The Artful Mind Artzine

THE ARTFUL MIND

Monthly Berkshire Artzine Since 1994

April 2013

ACTOR Sally-Jane Heit Photography by Sabine Vollmer von Falken

WANT TO TALK TO ROBIN?510 WARREN ST., HUDSON, NY

518-822-0510

www.510warrenstreetgallery.com

APRIL FEATURED ARTIST

JEANNINE R. SCHOEFFER

“AFRICA”

510 MEMBERS INCLUDE: WILL CLARK LINDA CLAYTON’ DIANA FELBER JOAN GIUMMO ISKA KENNEY KATE KNAPP JOHN LIPKOWITZ NINA LIPKOWITZ ELEANOR LORD HANNAH MANDEL PEGGY REEVES JEANNINE R. SCHOEFFER DORIS SIMON MUSEUM QUALITY FURNITURE BY JOEL MARK ANTIQUE PRINTS & POSTERS FROM MILL RIVER STUDIO

Friday and Saturday 12-6, Sunday 12-5, or by appointment

The ArTful Mind April 2013 •1

July 7th - 10th • 10 - 4pm

FRONT STREET GALLERY

Kate Knapp, NYC

Painting Classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10 - 1pm at the Studio and Thursday mornings 10 - 1pm out in the field.

Open to all.

See new oils and black and white drawings and paintings

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The ArTful Mind

413-274-6607 413-429-7141 (cell) 413-528-9546 Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sunday 12-5 or by appointment FRONT STREET, downtown HOUSATONIC, MA

PO BOX 181 West Stockbridge, MA 01266 Email: KENTMIKALSEN@gmail.com sacredspace.kentmikalsen.com Phone: 413-652-4801

The ArTful Mind April 2013 •3

STANLEY MALTZMAN CATSKILL STREAM STUDY

STANLEY MALTZMAN, FROM MY STUDIO

ArTisT

STAnley MAlTzMAn by eunice Agar

stanley Maltzman is a contemporary representative of a traditional style of realism based on close observation of nature that was developed by the nineteenth century hudson river school painters Thomas Cole and frederic Church among others. he lives in freehold, nY, a small town at the base of the Catskills, and for many years has been a prominent figure in the large community of artists in the mid-hudson region. And he has a national reputation as well for his own work, his books on drawing, and his master classes, with collectors and former students all over the country.

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The ArTful Mind

STANLEY MALTZMAN, OLD FRIEND

Maltzman paints landscapes in watercolor and pastel on location and makes many richly textured, detailed drawings of woods interiors, groups of trees, individual trees, birds, plants, leaves, the occasional still life. he prefers the fall, winter and spring when there is no foliage and he can emphasize the gnarled forms of trunks and the elusive tangle of small branches and brush. A loaded brush can very quickly and efficiently depict a mass of branches, but to draw the same subject in line is difficult. The artist cannot draw every leaf or twig but must create a shorthand, a visual equivalent of masses of detail. The process would appear to take a long time, but Maltzman has a clear idea before he starts and works quickly. he has a finely tuned sensitivity to many combinations of materials, using all the drawing media - all kinds of pencils, charcoal, Conte crayons on handmade papers that he has collected over the years. he has also drawn lithographs on the traditional Bavarian limestone which he had printed

by George C. Miller & sons, an old new York firm that printed George Bellows and Thomas hart Benton, and he makes etchings and monoprints. George Geahigan of Purdue university considered Maltzman "one of the outstanding draftsmen in this country."

spent many years doing commercial work, eventually directing a large studio. during those years he worked continuously on free drawing around new York at south street ferry, the fulton fish Market and other locations, and he attended weekly life drawing sessions. he was first attracted to nature during summers at Boy scout camp in the Catskills, and returned there often to draw and paint. his sensitivity to the sights and sounds, the details of nature, are as finely tuned as those of a native born country dweller. in l974 Maltzman and his late wife rachael moved permanently to the Catskills when their daughters susan, an artist, and Carole, a genetic counselor, were married and established in careers. rachael grew up in the same neighborhood. They knew each other for 65 years, were married for 58. Maltzman designed and built their house on a hillside facing the Catskill range and later built a separate studio. A recent series of pastel landscapes of sunsets over the mountains were painted from his living room window. sunsets have been a favorite subject. he has made many drawings of the trees in his yard and within a short walking distance, or on short drives from the house.

Today his house and studio are crammed with paintings, drawings, books, and art supplies. his interest in other artists led to curating shows for the Agraforestry Gallery in Acra, nY and the Greenville library Gallery where he has also managed a weekly life drawing session for many years. he is on the art screening panel at the rensselaerville institue and has curated shows for the Greene County Council on the Arts in Catskill.

Maltzman has very long list of exhibition venues, major collections, commissions, awards and published articles on his work.

These include exhibitions at the Carnegie Museum of natural history, The Butler institute, The national Academy, The American Academy of Arts and letters. Three of his works are in the MetroSTANLEY MALTZMAN, JAPANESE LACE politan Museum which also has a copy of his book, "drawing nature."in new York he had solo shows at the Grand Central Art A beautiful hand-bound, limited edition (100 copies) book of his work with forty reproducGalleries, the frank rehn Gallery and the Weyhe Gallery. recent awards include a Gold tions printed on hand-made paper - "The Art of stanley Maltzman: sketches and studies Medal from the hudson Valley Art Associations' 70th Annual, and silver Medal from the in Pencil, Pastel and Watercolor"- was published to critical acclaim in 2007. his popular Audubon Artists' 68th Annual. Articles on his work have appeared in American Artist, The instructional books on drawing are "drawing nature," l995, which sold more than 40,000 Artist's Magazine, hudson Valley and Kaatskill magazines. HHH copies, and drawing Trees, 2000. Both books are out of print but available on line and Maltzman has copies of "drawing nature" available in his studio.

Maltzman was born in the Bronx in l92l. When he was in high school, he thought he wanted to be a shop teacher, but when that class was full he was put into a special art class.

After high school, he studied at the Grand Central school of Art. in l94l, he joined the Coast Guard and served four and a half years. Over the years, he has attended many reunions with his shipmates. A wonderful large sketchbook of drawings he made while on board ship has never been exhibited and will remain in his family. it should be reproduced in a book. After the war he finished training at the Grand Central school of Art and then

Angela M. Brett Fine Art Original

aingealmire@aol.com

Website: www.hellofortwayne.com/art/angelambrett/35122/ The ArTful Mind April 2013 •5

The ArTful Mind

artzine

April 2013

“What ever Lola wants...Lola gets...”

Cover photo: Actor sally-Jane heit Photography by Sabine Vollmer von Falken Artist Stanley Maltzman Harryet Candee .....4

interview with Sally-Jane heit Beth Anne Bacon ...12

planet Waves March Eric Francis...... 16 Simply Sasha Sasha Seymour...... 17

Architecture & Arcadia Stephen Dietemann..... 19 robin elyse Mallory in A happy dog’s World Harryet Candee...20 The 2CV in love Richard Britell ... 24

Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Eunice Agar, Beth Anne Bacon, Richard Britell, Stephen Gerard Dietemann, Eric Francis, Sasha Seymour Photographers Lee Everett, Jane Feldman, Julie McCarthy Sabine Vollmer von Falken, Cassandra Sohn Publisher Harryet Candee

Copy Editor

Marguerite Bride

Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet Candee

Box 985, Great Barrington, MA 01230

artfulmind@yahoo.com issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine 413-528-5628 All submissions for May due :: April 17, 2013 (email or call)

FYI: ©Copyright laws in effect throughout The Artful Mind for logo & all graphics including text material. Copyright laws for photographers and writers throughout The Artful Mind. Permission to reprint is required in all instances. In any case the issue does not appear on the stands as planned due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, advertisers will be compensated on a one to one basis. Disclaimer rights available upon request.

Serving the Art community with the the intention of enhancing communication and sharing positive creativity in all aspects of our lives.

Our Art...Our Way

6 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

The MuSiC STOre

There are few things more poorly suited to the superseller, mass-marketing, impersonal transaction and computerized service dominated retail than MusiC, especially in choosing a musical instrument! This is why small, independent stores like ours, The Music store, still exist; to give the consumer the chance to play, listen and ask about the instruments in which they are interested.

The Music store, named the Best Music store by the Berkshire record, offers fine, folk, unusual and handmade instruments for musicians and music lovers of all ages and abilities, including an extensive selection of accessories including strings, sticks, cleaners, reeds, and heads among many, many others.

Acoustic, electric, classical and luthier handmade guitars - including the penultimate, gorgeously voiced and darned near indestructible travel guitar - Composite Acoustic’s Cargo - nestle happily among one of the widest selection of ukuleles in the northeast. African, Middle-eastern and other ethnic instruments including drums and bells, rattles and ratchets sit beside children’s instruments. And unusual locally made instruments including dr. easy’s sonic Boxes (wonderful acoustic and A/e Cigar Box Guitars and diddly Bows) as well as the lovely stockbridge-made Bamboo serenity flutes, Walking stick and Cane flutes rub shoulders with elite luthier-handmade guitars by dana Bourgeois’s Pantheon Guitar shop and irish luthier John Beckett.

Another essential, instrument maintenance and repair is available as well. sean Barry’s Workshop offers expert luthiery at reasonable prices for maintenance, repair and restoration, and access to a private collection of used musical instruments from the 18th century to present day. Also, unlike super-seller chain stores, we offer custom set-up and instrument warranty work free of charge on every new instrument that we sell, for the life of the instrument!

Musical motif gifts, sheet music and expert, friendly advice and service are also available, making The Music store your resource for all things musical here in the lovely Berkshires, the very heart of so much music in the northeast! for brand names of new and used guitars including Composite Acoustic, Kremona, Avalon, Alvarez, Takamine, Breedlove, loar, recording King, fender as well as many other lesser known brands of guitars, international and locally made instruments, accessories and gifts of all kinds, The Music store is the place to be this spring.

The Music Store, 87 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Open Tuesday - Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 12-5. Call 413-528-2460 or visit our web site: themusicstoreplus.com.

ST. frAnCiS GAllery suzeTTe AlsOP

GO fiGure

st. francis Gallery is hosting “GO fiGure”, an exhibit that features the work of 16 talented artists and celebrates the human form with realism and abstraction. An artist’s reception will be held on saturday, April 20th from 3-6 pm.

The exhibiting artists and their art consist of dan Brody’s exciting large abstract work; Jeannie schermesser’s very moving photographic manipulations of inner beauty; linda Baker-Cimini’s humorous pen and ink drawings; franco Pelligrino’s imaginative and stimulating interpretations of the human form; Monica Miller’s monumental angel drawings; robert houghton’s engaging photographic images of vegetables. Also Jurek’s beautiful airbrushed acrylics celebrating the color of form; John henry Cox’s exquisite drawings rendered with amazing texture and detail; Jacob fossom’s challenging and beautiful painted works; suzette Alsop’s amazingly energetic and beautifully executed watercolors, and Paula stern’s powerful and emotionally beautiful sculptures.

Beginning in mid-May, the gallery will host a landscape show with a different group of artists.

“We recently returned from Kenya, and the work at hOreC (the aids orphanage near ruai, just east and north of nairobi) was successful. As usual the children are both a joy and an inspiration to continue the foundation, sAWA sAWA, to support them. There will always be many projects that we can do to benefit the growing young Kenyans, who seem to be turning out to be very caring and determined individuals. Their art projects produced some beautiful works, despite the lack of adequate materials to work with. unfortunately, the supplies we sent were not available at the time. some of these will be reproduced for sale to give added support to the foundation.”

There is a growing list of talented area artists who want to show their work for the coming year at the gallery and are excited to a part of this growing adventure. We are hoping many of you can visit the gallery so we can introduce you to the excitement and creative energy that seems to be so much a part of this collaborative project and the stimulating art and beautiful work on display.

St. Francis Gallery, 1370 Pleasant St., Rt. 102, South Lee, next to the Post Office and Fire Dept. Gallery Hours: Fri – Monday 11:30 am – 5:30 pm. 413-717-5199.

CALENDAR OF ARTFUL EVENTS museums & galleries

A.p.e GAllery northampton, MA • 413-529-1895 easthampton Artist, susan Montgomery, exhibits new works of paintings, drawings, and sculpture, Mar 8 - 29.

BerkShire MuSeuM 39 south street (route 7), Pittsfield, MA Bryan nash Gill: Beyond the landscape thru May 2013.

510 WArren STreeT GAllery hudson, nY • 518-822-0510 Jeannine r. schoeffer, “Africa”, thru April.

BerkShire ArT GAllery 80 railroad st, Gt Barrington, MA • 528-2690 www.berkshireartgallery.com 19th and early 20th Century American & european art and sculpture, contemporary artists CCCA GAllery 209 Warren street hudson, nY Assemblage & Collage: spring exhibition Through May 17.

frOnT STreeT GAllery front st., housatonic, MA • 413-274-6607 / 413-528-9546, or cell at 413-429-7141 housatonic Gallery for students and artists. featuring watercolors by Kate Knapp (saturday and sunday 12-5pm or by appointment)

GOOd purpOSe GAllery 40 Main street, lee, MA / www.goodpurpose.org shifting Perceptions: The Art of Autism, a collaborative project, Apr 5 - May 27 GOBerry 28 Amity st., ste 1e, Amherst, MA Contemporary art work by local artists

GuidO’S MArkeT rte 7, Pittsfield, MA susan Geller Photography exhibit, “People/Places/flowers”, thru the month of April. lAuren ClArk fine ArT 402 Park st, housatonic, MA • 274-1432 www.laurenClarkfineArt.comlauren Art and framing in the heart of housatonic

MASS MoCA 87 Marshall street in north Adams, MA The human Tower,Thursday, April 25, 2013, 7:30 pm, Club B-10, $9 adults / $5 students / 10% discount for members

neuMAnn fine ArT 65 Cold Water st., hillsdale, nY • www.neumannfineart.com featuring the paintings of Bob Crimi and the custom made furniture of Joel Mark in the gallery's second group show, which opens with a reception on April 13, 5-8pm. The exhibit runs April 13 – June 2. nOrMAn rOCkWell MuSeuM 9 route 183, stockbridge, MA • 413-298-4100 An exhibition devoted to the work of hungarian-born artist istvan Banyai opens at norman rockwell Museum on satur

day, March 9, 2013, and runs through sunday, May 5, 2013, as part of the museum’s distinguished illustrator series.

music/theatre/film

SAMuel dOrSky MuSeuM state university of new York at new Paltz, 1 hawk drive, new Paltz, nY • 845.257.3844 The dorsky Collects: recent Acquisitions 2008-2012 Through June 23, 2013

ClOSe enCOunTerS WiTh MuSiC Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Castle st, Gt. Barrington, MA Grand Piano Trios", saturday April 20, 6 PM

SOhn fine ArT 2nd AnnuAl COMMuniTY ArTs eXhiBiTiOn Presents its 2nd Annual Juried Photography exhibition to Benefit Chesterwood (A national Trust historic site) An array of photographic genres. reception for this exhibition is on saturday, April 20, 4:00 - 7:00. it is free and open to the public. Winners will be announced at 6:00pm. Visit the Gallery on or before this date to put in your vote for the "People's Choice Award". first Place winner will receive free attendance to Cassandra sohn's Photography Workshop, "Portraits, landscapes and Place". This workshop is presented by sohn fine Art and Chesterwood and will take place on location at Chesterwood on August 26, 27 and 28. An exhibition at Chesterwood will immediately follow the workshop (August 31 - October 31) and will feature photographs taken by students during the workshop. You can view more information about this workshop or sign up for it at sohn fine Art: www.sohnfineart.com; info@sohnfineart.com; or 413-2981025. People's Choice Award winner will receive a 16 x 20 fine Art Print of their own work printed by sohn fine Art's Giclee Printing department.

prOCTOrS TheATre Albany, nY, Mainstage / 518-346-6204 / www.proctors.org/events/berkshire-capreg-theatre-project A soldiers Play, Apr 5-14; doubt, May 31-June 9; WAM TheATre And The MOP & BuCKeT COMPAnY presents the 3rd Annual 24hr Berkshire/Capital region Theatre Project, May 18, 8pm.

SChAnTz GAllerieS 3 elm st, stockbridge, MA • 413-298-3044 www.schantzgalleries.com.

A destination for those seeking premier artists working in glass. (11 - 5 daily)

ST. frAnCiS GAllery 1370 Pleasant st, rte 102, lee, MA • 413-717-5199 “Go figure”, 16 talented artists: human form with realism and abstraction. reception will be held on saturday, April 20th from 3-6 pm The GAllery AT r&f 84 Ten Broeck Ave, in midtown Kingston, nY • 845-331-3112.

AlAn GOldsTein: The Trees Are dYinG, through May 18 The hArriSOn GAllery 39 spring street, Williamstown, MA hale Johnson & don Wilks, thru April 30.

The iShA nelSOn GAllery railroad st., Great Barrington, MA COlOr, MOVeMenT And BAlAnCe Artist david J. richardson, “Color, Movement and Balance”, April thru May.

The OXBOW GAllery 275 Pleasant st., northampton, MA 01060 oxbowgallery.org (413) 586-6300 direCTiOn:hOMe. B.z. reily Julie lapping rivera, diane Travis, April 3-April 28.

WilliAM BACzek fine ArTS 36 Main st. in downtown northampton • 413-587-9880 Gina Kamentsky, The Engagement Party; nanette Vonnegut, All Things in Paradise; Thru April 20, 2013.

perfOrMAnCe Of The pOeT’S leGACy Williamsville inn, Williamstown, MA April 21, 5pm, April 22, 7pm. The performance focuses on the denizens of Brown's hotel in Wales, where poet dylan Thomas spent much of his time, directed by linda White. tx: $10.

riGhTS Of The rOund TABle Mason library, Common room, Gt barrington, MA inaugural conversation & despute with music, dance and art.

May 11, 11-1pm.

The eGG Albany, nY • 518-473-1845 / www.theegg.org hOT TunA, June 21

The MAhAiWe perfOrMinG ArTS CenTer 14 Castle st, Gt Barrington, MA / www.mahaiwe.org April 26, 7pm. Cirque shanghai: Bai Xi: Astounding Chinese acrobatics, fast-paced action, and contemporary staging

Tri ArTS sharon Playhouse, Bok Gallery, sharon, CT and Berkshire Theatre Group’s unicorn Theatre in stockbridge, MA • 860-435-6928 or aglettheatre@comcast.net “The Oldest Profession”, in sharon CT, April 26/ 27, in stockbridge, May 3 / 4. 7pm. Aglet Theatre Company’s final staged reading of the 2012-2013 season is Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel‘s The Oldest Profession. This is a gentle but bittersweet story of five aging practitioners of the oldest profession who are faced with a diminishing clientele, increased competition for their niche market, and aching joints.

WilliAMSTOWn TheATre Adams Memorial Theatre,1000 Main st., Williams College, MA “Broken Glass”, by Arthur Miller, May 3, 7:30pm, May 4, 7:30pm

WOOdSTOCk frinGe 155 Bank st, Greenwich Village, nYC www.woodstockfringe.org (for complete schedule) Thurs April 25, 7pm: rent-a-Beatnik by Paul Graham; sensible shoes by Arlana Johns; Consummate Connections by lou rodgers Meet the deadline!

Calendar listings due on or before the 10th of every month prior to production... first come first serve.

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 7

neuMAnn fine ArT sPrinG shOW CherrY And eBOnY TABle BY JOel MArK

510 WArren STreeT GAllery JeAnnine r. sChOeffer, frOM “AfriCA” series

JeAnnine r. sChOeffer

An exhibition of oil paintings by Jeannine schoeffer titled “Africa” will be featured in April at 510 Warren street Gallery.

Mrs. schoeffer loves all God’s creatures, and a recent African trip introduced her to some new ones, up close and personal. look at it as taking a break from her favorites... the flowers. in addition to Jeannine schoeffer, exhibiting artists include: Will Clark, Diana Felber, Joan Giummo, Iska Kenney, Kate Knapp, John Lipkowitz, Nina Lipkowitz, Eleanor Lord, Hannah Mandel, Peggy Reeves, Doris Simon, Joel Mark Furniture, and Mill River Studio Antique Prints & Posters.

510 Warren Street Gallery, 510 Warren Street, Hudson, New York. Gallery Hours: Fridays and Saturdays from noon until 6 P.M., and Sundays from noon until 5 P.M. For information please call 1-518-822-0510 or 1-413-528-9456. www.510warrenstgallery.com

8• April 2013 The ArTful Mind

neumann fine Art will be featuring the paintings of Bob Crimi and the custom made furniture of Joel Mark in the gallery’s second group show, which opens with a reception on April 13, 5-8 PM. The exhibit runs April 13 – June 2.

The paintings of Bob Crimi reflect his joy in the act of painting. Crimi’s work offers the viewer a window into a meditation. his canvases breathe with shifting passages of bold saturated color dissolving into ephemeral veils of subtle calm. Crimi’s visceral approach to painting is perhaps best illuminated in the artist’s own words: “intuition is our builtin GPs system. it always does us well. i go to it when i pick up a brush; like zen and archery, keeping the intellect out of it, becoming the bow and arrow and, similarly, becoming the brush.”

Joel Mark makes furniture that you want to touch. his sophisticated design sense makes his pieces a treat for the eyes as well as the hands and body. superbly crafted from both local and exotic woods, the marriage of form and function in this museum quality furniture is one that is sure to endure for generations. The look is both contemporary and classic.

Aside from the impeccable workmanship in Joel Mark’s furniture, his designs are original, insuring the owner of piece that cannot be had anywhere else. With elements of Modern scandinavian and Art deco influences, each signed and dated piece is an expression of the artisan’s personal style. The owner of a Joel Mark piece of furniture is rewarded with meticulously crafted elegance that makes the comfort of home an artistic statement.

Neumann Fine Art, 65 Coldwater St., Hillsdale, NY. Gallery hours are 11 - 4 Thursday - Sunday and by appointment. Tel: 413-246-5776. www.neumannfineart.com

frOnT STreeT GAllery KATe KnAPP, self-POrTrAiT

neW Oils plus BlACK And WhiTe drAWinGs And PAinTinGs Pastels, oils, acrylics and watercolors…..abstract and representational…..landscapes, still lifes and portraits….a unique variety of painting technique and styles….you will be transported to another world and see things in a way you never have before….please come join us and experience something different.

Painting classes continue on Mon Wed mornings 101:30pm at the studio and Thursday mornings out in the field and are open to all...come to one or come again if it works for you...all levels and materials welcome...

Classes at front street for those wishing to learn and those who just want to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art and who have some experience under their belt. Perfect for those seeking fresh insight into watercolors, and other mediums.

Kate Knapp has been teaching for many years, and has a keen sense of each student’s artistic needs to take a step beyond! Perfect setting for setting up still lifes. lighting and space is excellent. Peak in to see!

Kate Knapp’s paintings are also on display at 510 Warren st. Gallery in hudson, nY. Please stop by to see all the many works of art by exceptional artists.

Front Street Gallery – Front Street, Housatonic, MA. Gallery now open by appointment or chance...if you call my home phone 413-528-9546 or cell 413-429-7141. I can meet you there very quickly...I look forward to seeing you!

iS183 ArT SChOOl Of The BerkShireS PhOTOGrAPh BY CAssAndrA sOhn

1sT AnnuAl sTOCKBridGe ArT lAB

GOOd purpOSe GAllery shifTinG PerCePTiOns The ArT Of AuTisM ArTisT KeVin hOssein

deSiGninG SACred SpACe

Kent Mikalsen expands his design consultancy to include This May, is183 Art school of the Berkshires and The designing sacred space. red lion inn will team up to launch The 1st Annual stockliving near these magnificent northeastern forests it easy bridge Art lab—a series of “pop-upâ€? galleries in the town to be aware of the positive effect our natural environment Join us for shifting Perspectives: The Art of Autism exof stockbridge exhibiting the work of is183’s faculty artists, has on our sense of well being. We are deeply connected to perience at the Good Purpose Gallery. The exhibit runs until from May 3 to June 3. This wide-ranging, interactive comthe sensuous and integrating experience of nature. even in May 27, following a reception on friday April 12 at 5pm. munity spectacle will be free and open to the public, with an our sheltered built environments we create openings to inThis exhibit will allow you to step outside the boundaries opening at hall’s Garage on friday, May 3 from 5-6 pm, vite nature’s light and spaciousness inside. designing our and broaden one’s perspective of Outsider art, as it’s often with ‘galleries’ open for viewing from 6-8 pm rain or shine. interiors we emulate her natural colors, textures and patcalled. Art of Autism is an inspirational and educational tool A number of local businesses will turn into pop-up galterns. These spaces that we inhabit can significantly affect for local communities, especially for families with children leries to host segments of this wide ranging show. The exhiour mental, spiritual and even physical health. Clinical reor adults on the spectrum and with learning differences. The bition will lead visitors through a progressive walking tour search has linked the positive effects of a beautifully ap“limitedâ€? became limitless through the art and self-expresof stockbridge that in addition to The red lion inn also inpointed hospital room to the length of time a patient requires sion. cludes Berkshire Bank, elm street Market, hall’s Garage, to heal. employing the essential elements of good design, The exhibit features eight artists from the united states stockbridge Coffee, salon 7, Main street CafĂŠ, and The sacred spaces are beautiful healing environments that conand one from ireland brought to the Good Purpose Gallery stockbridge library. All stockbridge Art lab locations will tribute to our vibrant health and confirm our most positive through the auspices of The Art of Autism, an international be listed on the Art lab map, which will be available at area aspirations. collaborative project that brings awareness of the creative businesses and all gallery locations. Attendees can start at Kent is a professionally trained artist and designer with abilities of people with autism to the general public. All of hall’s Garage during the May 3rd opening, and visit each of an unusually broad and experienced background in fine art, these artists are self-taught, and despite their learning differthe participating galleries that evening. Artists will be onarchitecture, woodworking, film and entertainment design. ences associated with autism, using their art as a creative exhand at each location to speak about their work and can finhe studied yoga and meditation for ten years while living pression. Their work provides a means of communicating ish the Ark Walk at the red lion inn, for wine, dinner and at an ashram in rural Pennsylvania and has maintained his something of their interior and imagined world as well as ardancing. practice for more than thirty years. ticulating their sensory experiences. “The core of what we do at is183 Art school is to make Kent Mikalsen studio creates beautiful and healing enAlong with beautiful art visitors have a chance to browse the amazing artistic talent that is present in our region acvironments for homes, businesses and institutions, designing through two books published by Art of Autism project: “Arcessible to the community. The 75 artist-educators who dea wide range of venues including yoga studios, hospitals, tismâ€? – shatters myths of limitations with the voices and art liver classes, workshops, intensives, in school programs and clinics, meditation rooms, chapels, memorials, pavilions and of those on the spectrum, featuring 54 artists with autism camps each year are truly the strength and pride of the art events. from all around the world (some of the artists are wellschool. i am thrilled to finally have a venue appropriate to Kent Mikalsen Studio – 413-652-4801 or email kentknown, such as Temple Grandin and donna Williams); their talent, an entire town in fact—stockbridge!â€? enthused mikalsen@gmail.com; sacredspace.kentmikalsen.com “shifting Perceptionsâ€? – continue to erase borders between hope sullivan, executive director of is183 Art school. “conventionalâ€? and outsider art, includes stories of love, destockbridge Art lab marks the first full faculty show for termination and faith by 77 artists and poets. is183, the largest employer of artists in the region. Curated it’s worth noticing that one of the featured artists in the by is183 staffer lucie Castaldo, this exhibition presents the show is Trent Altman who won the 2012 united nations breadth and diversity of over 70 local, regional, national, and

Award for Autism stamp. The official postal stamps are international artists, who practice and teach a full spectrum

launched every April as part of World Autism day. of media expanding across ceramics, fiber arts, painting,

Good Purpose Gallery, 40 Main Street, Lee, MA. Visit

drawing, sculpture, photography, jewelry, mixed media, ex

www.goodpurpose.org for more information.

perimental animation, digital design, and literary and dramatic arts. As part of its mission to enrich the community through hands-on experience in art making, is183 is comRead The Artful Mind page to page... mitted to providing the Berkshire area with direct access to Click on a web-site and it will take professional artists; stockbridge Art lab spotlights this outyou directly there! standing wealth of talent and makes it available to the community.

Go to: IS183, Art School of the Berkshires is a not-for-profit http://issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs/issuu.com_mar_2013 community art school based in the Interlaken village of (depending on the month, insert: _April_) Stockbridge, MA whose mission is to encourage people of all ages, means and skill levels to enrich their lives through hands-on experience in the visual arts. IS183 offers yearFind back issues, too! round programs in ceramics, painting, drawing, fiber arts, sculpture, animation, mixed media, photography, collage, Advertising keeps us all in business...

jewelry and more for children, teens and adults—at locations

simply email or call: throughout Berkshire County through collaborative partner413-528-5628 ships with schools and other cultural organizations. Proor grams are offered daytime, evenings and weekends, for all artfulmind@yahoo.com levels—from the absolute beginner to the professional artist.

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The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 9

AsTOn MAGnA MusiC fesTiVAl ArTisTiC direCTOr dAniel sTePner

AsTOn MAGnA MusiC fesTiVAl enseMBle: lefT TO riGhT: eriC hOePriCh, ClArineT dAniel sTePner, ViOlin sTeVen hAMMer, OBOe Julie leVen, ViOlin frederiCK AldriCh, nATurAl hOrn dAVid Miller, ViOlA riChArd MenAul, nATurAl hOrn lOreTTA O'sulliVAn, ViOlOnCellO Anne TrOuT, dOuBle BAss PhOTOs COurTesY Of AsTOn MAGnA MusiC fesTiVAl

ASTOn MAGnA MuSiC feSTiVAl eArly MuSiC On periOd inSTruMenTS

now entering its 5th historic decade, Aston Magna has forged an important and unique place in American cultural life. founded in 1972 by lee elman and the late Albert fuller, the Aston Magna Music festival (daniel stepner, Artistic director) is the oldest annual summer festival in America devoted to music performed on period instruments.

Coming off a highly successful 40th Anniversary season with renewed dedication to our mission of presenting engaging concerts of music from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the season, will begin on the weekend of June 13-15, under the musical direction of daniel stepner, Artistic director and violinist, titled The Art of the Chalumeau (early Clarinet).

The hauntingly beautiful chalumeau – the ethereal early clarinet – is brought vividly to life by Aston Magna’s star clarinetist, eric hoeprich, whose musical achievements are well known to our audiences. he introduces the chalumeau, one of his favorite instruments, in a return collaboration with oboist stephen hammer, in music by Baroque and Classical masters. They are joined this year by the exciting soprano Kristen Watson and a band of string players.

The combined artistry of daniel stepner, violin, and Peter sykes, harpsichord, will conjure up an exceptional evening of music making with Bach’s timeless music in J. s. Bach: The six sonatas for Violin and harpsichord the weekend of June 20 – 22. Aston Magna’s third festival weekend, June 27-29, will include a special appearance at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington on June 29 at 8pm in Masterworks by J.s. Bach and Marin Marais. The festival continues with the intimate and expressive world of the italian madrigal in shades of love lost - Madrigals of Monteverdi and Wert, July 4-6. Come hear Aston Magna’s vocal forces perform works by the 16th- and 17th-century masters of words and music proclaiming the power of love. The season finale, Music from the library of Thomas Jefferson, takes place July 11-13. Music was an important part of Thomas Jefferson’s life.

This summer’s five Aston Magna festival programs will be performed at slosberg Auditorium at Brandeis university in Waltham, MA, on Thursday evenings, June 13, 20 and 27, and July 4 and 11 with concerts beginning at 8:00 p.m. The concerts can be heard on friday evenings, June 14, 21 and 28, and July 5 and 12 at 8:00 p.m. in the air-conditioned auditorium of the Olin humanities Building on the main campus of Bard College, Annandale-on-hudson, new York. four of the concerts on saturdays, June 15 and 22 and July 6 and 13, will take place at the daniel Arts Center at Bard College at simon’s rock in Great Barrington, MA, at 6:00 p.m. The concert on saturday, June 29 will be performed at The Mahaiwe at 8:00 p.m. A pre-concert lecture by daniel stepner will be featured one hour before all concerts, and audience members are invited to “Meet the Artists” post-concert.

For tickets or more information on Aston Magna Music Festival Tickets to concerts at the Daniel Arts Center and at the Slosberg Auditorium may be ordered by calling 413-5283595, (out of area 800-875-7156) or on line at www.astonmagna.org. For information or to order tickets to the concerts at the Olin Auditorium on the main campus of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, please phone 845-7587887. Tickets to these concerts are not available online. Tickets to the June 29 concert at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center can be purchased by calling 413-528-0100 or on line at www.mahaiwe.org

ArTS eT induSTrie BirdS, BuGS & BOTAny™

it was the Age of discovery & the era of enlightenment. exploration around the world in the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries fueled a fascination with Botany, natural history & flora. emissaries fanned out across the globe gathering specimens of exotic flowers & fauna to be catalogued by preeminent naturalists & bound into grand volumes. for these great books brilliant illustrations were drawn & carved into copper plates, hand-printed & individually colored by some of the most excellent artists of all time.

These magnificent original prints will be the focus of Art et industrie’s spring exhibition at the Great Barrington Train station, entitled Birds, BuGs & BOTAnY™. featured will be selected works from some of the greatest Botanical illustrators of the Golden Age of Botany, including early hand-colored flower engravings by sydenham edwards for Curtis’s Botanical Magazine from the 1780’s forward, stipple-engravings By Pierre J.f. Turpin for Chaumeton’s 1815 flore Medicale, rare contemporaneous examples by ‘The raphael of flowers’ Pierre-Joseph redouté, spectacular hand-colored orchids by John nugent fitch for robert Warner’s 1882 The Orchid Album, lavish lithographs from van houtte’s mid-19th c. flore des serres and others.

Also featured will be select original J.J. Audubon handcolored bird-prints from his 1840 Octavo edition of The Birds of America together with full-size re-creations of the original havell engravings from the rare Amsterdam edition, as well as wonderful works from shaw & nodder’s 17901814 naturalist’s Miscellany, stunning engravings of shells, incredible early renderings of butterflies, moths, bees & spiders.

All these & many more will be presented together with a selection of fine reproductions on Greeting Cards, Giclees & scarves at our newest location next to the Farmer’s Market at the Old Great Barrington Train Station. Watch this space at the Old Great Barrington Train Station for our Spring, 2013 Opening.

JAne feldMAn Family Portraits

PhOTOGrAPhY WWW.JAnefeldMAn.COM

10 • April 2013

The ArTful Mind

JAnefeldMAnPhOTO@GMAil.COM

WhOle perSOn MOVeMenT shArOn True On PilATes APPArATus

PilATes Plus PfilATes – An eXCellenT PArTnershiP fOr COre sTrenGTh

regular exercise is an essential component of optimal health and functioning. Conscious exercise with sharon True, owner of WholePerson Movement, takes exercise to a whole new level. in the personalized one-on-one workouts she creates in her Pilates studio, she guides her clients to become masters of their own body movement. They learn to become conscious of the inner experience and process of doing an exercise, as well as of its precise outer form. Conscious exercise workouts stretch and strengthen muscles, promote concentration, reduce stress, and deepen understanding of the body.

True has recently completed training in a variant of Pilates called Pfilates, (Pelvic floor Pilates, pronounced fih-lah-tees) which focuses on conditioning the muscles of the pelvic floor.

Pfilates helps with pelvic floor disorders such as incontinence, organ prolapse, sexual dysfunction, weakness as a result of abdominal surgery and more. As an added benefit it strengthens the lower body and improves posture. Pfilates is an excellent companion to the regular Pilates workout which has always focused on working “from the inside out.”

True applies her Conscious exercise approach to Pfilates work with clients, coaching them to gain mastery of these often-neglected muscles. Currently she teaches a home-based program of Pfilates exercises to students in 6-week workshops as well as to private clients. Pfilates is a handy “package” of 10 exercises that can usually be learned in 3—6 lessons. it includes a kit that supports people in doing a home practice, containing a workout dVd, a booklet, and a Pfilates ball. To be added to an email contact list about the next Pfilates workshop, call or email sharon True at the number below.

True is a registered somatic movement therapist, certified laban movement analyst, and a certified Pilates and Pfilates instructor. she has been teaching Pilates-based workouts for over 15 years, first at Canyon ranch in the Berkshires and then in her own fully-equipped Pilates studio in Great Barrington. These years of teaching, together with her commitment to continuing her own education, give clients the benefit of a vast array of experience to effectively address their goals and concerns. she is an expert partner and guide in the discovery of an exercise program that works and is a pleasure to do.

Call to learn more about Pfilates, now a component of Conscious Exercise workouts with Sharon True. Contact her at sharontrue@roadrunner.com or phone 413-528-2465, 9am-9pm.

MArGueriTe Bride JiMsOn BeAns, MArGueriTe Bride

PAinTinGs in WATerCOlOr

A busy exhibit season is about to begin. during May, Marguerite Bride will exhibit new watercolors in two different shows.

Two new landscapes will be a part of the group landscape show opening at the st. francis Gallery in south lee in midMay. The gallery will also carry some of her reproductions of landscapes painted in the past.

Opening in late May and running through August, Bride will also be exhibiting multiple new watercolors in the Poultry house Gallery at hancock shaker Village. A regular exhibitor at the village, cards reproductions of many of her village scenes in a variety of sizes are now being carried in their gift shop. in August, Bride will return to Gallery 25 in Pittsfield with a month-long solo exhibit that will feature new paintings from travels – both near and far. A trip to the lakes district in italy last year provided some wonderful new inspiration.

The Pittsfield Parade Poster will soon be unveiled and available. This is Bride’s second year as the artist for the fund-raising poster. You can receive a poster for free by supporting the parade with a donation of $25 or more…all proceeds go directly into the parade fund. A number of “poster signings” will be scheduled soon. Or visit pittsfieldparade.com to order one. This year’s theme: “America the Beautiful – land that i love”.

And when you are out and about during Pittsfield’s first fridays Artswalks, 5-8pm every month, stop by nuarts studios and Gallery to see the latest group or solo exhibit and a visit to Bride’s studio.

Commissions for vacation and house portraits are welcome at any time. it’s not too soon to think about 2013 holiday gift giving. Over the years Bride has painted many scenes from vacations, special occasions, and favorite settings...all from clients’ own photos. These have included scenes from romantic wedding settings and honeymoon trips, Tuscan villas, vistas from fabulous hikes, exciting canoe trips, scenes from family vacations and reunions, “once in a life-time” adventures, and more.

Visit her website for more details about commissioning a painting, purchasing a painting or fine art reproduction lessons and updated exhibit information; or contact the artist directly.

Marguerite Bride, NUarts Studios, 311 North Street, Pittsfield, Studio #5, by appointment only. Call 413-442-7718, or 413-841-1659 (cell); website: margebride-paintings.com, email: margebride@aol.com.

SABine phOTO ArT

A master of the subtleties of lighting and the nuance of background, sabine’s eye for detail provides imagery to be treasured for a lifetime.

Assignments are tailored to meet her client’s needs - a remembrance for a special occasion or a logo image to create an authentic professional online presence. it is to no surprise that she is a sought-after published documentary and editorial photographer with the talent of both: interviewer, provoker and image-maker.

The Artful Mind showcases sabine’s work since 1994, the very beginning of the monthly Berkshire Artzine. still young at 20 something, sabine’s studio has become a brand for contemporary, unobtrusive, relaxed photography in the european style. did you have a “sabine” experience?

photographic workshops are scheduled for this spring: VieW liGhT WiTh A CriTiCAl eYe set out on weekends to explore the beautiful country site of the Berkshires. in this workshop participants learn how natural light can create drama, suspense and fantasy. zoom in on your fellow students and capture their expressions. designed for serious learners who are interested in improving their artistic eye. All participants are asked to bring a digital slr camera and a laptop with software to present their images for edit and critique sessions. event dates: June 1/2, 2013.

photo Art and Book Signing by appointment “WOOdlAnd sTYle” and “ shell ChiC “, published by storey Publishing, author Marlene h. Marshall, all photography by sabine can be purchased from your nearby book stores. signed fine art prints are directly available through sabine’s studio. sabine is a member of The American society of Media Photographers asmp., The international Center of Photography iCP and the Wedding Photojournalist Association, WPJA. For more info please contact Sabine Vollmer von Falken Photography Studio www.sabinephotoart.com, info@sabinephotoart.com tel. 413-298-4933

“There are a million people who can come up with little bits. The hard work is making those bits into something.”

-Jeff Lynne

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 11

inTerVieW WiTh What a charming, thoughtful, curious and unabashed observer we have living in our midst in The Berkshires. i was the lucky one to interview Sally-Jane heit, a performer of offBroadway, Broadway, Television and Theater and film over the years. Sally-Jane has created her one woman show “Before i forget” which she is performing nationally and here in Great Barrington, where she resides. here are some excerpts, enjoy!

you developed harriet ferment as your character for your one woman show “Starting in the Middle”; do you have an alter ego when you are performing your new show “Before i forget”, or is this all you, to the point of it becoming 100% you?

Sally-Jane: When i started with the harriet ferment character i didn’t have the courage to come out and say this is my thinking, this is my experience, this is my fantasy. As a woman of “a certain age”…i was raised in a tradition of subservience…albeit an American subservience. Translation: i deferred to the male. underneath that cover was a female struggling to emerge. i wore a mask…a mask ordained for me by family and society standard. in flesh and blood terms, i was unhappy with the role i was cast in…even before i auditioned for any role. since i spent my beginning years until my middle years, pretending to be someone i wasn’t…when i began writing my first one woman show, my courage, if i ever had any, failed. And so i created harriet ferment. harriet was an alter ego. harriet could say and do what i could not. And yet, all the emotional and some of the experiences were mine.

When i did the show “starting in the Middle” it was already becoming uncomfortable to hide behind the character of harriet ferment. i said “it doesn’t work-it really doesn’t work.” i said “that’s it, i’m finished! i’ll just do some shows and other people’s work, not my own.” But my friend, daniela Varon (i love to give

12 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

sAllY-JAne heiT

by Beth Anne Bacon Photography by Sabine Vollmer von Falken

her credit) from shakespeare & Co. said, “y o u ’r e n o t f i n i s h e d!” You are up there naked. An actor’s nightmare...you can’t remember your lines! “Before i forget” began about 4-5 years ago...to make a long story longer...that’s when i began to see there’s no reason to not be yourself-your mother and father are gone and they’re not going to yell at you-your former husband is now just a good friend, he is not going to cut you off at the passyour children are grown and they have their own children, God bless them! And they are on their way...there are no excuses-except me! somehow i started coming up with some strength of character to say just do it, just do it! And that’s how it began.

So “Before i forget” is really 100% you!

Sally-Jane: Yes, 100% Yeah, Yeah! This new show, “Before i forget”, is the real me, take it or leave it…and we won’t go into who took it and who left it! That is probably for the next show…which i probably will name “if i have The Time!”

The thing that i find fascinating, Beth, is that the very first time i did a show that was of my own-not someone else’s script, my own script (which even though i hid behind it, it was all my own thoughts, feelings and experiences) the beginning of the harriet ferment character, i thought i was going to be laughed off the stage, like this is ridiculous, who is going to relate? This one woman came up to me after the show and said “how did you get into my house! You were in my bedroom, you were in my living room, you were in my dining room!” And it was like “Oh my God, you related to what i said-you related to what i did!-Wow!”

you were connecting right then!

Sally-Jane: Yeah, Yeah, Absolutely! You know, Beth, connecting is what gives light to life. Talking to you on the phone…yes, it is a machine…but if we don’t “connect”…i won’t understand you… you won’t understand me. i cannot create in a vacuum. i need my connection fix. You know the show never stays the same and

Sally-Jane Heit Photo: Sabine Vollmer von Falken

that is because each audience, each individual, brings a new awareness to what i have written and what i am performing. i may be doing a One-WOMAn show…but i am doing it fOr and with OThers…it won’t work without that partnership.

With the show, “Before i forget”, i am so excited that i can be me when i am up on that stage! You don’t have to like it. i am at a place in my life where i want to be who i am.

When did “Starting in the Middle” run and where? And what was the final straw that made you want to make that project happen...i’m gonna write this thing!

Sally-Jane: ”starting in the Middle”, came out of a frustration with the many television shows, movies, theatre work i was doing. i finally, mid-50’s , got my first Broadway show…a big Broadway musical, “Ballroom”, Michael Bennett of Chorus line fame, directing and choreographing…thinking i had finally “arrived” only to discover the compromises that go into getting a big show onto Broadway that can destroy its integrity. My friend, Charles davisson, a great stage manager, was so bored listening to my complaints about the show he told me “well if you don’t like what you’re doing then go ahead and write your own stuff!” it made all the sense in the world to me!

That’s great! you felt this is not working for you-gotta do something about it!

Sally-Jane: right, easier said than done…i had never written anything. And fortunately, a friend of mine, edgar loessin, head of the drama department of east Carolina university in Greenville, north Carolina, said he would produce and direct my first effort.

We divided the show into two acts. The first act was what i call a Vaudeville, a mix of published songs and sketches i used to do in a cabaret in Washington, d.C. and new York City. The second act was me as harriet ferment in “starting in The Middle.” i had a nice following from doing “dolly” along with many other mu-

sicals for ten years in north Carolina...so edgar said, let’s do it! so that was the beginning of “starting in the Middle.”

how did the musical aspect come into your current project “Before i forget?” Are you working with folks that you’ve worked with over the years and how did you bump into them?

What makes their personalities click with yours?

Sally-Jane: let me tell you from the get go-this is going to name my era kiddo- When i was growing up sitting in a movie house for 5-6 shows, Betty Grabel was who i wanted to be. i wanted to sing, i wanted to dance...i had no desire to be a dramatic actress. i wanted to be a Big Movie Musical star! At about 7-8 i got my first scholarship as a dancer. Music has always been a part of my life, my voice...it’s a basso, i can pitch it to the back of the house. i didn’t need a microphone-i still don’t need a microphone! listen, when i was 10 years old at this school in nY i wanted to be a Chanteuse-i wanted to sit up on a piano, sing my heart out and have everybody cry and weep! life did not present that to me, i was better...funny! You plot a line and then life takes you to another place! how did all the music happen?

Sally-Jane: i have always loved music, i loved to sing. At the high school of Performing Arts in new York City, i was a dramatic actress. When i went on to college, i began doing musicals.

The musical comedy form was made for my larger than life persona. i initially wanted to sing in the opera. There just aren’t that many basso roles for women. so the musical format was just my cup of tea. When, my former husband and i moved to Washington, d.C….cabaret and dinner theaters were the rage…and i must have performed in every musical…many times: Gyps; Guys and dolls; sweet Charity...

Before the Kennedy Center, there was the Arena stage; they didn’t do musicals. i performed in a Political satirical revue that ran in Georgetown. When nixon came in it was not possible to do satirical revues...not possible! But in those revues i connected with one woman, shirley Grossman, on a very basic line of thought-satire. i thought the world was absurd. she thought the world was absurd We caught each other’s fever and it was wonderful! shirley’s wit and musicality could easily compete with the best of them. she wrote. i sang. starve-a-fever-feed-a-Complex waltz, Valium, Warm Blooded dame in a Cold Blooded Game…

just to name a few. she not only wrote for me…but she was my sounding board…she could feel what worked and what didn’t. now back to edgar loessin in Greenville…he produced and directed a brilliant summer season of BiG musicals and i, along with my three children, baby sitter, and various animals, traveled down there to continue the musical parade…dolly, Company, Kiss Me Kate.

When i went to new York, fortune smiled on me again in the name of Bob Bendorff. A gifted composer and lyricist and we, again, “connected.” Both these talented and special people understood what i was thinking and what i wanted to say, musically. it was left to me to write the script…they took care of the music.

What i find interesting is that neither one of these talents is famous. fame will never be the arbiter of talent. Time and People magazines can make you famous, they cannot make you talented.

These personalities you bump into change the course...

Sally-Jane: right, All i wanted to do was Gershwin and Berlin and Cole Porter and now i do Grossman and Bendorff and nobody knows these guys! But they’re brilliant! They’re just brilliant! To this day i still do shirley’s songs. i remember walking along a windy cliff against the north sea in england...what an adventurer!...i was so frightened of being alone, so i followed a fellow hiker in front of me and desperately tried to get him to walk with me. i went through twenty questions trying to get a conversation going so he wouldn’t abandon me. i held onto his coat tails; he must have been so upset with me holding onto him! And i said...“what do you do?” he said, “i teach”...and i said, “i love teaching! What is it that you teach?”

And he said, “A r t h i s t o r y”...and i said...“Oh my God, that’s so great, what time period?” “M e d i e v a l A r t h i s t o r y,” he said dryly; and i said “that’s sO GreAT...like who?” And then he stopped, he turned around, he looked at me...and then he said piercingly...“Most of them are a n o n y m o u s”...And with that, he turned on his heels and left! i was able to walk the rest of the way alone in thought. What do you mean they weren’t stars? What do you mean they weren’t famous? Well, since i was 3 years old i wanted to be a star! it was like an addiction, right?

Sally-Jane: Totally, Yup, Yup-i wanted to be a star, Big Time! now, i no longer ache for stardom. don’t get me wrong… if the Oscar was offered, i wouldn’t turn it down! i might use it

Sally-Jane Heit Photo: Sabine Vollmer von Falken

as a door stop but i wouldn’t turn it down!

What are the different feelings you go through for the different aspects of your theater work over time, say solo performing versus Broadway versus straight theater. did you have different types of stage fright, or did you ever have stage fright?

Sally-Jane: Adrenaline shoots up, as soon as the curtain comes up. if my adrenaline is working, truly, truly-that’s my nervousness!

do you do anything about it? Jumping jacks? Anything to get that adrenaline to relax?

Sally-Jane: i don’t try to get rid of it, i work with it and then it gets into a nice comfortable place. it pushes you out on stage, otherwise someone would definitely cart you away to some looney bin! Why else would you (in your wildest dreams) want to go on stage and live your whole life up there? The whole fear of “aren’t you going to get me?” “Are you going to understand where i am coming from?” This goes back to when i was 8, when nobody “got me!”

When i first began as a performer, i was pretty desperate to be loved…i think most performers are…so the fright comes from a very common…”please love me”…(fearing of course that they will not.) As i grew older i think it morphed into a combination of emotions and then it all gets mixed with adrenalin…as i walk onstage…the adrenalin is pumping…and then as the show continues…it slides down into its proper place…that body chemical is necessary to hit the back of the house…otherwise, you can just sit in your car and talk to yourself! i find that i want the audience to be in on the story, the song, so i need to get out of the car and get onto a stage. i really love it, the car and the stage.

What made your mom so open to letting you follow your heart; what were your parents’ horoscopes and yours? didn’t your mom get you?

Sally-Jane: if she was born in today’s world she would probably be a CeO. she found out how each one of her children, (8) were talented. One became an Aeronautical engineer; one a fashion illustrator; one a Chemist (she installed a chemical lab on the 3rd floor!) Then when it came to number 7, that’s me...it was clear to me that to get recognized i would have to become a performer.

My mother really fostered it. she was an equal opportunity provider…she gave us all piano lessons; violin lessons; dance lessons. i received great lessons from great teachers. My first dance next page... teacher was Marjorie Guthrie…when sheContinued was soooon young and so

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 13

sAllY-JAne heiT continued...

was i!

But how was i going to be the next 5’7” shirley Temple? My mom said it isn’t going to work! she really didn’t want me to go into life upon the “wicked stage”, this was not for any one of her daughters! i think it would have been alright with one of the brothers-not with the females! You got your period kiddo, you’re going to have to get married! no unwed mothers in our family! i received the ultimate mixed message. You are talented. You cannot pursue a theatrical career. now that’s an interesting question about the horoscopes! Well my mom was March 3, Pisces, my father february 26, also Pisces and i’m October 8, libra! i get the energy from my mother! My father wanted to be in show bus. When he first came to this country he went into the old minstrel shows-he had a beautiful basso voice, a little lower than mine-it was wonderful...i loved it-he used to sing-i adored listening to him. Certainly a lot of my innate gift comes from him.

Two Waters and an Air! What do want your audience to take away from this new work “Before i forget?” is it different from what you wanted them to get from “Starting in the Middle?”

Sally-Jane: in “starting in the Middle”, i felt i had a story to tell about my life struggling between my career and being a wife and mother. Women were just beginning to break out of traditional roles…seeing my show…watching my alter ego humorously and not so humorously face life’s dilemmas was somewhat satisfying…but not fully. if you are fortunate, Beth, you see a pattern, a road. The path is never straight-it goes left-goes right-with “starting in the Middle” it was just the yearning to have something in “my control.”

Most of the time as an actor, you’re not performing great writing.

You’re doing commercial work. not great material. And you do it n i g h t...after...n i g h t...after...n i g h t! let me do shakespeare-ibsen, Miller, Williams...you can do all those shows forever; you’re always plumbing the depth of the writing. That is the key for me!

Change is the only constant. Time is a gift for me. i’m grateful i have the time to express these changes!

With Before i forget…enough of the water under the bridge of my life has occurred to give me another perspective. it is less about the wife and mother. The husband is divorced, the children are no longer children…and much more about stepping into the role i have always wanted to play that i was too young for…not in chronological years, but in, dare i say it…maturity (many friends and relatives would argue that point.!) And certainly in some ways i won’t ever mature. i still love roller coasters…life being the biggest one…i love cotton candy and dancing and moonlight and so many other experiences that make me giddy and silly.

But in the scheme of life, living and the pursuit of life and living is absurd! Monty Python got there before me…but we have the same view, and that makes this show a pure joy...the audience rides with me. That’s a miracle!

you are living and it’s the greatest experience!

Sally-Jane: Yeah, check your pulse, and if you feel your pulse and it’s working, you’re fine! There is a always a level of ego. When the ego meets a humble person-humility accompanies gratitude...that’s certainly not been me over the years...humility, what, what, what? is that going to get me a lead in the show? don’t be ridiculous! right now i am grateful...beyond grateful! if you really love what you you’re doing then what it is is a pleasurable, pleasurable experience! i am so thrilled when i meet someone who has this glorious talent and along with that...humility. i don’t expect that! i had written this play with a friend of mine-she said i’ll take it to Albert finney (an english actor.) she delivered it to him backstage. he actually sat down and then wrote to me. “i think the part calls for an American Actor.” he knew me from a hole in the wall! When i met lily Tomlin, after i kissed her ring of course, i said “i wanna do what you’re doing!” she sat down with me in her dressing room for an hour and suggested i do a one woman show. she was great!

What still bums you out about the state of gender inequality and what do you feel really good about?

Sally-Jane: Well with 3 daughters, i think women in their 40’s50’s, they think they have made it! i feel that the glass ceiling is 14 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

still in place...we’re still 2nd class...men don’t see how hard it is for us. As if they are saying “why are you asking for more?” let me paraphrase from rilke’s “letters to a Young Poet”...some day there will be men that are more like women. They will allow their emotions, their feelings and their spiritual side to become more dominant.

Part of my journey is this recognition that woman have come a long way but we still have a long way to go. i still feel if women behave like a man to succeed they are doing everyone a disservice.

We are animals at root. emotions tell us what we feel...feeling is different not less than the fact. for me Catharsis is nothing less than emotions connecting writer, actor, audience. in my work emotions are stirred and hopefully explored. someone in that audience is feeling along with me...and that’s Art! The show is not just about being funny. i do hit some points in the show where you can’t be in life very long before you get hit upside the head! laughter and tears are both sides of the same coin…life! i certainly prefer the laugh, it makes pain bearable… but without the tears the laughter is a little hollow.

That’s right! There’s always the rough part to go with the good stuff!

Sally-Jane: You got it, you got it! Make it work. Combine the two so you don’t have to go to...“why me?” The older you get the less time you have for that!

Again, we are back to blending aspects of life…we are different and yet we are the same. i think Art finds a way to connect those differences…makes for better understanding. You know i may fight within myself the many shadings and colors, they make me who i am today, i hope you’re satisfied. But now i know the best i can do for me is to find a path to the whole. it is bumpy. i may not get there. But as i say in the show…i am going upstream…is there any other way? Personally, i do not think so.

you don’t want the audience to leave down, you want them to leave up, right?

Sally-Jane: Absolutely, oh my gosh! Within the great tragedies, shakespeare to ibsen...comedy exists. Me, my sensibilities are, my world view is...one of absurdities! if you don’t believe me, pick up the newspaper, turn on the news! if i can’t make fun of the world i am living in, i am going to be in trouble. My world is not seen through rose colored glasses. My glasses are tilted, not tinted... tilted! That’s it! have you ever been to Australia? i hear it’s a very different experience for women living there than in the States. Any comments about that?

Sally-Jane: (laughs)Well this seems like an odd question! i have.

Sally-Jane Heit Photo: Sabine Vollmer von Falken

Well, all i know is that sydney, Australia, has the largest Gay Parade! is your newer “Before i forget” project something like the State of the State for women using comedy to ease the pain a bit?

Sally-Jane: Men were raised to be one way. Women another. But i am not hard on the male...i have empathy for all. At one of my shows a man came up to me and said “for me, as a male...this show is comfortably raw.” The operative word here is...“comfortable!” i say, let’s laugh at the absurdities...we are in this together. i love you! Check your pulse!

Beth-About the Show and Workshop you did for The Berkshire festival of Woman Writers, can you tell me something about this?

Sally-Jane: i was so thrilled to have done my show at The unicorn Theatre in stockbridge, a benefit for Made in The Berkshires.

This was part of the Berkshire festival of Women Writers. Both organizations are all about what we have been talking about.

At the workshop i gave some samples of how it all came together for me…and then i heard where others were in their process of discovery, exploration…and not just about theatre, but books, poems, composing, painting, dance…all of the art forms. i said to the participants “choose your format and work to express what it is you want to say.” hOOrAY for All of us!

The show and Workshop were about giving back. Over the years you think you’ll never “get there.” i’m fortunate, “i’m still here” (like the song of the same name.) Thank you God! it’s a wonderful feeling! now all i have to do is give it back!

Thank you Sally-Jane!

Sally-Jane: no Beth, Thank You!

Here are the forthcoming shows for Sally-Jane Heit: ...July 20, Before I Forget, A Memoir with Music Studio 1010, Anacortes, WA ...August 17, Before I Forget, A Memoir with Music - Cabaret The Guthrie Center, Housatonic, Mass. ...You can also see more details for Sally-Jane’s Show and Workshop at berkshirewomenwriters.org HHH

“Dance is of all things the most concentrated expression of happiness and everyone needs to find happiness, to search for an ideal escape.”

-VIOLETTE VERDY

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 15

Planet Waves

Aries (March 20-April 19)

i suggest you not get ahead of yourself. You may feel there’s nothing you cannot accomplish, but certain recent events may also demonstrate there’s no guarantee impulsive decisions are beneficial. When life moves unusually fast, and there are so many unpredictable factors it seems impossible to use logic and scheduling, you may be tempted to throw caution to the wind. This is the time to pause and ask yourself what you’re doing, and why. slow down and take the pulse on a relationship or partnership that has taken on a life of its own. The astrology suggests the most challenging thing is listening. Yes, it seems elementary that such a basic level of exchange could be missing, but check this carefully; make sure you and those close to you are truly willing to hear one another out. A sincere exchange of feelings or ideas will re-incorporate the human element into this endeavor. in a word: trust.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)

You may want to put on a logical face and take a reasonable approach, though it seems passion is driving you and direct physical experience is what you’re seeking. There is a storm blowing inside you, but you don’t have to let it out all at once; it would be helpful if you could tune into what you’re feeling, and consider possible sources. Astrologically, it’s as if you’ve been living a fictional version of your identity, and the real thing is starting to rise up in rebellion. This involves the roles you’ve been given, or assigned yourself, with family and in relationships. The real you has no political motives. if you find yourself seeking someone’s approval, reach for a new level of maturity. You would be wise to consider the influence and impact of your relationships on the community. if you’re inclined to say, “what relationships?” or “what community?” please look more closely.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)

focus on getting along with people — especially if you want to accomplish the great things you feel destined to do. do you consider yourself in a position of leadership? is it possible that you are, but are in denial about it? leadership has formal manifestations and informal manifestations; your leadership role may lean toward the informal, which would actually be easier. You’re the one who may have the kind of weird idea that turns out to be the perfect solution to the riddle everyone has been staring cross-eyed at for six months. You are in the perfect position to reconcile both sides of the equation (e.g., practicality vs. innovation). from the look of your chart, i would describe you as the master of resolving the unsolvable paradox. Just remember — many people love to be stuck.

Know who they are and don’t waste any time banging your head against them.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Get clear on what you want to accomplish. Your goals may have changed recently, and certainly since you last made big changes in your life. You’re likely to have a whole new vision, though you may be living under the results of the prior vision.

Keep your mind on the continuity factor, while not being a slave to the past. Be sensitive to what works and what does not. Know what you want and what you do not want. You’re ready to have more responsibility than you’ve ever had. living with a sense of duty compels you to assert yourself. That, in turn, compels you to know yourself well enough to take authority and get the necessary results. remember, few take responsibility for anything outside what immediately impacts them. That’s why the planet is in its current state. You have a different path in life; one that is more challenging, but also more meaningful.

16 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

leo (July 22-Aug. 23)

April 2013

The age-old traditions of superficial and self-centered won’t work this month. Therefore, plan on events that take you deeper and involve you with others. As you do, you may encounter the temptation to distract yourself with the desire to ‘be known’. i suggest succumbing to nothing of the kind. do what you do for its inherent value. remember a meaningful attribute of your karma is to focus groups of people into conscious coordination. As you do, be aware of anyone who does not want things to work — people who react negatively when energy focuses in their proximity; they can be jealous when people succeed, seemingly not needing them. There are a few ways to handle this: include the person and keep him or her busy. help them feel needed. find a constructive use for their competitive spirit. Ask everyone involved their needs and expectations. When you get your answer, set goals and make adjustments.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)

You have learned a lot about how others perceive you, and how you perceive them. Yet you’re always better paying attention, and being sensitive to the perspectives of others.

You’re likely to forget what you learned, so i suggest pausing and thinking carefully if a relationship, deal or matter involving shared resources heats up. You’re likely to perceive those involved as impetuous and self-centered, and you may be right. But to get past that, you will need the information you’ve learned and the strength it gives you. True, it’s a subtle form of strength, but knowledge is indeed power. if someone is asserting their will, you’ve got two choices. One is to go blow for blow. The other is to use your mind to understand the situation, and begin negotiating. You have the ability to turn the whole scenario not just in your favor, but also into a situation where everyone comes out ahead.

libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)

What can you do to reach solid emotional ground? You have to live with the situation you’re in, at least for a while; you cannot evade or redesign it. There are many ways you’re benefiting, and you both understand and want the power of commitment. i suggest you list yourself as a co-creator in all your relationships. i know they seem to be thrust at you; i know you don’t understand why some things happen. however, a passive approach will only accentuate that feeling. The more you step up, the more you will feel able to influence your various life situations. i am not suggesting you take control or that “an eye for an eye” is an appropriate response, even when you’re treated unfairly. i am saying stand in your responsibility and be true to yourself and those with whom you’re journeying. Also ask for what you need and express gratitude to those who have helped you.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) recent events may have left you feeling uncertain about existence. i often wonder how anyone manages to be optimistic, given the state of the world. Your chart is urging you to make sure others know you care about them. have faith in your ability to help. Your creative spirit is flourishing — you are passionate about your desire to engage fully with life. i suggest making choices for how to invest your mind, your senses and your hands based on what you want now — not what you wanted in the past. There is so much the present moment is offering that it never has before. if you look beyond your ‘latent past impressions’ of everything around you, you’ll see this is a unique moment of existence for which you are ready and willing. Many people on this planet struggle with letting go of the past. With a little courage, there’s no need to fight.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)

by Eric Francis

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)

sagittarius has a reputation for being one of the most daring signs. i would say that is not entirely true — except for recent years, especially this month. every possible factor is encouraging you to be bold and do what you would not normally do. start with what you want to do most. Could this be as simple as calling someone you like and letting them know? Could it be taking up someone’s offer for an adventure? in the list of reasons you might hesitate, one is ‘something in your past’ you’re afraid might emerge. This feeling might be very subtle, though if you cannot bring yourself to do something and don’t know why, you will benefit from an investigation. You may think this is some kind of permanent installation in your psyche; i assure you if you want to be free in the moment, you can resolve it and move on.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) You may not know where to focus your energy, or where the main issue is. Your perception of what you’re working on may keep changing. Yet you know there has to be an energy source when you’re feeling so much. investigate your environment for any factor that aggravates you. experiment with removing foods that are not serving you (or anyone). for example, high fructose corn syrup is a toxin and burns too hot for your current constitution (currently dominated by fire sign Aries).

Your chart suggests food or some ingredient in what you eat may be related to anything currently troubling you. deeper in, i would propose there’s some kind of emotional matter influencing your self-image. Are you feeling old? do you feel others don’t take life as seriously as you do? is the memory of some authority figure weighing on you? self-image is a complicated issue. in the end, how you see yourself comes down to a choice.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

You seem to be struggling with persistent doubts about yourself, which may work out to be a positive thing. if you’re grappling with an issue, you’re not in denial about it. Another challenge is framing issues that lead to progress. if you’ve described something the same way for a while and you’re not getting results, take a different approach. for example, instead of ‘how do i solve this problem?’ ask, ‘why do i need this problem?’ Once you address the need, the situation will change. This is a great time to learn how to express your needs. This has a lot to do with relationships, and what you were told your role was supposed to be. That relates to what you expect others would do and be for you. reality is different from theory, especially regarding the Bs we’re fed about relationships. Commitment does not mean commitment to another person, but a shared devotion to a higher principle than oneself.

pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) i’m here to remind you money is a legitimate pursuit, if connected to what you consider a worthwhile goal. i suggest you work with that equation, and make sure your values about money are clear. You have what you need to break new ground in this area; you no longer need any form of the idea that money is unspiritual or evil. it is a form of versatile energy that can be converted into anything. This is a kind of paradox many people face on the way to tapping their strength — there’s vulnerability and risk involved; there is the possibility of failure. You might get to a point where you’re confident of what is important, and then it’s scrambled by one thing you learn, or one experience. Yet you may notice that one thing is consistent beneath the surface: initiative. You have a pioneering spirit, and there are few times in your life when it’s been stronger. lead on.

Simply Sasha

by Sasha Seymour

Even though I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 plus years now I just recently discovered Kale, and I will never go back!

When I typed in the health benefits of Kale on the computer, the first line I read was “Kale is a superstar.” Oh, how true that is! This healthy vegetable is a form of cabbage which packs in so much goodness, that incorporating it into your diet is a fabulous way to start off the Spring!

I have been having a blast discovering new and exciting ways to prepare this leafy green, and here is a list of basic ingredients that I use.

As always, you can add or subtract or substitute any of them, (except the kale) to suit your personal likes.

~ 1 bunch of organic Kale, stems removed and chopped mushrooms (the amount is up to you!) ~ 5 cloves of garlic, chopped ~ 1/2 sweet onion, chopped ~ 1 small tomato, chopped ~ 1/2 avocado, chopped ~ handful of chopped walnuts ~ lemon goat cheese ~ black beans ~ olive oil

Blueberry Hill Market Cafe

1.heat the olive oil and mushrooms in a large skillet or pot with a cover 2.After about 7 minutes, add the garlic and onion, cover and stir occasionally 3. When onions are carmelized, transfer entire mixture to a little bowl 4. now the steaming of kale begins! Add a little more oil to skillet and cover, heat on low 5. When steamed, transfer kale to each plate and sprinkle the mushroom mixture on top 6. Add tomato, avocado, nuts, cheese and beans to each plate!

7. enjoy!

A most wonderful place to be.

RO U T E 2 0 , N E W L E BA N O N, N E W YO R K

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 17

OPen CAll fOr enTries

MessAGe BOArd

fitchburg Art Museum is seeking artists working in all media for its 78th regional exhibition of Art and Craft. JurOr: nina Gara Bozicnik, Assistant Curator, Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, new hampshire. firsT Prize winner receives a solo exhibition in the summer of 2014. Additional cash awards. eliGiBiliTY: The 78th regional exhibition of Art and Craft is open to all Museum non-members who live within approximately 30 miles of fitchburg or who are up-dated members of the fitchburg Art Museum regardless of where they live in the u. s.enTrY deAdline: May 20, 2013. enTrY fee: $20

peters Valley Craft Center’s 43rd Annual Juried fine CrAfT fAir september 28-29, 2013. Augusta, nJ. 150 indoor/ enclosed spaces.

Apply By May 1, 2013. Application: zaplication.org. information: petersvalley.org.

The fitchburg Art Museum, fitchberg, MA is now accepting entries for their 78th regional exhibition of Art and Craft. This year’s juror is nina Gara Bozicnik.deadline: May 20, 2013. www.fitchburgartmuseum.org The eGG performing Arts Center in Albany (ny).

Children’s Call for Performances of lA BAYAdÈre Ajkun Ballet Theatre is looking for enthusiastic young dancers (Pre-K to Young Teens) to perform alongside the Company in its summer production of la Bayadère.rehearsals and performances will run from July 29 throughout August 10, 2013 at Participation in new York City performance (August 16) is optional. early registration fee is $165 (including $65 registration fee to cover insurance cost and tuition of $100) if children sign up by April 15, 2013. www.ajkunbt.org.

Berkshire lyric announces the 2013 young Singers Competition for Berkshire County singers ages 14 to 22. The first round will take place on saturday April 27 at the stockbridge Congregational Church. finalists will then be selected to perform at the Young Musicians Concert on May 12 at Trinity Church in lenox. scholarships will be awarded and a grand prize winner will selected at the May 12 concert. Berkshire lyric’s annual Young Musicians Concert also features their Berkshire singers and the Blafield Children’s Cho-

18 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

rus. singers must reside in Berkshire County or the immediate surrounding area. Competitors should prepare three selections including an art song in english, a musical theatre work, and either an art song or aria in italian, french or German. An accompanist will be provided. Applications may be downloaded at www.Berkshirelyricinfo.org. for more information contact Berkshire lyric Artistic director Jack Brown at 413 298 5365.

OPPOrTuniTies

iS183 Art School of the Berkshires Seeking intern Applicants Two to eight week internships are available for students age 15 and above in is183’s summer Young Artist Program, which will run from June 24 to August 16, on weekdays from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

Application information is available at is183.org/interns, or by contacting lucie Castaldo, Coordinator of Curriculum development, at lucie@is183.org.

Celebrate the Berkshires: Berkshires1:: it's time for the annual Berkshire Trendsetter Awards! nominate yourself or someone else in the following categories: Overall Marketing Campaign: A multi-faceted campaign that demonstrates excellence and effectiveness; that shows creativity and provides measurable results. Public relations: using media to generate positive attention for a business in a distinctive way; that shares not only their own story, but enhances the image of the region.

Online Application form and supporting materials must be received no later than MAY 1, 2013. 1Berkshire strategic Alliance i 66 Allen street i Pittsfield, MA 01201 i (413) 499-4000 i www.1Berkshire.com

GrAnTs

Artist’s resource Trust (A.r.T.) fund Grants available in painting, sculpture, printmaking, or mixed media to mid-career artists with financial need in new england and Columbia and northeast dutchess counties, nY. non-profit organizations wishing to show, commission, or purchase work by mature artists living in new england may also apply. Grants range from $2,000 to $10,000. Applications and artwork must be submitted through our online grant portal at berkshiretaconic.org. deadline August 1.

WOrKshOPs and ClAsses

learn Afro-Brazilian drumming and perform with the Berkshire Bateria. Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. at sambaland studio, 40 rosseter st. downtown Great Barrington. All levels encouraged, authentic samba instruments are provided, $7.00 per class. Website: www.sambaland.com, for more info call: 413 528 6575 Acclaimed artist nicole peskin is now offering sculpture and welding classes in her stephentown, nY studio. individual and groups welcome. Please call nicole @ 518 788-0204 for details.

sellinG

Ten retired Spanish porcelain figurines. Made by ilardo. Perfect condition. Bought between 1978-1983. Call: 413-822-3026 2 windows for sale. Brand new. Valued at $800. Make me an offer. high quality. double glazed. high efficiency. (413) 348-4505

infra-red Sauna for Sale Mint Condition-Paid $3000-a deal at $1700 contact scott harrington at 413-348-4505

MisCellAneOus

Web Site design. have you always wanted a beautiful website to help spread the word of your wonderful talents? here is a great opportunity! neat, clean, affordable arts and entertainment websites starting at $300. for more information, please visit artsindie.com and/or contact leo Mazzeo at info@artsindie.com.

Scott harrington home, Tree and yard Care Service Personal. Creative. Professional. Call today for a free estimate! national Arbor day. friday April 26. seeking volunteers and donations for tree planting ceremony and tree seedling give away to area school children Contact scott harrington landscape service at 413-348-4505 or hometreeyard@gmail.com 17 Tucker street, lenox, MA 01240, hometreeyard@gmail.com www.scottharrington.vpweb.com

Message Board: deadline for submission is up to the 15th of the month prior to publication.

Architecture & Arcadia

your playful house, / your playful Self

if there is one thing i’ve learned in over forty years of practicing architecture, it is that my professor at Cornell was wrong when he told us you should not be including any aspect of, ‘…what you should be telling your psychiatrist.’ into your design. i do not mean to be flippant: obviously there are psychological problems that have no place in this discussion or the creative process, but ‘your neuroses’ often provide wonderful insights into who you are and, by extension, what you want your house to be. All creativity is fueled by internal tension and if that tension can be harnessed, all the better.

Your neuroses are as much you as your history and memory; if they aren’t debilitating they are a source of strength. The artist Georgia O’Keefe said that she (like all of us) are told what to do in almost everything we do, but in your studio you must be who you actually are and do what you actually want to do. My college professor ascribed rationality as the highest virtue of the architect, but such rationality, while playing a role in creation, is in itself antithetical to the creative process. had he lived long enough to see the work of frank Gehry he might have understood this larger formulation. On the other hand, had frank Gehry been his student he most certainly would have flunked him in design class.

There is, of course, plenty of fair debate about how idiosyncratic a house should be. in general, however, the debate can be simplified to a graph with ‘full market acceptance’ on one end and ‘full personal preference’ on the other. These po-

Stephen Gerard dietemann

sitions are usually represented as irreconcilable but i do not agree. i believe that you can create a house that reflects you and your lifestyle and that that house could be sold to someone else if necessary. Why? first the practical: there are limitations on what you can build – codes, zoning regulations, etc.

– rules that we as a society have accepted and that shape the outcome of any structure. second, i will assume that anything built needs to obey the laws of physics, stands up and keeps out the weather. That is a lot of ground rules just to get started.

And, as previously mentions, what we are talking about here are idiosyncrasies and ‘neurosis’, not psychosis. But the most important reason that your creation will be sellable is that while you are unique, there are others who – please excuse the language; so much of this is ineffable — ‘vibrate at your creative frequency’. We are a gregarious animal and as Carl Yung noted, we share many fundamental aspects of self with one another. Most importantly, all art can be compared to a tuning fork: it will vibrate at a unique frequency – your frequency as its maker — provided you have truly dug deep and passed by the expected, the predictable and the fearful to reach what can be termed ‘your voice’.

Picasso, in the early part of the last century wrote that only a handful of people understood what he was doing. even so, his work affected the direction of art to the present day.

That is because the vibration that i refer to is not necessarily conscious. Most people are like bad radios, unable to pick up

the signals from all the stations swirling around them. But that fact doesn’t meant that the signals aren’t there or – and this is most intriguing in the obsessively material world we live in – that these signals aren’t affecting them. You are part of your age, its zeitgeist, whether you like it or not. And, in short, it is the role of the artist to interpret those signals, filtered through his or her own existence. so, it should be really easy: all you need to do is become exactly yourself and it’ll all work out. Well, actually, it is in fact the most difficult thing you can do. The forces of conformity that are pressing against you are formidable and there will be a price for success. But the reward – doing something that you truly love – is surely priceless. i can guarantee few things, but that if you are able to do this, someone else who perhaps doesn’t want to – or simply can’t — struggle quite as hard, will appreciate what you have done. Perhaps there will not be as many as those who prefer to live on the ‘full market acceptability’ end of the scale previously mentioned, but there will be someone else who vibrates at your frequency.

Those who design at the ‘full market acceptability’ end of things may get money but that’s all they get. ~stephen Gerard dietemann

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 19

made mobile van. As a sometimes artist (when the mood strikes) i was inspired to draw a caricature of our three springer spaniels: T.C, Winkie, and Beauty.

They are forever immortalized on the side of our Big Pink Van and over the entrance of our new salon in Great Barrington. Why pink? it’s been my favorite color since i can remember. We had a lot of opposition to painting the entire truck pink, but we went with our initial idea, which was that everything that could be pink would indeed be pink. Pink report cards, pink gloves, pink aprons, pink leashes and pink collars… you get the idea! Pink has certainly become our trademark. Pink wasn’t so much a marketing ploy; it was simply my favorite color. Pink made me happy to go to work. i think my genuine delight from being around dogs all day, surrounded by everything pink, became contagious as we traveled throughout Berkshire County. in the early years, our Pink Van could be seen at 7 a.m. in Adams, grooming “lady”, or at 4 p.m. parked in a driveway in Williamstown, finishing up a Golden retriever duo. everyone thought we were a franchise with several vans on the road, but it is just one!

rOBin elYse MAllOrY in A hAPPY dOG’s WOrld Interview by Harryet Candee

Every day of the week I would see a pink van drive by my house on Route 57 heading it’s way towards New Marlborough. “Hey, that’s Wash & Wag! The dog groomers that pay house calls to clean and groom your muddy pup!

What a cool idea!”, I would say waving. “...Gee,” as an aſter thought to myself, “They really should slow down through this town.” ... Well, I discover, anyone doing this kind of job all day, is bound to want to get home as soon as possible to chill. BUT! Robin Mallory loves her work and it shows. That’s the best part about it.

Congrats, Robin and team—you now are the proud owners of a standing structure in town, solely dedicated to a shop that washes, grooms and feeds the (as photographer Lee Everett would say)the fur faces with delicious organic treats and tops it off by handing each dog owner a report card. A pink report card with grades on exactly how the dog behaved during their visit to Wash & Wag. Aſter attending their open house and taking BB, my poodle, for her first grooming experience with Robin, I can say we both give Robin an A+.

There is too much love going around in this pink salon located in Great Barrington, across from Price Chopper. The house dogs and visiting dogs all seem to be happy and having a party—and as far as the pink bath tub with lots of plastic bubbles that sits in the waiting room ready for a plunge is concerned— I would normally think it may be a little too far-fetched but in this particular case, it’s not at all! It’s a clean theme that works throughout.

It’s not an easy job to be a dog groomer. Robin works very hard from sunrise to sunset and so does her team of dedicated groomers. Now, isn’t this just another interesting slice of life, possibly heaven, in the Berkshires?

Wash & Wag, what a great name. how did you come up with this name?

Robin: Actually, the couple we bought the business from called their business Wash n’ Wag. We changed it to Wash & Wag because i liked the way it looked aesthetically! The fellow who painted their grooming van came up with the original name… simple and to the point. When we brought our van to him to be painted, we learned a lot from him. he instilled in us that anything we did in the future, any advertising or promotional things, folks 20 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

Photography by Lee Everett

needed to “get it” at first glance, or the first time they heard it. it also needed to be unique. everyone knows what we do just by the name alone…no explanation is ever needed. i drew our logo with that in mind—three dogs in a tub on wheels. it has made many people smile and it is very clear that if you need your pet washed, track down that Big Pink Van! Who are your partners in Wash & Wag? Robin: My husband and i were partners together in the pink van since January 2002. As of this year, my brother Jonathan Weinstein and our friend Michael Kirchner became partners with us in our new venture. Mike is our financial guru, and Jon is our goodwill ambassador! Together, we make a wonderful team, each of us with our own expertise.

how did this venture begin? yes, i mean with the starting of the pink truck!

Robin: To go back to the beginning, in february 18, 1981, my husband (then fiancé) and i bought a two-truck rubbish company in sheffield, Mass., called Wally’s Trucking. it was my husband and me and one employee. We eventually changed the name to “The Master Garbologist” (in honor of Joe’s dad, a master plumber.) i created a caricature of Joe for our logo, sent out monthly “Garbagegrams”, and by 2002, we had over a dozen trucks on the road, 15-plus employees, a transfer station, tractor trailers traveling throughout the northeast… but not much joy in our lives.

Circumstances of life led us to have our first two english springer spaniels, Milly and Peepers, groomed by a husband and wife duo. They came to our house, and washed the girls outside on the lawn. We became friends, and when the couple decided to retire, we made a life altering decision. We sold our business that we had built up over the last 20 years, and bought their mobile pet grooming business. The couple groomed most of their “clients” outside in a portable tub and tiny breeds in a homemade tub in their van. They only provided the service in the warmer months, and wintered in the Carolinas. i eagerly enrolled into a grooming school in Conn., and, within a few months, we went to a dog groomers’ convention in hershey, Penn., and purchased a custom-

you must have a few funny stories of the beginnings, i mean, dogs are so funny to begin with. do you have one you can share?

Robin: naturally there are many, many stories to tell (i am hoping to write a book about my travels in the Pink Van). One we love to tell is about a rather robust little Bichon frise named zeus. he and his elderly mom lived in lanesboro. When she was not well, her brother, a rather large and statuesque state trooper, would have zeus at his house until she was up to caring for him again. Well, unbeknownst to zeus’s “uncle”, a very small and delicate Bichon frise named Chumly was traveling with us. (We often take clients with us in the van when their parents are away on vacation.)

One afternoon Joe had a gleam in his eye. he decided to send Chumly back in the house instead of zeus, who was content playing with our three springers in the van. Chumly walked in as if he lived there, headed straight for the food dish, then the water dish, stretched, yawned, then went off to explore. We watched zeus’s uncle’s puzzled face, then, about three minutes into the “bait and switch”, he blurted out, “What the @!# did you do to my dog?”

Joe quickly replied with a straight face, “i think we had the dryer on too high. We might have shrunk him a little.” zeus’s uncle looked perplexed. realizing he was not smiling i quickly ran back into the van and produced his precious zeus! The two Bichons were running around the house together and even seeing both of them it took a minute for him to realize what had happened. Then his smile and bellowing laughter filled the house, and he finally admitted that we got him good! We are still laughing about that one today!

you recently had an opening for a new business, part of Wash & Wag. Can you tell us a little about your new business, please?

Robin: Oh, indeed! We have been servicing our wonderful customers since January 2002, driving to their homes and grooming their little ones in the driveway. Over the past five years we have been unable to accept very many new customers because our routes are always full. Customers have standing appointments and it is rare that we have an opening. We have tried many things to try to take on new clients including cutting back our service area.

We called our Williamstown, Cheshire and Pittsfield customers and explained that we could no longer provide them with our service. for a while we were able to take on new clients, but soon the routes were filled again. We were turning down potential customers on a daily basis. We actually dreaded to return calls. Once in a while a customer’s story touched us, and we would make an exception.

We were in a rut, and knew we had to do something. Our friend Mike (now our financial partner) had been telling us to franchise our business and put more vans on the road. We talked about this for a good year. We just could not “pull the trigger” on it because we would have no control over their individual businesses. Then we talked about training groomers, purchasing a second van, and slowly expanding that way. financially it was just not feasible. if we did not think of something, we were doomed to continue with a stagnant business, turning down dirty dog after dirty dog. Then out of the blue, Mike suggested opening up a grooming salon in Great Barrington. Joe said he knew of the perfect location. The next day i made a call to see the building and Mike ran the numbers. We all met at 389 White house square with John delmolino, a family friend and owner of the vacant building. Within five minutes we simultaneously told John, “We’ll take it”! subsequently,

we hired a contractor, designed the space, and went to work creating a warm and happy environment for clients and their families to visit. establishing the salon is twofold. We can now groom lots and lots of dirty doggies and folks who dream of getting on our Pink Van routes can at least begin the process in the salon until there is an opening on the van. finally, there is no need to turn anyone away! now that our salon has been open a little over a month it is a delight to actually meet the people who have been trying to get their pups into that big Pink Van! They are now coming to the salon. hurray! Our long term plan is that when we cannot add another dirty doggie in our Great Barrington salon, perhaps we will build another!

Our immediate goal is to create the same delightful and, yes, pink experience for our salon customers as our mobile customers have enjoyed for the last 12 years. When customers enter our salon, the first thing they will experience is a very pink room with a wonderful pink, antique claw foot tub (with bubbles!) and a shiny black and white checkered floor.

There is a very happy scene on all four pink walls depicting puppies, kittens, deer, rabbits, flowers, birds, trees and butterflies. i spent two weeks working on this myself to capture the essence of our philosophy in the salon’s decor. it is surely a reflection of the happiness and warmth that is at the core of our business. happily, the atmosphere in the salon is so inviting that customers and friends are stopping by just to visit! And most of them have their little companions in tow in order to have a play date with our little year-and-a-half-old springer spaniel, Pinky Pie Mallory! On a recent saturday, sue and Joe stopped by for a visit with their utterly adorable Yorkshire Terriers, Jazz and skye, who were special Pink Van clients. We hadn’t seen them for over a year, though we have been corresponding and trading pictures. What a delight it was to see those two little munchkins! Pinky was thrilled to see them again! i was able to capture mom and the girls in a fun moment in our now famous “Bubbly Pink Tub”!

A few minutes after sue and the gang left, little ziggy (a rambunctious Tibetan Terrier puppy), Bella (an adorable little chocolate Cocker spaniel puppy) and Pearl (Pinky’s best friend, a 14-year-old samoyed-Golden retriever mix) all decided it was the perfect day to play with their pal, Pinky! And so they did! They were quickly joined by Pinky’s other little friends, who all just happened to have spent the night with her: Murray, the famous Westie; Bella, a young-at-heart, 15-year-old lhasa Apso; and Tucker, a lovable Golden retriever. Then in came Carmen, a statuesque Briard, and yet another friend of Pinky’s, who stopped in just to say hi! Carmen loves getting groomed at her home in Ash-

ley falls in the Big Pink Van and she too, joined in the fun. Alas, Carmen still prefers the “pink carpet” service of the Mobile Van. And then little Gui, an adorable apricot Miniature Poodle, joined in the fun before, during, and after his very first grooming at the Wash & Wag salon. They were all running and playing around the pink tub, slipping and sliding on the shiny checkered floor, and then out through the grooming room to the fenced-in yard out back. surprisingly, it was a very ordered chaos! Oh what a day we all had. smiles and wags, and licks and barks—it just doesn’t get any better! And yes, we did manage to “beautify” a few doggies that day!

There was one little friend missing from all the fun that saturday, louie, a nine-year-old dachshund. he had been staying with us for several months, after his mom had to give him up. We were desperately trying to find the perfect home for him. A number of prospective parents offered to “try him out”, but he has special needs which called for an exceptionally special home. so, as it was, little louie stayed with us day in and day out, traveling back

Leſt to middle to right: Poe, Golden Retriever. Kimberly Rawson holding Kipper, English Springer Spaniel. Quincy, Blood Hound in Robin’s arms.

Joe is with Cookie Crumbles, a Miki. Bella, Lhasa Apso. Phoenix, Brittany Spaniel black and white. Pinky Pie, Spaniel with groomer Maria Nardi. Jane Costa, with Ozzie, a Boston Terrier.. Murray, the Westie, with Tara Green. Under Murray and Tara is Charlotte the Bassette Hound. On the right of Charlotte is Samoyed-Golden Retriever, Pearl. Last but not least front right, is Fozzie, the chocolate Lab. (Made in house photo 2013)

Bath time! Robin and Charlotte, the Bassett Hound

and forth with us from our home in new Marlborough to the salon every day. for louie, the excitement at the salon was often a bit too stimulating and it was becoming increasingly difficult for us to take care of him. he is such a loving little fellow and i knew there was someone out there just waiting for him! We could not give up on him! i believe everything happens for a reason. i had just sent harryet Candee my answers to her interview questions for this article and an interesting message came back from her in response: “i should tell you i want a puppy. if you find any needing a loving home, please let me know! i already have a mush of a poodle who i adore to pieces. she needs a grooming, too!”

That Monday, harryet came to the salon to have her little one “beautified”. she arrived at 8 a.m. with her “BB”, one very cute “mush of a poodle”! After spending just a few minutes with them, i decided to tell her about little louie, who was peering out at us with his big beautiful eyes from under his “blanky”. it was love at first sight. harryet was clearly the person who would love louie no matter what! she and BB took him home the very next day and they are deliriously happy. BB has a new little friend and harryet has yet another soul to love and share her life with! if we had not created the salon, harryet would never have met louie. Our salon is becoming much more than a place to drop off your dog for a grooming. i smile when i think what will be.

Tell me, what do you think the success of this new entity is based on? What are your long and short-term goals? i understand, it’s a “we”.

Robin: Our past success has always been based on customer service, and customer appreciation. We will go to almost any length to be sure our customers are happy with every aspect of our service. Our first priority is the safety of our clients, and that both our two- and four-legged-clients feel relaxed and happy during every grooming process. We pride ourselves on doing the best job that we know how to do and spend lots of time on the little details. i often tell my clients that i can see that adorable face underneath all the hair and mats and dirt. i see myself as a sculptor, uncovering the beauty within! i try to bring out the personality of each client.

The face and expression of a dog are the most important to get just right. i attribute my enthusiasm and propensity for enjoying spending time with special clients to my life previously. i have an undergraduate degree in elementary education, and a graduate degree in special education. i have found that teaching and grooming reon for nextwhat page... quire the same skills: patience and aContinued genuine love you

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 21

school i received my certificate from.) Maria has take a village to create a successful grooming salon! made our transition in the van seamless and her skills are impeccable. Over the years, she has groomed a Are you enjoying all this? What do you like best? variety of breeds for conformation showing.

Robin: Yes, indeed! Aside from what i have already mentioned, i Grooming Australian shepherds is one joy that enjoy the opportunity to train others to embrace grooming as a Maria seeks out! if you own an “Aussie”, i know of way of connecting with people and their pets. since the salon no one who would be more thrilled to meet your litopened on february 16, i already have a list of young people that tle one! she is now anxiously waiting for the newest want to intern with us! i want to broaden my reach and pass on member— a little Aussie puppy— of a client’s fammy compassion and kindness toward animals. Grooming does not ily to arrive! she is already scheming with my hushave to be a horrifying experience for our pets and there is much band to see how they can tweak the Pink Van route that we as groomers and animal lovers can teach each other. to “happen by” on the very day he comes home!

Being so absorbed in day-to-day relationships with such a wide Maria thrives on technical cuts, ensuring that every variety of people and animals, i have learned much about health detail is exact. she has been grooming since her and nutrition and i try to pass on my knowledge to customers. i early teenage years and has a true passion for her am an advocate of organic, healthy foods and products whenever work. possible. i want Wash & Wag to be fully involved in the commuMaria complements my more relaxed approach… nity of animal lovers. not to give too much away yet, but we are just itching to make every client cute, whatever it working on a program that will help folks who cannot afford our takes, and often (but not always) throwing technicalservices and expertise be able to have their pets enjoy the same ity out the window. Between our similar but varied pampering our regular clients do. Our plan includes setting up a techniques we can please almost any client! Our network that helps seniors, special needs people and folks who newest member of the team is shannon Bertoli, who find themselves in challenging circumstances to be able to care has traveled on and off with us in the Pink Van over well for their beloved companions. This program goes far beyond the last year. she is now officially training to be our grooming and it is the next project we will happily tackle. third groomer. shannon is a very special addition to our family. shannon has a quiet way about her and As far as dog grooming is concerned, would you turn away a is a very calming influence on our little clients. she different kind of animal? like a monkey, or a goat, for examhas mastered the art of bathing to perfection. she ple. takes her time and is very meticulous. We have never Robin: That’s an interesting question. i think everyone on our been able to clean a dirty dog to the degree that team would be thrilled to groom a monkey or a goat. But realistishannon does! When she masters her grooming cally, i’m not sure how that would work. i do know that we would techniques… wow! she is a diamond in the “ruff”! all entertain the idea if we could provide the grooming safely and We attribute the salon’s positive launch in our efficiently. community to the unique and creative public relations, branding and marketing campaign that our What have you created in the grooming rooms that you think friend and longtime customer Kimberly rawson is special, different for the dogs? And in terms of general serv(Kimberly rawson Communications) put together ice, what is a real draw for people to come see you with their for us. Kim assembled an outstanding creative team pet?

Bella getting her hair cut by Robin Mallory, Wash & Wag, 2013. Lee Everett, photographer for the marketing campaign composed of photograRobin: The grooming room has been custom-designed by the Wag pher Paul rocheleau, graphic designer Tanya Bo& Wag team. We designed the room and equipment to be both safe gaevskaya and videographer Mati Kiin. Kim, with and aesthetically pleasing for both groomer and client. We inare doing. i know that my exuberance is contagious…i really canher partner-in-crime Kippie, a lovable springer spaniel, has perstalled a unique custom-made double rail “loop system” from the not hold it back. fectly portrayed the heart and soul of our company. We consider ceiling (directly over the grooming tables) to safely and securely When i meet a dog (and yes, even some cats) there is a connecKim and Kippie part of our Wash & Wag family! hold any size dog while they are being groomed on each one of tion that i make that is inexplicable even to me. i have been known We attribute our beautiful sign with the logo image of our three our three tables. The grooming tables are state-of-the-art hydraulito spend an entire day grooming first-time dirty dogs that, for one springer spaniels in a tub to the very talented ryan larkin from cally controlled. They can be lowered to the floor to alleviate havreason or another, have not been groomed in years, often due to larkin lTd. he was able to capture the essence of our business, ing to pick up large and giant breed dogs. The stainless steel tub terrifying experiences. i especially enjoy older dogs and dogs with coming up with all the extras that make our salon even more speis also hydraulically operated and can be raised and lowered to acspecial and unique needs. dogs that are afraid or very timid bring cial and inviting. his creativity and dedication have given our commodate all sizes of dogs and cats. This is especially important out both my compassion and my true passion... making life a little salon that special better for someone. i have a strong connection with the difficult, something! i don’t shy and so-called “problem” pooches. know who else could As a child growing up at my parent’s school for special needs have tolerated my indechildren i learned empathy for those who are different and i was cisiveness, other than taught to see the beauty in being different. There is no greater joy ryan, another perfecthan when a “parent” embraces their beautiful, relaxed and happy tionist. he even came in little companion and tears are running down their face in appreciearly on the day of our ation of that wagging tail, adorable face and sparkling coat. it’s grand opening to make why i do what i do. i just want to create a little world of joy and the sign for our front happiness for every client that comes in to be pampered. door and applied the i never understood groomers who say they went into grooming “Wash & Wag” logo to because they do not like people and would rather be around aniour bubbly pink tub! mals. On the contrary! it’s all about the people and the connecMy only disappointtions we all have with each other. That is what makes anyone ment is that he never successful in life! i think simple kindness, courtesy, appreciation did get his picture taken and respect makes for a successful business and a successful life. in that pink tub! neither i also think much of the credit for success goes to my three did Todd storti from partners who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes. The new england fence! grounded, common sense of my husband Joe, who keeps me “on Todd is responsible for target”, the financial wizardry of Mike, and the enthusiastic goodthe design and installawill that my brother Jon spreads daily are the backbone of the busition of the picket fence ness. and arbor that will be Our continued success must certainly go to the members of installed this spring in “Team Wash & Wag”! each of our employees has a passion for the front of the salon. animals and a love of grooming. They have a lifetime of being “T.C., Winkie and Beauty” Photo: Robin Mallory his eye for perfection is with, enjoying and taking care of animals. They love what they unsurpassed. We also do! thank ed hyatt and his crew for all the construction. his workers, for a groomer’s back health and general safety. The floor is made Professional Groomer Maria nardi has graciously joined Joe especially Joe, were responsible for much of the creative construcof recycled rubber tiles which provide a much needed cushion for in the Pink Van, giving me time to create and establish the new tion, like the custom rail above the grooming table and the unique the long days on our feet. Most importantly, it is a very safe and salon. Maria received her professional groomer’s certificate from pink dog house by the salon. how fortunate we are to have such durable surface for our clients.

The Connecticut Canine education Center in newington (the same caring, dedicated and talented folks in our corner. it really does The grooming room is painted with an anti-bacterial soft pink

22 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

The waiting area.

Louie the Dachshun... and Pinky Pie Mallory, the Spaniel. Patiently waiting and sharing local dog gossip.

latex paint, which makes the workspace very cheery and sanitary.

Blowers and clipper vacuums are available at each station. right off the grooming area is a six-foot-high fenced-in area where clients can stretch their legs, relieve themselves or just hang out and play. We do have two super-sized crates in case a dog feels more comfortable there and if we need to separate the clientele for safety reasons. Most of the time however, our four- legged clients roam around the salon, playing and relaxing when their pampering is done. We invite owners to tour the entire facility, as we know they will feel more secure seeing just where all “the magic” happens. do you have dogs of your own?

Robin: Oh, yes! Pinky Pie Mallory. she is an adorable one-and-ahalf-year-old liver and white english springer spaniel. she has grown up in the Pink Van surrounded by little critters her whole life. Pinky always has company, as her parents seem to be taking care of at least one or two little creatures at any given time.

Pinky is an amazing little soul. she thrives in the company of other dogs. Pinky is with me always and is my other half. We do everything together. she is the constant companion that i have always imagined might be possible! Pinky Pie is a calming addition to the salon, always greeting clients in her oversized pink bow or pearl necklace with a wiggle and a wag. her best dog friend, Pearl, often accompanies her on daily official meet and greets duties at the salon.

Can it ever be a dangerous line of work?

Robin: i have never considered grooming dangerous work. i think if you are trained properly and have confidence in your own abilities and intuition, you will avoid most mishaps. i personally have no fear of being bitten. i know it happens now and then but i don’t perseverate on the possibility. i have been bitten on a few occasions, all of which were my own fault. for me it is a part of my job and that it is what it is. The accidents occur when you become too confident. i never forget that i am grooming a d.O.G. in other words, in the back of my mind, at all times, i remember i am working with an animal. Animals are unpredictable. When i get that unsure feeling i may place a muzzle on the client or simply change my demeanor. My movements will be slow, steady and always in the sight of my client. Most times using a muzzle is temporary situation while i am doing something that certain animals find unpleasant, like trimming nails or cleaning ears. This usually calms the dog or cat down and then, once we’re done with that part, all is well.

There must be some dog psychology you have invested in learning since you have to deal with so many different kinds of dogs, and their different temperaments. What have you really learned and needed to apply to that helps work with these animals?

Robin: Believe it or not, showing simple kindness, love, understanding and patience is the common denominator. i always try to

take on a new client either last thing in the day or when i have a three-appointment opening. i never rush with a new pooch. i spend time with them, getting to know them by touching them, caressing them, and playing with them. if it takes me an hour or two extra, in the long run it is worthwhile. i have easily groomed dogs that my predecessors have described as vicious. Wouldn’t you be vicious if someone was pulling your matted hair out by the root and leaving bloody marks? it is amazing what a little compassion and understanding will do. sometimes it takes a year for a dog to trust me completely, but eventually, they do trust me. On the other hand, sometimes dogs, like people, have mental issues that a loving touch does not reach. in those cases, we adapt what we are doing to the specific fear or anxiety we are dealing with. Over the years there have only been two dogs that we could not groom. They were too big and too unpredictable for us to handle safely. remember, safety is our first priority. On one occasion the customer, at the vet’s suggestion, had their dog anesthetized for the grooming and we groomed him in the clinic. it was an experience i will never forget.

What services to you offer that keep the dogs health and grooming maintained between visits?

Robin: We often show customers how to brush and comb their companions properly. some actually follow through! We try to get each client on the right schedule so that their owners do not need to do anything in between. it is a necessity in the van that each client is on the correct schedule because we have a route to keep up with, one dog at a time. We are very spoiled in our van…no mats, no knots and no tangles! everyone is being groomed when they should be!

how do you think dogs are really like people?

Robin: so glad you asked that question! My brother Jon and i compare notes often. My brother is a psychiatric nurse in a local nursing home. We are astonished at the similarities! dogs and people almost universally respond to consistent kindness. They respond to a gentle touch, a calming stroke and a happy environment. What we have found is that we can never forget to treat all living things with respect. We have each learned that one cannot judge another living soul at any given moment in time. At the nursing home, my brother invariably gives every elderly patient he meets for the first time the same respect and courtesy he would give to any new acquaintance. he does not see their disability or present weaknesses, rather he sees a human being that he wants to know more about. When i meet a dog for the first time, i want to know all about him too! What does he enjoy? What disagrees with him? What experiences has he had? how did he get his name? i want to make a deep connection because it enriches my life. so, when you ask are dogs like people, yes, i think dogs, and most all living things are like people!

What kind of care do puppies need that you can give them from their first visit on? how early can a pup come to see you?

Logo by Robin Malory

Robin: Puppies get lots of play time and hugs and kisses! sometimes we don’t even groom them on their first early visit and just let them experience the sights and sounds. it is never too early to visit the groomer! We will definitely trim their nails, clean their ears and brush them, even if they do not yet have their coat. We want them to have a happy, fun, stress-less first “grooming” experience. in addition, we always try to do the same things in the same order for every client, so that a predicable routine is established. it is a real hoot to see our clients looking for their collars and treats right after the finishing touch!

What was the strangest, most unusual kind of dog you have ever worked on? don’t tell me one that spoke english, i won’t believe you!

Robin: Well, the strangest animals we ever groomed were a bunny rabbit and his gerbil housemates! That is a long story for another day! But the most unusual dog was, and is, little Oreo, the smartest, cutest Border Collie you would ever want to meet! One day, her dad was having a rough day and was trying to relax in his easy chair. Oreo was barking and barking at him to throw the ball. finally, out of desperation, dad spoke very sternly, “Oreo, stop barking!” To his surprise, Oreo didn’t stop barking. instead, because she still wanted to play ball she proceeded to “mouth” her next barks while pushing the ball at him. What’s a dad to do? Play ball!

What did you do before this line of business?

Robin: Briefly, during the late 1970s through 1980, i taught emotionally disturbed children at the Kolburne school. in addition to teaching, i worked in the maintenance department there. in 1981, my husband and i started The Master Garbologist, inc., then in January of 2002, i became a groomer, and the rest is history!

Would you have ever considered working at the zoo doing grooming?

Robin: That’s another interesting question. right now, i’d have to say no … there are too many dirty doggies in Berkshire County! i do have a special infinity for dogs!

i was wondering… who did the beautiful murals on the walls in the shop? i think dogs appreciate good art, don’t you think?

Robin: Actually, i created those happy walls, and yes, everyone one appreciates beautiful things!

Wash & Wag is located at 389 White House Square, Great Barrington, MA. robin@thebigpinkvan.com 866-927-4924 GGG

The ArTful Mind APril 2013 • 23

The 2CV in love PArT ii

by richard Britell

And then you should consider that nani was in love with an American girl, a foreigner, whose odd way of speaking french,

her accent and mispronunciations gave to the relationship a color, depth, and novelty you only see in movies.

You probably do not believe that a car can be in love and have sexual reactions. People believe that they, and only they have an exclusive monopoly on consciousness, sensation, thought and feeling. This is the reason they are so disconnected from the universe and their life experience is so pathetically limited compared say, to the average squirrel. it never crosses your mind that a mountain knows it is a mountain, the sun knows it is the sun, a car knows it is a car, and that all of these things have rich emotional lives you can never grasp, or even imagine. This truth looks you right in the eye out of the face of any dog, touches you in the caress of any breeze, but it is all lost on you poor people who are the least feeling of all sentient objects in the universe.

The romance ended tragically for nani, and what made it even worse was the fact that sarah was never for a moment even aware of the terrible damage she was inflicting on her beloved car. The relationship between sarah Meyers and the 2CV lasted exactly 18 months, because that is how long sarah was in france, completing the last year and a half of her time at Vassar. At no time did she imagine that her ownership of the car would last longer than her stay in france. for nani it was a completely different story. in her imagination she saw herself being the only vehicle sarah would own for the rest of her life. she had planned that they would move to a little cottage in the south of france when her coursework was finished: a cottage including a garage complete with a lift. nothing spoiled this daydream of the 2CV during this time. if there were problems in the relationship it arose from nani's intense jealousy if sarah should even look at another car. Tremendous mechanical problems arose if a passing comment were made in admiration of a renault or another model of Citroen, but she was most aggravated by the fact that sarah had occasional crushes on the fiat 500, and even stopped to admire a Topolino one day. during the last month of sarah's stay in Paris very strange and ominous situations arose that the 2CV was at a loss to figure out.

Why, for example was she parked for several hours in front of a travel agency, and why, when sarah came out, was she so distracted and preoccupied. Why did she have to go for three weeks without her oil being checked? And what were three suitcases doing in the back seat all the time? finally the situation was explained to her. sarah gave a classmate a ride home after school, and in the conversation nani found out that sarah was moving back to America at the end of June.

That sarah was leaving france actually did not upset the 2CV at first, because it never crossed her mind that she would be left behind. she was aware that Americans sometimes abandoned a dog or a cat, but she was a car, not a useless animal. nani's confidence in sarah's devotion to her was absolute. her owner practically knew the repair manual by heart. Just a week ago the transmission would not shift into reverse. The garage said a new transmission was needed but sarah knew it was just the linkage that needed to be tightened. Owners like that do not abandon a car like her; they might abandon a renault on occasion but never a 2CV. 24 • April 2013 The ArTful Mind

no, nani did not anticipate abandonment, but she was worried about what life was going to be like in America? she had never heard a single good thing about the place and its huge arrogant, pushy, vain, idiotically designed, automobiles. nani was very prejudiced against America and its cars. A Mustang for example, what would she do if she found herself parked near one. nani began feverishly to seek out information about America, and what life was like there for a 2CV. This was extremely difficult. she had an uncle and an aunt that had immigrated to Canada, but nani was only three at the time. There was only one source of information, she had to ask the other cars during the long Paris nights when the parked cars talked about everything under the sun, everything except America that is.

Talking to the other cars was very difficult. Cars have tremendous amounts of knowledge but most often it was of the “savant” type. even the most expensive cars were entirely self-educated, and their information, for the most part, was concocted from the overheard conversation of their owners.

One BMW, knew all about the stock market, was an expert in pork futures, and short selling, but would have to ask what a word like “peanut” meant. There was a Peugeot who knew about the french revolution and was a direct descendant of one the tumbrels used to transport Marie Antoinette to the guillotine. This Peugeot was a socialist even though her owner was a conservative deputy. she longed for the days of the barricades, and hated that she lived in such politically placid times. some cars did have knowledge of America, but it was so mixed, confusing and contradictory it was of no use to her. did the cars in new York City really have to have mattresses attached to their bumpers? Was life expectancy only twelve months? some said that 2CVs were not legal in America, and that an oil change had to be done in a hermetically sealed garage to prevent pollution. But it was all just rumor compounded with speculation. Only one thing was certain, they all knew for a fact that nani was going to be left behind, that she would never see America. They knew it but did not have the heart to tell her.

They had seen it all before. 2CVs were especially vulnerable to this catastrophe because they were not sold in America and so were more exotic looking creatures. recently an almost-new 2CV plunged herself into the seine after she was abandoned by an actor when the film he was working in was completed. he didn't even bother to put her up for sale, just left her in the street. she was left in neutral, and the emergency brake was not engaged.

The papers said it was an accident, but every car in the neighborhood knew it was a suicide. finally one of the old Paris prostitute cars, a taxi, decided she would break the news to her. she had been in rome and Milan, as well as Copenhagen and Berlin, and had seen the world. she had been abandoned by an art student in sicily 30 years ago, and sold into taxi prostitution by the Mafia.

What the taxi prostitute said to nani is pretty much what you or i would have said if we found ourselves in a similar situation, forced to give unwanted advice that will break someone's heart. she started with a blunt declaration of the truth, saying, "little sister, you are not going to America, put that right out of your little head. People, especially Americans, are not like cars. Their love is shallow and not lasting. Their hearts can change with each new model year."

The taxi prostitute did not pull any punches. in her crass way she made no attempt to soften the blow. "Your precious sarah will forget all about you the instant she is buckled into her seat in the plane. All the dear things she said to you will never even cross her mind, as she notes down in some notebook all the exciting things she will plan to do back in America."

The 2CV had no reaction to the things the taxi was telling her. All along she had known in her heart that it was over. dreaming of America was just a smoke screen to divert her thoughts from the terrible reality of being put back on the used car market, something she thought she would never have

to face again. "don't you see, you are going to be sold down the river? You may never even see Paris again. Teenagers will make you into a dune-buggy and drive you up and down huge piles of rocks all day long," the taxi said. "Just be glad you had a few good years, perhaps you will be sold into taxi prostitution like me, that is what everyone fears, but take it from me, it is not so bad. Once you know true love is not a possibility, you take each day as it comes, and even in the midst of the fast food wrappers and vomit in your back seat. life is still worth living in its own pointless way, you will see."

The old taxi prostitute knew she was right. for a car to have a devoted owner has its advantages. it was nice to be taken to be vacuumed on saturday morning at ten o'clock every week, and that sort of thing. On the other hand, consider the excitement of never knowing whom you would pick up next, Americans from Texas in the morning, drug runners at lunch, and movie stars in the evening. But there was no point telling this to nani, she was in no state to hear it.

But the taxi wanted to soften the blow, and so she said. "Your sarah will come back you know, they all do. she will come looking for you again in 20 years with a tour bus full of Americans on holiday. Back home she will be married with grown-up kids. her Paris days will be a distant memory. But one day she will drive out to Walmart to buy more lawn furniture because of a big summer get together at her house, and in the parking lot she will come across an old 2CV, parked way in the distance where the fussy owner hopes to avoid dents and scratches. it will be a wellkept car, belonging to some old professor of literature at the local community college; he drives it only in the summer. she will come across that car, and she will stare into its windows. her past will rise up in her, and she will remember a time when she was 18 and thought, “i will throw some things in the back seat this morning and go see what Bulgaria looks like,” free as a bird, like a gypsy. returning to his car, that old professor will not disturb her when he sees her, because he will know what her tears are all about, having seen this before.

From: “No Cure For The Medieval Mind”, by Richard Britell nocureforthemedievalmind.blogspot.com H