Sound Shore

Looking for a unique holiday gift? Of course. Craft-Tastic launches Friday night at Pelham Art Center with a free opening reception and all-ages art workshop from 6:30 to 8 p.m. There will be ceramics, artwork, jewelry, glass and furniture to browse. Members get a 15 percent discount on all gallery purchases made through Dec. 10. The gallery exhibit runs through Jan. 7 of 2012.

Click here for more information or call (914) 738-2525.

There’s a free mosaic workshop at the Pelham Art Center this Saturday, Oct. 1. People of all ages are invited to participate in what the Art Center describes as “an underwater-themed group mosaic.” It’s intended to celebrate the organization’s current exhibition, “The Ocean Reglitterized.”

Mosaic-ers will use tiles and bits of broken ceramics to help bring to fruition a large mural designed by artist and Pelham Art Center faculty member Lisa Vassolatti.

No need to register; tools and protective wear will be provided. Bring in old pottery to break up and use in the mural if you like.

For more information, contact the Pelham Art Center at info@pelhamcenter.org or 914.738.2525.

The Pelham Art Center plans to shimmy, foxtrot and Charleston right into the Roaring Twenties on Saturday, May 14 at its “Gatsby Garden Party,” the Center’s 36th annual spring benefit.

An announcement says, “Guests will feast on a three-course small plates gourmet dinner served at stations complete with decadent desserts, all catered by Pelham’s own “Rollin’ Bistro” – restaurant Bistro Rollin’s new catering business. Cocktail options will include wine, beer, and cocktails including the evening’s signature drink, the Southside. The sounds of the Jazz Age will fill the air throughout the evening with dance music following dinner. All ticket levels include dinner, dessert and cocktails. Valet parking will be available…. Among the bevy of silent auction items, guests may bid on a private tour of the Brant Art Foundation in Greenwich, CT, select art pieces, CNBC and Art in America internships as well as stays in private homes in Budapest, Ireland and Bar Harbor.” There will be the Robins Art + Giving Fund, where guests may make contributions to directly fund free art workshops, class scholarships, bus transportation for visiting schoolchildren, free gallery tours, and artists-in-residence for at-risk youth.

The event is being organized by Committee Co-chairs Leslie Berkery and Robin Bratone, as well as Board Chair Barbara Carden and President Anna Riehl.

Individual tickets are $175 (Sponsor), $400 (Patron) and $1,000 (Benefactor) and can be purchased by phone, mail or online (pelhamartcenter.org/events). The RSVP deadline is tomorrow. For more information, call 914.738.2525×111 or email springbenefit@pelhamartcenter.org

A former TV producer and journalist who’s worked in marketing for the past 20 years will take over as the new head of the Pelham Art Center.

New Rochelle resident Lynn Honeysett will succeed Lisa Robb as executive director of the arts center in January.

Honeysett is currently the senior vice president for marketing and communications at United Way of Westchester and Putman, a job she’s held for five years. Before that, she worked in marketing and branding for 15 years.

“Pelham Art Center is a well cared for treasure, thanks to its excellent boards, staff and the leadership of Lisa Robb,” Honeysett said. “This community arts organization, with its superb exhibits, quality classes and devoted supporters, has the potential to become a not-to-be-missed destination and resource for the arts in Westchester and beyond.

“I am thrilled at the prospect of increasing the Pelham Art Center’s resources and inviting a larger audience to participate in its extraordinary offerings.”

Robb, the art center’s director since 1999, will leave her post at the end of this year to seek a new position in the non-profit field.

During her tenure, Robb expanded the art center’s educational offerings, increased partnerships with other organizations and implemented new outreach programs for those without easy access to the arts.

“The Pelham Art Center is a vibrant area resource for those who participate in its many programs,” Robb said. “Lynn will be able to increase the center’s impact and strengthen its programs. She is an experienced and passionate advocate for providing resources to strong organizations which serve the public. After her long career spent refining and communicating organizations’ goals and mission, a thriving community art center is a perfect place for her skills to flourish.”

New Rochelle resident Lynn Honeysett takes over as the new executive director of the Pelham Art Center in January. (contributed photo)

The Pelham Art Center is hosting its 13th annual Studio Café fundraiser at 7:30 tonight. From the announcement: “Chaired by Board Members Sue Childs and Jennifer Dunbar, this fun and casual event will take place at the Art Center and in its tented courtyard. The irrepressible Board Member Mark Sidgwick has volunteered to auctioneer the live auction, ensuring a fun and entertaining evening for all. If you are a person just starting to collect art this is a great way to learn the ropes of participating in a live and/or silent auction of artwork –  and you will also be supporting a local community art center. Dozens of artwork by local, regional and national artists have been donated to the Art Center in support of its 40 year commitment to providing the community high quality, year round art exhibitions, classes, public programs and outreach to underserved audiences. There is a final delicious aspect to the evening: more than 25 local restaurants and caterers are donating food and desserts to the sumptuous buffet. Up to 200 guests will enjoy the food and also the live music and vocals from Pelham Jazz Ensemble. Bid in a live and silent auction of fine art and other unique and artful items: book packages, artist studio and museum tours, jewelry, planters and more! All funds raised support the 100’s of free and affordable programs the Art Center offers more than 18,000 people of all ages who live, work and visit in the area.” Tickets will be available at the door for $75. Contact the Pelham Art Center at 914-738-2525 ext 111 for more information.

The Pelham Art Center is exhibiting an amazing range of work by its students and faculty. If you’ve never stopped in, this will give you a good sense of the variety of programs there: video production, ceramics, painting, photography.

Director Lisa Robb gave me a tour the other day, and explained what it means to be a community based arts organization — lowbrow, highbrow, multicultural, unpredictable, a reflection of the community itself.

Here is “Place Setting,” by pottery instructor Andrew Coombs:

And stoneware by instructor Jeanne Carreau:

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A 10-year Pelham resident and flutist will be featured at a free concert at the Pelham Art Center on May 15.  Amy Hersh and pianist Matthew Lewis will be joined by Guest artist Elizabeth Condon on oboe, performing compositions by Debussy, Poulenc, Ginastera, and Reinecke in the Art Center’s main gallery space. The event is at 7:30 p.m.; no tickets are required, but the center is taking reservations for seats.

According to the art center, Hersh “has performed in the New York area for many years but has never had a performance in Pelham. This was a perfect opportunity for Pelham Art Center to collaborate with Hersh by providing her with an appropriate venue for her recital…  Hersh and Lewis have performed together for the last 10 years in chamber music programs in Westchester and Manhattan and at the Church of the Incarnation in Manhattan, where Lewis is the organist.”

They also offered up this bio of the local musician: Amy Hersh “…plays the flute…with directness and an ear for subtlety” (New York Times).  Ms. Hersh began her career playing with the Mexico City Philharmonic and the Filharmonia del Bajio, and is currently the piccolo player of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.  She has performed with many New York metropolitan area orchestras, and has been active both as a recitalist and chamber musician, and as a pit musician in “Les Miserables” on Broadway.    Ms. Hersh was a winner of the Artists International Competition as a member of the “Venus Trio”, which gave its debut in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and was a first prize winner of the New York Flute Club competition.  She received both her Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and attended the Centre International de Formation Musicale in Nice, France. Hersh has taught at the Diller Quaile School, the Concordia Conservatory, and currently teaches at the Hackley School and at her private teaching studio in Pelham.

The art center can be reached at 914-738-2525.