It All Begins Here

Apr 27, 2026

Kim Barry is a Massachusetts-based painter, potter, sculptor, and art educator whose work is deeply shaped by the coastal landscape of the South Coast. Based in Mattapoisett, MA, with a studio at Hatch Street Studios in New Bedford, Barry draws inspiration from nature, especially shells, gardens, flowers, fruit, and the changing atmosphere of the seaside environment. Her paintings combine close observation with an expressive, emotional response to the natural world, often transforming organic forms into images that suggest gesture, memory, sensuality, female strength, and the vitality of life. Barry holds a BFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Alongside her studio practice, she has had a long career in arts education, including serving as Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at CATS Academy Boston, where she helped establish the department and taught drawing, painting, AP art courses, fashion, and art history. Her professional affiliations include TAG The Art Gallery in SOWA Boston, the Providence Art Club, South Coast Artists, Westport Art Group, Marion Art Center, Gallery X, and the New Bedford Art Museum. She is also the owner of Clay Trout Pottery in Mattapoisett, where she creates custom plant containers and sculpted tile. Through painting, pottery, sculpture, and teaching, Barry’s practice reflects a sustained commitment to material exploration, coastal ecology, and the expressive power of the natural world.

Apr 29, 2026

Michelle T. Lapointe, also known as The Glass Connector, is a stained glass artist, painter, and photographer based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Working from the historic mill environment of New Bedford, her practice centers on original stained-glass creations that transform color, light, and structure into intimate visual experiences. Her work reflects both craftsmanship and personal expression, using glass not only as a material but as a way to connect memory, place, and atmosphere. Through her studio practice, Lapointe continues the long tradition of glass art while bringing it into a contemporary, deeply personal language. Her pieces invite viewers to look closely at how light changes what we see, turning everyday space into something luminous, reflective, and quietly emotional.

Apr 30, 2026

Michael Pietragalla is an artist, craftsman, and furniture maker based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He owns and operates Floating Stone Woodworks, a custom furniture studio specializing in handcrafted tables, bookcases, consoles, benches, case pieces, and restoration work. Each piece is individually built, signed, and dated, using carefully selected hardwoods such as quarter-sawn white oak, cherry, maple, and walnut. Pietragalla’s path began in fine art. He earned a BFA in painting from the Swain School of Design in 1972, later worked as a carpenter, and became involved in set design and construction for theater groups across southern New England. After studying at Massachusetts College of Art, he taught photography and graphic design to inner-city youth before turning more fully toward finish carpentry and furniture making. Since 1997, Pietragalla has created custom furniture from his studio in New Bedford. His work reflects a blend of classical studio training, architectural thinking, and Asian design sensibilities. He is especially drawn to tables, which he describes almost as small buildings: legs as posts, aprons as rafters, and the tabletop as a roof. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and is held in private collections throughout the United States.

Feb 21, 2019

Tour of Sculptor Erik Durant's studio in New Bedford, MA. For more info visit: www.erikdurant.com

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell announces expansion of Hatch Street Studios to benefit artists and the art community of New Bedford, October 13th, 2015.