Gardiner Cupcake Festival Serves up a smorgasbord of #GOSTdoors

GOSTdoors before they are installed
at the Gardiner Cupcake Festival

GOSTdoors At the Gardiner Cupcake Festival

The Gardiner Open Studio Tour comes only once each Spring to Gardiner NY. Since its second year of existence, it has always been preceded by the mysterious appearance of a fanciful and intriguing art installation made out of artist painted doors.

The first year they appeared, the GOSTdoors were scattered along the many roads and byways of the Hudson Valley towns of New Paltz and Gardiner. One day nothing, and the next day, they would just pop up all over the place. People were puzzled. What were these, what did they mean? "Hey look, another one of those funny doors...." The GOSTartists would go out all at once and put up all the doors in one single day of mad post pounding and screwdriving just to add to the fun and surprise.

A row of figurative GOSTdoors at the Gardiner Cupcake Festival. It was a great chance to see them up all together as a group. Most often the doors are spread all over the place and it's harder to see the diversity of approach than it is here.

Then a week or so later, the little hashtag signs went up: "#GOSTdoors". Then a week after that the big yellow banners went up announcing the Gardiner Open Studio Tour. This year, that's happening later than last year. Don't worry, you haven't missed the Tour. The Tour will be on June 3rd & 4th, 10am - 6pm both days.

This year there were twenty-five GOSTdoors at the Gardiner Cupcake Festival.

[TOUR HINT: Get out on the Tour early. Between 10am and 11am you'll have the artists all to yourself while everyone else is still luxuriating over a big breakfast at one of our sponsors like Cafe' Mio in Gardiner, or still in bed recovering from the night before and that delicious dinner they ate at The Mountain Brau Haus.]


But I digress -- the GOSTdoors. Well you might notice on the big yellow banners it says: "Go Behind the Doors." That's the artists' doors, the doors to the artists' studios. We are all opening our doors to you, the public, because we love to share what we do, and to share a little about how we do it and why.

Why do artists make art? Fair question, be sure to ask it if you want to on the Tour. How do we do it? What does it mean? What is your inspiration? No question is really out of bounds, and you may be astonished by the answer, or not, but we are offering you the opportunity to ask.

Is the artwork on the GOSTdoors representative of the various artists who did them? The answer is: "It depends." The idea behind the GOSTdoors was to allow the artists on the studio tour to create a visual representation of the diversity of their styles and approaches to artmaking. There are no rules for the GOSTdoors, no jury selecting them, and we leave them out in the rain and sun--not the usual place for paintings on wood.

Mostly the doors do not reflect the typical work of the artists on the tour. The artists who contributed #GOSTdoors were really just trying to share their playful enthusiasm for artmaking, not intending to "advertise" their particular style or demonstrate their ultimate skills. The GOSTdoors are just meant to be fun and whimsical and a bit of a tease, so that if you would like to learn more you should come out on the Gardiner Open Studio Tour and meet the artists of the tour for yourself.  Our doors are open....

We are on the radio just a few days before the Gardiner Open Studio Tour.

WKZE Radio Redhook interviews artist and chairman of the GOST

It was very exciting to do a radio interview this past week with radio host Will at WKZE Radio in Redhook NY. I'd actually never done a radio interview before and it was fun. It was definitely good to get the word out about the tour, which is this weekend.

The weather looks hopeful and the artists are all getting ready. So pick up a map and artist guide or download one from our website and go on tour!

If you want to learn more about the GOST and skip reading things, give a listen to this YouTube version of the radio interview with an accompanying slideshow of artists' work and shots of the #GOSTdoors.

Click here for the: WKZE Radio Interview and Slideshow for 2016 Gardiner Open Studio Tour

Signs of Spring: GOST 2016 - the banners are going up around town. Can the #GOSTdoors won't be far behind.

GOST sign at the NYS Thruway Exit in New Paltz, NY. Find our Artist Guide and Studio Tour Map Brochures in many local stores and online at www.GOSTartists.org.

Gardiner NY is the home of the #GOSTartists and #GOSTdoors. Join the tour at the end of this month. April 30 & May 1, 2016.

Look for the #GOSTdoors to be on display this weekend in Gardiner and around the area after that. The GOSTdoors are artist painted doors placed in and around the local landscape, and they stand weirdly in the absence of anything that needs a door to enter. But the GOSTdoors allow you to enter the world of art without having to go to the museum, or a gallery. They are meant to be playful and fun and inviting.

Then at the end of April, "Go Behind the Doors," by taking the Gardiner Open Studio Tour. It's a free self-guided art studio tour of the studios of 22 artists in Gardiner. Though the tour used to be twice a year, it's now only one time per year, in the Spring. So don't miss your only chance this year to see what's happening here in the art studios of the GOSTartists.

Gost Arts

When you are a muralist, it takes a village!

Muralists always need something to paint on.

The #GOSTartists were drawn together by a desire to express ourselves in our community. When we got started thinking about the diverse array of talented and creative folks who lived unobtrusively here among us, we began to realize that there really were a lot of artists here in Gardiner. Wouldnt it be great if we could just draw them out. We first began meeting in 2012 and considering what we could do to promote the arts in our town. Back then, before the first tour, before the first #GOSTdoors were painted and displayed, before our first group show, we had no inkling of our future impact.

Over the years our efforts have been embraced by many residents in the village and throughout our area. This is particularly noticeable in that there are now four large murals painted by members of the GOSTartists right in Gardiner, NY.

The murals mentioned in the attached article from the Gardiner Gazette were painted by Lady Pink, and Annie O'Neill in the Spring of 2015, and they are on Arch Street opposite Pasquales Pizza in the very center of town.

Mural by Stacie Flint, Gardiner, NY Fall 2015

Stacie Flint's mural in Gardiner was not mentioned in this article from last summer because it had not yet been painted, early Fall of 2015. It was painted in anticipation of the Fall 2015 GOST on the side of a tool shed facing Main Street  (Rte. 44-55) a few streets North of Arch Street. All three of these works are quite different in style and in expression and yet they all convey a fresh and lively feel which is adding pizzaz to our town as it develops and grows more art and visitor friendly.

More recently another mural was painted at the Gardiner Recycling Center at the very end of Steve's Lane, by Roger Smith, another member of the GOSTartists.

These works are a direct result of the work of members of the GOSTartists to engage the community and put art out in the world. That is a very important part of the mission of the Gardiner Open Studio Tour. To bring people to art and to bring art to people.

Which is also why the #GOSTdoors will be back in town this year. Keep an eye out. Lady Pink Queen of Doors is working hard to see that we have lots of new doors this year to share with one and all.

EDITOR'S NOTE:  In the Gardiner Gazette Article, it is mentioned that The Gardiner Open Studio Tour is held each Spring and Fall. While that was correct at the time of the writing of the article, it is no longer the case. There will only be one Open Studio event each year, so don't miss it. The GOST will be held each Spring on the First Weekend in May. However, the GOSTartists will be doing other things throughout the year.

JP

www.GOSTartists.org


[Thanks to the Gardiner Gazette for permission to reprint their articles.]

ARTIST PROFILE: Meadow - Mixed-media, multi-talented, Meadow is nothing if not a bold and fearless art-maker, teacher, and charmer.

Wild flowers of ideas, bees buzzing among them make the honey of art.

Yes, 'Meadow' is the only name she has ever given me. I must say it seems fitting because she has always reminded me of a meadow in bloom, filled with ideas and energy made of wild flowers and the bees that buzz among them. Meadow has been a community oriented artist and arts organizer all of her life, from teaching at a college level in several disciplines, to running an artist loft community in NYC and lots else in between. Like many members of the #GOSTartists she has added her experience and enthusiasm for bringing art out of the studio and into the world through her participation with the #GOSTdoors, numerous other group exhibitions put on by the Gardiner Open Studio Tour, and by running an Artist Salon at the Pine Bush Library for several years. The Salon has provided a forum for the community to meet with area artists and hear about their work, their medium and what makes being an artist so interesting both for the artist and for the art appreciating public. -- JP

Keeping Up With Meadow!

By: Mike Bingham

Lucille from Meadow's Boid series.

It’s my privilege to provide a brief GOST artist narrative for Meadow, as a representative of Kiss My Face (a GOST sponsor), sharing what I’ve come to know of Meadow’s artistic history & prowess as a tenant of 3 1/2 years at her Woodrock Studios complex.

.....Mike Bingham

Meadow is one of those unique artists who is always great at any art media she touches! Which is a good thing since, as a mixed-media artist, she switches gears often! She is frequently found working on multiple two-dimensional and three-dimensional projects at the same time. Claiming to get bored or stale if she stays with one medium to long, she relishes in the challenge of something new. She says, “It keeps me excited and my blood flowing... I love the angst of a blank slate.”

Meadow usually produces her art in a series. She’ll work a particular idea through within one medium, constructing anywhere from 6-20 pieces before she feels like she’s producing a product or just repeating herself. For Meadow, switching mediums or being asked to participate in a new themed show is like stepping up to the batter’s plate... “You never know what will come at you or what the results will be!”

Meadow does sometimes return to explore past series to create a new work. However, the new work always has a little different slant and tone... be that an updated version, or an extension of the precious thematic work. Clay is a medium within which Meadow has worked for almost 60 years. Her work ranges significantly from eight-foot sculptures to two inch “Little Littles” and everything in between. She always seems to return to it as she finds it to be very grounding and forgiving... “You can make almost anything with clay.”

A recent revival from the past is her production of two large Wood Spirit Series installations for the Samuel Dorsky Museum “Hudson Valley Artist’s Show.” For this artistic endeavor, Meadow used the wood from a black walnut tree she had to take down, as it was too close to her house. She was able to use up most of the tiny limbs, small branches and logs that would normally just become firewood. In her reincarnation of the tree, she was honoring her passionate feelings and connection to trees... and particularly that tree that has graced the grounds of Woodrock for over 25 years.

Meadow has lots of “next batter-up artistic activities planned and underway. First up will be using her Boid Series to create a painted door, that will be displayed in Gardiner, as part of the live-advertising for the upcoming Gardiner Open Studio Tour, (GOST)... followed by new pieces from her Heritage Ceramics Series, also for the GOST event coming up at the end of April.

And right after that, she’ll be installing a large piece from the Written Word Series for the Hebrew Museum, as a featured artist in their new exhibition “Numbers”. In between all this she is mounting a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to self-publish the children’s books she has been writing for years. There seems to be no end to the creative ability and stamina that Meadow is able to sustain. It’s pretty amazing! You go Girl!!

Artist Profile: Annie O'Neill - whether in clay, grasping a paint brush or cutting metal for a sculpture, Annie O, leaves her mark!

While Annie was not born in Gardiner, she appears to know everyone, just ask around! 

As a member of the #GOSTartists she has proven over and over that she has the inside track around here. As an artist there is variety in her work, though her love of Mexican folk motifs appears no matter the medium she's working in. This folk art flavoring gives her painting and pottery a delightful playfulness that is the perfect antidote for people who feel intimidated by more formal styles of artistic expression.

Annie herself can also be vigorously irreverent which also serves her well in her work. If you see any of her #GOSTdoors you will recognize them right away.

Annie with of of her #GOSTdoors from the Fall 2015

Join the Gardiner Open Studio Tour, this April 30th & May 1st, and don't miss Annie's work on the tour.

Special Thanks to the Gardiner Gazette for permitting the printing of their articles for the #GOSTartists blog.

Painter Stacie Flint paints with colors that surprise and delight the viewer!

Stacie Flint's paintings are out in the world!

Stacie has an outdoor mural to her credit in Gardiner, NY and several wonderful #GOSTdoors that were displayed during past Gardiner Open Studio Tours. More of Stacie's cheerful Doors are coming too! Her art has been featured on the Chronogram and other magazine covers, and she has produced many commissions and works for publication. Stacie is dynamic member and recording secretary of #GOSTartists and a very active participant in the local arts scene. She recently joined ROOST GALLERY in New Paltz, a community gallery and non-profit community arts organization that should be opening soon in downtown New Paltz on Main St.

She recently published an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal, this past Feb. which is shown below. Images of her work are available on her website:  http://stacieflint.com

Come out to visit Stacie and all the other GOSTartists on the Gardiner Open Studio Tour this coming April 30 - May 1, 2016, Saturday and Sunday, 10am - 6pm both days.  More info, Artist Guide and Self-Guided Tour Map available for download at: http://www.GOSTartists.org

Also, don't miss this year's Early Bird Raffle, and your chance to win a gift certificate of up to $100 by signing in at any of the GOST studios between 10am  and 11am on either of the two days of tour.

Poughkeepsie Journal, Feb. 26th, 2016 - What Inspires Me by Stacie Flint

Artist Profile: CYNTHIA WINIKA - Pyrotechics and Mycology come together to add nature and chaos into a unique kind of mixed media work process.

CYNTHIA WINIKA


Cynthia Winika is a talented mixed-media artist whose life has given her a background in both Western and Eastern traditions.  She is also the best-known teacher of encaustic painting at R & F Paints in Kingston.  Easy, outgoing, imaginative, and very engaged, she has helped many an artist (myself included) master the challenges of painting in molten beeswax.

In her own work, Cynthia is constantly exploring ways to bring life and art together.  One literally explosive example is the use of fireworks, which she lights above a large paper.  As the fireworks die, their afterlife of marks and fired elements become part of collages to which she adds her own drawings and sketches, bits of found objects, colored papers, and transfers.   Anchored in wax, visible from two sides, the works assume a new life in a larger, created whole.  

Similarly, Cynthia brings her adventures as a serious mycologist to bear in her art.  Gathering all manner of fungi from as close by as her backyard, she experiments with making mushroom spore prints in encaustic paintings that illuminate the imagination as the stars illuminate the sky.  These natural and mysterious elements are gathered into beautiful works of art.

Cynthia’s resume is a long and rich list that reflects a life of teaching, creating, and displaying art in institutions around the United States.  Her studies took her to Hawaii and Taiwan, as well as more familiar venues closer to home.  She is a stalwart of the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale and her work has been collected by several museums, including the Museum of Modern Art.   In 2006, an exhibition of her fungi-based art in New York City was written about in the New York Times.  More recently, the International Encaustic Artists named her the best teacher of 2014.


Marilyn Perry
3/14/16

GOSTartists Block Party Opens Doors in Gardiner, NY

GARDINER GETS DOOR'ED in advance of the Gardiner Open Studio Tour

September 26th was a beautiful autumn day in the hamlet of Gardiner; people strolled the art-lined sidewalks, visiting with one another and patronized local establishments There were donkey rides and face painting. This village-wide collaboration between the artists of the Gardiner Open Studio Tour, local businesses and property owners on Main Street was an exciting moment to be part of.

 The installation of the doors had mostly taken place the days before the party, but GOSTdoors, tents and balloons were still going up all morning to make ready for this party.

Traffic slowed as drivers cruised past the 30 or so #GOSTdoors lining the village's Main street from Cafe Mio to the Gardiner Reformed Church and all around Bill Richards green lawn in the center of town.

It was the day of the GOSTartists’ block party on Main Street. As part of the festivities, local high school students from Wallkill HS joined in the spirit of the day, painting their own doors under the enthusiastic eyes of their teachers, parents, friends and GOSTartist, Lady Pink who coordinated the student project. Together they worked out on the green and painted their own doors live, for all to see. The capstone of the day was to offer visitors a chance to bid on the wonderful hand painted GOSTdoors created by the Gardiner Open Studio Tour artists.

The event was a great success.  The theme of the day was art and community. And the purpose was to bring art to the hamlet, and raise funds for the Gardiner Library. Thanks to donations from the artists and others and sales of several GOSTdoors to generous friends and neighbors, money was raised for the Gardiner Library.

The block party was also intended to raise awareness of the upcoming Gardiner Open Studio Tour. During this free event, local artists will be welcoming the public into their studios on Columbus weekend, October, 10, 11 and 12, 10am-5pm.

We would like to thank all of the GOSTartists whose art adorns our lovely town: Pam Booth, Stacie Flint, Keri Gould, Lynn Isaacson, Leonie Lacouette, Marsha Massih, Andrea McFarland, Meadow, Annie O'Neill, Jonathan Pazer, Marilyn Perry, Lady Pink, Roger Smith, Jean Tansey John A. Varriano and DM Weil.
We also had doors painted and contributed to the exhibition by friends of the Tour, including Ryan Cronin, Liz Glover Wilson, Julie Muck, and Bruce Pileggi.

We would like to thank all the following for their assistance and support in bringing the GOST-artists’ Block Party to life: Tracey Bartels, Bill Richards, Tuthilltown Spirits, Laurie Willow and Ophelia the donkey, Kay Churchill, Bill and Elaine Case, Emily Santos, Pasquale's Pizza, Docinha Sweet Shoppe, Andy Cimino, Horatio Geminiano, Carol Berman, Olivia Profaci, Francheska Geminiano, Dawn Correa, Tammy Grandolfo, Carl Zatz, Petey Hop, Debbie and Raffaela of Walden Savings Bank, Cathy Erenzo, Gable Erenzo and the art students of Wallkill HS.

The GOSTdoors of Gardiner will remain up until after the Gardiner Open Studio Tour, this weekend, Oct. 10, 11 & 12, 2015. 10am - 5pm all three days.

Artist Guide, and Tour Map available at many local businesses in Gardiner and New Paltz, NY. Also available for download on our website: www.GOSTartists.org

Finally a big thank you to visionary Gardinerite and project director for the GOSTartists' block party, Robin Hayes.

GOST Artiner

Spring is here in earnest - so is the Gardiner Open Studio Tour

SPRING GOST 2015-May 2nd & 3rd

It's just one day till the Gardiner Open Studio Tour starts on May 2nd & 3rd. The towns of Gardiner NY and New Paltz NY have really woken up to the artistic exuberance of our #GOSTartists members through our #GOSTDOORS project, and with the help of the wonderful mural painted in Gardiner NY on Arch Street by Lady Pink, with help from Roger Smith, Annie O'Neill, Stacy Flint, and Jean Tansey who are all members of our group and showing work on this Spring's tour.

We are excited to have gotten coverage in the local paper, and the GOSTDOORS really were a great success for our group. We all found it to be a very rewarding group project and also we are so pleased that our towns' have enjoyed it too. We've all had many positive comments, including questions like, "hey how do 'we' get a door next time?"

 Read about the #GOSTDOORS Community Art Project in last week's New Paltz Times here:
GOSTDOORS show up all over town what does it mean

Our Artist Guide and Map brochures are literally almost "everywhere."

While it's possible to print the Artist Guide and Map off of our website at: www.GOSTartists.org that's not the best way to see them. Try to pick one up at one of the many places that have been hosting them for us. If you find them all gone, please call us and we'll send some over, but don't give up.

One sure-fire location to get the Artist Guide and Map is at the DM Weil Gallery. It's a stop on our tour and it's our Tour HQ. They will have maps and be able to answer any questions that you may have about the tour, the artists on the tour, directions etc.

Gardiner Open Studio Tour HQ

DM Weil Gallery

208 Bruynswick Rd

New Paltz, NY 12561

845-255-3336

info@GOSTartists.org

www.GOSTartists.org

In addition to the DM Weil Gallery, the Artist Guide and Map brochures are out all up and down Main Street in New Paltz. You can find them in Lower New Paltz at The Bakery, Manny's Art Supply, P&G's The Main Street Bistro, the Cafeteria, Krauses Chocolates, Enquiring Minds Bookstore, Barner Books, Rock and Snow, The Golden Otter, and in Waterstreet Market in the Mud Puddle Cafe, and the Cheese Plate.

In Mid-New Paltz there are maps at Rhinebeck Artist Shop at the mall at Rt. 32 & Main St. 299. They can also be found at other places in and around New Paltz including in no particular order: Exxon Gas Station at the Thruway exit, Wallkill Farm View Market on Rt. 299, Jenkin-Lukens Farm Stand on Rt. 299, the Mountain Brau Haus, Beeks Auto, and the Mountain Bistro all at Rts. 299 & 44-55, along with farm stands on Rt. 208.

In village of Gardiner NY you will find our brochure at the Gardiner Library at the end of Arch Street, don't miss the mural by Lady Pink right there, the Villiage Market, Cafe Mio and at Pasquales Pizza & Restaurant, all along Main St. in Gardiner which is also Rt. 44-55.  Other Gardiner locations include, Tuthilltown Distillery, Robibero Winery, Empire State Bank and the Natural Pet Center at Ireland Corners. They have also found their way to various hotels, B & B's, restaurants, etc., all over the immediate area and beyond. All together we have put out more than 7000 Artist Guide and Tour Map flyers for this tour.

Our thanks to all of these local businesses for hosting our flyers and in that way directly supporting the arts community of Gardiner.

Enjoy the Tour!

Jonathan Pazer
Chair - Gardiner Open Studio Tour

Recent article from Apr. 30th New Paltz Times, p 19.

Art, Doors and Community Action in New Paltz and Gardiner,NY. #GOSTDOORS Project

GOSTDOORS lined up for their group photo before we put them out on Saturday

GOSTS Artists mount our very first art happening in New Paltz and Gardiner. GOSTDOORS pop up like spring flowers.

Twice each year for the last several years the artists of the Gardiner Open Studio Tour have worked together to raise awareness in Gardiner / Newpaltz and surrounding towns of the richness and diversity of the local artist community right in Gardiner itself.

We have organized an artist tour exclusively for Gardiner's artists. We arranged for the artists to all be available on the same weekend, and for them all to open their doors to the public.

We have created and printed an Artist Guide and Tour Map showing who the Gardiner artists are and where our studios can be found. Those who pick up a map and follow it can visit artists' studios and they may get some insight into our work and be able to observe and appreciate our enthusiasm and energy for what we do. Many of our friends and neighbors and people from far and wide, from NYC, Connecticut, and New Jersey have participated in past Tours. 

Members of the Gardiner Open Studio Tour at the  Opening for the group's art show at the
Gardiner Villiage Library in Gardiner, NY.

But this just was not enough for us. We felt that we needed to put our work out into the public realm not hidden behind our studio doors.

The #GOSTDOORS Project was a big deal for us, it was a big fun project that required a lot of hands and a lot of coordination. Thanks to Lady Pink for doing the organizing and for the inspiration for this art happeing. We had to go out and find seventeen used doors, and seventeen artists committed to paint one door each. We reached out to many people in the community in order to find the seventeen sites that would agree to host a door. While some people declined to get involved, most were enthusiastic about the project. On a recent Saturday, three crews of artists, painters and photographers donned work boots, grabbed sledgehammers and post drivers and set off to install all of the artworks throughout our the Gardiner / New Paltz area. 

Immelda shaking hands with Art-too Green-too, on her lawn
in Gardiner, NY.

Annie O'Neill's door wrapped around a tree in New Paltz, NY.

People noticed.... They walked past as we worked, and looked at the art work and said, "Cool..." and "Wow!" We saw people taking selfies with doors. The cumulative impact of these multiple installations will draw questions.

A horizontal GOSTDOOR at STS in Gardiner, NY by Craig Booth. A cool feature
of this door is that the front wheel and exhaust pipe are actual separate metal and
wire sculptural pieces that were added to the door.

Why doors? Well I touched on that in my last blog post. They are usually barriers, now they are artworks, usually they keep people out, now they are an invitation to explore.

Our goals...to encourage engagement between the Gardiner artist community and the community at large. To enliven our environment with artwork and to display the energy that we as artists bring to our participation in the social life of our little corner of the Hudson Valley.

Jonathan Pazer
Chairman, Gardiner Open Studio Tour

More info:
Gardiner Open Studio TourSpring GOST 2015 - May 2 & 3
Saturday & Sunday 10am to 5pm


Web: http://www.GOSTartists.org
Email: info@GOSTartists.org
Tel.: (845) 255-3336