Detail from "Tendrils 2."

Join us 2 – 4pm this Sunday, April 22 at the Gallery at Riverside Press in Essex, Connecticut for an opening reception for Debi Friedlander’s “eMerging Color” exhibition.

More than thirty works demonstrating Debi’s unique style of manipulating photo prints with added color pencil overlay will be on display. In honor of Earth Day, all pieces draw inspiration from nature, with romantic images of some of earth’s fundamental elements (earth, air and water) and occupants (flora and fauna).

The Gallery is at 18 Plains Road in Essex, across from the steam train museum.

We look forward to seeing you there!

We are looking forward to a busy season, beginning with Debi’s solo show at the Gallery at Riverside Press in Essex, just across from the Essex Steam Train, at 18 Plains Road in Essex, Connecticut.

We hope you’ll join us Sunday, April 22 (Earth Day!) from 2 – 4pm for an opening reception for Debi’s “eMerging Color” collection. These new works explore widely varied elemental images of nature, in presentations both large and small, framed and unframed.

Wine and some delicious whatevers will be served, of course, and we will be very glad to see you there then!

Here’s a map to help you find the party…

Just wait 'til you see (and taste) what we've got for you for Valentine's Day!

It’s a Valentine’s delight…

…with everything you need for your sweeties!

While you’re here you’ll be able to choose from a selection of Debi’s framed work, work in progress, our other mugs, magnets and cards, if you are so inclined.

Don’t miss this chance to make this your best Valentine’s Day of the year… we hope to see you here on Friday the 10th or Sunday the 12th!

Love,

John and Debi

Storms and their aftermath, of course.

But economic and health-related pressure-centers also blew through all our lives, leaving few of us untouched.

With the holidays just behind us and a new year coming on strong, we’re sorting through an interesting blend of relief, anxiety, triumph, anticipation, invigoration and motivation.

And thankfulness that we even have the chance to notice all this.

In grateful recognition, we will host a “Hands-On Gratitude Brunch” at Encoure Arts’ Church House Studio in Haddam on Saturday, January 14 from 10:30am to 1:30pm. We invite you to meet our friend Anne Kubitsky, whose Look For The Good Project, a participatory meditation on Gratitude, invites people to write, paint or draw “glimmers of gladness” on postcards and send them to her. During our brunch you can hang out for a while with Anne and other creative, grateful people, and create postcards of your own during our open studio session. We’ll serve light brunchy snacks and supply raw materials for postcards.

Two weeks later, Anne’s 5-9pm Saturday, January 28 shows at the Provenance Center and the Custom House Maritime Museum in New London will display some of her growing collection of postcards – including, perhaps, yours.

This event is free, but we will gratefully accept donations to cover the art supplies and noshables we will provide, or feel free to bring your own art supplies or your favorite weekend snacks to share. Join our potluck brunch and postcard creation session here at the Church House (1338 Saybrook Rd.) in Haddam, on Saturday, January 14 starting at 10:30 am. For more details or to RSVP, please email us at Encourer (at) EncoureArts.com or call 860-345-8686.

Of course, while you’re here you’ll also be able to see and purchase a selection of Debi’s framed work, work in progress, mugs, magnets and cards, if you are so inclined.

We hope to see you here on Saturday the 14th!

Number one thing I can’t stand: holiday letters and top-ten lists. But here’s my letter, and what there is of my list.

Debi and I were in Philadelphia last week for a quick cancer oil-check. No bad news there, thankyouverymuch.

We couldn’t help but notice Philly’s hometown pride over Terry Gross’s “Fresh Air” being crowned the most popular podcast on iTunes. This is no surprise – Terry is a masterful interviewer, and we enjoy her show often.

Last Thursday’s show featured film critic David Edelstein and his year-end list of best and worst movies of 2011. During the  segment, Terry asked him how this year’s movies reflect today’s culture.

Edelstein responded, “Well, apocalypse is in the air, la, la.” (Here’s a link to the full show.)

Like anyone with an ounce of common sense, my hopes for bright futures are tempered by knowledge of frustration and pain in the past. I treasure the cloudless eyes and unwrinkled smiles of my grandchildren, then nurse a strong beverage and doubt the longevity of our species. I plan future projects, while affirming Edelstein’s thought that we are witnessing the end of civilization as we knew it, one movie ticket at a time.

I like to believe this balance of darkness and optimism is evidence of sanity.

In April of 2010, we produced a fund-raising concert to help pay the costs of Debi’s cancer treatments. During an incredible evening of great music, one performance in particular still stands out for me: Mark Erelli singing his song, “Everything in Ruins.” “Sometimes life does suck,” explained Mark in his intro. “But it always comes back.” Mark was battling allergies that night, and his voice wasn’t as strong as he would have liked. But for me his delivery was stunning – a lone voice in the darkness, hoping for a brighter tomorrow.

After Edelstein’s review of the high and low points of our culture’s current mood, Terry lightened up a tad with a touching retrospective of Hugh Martin, the lyricist and composer of her favorite Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Martin passed away in March at age 96, leaving our culture enriched by his beautiful music and sensitive lyrics.

As I listened to Judy Garland’s marvelous performance, the song’s tender tableaux of memory, loss and hope washed over me, underlining that I am not the only one with a range of seasonal emotions amped-up department store jingles can’t begin to fathom.

While our culture staggers through another year’s end, we see what we wish to see, some that is forced upon us, and we entirely miss so much more. Though legend and marketing would have us bouncing gaily along to grandmother’s gingerbread cottage bearing a sackful of presents for all, we are more likely short on time, energy and money, searching for ways to hide our fears of dark futures, while putting on a brave face for the kids. We clip reindeer horns on the windows of our car, hoping the repo man won’t recognize it when he comes to take it away.

Here’s  a shortlist of our families’ year of reality in brief:

• Debi and I move into a new chapter of cancer recovery, as we leave the physical challenge behind (forever, we hope) and deal more honestly with lingering psychic effects. All around us, many friends face their own cancer battles, and we relive the terror with them.

• In a barely active real estate market, we find a slowly growing trickle of success as artists, forging ahead despite doubts we can survive producing icing for cakes so few can afford to bake.

• Debi’s immediate family members are mostly healthy, though her Dad and Stepmom continue to deal with the long tail of last year’s auto accident injuries.

• Debi’s youngest daughter will soon take her two young children across the country this coming spring, making it harder for us to watch them grow up.

• My Mother has had a heart attack and two strokes, and is now in a challenging recovery, battling within a healthcare system designed more to ensure profit for job eliminators than good care for our nation’s elderly.

• My Father, still remarkably vigorous at eighty-five, faces the challenge of a busy world while caring for Mom as her needs exceed his capabilities.

• My brother stretches thin between a demanding job, family and aging parents living nearby, and keeps an eye on a sputtering economy which could at any time derail their plans.

• My sister works tirelessly to bridge some of the gaps in our parents’ care, raise her gorgeous son, and steer a legal course for one of the world’s great cities.

• My eldest son and his wife enjoy the first year of their new son’s life, and we enjoy their happiness from far too great a distance.

• My youngest son finds growing success working with the troubled dogs he loves, and becomes a hero to amazed co-workers and the canines they protect together.

Despite it all, miracles abound, and there is much to be grateful for…*

When Debi and I launched Encoure Arts late last year we envisioned it as a way to create the world we wish to live in every day, and to move on with the second chance Debi’s recovery from cancer had given us. The ferment and re-creation sometimes possible only during the long dark nights of winter have brought us a new outlook, and new light to share. As we transit the stress and celebration of the year-end holiday season we welcome you to this path, and we look forward to the growing light we will all enjoy once again as we rekindle our hopes for Spring.

Shorter nights – just in the nick of time.

Click an ornament and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

* Check this out, for instance…

It takes a gentle touch to work a tiny easel...

You know what they say: Big shoes – big feet.

Our new Tiny Easel series works the other side of the street: tiny little pieces of beauty practically bursting out of their frames.

Each piece is a miniature example of Debi’s unique “Photo-Fusion” process: high-quality prints of her original photos with colored pencil added to take the images in new creative directions.

This time-consuming method is Debi’s “spare time” activity, which she pursues every time she has a few minutes, her pencils at hand, and a folio full of works in progress.

The Tiny Easel series, which begins with images of flowers, combines Photo-Fusion with designs which explore multiple levels of framing.

If you want to get all arty about it, you could consider it the catalyst for a dialogue about how we measure our perceptions in relation to context, or an examination of motion between foreground and background, or maybe an exercise in aspiration.

But don’t put too much paté on your toast points… sometimes a rose is happy to be “just” a rose.

And at the prices we’re able to offer Tiny Easel items, these flowers are pretty sweet indeed!

Tiny Easel Originals – Beauty in Miniature

I’m talking about the new items we brought to the Buttonwood Tree Saturday, December 3 during a FREE opening reception and kickoff for the BT’s first-ever membership drive.

Included in Debi’s “Sensations” collection was an incredible new way to see one of our favorite images, a set of mugs perfect for your favorite art snob, and our very first set of (believe it or not) refrigerator magnets, featuring two of our favorite water images.

The show will hang through January 1, 2012. Check the Buttonwood Tree’s calendar to see when you can view the items still hanging, including the large sunflower shown above, a jury-selected image of Richie Havens, and a variety of other images all meant to evoke sensations.

See you there!

Perhaps Nick Nolte could have used a bit of joe from one of our new “Awake Zone” mugs before posing for his infamous 2002 “not my mug shot” mug shot.

<End gratuitous Nick Nolte mugshot reference>

Or maybe you’d like to enjoy a nice warm beverage from one of our new 11 oz. mugs. View the slideshow to see the mugs!

Each mug adds a little bit of inspiration to your morning – and some days, a little inspiration might be just what you need…

Our first batch of mugs sold out quickly, and we’ve restocked – if you want to start your collection, CONTACT us!

Our first magnet set – already popular in... France!?

Kids loooooove stickers. But magnets are for folks who are into heavy metal – like refrigerators, or filing cabinets.

If you’re also into art, you’ll love our new magnet set, which bring beautiful images to the everyday places of our lives.

Each magnet is a high quality 2″ x 3″ piece of useful fabulosity, perfect for temporarily affixing your grocery list or (grand?) child’s latest artwork to your refrigerator – until something else becomes more important. Meanwhile, these handy little artshards maintain their loving hug on your household appliance, eager to brighten and preserve the bonds of community which hold your very life together.

Not a bad piece of work for such a little thing, doncha think?

Our first set “WATER 1″ includes Debi’s image of a sunset wave on the Connecticut River and her incredible study of imminent wetness captured last year in Oahu.

Want a WATER 1 Magnet Set sticking to your refrigerator? Or to mail to a favorite refrigerator somewhere else in the world? CONTACT us!

We’ve got a lot to celebrate, too, even if sometimes it’s enough to just still be upright at the end of the day. New projects, new friends, new challenges… and new artwork! We’ve got cool stuff to show off, and some delicious recipes to share, too.

Won’t you join us in the studio Friday, November 4 *WHOOPS – due to the epic snowstorm, we’re rescheduling for Saturday, November 12!* beginning at 6pm for an evening of visiting, snacking and catching up? Come as you are, or try on that spiffy new holiday outfit you’ve been waiting for a reason to wear. A new collection of work will be on display, and we’ll fill you in on what an interesting winter it’s shaping up to be…

Feel free to bring something to share, and we’d love it if you’d RSVP.

See you soon,

John and Debi