Hello Everyone!

Don’t forget this weekend is our annual Holiday Art Sale, Sunday, December 13, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.  See our new location in The BRASS and all the brand new items we have!  In addition to the penny candy and snacks sold by Snacks ‘N’ Stuff, we have tons of handmade crafts including ornaments, jewelry, patchwork pillows, mosaics, as well as T-shirts featuring classic Top Drawer designs from Michael Pascale and Emmet Estrada, and embroidered tote bags and aprons featuring designs from Sam Buentello!  Scroll down to see pics of The BRASS and a sneak peek of the sale. 

Until then, keep on supporting the arts!

Top Drawer E-Newsletter 10.09

Hello everyone!

October is here and we're in the process of moving to our new location, The BRASS, which will contain the new Top Drawer Art Studio And Gallery, a retail store, and the new headquarters for Snacks ‘N’ Stuff, with more exciting developments to come in the future!  Come see the new space at our Grand Opening during The 6th Annual Warren Walkabout, Sunday, October 25th, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Warren Walkabout will feature open artist studios, a taste of Warren's restaurants, sidewalk sales, and free trolley rides with maps available during the event.  We’ll see you there, and thank you for all of your support at our original locations!  Our new address will be 16 Cutler St. (in the Cutler Mills complex), Warren, RI, 02885.  (If you pull into the parking lot for the new Tom's Market and around the market to the left, we're behind it.)

Ending this year's CONVERSATIONS visiting artist program will be MASKMAKING with C.F., Saturday, November 7th, 2009, 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. (Note that the date has been pushed back to allow us more time to settle into our new space).  C.F. is a Providence-based artist and musician, with comic books published by PictureBox Inc., and noise albums released by Load Records under the name “Kites”.  Join him and the artists of Top Drawer for a special handmade maskmaking session.  This is a highly recommended event!  $40 suggested donation, contact seamush@lifeincri.org to reserve your spot!  www.pictureboxgallery.org

Until then, keep on supporting the arts!

Hello everyone!  We have a lot of news to report!

Don’t forget the Top Drawer event at AS220 this Sunday!  Nathan Fitch, photographer and former staff member at Top Drawer Art Center, slowly built a body of work while there based on the artists he worked with.  After leaving Top Drawer, in a long collaborative process, Nathan sent prints of his portraits to Top Drawer for the artists to draw, paint on, or otherwise embellish.  The result is Double Vision, and will be at AS220's Main Gallery, 115 Empire St., Providence.  The opening reception is Sunday, September 13th, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.  (The show hangs from September 4 - September 26).  Top Drawer artists who are participating in this project are Betty Lou Wilcox, Emmet Estrada, Katrina Cathcart, Brian Novasad, David Robidoux, Wendy LeBeau, Anthony Pontarelli, Victor Simmons, Lindsey Ponte, Jim Feeney, Paul Martland, Anthony Brum, Stefanie Aubin, Dominic Cabral, and Virginia Tavares.  

This Thursday, it's the opening reception for POP Stars! at Top Drawer Art Center.  Artists Stefanie Aubin and Sam Buentello’s work shares in common a unique pop sensibility, as well as a minimalism of design that makes their work precise, joyful, and extremely catchy.  Celebrate their work and meet the artists on Thursday, September 17, 6 p.m. - 8 p. m.   Show runs through October 1st. 

And Saturday, it's the next installment of our visiting artist workshop CONVERSATIONS!  IMPROVISATIONAL PATCHWORK with Denyse Schmidt will take place Saturday, September 19th, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.  Denyse is a quilt artist and designer whose staggering resume includes a line of quilts sold through Crate & Barrel and Sundance catalogs, as well as paper goods published by Chronicle Books.  Join her and the artists of Top Drawer in this special textile workshop designed to bring out your improvisational instincts in creating your own unique patchwork projects.  This is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED event!  Workshop fee is $40/person. Contact seamush@lifeincri.org to reserve your spot!  www.dsquilts.com

Also at AS220 for the month of September, in the Open Window Space in Taqueria Pacifica (next door to AS220's Main Gallery at 115 Empire St.), see a small selection of paintings by Anthony Pontarelli!  With some new works and some classic ones, Anthony's work seems to work particularly well there..

And stop by The Cheese Plate, at 54 State St. in Warren (on the corner of State St. and Water St.), to see a small selection of works by Top Drawer artists Sam Buentello, Stefanie Aubin, Michael Pascale, Brian Lamora, Kyle Komiega, Anthony Pontarelli, and Livia Young!  Have your own private reception for us with one of their delicious cheese platters and their selection of wines!  

And last but not least, we have a very special announcement to make!  Top Drawer Art Center is MOVING!  As of October 1st, our new address will be 16 Cutler St., Warren, RI 02885 (in the Cutler Mills complex), and we will be part of The B.R.A.S.S. Building, the new Day Program site for L.I.F.E. Inc.  We will now be occupying a larger studio and retail space (formerly the Basically British Tea Room), and expect lots of exciting new changes in the future, with new and improved facilities and the same excellent, unique art you've come to expect from Top Drawer's artists.  From all of us here at Top Drawer Art Center, we'd like to thank all those who've supported us during our first four years at our East Providence location, and we promise many great more years to come.  It is with your support that this program has become an undeniable success.  Keep in mind this month's events will be our LAST EVER at our East Providence location, so now's your chance to see it before it's gone! 

Stay updated for our Grand Opening event in Warren next month, and keep on supporting the arts!      

Top Drawer E-Newsletter 8.21.09

Hello Everyone!

Remember, tomorrow is our next CONVERSATIONS workshop, AND WE DREW A CITY TOGETHER: PARTICIPATORY CITY BUILDING WITH COLLAGED STICKERS with Andrew Oesch and Meg Turner (Saturday, August 22, 2009, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.). This project is about authorship of our communities- about dictating our environment through individual desire and group effort. At times this is harmonious, driven by planning discourse and collaboration; cohesive communities creating their visions. At other times the process of authorship is disorderly- overlapping and effacing one desire with another; strangers working independently. We are here to put these conflicting desires into action. What is this event gonna look like? When you walk in someone is going to say "hello." You will be given a sheet of instructions and a pile of stickers. On the wall there will be a big map with empty streets and over to one side there will be a craft table with scissors and markers. The stickers will consist of drawings of architectural elements and complete buildings. You and the artists of Top Drawer will have the job of cutting, coloring, augmenting, collaging, and placing the stickers onto the map. Together we will navigate the tension between our individual dreams and shared resources. Before you leave, the city historian will take your picture so you and your constructions are remembered forever. Oh, did we mention that the sheet of instructions is going to be a beautiful letter pressed print that you get to keep? What do you need to do to prepare? Think about your ideal city. Think about the one you live in. Come ready to play and explore with friends and strangers. Workshop fee is $40/person (suggested donation).

Thanks to everyone who attended the opening reception for Beyond Will Power: The 5th Annual Top Drawer Group Show! It was a great success, and always is a great moment when so many artists come together to celebration their year's achievements. For those who missed the opening, you still have until September 4th to see the show. Pick up a copy of the Providence Phoenix to see Greg Cook's article about the show, or go online to read it here.

We have a very busy September coming up, as the month starts off with an exhibition featuring a collaborative project between photographer Nathan Fitch and the artists of Top Drawer Art Center. Nathan, a former staff member at Top Drawer, spent his time here slowly developing a body of work based on the artists. After moving to New York, he sent us prints of his portraits and requested the artists take theirs and embellish, paint, draw, or otherwise decorate it. The result is Double Vision, and will be at AS220's Main Gallery, 115 Empire St., Providence. The opening reception is Sunday, September 13th, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (The show will hang from September 4 - September 26).

Stay tuned for the final list of artists who will be participating in Double Vision, and also for the other events for Top Drawer this September!

Until then, keep on supporting the arts!

Top Drawer E-Newsletter 8.3.09

Hello Everyone!

Beyond Will Power: The 5th Annual Top Drawer Group Show, opens this Saturday, August 8th, with the reception that night from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. Featuring new work from DJ, Sam Buentello, Anthony Pontarelli, Katie Carcieri, Katrina Cathcart, Brian Lamora, Brian Novasad, Charles Stewart, Peter Hankins, Victor Simmons, Paul Martland, Bill Walker, Doug Nichols, Colleen Monahan, Betty Lou Wilcox, Abby Mason, David Robidoux, Emmet Estrada, Stefanie Aubin, Lindsay Ponte, Emily Ball, Wendy LeBeau, Jim Feeney, Jim Lusczc, Elizabeth Davenport, Theresa Medeiros, Justin Beaulieu, Shelly Fournier, Livy Young, Michael Pascale, Dominic Cabral, Anthony Brum, Jaclyn Parkos, and Kyle Komiega, this show will gather the best of the past year for an all-out extravaganza. The show will be up until September 9, 2009.

The following week visitTop Drawer'stable at Foo Fest, Saturday, August 15th from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m., when our friends at AS220 continue their tradition of an annual urban street party, blocking off most of Empire St. in downtown Providence and showcasing artist installations, games, interactive fun and two stages featuring 12 hours of music with such amazing acts as Sun Ra's Arkestra and Lightning Bolt! Create giant exquisite corpse drawings, make masks, play the games in the artist's video arcade, learn to silkscreen your own T-Shirt, or help build a giant pinata! Drinks and refreshments from the bar and local restaurants will keep your wheels turning! The event is all ages until 6 pm, and admission is only $5!! We'll see you there! For more info go to www.as220.org/foofest/

The week after that, Saturday, August 22, 2009, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., is the next installation of our visiting artist workshop CONVERSATIONS: AND WE DREW A CITY TOGETHER: PARTICIPATORY CITY BUILDING WITH COLLAGED STICKERS with Andrew Oesch and Meg Turner. This project is about authorship of our communities. You and the artists of Top Drawer will have the job of augmenting and placing customized architectural stickers onto a map representing your collective “city”. Together you will navigate the tension between our individual dreams and shared resources. Before you leave, the city historian will take your picture so you and your constructions are remembered forever. Oh, did we mention that the sheet of instructions is going to be a beautiful letter pressed print that you get to keep? Think about your ideal city. Think about the one you live in. Come ready to play and explore with friends and strangers. Workshop fee is $40/person. Email seamush@lifeincri.org to reserve your spot!For a preview of the artists' work check out Andrew's interactive installation at Foo Fest.  

Until then, keep on supporting the arts!

Top Drawer E-Newsletter 7.7.09

Hello Everyone!

Thanks to everyone who attended our last CONVERSATIONS workshop, Monoprinting Ourselves with Jessica Gonacha! Jessica taught a lesson in monoprinting and it wasn't long before Top Drawer's artists and public participants were pumping out beautiful new works and filling the gallery floor with drying prints. Thanks, Jess!

Next week, Saturday, July 18, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., we'll host our next CONVERSATIONS workshop, Flight Of Fancy with Sasha Wiseman. Without any formal training in film, Sasha has created improvisational, experimental videos that have been screened everywhere from AS220 to the MOMA. Join her and the artists of Top Drawer in creating a movie from scratch, to be screened at the end of the workshop. Workshop fee is $40/person. Please RSVP to seamush@lifeincri.org.

{Sasha is a member of Providence's Dirt Palace, a feminist art collective founded in 2000 in an abandoned library building at 12-14 Olneyville Square. There are currently 7 members of the Dirt Palace that work in a variety of media, including printmaking, audio and performance art, film/video, lace making, writing, puppetry & painting. Each member has their own studio, as well as shared printmaking facilities, film/animation studio, computer office, textile studio, band rehearsal space & a grand ballroom. As a co-operative, they support each others' creative work, the community and the environment through collective, affordable, low-impact living. They provide a space that promotes their personal growth as individuals, and an environment conducive to challenging thoughts and radical actions. They are continuously building and improving their facilities and structure in order to actualize their ideas. Their collective fosters the growth of strong, throughtful, independent women who use their creative awareness of the world to change it.}

And last but not least, mark your calendars for the next Top Drawer exhibition: Beyond Will Power: The 5th Annual Top Drawer Group Show, opening reception Saturday, August 8, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. Featuring new work from over 30 artists, this show will gather the best of the past year for an all-out extravaganza. The show will be up until September 9, 2009.

Until then, keep on supporting the arts!

Top Drawer E-Newsletter 6.19.09

Hello everyone!

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Saturday June 20, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m., we'll be hosting our next  visiting artist  workshop  CONVERSATIONS: Monoprinting Ourselves with Jessica Gonacha.  Jess is coming all the way from Georgia to spend a few hours with Top Drawer's artists and any lucky public participants to create self-portraits through the technique of monoprinting. This will be a great workshop, so don't miss it! Workshop fee is $40/person, contact seamush@lifeincri.org to sign up before it's filled!

Tonight, get a sneak peek of the artist you'll be spending time with  and her work at CONNECT/INTERSECT, at YES Gallery & Studio. In these new paintings  Jessica explores the ways in which we interact with our environment, each other, and ourselves. Opening Reception Friday June 19th, 6-8:30 p.m., showing through July  19th. YES is located at 146 Water St., in Warren.

Until then, keep on supporting the arts! 

Top Drawer E-Newsletter 6.12.09

Hello everyone!

Don't forget, Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., is the 4th Annual Summer Art Sale, featuring a dizzying amount of work by over 30 artists, plus the chance to meet some of Top Drawer's artists in person! Stop by and visit on what looks like a rainy Saturday. There will be a discount of 30% off all fine art for the day, and if you sign up at the sale for one of our future visiting artist workshops you can receive 50% off the upcoming workshop of your choice.

The following week, Saturday June 20, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m., we'll be hosting our next installment of CONVERSATIONS, Monoprinting Ourselves with Jessica Gonacha. Jessica is coming all the way from Georgia to spend a few hours with Top Drawer's artists and any lucky public participants to create self-portraits through the technique of monoprinting. Workshop fee is $40/person, contact seamush@lifeincri.org to sign up.

And for those who'll be visiting Block Island this summer, stop by Winfield's on Corn Neck Rd. for a delicious meal and to see works from Bill Walker, Stefanie Aubin, Brian Novasad, Carlos Monteiro, Peter Hankins, Kyle Komiega, Katrina Cathcart, Jaclyn Parkos, and Wendy LeBeau. Thanks again for Winfield's and Cindy Kelly for this great opportunity!

Back home in Providence, stop by Brickway Restaurant on Wickenden St. to see new, tiny paintings of vegetables by Anthony Pontarelli!