MONTPELIER ALIVE OFFERS ART WALK PROGRAM TO CENTER FOR ARTS AND LEARNING

Montpelier’s downtown organization, which has produced the bi-monthly Montpelier Art Walk events for decades, offers the management of the program to The Center for Arts and Learning (CAL), a nonprofit arts center located within the walkable downtown.

“I’m excited to expand CAL’s programmatic offerings by adding Montpelier Art Walk to our works,” said CAL executive director Phayvanh Luekhamhan. She previously managed the program as a volunteer for Montpelier Alive over ten years ago. “In a way, it’s like picking up a paintbrush again after a long time away,” she said. “I love working with the volunteer committee, many of whom I’ve worked with before.”

Katie Trautz, of Montpelier Alive, the downtown organization that had managed the program, states, “As Montpelier Alive grows capacity to meet the community need this year, we are seeking partners to help ensure our events continue. We know Phayvanh, and the Center for Arts and Learning, will uplift Artwalk and bring new life to this beloved event.”

The Montpelier Art Walk takes place on the first Friday of every even month between 4 and 8 PM in various venues in downtown Montpelier. In 2024, the program guide will also include listings for music, performance, classes, and other cultural opportunities. Montpelier Alive remains a sponsor of the program.

“I see this as a local cultural resource,” Luekhamhan said. “Downtown Montpelier is dense with creativity across many disciplines. I hope that this guide can represent that.” She hopes as well that the regular events encourage patrons to purchase art work and support the economic viability of local artists.

She still plans to display work in the two galleries at CAL. Located at 46 Barre Street, the facility is the permanent home of the Art Resource Association (a nonprofit arts group) and also hosts solo shows. Organizational partners the T.W. Wood Gallery and the Monteverdi Music School also take part in Montpelier Art Walks.

“There are many venues on Barre Street that regularly participate in Art Walk, and I see a lot of potential to celebrate the district’s revitalization. It makes a lot of sense that Montpelier Art Walk’s new home is with CAL,” Trautz said.

For more information about Montpelier Art Walk: artwalk@montpelieralive.org or cal-vt.org/artwalk

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023

24 Hour Comics 2023 Registration is Open

Come make comic books with us! Poster by Teppi Zuppo, our event organizer.

Registration is open

Artists of all abilities are invited to join us in the global creative challenge known as 24 Hour Comics–a chance for you to make (write, draw, paste-up) your original 24-page comic book! It takes place on Saturday, October 7th. Pre-register now, or at the door. We start drawing at 9 AM.

Please register using the Eventbrite form–it has the waiver and code of conduct checkboxes all there. It’ll save a lot of paperwork on the day of the event.

Get sponsors!

There’s an option on your ticket to join CAL’s fundraising team. This allows you to set up your own campaign page on our event page and start promoting your participation in the challenge. You can post ideas about your story, an example of your art, or a bio about yourself. Then share it with your friends and family and ask them to sponsor you with a donation to CAL. Here’s the fundraising page and our team so far.

Fundraising is optional but will help us to offset the cost of producing this event. Montpelier Alive contributed funds to help start this year’s effort.

What is 24 Hour Comics Day anyway?

The original challenge started in the 90s between two comic book artists and it has taken off across the world as a creative challenge for anyone. Here’s some more info about its origin.

May 22, 2023May 22, 2023

Monotype Basics

The three etching presses in The Pull Room can produce monotype prints. Monotype is an easy way to get your creative juices flowing, either as a warm up exercise or finished piece.

In all printmaking, paint (or medium) is applied to a matrix like an plexiglass or copper plate, which is then transferred to paper (or canvas) by applying pressure. In the case for monotype, the matrix is a smooth nonabsorbent surface onto which the artist applies paint directly. Monotypes are unique prints, meaning that no two prints are exactly alike.

Monotyping is a versatile printmaking technique that can be used to create a wide variety of images. The artist can use a variety of tools and materials to create the image, including brushes, rags, sponges, and even their fingers. The artist can also use a variety of inks and paints, as well as solvents and other materials to manipulate the image.

Fiona and Molly manipulate monotype plates. The plates are attached onto cardboard for easier handling.

Monotyping can be used to create a wide variety of artistic styles. The artist can create realistic images, abstract images, or even mixed-media images. Monotyping can also be used to create prints that are both beautiful and expressive.

Some of the most famous monotype artists include Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, and Edgar Degas. These artists used monotyping to create a wide variety of images, including landscapes, portraits, and abstract compositions. Their monotypes are now considered to be some of the most important works of art of the 20th century. Jasper Johns is a contemporary artist who utilized this method.

Monotyping is a versatile and expressive printmaking technique that can be used to create a wide variety of images. It is a popular technique among both traditional and contemporary artists, and it is a great way to explore the creative process.

Learning Monotype at CAL

Two monotype classes will be held in July, led by printmaker Phillip Robertson, who teaches at Northern Vermont University at Johnson. This class is open to all community members ages 16 and up. All materials will be supplied. Phillip will lead you through various applications and manipulations of paint on the matrix and will help you to pull the resulting prints. Finished prints will be wet, which you may leave to dry or take home with you. Please wear clothes you are comfortable painting in.

Class 1: July 8, 2023

Class 2: July 29, 2023

Last week the T.W. Wood and the CAL staff learned to pull monotypes with Phillip, and here’s some of what they made.

We can’t wait to see what you can do!

May 9, 2023May 10, 2023

The Pull Room: CAL’s community printmaking studio

Phayvanh Luekhamhan stands behind the Whelan Xpress Pro Printer with her right hand on the wheel. The walls are cream with red bulletin boards and blue cupboards. Photo is by Phillip Robertson. — Phayvanh Luekhamhan, CAL’s ED, stands behind our newest acquisition, a Whelan Xpress Pro etching press. The classroom is located in the school wing, home of the former River Rock School. Photo by Phillip Robertson.

Hooray!

The Center for Arts and Learning is pleased to be opening a community printmaking studio in our building at 46 Barre Street. Located in a classroom of the school wing recently vacated by the City of Montpelier, and formerly where River Rock School was housed, this room will be open to any interested member of the community ages 16 and up.

We are currently making finishing touches to the space and finalizing our schedule. We aim to provide 24 hour access to this room starting in late May. But you can sign up right now by using this form (also embedded at the bottom). We will get you started one everything is ready to go. But wait, what are you signing up for?

Membership Details

For $50 per month (or $600/yr), you will be trained on the use and care of each of the three printing presses in the Pull Room, including the Whelan XPro in the photo above.

You’ll also have access to a Richeson Baby Press and a mobile table top press. You’ll be able to reserve use of the presses in 1 hour blocks. You’ll get a cubby to store your personal materials. You’ll be expected to clean up after yourself and be respectful of everyone’s time. Member expectations are here. That’s it!

Members will also receive 10% off registration fees for any classes you’d like to take. Bring your own materials or pick some up at The Drawing Board in downtown Montpelier.

Of course, we also expect everyone to abide by our code of conduct.

Volunteer Opportunities

A limited number of volunteer opportunities are available to offset membership fees. We are seeking reliable folks to help maintain the space and manage membership questions. Please reach out to Kate Ruddle, the Pull Room staff coordinator at: programs@cal-vt.org if you’re interested in these spots.

I can’t afford a membership…

We do understand this is not in everyone’s budget. CAL will offer a few open house and community events. We can also offer limited scholarship on a case by case basis, thanks to a donation from our friends at the Alchemist Foundation. Come by during the June 2nd Art Walk and we can show you around and chat. Or contact Phayvanh any time: director@cal-vt.org

Note: Artists currently with a studio at CAL qualify for a discounted membership. Please reach out to Phayvanh if you’re interested.

I’d prefer a class first

We got you! Phillip Robertson will be leading two Monotype Basics classes in July. Monotype is so fun and easy. And Phillip is a great teacher. We’ll be adding more classes as we get them confirmed. Please follow us on Eventbrite to get notifications.

Can I teach a class?

Sure! Fill out this form and let us know what you’re interested in offering and when and what your teaching experience is. We are looking for any type of printmaking that can be worked with our etching presses. Gelli printing, cyanotype and other non-press methods are also welcome. We pay a flat rate for each class. Class size is 4-8 participants. Kate will follow up with your proposal.

The Pull Room Membership Application is below. Join us today!

August 3, 2022August 4, 2022

Join CAL’s Community of Artists: Memberships are now available

We’ve received many requests for a membership program here at CAL, and have thought through all the benefits we can provide for our artistic community. Our focus will be to develop and maintain a self-organized cohort for artists of all disciplines. Please read on for more details of our program and how to apply. If you don’t consider yourself an artist but want to support CAL’s mission, we welcome donations in any amount.

Jess shows a visitor around CAL’s Holiday Market. CAL members qualify to be in a market at a higher commission rate than non-members. Photo by Emma Norman.

Click here to apply for CAL membership

About Artist Memberships

The CAL artist community consists of all active CAL tenants, active members of the Arts Resource Association, and creative artists (students and professionals) in the community who are current on their annual dues.

Membership Benefits include opportunities to:

Exhibit (and sell) work located in the first floor Members Gallery*
Sell work at pop-up Buyer’s Square marketplace during Artwalk*
Design and teach classes and workshops (about art, PR, grants, taxes, business)*
Participate in classes and workshops at discounted rates **
Facilitate and/or participate in art/community meet-ups
Facilitate and/or participate in critique/feedback sessions
Volunteer to support CAL and earn better commission rates and discounts
Make suggestions (and help develop) new programs, outreach, etc.
Explore grant opportunities under CAL’s umbrella for fiscal sponsorship

* Members commission rate (for sales, and teaching) is 65% (35% to CAL).

Working members (volunteer 3-5 hours a quarter) commission rate is 70% (30% to CAL)

**Class fee discounts for members and working members.

Membership dues

$36/year as of date of payment. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.

An arts patron views an exhibit during a reception. CAL members qualify to show their work in the first floor Members Gallery. They may also participate in the Curation Committee. Photo by Carty.

Membership Eligibility

CAL welcomes creators of any artistic discipline (students, hobbyists and professionals) to apply for membership. Current studio tenants of CAL and current members of ARA are automatically qualified for CAL membership.

At minimum, you must:

Be a currently practicing artist (hobbyist, amateur or professional) in one or more disciplines, including fine arts, graphics, crafts, maker-arts, language and performing arts, etc.
Be 16 years old or older
Reside in Vermont
Support CAL’s Mission
Agree to CAL’s Code of Conduct

What is a “Working Member”?

Active members that contribute time towards supporting the membership program, or support CAL through specific projects, will be considered a “working member,” if they contribute 3-5 hours per quarter (every three months).

While CAL welcomes higher levels of volunteer participation, any hours contributed over 5 per quarter will be considered uncompensated volunteer time and will not accrue into the future.

Working Member Duties

To fulfill the required “working member” hours, contribute what you can, when you can! Below are links to some of the current volunteer opportunities at CAL. Please sign up if something here interests you. Please be in touch if you don’t see something listed that you would like to help with.

A very happy group of painters with their leader Katie O’Rourke. CAL members may offer classes and programs to the membership or the general public under our umbrella. Photo by Phayvanh Luekhamhan.

About The Center for Arts and Learning

The Center for Arts and Learning (CAL) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit located in Montpelier, dedicated to fostering an arts community for everyone. We do this by offering private studios, gallery exhibits, fiscal sponsorship and arts programming. We are located at 46 Barre Street in Montpelier, which serves as the permanent home of CAL’s founding partners, the Monteverdi Music School and the T.W. Wood Gallery and Arts Center.

CAL Membership Contact

Preya Holland, CAL Membership Coordinator: preya@cal-vt.org

Phayvanh Luekhamhan, CAL Executive Director: director@cal-vt.org

Apply here

June 1, 2022June 1, 2022

Exhibit: Separations | Migrations

The summer show in the second floor Community Gallery features works in conversation around forced migration and the emotional trauma of family separation. Centered around Deborah Goudreau’s Separation Series, the exhibit includes visual art from Sarah Ashe, Holly Hauser, Lisa Myers, and Jeremy Vaughn. Additional text and a display of family relics fill out the show, curated by CAL director Phayvanh Luekhamhan.

Separations | Migrations opens in June and will be on show through mid August, with a closing reception during Montpelier’s August Art Walk. Goudreau is a potter and clay artist based in Hinesburg.

‘Despair’, from the *Separation Series*, Deborah Goudreau

“This country has a long history of separating children from their families. During the 200 years of slavery, children were sold apart from their parents; Native American children were abducted from their homes and sequestered in residential schools; and more currently, migrant children are being separated from parent(s),” Goudreau writes in her description of the nine water-filled clay vessels on display. The immediacy of the emotions depicted in her work are complemented by the visual elements, which both globalize and localize the issues of forced migration.

Meet the artists during the summer Art Walk receptions. All work is for sale, please contact Phayvanh Luekhamhan to inquire: director@cal-vt.org

Join us

Show Event:
Opening Reception

Closing Reception

Dates:
June 3, 2022, 5-7 PM

August 5, 2022, 5-7 PM

June 1, 2022June 1, 2022

“Tracking Time Through COVID” with Liz Le Serviget

Middlesex-based painter Liz Le Serviget’s solo exhibit at The Center for Arts and Learning’s Member Gallery, Tracking Time Through COVID, is a colorful visual journal of the artist’s everyday life since shutdown. It features cards, reflections, portraits and a diaorama.

Some of the many painted cards that Liz made during her isolation.

As part of the show, the artist invites viewers to mark their passage through COVID with her. Offering blank books, cards, colorful markers, participants can log the books they’ve read, and or mark a date on their own pandemic timeline.

Le Serviget says of the origins of this show, “Each day since mid March 2020, I have been creating a 2“ x 3“ watercolor painting along with several words that describe an experience, activity, new event, mood, conversation, observation, appreciation, challenge or anything else that has left its mark on that particular day, setting it apart from other days that seem to be melting into each other.”

Show us what books you read and thoughts or ideas you had during the pandemic.

Since everyone experienced the pandemic differently, the artist invites the viewer to add to the collective record of our time together. The exhibit and the interactive installation is on display in the first floor Members Gallery at the Center for Arts and Learning.

We are located at 46 Barre Street and are open M-F 8-5, S/S 10-4. For more information: info@cal-vt.org

Join us at CAL

Show Event:
Opening Reception

Closing Reception

Date:
June 3, 2022, 5 -7 PM

August 5, 2022, 5-7 PM

To purchase form this collection, please contact Phayvanh Luekhamhan: directro@cal-vt.org

May 12, 2022May 12, 2022

We’re #120 on the Vermont Open Studio Map! May 28-29, 2022

Center for Arts and Learning joins Vermont Open Studio Memorial Day Weekend 🎨

TL;DR Visit the Center for Arts and Learning during Open Studio and meet artists Liz Le Serviget and LynaLou Nordstrom. CAL boasts two galleries and curated hallways.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Montpelier’s nonprofit community arts hub, the Center for Arts and Learning (CAL), located at 46 Barre St in Montpelier, VT will take part in the Vermont Crafts Council’s 30th Spring Open Studio on Memorial Day weekend. Doors are open to the general public on May 28 and 29 from 10 am to 4 pm.

“Faces”, from Liz Le Serviget’s *Tracking Time Through Covid* show

Studio artists present will be painter Liz Le Serviget (B1) and printmaker LynaLou Nordstrom (B5) in the lower “Underground Gallery” space. Come see their work, visit with the artists and if inclined, purchase their work.

A print from LynaLou Nordstrom’s collection

Le Serviget’s exhibit “Tracking Time Through COVID” is displayed upstairs in the Members Gallery on the first floor. It’s a watercolor and oil timeline of her daily life since March 14, 2020, featuring cards, reflections, portraits and an interactive piece.

“Horror”, from Deborah Goudreau’s *Separation Series*

The second floor Community Gallery features Separation Series, a meditation on family separation via water-filled clay vessels by Deborah Goudreau. Wall art by Jeremy Vaughn, Lisa Meyers, and Sarah Ashe round out the Separations and Migrations exhibit.

OTHER ART AT CAL: The first floor hallway and a portion of the Underground Gallery is curated by the Art Resource Association (ARA), a membership group of Central Vermont artists.

CAL’s partner the T.W. Wood Gallery and Museum will also be part of the Open Studio event.

There’s much to see during Open Studio at CAL. Opening reception for all shows will take place during Montpelier Art Walk, Friday June 3rd from 5-7 pm.

ABOUT CAL: The Center for Arts and Learning is Montpelier’s nonprofit arts hub, featuring gallery space, private art studios, and is the permanent home of the T.W. Wood Gallery and Museum and the Monteverdi Music School. It is located at 46 Barre Street and is open M-F 8-5, S/S 10-4. For more information: info@cal-vt.org

ABOUT OPEN STUDIO: The 30th Annual Vermont Spring Open Studio Weekend, is held during Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, May 28 & 29 from 10 – 5 each day. It gives shoppers, visitors and collectors the opportunity to plan a tour that brings them through the small towns of Vermont to studios where they can purchase beautiful well-made things and talk with the artist that made them. Open Studio is a project of the Vermont Crafts Council. CAL is stop #120 on the map.

April 6, 2022April 6, 2022

Photos: Art Walk April 1, 2022

We had a great time at last Friday’s Art Walk. Here are few pictures from the event, featuring PoemCity, Art Resource Association, Cardboard Teck Instantute, and the T.W. Wood galleries. Thanks to our friend Carty for the photos. 📸

Don’t miss us on the next Art Walk, June 3rd. See you then! 🗓️

Also: for everyone who came by the next day for Liz LeServiget’s art sale benefitting Ukraine, she was able to send off $800 in donations. Thanks to art buyers one and all. 💖

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022

April Mocks and Smocks with Jess Quinn

Our next Mocks and Smocks takes place on Friday, April 15 and is taught by Jess Quinn, who will be guiding participants through a mixed media collage on canvas creating images of poppies, and using this flower as inspiration.

Doors open at 5:30, and participants are encouraged to arrive then to sample refreshments and settle into their creative workspace. Class starts promptly at 6 PM.

From 6 til 8, Jess will guide participants in mixed media collage , using paint, paper, glue, and watercolors.

This series is a presentation of the Center for Arts and Learning. Ticket sales help to defray materials costs, pay the teaching artist, and supports overall CAL programming.

COVID Safety:

To ensure safety at this event, the class size is limited, the space has good airflow and we run an air purifier during class. Masks are required (provided if needed). Anyone feeling unwell should stay home and join us in a future class.