Head north for 4 worthy exhibitions
It’s time for a mid- October trek north to Portsmouth, N.H., and a visit to the New Hampshire Art Association’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery at 136 State St., where several inventive shows are on view through Nov. 1.
“Catching the Light” showcases members’ plein air works, created outdoors on site during the pandemic. The locally created artwork would be an excellent addition to an art collection of recognizable landmarks.
If you’d like to try your hand at plein air painting, the association hosts a Plein Air Meetup Group open to members and nonmembers. Visit www.nhartassociation.org/special-interestgroups/2018/6/9/plein-air-group? mc_cid=94e6253d0b&mc_eid=3f5 6f8529dm for info.
Also on view this month is “Mostly Animals, Some People,” an eclectic show by NHAA artist Jef Steingrebe.
His style of art is, in his own words, “like allegorical pop art, sort of a combination of highway signs and stereo instructions but with bright colors.”
Steingrebe has loved American country antiques and folk art since childhood. “Searching for it, lusting after it, buying it, selling it, studying it,” he said. “To think that it isn’t a part of everything I do is silly. Other artists, though, have given me permission to do what I do and how I do it.”
“Reflections of New Hampshire” features Marianne Stillwagon’s paintings of New Hampshire seasonal landscapes and wildlife. “My paintings depict the mountains, ocean and everything in between our beautiful state,” she said.
The final NHAA exhibit on view this month is “Book of Sorrows,” an intimate collection based on a lifetime of memories by Judith Heller Cassell. Each wall of the back gallery shows a different chapter of the book, beginning with her earliest days in rural Virginia in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The gallery is following the CDC and state’s recommendations for safety while visiting during the pandemic. It is open Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m.; and Tuesdays by appointment. The gallery is closed Mondays. Visit www.nhartassociation.org or
call 603-431-4230 for more information.
Gallery notes
: ARTWEEK NASHUA (PLUS 2 DAYS): Going virtual this year, Artweek Nashua 2020 features a televised week of celebrating the arts, Oct. 17-25. The celebration combines the 16th Artwalk and seventh Meri Goyette Arts Awards in a safe way while still highlighting artistic endeavors in Nashua. Sid Ceaser, a longtime Nashua photographer, will host the Artweek programs on Channel 96 Access Nashua and live-streaming on the TV station’s website. For more information and updated schedules and interviews, visit City Arts Nashua website at www.cityartsnashua.org, or City Arts Nashua’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cityartsnashua, or http://accessnashua.org/stream.php.
: QUILT-Y PARTY EXTENDED: Lowell’s New England Quilt Museum has extended “Deeds Not Words: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage,” its dramatic showcase of quilts commemorating the centennial of the 19th amendment, to Oct. 31. Also on view are “The Quilts of Cecilia K. Macia” and winners of the Wayside Quilters Guild 2019 summer celebration of New England quilts. The museum, at 18 Shattuck St., is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and follows prescribed safety protocols, including masks and limited attendance numbers. Visit www.neqm.org or call 978-452-4207 for info.
: COLONIAL DEFENDERS: Ever wonder how our Colonial ancestors defended themselves? The Salem Trayned Band will share info on that and other interesting historic facts Saturday, Oct. 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in a free, live-streamed Arms & Armor program from Worcester Art Museum. The band accurately recreates a 17 th-century English Colonial militia unit from Salem. They wear period clothing and are equipped with historically correct arms and armor. Here’s a link to the program: www.facebook.com/worcesterartmuseum.
: ART FOR KIDS: Curation 250, an urban art gallery and shop located in Mill No. 5 on Jackson Street in Lowell, encourages art making for kids with its Let’s Make Art monthly art box, designed to be fun and accessible for young artists ages 5-11. Each curated box provides all the supplies that one child (or two if you like to share) needs to start creating. And each project is supported by a free video tutorial. The November art box features projects inspired by famous artists and will start shipping on Oct. 18. Visit Curation 250’s page on Facebook. For more info on the Let’s Make Art boxes, www.letsmakeart.com/products/kids-art-box?.