By Robert Brune
PINE HILL — This is the time of year pop-up arts and craft shows emerge in almost every village throughout the northern Catskills. Art Pop, one of the standout holiday shopping opportunities was put together by our own Mountain Eagle Arts and Culture writer, Christein Aromando, along with artist Mina Teslaru, owner of Bellfire in the Catskills, an exceptional off the grid glamping experience in Roxbury. Despite an unexpected snowstorm leaving many without power, art lovers came out to shop and support local artists the weekend of November 23 rd at Pine Hill Social on Main Street in Pine Hill.
Aromando reported on the opening of Pine Hill Social, the event space between Tito Bandito’s and the Post Office, this past summer. She explains, “Four local women came together to provide a space for community pop-up events. It’s kind of a chameleon space that can be transformed into anything you want.” The space has hosted a wide variety of events including art workshops, clothing pop-ups, a barber shop, Reiki and physical practitioners, and is open to any experience you can dream up. It was a perfect fit for Art Pop.
This past summer, Aromando got to know many of the AMR Open Studios Tour artists through her reporting with the Mountain Eagle. The experience of connecting with the local art community led to the inspiration of doing a fine art pop-up. Aromando approached Teslaru to participate in the art sale, and Teslaru expressed interest in not only adding her art but joining Aromando in organizing the holiday sales event. The two ladies pulled it off with marvelous success as they transformed the small space into an elaborate store filled with smaller scale affordable fine art.
The very well curated room displayed art which included Kathleen Sweeney’s paintings using natural materials, Ricky Zia’s ornaments and sculptures, Sheila McManus’ Round Barn paintings, functional pottery by Michael Boyer, Alan Powell’s encaustic paintings, Kim Kenney’s paintings and cards, Odgen Kruger’s wrapped rocks, paintings and collage, Gary Mayer’s wire animals, Gio Scotti’s mixed media pieces, Shawn Patrick Anderson’s jug sculptures, Richard Tazzara’s beautiful spalted maple woodwork, Gerda van Leeuwen’s ceramics and inventive hand bags made of packing blankets, Holly Cohen’s photography gift cards and prints, fiber artist Tony Brogan’s comfort balls and thought pods, paintings by Gail Freund, Lesley Powell, and Brigid McGinn, animal totem paintings by Gina Teslaru, and artfully crafted wasp hives by Patrice Lorenz. Art Pop also featured work by the curators themselves, Teslaru’s unique fiber art wall hangings and ornaments, and Aromando’s emotional black and white NYC street photography. “There are a million art shows, but I wanted to provide an accessible outlet for the art to find their way into people’s homes,” says Aromando. Teslaru expressed her passion for this endeavor, “Every artist has little things they make. This was an opportunity to clear them out of their studios. I’m passionate about helping artists sell more outside of the gallery setting, whether it’s online or a pop-up weekend event.”
Teslaru and Aromando look forward to making Art Pop a biannual event. Follow @pinehillsocial on Instagram for upcoming events in the space.
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