NEWS, news. Borough's new website isn't 100% complete, but it's tidy enough for you to check out. Meet our resident noise-makers, check out our neighbors and explore our archives. Our entire building has been going through a change of dynamics lately: Borough has new faces and new energy, and 180 has a new flock of inspired artists and businesses as well. All of the commotion has caused everyone to come together in a new and exhilarating way, and everyone knows that unity around a common interest creates an amazing force. We're in the midst of scraping together a skeleton for a building-wide exhibition that will not only highlight the South End's phenomenal impact and influence on our area's artistic scene, but also expose the cultural smorgasbord of raw dedication, motivation, inspiration and joy that is the make up of the emerging art scene. Once we have a foundation laid down I'm going to be on the look out for an intern at Borough, so stay tuned!
SEVEN DAYS, Vermont's leading independent art & culture newspaper is, in my and many other's opinion, "the shit". The articles are great, the staff is amazing, and if you want to know what's up and happening in your area, head their way. So, imagine my utter delight when Pamela Polston, the paper's co-owner/founder (the fact that the paper is founded by two women makes 7D even more inspiring) emailed me last month to say she wanted to send a writer and photographer over to Borough to do a gallery profile. My face could have lit a hundred dark caves. My work has been reviewed in the paper twice before; once in a group show at the Maltex Building, and again as part of Entropic Restructed, Borough's spring 2010 show. A full interview, however, conducted at a time when we haven't even been promoting an upcoming show, is way more flattering.  Click here for the article. Photo courtesy Matt Thorsen. The whole process was so fun, like I said, the 7D crew is great. Lauren Ober was fantastic, witty and both interested and interesting, and it was nothing but laughs and hilarious outbursts to work with photographer Matt Thorsen again (I worked with Matt and his equally hilarious and amazing wife, Diane, during a show at Red Square this past February). Honestly, just thinking about the whole process makes me laugh out loud, usually at inappropriate moments, and it really solidified my love for this small city and the community it contains. Everyone somehow knows each other through some fabulous event, everyone has such great energy, everyone is so involved and excited by what they're doing...it's beautiful. We (my studio mates and myself) loved sharing our story and having the opportunity to spread the word about Borough to 7D's 77,000+ weekly readers. Wrapping the night up with Steve, Borough's resident writer, with an always-delicious local dinner, pouring creative ideas out over muddled strawberry martinis and excitedly gushing about how far Borough has come and how much further we want it to go, made the whole day perfect in my memory. Read the article HERE, and I hope you enjoy it, too. GUSH!
AHOY! I've recently packed the bags of my overly active and nonsensical imagination and sent it out on a new journey; I've started a children's book collaboration with my friend P H I L H A R D Y , who has an equally imaginative mind and flare for nonsense. Perfect collaboration? I say yes. I'm posting a few sketches and blurbs from the story, but heads up: i f y o u s t e a l a n y o f t h e s e i d e a s i s w e a r i w i l l f i n dy o u, w r a p y o u u p i n c a n v a s, a n d s e n d y o u w h e r ea l l a r t t h i e v e s g o t o m o u r n t h e i r b a d d e c i s i o n s a n d l a m e n t t h e i r i n a b i l i t y t o c r e a t e o r i g i n a l w o r kJust a warning. I'm sure you're cool. But, if you needed something to discourage a bad decision, there you go. The gist of the story, essentially, is about a small town's mysterious folk, and it's full of the nonsensical riddles that make eyes shiny and bright. Here's a peek! All images courtesy of Phil. "although he was so well liked, no one really knew much about Mr. Hufferpoof or where he came from. His clothing was exotic: colorful, beaded, curled at all angles and full of buttons that weren't needed...he floated into their tiny town one day and just never left. What everyone did know, however, was that he could sometimes be seen floating in the air, suspended by only his suspenders. No one really questioned this, because suspenders, purely by definition, are supposed to suspend something anyway; what's wrong with them suspending him?""When Hufferpoof saw Florence, the town's seamstress & cobbler, his eyes lit up, his mustache got an extra curl on the left side, and not only did one of his pockets fall off RIGHT THEN, but his horse also complained that its shoes were too tight. AH! It must have been the universe intervening! Florence said she could fix these problems-no problem!-for only the cost of 8 dabblers and a dash of lingering (the tiny town's local currency). Mr. Hufferpoof's mustache suddenly drooped on the right side. He was fresh out of dabblers AND lingerings, as he had just purchased a new set of elbows (which don't come cheap, you see). Then, his hat spun around and an idea flashed in his mind.""They stepped into the curious ride, and with a loud VABOOSH! that rattled the shingles of all the neighborhood's roofs, they flew into the air. They went above the scattered shingles, now bickering and arranging themselves back in proper order, above the chimneys of the highest post offices, farther than the tree tops, and level with the birds."
It's going to be good. I already worry that I've given too much away, but I also know I left the best parts out. Stay tuned! There's an exciting future for this collaboration; many stories ahead.
IT'S TRUE. I'm packing it up and moving to Middlebury, VT (45 minutes south of Burlington, 2 hours east of Saratoga, 5 hours north of Manhattan, 2.5 hours south of Montreal). Middlebury is a really cute, sweet little town full of intellectuals (thanks to Middlebury College, aka "a little ivy league") and tourists. I'm there because I started working at E D G E W A T E R G A L L E R Y last month; a move worth making. Edgewater has a sturdy collection of established Vermont based artists, but also strives to represent emerging artist and kick off a few new careers. They're great!  Inside Edgewater Gallery. Image courtesy Edgewater Facebook Page  Inside Edgewater Gallery. Image courtesy Edgewater Facebook Page I don't officially move to Middlebury until the beginning of September (so for now the 3 hour daily commute continues. Yes, 3 hours. Daily. 45 Minutes north to the studio, another 45 minutes north to get home), but I've scoped out some great spots/met some great people already. Middlebury is definitely worth the visit, so come on downnnn!!! thumbs up go to: These are the only places I've really been able to check out so far, I'm sure there's much more to discover.  Mahaney Center for the Arts, Middlebury College
S O , C O M E T O M I D D L E B U R Y !
i t ' s n i c e h e r e !
AS I PROMISED, oh, about two years ago, I'm finally unveiling the ever-elusive shawnacross.com (I've been busy, ok?). The O L D S I T E will still stay on the web, but I just won't be using it anymore. Thanks so much to everyone who's supported me through my rinky-dink blog over the past few years, and if this is your first time stumbling across my site, well, welcome! Everything has been crazy hectic and exciting since I moved to the green mountains (which now look purple as the sun rises...) at the very end of 2007. While there have definitely been "ups and downs" (oh dear God...), the most truthful thing I could say is that traveling and growing within the various art communities I've been swirling around in makes me undeniably happy, and I'm so excited by the new people I meet and opportunities I venture towards every day. The very first day I walked into the building of my current studio (so naive; completely unaware of what I was about to get myself into, but no doubt down for whatever ride I found myself on) I saw the words "REVOLUTION IS SEXY" sprayed on the entry door and though, "YEAH" Personal and community artistic revolution have remained the name of the game ever since. While I'm fully aware that Vermont is not the "epic center" of contemporary art, we have a lot going on and we - as a state wide community- have made a lot happen. Since Vermont is so small its communities, therefor, are much smaller as well, news travels faster and it's possible to make waves and noise for the emerging artist scene that may have otherwise been lost in a larger city (Also, the quality of life here (it's true, ask anyone who lives in Vermont why they choose to stay. They will, I 100% guarantee, tell you the quality of life outnumbers the reasons for living in a more metropolitan area) means that, in general, everyone here is happier, meaning they are wayyy more likely to help one another out and offer up some support). Anyway, if you're interested in reading old news (covering 14 different shows between July 2009 - July 2010 and a smattering of shows from December 2008 - June 2009 from the old, old site; the birth of Borough Gallery & Studio and the process behind the paintings created during that time) you can check out the O L D S I T E. Now, it's time for N E W N E W S ! No time like the present, folks.
W E L C O M E T O S H A W N A C R O S S . C O M
(f i n a l l y)
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