A New Place to Discover Local Art
Natur-Tyme Transforms Community Corner Into An Art Gallery
Natur-Tyme, 3160 Erie Blvd. East, DeWitt, NY 13214 - 315.488.6300 - Store Hours: Mon-Fri: 9 am to 8 pm Saturday: 9 am to 6 pm
Sunday: 10 am to 5 pm
Sculptures by Tom Huff and prints and small paintings by Maria Rizzo.
Natur-Tyme is much more than your average health food store, carrying more than 10,000 grocery products (including over 1,000 gluten-free products), over 220 brands of supplements, a wide array of health and beauty products, high-quality pet food and pet supplements, and now providing an art gallery in their Community Corner to promote the talents of local professional artists as well as to bring cultural enhancement to the local community frequenting the store.
I have been selected as Natur-Tyme’s Artist-In-Residence and my goal is to create a thriving local art section in the store. I will be educating the community about the importance of the fine arts through talks and workshops. My responsibilities are:
- to help the local community find high-quality works of art with different price ranges,
- to expose the community to our local artists and their art services,
- to recruit excellent artworks and wares by professionals and trusted local artists and crafters.
I will showcase my original paintings, fine art prints and much more at the store for the entire time I fulfill the role of Artist-in-Residence at Natur-Tyme.
Along with my art, the store will showcase and promote the work of other artists over three-month periods. From July 1 to September 25, 2015 Natur-Tyme is proud to exhibit my acrylic paintings, the mixed media paintings by Karen Tashkovski, and the sculptures of Tom Huff. Everyone is invited to check out the original works of these local artists during normal store hours. Learn more about the new art gallery at Natur-Tyme by visiting www.natur-tyme.com.
The 4 Benefits Of Appreciating The Fine Arts
Maria Rizzo’s paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the northeast of the United States and abroad. Rizzo is also the recipient of several awards and honors, in addition to the 2014 Individual Artist Commission from CNY Arts, she is the recipient of an Honorable Mention from the RSI Bank's 3rd Annual Artists Contest in Rahway, N.J., she is the former Artist-in-Residence and Curator at The Tech Garden in Syracuse, New York and she is a 2012 NYFA Mark Alumna.
What can the fine arts do for us?
- Fine Art Influences: great fine art has the power to positively lift our spirit and mood, so owing and displaying great fine art, not only can transform our home and office's ambiance, but can beneficially influence our circles of friends and clients.
- Fine Art Inspires: Appreciating great masterpieces where excellent techniques and harmonious compositions show us true examples of human ingenuity, can give us the right inspiration to accomplish our ambitious goals and dreams.
- Fine Art Relaxes: by really looking at a fine artwork we can deeply admire the artist's insights, vivid imagination and skills. Like the practice of meditation, really looking at artworks can helps us release stress. Visit your local art museum and try it for yourself.
- Fine Art Advocates Local Pride: owning art created and sold by local living artists means that you are supporting small businesses and your local community instead of the big corporations. Plus, visiting local art openings can be a great way to meet new people in your community and that's a win win situation!
Discover Local Treasures
Search for upcoming art fairs in the events' section of the newspaper. Browse the web and check out the websites of local artists, visit local artists' co-ops and art galleries and absorb all the local treasures in your community, you won't regret it!
~ FOR THE ONONDAGA COUNTY RESIDENTS ~
The 15th Annual Westcott Art Trail
Honoring Lauren Ritchie
Featuring over 60 area artists in 15+ locations.
This is a fund raiser for the Westcott Community Center
2015 Art Trail
Saturday, June 6 (10-5) and Sunday, June 7 (12-5pm)
About Westcott Art Trail
This art fair has grown to one of the finest arts & craft offerings in Syracuse. This year we are having 60+ artists, of extraordinary quality, in 15+ locations around the neighborhood. The locations include artists’ homes and studios that stretch from Meadowbrook to Berkley and from Broad to Avondale and beyond. Local artists work in a range of mediums, including ceramics, glass, jewelry, fibers, painting, and sculpture.
Many artists will be demonstrating their craft in mediums including silk painting, henna, watercolor, ceramic wheel throwing and firing, oil painting, origami, jewelry making techniques, and others.
The heart of the Art Trail, the Westcott Community Center (at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Westcott Street) will host many artists. In addition to the art, the Westcott Community Center will offer the East Side Farmer's Market, on Sunday, Onondaga Earth Core will be offering rain barrels at no charge, a Bake Sale to benefit our youth programs, a Saturday only Harp Performance, by harpists Mary O’Reilly and Ruth Thompson and much more.
Unveiling the Symbolic Tree
Two weeks have passed since the grand opening of Trees of Onondaga: An Art Exhibition at the beautiful Onondaga Free Library in Syracuse, NY.
I decided to make this post visually interesting and simple by sharing with you all the moments that made this event really special. To learn more about this project read Melinda Johnson's beautiful article at "Artist Maria Rizzo ends her community tree projects with art exhibition,".
To follow are some pictures of the event taken by photographer, Ray Trudell.
At the event, I gave the 1st limited edition print to each of the photographers whose local trees were selected to be painted by me in 2014 then Tom Howard gave a wonderful presentation about some of the best trees we have in Onondaga county!
Lastly, the Symbolic Tree created by 45 Onondaga County residents was finally unveiled. But before showing the final piece, I want to share some of the many people who painted into this piece throughout 2014.
And now is the time to show the final piece!
The Onondaga Symbolic Tree, created by forty-five Onondaga County residents, was donated to the Onondaga Free Library on Saturday, March 14, 2015. It's limited edition prints are available online at https://squareup.com/market/maria-rizzo-art
Credits:
My latest projects were made possible with a $2,500 Individual Artist Commission Grant from CNY Arts Decentralization Program.
Here is a list of participating libraries and residents:
• Solvay Public Library, April 5: Wendy Pitoniak, Pattie Hicks-Fiegl, Suzanne Masters, Mitzie Testani and Teresa Gardner-Barndollar.
• Liverpool Public Library, April 13: Domenico Gigante, Mary Mollica and Kathryn Wehrung.
• Fayetteville Free Library, April 19: Nicole Moss, Lewis Karpel and Angela Cwickla.
• Skaneateles Library, April 26: Megan Jae Riggs, Renee Marati and Deb Tomushunas.
• Onondaga Free Library, May 4: Ray Trudell, Susi Buschbacher and Lynn Hofsonner.
• Salina Library, May 17: Vicky Storey, Celine Nicholas, Kathleen Reed-Buck and Anne Iles.
• Fairmount Community Library, May 31: Marylin L. Marcy, Dan Elsbey and Linda Helles.
• Maxwell Memorial Library, June 7: Shailesh Joshi, Mick Mather, Rena Brower and Theresa Stachurski.
• Baldwinsville Public Library, June 14: Maryann Guinta, Steve Nyland and Jeff Madison.
• East Syracuse Free Library, June 21: Angela Arrey-Wastavino.
• LaFayette Public Library, June 28: Connie Marion.
• Dewitt Community Library, July 12: Father and son, Nick and Nick Lozoponi.
• Marcellus Free Library, July 19: Debbie Fratter, Paulette Quinn and Stephanie Moncavage.
• Manlius Library, Sept. 6: Ellen McCoy and Phoebe Vitharana.
• Tully Library, Sept. 20: Sonya Shepherd, Brianna Darling and Isabella Puentes.
• Petit Library, Nov. 1: Stasya Erickson and Lynne Odell.
The Story Behind the 'Trees Along The Canal'
This week I highlight the story of Mary Mollica and her photo of trees along the DeWitt canal in New York. She is one of the eight winners of the Best Onondaga County Tree Photo Challenge, an interactive art project that asked Onondaga County residents to go into nature, find the most beautiful trees in our county, and send their suggestions to me with a photo.
Describe yourself: name, age, location, what do you do for a living and what are some of your hobbies? Mary Mollica, 47, Liverpool, NY Artist & Owner of The Decorative Paintbrush, It's funny that you ask about "hobbies" because I really don't have any I don't think? lol! My profession and my hobbies all sort of intertwine. I love to paint, hunt for antiques and refurbish them into art. I also love photography & writing my blog-you name it! If it's creative I'm trying it!
Why did you choose to photograph this particular tree/ trees? I loved the way the colors of this particular tree and its surroundings all worked together. It just looked so peaceful and serene.
What time of the year was it? I took this at the beginning of Fall
What is the exact location of this tree? This tree was at one of the stops/entrances along the Erie Canal in DeWitt
Do you know the type of tree you have captured? Does this tree have a particular meaning to you? I believe it's an Oak Tree. Like I said, I was drawn to it because of its vibrant colors, as if it were ablaze against the cool back drop of the sky & water. I love the way the Oak tree develops from a tiny acorn into a mighty, intricate tree-old and wise.
How did you find out about this challenge? I found about this challenge via Face Book
The making of the 'Trees Along The Canal'
The reason why I chose to paint this tree is very simple: I LOVE FALL COLORS and this photo truly capture the hues of this beautiful season. Below you will see the development of this painting.
The finished piece is a 30x24" acrylic on gallery wrap canvas and was completed during the month of March of 2015.
Trees Along The Canal, 30x24" acrylic on canvas by Maria Rizzo.
MARIA RIZZO
Trees, Lands & Dreams | Art Blogger #theartistspath | Art Educator | From Italy 🇮🇹🇺🇸 |