Tiki Bar

Tiki Bar? Many people have been asking, why would the Delavan Art Gallery need a tiki bar? Well, many reasons. Tiki bars are this summers new must own item. P-Diddy, Justin Timberlake, and Brittany Spears all have invested millions of dollars to have their own tiki bars. Bill was at home watching MTV Cribs when he realized that he must have one, too. The next day he proposed the idea to Reggie and believe it or not, Reggie was thinking the same thing.

That day Reggie began drawing up blue prints for the estimated 1.3 million dollar tiki bar and began construction. Katie and Lacey then put the finishing touches on the bar and now it is ready to serve all. But then Bill had another problem, who is he going to serve? Then another brilliant idea struck Bill, a luau! Of course every tiki bar needs to be opened with a killer luau.

Everything written above was all in the mind of one of our wonderful interns, Ryan Petrus. What really happened was this: Staff had begun planning to close out the end of the current season with a great party. While brainstorming themes and ideas for the event, everyone came up with the idea of a luau. It also helped that the Gallery Manager Caroline had spent last summer living in Hawaii so she had a few ideas up her sleeve for all the amenities. Director Bill was away on vacation at the time, so the staff ran with different wild ideas on their own. They came up with so many of these, Bill couldn't help but go along with the whole plan when he got back.

Now every luau needs its own tiki bar. So where to find a tiki bar? Any of those we came across that looked anywhere near decent were at least $1000 and there was no way Bill was going to let us spend that much on something we may only use once. We asked around and no one had one that we could borrow or even rent. We were running out of options when we had another brainstorm. The amazing Reggie, who does so much at Delavan Center and Delavan Art Gallery, might be able to make us one. Caroline approached him and humbly asked, "Could you make us a tiki bar?" Reggie's response was, "What's a tiki bar and what does it look like?" Staff sprang into action and looked up some pictures for him and found a few rough plans to give him an idea of the look and measurements of the bar, and next thing we know, he's creating us our very own tiki bar. Only using the measurements for the height and width of the bar, Reggie had the rest all planned out in his head.

Just about everyone has had a hand in the creation of our tiki bar. Its coming together nicely and we will post progress pictures of it's creation and evolution soon.

The staff of Delavan Art Gallery

P.S. We are already working on ideas for future uses for our tiki bar.

We Have a Nurse in the House

I have lived in Syracuse for four years this summer, and I can still remember meeting my neighbor, who is an artist. She, Lew Graham, talked about her studio at Delavan Center and how much she loved her space and her landlord, Bill Delavan who is also the Director of the Delavan Art Gallery. She kept telling me that I had to stop by and see the place. Well, it took me almost three years to discover the gallery.

First of all, I have to say that for the past 26 years, I have been moving all over the world, following my military husband. Initially, I worked as a Practical Nurse and later discovered there is more to life than medicine. I took classes at varying colleges as we moved 15 times over the years. When my husband retired and promised we wouldn’t move any more, I pooled all my credits together to find I was very close to earning my BA. Majoring in Art History and graduating from SU took up most of my time. However, I did acquire some experience in the art world before applying to the gallery.

Working as an intern and afterwards, a full time volunteer at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, gave me a wealth of experience. Also in the summer of 2007, I worked as an intern at the Albany Institute of History and Art with the Registrar in collections. I never forgot about the Delavan Art Gallery though. So, I took a chance and applied and was offered a volunteer position. I’ve been here since the middle of January of this year.

Lew was right about the personnel here. Everyone is very warm and welcoming. It didn’t take me long to feel like one of the gallery crew. The gallery manager, Caroline, put me right to work from small jobs, like watering plants, dusting pedestals, and answering phones, to hanging labels, climbing ladders for lighting, and most importantly, hanging artwork for the opening exhibits.

I look forward to getting ready for the openings the most. It entails meeting the artists and learning about the art they are submitting to the show, which I think, gives some history to the art. Helping to de-install a past exhibit then installing the new art, along with the opening reception is a lot of fun. It’s almost like changing the décor in your house and inviting everyone over for a party to celebrate the new look!

Another treat is working with the interns who are still students at area colleges. They have fresh ideas, love to work hard and have their artistic biases. The first intern I ever worked with was Kari, who majors in photography. She taught me a lot about different styles of photography and particularly wanted to hang all of the photography work that we have in the gallery. Ryan, who also majors in photography, looks at the world through the camera lens, which has become very contagious for me.

It’s also funny how my past experiences have merged with the present. At times, when Gloria, the PR Coordinator is feeling under the weather, or when Caroline tries to take off her finger with a cutting knife, or when Kari’s shoes are digging into her heels, or when Reggie, the “Very Handy Man” gets a large piece of lumber stuck in his hand and calls it a splinter, somehow, they tend to make me feel special in calling me for some medical advice or better, medical treatment.
Lew has since moved south to live near her family.

Lew, if you are reading this blog, you were right and thanks for the encouragement!

-Kathy Simpson, Gallery Volunteer

(Left: Ryan Petrus, Right: Kathy Simpson)

Return to Delavan

(Left: Ryan Petrus, Right: Kathy Simpson)

Hello everyone, my name is Ryan Petrus and I am the new intern here at the Delavan for this summer. I just finished my senior year at SUNY Purchase where I majored in photography, but I have to return next semester to finish up two required classes. My goal for next year is to return to the NYC and find a job working in either a gallery or assisting an advertising photographer. For the future, I plan to take some time to travel and work, to pay off student loans and then eventually return to school to get my MFA.

I am really no stranger to the Delavan. I have been making work in this building for years in my teacher’s studio and have been a regular visitor to the gallery since I was in high school. I originally attended Onondaga Community College for my first two years of college. Working here is nice because I get to see a lot of my old teachers’ art hanging in the gallery and see them stop in from time to time.

Since I started interning here, I have had the experience to travel out to two of our artist’s houses to pick out work for our upcoming show. I have learned how to properly hang and display artwork in a gallery setting, along with properly wrapping and organizing the art we keep in storage. Caroline, Delavan’s gallery manager, has showed me how to use the software Masterpiece to keep all of our art organized. Reggie, the man who keeps this place standing, has showed me how to maintain a gallery and the actual amount of work it takes to keep it running and working properly. Working at the Delavan and having the experience to meet other artists has enlightened me on how a gallery works and functions. I have made a lot of friends and met a bunch of artists who have made this experience fun and influential.

Fusion Exhibition

Delavan Art Gallery is proud to present the Fusion exhibition, on view through June 13. We hosted a reception on May 7 to celebrate the show, see some of the images below. Be sure to stop by the gallery to see this colorful exhibition!



(Above: The four exhibition artists - Catharine Westlake, John Fitzsimmons, Pam Steele, and Diana Gofrey)


(Bill Delavan with Joyce Day Homan)


(Bill Delavan with one of John Fitzsimmons's pieces)


(Visitors taking in the exhibition)


(The hard-working ladies of Delavan Art Gallery)

Fiber Art

On March 12 Delavan Art Gallery hosted a great reception to celebrate our Fiber Art exhibition. Check out the images below of some of the artists with their work!


(Above: Lauren Bristol and Sharon Bottle Souva)



(Wilson Akuamoah-Boateng)



(Linda Esterley)



(Barbara Conte-Gaugel)

Ceramics by Carles Vives

Remember to stop by this week and check out our Wild Card exhibition "Ceramics by Carles Vives"! Delavan Art Gallery is one of two outside venues chosen to exhibit selections of works by Carles Vives, on loan from Onondaga Community College where the ceramicist recently completed a residency. “Ceramics by Carles Vives” runs through this Saturday, March 28 at the Delavan, concurrent with a similar display featured on loan at the Everson Museum.

In the interest of a cultural exchange, Vives was invited here by OCC art professor Andy Schuster to do workshops and an exhibit at The Gallery at Ann Felton Multicultural Center. Schuster and Vives are long-time friends who once shared a studio in Spain. From his home in Catalonia, Vives traveled to the United States for the first time and set to work with OCC students, redoing and firing his architectural and sculptural pieces influenced by the different environment of their world. The artist says that some of the work he created here in February reflects Syracuse’s nature, especially winter tree branches.

With regard to community outreach, Professor Schuster planned to give more of the public the opportunity to view and experience Vives’ multiple talents before his show ends at the college in mid-April. “Doing a show at the Delavan Art Gallery was a likely choice,” he says. “Bill Delavan is known for his untiring efforts to enrich the community. His art gallery, readily accessible to the public, is home to many regional artists and their diverse works of high quality art.”

Bill Delavan says of his gallery’s Wild Card show: “The Delavan Art Gallery, along with the Everson Museum of Art, is honored to host “Ceramics by Carles Vives.”

Gallery hours this week are Thursday and Friday, noon-6pm, and Saturday 10am-4pm. Stop by and see this stunning exhibition!

Interning at the Delavan

Before I begin to rave about my internship experience at the Delavan a little background information will be helpful. My name is Kari O'Mara and I am a Studio Arts,with a Specialization in Photography, major with minors in English and Art History at Cazenovia College and I am in my Junior year. Last semester I began hunting for an internship site for the spring semester. I over heard my professor, Anita Welych, talking with another student about an internship opportunity with the Delavan. The other student did not seem very interested but how Anita was describing the Delavan it seemed very interesting and fun. I hounded Anita until she got me in communication with Caroline, the gallery manager at the Delavan. After email transactions and an interview I became the new intern at the Delavan.

I'll admit I was unsure what I had gotten myself into. I had visited galleries before, mainly photographic exhibits, but what it was going to be like to intern for a gallery I had no idea. Naturally I was nervous before I started and looking back now it seems silly because interns are not welcomed to the Delavan with basic training and gradual acceptance; interns are pulled right into the Delvan experience with open arms and a vast supply of sugary sweets. While Caroline made sure she did not give me tasks in which I was in over my head or overwhelmed, she would give me a task, make sure I understood, and then she would let me at it and feel confident in my abilities to continue on unsupervised and I greatly appreciated that. It is odd to be writing about my experience as an intern because honestly I do not feel like an intern at all, because at this gallery tasks are assigned and done by all, everyone puts in the same amount of hard work, and every one's ideas are written down and stored away for the perfect time.

Listening to the other internship experiences of my classmates I am confident that interning at the Delavan was the best place I could have picked. I have been able to talk with amazing and highly creative artists, I have been able to put my artistic insight to use,and I have been able to walk into a gallery and see all of the hard work that is put into a show come together and see how people react to it.

The task that I have enjoyed the most at the Delavan would be deciding and hanging art in the gallery. That task, while enjoyable, is also frustrating, tiring, and humbling. One day I was left alone for two hours before Kathy, a gallery volunteer, arrived to help with this simple task "redo the continuing artists section". Sounds easy? Oh boy. Kathy and I worked for four hours trying and hanging pieces. There were sections we had done that we loved and sections we were not so fond of. When I came back two days later wondering the final outcome of our work I was delighted to see the section I was the happiest with remained, for the most part, the same. But it is a lesson of working in a gallery that not everything you do is enjoyed by all and some of what Kathy and I had done had been changed or removed. I learned that lesson early on at the Delavan and realized not the take it personally but there are still times when you are disappointed with changes to your ideas.

Overall and by far, I am so happy and content with my experience at the Delavan. And although my merger ideas of what interning at a gallery was going to be like were squashed, they were replaced by great, odd, and fun experiences. And I will never forget how silly and wonderful the staff at the Delavan is, even when they are trying to force feed me everything edible they have stocked.

-Kari O'Mara, Gallery Intern