Who we are now......
Having lived in Leverett for the last twenty-three years and known Leverett artists on both sides of Brushy mountain, I have found our community both extremely artistic and diverse in their creative expression. But we have never been documented as a group: What kind of work are we doing? What do we look like? How do we describe our work? This project intends to show the art and the artist of Leverett at this moment in time. This project will be a point for future reference.
This project documents the artists and artisans of Leverett, MA in 2008 ( 2000 inhabitants, 3 museums, and how many artists?) in three ways: this book, an art show in October 2008 at the Leverett Crafts and Arts Center, and at this website.
This is an art reference for the Leverett historical society Leverett library, and Leverett residence in general detailing the artists living or working in Leverett in 2008. As a digital artist, I recognize the transitory quality of the images in the electronic age so wanted to put together a resource of artists and their work on the web and also in a book which ultimately is more more permanent.
In terms of the artists in this book, it is a self selecting group (those who responded with their work and statements). It shows artists and artisans who work at their craft every day, and those who work at it when they have the time. What we have in common is the joy of creation, and the love of artistic expression. I did not edit images that an artist wished to submit though sometimes I had to shorten artist statements to fit in the page format.
I have a sampling of Leverett artists. There are probably three times as many who are not represented. Getting artists to send work is like catching water in a sieve. Hopefully, the work of the 40 artists that I have gathered will give the viewer a sense of our artists.
Ruth West 2008
Supported by the Leverett Cultural Council
