The 2023 2024 Small Stones Festival
A Year of Challenges with a Great Ending
Welcome to the not-quite-2023-anymore Small Stones Festival of the Arts. Planning for the year began in March of 2023, with a design predicated on using our previous venue at the Great Hall of Apple Tree Arts. Our first upset came with a change in management and direction at ATA, presenting us with a surprise announcement that the venue was now priced beyond our means. Quick work by our planning committee located an alternative: the Community Room at the newly-renovated Grafton Public Library.
Although a smaller venue, diligent design work convinced us that we could make the festival fit, so the planning commenced once again. Then came the flood.
Our Art Call had been completed, and we were a scant month and a half from the planned festival date, when in August 2023 the Community Room was flooded in a major rainstorm. We tracked the repair process, but as weeks and then months slipped by, it became clear that we could not rely on the room being available at any foreseeable time.
That’s when local nonprofit farm Community Harvest Project offered us use of their beautiful Great Hall at the Brigham Hill Community Barn in Grafton. We redesigned the festival for this new locale and, finally, with a lot of work and a lot of help from our friends, the 2023 Small Stones Festival of the Arts became a reality, although in 2024.
The Exhibition
The highlight of our Festival is a juried exhibition of fine art painting and fine art photography, bringing together many of the most talented artists in our region. For this year’s festival, 182 artists submitted a total of 544 artworks, from which 144 artworks representing 88 artists were selected by our jurors for the exhibition. All submissions, however, are displayed on our web gallery, which you can view following the link below. We encourage interested fine art painters and fine art photographers to consider submitting their work to future years’ festivals; learn more by visiting the Art Call link in the menu.
This year’s exhibition took place at the Brigham Hill Community Barn, headquarters of nonprofit farm Community Harvest Project. We transformed their beautiful Great Room into an art gallery, making for an inspirational venue for our artists and visitors.
Exhibition Schedule
Saturday, January 27: The Opening of the Exhibition – Noon – 5:00 pm
Saturday, January 27: Awards Ceremony 2 PM, Artist Talks, 2:30 PM
Sunday, January 28: Exhibition open, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Tuesday, January 30: Exhibition open, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday, January 31: Exhibition open, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Thursday, February 1: Exhibition open, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Friday, February 2: Exhibition open, 12:00 pm – 6:00m
Saturday, February 3: Exhibition open, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sunday, February 4: Exhibition open, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm – This is the final day of the Exhibition for 2023
Sunday, February 4: Juror Talks, 2:00 pm
(For Artists: Art pick-up on Sunday, February 4 from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm and Monday, February 5 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm)
The Awards Ceremony
Our 2023 Jurors
2023 Fine Art Photography Jurors
Shane Gutierrez
Shane Gutierrez has been a photographer for over 40 years. His business, Shane Photography, opened in 1988 specializing in portraiture, corporate, product and architectural photography. For 17 years he was a core instructors for the Rhode Island School of Design’s Continuing Education Digital Photography Certificate Program. He continues teaching classes with at the Wickford Art Association, the South County Art Association, and the Mystic Museum of Art. He has experience as a lecturer, curator, and juror, and has participated in both solo and group exhibits.
http://www.shanephotography.com
Tom Nault
Tom Nault is a commercial and fine art photographer working in Providence, RI. He looks for the unique in a setting; something that might force the viewer to take a step closer in order to see the image more clearly. Tom’s studio practice specializes in photographing artwork for reproduction online and in catalogs. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the New England Institute of Technology in East Greenwich, RI. There, he teaches classes in Photography, Graphic Design, and Fine Art. Previously, he taught photography at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago, IL and at School One in Providence, RI. He received a BA in Fine Arts and an MA in Fine Arts with a specialty in Photography
Tomtomnault@cox.com
Ron Rosenstock
Ron Rosenstock’s photographs are in the collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA, The Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, The International Center of Photography, New York City, The PeabodyEssex Museum in Salem, MA and numerous private collections. He has been honored with over 100 exhibits in the United States and Europe in the past fifty years including the Worcester Art Museumand the National Museum of Iceland in Reykjavik. Ron has published six books of his photographs. He is a frequent lecturer to social, community and professional groups and an international photo tour leader in Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Cuba, New Zealand and Vinalhaven, Maine.
2023 Fine Art Painting Jurors
Glenn Murray
Glenn Murray is a traditionally trained, contemporary realist painter known for his striking depictions of classic Americana. Primarily a studio painter, he works mainly in oil and acrylic. He creates his paintings using traditional methods of laying down thin transparent washes of color to reach the result. Glenn continues to explore classic themes, intent on sharing an American vision with others. His work is included in private collections and has received numerous awards in national and international competitions. He is currently the president of the Academic Artists Association.
Michael Rose
Michael Rose is an art historian, gallerist, and writer. He has served as the gallery manager of the historic Providence Art Club since 2014. At the Art Club, Michael oversees a rigorous exhibition schedule spread across three unique gallery spaces. Under his leadership, the Club’s galleries have received coveted Best of RI Awards for Best Gallery in Providence in 2019-2022. A frequent exhibition juror and awards judge, Michael has participated in exhibitions for numerous organizations including the Duxbury Art Association, the Dartmouth Cultural Center, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the Lyme Art Association, and others. An active writer, he authors the popular weekly “Inside Art” column, profiling artists and reviewing exhibitions across the State of Rhode Island for GoLocalProv.com.
https://www.michaelrosefineart.com
Kim Morin Weineck
Kim Morin Weineck is an artist working in all fine art mediums. She belongs to local art associations and is a Signature Member of the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod (PPSCC). Kim’s work is widely collected. She has won numerous awards, most notably for excellence in landscape at For Pastels Only for 2020 and 2018 and Best in Show for the PPSCC 2018 annual juried exhibit. A graduate with distinction from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Kim teaches classes and workshops around the country. Her work can be found at Gallery9 in Norwood, MA, Zullo Gallery in Medfield, MA, the Design Center at the Franklin Mill Store in Franklin, MA as well as othervenues. She lives in Norfolk, MA with her husband and two daughters and is often inspired by her local landscape.
2022 Juror Talks
Each year we ask several of our jurors to talk about how they went about the difficult work of deciding which images should be exhibited in person. Their comments will offer some insight as to how these two jurors made their decisions.
Financial Sponsors
We gratefully acknowledge these sponsors who are supporting the Small Stones Festival of the Arts in 2023.
Art and Frame Emporium
Gaudette Insurance
Grafton Cultural Council
Grafton Grill and Crust and the Mooving Cow
Homefield Credit Union
JCSI
Millbury Cultural Council
Pepperoni Express
Roney Funeral Home
Sydney Padgett, Realtor, Sotheby’s International
Theroux Dental Associates
Touchstone Crystal, Katheleen Schaker
Town House Tavern at One Grafton Common
Yesod Foundation
The Massachusetts Cultural Council
2023 Organizing Committee
Jennifer Behymer – Fine Art Painting
Sue Cardosi – Worcester County Camera Club
Ken Crater – Grafton Arts and Worcester County Camera Club
Bonnie Federico – Fine Art Painter, Owner of www.Sellarshop.com
Carol Frieswick – Artist/Juror Liaison – Blackstone Valley Art Association
Bob Hassinger – Worcester County Camera club
James Hunt – Fine Art and Environmental Photography
Carolyn Kinlock-Winkler – Fine Art Painting
Roberta Oakley – Worcester County Camera Club
Bennie Thornton – Worcester County Camera Club
Dana Wilson – Public Relations and Marketing – Worcester County Camera Club
Sponsoring Organizations
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