Ball & Socket Arts celebrates a full month of having the Workshop Gallery open to the public three days a week, thanks to their crew of volunteer docents. Those who haven’t taken the stroll back to Building 3 yet are invited to take a peek at the iconic rock n’ roll and punk images from Tom Hearn and T Charles Erickson. The gallery is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 12 to 4 pm, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed on Thanksgiving weekend). The Workshop Gallery is free to the public. To arrange a group visit, please contact Ball & Socket Arts directly.
The final viewing date for RITES OF PASSAGE will be Saturday, Dec. 9. But that’s not the only spot in town to view a Ball & Socket Arts show. There is also the Mobile Art Gallery show up at the Cheshire Public Library’s main lobby featuring the work of 11 Artsplace affiliated artists. These works offer distinct views of the factory and will be auctioned online from now to Dec. 19. Proceeds from the sales will benefit Ball & Socket Arts and the artist in equal measure.
Craving your own artistic outlet? Ball & Socket Arts is also seeking original visual art of all kinds for our the non-juried postcard show, “SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED.” These works will be on view in the gallery for the latter half of December (specific dates TBD). The postcards will be sold at a flat rate Affordable Art Market at the show’s closing reception in January.
To submit a piece, mail your postcard to Ball & Socket Arts, Workshop Gallery, 493 West Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410. Be sure to include your name, town, and state. If you are under 16, please include your age as well. Art of all kinds (doodles, sketches, paintings, photographs, collages, mixed media, charcoal) are welcomed. Works postmarked by Dec. 1 will receive priority hanging.
Ball & Socket Arts is also excited to announce “THE ASSEMBLY LINE,” an upcoming community co-created collage led by Rashmi. All Cheshire and local residents are invited to join the process.
Become part of a brand-new, community-made, artist-led process as the whole town lends a hand to make the spring Artcade mural. Rashmi will lead the process through a series of participatory, hands-on workshops around town at Ball & Socket Arts and partner sites in February to April 2024. The 2023/2024 Artcade Commissions are funded by the Connecticut Community Foundation, as well as Ion Bank Foundation.
The final collage will be publicly displayed in the Artcade outside of Building 2 in spring 2024. The piece will be a large-scale work, roughly eight feet tall by 36 feet wide. The piece will be comprised of images cut from assorted photo prints to create an artistic townscape, composed of fragments of photographic prints that will resemble the architecture of an imaginary, but familiar landscape of Cheshire and nearby towns.
Photograph submissions may be uploaded on Ball & Socket Arts dedicated page between now and Jan. 31, 2024.
If you or your organization is interested in hosting a session, please get in touch with us by emailing us at [email protected].
How to submit photos – Use this link to submit your photos: https://ballandsocketarts.smugmug.com/upload/87M3S7/communitycollage
What photos should be submitted? – The selection of photographs used in the collage will be a collaborative effort between the participants, Ball & Socket Arts, and the lead artist. General guidelines for photographs are as follows:
· Please submit your own photographs that feature primarily Cheshire (any era in time, historic to today). The photographs should be of houses, buildings, neighborhood landscapes and scenic areas. Neighboring towns are also allowed.
·Photographs of local public art are especially encouraged, as are images of the Town Green, Town Hall, libraries, schools, and images of road signs/road names (and manholes). Images of historic buildings, the Farmington Canal Linear Trail, religious sites, and local landmarks are excellent.
·Photographs promoting businesses or commercial properties will not be accepted.
·No posed photographs of individuals, prom photos, school photos, vacation photos, or team sports will be accepted.
·Landscape and architectural photographs with figures in the distance, are welcome.
·Participants may take photos using cameras or their cell phones set at high resolution. (Photos will be printed at 8 by 10 inches, so low-resolution photographs will look pixelated)
·Final photo selection rests with the lead artist.
·Images must belong to individuals submitting – their own images or film photos that they scanned. Copyrighted materials will be rejected. Please respect intellectual property. You may not submit images that were downloaded from the web of unknown provenance.
The Ball & Socket Arts team wants to continue to acknowledge and celebrate the tireless persistence and efforts of our volunteers, board members, and local community, who have spent over a decade bringing this project to where it stands today.
For more information, visit https://ballandsocket.org/.