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Louison House's Kathy Keeser thanks the artists who provided the work for 'A Sense of Place,' a fundraiser for the shelter, at Real Eyes Gallery in Adams.
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Betty Vera is inspired by textures and as well as unexpected images of inspiration.
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The work of Sarah Sutro is from the '80s and '90s, when she was using thick oil paints to create texture while Deb Pendell's mixed-media pieces are about how people find meaning in symbols.
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Diane Sawyer is fascinated with light, atmosphere, and the rich spectrum of color in landscapes.
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Artists and patrons mingle at Friday's closing reception. The works will be available through the gallery's website through July.

Local Gallery, Artists Support Louison House

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Real Eyes Gallery owners Bill and Francie Riley opened their doors to host the exhibition.

ADAMS, Mass. — An exhibition at the Real Eyes Gallery has raised several thousand dollars for Louison House to help those affected by homelessness.

"A Sense of Place" opened on June 4 and concluded on Thursday but the pieces will be live and available on the gallery's website for another month. Fifty percent of all artwork sales go to the non-profit organization.

Gallery owners Bill and Francie Riley were approached by the four participating artists who wanted to do something good in the community and happily played host. 

"The driving force behind the art show and to team up with the Louison House was the inspiration from the COVID lockdown," Bill Riley explained at a closing celebration.

"From the COVID lockdown, the artists met regularly and they wanted to give back to the community."

It has so far raised more than a third of the $10,000 goal.

The theme suggests a feeling of belonging — whether it is to a household, a neighborhood, or a town — and how a sense of place can invoke feelings of security and inclusion while lacking that can cause anxiety and a sense of exclusion.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to isolate themselves, it also caused a loss of jobs and income that caused many to become homeless.

Local artists Debi Pendell, Diane Sawyer, Sarah Sutro and Betty Vera produce their work in the Eclipse Mill in North Adams.

"We've had such a good response to the show, people have loved the show," Pendell said. "And they feel that although each of us do all different work, very different, it  hangs together beautifully."

She explained that her acrylic, collage, and mixed media work is about symbol systems and how people read symbol systems and make meaning from them.



Sawyer's work in soft pastel is largely local landscapes, some that she has even done from her studio window. She is fascinated with light, atmosphere, and the rich spectrum of color in landscapes.

Sutro's featured work is from the 1980s and 1990s when she said she was working with very thick oil paint, scraping it up and building textures to create a sense of landscape.

Vera's textile work is inspired by anything around her that she finds beautiful, sometimes graffiti on a wall or the texture of a wood floor. She captures unexpected images of inspiration with her cell phone while out and about.

Louison House Executive Director Kathy Keeser attended the celebration to show her gratitude and give an informative talk about the organization.

"It was really cool at the opening to see so many artists here and it's good to see, again, so many artists in one place and the fact that you guys really have a community and support each other," she said.

"And I think that's the most important about what happened with this was the crossover."

The nonprofit provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, and support services to those in need. It has locations in Adams and North Adams and has helped thousands of struggling and homeless residents in the Northern Berkshires.

It has received $135,000 in state and local funding recently, including $75,000 from the state's American Rescue Plan Act funds through the efforts of state Sen. Adam Hinds and state Rep. John Barrett III.

North Adams also contributed $50,000 from its ARPA funds and  the Williamstown $10,000.

During the event, four of the artists' pieces were raffled off as another form of fundraising.


Tags: art exhibit,   fundraiser,   louison house,   

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Solar Carports Approved for Greylock Glen Outdoor Center

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — The Greylock Glen Outdoor Center will be getting its power from solar carports in the parking lot.
 
The Selectmen last month approved the design and siting of the 148-kilowatt solar array.
 
"We're attempting to do this without any investment essentially from the town, that is the goal of this," said Town Administrator Jay Green. "We're looking for an organization that can front the capital cost to install the solar."
 
Solar had always been part of the conversation around the outdoor center but as a separate construction from the building itself. It has included a cost benefit analysis to determine if solar was worth investing in. 
 
The town paid for an impact study of $11,100 by National Grid, required before the utility would give interconnection approval. The request for proposals was issued by PowerOptions of Boston, former state entity turned private not-for-profit that procures energy services nonprofit organizations and governmental entities.
 
"The [town] is a PowerOptions member and so ultimately, can choose to move forward under the provisions of the letter of intent and per the agreement between PowerOptions and Solect Energy as the winner of the solar RFP put out by PowerOptions a couple of years ago," Andreas Schmid of Solect Energy, in a presentation to the board on Sept. 18.  
 
"In terms of the panel capacity, things are a little flexible, so we could add a few more panels or take a few more panels out, as long as that AC system size."
 
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