For 28 years the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) has worked to accomplish its praiseworthy mission: to protect the farms, rich soils and agricultural landscape in Washington and Rensselaer counties in upstate New York’s northern Hudson River Valley. In that time the organization has managed to conserve 125 farms and 20,042 acres. And for the last 16 years, a significant source of funding for this mission has come from the Landscapes for Landsake Art Sale and Exhibition, a celebration of the land by the community of local artists. Over the years, more than $700,000 in artwork has been sold at ASA’s Landscapes Art Show, with the artists generously donating 50% of the proceeds, to farmland conservation.
The show opens with a wine and cheese reception on Saturday, October 6th from 12 to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 per person. The gallery is also open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, free of charge.
This year’s exhibition features the work of 60 artists, with 14 participating for the first time. Many of the artists will be on hand to discuss their work throughout the weekend. The sale takes place in the historic barn at Maple Ridge, 172 State Route 372 in the hamlet of Coila, just west of the Village of Cambridge (Washington County, NY), an hour’s scenic drive from Albany. Participating artists generously donate 50% of their proceeds to support ASA’s farmland conservation work.
Teri Ptacek, ASA’s executive director, explains This event celebrates the connection between the art and the landscapes we are working to protect. It’s what makes Landscapes for Landsake so special. The success of this event has had a tremendous impact on ASA’s ability to protect local farms.
Curated by the artists John and Gigi Begin, of Cambridge (Washington County, NY), for the past three years, the couple have generously donated their time, talent and experience to Landscapes for Landsake resulting in the most successful years in the event’s history. There really is no other venue in the region that has all of these incredibly talented local artists in one place at one time, Gigi says.
This year’s artists include: Cyndy Barbone/Susan Hoffer Collaboration, Deborah Bayly, Susan Beadle, Gigi Begin, John Begin, Linde Caughey, Marilyn Cavallari, Matt Chinian, Eden Compton, Susan Coon, Joan Duff Bohrer, Sally Eckhoff, Yucel Erdogan, Ann Fitzgibbons, Jerry Freedner, Janine Gibson, Beth Hill, Conard Holton, Margaret Horn, Mary Iselin, Carolyn Justice, Laura Cromie Kemmerling, Lynne Kerr, Tom Kerr, Carolyn Kibbe, Clarence King, Rose Klebes, Karen Koziol, Carol Law Conklin, Nina Lockwood, Elizabeth Maloney, Leah McCloskey, AnneLise McNeice, Virginia McNeice, Catherine Minnery, Robert Moylan, Harry Orlyk, Leslie Parke, Terry Peca, Leslie Peck, Christopher Pierce, James Rodewald, Elise Sheehan, Laura Shore, Lorianne Simon, Robert Skinner, Seline Skoug, Ferrilyn Sourdiffe, Anne Sutherland (who painted the event’s featured piece, In the Stillness), Marguerite Takvorian Holmes, Terry Teitelbaum, Janine Thomas, Mark Tougias, George Van Hook, Frank Vurraro, Takeyce Walter, Susan Bayard Whiting, and Regina Wickham.
This visitor to the shows over the years has especially admired the snowscapes by artists Mark Tougias and Robert Moylan, both again participating in this fall’s exhibit. (They take on special meaning in our era of global warming.) It’s also pleasing to note the participation in ASA’s Landscapes for Landsake of Laura Shore, an artist whose Farm Share Studio we have promoted with a small ad on our website’s pages.
Click on the link to the ASA’s website at www.agstewardship.org or its Facebook page for further details.
(Frank W. Barrie, 9/26/18)
