Wherever there is some light, a white wall, and a blank surface, you’ll find artists eager to get to work. The Umbrella is no exception. With fifty-five artists working year round in their studios, the building is always brimming with creativity.  

As a portrait artist, one of the great joys of my work is being able to celebrate people and their stories. My current work explores the intimacy of relationships, personal narratives, and how we take care of each other.

If you have a special relationship in your life, I invite you to participate in this unique series of portraits. Perhaps you have a close sibling, a parent, a spouse, or a group of friends who you would like to celebrate. I want to hear your stories.

written by Meghan Murray, The Umbrella's 2016-2017 Artist-in-Residence

In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, I thought I would focus March’s blog post on a few women artists.

by Rebecca Cook

When passion meets purpose, it’s a beautiful thing.

Sunny Tang is a senior at Concord-Carlisle High School who discovered her affinity for volunteer work early. The school requires students to perform 40 hours of community service before they graduate. Sunny burned through those 40 hours by the end of her freshman year. As a sophomore, she looked around for a place where she could combine her dedication to service with her love of art, and found The Umbrella.

Description:

The Umbrella Community Arts Center is seeking a talented and creative teacher for our adult ceramics program. The right candidate should be able to facilitate an established group of committed students who operate at an advanced skill level. The instructor should be able to supplement a strong wheel based course, with hand-building elements and cone10 glaze instruction.

written by Rebecca Cook

Oh, the irony. An artist labors to make their work ready to send out into the world – for an art show or a website – only to realize an entirely new art form is required first. Photography. The art of capturing the art.

written by 2015-2016 Artist-in-Residence, Meghan Murray

Motivation comes to us in many forms. Perhaps it’s a goal that motivates us (“I’d really like to finish these five paintings for that exhibition coming up!”)

Perhaps motivation comes in a talk with a good friend, or a great presentation like the ArtTalks here at the Umbrella.

-written by 2016-2017 Artist-in-Residence, Meghan Murray

In a historical moment of American history, many of us have been rudely awakened to a tendency of hatred in our country. I suppose I have lived in a bubble that envelopes educated and liberal communities, and was blissfully ignorant to the feelings of much of the nation. I am very lucky – I was born white, into the upper middle class in New England, and was provided a fantastic education. My life will be largely unaffected over the next few years, but that is not true for many Americans.

I have now lived in Concord for three weeks, and I am still overwhelmed by many things. Firstly, the sheer beauty of this very warm and colorful October. I have made a habit of walking to the Sleepy Hollow Burial Ground, up on the hill over Monument Square, to sit and read amongst the falling yellow leaves and the weathered tombstones. I look forward to strolling onto Main Street when the snow falls, and I imagine the stillness that I have come to associate with New England winter.

By Jerry Wedge