Saturday, June 26th • 10AM - 5PM

Music by “Last Fair Deal”, “Scrap Yard”, "North by Northeast”, Folk Artist "Moonshine Kellie & Modern Rock/Spoken Word Artist "Shadow"

Food, Entertainment and Fun!

Admission: FREE • The Historic Derby Green • Elizabeth Street at Thompson Place and Fifth Street, Derby, CT 06418

http://www.valleyartscouncil.org/artists_alley.htm • for more info!

The Valley Arts Council (VAC) and Artist Frank McLaughlin will collaborate on a one-man exhibit, featuring a variety of his original comic book art.  The show opening, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the VAC’s Gallery@37, 37 Elizabeth Street, Derby, CT on Saturday, May 22nd from 4-11 pm.  The art will remain on display through June 28th.

A 45-year veteran of the comics industry, Mr. McLaughlin has drawn some of the world’s most renowned icons such as Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman, among others. He has worked with virtually every major comic publisher and in addition to his comic book accomplishments; he has contributed to many newspaper strips including Gil Thorp, the Heart of Juliet Jones, Stan Smith’s Tennis Tips and Nancy.

A professor of art, Mr. McLaughlin teaches visual storytelling and cartooning at Paier College of Art in Hamden Connecticut. His work on Wonder Woman, White Viper and Fatale has earned him the reputation as one of America’s leading illustrators of the female form, prompting the publishing of his book; “How to Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics.”

All artwork will be for sale, with a portion of the proceeds helping to fund the VAC’s many community-based programs. The exhibit will also feature the opportunity to meet the artist, and learn some fun and interesting facts about the comics industry and its historical connections to Derby.

Charlton Publications, a large publishing, printing & distribution organization, once occupied a 7-1/2 acre operation in Derby, Connecticut.

Call 203.516.0822 or email info@valleyartscouncil.org for additional information.

The Valley Arts Council’s Gallery@37 recently hosted an opening reception on March 27^th to launch its latest exhibit “Puppets from Grandpa’s Attic”, featuring the vast array of handmade puppets and marionettes by puppeteer and Hamden resident Richard Smith, who has been creating his own unique characters and performing for over 40 years. He has also built an impressive collection of rare, antique pieces from all over the world including: China, India and Burma.

“Dick has been performing holiday shows on the green for the past several years, including our recent Easter Egg Hunt” said VAC President Rich DiCarlo, “when he told me about his large collection, we had the idea to put them on display & build an exhibit around them, needless to say, they were a big hit.”

The funky space at 37 Elizabeth Street is teeming with all sorts of colorful characters from “Peter & the Wolf” in the store window to “Jack & the Beanstalk.” In addition, marionettes of all shapes and sizes, shadow puppets, as well as some interesting insights as to how they were created and used, round out the display.

“They have been getting quite a bit of attention,” DiCarlo added, “The opening was very successful and we had a tremendous turnout.”

Before the close of the exhibit, which was extended through April 11th, over 100 Irving School, and local nursery school students toured the gallery. Mr. Smith also presented a short lecture on his craft, which was open to the public.

This was another in a series of independent exhibits featuring out of the ordinary art forms, designed to draw attention and traffic into the council’s gallery and get people talking. That concept is working wonders for the VAC’s continued success.

The next scheduled exhibit will be a three-day show featuring the paintings of watercolor artist and VAC board member Susan Carden-Flicker on April 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th with the opening reception taking place on Saturday April 24^th at 6PM at the Gallery@37.

To volunteer or join the Valley Arts Council please call: 203.516.0822 or email info@valleyartscouncil.org.

For more information about renting studio spaces, please contact Rich DiCarlo at: 203-906-4343 orstudiochid@sbcglobal.net or visit www.valleyartscouncil.org

DERBY — On a gray, winter Saturday, every seat around the extra-long table at the newly renovated Valley Arts Council’s (VAC), Center for the Arts in Derby was filled. The group was there to hear speaker and valley resident, Ilene Wolf, debut her one-day workshop, "Write to Heal."

"The new workshop and the completion of the firehouse renovation came together simultaneously," Wolf said. "So I brought the program straight to the Valley Arts Council because I wanted to support both the arts and the Naugatuck Valley community."

Other than a September open house at the old firehouse on Caroline Street, the writing seminar was the Center’s inaugural event. Wolf, who presented the program free of charge, opened with an explanation of why expressive arts therapy is often a great way to tackle life’s speed bumps.

"In the ‘Write to Heal’ Workshop, I demonstrate a variety of tools and resources with which to explore, express and untangle the problems that seem to stump us," said Wolf.
"And it’s never about so-called writing ability. When emotions are accessed and expressed with authenticity, words on paper become tools of healing and growth."

Participants in Derby practiced writing techniques useful in emotional processing, including "virtual" letter-writing, recording and interpreting dreams, visual mapping, journaling and vision/power statements. Those who wished, shared her or his work with the group, not for critique but for validation.

Wolf, recognized for both her writing and photography, began in journalism at the now-defunct Hartford Times. Later, she contributed to dailies and weeklies in New York and Connecticut, as well as the Associated Press. Since 2007, she’s authored a blog, "Wolf’s Daily Howl."

In early ‘90’s Wolf earned a Masters of Science degree which she employs now in her life coaching practice, Healing Wolf Tracks. She also runs support circles for the non-profit she launched in 2006, Healing Emotionally Abused Lives (HEAL). There are ten HEAL support circle locations, among them Derby, New Haven and Stratford. One of the circles is at a Department of Corrections facility; one is an on-line forum she calls the HEAL CyberCircle. "Those who were here today," said Wolf after the Derby workshop, "can take what they learned and grow their own repertoire of techniques that work best for them."

For more on "Write to Heal" and other programs and workshops, visit:www.healingwolf.net, email: i_wolf@healingwolf.net or call 203-732-3333