Happy Spring everyone! The month of April brings many things to do at the Art League.

On April 18, join us at the Vanderbilt Parkway Half Hollow Hills Community Library for an “Art Encounter”. Art League instructors and staff will be there with hands-on activities for kids, live demonstrations, and to answer any questions about upcoming summer programs. Also on the 18th, Long Island University Professor and Fulbright Fellow Neill Slaughter will be at the Art League to show some of his work and discuss his experiences while on his fellowship to India. Then on April 25 & 26 we are excited to host the ARTIST AS ENTREPRENEUR BOOT CAMP, a highly lauded professional development training workshop developed by the NY Foundation for the Arts. Learn what you need to do to handle the business aspect of being a successful artist. Details are in the April 9 newsletter.

Congratulations to the award winners of the Long Island Artists Exhibition. Many thanks to juror Andrea Wells of Tibor de Nagy Gallery in NYC for taking on the difficult task of selecting these artists from among the many amazing works of art in the gallery. Visit the gallery and see these works for yourself, you will be in awe.

I’m happy to introduce Peter Pitzele as a contributing writer in the Art/Write segments you will find posted online at www.artleagueli.org. Peter’s first Art/Write is a very entertaining piece titled “Doug Reina: A Light Touch”.

The trees and the grass aren’t the only thing going green this spring. With the upcoming summer catalog the Art League plans to go green with our new and improved online catalog using the technology employed by the free online magazines. Flip through the pages without licking your thumb, find your class, and register online right off the page. It saves you time and saves the environment at the same time.

The Art League is always trying to improve our place in your lives and in the extended community. I welcome any comments or suggestions to further this goal. Send comments to info@artleagueli.org.

We are keeping up the momentum here at the Art League and have many exciting activities and plans.

First, please join us this Sunday at 2pm in the Art League’s Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery for an Afternoon Tea Tasting with Farrah La Ronde-Hutchison, environmental scientist and creator of her own line of Gaia’s Essence Teas. Ceramics instructors Jo-Ann Gartner, Gina Mars, Russell Pulick, Toni Rosembaum, and Ruth Sachs will exhibit their handmade tea sets and pottery at the event as well. Visitors are welcome to purchase any tea or ceramic item they wish. Bring a friend – the event is free and open to the public.

On February 17 at 7pm, noted printmaker Dan Welden will be discussing his residency and experience as an invited artist at the Guanlan Printmaking Base in China. It was through his residency at Guanlan that Dan was inspired to bring Li Kang’s woodcut prints to the US for exhibition in our gallery. There is no charge to attend the discussion.

I am thrilled to announce the Art League’s partnership with the Suffolk Cooperative Library System. All Suffolk County residents with a library card and who are new to the Art League will receive a free one-year introductory membership to the Art League. Art League instructors will be conducting art demonstrations at various libraries in Suffolk County, shining a spotlight on the Art League and their classes. If you would like to learn more about the program please contact Julie McLocklin at jmclocklin@artleagueli.org. Julie will be interning with us as part of completion of her Master’s degree in Art History/Museum Studies at The City College of New York and is responsible for marketing the Art League and its instructors to the Suffolk Library system.

Have you ever wanted to find a place to just get away and paint or draw on your own terms? Starting this spring we are piloting a new program at the Art League where you can do just that. Share space in one of our large studios with eleven other people on Friday evenings, or weekend afternoons. Each studio will be open for three hours on those days, come as often as you wish. It is advised studio space is reserved in advance as space is limited, but if there is room in the studio we can be flexible and work with you. If painting and drawing from the model is your thing, we will also have a studio open for that purpose as well, following that same schedule.

Also on the drawing board for this spring are “Trydays on Fridays”. Curious to learn about a particular class but want to know more before you are ready to sign up? “Trydays on Fridays” will give you sneak peek at what to expect. On select Fridays in the three hours between 6:30 and 9:30pm, Art League instructors will run through a short session, demonstrating class activities. Each “Tryday” will feature two or three classes. If you would like to know more about a particular class and would like to see a demonstration, please send your request to info@artleagueli.org. Details and rates concerning Trydays and studio sharing to come.

Art never stops. Neither do we. While public schools are closed this winter break we will be open for a few fun workshops for kids and grown-ups, too. Register now, we still have openings for sessions coming up next week. We also plan to be open during spring break.

Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Kisseleff as the Art League’s new Art Education Program Director. Elizabeth was most recently Director of Non-Degree Credit Programs at Pratt Institute. In her years of experience she has worn many of the hats that she will find herself in at the Art League, making her a perfect fit for our organization. In addition, Marianne Mead will be joining us as Summer Art Adventure Program Director, spearheading a newly re-vamped program administering and teaching new programs at the new SAA location at the Chestnut Hill School in the Half Hollow Hills School District.

With so many changes afoot and innovations in the studios, I welcome your input as we try new things. I encourage you to reach out to me and share your thoughts.

Best,

Charlee Miller,

Executive Director, Art League of Long Island