Artists online: Web site provides links for locals’ cyber galleries

For many artists, being able to create the work they love is worth the inevitable trade-off: a solitary work environment. For painters, sculptors, writers and musicians, having quiet, private space in which to work is almost essential, but it comes with the price of seclusion. Networking, important to people in all types of work, is especially important to artists who need to commune with one another and get word out about their current projects.

For artists in Melrose, a Web site has provided a portal to the outside world, and is allowing them to display their work. With the formation of the Melrose Arts and Cultural Association (MACA) and the related Web site (melrosearts.com), artists and their work are now accessible to anyone, anywhere who can log on to the Internet. 

“It’s a great Web site, especially if you are a Melrose artist,’ said artist J.J. Long. “I’ve been a self-employed oil painter for the past two years. I made my own Web site of my paintings, then I wanted to see what else was on the Web, and the MACA site came up. Through the site I met a slew of other Melrose artists.”

For Deb Haney, jewelry artist and owner of Artful Indulgence, the Web site has proven to be an invaluable marketing tool.

“Because I’m not a business person, I hadn’t thought about a Web site before this,” Haney said. “That’s why this is perfect. I think it’s just a blessing for us to have it.”

Bring the online world to Melrose artists like Long and Haney is the work of fellow artist and Melrosian Gary Borkan.

When the Melrose Arts and Cultural Council began taking shape —one of the group’s main objectives is to coordinate and sponsor the annual Arts Festival — artist and MACA member Deb Corbett suggested that having a Web site would make sense. Borkan volunteered to take on the project.

“The idea was to make a Web site that would be a home base for the organization,” Borkan said. “I have my own Web site and I like to work on Web sites.” Borkan creates hand-blown glass and is a full-time dealer in antique posters and prints (his own Web site is www.rare-posters.com). He also designed the Web site for Hourglass Art and Gift Gallery (www.hourglassgiftgallery.com).

Borkan began work on the basic site in the fall of 2004 and has added to it continually since then. On the site’s home page, there are several links, or “buttons,” on the left. One is a virtual photo album of the city, called “Melrose Photo Album,” a concept that Borkan developed on his own.

“I came up with the idea of a having a photo album of Melrose, and I went out and took some photos of the city,” he said. “I like the idea that the photos look like postcards. I went around town on a July 4 [holiday] and took some pictures.”

“I wanted to see the classic images of the Melrose community: City Hall; old schools like the Coolidge School on Main Street, Ell Pond, the fire station and the Beebe Estate.”

The site eventually attracted local photographer Robert Harris, who contacted Borkan and asked if his photos could be added to the site. (They were.)

Borkan then came up with the idea of creating a link for Melrose artists to enable them to display their work online and have a Web presence. From the homepage, a click on “Melrose Artist Galleries” takes visitors to a colorful page with links, or “buttons” as Borkan calls them, to 15 Melrose artists.

“People give me the photos and I put the format in,” Borkan said, explaining the process. “I then work with them to get a bio. They have some input as to the design of the gallery but I try to vary them to make some variety.”

Each of the 15 artist’s galleries on the site — a 16th is underway — contains up to 15 thumbnail photos of the artist’s works. For some artists, the MACA site is the only Web presence they have — and they’re mighty thankful to Borkan for conceptualizing and providing the opportunity.

“The Web site came out great and is very easy to use,” said Trish Kurdzionak, a painter who works mostly in acrylics. She is known locally by many as “the paint lady,” from her day job as a paint color consultant at Colorworks (formerly known as Johnson Paint) in Melrose. Kurdzionak also has her own independent color consulting business, and said she was in the midst of developing her own site when the MACA Web opportunity came along.

“It’s just a great Web site,” she said. “It’s a great idea to have the artists galleries; it’s a nice way for all the artists to come together.”

Borkan does the Web development for each artist’s page for free. Artists pay MACA $35 for the first year — a Web hosting fee, of sorts; the following years are $20.

“We’re looking for more artists to add,” Borkan said. “We started out with three or fours artists [on the site] and we’re now adding the 16th.”

While the site in intended for Melrose artists, exceptions will be made for those who live elsewhere but work in Melrose. Borkan said another benefit of the site is its “searchability” factor.

“The Web site is very searchable on Google,” he explained. “If you put the artist’s name [in a Google search], the MACA Web site will show up. The idea that it comes up nicely on search ranking is good [for artists] so that people can find them.”

Even a self-described “casual artist” is a big fan of the MACA site and the artist’s galleries.

“I’m a casual artist — it’s not my day job,” said Luke Volpe, former gallery director for Melrose’s Beebe Estate Gallery, a position that Borkan has taken over. “In all probability, I would not have created a Web site.

“It is certainly an advantage for me,” Volpe continued. “I can’t say that I’ve gotten a lot of sales from it, but I’ve made a lot of people aware of what my paintings are. It’s very helpful. People that I deal with in business can be referred to the Web site.”

As a “semi-retired” engineering director in his day job, Volpe said most people he works with “do not know I am an artist, so when it comes up, I can say, ‘Hey, go look at my Web site!’”

“More and more people are turning to the Internet, and we think this is a nice way for people to find artists. We welcome links to other local arts organizations: musicians; performance groups; art schools; and art education,” he said. 

Artist J.J. Long said, “A lot of traffic goes through the MACA site. Because so many artists are isolated, it’s really cool because you can network and see and meet other artists [online]. I’ve met so many awesome people through the MACA site.”

“The fact that Gary Borkan did so much work shows that Melrose is a volunteer-driver town,” artist Deb Haney said. “Gary is so supportive of other artists. I’d like to thank him for doing so much and for giving so much. It’s nice that he’s sharing his talents.

“The whole MACA thing is a good way of building community among artists; we can all find out who we are.”

“Gary has done a great job with it, and the longer the site is there, the more we’ll all benefit from it,” Volpe said.

Artists interested in joining the Melrose Arts and Cultural Association (MACA) and having their work added to the MACA Web site should email Gary Borkan at garyborkan@aol.com.

The Melrose Arts and Cultural Association (MACA) coordinates and sponsors the annual Melrose Arts Festival, a juried art show. Dates for the 2007 Festival are Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 1, 2007. A Preview Party, offering attendees a sneak peek at the art being exhibited, will be held Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m., at Memorial Hall. Last year’s Preview Party was held at City Hall, but this year’s event, with more entertainment, food and a silent auction, necessitated a larger venue.

“Memorial Hall will offer us more space and more opportunity for attendees to preview the artwork,” Gary Borkan said.

People may purchase artwork that evening during the Preview Party. For more information on the 2007 Festival, visit the MACA Web site at www.melrosearts.com.

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