Artists, ameteur or expert, now have a new way to expose their work to the New Paltz community and beyond.
On Wednesday, March 12, Manny’s Art Supplies launched a blog which is set to feature a new artist every week.
According to the website, on which the blog is hosted, the intention is to create an art hub for people to see works of all mediums.
Artists seeking to be featured on the blog are to submit a form answering several questions and provide a selection of images of their work.
Rebecca Golgoski, store employee and granddaughter of late Manny Lipton, the original store owner, is in charge of the blog’s artists’ submissions and originally came up with the idea for the blog page. She said she believes it will be a good platform to help artists move forward.
“I’ve always wanted to do some sort of article blog on our website, suddenly I just thought we should do a featured artist,” Rebecca Golgoski said. “It would be people of all ages, local and even from other states. It doesn’t have to just be professionals, everyone does art.”
Rebecca Golgoski, an alumnus of New Paltz’s graduate program in 2006, said she saw that other businesses have found a niche and are working on projects of this nature.
“It’s new and fresh. We’ve been around for 52 years so we’ve seen a lot of changes and the stores going through changes as well,” store owner Marilyn Golgoski said.
According to Marylin Golgoski, Lipton was a traveling salesman who came through New Paltz to sell ceramic tiles prior to opening the art supply store.
Back then, New Paltz was a sleepy town with not a lot going on and there was nowhere to buy a pencil or piece of paper, so Lipton opened up the first art supply store in the Hudson Valley, according to the store’s website.
During Manny’s existence, the store has moved to several locations and has been at its current location on 83 Main St. for more than 35 years, Marilyn Golgoski said.
Lipton began the business selling used books, food and photography services as well as art supplies.
Previously a billiard hall, the store still has billiard-ball lighting fixtures and has since had its walls adorned mostly with Lipton’s artwork.
In celebration of what would have been Lipton’s 96th birthday, he will be included as one of the upcoming feature artists on the store’s new blog, according to Rebecca Gogolski.
Rachael Braun, a Manny’s Art Supplies employee and New Paltz alum, is supportive of the blog and said she wishes it was around when she was a student.
“I think [the blog] is a really good idea. We’ve got a lot of artists here that don’t get much attention, especially students,” Braun said. “I think it will make them feel good to have their work featured, even if they’re not graduating and they’re just starting out. It would be great for them to feel special and get good feedback on their work.”
Braun said she plans on submitting some of her own work to the blog and believes the blog can encourage students to continue with their artwork despite rough critiques from professors.
“Even when grandpa was around, I think we’ve always been a fun, lively place to come to so we think [the blog] will carry that on,” Rebecca Golgoski said.