The Piermont Library presents our June Virtual Art Exhibition: The Bluefield Artists.  Please click on the Artist of the Month tab on our homepage to view the exhibition.  There will be a virtual reception on Monday, June 7th at 7:00 pm.  Please register on our events calendar to receive the Zoom link.  
The Bluefield Artists are a vibrant community working in all media in innovative and authentic ways. In this exhibit, the artists offer a celebration of their rich diversity and talent which includes works by Michael Craft, Lisa D’Amico, John R Gilbert, Rob Kovacs, Joe LaMattina, Andrew Maisonette, Kayla Sharp, and Carlos Sierra. Each artist has selected a small group of their outstanding pieces that reveal the many ways they express their visual dialogues using their creativity and passion. 

Photograph by Andrew Maisonette

Visit the Artist of the Month tab on our website homepage to view our latest virtual art exhibition featuring the work of John VandenOever.  
John VandenOever came to Piermont in 1988 to be pastor of Piermont Reformed Church on Ferdon Avenue.  Piermonters have long known him as a kind of Renaissance person, performing original music at area venues with his band Who Are They, and exhibiting his art at area galleries and periodically at our library.  His last library show, “Art Is Fun,” featured whimsical assemblages and multimedia works along with 2-D works.  He studied drawing and painting at the renowned program at Queens College/CUNY.  In addition to this virtual exhibit, John currently has paintings and photographs on view at the Clarksville Art Gallery in West Nyack, and in the “members and friends” exhibit at Piermont Reformed.
About this exhibit:  “I welcome the opportunity to show my recent work virtually for many reasons.  No transporting large paintings, no scrounging for frames, no schedule constraints for visitors!  More importantly, the virtual format allows me to share short video projects, and photographs that might not have the technical specs for large prints but which I think are worth seeing.  Also in this show are large and small paintings done in my summer garage studio, and colored pencil drawings made through the pandemic year.  The common thread is translating the beauty that’s all around us, all the time.”

Join us for a fun, relaxing, and creative series of art classes taught by Alexis Starke.  We will embark on an artistic journey to Japan, exploring a range of materials and techniques inspired by artists such as Yoyoi Kusama (check out her amazing exhibition at the New York Botanical Gardens on now!) and Takashi Murakami.  Classes will be held outside and in person with masks and social distancing.  

Join us for an Adult Craft Class in which we will create some beautiful cherry blossom branches for spring!  We will look at the theme of cherry blossoms in art from Japanese printmakers through the Impressionists and then create some of our own.  We will provide you with tissue paper and inspiration images and some Japanese treats!  You will also need a couple of (real) branches, scissors and liquid glue or glue gun.  

For the month of March, the Dennis P. McHugh Piermont Public Library presents Virtual Student Art Show: Inspirations from Disney Studios.  You can visit this exhibition by clicking on the Artist of the Month tab on our website homepage.  

Over the summer, our art classes for kids and adults took inspiration from the art and animation of Disney Studios and some of the great Disney artists including Mary Blair and Eyvind Earle.  This program tied in with the Summer Reading theme of folk tales and fairy tales, Imagine Your Story.  We hope you enjoy the magical works our students created.  

Mary Blair lived from 1911 – 1978.  She was born in Oklahoma, then moved to California where she went to art school and met her husband, Lee Blair.  They both worked for Disney Studios where Mary was one of the first women artists to be hired.  

Many people at Disney thought Mary’s art was too colorful, too abstract, and too wild!  But Walt Disney himself loved her work and Mary did not change her unique style and color combinations!  Mary traveled to South America on a tour with Walt Disney where she got more ideas for her art. 

She created art for lots of Disney movies like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Cinderella.  Mary would do concept art paintings and then hand them over to the animators who would turn them into movies. She also designed the ride It’s a Small World and illustrated children’s books, designed theater and television sets, and created murals and mosaics. 

Eyvind Earle lived from 1916 – 2000.  He was born in New York City and moved to Hollywood California with his family when he was 2.  His father was also a talented artist.  Eyvind Earle always wanted to work for Disney Studios and kept trying to get a job there.  He was finally hired at age 35.  He is most famous for his work on Sleeping Beauty.  For this movie, Eyvind Earle took inspiration from all over art history- painters from the Renaissance, Medieval times, Japanese and Perisan art, and the unicorn tapestries at the Cloisters Museum in New York City.