Bottlebrush Gallery & Center for the Arts

February 14, 2013  6-9pm – “Have a Heart for Animals” Fundraiser for Butler County Humane Society

Have a heart for animals! Make plans to come to our second annual fundraiser to benefit the animals at the Butler County Humane Society.

Join us Valentine’s Day evening from 6:00-9:00pm for live music by Blue Sky and Sunshine from Pittsburgh, delicious food from local restaurants, beverages,  door prizes, gift baskets,  a silent auction and an art scavenger hunt. Plenty of animal-themed art on display and for sale from our local artists.  BCHS is bringing some animals who are looking for a new home.

Already have plans? Stop in on your way!

No admission charge – we only ask that you bring a toy or food item for the animals.  Monetary donations accepted too. If you can’t attend the fundraiser, please consider dropping off dog or cat food, toys, kitty litter, peanut butter, clean blankets or paper towels…  a complete list of needed items can be found here: www.butlercountyhs.org/wish_list.html The animals and the Bottlebrush thank you!

Featured Exhibit:   Eat.Snap.Local: the art of photographing food. Artist Ginni Klein of Ginography (Harmony) will have her photos of local restaurant’s mouthwatering specialties on display and for purchase.  Restaurants and eateries include:  Baldinger’s, Burgher’s, Carol’s Pastry Shop, Duffy’s Dog House, Herbe’s Ztown Café, Katie’s Korner, Kountry Kitchen,  Jackson Fish Company, Jimmy Wan’s, The Enchanted Olive, The Stohr Haus Bakery, and Wunderbar.

Kudos to the following local businesses for their donations to this event:

A-1 Computer – Zelienople
Artist Deb McLaren – Sewickley
Artist Ginni Klein – Harmony
Artist Nautilus Creations – Harmony
Artist Paul Jay – Harmony
Artist The Painted Grasshopper – Mars
Burgher’s – Harmony
Companions in Motion: Animal Chiropractic Care – Portersville
Darn Yarn Needles & Thread – Harmony
Duffy’s Dog House – Harmony
Evolve Wellness Center – Zelienople
Fisher’s Bar & Restaurant – Zelienople
Fox’s Pizza – Harmony
Herbe’s Z-Town – Zelienople
Jimmy Wan’s – Cranberry
Katie’s Korner – Harmony
Kerven Subaru – Butler
Kountry Kitchen – Zelienople
Linden Tree Antiques – Harmony
Maddalon Jewelers – Zelienople
Musician Dennis McCurdy – New Castle
Musician Jeff Campbell and Allie Koch – San Francisco, CA
Pollak’s Candy – Harmony
ReMax Realtors Don and Kathy Seaton – Wexford
Stohr Haus Bakery – Harmony
The Enchanted Olive – Harmony
The Green Barn Whole Animal Nutrition – Zelienople
The Strand – Zelienople
Wunderbar Coffee House – Harmony

Our first House Concert of  2013:  The Honeycutters  from North Carolina, with opening act Mike Strasser from Pittsburgh.

The Honeycutters are excited to introduce their second full-length studio release, When Bitter Met Sweet. Like their first release Irene, When Bitter Met Sweet features singer/songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, who has been hailed as “one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC”.  Peter James accompanies her on lead and rhythm guitar and harmony vocals. They are backed up by Tal Taylor’s signature mandolin playing, Ian Harrod on bass, and Jon Ashley on drums creating an original brand of Americana that appeals to both musicians and the music lovers, the country and the city, and the old and the young. www.thehoneycutters.com

While their sound has drawn comparisons to such artists as Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris or Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, The Honeycutters produce a refreshingly unique blend of Americana music that is comfortingly familiar while being entirely original.

With Special Guest Mike Strasser
Mike Strasser is a friend and fellow singer/songwriter and one of the treasures of the greater Pittsburgh area. You will not be disappointed.

Come out and support live music!

Tickets are $10.  Call us or email to reserve your seat.  RSVP required due to small venue.  BYOB.  Snacks served.

February 8, 2012  7pm
Bottlebrush: A Gallery for the Arts
539 Main Street
Harmony, PA 16037
724.452.0539

Warmest holiday greetings to our friends and customers! We hope you are enjoying time with your families and feeling the love of the season.

The Gallery will be closed Dec 25-27. We reopen Friday Dec. 28 with hours from 11am-7pm.

Harmony’s New Year’s celebration known as “Silvester” is a real treat if you haven’t experienced it yet. Beginning at 3pm, enjoy our annual 5k run, music, fireworks at 6:00pm, and more. Info here: http://www.active.com/running/harmony-pa/6th-annual-silvester-5k-and-1-mile-2012  New Year’s Day is the Polar Plunge– check out the video from last year! http://cranberry.patch.com/articles/get-freezin-for-a-reason-with-harmony-polar-plunge#video-8817030

We hope to see you over the holiday. If not, have a very Happy New Year!

Please join us for a oncert by The Early Mays on Friday, December 14, 2012, from 7:00-9:00pm. $10 at the door. BYOB. RSVP requested by not required to the Gallery, 724.452.0539. We hope to see you there!

About The Early Mays:

On December 24, 2011, Judith Avers, Emily Pinkerton,  and Ellen Gozion performed together for the first time at a late-night Christmas Eve service featuring American folk music. Throughout rehearsals, the songs fell in to place in an easy and gratifying way, and the service itself was magical. All three women felt it should not be the last concert.

Believing in their unique potential as a trio, firm friendships began to form and “The Early Mays” (a name drawn from a character in one of Judith’s songs) jumped into their first project:  a Christmas recording!!

Join us for our annual Holiday Party on Friday, Dec. 7 from 7-9pm, at the Gallery!

The very same evening we are hosting the Opening Reception for Jan and Paul Jay, long-time artists at the Bottlebrush. Jan will be showing some dramatically new paintings for the exhibit. Paul’s Raku always catches the eye of visitors to the Gallery, and we are looking forward to seeing his new work.

There will be plenty of party food and drink with live music byPittsburgh musician Sally Zehmisch. Maybe even a little jam session will break out including Paul Jay! Stop by for some holiday cheer, check out Jan and Paul’s new art, and finish up your holiday shopping with a little “Harmony” from local artists. We hope to see you. RSVP appreciated.

 Take a stroll through the Square of Harmony and enjoy our Sleepy Hollow Fest. Trick or treat, a costume contest and fun for kids of all ages! October 13, 2012  4pm-8pm – in the town square of Harmony and at The Center of   Harmony.

A few of the scheduled activities:

– Storytelling with Live Music – by the students of Shelly McPharlin Guitar & Violin

-Pumpkin Painting – Scavenger Hunt

– Sheep Petting – Miniature Horses

– Cider Press Demonstration

– Storefront Decorating Contest

– Artist Exhibits by Bottlebrush Gallery and Weaver’s Cabin

– Wine & Beer Tasting by Rustic Acres and Full Pint Brewing

– Monster High Make-up and Color Hair Extensions by Marian Davis/Velvet Salon

– Plenty of “Ghooodies” and Cookie Decorating by the Stohr Haus Bakery

– Cornstalks, Gourds and Pumpkins for sale

Visit more of our Shops for treats …  The Center of Harmony, The Exchange, Eye Kandy, Suzie’s Corner and Wunderbar!

Celtic Fest in Harmony included an instrument demo by the Ploughshare Poets, a Harmony Gallery/Shop crawl, traditional Irish food from the Stohr Haus Bakery, and a concert with a closing Scottish Highland pipes parade through Harmony. Thanks to the artists, to all of the businesses who participated, the people who came, and to the Poets for another fabulous performance!

The Ploughshare Poets: A Celtic Music Fest

Ploughshare Poets will appear in Concert from 7pm-9pm in the Gallery on Saturday, October 6.

The Ploughshare Poets are returning for a show at the Bottlebrush in Harmony!  Ryan Stauffer and Vade King’s overflow audience for our St. Patrick’s celebration was fantastic and quite memorable (people are STILL talking about  the show’s closing of a bagpipes parade to the Harmony Inn!) so we are bringing them back for our slightly modified version of an Irish “Moveable Monday” event except it’s on Saturday.

We’ve added activities for this show. Check them out:

Friday Night Oct 5

• a Ploughshare Poets/Celtic t-shirt workshop Friday night from 6:00-7:30pm at the Gallery. You can make your own Ploughshare Poets t-shirt to wear for Saturday’s festivities. The workshop is only $20, not included in the cost of the show. Register in advance 724.452.0539.

Saturday, Oct 6

• 3:00-4:30pm – a free Irish instrument demo by the Poets at the Gallery
• 4:30-6:30pm – a Harmony Shop Crawl/Meet the Artist  featuring local artists’ showing their work  located in various shops. You will get  a map for your Treasure Hunt… if you go to all of the Shops, you will be eligible for a free Ploughshare Poets t-shirt
• 4:30-6:30pm Traditional Irish food will be available for purchase from Stohr Haus Bakeryand wine samples by Rustic Acres including a special wine called “Celtic Fire”
• 7:00-10:00pm  Ploughshare Poets Concert with beer samples by Full Pint Brewery

Tickets are STILL only $10, but Reservations for the show are REQUIRED. Our venue is small, as many of you know, and we need to be sure everyone can see and hear. Call us at 724.452.0539 or email bottlebrushgallery @ yahoo dot com for reservations and more information.

We have been holding House Concerts at the Gallery for a year and a half now, hard to believe it’s been that long. They’re very popular along w/our monthly songwriters’ group, and we’re happy to keep offering them as part of Bottlebrush’s embracing of all arts. Thank you for your interest and on-going support of our music events.

Our next house concert is on Friday, September 28. North Carolina’s David Childers will bring his rockin’ Americana music AND HIS ART to the Bottlebrush, with an opening by Pittsburgh’s Bruce Hoffman.  More information below!

Lonesome No More Productions proudly presents: David Childers  

David Childers is an acclaimed Americana ARTIST AND MUSICIAN who writes tough, literary tunes informed by heartland rock, country music, folk music, small towns, and lonesome highways. He also draws passionate inspiration and imagery from the Bible. 1999’s Hard Time Countyand 2001’s A Good Way to Die feature musician contributions (and some co-production) from noted Nashville artist Duane Jarvis. The latter album also featured non-traditional accents such as the sitar on“Possibility” (played by multi-instrumentalist Eric Lovell). ~Erik Hage, All Music Guide  http://www.davidchilders.com         We are proud to show David’s artwork as part of his concert/show Friday night. Come on by and check it out! 

With Special Guest Bruce Hoffman

Bruce Hoffman is a local singer songwriter that demands your attention because he is a very bright, and capable songwriter with a wry sense of himself in the world he observes. Reminds us of John Prine -rich with detail and color, some sadness, and beauty, but always a little tongue-in-cheek.
Come out and support local, live music!

For those of you unfamiliar with the term “house concerts”, they are small-venue, original material performances held right in our Gallery– with smaller audiences, you can see and hear the shows very well, and talk to the musicians.  Instead of the usual noisy bar atmosphere, you’re treated to a listening room experience– very different and so good for enjoying music!