Coffee and canvases on view at Clark's

By John Weeks
ITEM STAFF

CLINTON— Sheryll Collins is taking art back for the people.

No longer will art be monopolized by elitist art galleries, she said. Collins has arranged for local artists to display their work in Clark's Café at 310 High St. in Terrance Plaza, Clinton.

"I want people to be able to look at art while they are having a cup of coffee," she said. "Art used to be part of our society. It was part of everyday life. I want to bring that back."

The Art on Rotation Gallery was launched last week. Each month the paintings of a local artist will be displayed on the walls of the café. Patrons of the café will be able to enjoy them and even purchase them. The work of Eugene McCarthy from Worcester is currently showing.

"We had a great reception for him," Collins said. "We had over 25 people show up. It was very successful."

Collins said she has already booked artists to show throughout 2007 and into January 2008.

"I'm trying to book two years ahead," she said. "I'm really trying to create a buzz here. I want artists to get out there and learn what it's like to display."

Collins said a traditional gallery may charge an artist up to 60 percent of his or her art sales and a base fee, even if nothing gets sold.

"I am only taking 14 percent," she said. "And none of that is profit. I am just covering my costs. Al and Ann Clark will only take 1 percent. And that is only if they sell something."

Collins has quickly turned Clark's into a hub of artist activity. For local artists it is becoming the place to get breakfast or just swing by for a coffee.

"It is healthy for a society to have the arts," said Liz McDonald of Shrewsbury, who will be showing her work in February. "I never had art growing up. I always appreciated nice art. I visited art galleries. One day I just went to the Worcester Art Museum and signed up for classes."

"Painting is something for me to do in addition to being a stay at home mom," said Janet Ware-Leo, of Shrewsbury, who brings her daughters Zoie, 4, and Bella, 2, to Clark's for breakfast at least once a week.

"I have always been very creative," Ware-Leo said. "My last job was as a Web designer. I left to raise my family and it's nice to still have a creative outlet."

"This is an excellent chance to show my work," said Tally Forbes of Concord.

Forbes said she shows her work in the Back Alley Café in Concord, but was really excited to get into Clark's.

"This is what art is all about," she said. "It makes if fully immersed in people's lives."

Collins' idea began one day as she was having coffee in the café.

"There were some paintings hanging up and they just weren't the best quality," she said. "I figured one of my paintings would be worthy."

Collins asked Al Clark to hang one of her paintings and he agreed. The next thing Collins knew, she was being asked to hang more of her paintings.

"People really took to my work," she said. "That's when I realized this was a great opportunity to get other artists out there. I started asking all the artists I knew if they would show."

Collins mentor and painting instructor Kat O'Connor was working out of the Worcester Art Museum. It was here that Collins met McDonald and many other artists.

"Kat is great," Collins said. "She was teaching at Worcester State College, the Worcester Art Museum and the DeCordava Museum in Lincoln. "When I found out she was leaving the Worcester Art Museum I told her she could teach out of my house in Clinton."

Thus was formed the Clinton Artist Group.

"Clinton is a very beautiful place," said Collins, who moved to town to escape the hustle of the city. "It's a haven for artists. The Clinton Artist Group is really fun. We go to art galleries together. We take classes together. We spent a week or art up at Arcadia National Park."

Collins hopes she can get the town's youth more involved in art and is already planning an art show to display the work of seniors at Clinton High School.

"Art is great for children and young people," she said. "They do better in school when they have art. It saddens me that many schools have had to cut art programs. I want to get kids back doing art."

McDonald said art was a good way to keep youths "off the corners" and "out of trouble."

Collins said art builds self-esteem for children because they are making something with their own hands.

"It also builds self-esteem for adults," she said. "A lot of artists who are very talented have a very negative view of their work. The Art on Rotation Gallery is there to help them get over that. They have to get out there and show their work."

There are a few factual errors, but overall, it's a great story.

Clinton artist teams up with café to launch gallery

By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

CLINTON- A regular customer at Clark's Café, Sheryll A. Collins eventually became friendly with owners Al and Ann Clark. She also became a little weary of looking at the mediocre artwork on the restaurant's walls, which Mr. Clark had bought from an out-of-town company. Knowing that Mrs. Collins, a nurse, was an artist, Mr. Clark suggested she bring in some of her own work to perk up those walls. She agreed, and has now enlarged upon his idea, creating the "Art on Rotation Gallery," which has its debut this month. The gallery, in the restaurant at 310 High St., will showcase a different local artist each month, starting with W. Eugene McCarthy, a retired College of the Holy Cross professor whom she met at the Worcester Art Museum.

His paintings, for sale at the restaurant, include scenes of Sterling, plus some from his travels to Maine, New Mexico and Croatia. His framed paintings are priced from $50 to about $300, and some prints are available."It's an opportunity for us to get recognition for local artists. I try to keep the costs low, and it hopefully will bring more customers into the restaurant," said Mrs. Collins, a mother of five and grandmother of five - with another on the way.

She already has artists booked for all of next year, including an all-artist show next December, in time for the holidays.

When paintings are sold, Mrs. Collins and the Clarks get 10 percent of the price, with Mrs. Collins getting 9 percent.

"I'm not making any money on this, believe me," she said with a chuckle. "It's a labor of love, and I'm doing it to promote the fellowship of artists.""I said to myself, 'If you don't go for it, and push it, nothing happens.' It's this entrepreneurial thing in me," Mrs. Collins said. "Al (Clark) thought it was an awesome idea, and I just wanted to go for it."

Next month will feature the works of Elizabeth McDonald of Shrewsbury, and Dr. Sapna Savant, a physician for the Fallon Clinic in Worcester. The restaurant, in the lower terrace near the post office, has room for dozens of paintings.

Kat O'Connor, a Worcester-based art teacher with whom she became friends, teaches at Mrs. Collins's home. Mrs. Collins comes from a family of artists. She and her twin sister, Sharon Carloni, have been painting seriously since they were in the third grade."Our teacher told my mother to get us private lessons right away," she said. Now, she is joined in her passion by her husband, Stephen D. Collins, who works for IBM, plus three of her daughters."So it's an art family," she said.

A reception for Mr. McCarthy took place at the restaurant last Friday, -and a reception is scheduled each month for featured artists. On Jan. 5, a reception for Ms. McDonald and Dr. Savant is scheduled at Clark's.

"Lots of artists lack self-esteem. I want to get them out and show their work," Mrs. Collins said. "Their work is a gift, and it needs to be shown. And besides, we need something like this out here."Mr. Clark said he also was getting tired of hanging art from a company that more-or-less mass produces paintings, although he said they were hand-painted. He said some of them sold, but they were a lot smaller than the local artists' paintings, and definitely not as well done.

"I just put them up to decorate the walls, but then I thought of Sheryll's art, and thought it was a great idea. The quality is much better."

"This is unique," he said, gesturing to the paintings on the restaurant walls. "It's local artists, and some of the scenes are around here. People might recognize a spot they know and relate to it. I think it will work, and if anything, it gives artists more visibility."

He joins a growing number of artist-business owner partnerships that have sprung up in Worcester County and elsewhere. From a law office in Gardner to Emerson Hospital in Concord to coffee shops in Worcester and a townwide event in Uxbridge, artists are circumventing expensive and hard-to-penetrate galleries. The Uxbridge project has evolved to nearly 300 artists having their work shown in businesses all over town.Mrs. Collins said she is always looking to showcase additional artists.
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The article by Karen Nugent of the Worcester Telegram has some errors in it.

Here are the corrections;

1. B. Eugene McCarthy not W. Eugene McCarthy
2. The gallery at Clark's was my idea not Mr. Clark's.
3. Mr.Clark's percentage of sales is 1%, the gallery percentage is 14%, for a total of 15% per painting sold. Other venues percentage of sales assessed at the sale of a painting will be slightly higher for the Art on Rotation Gallery.

Art over easy at Clark's Cafe
By Patty Angevine / Correspondent
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - Updated: 10:19 AM EST

Most of us think of art galleries as pristine places with white walls and minimal furnishings, the kind of space that instinctively compels one to whisper so as not to disturb the artistic ambiance — or accidentally bump into something.

But that’s not how it should be, according to Clinton resident and artist Sheryll Collins, who has come up with a novel idea for creating people-friendly art galleries. Called “Art on Rotation Gallery,” Collins first venue is Clark’s Café, a Clinton restaurant known for its good food and friendly atmosphere.

“I’ve been coming [to Clark’s] for years because it’s a great, homey place. They make you feel welcome and the food’s good too,” said Collins. “I’m an artist and so I had noticed that he had a few small paintings on the walls, but they weren’t local artists. So about a month ago I approached Al [Clarke] and said, ‘here’s my idea and I’m calling it the Art on Rotation Gallery. We’ll feature a different local artist each month, and I’ll advertise it and encourage people to come. And that’s how it got started.”

Clark loved the idea, which he believes will bring even more customers to his popular High Street establishment — a comfortable, diner-like setting that features an old-fashioned counter and vinyl booths. It’s the kind of place where you can come for a good meat-and-potatoes meal or just a cup of coffee and a muffin — either way, chances are Al Clark will be there to greet you as you come through the door.

“We wanted to create a place where people could come and socialize and catch up with each other because they don’t get too because their lives are too busy,” said Clark. “I think [Sheryll’s] idea is a good one and I think it’ll bring in new people who want to see the art. I can’t even draw between the lines myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like art.”

Collins, a nurse by profession but an accomplished artist as well, is launching her Art On Rotation Gallery at Clark’s, with plans to eventually find other locations in nearby communities, including Bolton, Hudson and Sterling. She believes restaurants, banks and other community spaces that people visit during the course of their day-to-day life offer great opportunities for art appreciation.

“The arts are good for us — it does something for the soul that nothing else does,” said Collins. “Art is part of you whether you’re an artist or not. It’s a part of your soul that needs to be touched and I want to bring that to the community.”

Putting their art out there

Collins’ brainstorm to install an art gallery at Clark’s Café is not the first time she has come up with an innovative idea for sharing her passion for the arts. About a year ago, she invited Worcester artist Kat O’Connor to teach an art class in her home. A well-known watercolor artist who has taught at the Worcester Art Museum and Worcester State College and exhibited in galleries across the region, O’Connor has brought a number of local artists to Collins’ home in the past year. Over time, the classes have nurtured the birth of a small but vital artist community in Clinton, according to Collins.

“Kat’s an awesome teacher and it’s become a wonderfully, close-knit group,” said Collins. “We started with watercolors and have since added an oils class. Most of us think we stink as artists — that’s a very common thing among artists — but our teacher won’t let us think like that anymore.”

O’Connor offers a different perspective on Collins’ achievements as an artist and organizer as well as the talents of others in the group, many of whom will exhibit their work in the Art on Rotation Gallery.

“It’s an interesting, dynamic group of people that started out as a class but has really become more of a support system than strictly a learning environment,’ said O’Connor. “Sheryll’s idea of a gallery for local artists is great too because the experience of putting your work up on a wall means you have to acknowledge that you’re very good at what you do and that’s the hardest thing for them.”

The first local artist to hang his work in the Art on Rotation Gallery is Eugene McCarthy, a Worcester resident and retired Holy Cross professor. McCarthy’s collection includes images ranging from mundane to magnificent. A beautiful rendering of an old Croatian doorway is as skillfully executed as a landscape portrait depicting the New Mexican desert or a mountain range in Maine. On the evening of the opening of his exhibit at Clark’s Café in December, McCarthy said working with O’Connor and the Clinton-based artist community has helped him develop as an artist.

“I’ve been painting since the 1970s but it wasn’t until I retired from Holy Cross that I decided to get serious,” said McCarthy. “And it’s only been the last few years that I’ve felt I could really do this — that’s where the support group has been very helpful. You do something and you say, ‘ah, I don’t like it,’ but then other people will find beauty in things you thought were weak spots. Kat is the teacher, but Sherry and Steve [Collins] and the gang are fellow teachers too the way we all work together.”

At the end of the month, McCarthy’s paintings were replaced with that of Westborough resident Liz McDonald and Worcester physician Dr. Sapna Savant, whose work will be on exhibit throughout January. Both are accomplished watercolor artists, and like the others in the Clinton group, hold down full-time jobs when they’re not painting. On the morning they were preparing to hang their work on the walls at Clark’s Café, both women said they hope the exhibit not only brings an opportunity for others to enjoy art, but to be inspired to find a place for it in their own lives.

“It’s really exciting to see my work here,” said McDonald. “You put your heart and soul into creating something. … Maybe people will come in for a cup of coffee, see our art and develop their own interest in art. Everybody needs to create something whether they know it or not.”

For more information on visiting or exhibiting at the Arts on Rotation Gallery, contact Sheryll Collins at 978-549-5822. Patty Angevine can be reached at patty5133@yahoo.com.

Used by permission of Patty Angevine, Mothertown

Featuring the photographic works of Mary Jensen

Show runs May 4th - May 30th

A meet the artist reception on
Saturday, May 10th from 12:00 - 2:00

Refreshments will be served

Art on Rotation Gallery
Located in Clark’s Cafe
310 High Street - Clinton, MA

Mary's Bio

I was born and raised in the small New England town of North Brookfield. With a graduating class of only 89 students, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

Although I had always had a passion for photography and ..the eye.. for it, it had never occurred to me that I wanted to become a photographer.

I worked in factories here and there for 18 years, hating every minute of it. One day I saw an ad in a local newspaper seeking a town reporter. Writing is my second passion so I called the editor. That phone call led to many freelance jobs as not only a reporter but as a photojournalist.

The first time I held a camera in my hands and shot my first published photograph is when I realized I wanted to become a professional photographer.

I enrolled in the Hallmark Institute of Photography and graduated in June of 2004. Though it was an extremely intense program and a trying time in my life, I know I made the right decision. I am happiest when I have a camera in my hands. When I..m not holding my camera I..m thinking about my next shoot.

Hallmark was the best move I ever made.

http://www.myspace.com/mjensenphotography