closed her B&B and moved to a new home.
This will be the first time Baldwin will be showing her paintings in her new studio. Because it's on the top floor of her home, she will also set-up a smaller gallery space on the first floor for people who may have trouble with stairs.
Baldwin graduated from Hunter College in the 1960s with a degree in art. Life experiences took her away from painting for a number of years. But in the early '90s, she discovered the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts (now Lyme Academy College) where she took portrait classes and honed her skills and began showing in galleries.
Baldwin says of her own work, "I always did a lot of expressionistic work in the past. Over the last decade it still may appear expressionistic, but it's more my attempt at traditional painting with my own set of ideas about what I'm looking at, what interests me."
She likes to paint still life works and thinks her palette is what makes hers unique.
"Some people consider it a little dark, that's my Eastern European coming through," she says. "I tend to favor earthtone palettes in all my work, my home, my clothes, everything. I'm not sure why, but it does afford, when you have that darkness, to really appreciate slight."
Another thing she likes about painting still life, as well as figures from models, is "unlike outdoors, the light won't change every 15 minutes, the wind won't knock your easel over, your hair won't fly in your face, and so you have more control over [the outcome]."
Baldwin likes the intimacy of working small these days and it also makes her paintings more affordable for visitors on the arts trail. She will be selling framed and unframed paintings in a variety of subjects: still lifes, landscapes, interiors, and figures.
The best part of being on the arts trail for Baldwin is the camaraderie.
"It never feels competitive," she says. "We go to each other's shows, send each other sympathy cards, care about each other's health. I have history with these people and I respect them. It's such an immediate connection. We've all seen each other fail and do 'a good one.' I really love it."
The 15th annual Shoreline ArtsTrail weekend will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 12 and 13. For a complete list of participating artists and locations, a trail map, and all the details, visit www.shorelineartstrail.com.