Art Notes: Papercutters are cut out for Somerset arts center
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"Feathered Fantasy," by Kathy Reed. -
"Peaceable" by Yoomi Kim Yoon. -
"Shalom" by Stuart Copans. Several years ago, the Vermont psychiatrist began creating 1,296 papercuts incorporating the Hebrew word for peace.
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Attendance has been increasing gradually at The Guild of American Papercutters National Museum, which was established in 2009 in Somerset. That's good news also for long-established Laurel Arts, which shares the Philip Dressler Center for the Arts.
The mutually beneficial arrangement has resulted in patrons of one organization discovering the other, and a rise in memberships. Most recently, the two groups formed The Gallery Shoppe @ Dressler, which opened in July in the building's remodeled entry foyer. It carries work by local artists and by GAP members, who are national and international.
The shop has sold $6,000 worth of retail merchandise since it opened, said artist Kathy Trexel Reed, museum coordinator/vice president and GAP board member as well as Laurel Arts board member. The most popular item has been notecards that are "selling like hotcakes," according to Laurel Arts administrative assistant Heather Miller.
An outside juror selects shop artists from submissions, and the first group of 30 is equally split between regional artists, most of whom reside in Somerset County, and GAP members. Profits are divided among the artist and the two organizations.
Items for sale include jewelry, ceramics, glass, metal work, paintings and photography, and prices top off at about $300.
Laurel Arts opened an Education & Dance Center in August 2009 in the nearby Georgian Place Suites, where it moved its performing and visual arts classes and preschool activities and created a retail shop. That made space available in the Dressler Center for the GAP museum begun in November of that year in partnership with Laurel Arts.
Both organizations present changing exhibitions throughout the year and have permanent collections.
The nascent GAP museum collection comprises approximately 25 works, Ms. Reed said, which is maintained in a flat file. All employ papercutting in a range of applications. An acquisition committee reviews exhibition artworks and invites select artists to contribute their works to the collection.
First Published February 1, 2012 12:00 am
