So, here at Open Studio, we love art – art in galleries, art in museums, art in artist’s studios – but with summer just a little more than a week away, you know where we REALLY love art? You got it. Outdoors! Today’s episode is a leisurely stroll through West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square, where the West Hartford Art League and the town of West Hartford teamed up for a second year to beautify those white concrete barriers that are marking off the outdoor dining areas. It’s an inspired idea that makes so many people happy, especially the18 talented amateur and professional artists from near and far who competed for the pleasure of getting house paint all over themselves so passersby and diners could enjoy bright colors and remind themselves of the power of art.
One last thing before we get strolling: WESU is a community supported radio station that relies on the generosity of people like you, who won’t find programming like this anywhere else. It’s free form, folks! Ian i’s a labor of love by volunteers like me but it also costs money: money to keep the equipment going and the tiny staff paid. C’mon. You know it’s important. It’s not enough to love college radio. You’ve got to do what you can to keep it going. Please go to wesufm.org and do what you can. Thanks! Okay, on to Blue Back square, then West Hartford Center. Enjoy!
Sneh Detroja, 15, of South Windsor and the Greater Hartford Academy of the ArtsDrew Unikewicz of Portland, who quit her corporate job to study to become an art teacher, painting with her twin sister TaylorWest Hartford police officer Rob Potz on art duty!Yvonne Espinosa of West Hartford (in blue, @ycestudios) painted with her niece, Yasmine ShwayhatNaiya Gonzalez-Breen, 16, a high school junior from Westchester, NY, painted with her friends Lydia and Nadine Whelan, seen belowAnnie Hayami of West Hartford (@anniehayamidesigns) used stencils to create her painting. She was aided by former co-workers who happened to be walking by.This artist was either done or on a break.Eva Blume, 16, of Windsor, making a “groovy” painting with her friend NaiyaSam Ferri (@samsinkwell) “wearing” one of his “Fine Art of Feet” images. He’s offered to teach comics classes at the West Hartford Art League. Below, the art group he’s creating and WESU’s Mona Lisa tshirt that he admired. It’s one of the cool designs available for a donation to wesufm.org/pledge, btw!Beth Reynolds of West Hartford, who teaches at the West Hartford Art League, painted with Melina Mercado, 19, of WindsorLindsay Schmucker of West Hartford (@lindsartandco) an artist at The Claypen in WH and The Firestone studios in Manchester, with her Matisse-y barrier.Lindsay Landry of West Hartford is “an engineer by day and an artist by night.” She painted dandelions in their final fluffy stage because to her they say “summer has started.”York Mgbejume of West Hartford, a student at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, paints “two people finding themselves.”An observer noted my fluffy windscreen which I think an owl once took for a yummy rodent.Julia Fahey of Moodus (@juliafaheyart)
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