Bellinger and Groesback collaboration on display at Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts

If you visit the Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts in Gloversville any time in the next month, you will be greeted by a striking steel sculpture next to the lower parking lot. Its form melding industrial repurposed materials with organic curves and almost delicate appendages, “The Story of Lucas” is at once the embodiment of man-made invention and perfectly at home in the woods surrounding it.

The sculpture is a collaboration between local artists Barney Bellinger and Lawrence Groesbeck, who graduated from the same class at Johnstown High School. The idea to collaborate came when Groesbeck visited Bellinger at his studio and Bellinger asked if he would like to build a sculpture together.

The artists began work on the sculpture without a plan and let it evolve before them, sharing the duties of selecting materials, fitting them into the form and welding them together. They worked on the sculpture for four months, taking turns selecting scrap metal and adding it to the form until the sculpture took shape as an abstract figure. It is made entirely of found materials salvaged from nearby sources.

The piece was named for Groesbeck’s son. Bellinger suggested the title because it evoked Lucas’ tenacity, strength, resilience and ability to endure hardship.

Groesbeck specializes primarily in abstract drawing and painting, though he has done some sculptural work with found materials, including cardboard, leather, wood and books. His pieces have been exhibited at the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie, the Shoe Factory Gallery in Rochester and many other locations. His work is also included in private collections across the United States and internationally. He works out of October Mountain Arts studio in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.

Bellinger’s body of work is diverse and constantly evolving, from painting and photography to sculptural furniture and abstract forms made of scrap metal, wood and found objects. His work has been featured in several rustic furniture publications and exhibited at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY, the Smithsonian Institution, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, and many more venues across the United States and internationally. He works alongside his wife Susan out of Sampson Bog Studio in Mayfield.

Bellinger is the featured artist of the Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts’ 2017 Fulton-Montgomery Art Show. He will be exhibiting photography, paintings, industrial sculptural furniture and lighting, and a collection of abstract sculptures scattered around the grounds of the arts center. Groesbeck is also exhibiting five paintings in the show.

The Fulton-Montgomery Art Show, featuring the work of artists who live and work in Fulton and Montgomery Counties as well as the work of local students, will hang from May 6 to June 5. A public Meet the Artists Opening Reception will be held Thursday, May 11, 6-8 p.m. All are welcome to attend. The public may also view the show throughout its run Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts is located at 2736 State Highway 30, Gloversville. For more information, call (518) 661-9932 or visit www.pncreativeartscenter.org.

Saratoga Arts made this program possible with a Community Arts Grant funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Nigra Arts Center announces collaboration with internationally acclaimed artist Barney Bellinger

The Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts and Transitions, located in Gloversville, NY, and operated by The Lexington Foundation, are collaborating with internationally acclaimed artist Barney Bellinger of Sampson Bog Studio. Bellinger is a renowned painter and rustic furniture maker who builds sculptures and mixed media pieces out of industrial objects blended with rustic materials and natural resources. Bellinger and his wife, Susan, work together in the studio to conceptualize and create highly sought-after masterworks.

Bellinger is currently utilizing space at the Nigra Arts Center to expand his workshop. In doing so, he is able to share his talent with both art students and the young adults who attend Transitions.

Transitions is a supportive apprenticeship program for young men and women with autism and other learning differences who want to attend college and/or prepare for a career. It is co-located with the Nigra Arts Center, so recently it was able to arrange for 12 of its Apprentices to take a series of classes with Bellinger, where they will not only learn about his creative process, but also see it in action. The Apprentices will get hands-on experience as they use the objects and tools Bellinger employs in his technique. The classes will continue throughout the spring and eventually culminate in the development of the Apprentices’ own unique vision for an art piece.

Bellinger also plans to lead a series of workshops open to artists and patrons of the Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts who are interested in learning more about his process and the development of a completed piece. For more information about Barney Bellinger and Sampson Bog Studio, visit www.facebook.com/BarneyBellinger. For more information about the Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts, visit www.pncreativeartscenter.org.

The Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts Announces Summer 2015 Artists-in-Residence

The Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts is honored to welcome its first two artists-in-residence, Gwyneth Scally and Michaela Worosz, who are visiting for the next five weeks. They will be working on their own projects at our facility as well as sharing their talents with the public through a series of public workshops. Sign up for one of them for an exclusive sneak peek at the arts center before its September grand opening. Scally will present a three-week Portrait Painting in Oil workshop from 6 – 8PM on the following dates: 7/27/15, 7/29/15, 8/3/15, 8/5/15, 8/10/15 and 8/12/15. Worosz will teach two Fold and Cut Paper Art workshops. The first, a condensed two-week workshop, will go from 6 – 9PM on 7/14/15, 7/16/15, 7/21/15 and 7/23/15. The second, a three-week workshop, will be taught from 6 – 8PM on 7/28/15, 7/30/15, 8/4/15, 8/6/15, 8/11/15 and 8/13/15. All classes take place at the Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts, all materials will be provided, and the cost for each workshop is $100.

Scally is known and acclaimed internationally for her art, which includes large-scale paintings, installation and fiberglass sculpture. Born in Washington, D.C., Scally taught and created art in Arizona for about a decade before relocating to Brooklyn in 2012. She has worked as an instructor, assistant professor and adjunct professor of visual arts, career development, art appreciation, art history and more at six institutes of higher learning, including the University of Arizona, Southwest University of the Visual Arts and Bronx Community College.

Scally’s work has been featured in 20 solo exhibitions, 13 two- and three-person exhibitions and more than 60 group exhibitions throughout the United States, Europe and Mexico. The quality of her work has earned her 18 special awards, grants, scholarships and fellowships since 2000, and she has participated in nine other residencies, research trips, lectures and other such projects in the United States, Europe, Canada and East Asia. 33 reviews, articles and interviews about her work have been published in more than two dozen publications and television stations nationally.

Worosz, a native of Dunkirk, NY, will finish her degree in Visual Arts and New Media, with a minor in Art History, at SUNY Fredonia this coming winter. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in Curatorial Studies afterward in preparation for a career in cataloging and preserving old works of art.

Worosz works in installation, pen-and-ink illustration and book arts. She has participated in three exhibitions – all installation work – in the past year and worked as a gallery assistant in the spring. This fall, she will work at the Burchfield Penney, a Buffalo, NY, gallery, as an archival processing intern. 

Both artists are also teaching classes at Transitions, a supportive apprenticeship program for young adults with autism spectrum disorders including Asperger’s syndrome, nonverbal learning differences, ADHD, dyslexia and other learning differences. The program prepares its students for life after high school in college, at a career and/or living independently. Scally and Worosz’s classes are part of the arts enrichment section of the curriculum, which allows students to express themselves and be introduced to a wide variety of arts disciplines during their time at Transitions.

Visit http://www.pncreativeartscenter.org/summer-2015-workshops/ for more information about and to register for these workshops, as well as updates on other events the Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts is offering. For more information about Scally and to see examples of her work, visit her website at www.gwynethscallyart.com. For more information about Worosz and to see examples of her work, visit mworosz.weebly.com. For more information about Transitions, visit http://www.transitionsusa.org.