Sean K. Preston at Art Up Front, Exeter, NH

We are THRILLED to be welcoming this bunch to the studio! They are making a very rare acoustic appearance. Sign-ups by email are required. All the details are below.

EMAIL RSVP REQUIRED. Details below.

Sean K. Preston is an internationally touring artist from Baltimore, MD. The band is currently on tour, sharing their raucous honkytonk, dirty blues, roadhouse rock ‘n’ roll, and tear jerking country balladry.

The music of Sean K. Preston draws heavily on the influences of the classic heartbroken sounds of Country & Western music from the 1940’s - 1970’s, the honesty of the Blues by the likes of Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker, the bombast of 50’s Rock’n’Roll, the lyrical sophistication of musical poets like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Nick Cave, the raw energy of Punk, and the spirituality of Mountain Gospel. His own songs range from delicate laments and lullabies to fiery sermons and confessions.

~ Acoustic performances for this event
~ RSVP BY EMAIL to: ArtUpFrontStreet@gmail.com
~ Choose your seating for 5:30 or 7:30 and state how many people
~ $10 couple, $5 individual suggested donation at door
~ DOORS OPEN 5pm
~ BYOB. snacks / apps are provided
~ Over 21 event
~ STREET Parking ONLY
~ USE FRONT DOOR

Merch sales: t-shirts, cds, vinyl

https://open.spotify.com/album/7eQGef5kYJb5Eunscg522i
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-MHIlIEMj4
https://www.facebook.com/seankprestonmusic

Can't wait to see you!

Art Up Front, sneak peek, "The Art Guide to South Coast Maine and Seacoast NH"

ok... we LOVE this publication by Phineas Graphics. You may have seen it. It is available at most local art associations and galleries. 

We are thrilled to be a part of the 2020 publication. We know that all things have gone digital.... BUT paper is not dead.

Friends and local bookstores continue to keep the flames of paper-in-hand burning. (no puns intended).
Phineas Graphics is one of those businesses in Portsmouth.

Yes, digital is awesome, but really..... the texture of a paper page?..... a cozy corner with a favorite read?.... a collection of images and enlightenment with pages that can be turned back and forth?

Phineas has been dedicated, for years, to that process of the hands-on, the eye-to-design, AND the local representation of what we all seek... inspiration, acknowledgement, and the stuff that makes our senses sing.

The cool thing is they put . this . tiny . little . publication . together. for . artists. Drink it in!

If you are an artist, stop asking yourself if paper is passe.

Art Up Front Street page from 2019

You know ...... you paint on paper, you paint on canvas, you make pottery, you sculpt, you carve, you burn, you touch.... all because you are an artist. Why shouldn't you have a love affair with a textural "thing" that shows your textural work?

Imagine this conversation starter.... "I am an artist. Here is a sample of what I do and the community I am surrounded by".

Below is the sneak peek of our page in the next "The Art Guide 2020, to South Coast Maine and Seacoast NH." Look for it around the beginning of May. Thank you Phineas Graphics for keeping us beautifully connected.

Art Up Front Street page for 2020. Sneak peek. Out in May.

OPEN STUDIOS! Save the date.

Annual Art Up Front Street Open Studios

May 2&3, Saturday Sunday, 10-4 each day.

~ original paintings, prints, adornments, pottery,

metal, cards, assemblage, fiber, photography,

mixed media

~ 9 artist studios + 2 guest artists

~ plenty of street parking

Lots of color, fun, treats at Uptown Exeter's 9-studio artists collective. 

120 Front Street, Exeter, NH:

Danielle Gaynor - Bead, fiber, textile

Anne Kenny - "Industrial Quilts"

Artful Harper Studios -multi media

Deb Wheeler-Bean - Assemblage, photography

Dawn Amey Designs - adornments

Ree Katrak - Mixed Media

Corrine Gilman - Stitched Expressions, Story Dolls

Artist Explores the World - jewelry, pyrography, watercolor

Rose Bryant original Paintings - large abstracts 

(guest) Dale Atkins - ceramic vessels 

(guest) Jeff Whittum - upcycled metal sculpture

Painting Open Studio at Art Up Front Street February 13

Group "Painting Open Studio" with Rose Bryant at Art Up Front Street in Exeter, NH.

This is one of our favorite, easy, open-ended, no-stress things to do in the winter. Sign-up by email.

Thursday February 13

10AM to 1PM

Bring your materials.... it can be ANYTHING you want to do... drawing, writing, collage, painting,...

We have chairs, tables, room for your easel. Parking is on the left rear side of the studio in the back lot. Bathrooms, water, accessible... plus nice people. 

Open to all abilities and mediums. Take a break with us to sketch, paint, or watch a process. There is always tea... and cookies. Join us!

$10. 

SIGN-UPS NECESSARY. No drop-ins. Thanks.

We have space for about 7 people.

Sign up by email to artupfrontstreet@gmail.com

Art collective experience in Exeter, New Hampshire

There are so many things on which to reflect as we look back at the three years since opening in January 2017. Like everyone else in an organization, it is easy to look at the things you can measure.... or the things you imagined that did or did not happen.

One of the "things" we didn't expect and never planned for was the sense of friendship and family we have at the studio. Sure... we thought about space, lights, types of art, classes and events that would engage the public.... operational stuff. But.... we did not plan for the relationships and (at the risk of sounding mushy) we did not plan for the love. 

We have seen artists (strangers) meet other other artists and become fast friends. We have seen tears of happiness and tears of sadness. We have held confidences. We have partnered with others. We have shared family and friends and broadened our "knowns". And, we have helped each other make better art by talking about the process and the love of the process. 

Relationships here in the collective have made us all better artists. The relationships have given some of us the ability to fly: to change subject matter, to try a new process, to engage another community connection. This collective experience of growth and change shows in the art we produce and what we aspire to do. These relationships and experiences inside our walls make the experience for a visitor or an art seeker even better. 

Because of the support of the artists for other artists within our collective, the visitor has the unique opportunity to experience that energy. It is kind of a funny thing.... Is it "what goes around comes around" but in a very positive way? ...Do we do make that energy intentionally? Yes. We intentionally make stuff and make friendships.... and that turns into energy. 

Then, one day .... the front door opens. 

We see you, the guest, walk in, look around and say ...

..."what good energy" 

...."such a nice experience".

And we say... that's what we have learned. 

Creative Guts Podcast. Check it out.

Wow. We are stunned at what these friends, Sarah Wrightsman and Laura Harper-Lake, have accomplished in such a short time. What they are doing for the creative community is no less than amazing. They are the storytellers of creatives from all sorts of adventures and associations .... not just "visual artists". You MUST take a look (and a listen). And, yes, they have a mascot. Luna, Sarah's bunny. 💗 Thank you, Laura and Sarah for giving a voice to so many people doing amazing things.

https://www.creativegutspodcast.com/

Deb Wheeler-Bean hosts children's classes in March

Deb Wheeler-Bean ... art educator, assemblage artist, poet, and finder of beauty... hosts a wonderful series of explorations in art for children on Tuesdays this March. Mark your calendars... 

After School Programs 2020: 

Deb Wheeler-Bean (Art Up Front Street)

…classes crafted for 8 – 11 year olds

Bookmaking: a place for art & story (March 2020)

Spend 4 afternoons with me exploring the art of bookmaking.

We will alter existing books as well as create our own books from paper & board.

Creating a place for your art & story is the first step in our creative journey!

Where: Art Up Front Street; 120 Front Street, Exeter, NH

When: (4) Tuesdays in March: 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31

Time: 3:30pm – 5pm

Cost: $100 plus $20 materials fee

 

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." -Picasso

Contact Deb Wheeler-Bean directly by email to sign up. 

word.uproar@gmail.com 

Happy New Year and happy creating. Be sure to enjoy the process...

Rose Bryant abstract exhibit, February 8, 9am-12, Exeter, NH

 

An exhibit filled with large paintings and large color is perfect for a winter morning in February... PLUS, you can get amped up on coffee and breakfast bites. Bring your bestie and enjoy the energy. 

What better way to start a Saturday?!

Rose Bryant has evolved over time into a more abstract style of mark-making.
She loves the movement of the brush taking her to places unplanned. 
Her work for this exhibit focuses on: heavy bold marks, large formats (ranging from 24x24 to 40x80). Her process involves: a quickly done suggestion of composition, random elements of color, and  "swimming" around with a brush fully saturated. Other techniques and decisions are involved, but her first mark-making typically takes this direction. Then... her painting might "rest" until the next thought forms. In this exhibit she explores the freedom of organic thoughts... one beautiful brush at a time.

Join us at Art Up Front Street for our first ever breakfast exhibit Saturday, Feb 8, from 9 to noon. We can't wait!

Exhibit runs through February. Hours Tuesday & Wednesday 10-7. Thursday through Saturday 10-4.

Dawn Amey Designs exhibit Friday, April 10, 6 to 8

Dawn Amey is a designer, maker, and intricate thinker.
Her assemblages are finely detailed and multi-layered. Some are ornamental, some are mechanical, some are sculptural...  all are captivating.

We are so excited to be announcing her Friday, April 10 evening opening! 
Her work has been commissioned by individuals and businesses. Her adornments have sold at Art Up Front Street and at Ganesh in downtown Exeter, NH.

Welcome Danielle Gaynor.... to Art Up Front Street in uptown Exeter, NH

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Danielle Gaynor... a beads, fiber and textile artist... to the art community at Art Up Front Street. So many things to learn and say about Danielle, but first we will just encourage you to save your visit in 2020 until January 7th. That is the day we re-open for the new year (no pressure, Danielle 😊!).

Danielle grew up in Exeter and frequented the "120 Convenience Store" while going back and forth to school. The 120 Convenience Store is the same building where Art Up Front Street now lives. It gives us a warm feeling to think of those connections she had then to what would eventually become an art space for her years later. As a student she would buy treats from the "store" and then "hang out" on the front steps (those kids!). Wow... history, community, returning to new history.

Enjoy these photos of her work and be sure to follow her Needle Little Studio on Instagram. This is where you'll find her treasure trove of thoughts and passions for creating.

Welcome, Danielle!! Looking forward to the days ahead.

Figure Drawing in Exeter, NH. Find your inner Manet or Matisse.

Join us.Tuesday nite, January 28. 6PM-8:30.
Bring your materials and your surface. We have tables and chairs.

The model for this evening is female.
Short poses progressing to longer poses.
Artists bring any medium preferred... pencil, charcoal, water color, acrylic, digital....

Parking is on the street and in the very back left side parking lot.
Entry to the building is in the back on the left side of the building.
(IF ARRIVING AFTER 6PM,
please enter the front gallery door).

SIGN-UPS:
Respond by email. artupfrontstreet@gmail.com
$20
Space is limited to 10 people.
We have tea and other bevs...
See you soon...

Happy Holidays to Exeter, NH and Beyond. Thank you

Dear friends and loyal followers, 

we would love to take this moment to wish you a happy holiday season and a very wonderful New Year. 

Your well wishes to us, your patronage, and your constant appreciation for what we do has been more than we could have imagined. 

January 2020 marks the third anniversary of the first artist moving in to one of nine studios here at our collective.

Thank you for being a part of our world.

May all the best energy follow you.