Natick “Art in Bloom” exhibit showcases creations of area artists and floral arrangers

May 16, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Natick Garden Club, in association with the Natick Art Association and the Natick Center Cultural District, turned the blank canvas of Lebowitz Hall, on the lower level of the Morse Institute, into a background for interpretive live floral arrangements inspired by paintings, jewelry, woodwork pieces, mosaics, and more during a two-day long “Art in Bloom” event.

Participating members of the Garden Club were each assigned an artwork created by a member of the Art Association. From there, the gardeners used their imagination to tell a story in flowers. Floral arrangers explained their vision on an accompanying placard.

Arrangements featured below were created by members of the Natick Garden Club, except where noted. Here are some of the stunning creations:

Natick Art in Bloom — Painting: “Summer Evening, Elm Bank Reservation,” by Ryan Black. Arrangement by Rose Coyman and Julie Mason who in their statement said their use of soft pinks and greens “…echo the feeling of a sunset walk through Elm Bank.”

Bike art in Natick

May 10, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

I’m not sure whether I caught the tree’s eye or if it caught my eye first, but either way, I pulled into Coolidge Gardens at the corner of Rte. 27 and Cottage Street to see what this was all about.

Not since finding a rentable Lime bike propped on a fence in Wellesley along Rte. 135 have I seen such an eye-catching bike-oriented work of art. Though this Natick piece was clearly real art, and I learned later it was the work of resident Jeff Olsen.

“Jay Ball asked me to do something fun with that dead tree, and since it’s rotten enough that it can’t really be carved, we decided to decorate it,” Olsen says. “It’s been a work in progress for a couple of months, but it’s done now… It’s a bike frame, wheels, fenders and a couple of handsaw blades.”

One finishing touch could be for Olsen to add something to the spokes to catch the wind and make the wheels spin.

Olsen has made his mark with bicycle art on the Cochituate Rail Trail as well, with a piece at the Wonderbread spur off of Speen Street that honors Josh Ostroff for his work on the trail.

Olsen is part of a vibrant arts community in town, and has been involved in other public art initiatives, including the Tunnel of Love from 2019.

Natick Farmers Market gets a breath of fresh air

May 9, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Natick Farmers Market got back outside onto the Common this Saturday after spending the fall, winter and early spring indoors at the adjacent Common Street Spiritual Center.

Vendors showcased a wide variety of art and food, including cookies, coffee, bread, and beer.

Many vendors went without canvas atop their tents, not wanting to blow away. Let’s just shoot for a little less wind and cloudiness next weekend. We’ll get it down soon enough.

The Natick Farmers Market runs from 9am-1pm on Saturdays year round.

Pretty sure this isn’t another Natick traffic calming art project

May 9, 2022 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

The spray painting, first yellow, then pink, has transformed the pavement of at least one South Natick neighborhood in recent weeks.

Another traffic calming art project, we wondered at first? A plein air event?

Deciphering the hieroglyphics has made clear this is the work of Eversource, and that’s been confirmed by contractors caught yellow- and pink-handed surveying the neighborhood. They’ve said the gas mains will be dug up, that connections to homes will be replaced, that meters might get shuffled around…but they don’t work directly for Eversource.

Eversource apparently did send vague notifications to some neighbors. We didn’t make the cut, but have reached out to the utility by phone. Customer service was nice, but unable to secure any info. They told us to try the town, so we have.

Now we brace for whatever is ahead. We’ve been told unofficially it could be messy. It could go on for weeks or months. We don’t doubt that work needs to be done. We’re hoping they can sync up the racket with nearby landscapers.

Meanwhile, the town of Natick has been working with Eversource to try to wrap up a number of on-and-on-and-ongoing projects across the community. You can catch the ins and outs of that via a recording of the Natick Select Board Meeting on May 4, about 1 hour, 3 minutes in.

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Artists emerge at Natick Mall’s Zero Empty Spaces opening

May 8, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Impeccable Scoop, sporting pretty much the best creator’s name ever, got his start painting sneakers and has expanded into jackets and canvasses.
Kevin Baldwin teaches music to students in the Natick Pubic School system, and his visual art intertwines with music.
Doug Monteiro works with his dad landscaping during the day, and has generated a following of millions for his art on social media.

These are the artists I chatted up during the opening of Natick Mall’s new Zero Empty Spaces. As we wrote earlier this year, the outfit launched in Florida in 2019 to give artists access to high profile but inexpensive studio space.

The welcoming of Zero Empty Spaces to the Mall continues to morph from a collection of retailers and restaurants into a mix of that, plus more destinations, like Level 99 real life gaming venue. “We’re really happy to be here,” said Zero Empty Spaces co-founder Evan Snow, who along with his partners has focused previous operations in Florida.

Impeccable Scoop told me he was excited to get a window spot, one of about a dozen within the Zero Empty Spaces location, adjacent to a Louis Vuitton (among Scoop’s art, a portrait of Virgil Abloh, an artistic director for the fashion firm who recently passed away). Scoop, who works days in customer service and engagement for a well-known life sciences firm, previously had another shop in Boston’s Seaport section.

He travels from Lynn to his new mall space, hoping to capture the attention of shoppers. “I’m no salesman…if people like it, they like it,” he said. He notes there are many older folks who live at the condos attached to the Mall, and while his art might not appeal to them, “they’re grandkids like it.”

impeccable scoop natick mall zero empty spaces — Impeccable Scoop

Natick resident Kevin Baldwin is a man of many talents, providing private music instruction while also crafting his visual art. He told me about how he makes a limited number of prints of his originals, wanting to make his art accessible to those who can’t afford an original, while at the same time not overexposing his work.

You might be familiar with his other work in town, including traffic calming painting in Natick Center. I spoke with Baldwin shortly before he was giving a talk (“eyeMusic: At the Intersection of Visual Art and Sound”) in a nearby Mall section dubbed “The Vibe.” Armed with one of his works, and his saxophone, Baldwin was ready for his Mall moment.

kevin baldwin artists zero empty spaces natick mall — Kevin Baldwin

Doug Monteiro studied graphic design in college, and his latest art focus is on pointillism, as seen in many of his works at Zero Empty Spaces. Some are political, some focus on other current events or celebrities (Betty White as Marilyn Monroe), all of which can make for some interesting interactions among his social media followers. “I like talking about my art in person better,” he says, and indeed, he had a steady stream of visitors while I roamed through the studios.

doug monteiro natick mall zero empty spaces — Doug Monteiro

Zero Empty Spaces at the Mall still does have some empty spaces, but they should fill up given the price to occupy them. The working artist studio had 7 spaces available at the start of the month. The rent is $4.50 per sq. ft. inclusive of utilities on a month-to-month basis (spaces range from 104-238 sq. ft.)