The featured speaker is artist, Dalton Ghetti. He will discuss “The Art of Miniature Sculpting”. Dalton carves almost microscopic sculptures on the tips of pencils.

Members in good standing are encouraged to bring in up to 6* pieces of art for the shoot.  These photos will be places on the member’s webpage located on our website.

Paid member may have up to 12 works on the FCAA website; we are hoping that this photo shoot will enable our members to add to their gallery photos.

New members are encouraged to take advantage of this offer and to get a presence on the “Net”.

* The number of images we are able to photograph will depend on how many members take advantage of this offer.  It may be possible to have more than 6 works photographed depending on available time.

Any work by a member not photographed at the meeting can be emailed in jpeg format to Deirdre at Webmaster@fairfieldcountyarts.com

Harriet Hiller is adjunct professor of art history at Sacred Heart University and Housatonic Community College. In her teaching, she has incorporated her expertise as a lecturer, researcher, journalist, artist, Manhattan art gallery director and private art dealer throughout Connecticut and New York. She has managed international art conferences for art magazines and hosted her own Connecticut Cable TV show on the arts and current affairs.

The April 2010 featured presenter was artist Gerald Saladyga discussing the themes of his new paintings, how he arrived at them, and the medium and techniques he uses.

Gerald lives in Hamden with a studio in downtown New Haven. He received a teaching degree from Southern Connecticut State University and studied art at the Art Student’s League in New York City.

He recently received two grants from Connecticut Commission on Art and Tourism, the state’s One Percent for the Arts and Weir Farm Trust Visiting Artists Program. He is a member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists and Art/Place.

Saladyga has exhibited extensively in his 30 year career throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York City. Most recently, he showed his work at Sacred Heart University; University of Connecticut in Stamford; University of Bridgeport; Connecticut Commission on the Arts Gallery in Hartford; Artspace and Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven; 22 Haviland St. Gallery in Norwalk; Art/Place in Fairfield; and Silvermine Guild in New Canaan, where he also served on its board of Directors and co-chair of the Gallery Committee.

His work can be found in many public and private collections, in Connecticut and New York City.

Visit his website for more information

Lime Disease

Dr. Philip Eras discussed his recent paintings in which he uses geometrics to describe various medical situations.  His presentation will include how he chooses and researches topics; the methods he uses in preparation of the final painting; the decisions he makes about detail, shapes, and colors; and the importance of balance and flow.

Philip Eras retired from a 30 year private medical practice in 1999. During the 1970′s he learned about non-objective art from Rolph Scarlett, who was a major contributor to the first Guggenheim Museum of Non-Objective Painting in New York City.  He then studied art in Woodstock, New York.

Tom has a Fine Arts degree from Yale. For many years, he worked in animation, graphic design, and illustration. His clients included Time Magazine, Random House Publishing, U.S. Tennis Association, and Walt Disney Corporation.

For the past 13 years, Tom has taught a variety of art courses at Silvermine School and he also teaches art at Housatonic Community College. Tom works in a variety of media with an emphasis on oils and pastel. He often depicts the people and sights he has seen from his travels throughout India, Nepal, Egypt, East Africa, Turkey. He has exhibited his work widely throughout the Northeast in juried, group, and solo shows and is the recipient of numerous awards. He is currently represented by galleries in Acton, Massachusetts, Chappaqua, New York, and City Lights in Bridgeport.

November’s speaker was Westport painter, Alberta Cifolelli, who discussed the evolution of her work. She has exhibited throughout the Country for over fifty years and locally at the Aldrich and Bruce Museums, the Westport Arts Center, and Andre Zarre Gallery in New York. Her work is in more than 100 public collections.

Our ’s featured speaker was FCAA member and fiber artist, Deirdre Abbotts. Her presentation  included portrait quilts, paintings and digital art. Included will be photos showing the progress of many of the pieces.

After taking a class to learn how to paint Verde marble, she made her living painting things green. She taught faux finishing at the Brookfield Craft Center’s Norwalk Annex for several years and worked with many area designers.

In addition to making art quilts, Deirdre enjoys working with many other art forms. Mixed media, beads, photography, digital art and web design are just a few of her current passions. She is a self-confessed workshop junkie who believes that most people can make wonderful art – they just have to TRY!

Most recently, she has been painting abstracts with an occasional landscape thrown in for variety. She has exhibited her work in National shows and is published in several books and magazines. Her website is www.deirdreabbotts.com.

For the past 25 years, Hawk has traveled on the backroads of the world, cruised along the Connecticut coastline by boat, and wandered along the streets of New York City shooting indepth documentaries and telling stories with his camera. With a visually interpretive style, Hawk tries to capture the heart and soul of a place on film, depicting the characteristics of the landscape.

“These particular photographs are a compilation of those high moments when what I see and what I feel are a single experience and knowing that something wondrous has happened before my eyes,” Hawk said.

Hawk is an author, lecturer, and explorer whose articles and photographs have appeared in numerous national and international magazines. He is a member of the Explorers Club and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is also the author of the recently published book, “Distant Journeys” which consists of 150 color images taken from some of the most remote places in the world. For more information please go to www.darylhawk.com.