The Boston comic book community was shocked and saddened by the recent passing of Hub Comics owner, James Welborn. James was a huge comic fan who ran a friendly, welcoming store and was very supportive of local artists and the rest of the Union Square community. A memorial service will be held at the shop (19 Bow St, Union Square, Somerville, MA) on Saturday June 4th from 7-10pm (More details at the link).
Additionally, several local artists are working with Bloc 11 and Diesel Cafe to put together a gallery show in which all proceeds from the art sold will be given to James’s family. The art will be on display at Bloc 11 Cafe (11 Bow St, Union Square, Somerville, MA) from June 28th – July 10th (More details at the link). Please see below for more details especially if you are an artist interested in donating a piece.
Please send this out to your friends. Most of you know many artists in Somerville or from the Comic Con and I need your help passing along this info quickly so that we can have a full house! And now for the details:
What are we asking for?
•We are looking for an art donation. If you have any of your own work you would like to donate for a silent auction, please get back to me as soon as possible!
•PLEASE forward to any artist friends who you think would be interested. We want to fill up the cafe with work!
Where is it going?
•All the work will be hung up at Bloc 11 Cafe for two weeks.
When is it?
•June 27 drop off, June 28th hangup (you don’t have to help but we will accept a few volunteers!)
•Ends July 10th with an event at Bloc 11 AND Hub Comics (they are thinking of what to do over there like a sale or something)
What to submit?
•Since the event is based around the comic book shop, we’re hoping for paintings related to a comic theme…but if that isn’t your style, that’s okay! We are more than happy to accept your art donation, regardless!
What if it doesn’t sell?
•You can take your work home if it doesn’t sell. We don’t expect everything to sell, regardless of how amazing the work may be. Our customers are pretty awesome and are probably very interested in getting some local artwork!
•The more people you tell about this show, the more likely there will be a ton of sales! That said, if you didn’t sell but really want to make it a permanent donation, I will chat with you and Jesse (of Hub Comics) to work out something.
…But I’m worried that someone will only bid low and my painting is worth much more!
•We agree with you! This will be a silent auction, so people will fill in their own bids, but we’ll need a “starting bid price” from you. The starting bid price should still be a little lower than what you would charge normally. While we want James’ family to get the most from this, we need the prices to be approachable. We want people to compete a little for the piece, so the starting bid shouldn’t scare buyers away.
Do I get any money from my sale?
•No. The only persons benefiting from the sale will be James’ family/son. Bloc is not taking any commission.
•Keep in mind, this can be a great opportunity to meet other artists who you might someday collaborate with for a show or group art… you can still get something very positive out of donating!
What if my work isn’t good enough?
•We will accept any well-made piece. As long as the artist took some thought, time, and effort to make something/find older work for our fundraiser, we think that’s awesome! We will start by accepting one piece from each individual, plus one more if they’re in a group. If you want to donate a bunch of work, that’s great too! We will do what we can to hang everything.
How should my work be prepared?
GREAT QUESTION!
•We have brick walls. This means: Unless your work is stretched canvas or on plywood, YOU MUST FRAME IT! NO NAILS/SCREWS in the brick. NO GLUE. NO BLUETACK. NO ALL-GLASS FRAMES. NO frames without a wire going across the back.
•Why? We must hang all work from the ceiling by a wire which means we need a way to hang your beautiful work from this wire. We really really want to hang everyone’s donated work but won’t if it requires a weird fix.
•No exceptions, please!
When do I bring in the work?
•Monday, June 27th at 7pm @ Bloc 11 Cafe (11 Bow Street, Somerville)
•If you absolutely can’t arrange for this time, please contact Meg: Diesel11art@gmail.com and arrange a time. The staff at Bloc have their hands full already and we want to make sure your work stays safe before we hang it up.
Please write to Meg with any questions and PLEASE forward this to anyone local who would like to donate art!
Many thanks,
Meghann
Curator
Bloc 11 Cafe & Diesel Cafe
Somerville, MA
Diesel11art@gmail.com
