The Gallery Link
The Gallery Link features monthly fine arts exhibits by local and regional artists.
The Gallery Link in located in Ellenville Public Library & Museum, 40 Center Street, Ellenville, NY, and is open during normal library hours. For more information, please call 647-5530 or visit ww.eplm.org.
UPCOMING EXIBITS
JANUARY 1-29: THE WURTSBURO ART ALLIANCE
The third Annual multi-media show by members of the WAA.
FEBRUARY 1– MARCH 3: PORTRAITS OF PLACES & PEOPLE
by local artist Helen Harkaspi
MARCH 3– 31: GARDENS OF CHINA
Pastels by local artist Pearl Lau
APRIL 1– 28: VISIONS OF SEVEN
Presented by the Garret Society. A group show
February 2010 people•places•things
Paintings by Helen Harkaspi open flyer
Ellenville’s Gallery Link is proud to present a new exhibit of paintings by local artist Helen Harkaspki, “People, Places, Things”. A simple name for an impressive exhibit that offers an array of colorful and courageous work that speaks to all that the artist values in life.
Helen’s portraits, landscapes and still lifes convey her ability for looking closely and carefully at all she encounters.
Each painting seems to tell a story, and her use of color is rich and bold. Helen herself is a powerfully engaging person, who is profoundly present to her work and the world around her. Her paintings invite the viewer to be present as well, and her portraits remind us of the rich depths of every person’s life. While she was born on Staten Island and raised in Minnesota, Helen has lived in this area for 20 years now, initially drawn by the special beauty of our Valley. The artist’s careers have been varied; a wife and mother of two, Helen has been a nursery and elementary school teacher, Zen Buddhist priest and the manager of a gourmet bakery in New York City. Since coming to the Hudson Valley, she has become a grandmother, gardener, kayaker and painter, while earning her living as a psychotherapist. Newly retired, Helen is deeply interested in exploring the emotional life of people she encounters through her art, and celebrating “the color, light and beauty of everything around”
her.
Helen was one of the artists to participate in last summer’s ArtsWAVE exhibit displayed throughout the Village of Ellenville and Town of Wawarsing, but this is her first solo show in our community. The public is cordially invited to attend an Artist Reception on Saturday, February 6, from 12-2pm. To visit Helen’s website, go to www.helenharkaspi.com
Historic Exhibits in the Gallery Link Next time you’re in the Gallery Link, notice the display case designed by library staff member Laura Smith on Civil War Veterans from Wawarsing. 2010 marks the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War; watch for special programming here at the library.
Interested in history? Go to eplm.org and click on the Research Tools Tab. From there, you can visit Ancestry Plus in the RCLS databases (click on the History & Genealogy Resources tab) or go to the Ulster County InfoPortal and search on HeritageQuest or Ancestry.com. Over 700 people visited genealogy websites through our databases last year.
January 2010
WURTSBORO ART ALLIANCE open flyer
Ellenville’s Gallery Link was proud to host a New Year’s exhibition of paintings, photographs and sculpture presented by the Wurtsboro Art Alliance. The third annual exhibit of works at Ellenville’s Gallery Link by the Wurtsboro Art Alliance, the show was a multi-media display of beautiful work by their dedicated members, artists who are both professional and amateur.
The Wurtsboro Art Alliance first came into being as a not for profit organization at a meeting of seven people held at Valley Brook Cottages in Wurtsboro four years ago. Their first show was held at the Community Church Hall the summer of 2006. Currently, the WAA has grown to fifty members, and has its own gallery located in the former library building on Sullivan Street, which opened to the public in July of 2007. Their connection to libraries is a strong one, and their annual exhibit here has become a favorite of locals and neighbors alike.
This year’s exhibit featured several artists already familiar to Ellenville art lovers, among them Roberta Rosenthal, Janet Campbell, and Cynthia Hall, who have had independent exhibits in The Gallery Link, in addition to participating in the collective show by WAA. Local artist Pearl Lau, who will have her own show here in March, 2010, also had a piece on exhibit. Painter David Munford also has works on display, notable an image of our own Shadowland Theatre, as
does former WAA president John Nielson. Melissa Arnott and Linda Wilkinson have their outstanding photographs in the show, as do Alan Neilsen and Harry Goldman, who’s bridges span the distance from New York to Wallkill.
While landscapes predominated in this year’s exhibit, the show was flavored with deeply moving portraits, as well as abstracts and some surprising images of animals. All the works demonstrated a deep appreciation of what the artist sees, and wishes to share with the viewer. Each piece conveyed a sense of commitment to the subject, and the show was especially powerful in its diversity and clarity.
The Gallery Link Proudly Presents William W. Winters;
“UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL”
Renowned artist William W. Winters invites us to once again reflect upon the beauty of our historic valley with his upcoming exhibit, “Oil Paintings of the Rondout Valley Area, Up Close and Personal”. On display at Ellenville’s Gallery Link throughout the month of December, “Up Close and Personal” features many new works with images of the rolling hills, meadows, mountains and streams, the old farm houses, barns and picturesque views that still define the landscape that surrounds us, while putting us in touch with our valley’s history.
“My life and paintings are concentrated on what it was like in time past”, says Mr. Winter, a self-taught fine artist. He began painting in oils in 1954. His first exhibit was in 1963 at the Ellenville Dutch Reformed Church Art Show; he sold his first painting to DeWitt and Patricia Clinton of Ellenville. Since then, he has exhibited his paintings in numerous venues throughout our region, including shows at The Vanderbilt Mansion and Marist College. This is his first show at The Gallery Link since 2007, with paintings composed especially for this exhibition.
Over the years, Mr. Winters’ work has evolved from a purely representational realism to something softer and more interpretive. His valuing of our past is clearly demonstrated in both his desire to preserve it through art, and in his ability to evoke a feeling within the viewer that speaks of a time when life was less complex. He fears that a very special quality of life may be lost in the hurry and stress of contemporary times.
“I remember many everyday events in my childhood: chopping wood to keep a wood stove going, long walks to the water pump on a cold day in the winter… picking berries and dandelion greens with my Mom. I try to produce the same flavor of the past in my paintings.” 
But it not only the past that Mr. Winters’ artwork is about: “We don’t often take the time to savor the daily joys of living. If we look back we may discover the peace and serenity of the good life.” It is more than a feeling of nostalgia one gets from his works, but a reminder to live with an abiding appreciation of we still have here in the Rondout Valley, and to cultivate that attitude in our daily lives.
In his own personal past, Mr. Winter was a Commercial Artist at Channel Master Corp. of Ellenville, NY for 22 years, and he then painted signs professionally. He first came to his (and our) beloved Rondout Valley when he was four, and he attended school in both Napanoch and Ellenville. His father was a supervisor at the Rondout Paper Mill in Napanoch.
Currently a retired Industrial Training Supervis 
or in Sign Manufacturing at the Eastern NY Correctional Facility, Mr. Winters is still very active in our community. He has also published “Years and the People: An Album of the Catskill Foothills”, which is available for reference in Terwilliger House Museum at Ellenville Public Library (the Museum is open year round on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 12noon-3:00pm, or by appointment). He has also written on Yama Farms.
A collector of assorted memorabilia and ephemera,
Mr. Winter hosts several websites celebrating our areas history. To take a journey through the past, go to www.olellenville.com, www.napanochny.com and wwww.grahamsvilleny.com. You can view his paintings on line as well, by going to www.billwintersart.com.
“Oil Paintings of the Rondout Valley Area, Up Close and Personal” will be on exhibit at the Gallery Link from December 2nd through 30th. Please join him at an Artist’s Reception on Saturday, December 5, from 12noon-2pm (snow date: 12/12).
Ellenville's Gallery Link Welcomes Fine Artist Jamie Greene with
"PASSAGE"
Fine artist Jamie Greene will present "Passage", a unique and thought provoking exhibition of multi-media works, throughout November at Ellenville's Gallery link. "Passage" will display pieces that combine the techniques of printmaking, drawing and painting both on canvas, and in the form of 3 dimensional "memory boxes".
Jamie's work deals with the themes of memory, family, home and touches on the ephemeral. By making her work appear aged, it begins to reflect the way a memory evokes the many layers of personal history embedded within each of us. She often blends images of herself with family and strangers within her work. She also includes text delved from her own memories, creating situations that people throughout time have experienced and can always relate to: love, death and friendship.
The themes of Jamie's artwork then, are not only meaningful to her, but are rendered in a way that allows the viewer to have their own intimate response to it. She focuses on the many qualities which make us all human, and especially on the idea of home as an overarching symbol of humanity. Each piece is aesthetically integrated, with a skillful use of color and design. While they seem to capture a moment in time, her technique conveys a sense of movement - or passage - through time, as well.
When asked about the title of her upcoming exhibition, "Passage", Jamie said that it is representative of the personal passage in her own life occasioned by the completion of her Masters of Fine Arts degree and her teaching certificate. Currently, she works with the mentally ill and chemically addicted in Hornell, where she lives, and Bath, NY.
The Art Therapy Group she offers in addition to counseling, serves as a source of inspiration to her. "My own artwork is personal and therapeutic for me, helping me understand and cope with what happens in my life. My hope is to inspire others to the same experience; art is a powerful tool for transformation and growth". It is Jamie's desire to communicate with others, her candor in self-exploration and the courage to express herself in her artwork that makes "Passage" so interesting and enriching.
The public is most cordially invited to attend an Artist Reception at The Gallery Link on Saturday, November 7, from 12noon-2pm. The Gallery Link is located at Ellenville Public Library & Museum, 40 Center Street, Ellenville, NY, and is open during regular library hours. Please call (845)647-5530 for more information. "Passage" will be on display from November 4-December 2.
Jamie Greene graduated in 2005 from Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA. She received her MFA from SUNY New Paltz in 2008. Her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout New York, in New York City, Boston as well as in Georgia and Connecticut. This is her first exhibition in Wawarsing. To view Jamie Greene's work and read her artist statement, go to ArtistSItes.org/Greeneprints/.
Art Students from SUNY Ulster exhibit in Ellenville
Ellenville Public Library & Museum is proud to present "Selections for SUNY Ulster Students" in The Gallery Link from October 2-28,2009. The show of student drawings and paintings has been curated by Instructor Pablo Shine, himself an artist and painter in the Hudson Valley. Pablo teaches several classes at SUNY Ulster, and is excited about sharing his students' work through this exhibition at the Gallery Link. "I wanted to give the community a glimpse of the variety, the different levels and the abundance of talent that there is in this area." 
Pablo has taught classes at many venues in Ulster and Dutchess Counties, which in addition to SUNY Ulster, have included the Woodstock School of Art, Ulster Boces, and Marist College. A community minded person, he very much appreciates the diversity of his students at SUNY Ulster, who come from all paths of life, from teens to seniors, and from many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. "People come to my classes for different reasons and they have different levels of talent. I feel my role is to nourish that talent, to further what they already have or to unlock what they don't know they have."
Curating "Selections from SUNY Ulster Students" is only one of the contributions that Pablo is currently making to our local community in Ellenville and Wawarsing. Many people will remember Pablo from cooking classes he offered at our new Senior Housing development last Spring, through his work as a Nutrition Educator at Ulster County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Presently, he is teaching a program at Community Action, through a partnership effort with CCE. A dedicated teacher, he has also taught cooking classes in Spanish here at the library.
Pablo's artwork, recognized for its daring use of color and strong thematic content, has been exhibited throughout the Hudson Valley, and several of his drawings and paintings will be exhibited alongside that of his students. The show is eclectic, challenging and powerful. The variety of work reflects the diversity of the students, but also demonstrates their commitment to their art, to the process of developing their skills, and most importantly, to the artistic process itself. The Gallery Link is located in Ellenville Public Library & Museum, 40 Center Street, Ellenville, and is open during regular library hours.
Please call 845-647-5530 for more information, or visit eplm.org/gallery.
Ellenville's Gallery Link Presents "Portals"
an Exhibition of Abstract Paintings by Haynes Atkins
On August 29th, "Portals", an exhibition of paintings by local artist Haynes Atkins will open at Ellenville's Gallery Link. The show featured Haynes' abstract paintings, whose shapes and organic colors convey a sense of quiet movement, relation and invitation. Perhaps this is why he titled the exhibition "Portals"; the word conveys not only an entrance to something, but also a means to an entrance. Atkins' works have an inner warmth that belies their abstract nature by touching us with a sense of familiarity, making us feel at home, inviting us to get lost -- or find something -- in their depth.
In addition to his abstract painting, Haynes, who divides his time between Accord and Brooklyn, works in restoration and decorative painting in the Broadway district of Manhattan. He has participated in many exciting restoration projects, most recently at the Beacon Theatre and currently at Carnegie Hall. As both a fine artist and master craftsman, Haynes finds increasingly that the different disciplines inspire and influence each other. His work is becoming more integrated, as he uses what he learns from his craft to explore and expand his art.
When asked what he enjoys most about abstract painting, Haynes' reply is immediate: "Everything! The material, the experimentation with different media, the surprise effects." But it is his life here, in the Hudson Valley, with his wife and child, that inspires him most. "The Hudson Valley is luminous. I am deeply inspired by our Hudson Valley way of life, by the people and the diversity of the arts." The result of this inspiration is clear in his paintings, and felt directly by us, their viewers. The invitation to enter offered by "Portals" is well rewarded.
Ellenville Public Library & Museum invites you to an Artist Reception for Haynes Atkins on Saturday, August 29th from 12 noon-2pm. "Portals" will be on exhibit through the month of September in the Gallery Link at Ellenville Public Library & Museum, 40 Center Street, Ellenville. The public is most cordially invited to attend.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Haynes studied print making & painting at Auburn University, where he acquired his BFA before going on to get his MFA at the University of Illinois. He has exhibited throughout New York City and the United States. This is his first exhibit in the Hudson Valley. For more information please call Ellenville Public Library & Museum at 845-647-5530.
Ellenville's Gallery Link Presents ~ ANDY KOOISTRA - Selected Works
From April 29 through May 27, Ellenville's Gallery Link
is proud to present "Selected Works by Andy Kooistra". The exhibition of Kooistras's paintings, drawings and sculptures includes new works as well as sculptures that have never before been displayed in a public show. Much of Kooistra's work takes on an eclectic expression, regardless of his medium. His sculptures are clearly influenced by the ancient art of Chinese, Celtic and Etruscan cultures. Kooistra's paintings are developed in what he describes as "a fauve and automatic conception", with varying shapes used in a abstract pattern and colors shown in a wide distribution, balancing throughout the design of the work. People are often included in these designs, an integral part of what Kooistra wants to represent; we are not separate from what we view or the beauty of the world that surrounds us.
Kooistra's intention is to create landscapes and flower gardens that "give off a joyful glow and vibration." He is successful -- viewers deeply appreciate Kooistra's paintings, which are praised for their bright, shimmering primary colors. Come see them for yourself at The Gallery Link, and experience the joyful quality of Andy Kooistra's paintings and sculptures throughout the month of May. You can enjoy the artist himself at an Artist Reception on Saturday, May 2, from 12-2pm. The Gallery Link is located in Ellenville Public Library & Museum, 40 Center Street, Ellenville, and is open during library hours. Call 845-647-5530.
TOMORROW'S ARTISTS TODAY
Ellenville High School Students to Exhibit at The Gallery Link
Ryan Scarzafava Halima Akter Savannah Shaw
Megan Dennis Nicole Nichols
From March 4 through April 1, 2009, The Gallery Link at Ellenville Public Library & Museum will present a unique exhibition of artworks by students in the Drawing and Painting class at Ellenville High School, along with pottery from Anthony Borriello's Ceramics class. Instructor Richard Greffrath recommended the exhibit because he was impressed with the high quality of work his students were producing. "Over the past year, I've witnessed a lot of artistic growth in these students, who put a great deal of care and time into their work. Their color combinations and choice of subject matter demonstrate a creativity and talent worthy of a public exhibit." The students have a wide range of interests that is reflected in their individual pieces, even when they are working on the same task, such as the prints reduction project assigned in the class (several of which will be on display for the exhibit.) They get their inspiration from a variety of sources, including music, nature, fantasy, friends and abstract art. Picasso and Pollock, Japanese anime and Marilyn Manson are among their favorite artists, which even include each other. Each of them is clear about what kind of artwork they most like to do, whether it splatter painting, drawing, or a combination of fine arts. The pottery is by first year students, who learn a variety of hand building skills like coiling and slab building along with glazing and firing techniques. These are motivated and thoughtful young artists who offer us insight into the eyes and creative expression of tomorrow, today. There will be an Artist Reception on Saturday, March 7, from 12-2pm. The public is most cordially invited to attend. The Gallery Link is open during regular library hours. Print Flier!
ART FROM THE HEART - 
Ellenville Public Library & Museum would like to thank the staff and neighbors at the Northeast Center for Special Care for an outstanding exhibition last month, which was co-hosted with Ellenville Regional Hospital. The show will remain at the hospital's Healing Art Gallery through the end of March. "Art From The Heart" featured original fine art drawings, paintings and poetry created by artists and writers of the Fine Arts Program of the NCSC. These artists, called "neighbors" at
the Center, are people who are touched by traumatic brain injuries and related conditions. Their creations are by turns colorful, reflective, courageous and beautiful. While the works are as diverse as the artists who made them, the show was beautifully integrated and very inspirational. To learn more about the Northeast Center for Special Care and the Fine Arts Program there, visit their website at www.northeastcenter.com.
Ellenville Public Library's Marion Ehrhart and family talk with Susan Togut, Director of the Fine Arts Program, Northeast Center for Special Care and visit with Nettie, a Therapy Dog.
A guest enjoys the exhibition.
"Ellenville Art Show" Asha Golliher of Ellenville Public Library & Museum at Ellenville Regional Hospital's Healing Art Gallery with artist Charlie B, talking about his painting of where the 4 rivers come together in the Catskills.
Susan Togut, Director of the Fine Arts Program, Northeast Center for Special Care and Curator of Art From the Heart Exhibition; Debbie Briggs, Director, Human Resources and Volunteer Coordinator, Ellenville Regional Hospital; Asha Golliher, Community Relations Coordinator, Ellenville Public Library & Museum; Diana Rose, Graphic Artist and Friend; Nettie, Therapy Dog, Northeast Center for Special Care and friend to all.
Asha Golliher and Wendy T. view her work at Ellenville Regional Hospital's Healing Art Gallery.
Elizabeth C. in front of her paintings at Ellenville Regional Hospital's Healing Art Gallery.
A view of the show at The Gallery Link, Ellenville Public Library & Museum.
Another view of the show at The Gallery Link, Ellenville Public Library & Museum.
Photos of Marion Ehrhart, and of Diana Rose by EPL&M
Other photos are by Diane Nuise from NCSC