Top 25 Small Cities for Art

MAY 2011 | BY CAITLIN FULTZ | ISSUE 76, SUMMER 2011

The top 25 small cities for art for 2011 are:

3. Gloucester, Mass.

A newcomer to the Top 25 list, Gloucester is home to museums, galleries and the oldest working art colony in the U.S.

Cape Ann, a thriving arts and cultural destination, lies just 30 miles north of Boston along one of the prettiest stretches of coastline in all of Massachusetts. Billed as one of the last great unspoiled places, its harbors, lighthouses, beaches, coves and coastline have been attracting artists almost from its beginnings in 1623.

Cape Ann’s four communities include Rockport, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Gloucester, America’s oldest seaport. “Art is vital to the lifeblood of Gloucester. There are many beautiful places with seashores and harbors but the combination of arts, culture, and industry are rarely so integrated and integral to the life of a city. It makes Gloucester a very unique place that celebrates art in a way that most cities can’t,” says resident and AmericanStyle reader Barbara Silberman. Gloucester is home to a large population of artists, many of whom display their work in Rocky Neck Art Colony galleries and studios. You can visit the Rocky Neck Gallery or enjoy open studios and entertainment during Nights on the Neck, on the first Thursday of the month from June to October.

Hi All of you in POP-world…

We just wanted to express our sincerest gratitude and let you know we have had such a rewarding time in Gloucester this year, that we have Re-signed for 2012 to repeat the fun starting May 2012!

We will all take a much needed “break” during the winter months to get back into our studios to “re-invent the wheels” as it were…by way of designing fresh new work in all mediums for a Re-opening in early Spring at 67 Main!

We also heard from and experienced so much enthusiasm from our ‘guy friends’ about our new line “CAMP” and other unique offerings for Men, that we will open with a broader collection of Men’s wear and gifts appropriate to our male gender counterparts…look for COOL stuff from our travels up and down the coast, across the US of A and beyond, we’ll source an ever unusual group of items designed from artisans and small locally grown entrepreneurs to be sure!

In the meantime many of us can be found on our personal websites and on our new Drupal Gardens website which will launch soon so you can contact any of the designers individually throughout the year to check in and see new work.

If anyone has to exchange or swap a size or style from this year’s Holiday gifting, then be sure and send an e-mail to us:

poponmain@gmail.com

or irodesign.com

if you need to reach me, Peggy to chat or make an appointment. officially we close for the season Dec. 30th and we will close the door and hibernate until the snow melts…We might do a Saint Valentines’ week long sale before the next big sweetheart day? keep in touch!

Cheers and Heavenly New Years to ALL our POPtabulous Peoples!!! WE LOVE YOU

Hey Fellas, it’s time to “get even”.  Gloucester’s celebrating AGAIN this Thursday night from ‘after work 5:ish till 10pm’ with another fun night of ‘shop till you POP’ action! All the Main Street and area galleries and shops will be offering deals, drinks, and nibbles to everyone (Guys and their gal pals) who comes in to check it out! Pop will be serving some ‘Larger than Lagers’ and selling some fun beer soaps for suds to GO! as well as Pink Bubbles and chocolates to all who stop by…

The night continues including discounts on dining at the neighboring DOG BAR and live music after our door closes…we have amazing Gifts for ALL genders, ages and sizes and tastes…if you’re trying to “get in the mood”, let us push you along with some sparkle and treats!

Cheers!

Still can’t get into the Holiday spirit while it’s hovering in the 60’s lately? BUT no complaints about it! Hopefully this Thursday will prove to be a warmer than seasonal night for the HUNDREDS of girls, ladies, and fabulous Women who will prowl the Main Street of Gloucester checking out the offerings for gift giving time!

Please consider hopping on the bandwagon for this one.  December 1st is the annual Ladies Night out shop-a-thon in Gloucester! All the shops and galleries along main street will participate by offering discounts on some items, free refreshments, discounted coupons, deals and meals and drinks in a fun and festive BIG Girl-ey Party! It’s a BLAST and a terrific time to drag your friends out and take advantage of the plethora of gifts, art, and get some freebies and holiday schwaaag! all in one blustery night! Then the following Thursday, get the BOUYS motivated and drop hints for what you saw and where you saw it, as Thursday the 8th is the Alternate Gender’s opportunity to do the same…! (perhaps not quite as fervently? (: In any case c’mon down with your gal pals and enjoy some festive cheer!

Don’t Rush the Future LIVE in the NOW!

Truly, there are few times more spectacular than Fall in New England..especially while we are having temperatures in the mid 60’s and the sky is vivid cobalt blue punctuated with blasts of Yellow, fire engine red, and clementine orange!

If I could I would BAN all Christmas and Winter decorations UNTIL BLACK Friday, (the day After Thanksgiving!) and demand that stores and catalogue’s QUIT rushing the Holiday season and let us bask in the glow of Fall for just a few uninterrupted weeks.  This is perhaps, NEVER GONNA HAPPEN, but WE here at POP continue to PUSH PINK and instead want to usher in the season of (panic & hectic) GIVING instead with a gentle nudge towards December’s fury….So This month of NOVEMBER, we encourage you to come in ONLY to think about Christmas, and instead shop for YOU! peruse our offerings for your loved one’s, certainly but shop for YOU! and have a libation with us on saturday night 12th while we slowly and surely contemplate the season to come with warm food and cold drinks..Look around and enjoy our latest collection of Incredibly inventive COOL STUFF and make a list of what you will eventually buy for some, and concentrate on YOU FIRST, other’s later…much like they tell you when giving airline instructions for the oxygen?!

Introducing some new stuff from our BRAND NEW LABEL….

CAMP! 

Hi Fans of POP and friends new and current…

It’s a balmy 82 Degrees in Gloucester today…Hard to believe, on Columbus Day weekend we get this summery weather, Ain’t NO ONE complaining up here on Cape ANN!

The skies are completely cerulean blue, NO clouds, light breezes, everyone’s out enjoying the Indian Summer BLISS!

While in here at POP gallery, We hosted a POPTOBERFEST opening last night with new work on display by Ann Alexander in Clay, warm & wooley handknit Headware with really cool imagery by Local FAB guy Malcolm Leach, amazing sterling silver jewelry by Bostonian Jen Chin of Lush Metals, And some Ultra-cheeky and very multi-purpose & gender, Shirts by “camp” with New England coastline appropriate Jolly Roger’s and sea creatures printed on them…..just come and SEE for yourself, it’s too hard to explain?!

At any rate we’d LOVE to show you some of our phenomenal artist’s work “UP CLOSE” and personal….as in: TRY IT ON!

Our Fall season hours are changing to Fri-Monday and we will bring back the Thursday schedule around beginning of November for Holiday season craziness……

check back in and ENJOY as much summer sunshine as possible while it lasts….

Hello out there!

POP Gallery is participating in the annual Gloucester Sidewalk sale and Party next weekend, August 5-6-7, Fri-Sunday from 11-7pm while the block party continues…There will be artisans set up all along Main Street and we will have a table and some fun “deals” outside the gallery as well as inside!

Joining us Saturday August 6 will be award winning Jewelry Designer, Rebecca Myers from Baltimore MD. Rebecca will be showcasing her one of a kind works in sterling silver, high carat gold and gemstones…amazing never before seen designs in these parts! Check it!  She will be “in store” and on hand to show and describe her phenomenal work exclusively to our POP patrons from 12-6 pm…light beverages and snacks will be served.

It’s shaping up to be another BLOW-OUT fun weekend at POP Gallery! tell your friends too….

…Phew! with temperatures soaring into the 90’s and above! this weekend will be steamy and require some cold drinks! Come visit us at POP Gallery and we gotcha covered…serving refreshments out of our icebox along with some REALLY COOL items for gifts, your home, your closet, friends or YOURSELF!

Treat yourself to a new Frock, Soap for your outdoor shower? New T-shirts, water bottle for your bike, mugs for a colorful breakfast cup o’ joe, and As usual, UNUSUAL intricate and incredibly designed goods from 2D to 3D in jewelry, fiber, clay and ART for the home(s) ….chill out and come in the evening we stay here as late as 8 anyway, and sometimes even later when there’s a block party, great people coming in and restaurants and cooking up some amazing delectables all around us…..cheers!