artisan marketplace available

A retail shop at 503 Central Ave. in the heart of downtown Dover is transforming itself into an artisan marketplace.
Cynthia Ouellette, owner of Cynthia Designs Studio, is offering four retail spaces inside her store to established local artisans and craftspeople who are interested in testing the retail waters and looking to build brand recognition.

Ouellette already offers her own hand-crafted clothing line and interior design items at the shop, where she works daily at the sewing machine in the front of the store. The open space inside invites a more bustling atmosphere, she said. When the spaces fill up, “it will become a destination spot.”

Spaces measure about seven by six feet and rent for $100 to $175 per month, plus 10 percent of sales to cover administrative fees. Full vendor guidelines are online at www.cynthiadesignsonline.net.

artist workshops

A variety of artist workshops are scheduled to begin this fall on the Seacoast.
Exeter Center for Creative Arts, a non-profit school providing fine arts education to students of all ages and abilities, offers open figure-drawing studios, among other programs. Artists are also welcome to offer their own classes at the facility at 52 Lincoln St., Exeter. Call 603-778-8441 or visit www.exeterarts.com.

The Coolidge Center for the Arts Studio Art School offers an average of 10 classes each autumn and winter. Media include oil, watercolor, drawing and mixed media in areas such as landscape, portraiture, the figure and abstract expressionism. The faculty includes distinguished local artists, and classes are offered for beginner and intermediate adults and youths. The Coolidge Center is at 375 Little Harbor Road, Portsmouth, 603-436-6607.

Sanctuary Arts, a traditional skill-based community arts school, provides an emotionally safe place for students to explore their own creativity and gain art skills and techniques. Classes in drawing, painting, sculpting, anatomy, jewelry and ceramics are taught by artists. The school is at 5 Bolt Hill Road, Eliot, Maine. Call 207-438-9826 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Artstream Studios offers classes in fine arts at 56 North Main St. in Rochester. Workshops for adults and children together are held on the first Saturday of each month from noon to 2 p.m. Sign up at least one week in advance. Fall classes include clay mask-making, printmaking without a press, and printing on cloth.

Artstream’s workshops for adults include clay workshops on the second Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Work with master potter and sculptor Megan Bogonovich to create hand-built vessels, tiles, pots in porcelain and terracotta clay using a variety of techniques. Other classes include printmaking and jewelry making. Call to register and get information about dates and fees.

art assistants needed
 
Amy Stacey Curtis’ fifth interactive installation art, “Light,” is planned for Oct. 4 through 24 in the Sanford Mill in Maine. The artist is seeking volunteer assistants to help make it happen. Art assistants are acknowledged on signage at exhibits and are fed at meal times. They are welcome to $10 off artwork per hour.

Since 2000, Curtis has been installing large-in-scope work in the empty mills of various Maine towns, each requiring the audience to perpetuate its installations. “The audience completes my creative process,” she says.
Curits was named the Maine Arts Commission’s 2005 Individual Artist Fellow for Visual Art. Her work is meant to convey that we are part of a whole and that everyone and everything is connected.

The opening reception will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4, from 2 to 5 p.m. It will be open Monday through Friday from 2 to 5 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free or by donation, but the work is not appropriate for small children. Directions and more information are available at www.amystaceycurtis.com or by calling 207-838-3390.

art project for peace

New Hampshire Peace Action Education Fund is launching the first “Visions of Peace” Community Art Project.
Artists are invited to create and exhibit an artwork based on the question of “What does peace look like?” Artwork should not exceed 8½ square inches and must be received by Nov. 1. All art mediums are welcome.

In addition to an art exhibit in December, there will also be a reception and silent auction. Updates on the exhibition location, sponsors and other details will be posted on the Web site as they become available. The information is expected to be finalized by Sunday, Sept. 21—the International Day of Peace.

All money donated to the project will go directly to funding outreach and the December community art exhibit. Tax-deductible donations can be made at the Web site or mailed to Bethany Reed at 29 Chesley St., Concord, NH 03301. Checks should be made to “NHPA Education Fund.”

Current project supporters include Seacoast Peace Response, NashuaPeace.org, NH Technical Institute and NH Code Pink. To download a brochure, visit www.nhpeaceaction.org. For more information, contact project director Bethany Reed at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 603-223-8142.