Summer at the gallery. Exeter, New Hampshire

One of the things we love most about nice weather at the studio is being able to flow out to the front porch ...or to the back garden to make art or to host events. Some of our best creative thoughts come when we shift seasons and space.

Thank you to everyone who stops by to chat, drops in for an inspiration "refresh", who comes to our events or who tours the murals for fun or for a selfie. We love seeing you and hearing about what you have going on.

Here are a few pics of some moments during summer days. Drop in anytime Tuesday - Saturday 11-5.

Next Exhibit! Facing Afar by Laura Harper Lake

We are celebrating our first exhibit of the summer!

Laura Harper Lake, @artfulharperstudios
Facing Afar. Laura has been showing us small sections of her work... one tiny bit at a time.
All beautiful and true to her love of the human form.

The exhibit is Saturday, July 17, 3-6. Bring a friend and enjoy a wonderful summer late afternoon with us before your dinner date.

Bevs and light bites.    Front porch seating.    Easy summer time. 

Here are sneak peeks of a few close-ups and works in progress. The entire show will be dynamite. Don't miss it!

Laura Harper Lake, of Artful Harper Studios, is an interdisciplinary artist who has been passionate about being creative her entire life. She works in painting (watercolor, acrylic, oil), drawing, digital painting, mixed media, photography, printmaking, sculpture, graphic design, videography, writing music, writing short stories, and co-hosting and editing a podcast called “Creative Guts”.

Her creativity grew into a viable future after attending and graduating from Chester College of New England. She began her official business as an artist under the name Artful Harper Studios in 2016, having displayed her work in various galleries throughout New England. She is a permanent artist represented at the Art Up Front Street Studios & Gallery in Exeter, NH. She co-hosts a podcast, Creative Guts, that interviews other creatives from all disciplines and communicates their passions, development, and adventures  about their creative works and businesses. 

Open Mic: What a fun event in Exeter.

We know there are open mics around at a few places. We don't do them often here at the studio, but when we do it brings us closer to our art friends for a different reason. It is not just "visual" art that tugs at our creativite hearts, but the sharing of other passions and talents. 

Thank you to Creative Guts Podcast for organizing and hosting this event! We love what you bring to our space and our collective hearts. 

And thank you to the guests who came to share and soak it all in. Beautiful day.

Becky Barsi (art educator, vocalist, artist) and Laura Harper Lake (artist, composer, electric ukulele)

John Skewes poetry and readings

Chris Voss Music

Chris Voss and Andrea of Atlantic Canyons

Sarah (Creative Guts) and Patricia

Debbie Kane (writer) and Anne Kenny (artist)

New Exhibit by Artful Harper Studios. July 17. Wonderful things to do in Exeter this summer.

 Mark your calendar.... we certainly are! Artful Harper Studios is creating yet another fabulous figurative body of work for her next exhibit at Art Up Front Street Studios and Gallery. We hope you can join us.

Open Mic in the Garden. June 26. Exeter, NH. With our friends at Creative Guts!

 We had a great time at the last open mic.... and no doubt this will be just as good. Our dear friends at Creative Guts Podcast are organizing a break-out open mic event in our back garden at the studio. 

We are soooo glad to be at this point in our "covid experience". We all need our community of creatives and are so ready to be enjoying the moment with all of you June 26.

Thank you to Laura Harper Lake and Sarah Wrightsman of Creative Guts Podcast for keeping the energy cranking. See you all soon.

Details are below and on facebook.

Details: Welcoming musicians, writers, and poets to perform in the idyllic backyard at AUFS. Not interested in performing? That's ok too! We welcome spectators to come and enjoy the creativity of those who are putting themselves out there.

We ask that you bring your own chairs or blankets and your hydration! Please respect a minimum of 6 feet apart from other groups.

Masks are required while navigating to your seats or when you are inside the building. Once seated, you can remove your mask if you like, but need to wear them again if/when moving around. Thank you for respecting this rule for the safety of everyone.

Suggested $5 donation to help support the mission of Creative Guts.

See you soon!

Open Studios: A great thing to do this weekend....

Sunshine? Healthy days? Good energy ahead? Yes. We love hosting this event... and we love seeing you. 

When you come, check out our new art, enter a free drawing, catch up on the latest studio news (for example - did you know that Natasha Stoppel has a renovated school bus and she is .....), find a gift for mom, your favorite grad, or pick up a gift certificate for a teacher thank you.  We have small art and large art, prints and originals, jewelry, digital art, assemblage, photograpy, ceramics, and metal sculpture. 

Thank you, again, for being in our circle and supporting us through this crazy time. Our hearts are exploding with excitement that we get to see you (masked, safely distanced, and in some cases - vaccinated) 😊.

We ask that you enter the front door and exit through the back door unless you need ramp access. Thank you. 

Mal Argondizza will greet you at the front where you can do a quick sign-in. He will also have a few beverages which can be consumed before entering (or after exiting).

All 16 windows and 2 doors will be open both days for fresh air circulation. 

There are benches and chairs safely distanced outside in the front and in the back.

Artists have sanitizer in each studio for credit card or payment handling.

We have a wrapping table ready to go for an easy wrap-and-take.

Participating artists: Artsy Barsi, Industrial Quilts, Artful Harper Studios, Deb Wheeler-Bean, Artist Explores the World, Ree Katrak, Rose Bryant Original Paintings, Dale Atkins Ceramic Vessels, Jeff Whittum Metal Art.

Happy spring! See you soon.

From all of us at Art Up Front Street.

Things to do: Art in the Garden. Wednesdays 10-1. June July.

Wednesdays

10AM to 1PM

5 days. Pick one day or all! 

June 16, 23, 30, July 7, 14.

$10 each day

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

We have chairs, tables, room for your easel, umbrellas, and a canopy. 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.

Details:
1. RSVP by email to artupfrontstreet@gmail.com. Space is limited to 9 people.
2. Bring your mask for entering the garden space and for potential entry into the building. Spacing will be at least 6 ft. apart.
3. Bring $10 that day.
4. Bring your bevs, snacks or lunch.

SIGN-UPS by email in advance are needed. No drop-ins. Thanks.

Sign up by email to artupfrontstreet@gmail.com

Gift Certificates for Mothers Day, Graduation, or a Teacher Thank You

 

Show your love for your favorite mom, teacher or graduate with a gift certificate from 

Art Up Front Street!

We have tons of art in all sizes, shapes, and colors (kind of cliche, but we really do 😊). 

It can make things a lot easier for you ...plus ...someone is always here at the studios and gallery Tuesday - Saturday 11-5 to help the giftee with the purchase. 

Not only will they love the gift they pick, but the process of soaking up the visual energy of the creatives here in our 2500 square feet of art space is a cool experience. We could also make a lovely cup of tea for them to enjoy on the front deck or the back "patio".

We have wrapping and ribbon, cards for purchase, and prints and cool artsy fartsy stuff.  

Is an art studio in your future?

Art Up Front Street is an artist collective in Exeter, NH. 

We have 8 studios, a storefront gallery, plenty of space for indoor and outdoor events. (We do not have a facility for ceramics, metal work or high heat processes. We wish we did!) 

Send Rose Bryant your name, address, and a small bio (10-15 sentences). Include your website, instagram, facebook and a short statement about why you are seeking a studio. 

To: artupfrontstreet@gmail.com 

~ We are a collective of art peers as well as an art business that operates best when all are involved.

~ We all participate in 2 Open Studios each year.

~ We require 6 hours of gallery tending time each month.
~ We are looking for experienced artists who will be a good fit for our contemporary gallery, our abstract thought, and our collective working energy.

~ A year's lease is required.

~ If you would like to take a tour, let us know.

The studio currently available is 10x10 and the rent is $280 a month.

A second studio will be available in July. It is $200 a month.

Wishing you all the best in your creative adventures.

Finding treasure while looking "into" the process of creatives.

 We all learn from each other. We explore, we think, we develop ideas, we make things. 

Sometimes during those experiences, part of the joy is seeing the process in it's original environment. Yes, very definitely, one can "see" the art and then experience joy (or sadness, or confusion, or shock). But, if one has the chance to see "process" one can experience other "treasure".

First, the art moves you.... and then, when you look further to see or understand the hands that worked on the art, you gain knowledge. That knowledge is intimate. It is something that you have obtained by observing... and it, then, becomes a part of your energy everytime you view that art. 

Artists make art for all kinds of reasons, some reasons are very concrete ("I had the materials" "I was commissioned by a client") and some reasons are very abstract ("I needed to express a thought" "what do I see when the birds sing?"). Getting a glimpse into the working space of an artist tells you more... It helps you find the extra treasure.

Below are a few artists at work. Save the date, May 1+2, and explore treasure with us. 

Deb Wheeler-Bean putting words with art...process.

Escape 2020 #2 mixed media assemblage

Laura Harper Lake of Artful Harper Studios and Creative Guts Podcast

Carry on Baggage, digital art, by Laura Harper Lake

Ree Katrak printing on papers for texture and color in her mixed media pieces.

Mixed media abstract painting by Ree Katrak

Rose Bryant hanging art in studio

Red Winged Blackbirds, painting by Rose Bryant

The quiet before the art exhibit... Open Studio in Seacoast New Hampshire May 1+2

 There is always the last detail, the last "push", the last scramble before an artist presents work. As artists, we know this process all too well.

Feelings of creativity, turn to feelings of "I've GOT to get this finished!", to feelings of completion, to feelings of celebration when we can talk about the process with you.

One of the best things about hosting an Open Studio is that the public can tour our spaces and talk about the process with us. Sometimes, it might not even be a conversation, but rather an absorbing the energy of what another human has made or dreamt. 

We love it when we can share those moments with you and we thank you for your support over these past very few years!

Here are a few shots from the studio as we round the corner to the home stretch. Enjoy. And mark your calendar for our very special event.

Natasha Stoppel preps wall space for art.

Creativity Mandala by Natasha Stoppel. Laser cut, birch, with watercolor.

Anne Kenny of Industrial Quilts assembling hand-cut patina elements.

Integrated Circuits Industrial Quilt by Anne Marie Kenny

Becky Barsi marking next cuts for completed watercolor

Midge Toy Car and Le Mans Racer framed watercolors by Becky Barsi

it's almost spring and guess what.... we are planning our Open Studios for May first and second! We are sooo ready for an art party. (safely distanced, masked, etc. you get the vibe)

Fingers crossed for sunshine, healthy days, and good energy ahead. We love having this event and we love seeing you. 

When you come, you will find tons of new art we have been working on during the year, a few give-aways, newsy news, maybe some pre-packaged treats. 

Thank you for being in our circle. Our hearts are exploding with excitement that we get to see you (safely, masked, distanced, etc.)!

More details to come in the coming weeks. Stay safe, tell a friend. 

Happy almost spring.

From all of us at Art Up Front Street.