WHAT'S NEW AT THE OLD COURTHOUSE FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2015
ARTWALK
Artwalk has been extended into October to help celebrate Illinois Arts Month. October's 2nd Friday Artwalk will occur on Friday October 9th on the Woodstock Square from 5:30-8:30pm (please note the earlier hours). Artwalk will feature musicians and other performers, as well as late hours at many of the Square's merchants, and a reception at the Old Court House arts Center for its new October shows.
WHAT'S NEW AT THE OLD COURTHOUSE FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2015
HOW NOT TO PACKAGE YOUR WORK FOR SHIPPING
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As many of you know, each year we do two international shows - Women's Works and Real People. Between the two shows, we display over 200 works a year. About ~125-140 pieces are shipped in from out of state. So over the years, the gallery staff have seen a lot of packages, both good and bad.
The two pictures here show how not to package your work - it's the same piece, top and bottom. It came through the USPS, and from our experience it's highly unlikely that UPS or FedEx would even have accepted it, and they probably would have refused to insure it at the very least.
Luckily the piece came through without any damage to it; had it been damaged, we're fairly certain the artist could not have recovered anything from the post office: they require a higher standard of packaging than this. The artist did insure it, and was basically throwing their money away.
We're going through the process of helping an artist with the insurance process on a piece that was very badly damaged despite being well-packed. They are asking for photos of the box itself, including the little symbols on them which tell you the rated weight and burst strength. Packages like this - which are made up of flattened boxes duct-taped together just don't cut it.
So if you are an artist that is serious about entering competitions beyond driving distance - do yourself a favor and buy a decent artwork shipping box. There are several good models out there, and if you want a recommendation - email us and we'll send them along.
WHAT'S NEW AT THE OLD COURTHOUSE FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2015
ARTWALK
Starting in June, naac and the Old Court House Arts Center will be helping Woodstock revive its Artwalk. We're really excited by the possibilities, and with a nod to our friends over at the Lakeside Legacy and Starline, we're slotting the Artwalk in on the 2nd Fridays of the summer months, from 6-9pm.
Since we don't have a lot of studio artists like the other two art centers, we've roped in all of Woodstock Square instead! The Court House and the other art galleries on the square will be staying open - along with most of the other local merchants on the square - and we'll be adding a dozen local artists at the Old Court House, Woodstock Galleria and the Woodstock Mall. These artists will be bringing in their ceramics, jewelry, fiber arts and more for the special event.
What we're really thrilled about though is the performing arts component. During the artwalk, we'll have musicians and other street performers like magicians, fire eaters, mind readers and others performing around the square and inside some of the stores as well.
For more details - check out facebook.com/WoodstockSquare.
WHAT'S NEW AT THE OLD COURTHOUSE FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2015
PLEIN AIR - QUICKPAINT
This last week, the Old Court House hosted the 2nd Annual Woodstock Plein Air competition. (You can find more details and pics here.) Plein Air is the French term for 'painting outside', and those artists who enjoy it are truly dedicated to their art. (Just think about the cold snap that we had the last week of May if you doubt it!) Artists had up to a week to check in with us and complete their work. They could paint any subject matter, as long as it was within the boundaries of the town of Woodstock.
But what I am personally really impressed with are the artists who participated in the QuickPaint. These artists had only two and a half hours to check in, find a location, paint a picture, frame it and turn it back in to us. And if that wasn't hard enough - the day of the competition, it rained all day. Despite this, some of the pieces are simply amazing.
I really encourage you to stop by and check the work out - it's on display until the end of June. The Plein Air is on display in the north gallery and the QuickPaint is in the north vault gallery.
WHAT'S NEW AT THE OLD COURTHOUSE FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2015
A hanging system! We’re very excited to finally get a hanging system installed in the galleries – and it’s about time. For any of you who have visited the galleries (especially if you’re an artist who has taken part in one of the shows and helped hang your show) you’ve probably noticed that the walls here aren’t simple drywall. The walls are plaster. Very old, very hard plaster that not only bends most nails you try to drive into it, but also has a tendency to lose large chunks of it if you’re a little too aggressive with the hammer It’s the main reason we close down for two weeks in January: to re-plaster the walls and repaint.
We finally decided to try out a hanging system on a few of the walls that have been the most trouble and we’ve been really, really happy. The system has a white track (which we installed at 9’ so it’s not as visible) with thin silver wires. Attached to each of the wires is a hook system which can be moved up and down the wire by pressing on a button on the hook. Very simple to use and very fast to adjust compared to driving a couple of holes when the position of the nail isn’t quite right the first time.
We’re hoping that with this system we may even be able to go to repainting every other year (though it’s too early to tell) and if this is the case, the system should pay for itself in a single year. (If you’re interested in the system, you can find out more at www.ashanging.com – look under the cable system.)
Arts Center