Article about WWA

The Wellesley/Weston Magazine has published a nice article about us. If you haven't received your copy in the mail you can read it online here!

Art Walk in Wellesley

We are so happy to announce our second annual Art Walk in Wellesley Square. This year we are not only collaborating with the  beautiful stores in our town but also with Wellesley High School Students! Please come by to chat with the artists and support local arts!

Wellesley Marketplace

The annual local craft market is this Saturday. Three of our artists will be there, representing our group. Look out for Julia Blake, Carolyn Mackin and Jenny Schneider (links to their website are on the left tab).
We hope to see you there!

Gelatin Printing for fun

One of the best things we do as a group is to help each other grow. And one way is by simply making art together.  A couple of weeks ago we joined at the Recreation Center and Jenny Schneider demonstrated a fun way of printing, called Gelatin Printing. No fancy press is needed for this process and the results are almost always satisfying. The prints can be used alone or for new layers in other projects. Here are some photos from the night. If you want to learn more about the process, hop on over to Jenny's blog where she posted more details and pictures.

Abby Glassenberg's sparkling new website!

Abby Glassenberg, co-founder of this group, is the most productive person I know. Her blog is inspiring, always updated and full of information! Recently, she updated her website and has started a podcast series that rocks.
Click right over to her website and see for yourself: While-she-naps!

Art at the Farm- featuring Jenny Schneider

Last week I had the honor to hang my paintings at the Natick Organic Farm. There you can find them among flowers, veggies, and camp kids pickling cucumbers and learning the way of the farm. The farm is such a beautiful place and my kids have done a few summer camps over the last years. So make sure to visit this beautiful spot if you are in the area, buy their organic produce and stop by the art gallery. For more information about my art you can visit my website: www.jenny-schneider.com

Featuring: Carolyn Mackin

Next time you visit the Laughing Dog Yoga Studio in Linden Square make sure to take a look at the store as well. Carolyn just brought 14 new paintings over. Talking about busy!
For more information check out her website: http://carolynmackin.wordpress.com/

Today summer greetings from....

.....Julia Blake.
Julia is an avid painter and creates something everyday. Here are a few of her newest, playful and colorful paintings.
For more info also check out her website http://www.juliablakeart.com

Summertime

It's a beautiful summer here in New England and all of us are enjoying extra family-time and/or travels which often means a little less time in the studio. But not for everyone.

For the next couple of posts I will fill you in on what's been happening for some of our artists.....

Featuring today Chelsea Sebastian who has been extra busy this summer with a couple shows:

1. at the  Center for the Arts in Natick June-July, where she showed 27 paintings. 
2. A small show of 12 paintings at the Atwood gallery in WA during July. 
3. Also, her painting "sunrise bouquet" (see below) has been juried into "The Blanche Ames National Art Contest".

Other than that she has done two commissions and has been enjoying a magical summer with her babies. If you'd like to see more of her work check out her website!

Save North 40

If you live in Wellesley, you have probably come across the bright orange signs!

Many, if not all of our members, are not impartial to this issue. As artists (and moms) we are inspired by nature. We paint, sculpt or simply seek it. And nothing is more beautiful than bringing your kids, big and little, to the community gardens to marvel at the growing plants, to smell the flowers and observe the bugs and birds and bees ( and sometimes even a deer). If you don't know what Saving North 40 is all about, check out this blog at the Wellesley Sustainable Headquarters. It's a very comprehensive overview!

We found some gorilla art on the fence along the gardens, but it was quickly taken down by the college or the town......We hope it makes you consider saving this beautiful stretch of land.

The records keep "spinning"

Our member Laura Fagrasso brought a few pieces of the "Art in the Park" installation back to life with help of members of the recycling facility. Talking about upcycling!

Pick up your artwork!

We had to take down the installation at Simons Park, but you can pick up your masterpiece at
166 Oakland Street in Wellesley. The records will be on the porch!

A Video about the Weekend

Check out this Video about the Wellesley Wonderful Weekend. A big portion of this short little film features our "Art in the Park" project. Listen to our wonderful member Laura Fagrasso, the woman behind the Wellesley Community Art Project,  talking about it and get re-inspired!

Scenes from Art in the Park

Thank you -everyone- for coming out to "Art in the Park" last week! Only with your help were we able to create this beautiful community art piece. Here are some photos from last Saturday. In case you were not able to attend the event, you can still admire the installation for one more week. It's right next to the library and with it's vibrant colors hard to miss!

TIME CHANGE for ART in the PARK!

Due to the rainy forecast we have to change the hours for ART in the PARK. We will be there from 1pm-4pm. 

Otherwise all stays the same. Same location (Simons Park-next to the Wellesley Library), same art project  and same -if not bigger- smiles. 

See you tomorrrow!

Art in the Park!

 Do you remember last year's Art in the Park? We created this beautiful community weaving!

We are back this year with another amazing community project! This year we will paint and hang old records.  SO....join us  for Art in the Park this Saturday, May 17 at Simons Park (the grassy area next to the main library).
The event is free and open to the public as part of Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend. All materials will be provided and no prior art experience is necessary. Please bring your friends and family.
And, in addition to the art making we will be spinning some records- when was the last time you listen to a real record? We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Wellesley Studio Tour

For the very first time a few of our artists are opening their doors to their studios to show their work. This has been long time in the making and is hopefully a first step into the direction of town wide Open Studios in the future.
Please mark your calendars for Saturday, May 10th to see our studios, meet the artists and check out beautiful & local art. For more information about the artists and to get a map click here!

Q+A with Abby Glassenberg

Q &A with Abby Glassenberg 

written by Annie Newman, Photos by Lisa Neighbors

Abby Glassenberg is not your average Wellesley mom. When photographer Lisa Neighbors and I (the unofficial Wellesley Women Artisans crack reporting team) visited her in her home studio on a sunny morning in late February, she opened up about starting her home based business, her love of art, and her approach to balancing the pressures of family and work. A self-proclaimed introvert, she is amazingly open and real in her extensive online persona. She explains that she loves to be alone, but she has historically relied upon her online relationships for a sense of community around her craft. Since 2005 she has shared her creations and her ideas on design, technique and the online culture of craft through her blog, whileshenaps.com. More recently, the Wellesley Women Artisans (WWA) community has also filled a void and provided a venue to meet like-minded women.

Abby is building her business out of her home in the College Heights neighborhood – she has a sewing studio in her expansive master bedroom and an office set-up on her main floor. She dedicates 25 hours a week to creating unique patterns for stuffed animals, splitting her time between sewing, writing, and running the business. All this is a challenge, but one that she has nicely integrated into her family life by managing a relatively regimented household. She loves working from home because it allows her little snippets of work, as time permits. (Every inch of her home is a gallery, featuring her extensive art collection–I recommend conjuring up an invite!) Asked about sleeping in and working out of her bedroom, she chuckled. “The photo lights changed things–it now feels like we sleep in my studio. It may be time for a new house!”

Abby created her first plush toy when home with her first child. “We went to Book Babies at the library and I checked out a vintage craft book. I made an elephant out of white flannel with cherry button eyes. The next day, I made another. My husband asked me what was going on? That was the beginning.” By 2007, Abby had a show at the library featuring 53 animals. She recalls, “It was fabulous. I had all the glass cases, including the Children’s area.” Right after the show, she started making birds–in fact, she made birds for 2 ½ years and eventually wrote her first book, The Artful Bird, which includes 18 patterns. Published by Interweave in 2011 it was named an ALA Booklist Top 10 Craft Book that year!

In this book, she found her true passion, making patterns and writing technical instructions. Abby explains that she reads cookbooks and technical manuals like other people read novels. Her second book, Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction, was published by Lark Crafts in 2013 and named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. It’s no surprise she likes to educate others–Abby has a master’s degree in education from Harvard and taught middle school social studies in Mississippi and Massachusetts before becoming a textile artist and the mother of three girls, ages 3, 7, and 9. Abby enjoys teaching people to sew and opening their eyes to the joy of designing their own stuffed animals. 

She was kind enough to reflect upon a series of probing questions:

Where did you go to School? What was your major?  

I grew up in Potomac, Maryland and went to Johns Hopkins for college where I majored in History. Then I did Teach For America and taught middle school French and Social Studies in the Mississippi Delta for two years. After that I got a master’s degree from Harvard in education and worked at a non-profit serving under-resourced public schools in Boston for two years. Then I went back into the classroom and taught 6^th grade social studies at Brown Middle School in Newton, MA, before becoming a mom, textile artist, craft book author, and craft blogger. 

How long have you lived in Wellesley? From where did you move?

We’ve lived in Wellesley for nearly 9 years. We moved here from a condo in Coolidge Corner, Brookline. Wellesley is a wonderful place to live with a family. We are very happy here!

What’s your favorite (or least favorite) spot in town?

We love the Duck Pond and the greenhouse at Wellesley College. 

What’s your favorite activity in town?

We like to go to the library and check out books! We’re also pretty fond of going out for ice cream.

When did you start making artwork? 

I’ve always been a maker, even as a kid. I bought a sewing machine after taking Home Ec. in 8^th grade. It was a Bernette 330 and I had it for 23 years. I now have a Janome. I started sewing every day when I became a stay-at-home mom in 2004 and started my blog, whileshenaps.com, in May of 2005. I had one of the first Etsy shops when Etsy was still in beta (July 2005). 

Describe your work?

I have a creative business. I design and sell sewing patterns for stuffed animals and dolls. I draft original sewing patterns, make samples, write instructions, draw templates, take process and product shots, do content marketing, answer customer emails, and write books. I license patterns to Simplicity and have patterns published in lots of magazines. It’s a crazy, full-time job of fun!

Do you work alone or collaborate?

I am the President and CEO of Abby Glassenberg Design so almost everything I do is alone. I do collaborate online doing guest posts and blog hops and I have a podcast that airs twice a month in which I talk with leaders in the sewing industry. 

Where do you get your inspiration?

I’m not a big one for inspiration. I just sit down and work every day, whether I feel like it or not. I read a lot of blogs (over 200!) and I spend a lot of time on Twitter. I’m a big fan of graphic novels and I read craft books like they’re novels. I love technical instructions. 

Where can people see your work?

You can see my work on my blog, whileshenaps.com. You’ll find links there to everything I do including my blog archives – 8 years worth of posts about how to run a creative business and how to design and sew stuffed animals.

Why did you join Wellesley Woman Artisans?

I co-founded the Wellesley Women Artisans with Elizabeth Cohen a few years ago. It’s been terrific! For a long time I thought I might be the only artist in town. It turns out there are lots of artists here and it’s wonderful to connect and support one another on a regular basis.

What are your ambitions for art in the community?

I’d like for people to know that there are artists in their midst. I’d like outsiders to begin associating Wellesley as a town that fosters art and artists. 

Why is the group important?

We live in a wonderful town and there are people making art all around us. WWA is a place that nurtures that art-making and helps to bring it out into the community. I’m so thrilled with what we’ve accomplished so far and I can’t wait to see what the future brings!

What are your personal and professional ambitions?

I hope to raise caring, smart, interesting children and I hope to run a successful creative business. So far, so good. 

Art in the Park 2014

Do you remember last year's Art in the Park during the Wellesely Wonderful Weekend? You can read about what we did here.

After last year's success we decided to organize it again, so please mark your calendars for May 18th 2014 and join us at Simon's Park for another cool community art project.

In the spirit of up-cycling we will be coloring old records to build a community art installation. Get ready to reminisce about the times without ipods and explain your kids how we listened to music when there was no itunes! This art project is open to all ages and will be a lot of fun!

Stay tuned for more updates.