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Art atHome
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withGouda & Hazelnuts (recipe from one of our cooking demos) Ingredients: 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 3 Tbsp MOV Lemongrass-Mint White Balsamic 1 Tbsp finely chopped shallot Black pepper to taste 3 cups baby arugula 1/2 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts 1 Tbsp wild honey 2 Tbsp MOV tra Virgin Oli e Oil Kosher salt to taste 3/ lb thick asparagus 2. oz aged ouda cheese
Directions:
Remove the tips of the asparagus and place in large bowl. Cut off about a 1/2 inch of the woody bottoms and discard. Shave the stalks using a vegetable peeler and place the shavings in the bowl with the tips. Toss the asparagus with a 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette and let sit for 1 1 minutes. This will help soften the asparagus. Add the arugula and hazelnuts and toss. Add more of the vinaigrette to lightly coat the greens. Arrange on plates, top with the shaved ouda and serve. njoy
For more delicious recipes visit monadnockoilandvinegar.com/recipes.html
• 43 Grove St., Peterborough NH 603-784-5175 • • 114 Rt 101A, Amherst NH 603-589-9954 • www.monadnockoilandvinegar.com
Jon Brooks
The Collaboration Between Trees and Art
Thousands of years ago, primitive artists from around the world expressed early forms of art through nature and its vast resources. Today, local artist Jon Brooks is part of a culture aimed at reviving this ancient art form by incorporating the beautiful wood of New Hampshire’s dense forests into his sculptures and furniture. Born in Manchester, Jon has lived in New Hampshire for most of his life and is a true New England woodsman. In fact, I first met him chopping wood outside of his rural New Hampshire studio. Brooks earned his bachelor’s and Master of Fine Arts degrees at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, where he apprenticed under notable artists such as Wendell Castle, widely considered the father of the art furniture movement. Following the footsteps of his mentor, Jon Brooks eventually became a member of the movement and was able to employ his abilities in creating handmade wooden furniture and wooden sculptures. Jon considers his art to be a “collaboration with nature,” and he prides himself in being able to incorporate the immense natural beauty of New England’s forests. To create a piece of furniture or sculpture, Jon uses the naturally formed hardwood found and harvested in the local forests surrounding his home and studio in New Boston, New Hampshire. Because of the arrays of shapes and forms found > SPRING 2022 • 9
throughout different types of hardwood, Brooks is able to create furniture and sculptures entirely out of otherwise simple things such as a log or even a bundle of sticks. He claims to be “attracted to the architecture of nature as a compelling dance of control and chaos,” which helps him to cooperate with tree shapes he finds to create a balance of form, function and craftsmanship. Throughout his 40+ year career, Jon Brooks has earned various accolades for his accomplishments as a leader in The American Studio Furniture Movement. He is considered one of the most adept at his craft as a furniture maker and sculptor. He is highly respected in the movement for his ability to combine craftsmanship, inventiveness and “poetic whimsy.” His work can be found in prestigious galleries such as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. His work has been featured in exhibitions such as Craft Today, USA European Tour, and the Danish Museum of Decorative Art. Finally, he has taught and lectured about his craft in Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, The University of Tasmania, The Haystack School of Crafts and The Center of Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine and Anderson Ranch in Colorado. Today, Jon Brooks continues to produce and sell work and teach about the American Art Furniture Movement, and can often be found in his studio in New Boston, New Hampshire.
When and how did you learn the skill of transforming the beauty of nature’s materials into handmade structures and furniture?
I started drawing and painting at the Currier Museum of Art School when I was five or six years old. I was self-taught with woodworking and started when I was in the third grade using a carving knife and chisels. In high school art class, I had more access to woodworking tools and training. In college art school, I was professionally trained with all materials and tools as a Fine Arts major, graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA and MFA degree.
What inspired you to incorporate the natural beauty of New England’s forests into your passion for art?
UNIQUE ART FOR YOUR UNIQUE SPACE
Artist Caroline Parent creates luminous fused glass mixed media art, themes inspired by the beauty of New Hampshire's great outdoors ... coastal to the NH White Mountains.
Specializing in creating site-specific art for your space. Contact Artist Caroline Parent for more information 603-740-2900 • caroline@eyefeastart.com www.eyefeastart.com
As a child, I loved the forest and spent much of my time there making tree houses and structures from trees. As a full-time studio artist, I love to collaborate with nature, using forest findings and assembling them into shapes that lend themselves to sculpture and furniture.
What has led you to take your skills in art to educate students and aspiring artists about your craft?
I have taught and lectured at many institutions in this country, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I love to teach part-time and work with students using the above mentioned processes.
Who is your greatest inspiration as an artist?
As a child, I was inspired by the sculpture of Constantine Brâncusi. I also love the work of Anton Gaud, Isamu Naguchi and living artist Martin Puyear.
What was the determining factor that influenced you to make a career out of your craft and collaboration with nature?
There was never any question about what I was to do with my life. It has always been about making art with wood.
How has growing up and living in the natural beauty of New Hampshire provided advantages to your career?
Living in the forest surrounded by 183 acres of conservation land is very satisfying, and I never tire of being here with my wife Jami Boyle and doing the work I do.
LEARN MORE AT JONBROOKS.ORG
Visit GeoGraphic Gems online or at any of our local retailers for earrings, pendants, rings, barrettes, keychains & more made from vintage NatGeo pages! Created locally in Keene, New Hampshire.
w w w . G e o G r a p h i c G e m s . c o m 6 3 - 3 6 9 - 2 5 2 5
Sunday May 1-Sunday July 17
Exhibit: Making a Statement: 1920s Fashion Through the Eyes of Mary Curtis
Flappers, dappers, and cloche hats, oh my! Come take a step back in time as we explore the style of young Mary Curtis, who later became the wife of Horatio Colony II. This exhibit will include fabulous 1920s clothing, personal photographs, and documentation of the movements and people that made 1920s fashion so extraordinary.
Horatio Colony House Museum • 199 Main St • Keene, NH 603 352-0460 • www.horatiocolonymuseum.org
