Art All Around Us
text & illustration by Jan Hughes

Growing up in Dutchess County during the 1960s I was always aware that I lived in an artistic community. I still have a large blue ribbon I received one year in high school for best in the annual student art show sponsored by the Dutchess County Arts Council. The award was for a large piece of driftwood, fished from the Hudson River one scavenging day, and intricately carved and shaped to look like an alligator that had crawled out of the cold river. When I graduated I was surprised to receive a check for $100, also from the Arts Council, for excellence in art.

The arts are still very much alive and being supported in Dutchess County. This spring the Friends of the Elmendorph Inn are reviving their art exhibit and fundraiser for the first time in a number of years. This is a weekend event; commissions from the sale of the artwork will benefit the building of a brand new carriage barn on the north side of the Inn. Artist, activist, and long time member of the Tivoli Artists Co-op Patti Hill Gordon is organizing and curating the exhibit, with help from Ellen Phelan and Betsy Jacaruso. "Art All Around Us," as the event is called, is being presented this time with a new twist. Determined to include not only two-dimensional art but also sculpture and fine craft, Parri has opened this year's show to include sculptors, glass artists, ceramic artists, furniture makers and others. She is also introducing an "arts walk" to studios in Red Hook and the surrounding villages and hamlets. This elevates the entire event from an art show to a community-wide happening.

Opportunities for artists to participate are threefold. First there is the art exhibit that will hang downstairs in the Elmendorph, juried by Carrie Haddad, from the famous gallery on Warren Street in Hudson. Second, local artists and crafts people with accessible studios are invited to participate in the Open Studio tour. Third, artists are being asked to give a workshop or demonstration at the Elmendorph.

All of this is happening the weekend of May 15 and 16 with an opening reception for the artists on Friday evening, May 14 from 6-8 PM at the Elmendorph. The studio tours will take place on Saturday, May 15 from 11 am until 4 pm. The Friends of Elmendorph will distribute maps of participating artists, which can also be picked up at the Friday evening reception. Art all Around Us is a unique one-time opportunity for people to take in paint-spattered floors and talk directly with artists in their own environments. As an artist myself I know that inviting visitors into the studio is both an opportunity and a challenge. Creating art is a sensitive and personal endeavor. My studio door at the Chocolate Factory is always open, and sometimes people walk in and walk out without saying a word. Others are intrigued and engaging, but no matter what the situation, I always feel a little exposed and vulnerable. When you enter a private studio, remember that the artist whose work and private thoughts and sketches you are peering at is giving you the gift of a sacred space. So, talk to them, find out how they think, how they create; and by the way, everything is for sale. Ten percent of all studio sales will also be donated to the Elmendorph Inn.

Among those opening their studios during the event will be Patti Hill Gordon, who lives across the street from the Elmendorph; Mimi Graminski, also in Red Hook, who will show her sculptural work; and John Corcoran, the Tivoli-based sculptor who was commissioned by the Wall Street Journal to create a memorial to the slain journalist Daniel Pearl. Most of the artists working in the sprawling complex known as the Chocolate Factory in Red Hook will also open their studios: abstract artist Eliza Twichell, painter Anna Cinquemani, watercolorist Betsy Jacaruso, as well as furniture painters Teresa Ackerly and yours truly, Jan Hughes. For information about "Art is All Around Us" please contact Patti Hill Gordon at 845-758-1051 or Ellen Phelan at 845-758-0964.