Month: May 2015

We did it! We raised our entire fundraising goal and more- THANK YOU for all that participated. We are forever grateful for your generosity and kindness. We’re looking forward to making our art look professional and gallery-ready and and can’t wait to share with you the final results! Over the next few months we’ll be getting our pieces ready for an upcoming show- please check back!   Thank you to Suzanne for snapping some shots of the workshop at The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative this past Saturday. Friendly faces old and new came to participate in this collaborative quilt and we can’t wait to see the finished product hanging around town. It was so serendipitous that there was already a quilt show hanging in the space when we arrived- a collaboration between the Culpepper Juvenile Correctional Center and Roy Mitchell Jr., an African American educator with a passion for quilting- read more here . It made for such a cozy setting and great acoustics for blasting tunes from the local radio station. Thanks to all that came out to participate!

Although Innisfree is a great support system in and of itself, I’m looking forward to creating partnerships with other local groups to further foster creative spaces such as the one this past weekend. I’m so grateful to The Bridge for opening up their space to us and would love to collaborate with more groups around town. Be on the lookout for this bright, geometric quilt and come participate should you see more Innisfree hosted events! On the horizon- new fabric patterns (including yet another collaborative quilt project!), a peak at the custom art pieces for our fundraising awards and our new solution for using fabric scraps.

Hey friends! Just wanted to update  you with a few upcoming events where you can get involved in some of Innisfree’s creative outlets.

1. This Friday, May 22, is the last day of our Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for framing all the beautiful pieces that come out of the Innisfree art class. Raising money to frame our pieces means that we can participate in more art shows, display our art on the walls instead of stored in closets, and work on bridging the gap between what is considered fine art and what is considered “outsider” art.  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/innisfree-village-art-gallery#/story

2. This Saturday, May 23 we will be hosting a workshop at The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative from 1-3 PM.Here’s the link to the flyer: innisfreeatthebrdige. It’s free, though there is a suggested donation, and we’ll be working together to make a collaborative quilt. See below pictures of the finished mandala quilt from the workshop between Innisfree artists and the Alzheimer’s Association Arts Fusion program. The idea behind this project is to create something together no matter age or ability. Hopefully the quilt created in this workshop will hang in various public spaces throughout Charlottesville to remind us of the incredible power of coming together. This is the finished quilt from this post!

1. On September 12 (yes, a ways away but we’re already looking forward to it!) the Innisfree Artists will have their very own booth of goods at Fleaville, an outdoor market at the IX park in Charlottesville. Come out and see some of our latest works! 4. And finally, in October (even farther away but we’ll be updating on the lead-up) we’ll be having our very own gallery opening at the Presbyterian church in Crozet, VA. It may even be fun to incorporate a hands-on project into the opening, we’ll see!

We are happy to announce the appointment of Aurore (Rorie) Hutter as our new Executive Director. She will be joining Innisfree on June 1st, shadowing Carolyn until her retirement. Rorie comes to Innisfree from the Virginia Institute of Autism (VIA) in Charlottesville, where she has been Director of Education. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with Distinction from the University of Virginia and her master’s degree in Special Education from Old Dominion University and has served as an adjunct professor at UVA. Rorie has been well known to us through VIA, Sojourners, and as our Charlottesville neighbor. We are thrilled to welcome her to our community.