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Art Sale Offers
This weekend, art lovers will have a chance to "open a window" in their lives, as well as the lives of Orange County residents struggling with domestic violence and relationship issues. "Open Windows for SafeArt," an exhibition and auction of unique Vermont artwork, will be held from 4-7 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 7, at the Vermont Law School’s Chase Center in South Royalton. More than 30 works of art will be auctioned, with proceeds to benefit SafeArt, a Chelsea-based non-profit that addresses domestic abuse in Orange County through prevention, intervention, and expressive arts programming for youth and adults. "When you open a window, you receive fresh air into your life, and it invigorates you. And that’s what SafeArt does," Tracy Penfield, SafeArt’s founding director, said. The title of the show is also a reference to the fact that each of the pieces of artwork incorporates an actual window frame. "We invited the artists to create a piece of art in any medium as long as it included an old window," Penfield explained. The resulting work covers a wide range of subject matter and media, including paintings, pastels, fiber, collage, photography, and paper-mache. Artists represented in the show range from the unknown to the well known, including Ruth Barenbaum, Ethan Hubbard, George Lawrence, and Maggie Neale. Neale, who created an abstract mixed media piece that incorporates fabric, paper, and oil paint, said she agreed to participate in the event for both artistic and altruistic reasons. "I believe in SafeArt’s good work and I wanted to help battered women. Artistically, I was intrigued by the challenge of painting on a two-panel window" Neale said. Although artists were free to choose any theme for their window, artist Rebecca Carleton of Randolph decided to represent SafeArt’s mission with her piece. Carleton sculpted clay branches and fixed them to the window frame to represent the promise of spring. "I personally get a lot of comfort from the idea that there are cycles in life," Carleton said. "I wanted my piece to offer that hope to people who have had violence in their life." Performance, Too The Open Windows event will include a performance by the SafeArt Teen Ensemble, which uses drama, dance, music, and poetry to explore domestic & dating violence and related issues. The ensemble often performs at middle and high schools, where it doesn’t shy away from dark issues. However, the Oct. 7 performance will be appropriate for all ages. Artistic expression as a means to dialogue and healing has always been at the heart of Penfield’s organization. A longtime dancer and performer, Penfield completed dozens of residencies in schools, where she says she found pre-teens and teens to be "hungering for expressive arts programming." "Dramatizing stories and inviting students to explore their own responses was more effective than lecturing about teen dating and violence." With these experiences in mind, Penfield created SafeArt in collaboration with Safeline, the domestic abuse and sexual assault support agency for Orange and Northern Windsor counties. Today, in addition to the teen ensemble, SafeArt programs include residencies in schools and community venues, training for educators and agencies, an Artist Mentor Program that pairs teens with adult working artists, and healing work with survivors of abuse. Penfield said the Open Windows auction will provide revenue to continue these services. "For a small non-profit, funding is scarce and competitive. We hope this event will enable us to continue and expand our programs," she said. The exhibition "Open Windows for SafeArt" can be viewed at a pre-auction show this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can also view and bid on the windows online at: www.openwindowsforsafeart.com |
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