THE ARTFUL MIND THE SOURCE FOR PROMOTING the ARTS SINCE 1994
TOD RANDOLPH ACTRESS
THE BERKSHIRES, MASSACHUSETTS PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD ACKER
Free!
AUGUST 2016
Kris Galli - Paintings
That Day By the River, 2005, oil on canvas
krisgallifineart.com
JANE FELDMAN PHOTOGRAPHER
janefeldmanphoto@gmail.com www.janefeldman.com
EDWARD ACKER photographer
Time flies. Get pictures.
800-508-8373
EdwardAckerPhotographer.com
JOHN LIPKOWITZ PHOTOGRAPHY
DAKOTA TERRITORY
ARTIST’S RECEPTION: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 3-6PM
HORSES, BISON, LANDSCAPES AND MORE
510
WARREN ST GALLERY
510 WARREN STREET GALLERY 510 WARREN STREET, HUDSON, NY GALLERY HOURS: FRIDAY & SATURDAY 12-6, SUNDAY 12-5
2 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
PRINCIPAL EXHIBIT SEPTEMBER 2 THROUGH 30, 2016 ROTATING IMAGES AUGUST THROUGH DECEMBER 2016
Look closely and you will discover many elements of surpise!
Natalie’s work is on view at: LENOX PRINT & MERCANTILE 11 Housatonic St, LENOX, MA 413-637-2234
Natalie Levine Commissions
natalielevinestudio.com
THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE August 2016
The art community is flourishing!
The Photography of John Clark Interview by H. Candee page 12
Artist Grier Horner
Interview by H. Candee page 20
Actress Tod Randolph by H. Candee Photos by Edward Acker page 25
Behind the Camera with Eric Korenman Interview by H. Candee
page 40 Marguerite Bride and Lee Everett Jazz Visions Interview by H. Candee
page 48
FICTION: Michelangelo Eats Figs Part II Richard Britell page 53
Sculptor RJ Rosegarten Interview by H. Candee
page 54
Berkshire Handmade
David Reed
Interview by H. Candee
page 58
Grandma Becky’s Recipes Laura Pian page 59
Scott Bond Healthy Products for Hair and Body Interview by H. Candee
page 60
Paintin’ the Town
Photography and Event coverage by Natalie tyler
page 64
Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Eunice Agar, Richard Britell, Laura Pian Photographers Edward Acker, Lee Everett, Jane Feldman Sabine von Falken, Alison Wedd Publisher Harryet Candee
Copy Editor
Marguerite Bride
Editorial Proofreading Kris Galli Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet Candee
Quote Editor Bruce MacDonald
Mailing Address: Box 985, Great Barrington, MA 01230
artfulmind@yahoo.com 413 854 4400 ALL MATERIAL due the 5th of the month prior to publication
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 intention of enhancing communication and sharing positive creativity in all aspects of our lives. We at The Artful Mind are not responsible for any copyrights of the artists, we only interview them about the art they create.
4 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
THE MUSIC STORE
As we celebrate the last days of the beautiful Berkshire Summer, we are mindful that the benefits of shopping locally are many. And as more and more small, independent stores close we think how thankful we are for our many loyal and hugely supportive customers. We continue our support for many of our local schools' art programs and performance groups. And we are able to showcase some of the fine work that independent instrument makers and luthiers are creating ONE AT A TIME right here in Berkshire County including: - Brier Road's Guitars' gorgeous OM Acoustic Guitar made ENTIRELY from fine tonewoods sourced HERE in Berkshire County, and his extraordinary Redwood/Padauk Baritone Ukulele! - Undermountain Ukuleles' lovely A/E Flame Maple Soprano, a big voice in a small, appealing package with the pro K&K Aloha Twin preamp to amplify the loveliness! - our own Dr. Easy's Drunk Bay Cigar Box guitars, simply the most amazing bang for a box ever heard and featuring ten brand new boxes so far for 2016, - The Rowe Stick Dulcimers - strum sticks par extraordinaire, provided for sale and for donation to outreach and Veteran's programs, - the lovely Stockbridge made Serenity Bamboo Flutes and Walking Stick/Cane flutes and - Whitmer Acoustic Guitars, lovingly made one at a time in Pittsfield from fine tone woods and - Don Waite's Gadjo Guitars - gorgeous and daring for a KILLER price! The Music Store has, for fifteen and a half years, enjoyed helping the community, near and far to make music. And this is a rewarding and satisfying enterprise for us. We look forward to continuing this mission into the second half of our second decade. And, as always, we offer wonderful musical instruments and accessories at competitive pricing. But there are just some things that we like to share with you, including support for our newest music makers, and Great Deals, Raffles and New and Used Instruments for everyone. Come and join the fun . . . We welcome the lovingly Berkshire County INDIVIDUALLY (NOT factory) made: Brier Road Guitars and Ukueleles, Whitmer Guitars, Don Waite's Gadjo guitars, and Undermountain Ukuleles. Play and own an ABSOLUTE ORIGINAL! Composite Acoustic guitars (the forever guitar!) and their peerless travel guitar, the Cargo, a favorite of our own Dr. Easy, David Reed, made of carbon graphite and impervious to most changes of temperature and humidity. You can see it often in his hands in performance locally and abroad. Guild Guitars - Light, powerful, affordable, beautiful SOLID woods, gorgeous tone! Beautiful Breedlove Guitars, including Koa, Zircote and Ebony Limited Editions and the 2015 Dealer's Choice Award Winner Oregon Concert! TERRIFIC UKULELES! 60+ DIFFERENT models:
Soprano, Concert, Tenor and Baritone, acoustic and acoustic/electric, six string, resonator, the Maccaferrilike Makala Waterman Uke (made all of plastic for easy portability almost anywhere!) the remarkable U-Bass, and the Solid Body Uke Bass prototype by the Magic Fluke Co.! How about a Cordoba Cuatro? Or Guitarlele? Or Gypsy Kings' Ltd. Edition? Experience the haunting sound of High Spirits Native American Flutes! How about a West African Djembe? Try a 'Closeout Corner' instrument to suit almost any budget. ALVAREZ GUITARS - great tone and great value. Breedlove - beautiful, American, sustainable. And so many more brands and types, including Luthier Handmade Instruments from $150-$5000 . . . . Ever heard of Dr. Easy’s Drunk Bay Cigar Boxes? Acoustic/electric cigar box guitars, exquisitely made, which bring the past into the present with a delightful punch, acoustically AND plugged in! You can even hear them in concert if you catch Dr. Easy's act in local venues! Harmonicas, in (almost) every key (try a Suzuki Hammond ‘Mouth Organ’). Picks (exotic, too!), strings (!!), sticks and reeds Violins, Mandolins, Dulcimers, Banjos, and Banjo Ukes! Handmade and international percussion instruments! Dreamy locally made bamboo and wooden flutes and walking stick flutes! And the new Berkshire County Rowe Stick Dulcimers, easy to play and adore, the sales of which benefit Veteran's homes and outreach programs. And there is more to delight the eyes, intrigue the ears and bring warm joy to the heart! We remain your neighborhood music store, where advice and help are free and music is the universal language. Working with local luthiers and repairmen we offer stringed and band instrument repair. And we just may have something you haven’t seen before (have you heard the Electric Cigar Box Guitars?). We match (or beat) many on-line prices for the merchandise that we sell, and do so in person, for the most part cheerfully (though we reserve the right to glower a little when asked if we can ‘do better’ on the price of a pick!)! The Music Store, located at 87 Railroad Street in Great Barrington, is open Tuesdays through Sundays and by appointment. Call us at 413-528-2460, visit us on line at www.themusicstoreplus.com, on Facebook as The Music Store Plus, or shop our online Reverb store at https://reverb.com/shop/TheMusicStorePlus. Happy MUSIC MAKING!
2016 A GREAT EDITORIAL LINE-UP! Advertise your event and business with
THE ARTFUL MIND e-mail: artfulmind@yahoo.com Don’t miss this one!
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 5
ARTFUL CALENDAR AUGUST 2016 Sharon Louden, Windows, 2016, Oil on paper, 8.25 x 11.75 in (20 x 29 cm)
SHARON LOUDEN ‘Windows’ September 8 - October 8, 2016 Opening Reception: Thursday, September 8, 6 - 8pm Morgan Lehman Gallery 534 West 24th Street New York, NY morganlehmangallery.com
ART
510 WARREN STREET GALLERY 510 WARREN STREET, HUDSON, NY 518-822-0510 510warrenstreetgallery@gmail.com / 510warrenstreetgallery.com John Lipkowitz, Dakota territory. photographs on display thru Dec 2016 (Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5 or by app)
BECKET ARTS CENTER OF THE HILLTOWNS 7 BROOKER HILL RD, BECKET, MA • 413-623-6635 Mary Anne Davis, Arthur Hillman and Scott Taylor, Aug 27 - Sept BERKSHIRE MUSEUM 39 SOUTH ST, PITTSFIELD, MA • 413-443-7171 Living on Earth: The Work of Robert Hite, thru Oct 30
CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY 622 WARREN ST, HUDSON, NY • 518-828-1915 Summer Exhibit Anne Francey, Stephen Walling, Marion Vinot, & Vincent Pomilio. Reception: Sunday, July 17th 2-4pm, Jul 13, 2016 - Aug 28, 2016
CHESTERWOOD 4 WILLIAMSVILLE RD, STOCKBRIDGE, MA 413-298-3579 June 18-Sept 18, 38th Annual Outdoor Sculpture exhibition, “The Nature of Glass”, 24 works by 12 internationally recognized glass artists, curated by Jim Schantz of Schantz Galleries Contemporary Glass
CLAIRE TEAGUE SENIOR CENTER 917 SOUTH MAIN ST., GT. BARRINGTON, MA 413-528-l881 See the newly rehung permanent collection. Eunice Agar paintings. Regular Hours: Monday- Friday, 8:00 AM 3:30pm
DEB KOFFMAN’S ARTSPACE 137 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA • 413-274-1201 Sat: 10:30-12:45 class meets. No experience in drawing necessary, just a willingness to look deeply and watch 6• AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
your mind. This class is conducted in silence. Adult class. $10, please & call to register. DENISE B CHANDLER FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTO ART 413-637-2344 or 413-281-8461 (leave message) *Lenox home studio & gallery appointments available. *Exhibiting and represented by Sohn Fine Art, Lenox, MA. Exhibiting as an artist member/owner at the 510 Warren Street Gallery, Hudson DIANA FELBER GALLERY 6 HARRIS ST., WEST STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-854-7002 dianafelbergallery.com Meryl Joseph in a group show, Aug 3-Sept 11. Reception: Sat Aug 13, 5:30-7:30pm. Fine art and crafts with six week artist line up. (Open 11-6pm, closed Tues.)
FRONT STREET GALLERY 129 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA • 413-274-6607 Kate Knapp oils and watercolors exhibit thru the summer
GOOD PURPOSE GALLERY 40 MAIN STREET, LEE, MA • 413-394-5045 INFUSED WITH PASSION August 12 – September 21 (9am - 4pm every day) HOUSATONIC VALLERY ART LEAGUE BERKSHIRE HOME & ANTIQUES (north end of Great Barrington, 107 Stockbridge Rd., between the Cove Bowling Alley and Shiro’s Japanese Restaurant) • HVart.org Aug 4: Members’ Show, reception Aug 5, 5-7pm. JO-ANNE IRWIN DOWNTOWN PITTSFIELD INC. 33 DUNHAM MALL Home Studio, Lenox, MA • 413-637-3228 jai.artist39@gmail.com Paintings on display for the month of September First Fridays Artswalk. Watercolor, Acrylic, Pen & Ink Opening Reception: September 2, from 5-8 pm JOHN DAVIS GALLERY 362 1/2 WARREN ST, HUDSON, NY • 518-828-5907
art@johndavisgallery.com On Saturday, August 20, there will be an exhibition of five artists in the Main Galleries, Sculpture Garden and Carriage House. The work will be on display through September 11 with a reception for the artists on Saturday, August 20, from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. JOYCE GOLDSTEIN GALLERY 16 Main St, Chatham, NY • 518-764-8989 / JoysGall@fairpoint.net Mimi Graminski with poet Sarah Stern. Artists reception Aug 13, 4-6pm, poetry reading at 5pm. Thru Sept 10. LAUREN CLARK FINE ART 25 RAILRD. ST, GT. BARRINGTON, MA • 413-528-0432 Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com “Color Envy” featuring David Eddy, Julio Granda, and Douglass Truth Saturday, August 6 through Sunday, August 28. Reception for the artists at the gallery on Saturday, August 6, 4-7pm L’ATELIER BERKSHIRES 597 MAIN STREET, GREAT BARRINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS www.atelierberks.com. • 510-469-5468, natalie.tyler@atelierberks.com “L’Atelier Artist Group Exhibition” featuring major works from masterful contemporary artists. Exhibiting furniture and fine art by Nicholas, Taj, Massimo, Carlo Mongiardo. Paintings by Kiki Dufault, John Ratajkowski, and Eamonn O’Boyle. Sculpture by Sarah Logan, Eva Connell and Natalie Tyler. Exhibition runs from August 1- 31. L’Atelier Berkshires, a place to discover unique paintings and sculpture from contemporary artists
LISA VOLLMER PHOTOGRAPHY NEW STUDIO + GALLERY 325 STOCKBRIDGE ROAD, GT. BARRINGTON • 413-429-6511 / www.lisavollmer.com The Studio specializes in portrait, event, editorial and commercial photography : by appointment. The Gallery represents Sabine Vollmer von Falken, Thatcher Hullerman Cook, Carolina Palermo Schulze and Tom Zetterstrom. (Open daily from 11-4pm closed on Wednesdays)
MASS MoCA NORTH ADAMS, MA Alex Da Corte: Free Roses, thru 2016.
MARGUERITE BRIDE HOME STUDIO AT 46 GLORY DRIVE, PITTSFIELD, MA • 413841-1659 or 413-442-7718 MARGEBRIDE-PAINTINGS.COM FB: MARGUERITE BRIDE WATERCOLORS Original watercolors, house portraits, commissions, fine art reproductions. Seasonal scenes always on exhibit at Crowne Plaza, Pittsfield; Studio visits by appt. “Jazz Visions”, this August at the Lichtenstein Gallery in Pittsfield, MA; Church on The Hill Fine Arts and Crafts Show in Lilac Park, Lenox, Aug 20 & 21 MONTEREY GENERAL STORE MAIN RD, MONTEREY, MA • 413-528-5900 Info@monterey-general-store.com Landscape painter Harry Orlyk. Opening reception June 18, 5-7pm. All welcome. Thru August 2016.
NEW MARLBOROUGH MEETING HOUSE GALLERY NEW MARLBOROUGH, MA newmarlborough.org./music-more/ Wild Life, showing 23 artists’ work July 30 through August 21, and New Marlborough Artists, exhibiting the work of eight New Marlborough residents, September 3 through October 2.The Music and More season, with six exciting events, begins Saturday, August 27, and runs through October 8. All programs begin at 4:30 p.m. and are followed by a reception in the Meeting House Gallery
NO. SIX GALLERY 6 DEPOT ST, WEST STOCKBRIDGE, MA Michael Lavin Flower, Aug 1-31
NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM 9 GLENDALE RD, STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-298-4100 Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World, thru Oct 30
SCHANTZ GALLERIES 3 ELM ST, STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-298-3044 schantzgalleries.com Renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly will exhibit several of his works of art, including two large Chandeliers and a Persian Wall, at the Schantz Galleries in Stockbridge, MA, from July 8 through August 28; opening reception, Friday, July 8, 4–6 p.m. A destination for those seeking premier artists working in glass
SCOTT BARROW PHOTOGRAPHY & GALLERY 17 HOUSATONIC STREET, LENOX MA • 413-637-2299 Photography exhibits
SCULPTURE NOW THE MOUNT, 2 PLUNKETT ST, LENOX, MA • 413-551-5111 / www.edithwharton.org/ SculptureNow: Remix, thru Oct 31, 28 large outdoor sculptures by 28 artists. The show includes regionally and nationally recognized artists William Breslow, Rick & Laura Brown, Jamie Calderwood, William Carlson, Matt Crane, Peter Dellert, Murray Dewart, Anthony Garner, Lucy Hodgson, Sue Huang, Ann Jon, Conrad Levenson, Kathryn Lipke, Philip Marshall, Gary Orlinsky, Jerome Harris Parmet, Chris Plaisted, Kate Raudenbush, Laura Reinhard, Susan Ferrari Rowley, Laurie Sheridan, Fletcher Smith, Leon Smith, Robin Tost, Mark Warwick, John Wilkinson and Bernard Zubrowski. SOHN FINE ART GALLERY, PRINTING, FRAMING & WORKSHOPS 69 CHURCH STREET, LENOX MA • 413-551-7353 Contemporary photography by local and international artists. We also offer photographic services, archival pigment printing and framing services.
ST. FRANCIS GALLERY RTE. 102, SOUTH LEE (just 2 miles east from the Red Lion Inn) Friday thru Monday 10-5pm. THE ART ANNEX 2666 Rte 23, Hillsdale, NY • 518-325-4000 www.fb.com/artannexhillsdale, Build52@aol.com
THE CLARK MUSEUM 225 SOUTH ST, WILLIAMSTOWN, MA • 413-458-2303 222.clarkart.edu/ Thomas Schütte: Crystal, June 14-Oct 9
VAULT GALLERY 322 MAIN ST, GT. BARRINGTON, MA • 413-644-0221 Marilyn Kalish at work and process on view, beautiful gallery with a wonderful collection of paintings
WHITNEY GALLERY 42 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield, MA • 413-443-0289 August:The art of Scott Taylor, Michael Fabrizio and Ivor Parry; reception on Friday, August 5, from 5-8 pm.
EVENTS / WORKSHOPS
BERKSHIRE CRAFTS FAIR MONUMENT MOUNTAIN REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL GREAT BARRINGTON, MA August 12 – 14, from 10 am to 5 pm each day 9 WEEKS, 9 WRITERS
WWW.JAYNEBENJULIAN.COM/EVENTS
Advanced workshop in prose and poetry with Jayne Benjulian. Thursday evenings, 7-9 PM, Housatonic September 22 – December 1 (no workshop October 13 or November 24) 9 sessions CAMP KINDERLAND ARTS & ACTIVISM FESTIVAL 1543 Colebrook River Road, Tolland, MA http://campkinderland.org/festival/tickets/ Labor Day Weekend
MUSIC
OLDTONE ROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL http://www.oldtonemusicfestival.com September 8, 9, 10, & 11 Second year of the event featuring traditional Appalachian folk, bluegrass, hot swing, old-time country, brass, cajun and contra music THE BARN at EGREMONT VILLAGE INN SOUTH EGREMONT MA Karen Oberlin: Aug 13, Sat 7pm and 9pm
THE GUTHRIE CENTER 2 Van Deusenville Rd, Gt Barrington, MA • 413-528-1955 / guthriecenter.org/ Eli Catlin, Aug 12, 8pm. Lucy Kaplansky, Aug 20, Vishten, Sept 2
THEATRE
HELSINKI CAFE 405 COLUMBIA ST, HUDSON, NY • 518-828-4800 info@helsinkihudson.com Rich Robinson, Aug 13 MAC-HAYDN THEATRE 1925 NEW YORK 203, CHATHAM, NY 518-392-9292 / www.machaydntheatre.org/ Sister Act, aug 11 - 21.
SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY 70 KEMBLE ST. LENOX, MA • 413-637-1199 www.shakespeare.org/ Ugly Lies the Bone, June 16-August 28; Twelfth Night, July 14-August 20; The Merchant of Venice, July 1-August 21; Or, July 23-September 4
SHARON PLAYHOUSE 49 AMENIA ROAD, SHARON CT • 860-364-7469 QUARTET Performances: August 18-28 A Play by Ronald Harwood; I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE:PerformancesAugust 4-14; Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro. Music by Jimmy Roberts.
WAM THEATRE The Oregon Trail by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Estefanía Fadul; August 21, Samsara by Lauren Yee, directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian; and September 11, Grand Concourse by Heidi Shreck, directed by Sheila Siragusa.
FILM
OUTDOOR FAMILY FILMS IN WILLIAMSTOWN WILLIAMSTOWN, MA Images Cinema's Family Flicks Under the Stars Images Cinema is pleased to announce its 10th season of Family Flicks Under the Stars, its outdoor summer film series. Each film screens at sundown (around 8:15/8:30pm) on Morgan Lawn at the top of Spring Street, Williamstown, MA. Family Flicks is free to attend, fun for all ages. Concessions will be available onsite. Bring your own chairs, blankets, and bug spray.
BERKSHIRE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL LENOX MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL, LENOX, MA 30th year of American, international and Israeli films on Mondays from July 11, 2016 to August 15, 2016. Matinee at 4 pm and Evening at 8 pm. Speakers and discussion after the films
WORKSHOPS
SABINE VOLLMER VON FALKEN PHOTOGRAPHY Please call for workshop schedule Studio 413 429 6510. Hm 413 298 4933
BERKSHIRE SOUTH COMMUNITY CENTER 15 Crissey Rd, Gt Barrington, MA • 413 528-2810 Viennese Waltz, Aug 8-Aug 29, 7-8:30pm. For adults including seniors. The fast paced Viennese Waltz originated in Austria and is extremely popular in the ballroom environment. Beginner level course, however some dance experience is recommended. Both couples and singles are welcome to attend
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THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 7
CREATIVE TRANSITIONS
GREENHAIGH, OSCEOLA VALLEY
DOUGLASS TRUTH
AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH DEATH, HERSELF.
GOOD PURPOSE GALLERY CAROL MOORE, FIVE FOR THE FETTUCINI, W/C
RICHMOND WEST STOCKBRIDGE ARTISTS GUILD
The Good Purpose Gallery welcomes the Richmond West Stockbridge Artists Guild Inc. (RWSAG) for the fall show, “Many Hands, Multiple Methods”. This exhibit includes nearly 30 artists and runs through November 1. Please join us at the gallery on Friday, September 23, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm for a festive opening reception and an opportunity to meet the artists and hear their stories. The lively and fresh work that RWSAG presents ranges from realistic to abstract, tiny to floor-to-ceiling and various mediums such as fiber art, photographs, watercolors, oil and acrylic paintings, encaustics, collages, mixed media, stained glass, ceramics and sculpture. Artists and supporters formed the guild in 2015 to encourage, support and promote the artwork of Berkshire artists. The guild exhibits and sells local artwork, educates members and the public about art and hopes to contribute to the quality of life in the Berkshires. Good Purpose Gallery and Spectrum Playhouse are professional venues that exist to offer students real-life training, experience and integration with the community. Both venues host professional artists and events on a regular basis throughout the year, including student events such as plays, performances, art exhibits, and more. Good Purpose Gallery - 40 Main Street, Lee, Massachusetts. The gallery is open 9am - 3pm Wednesday Monday. For more information on the Gallery, visit our website: Goodpurpose.org
Lauren Clark Fine Art will present performances of Douglass Truth's one-act, one-woman show “An Intimate Evening with Death, Herself” Thursday”, August 11 through Sunday, August 14. The show is about 90 minutes long, and is suitable for young teenagers to adults. The show is written and performed by Douglass Truth. Dorothy, a middle-aged waitress, meets Death in a bar. He's unhappy, bored, and ready for something new. So is she. They repair to a Denny's Restaurant for a snack. And, after 49 solid days in a back booth at a Denny's restaurant, she replaces him. As Dorothy herself says, “We met. One thing led to another—as usual—and now I'm it. Death. And with all due respect for the previous occupant, our new regime is going to be all about a friendlier face for Death, including education, outreach, and much more.” As one example she cites the new Death Pre-Registration Card that allows you to set up an account, get a minion assigned to your case, as well as make a list of your life regrets before you die. “It's amazingly handy and easy to use,” says Dorothy. While Death is unfortunately still mandatory, Dorothy claims that there are exciting new options and upgrades in the works. "You can't cheat Death," she says, "but you can work with me." Douglass Truth is a painter, writer, and performer. He has been represented by galleries in New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Indiana, and California. He is the author of 3 books: I Am A Dog, Revolution of Flowers, and Everything I Know about Death, Subject to Verification. Truth lives—for now—in Nevada City, CA, but is contemplating opening an actual small teahouse somewhere in Montana. The show dates and times are: Thursday, August 11, 7pm; Friday, August 12, 7pm; Saturday, August 13, 7pm; Sunday, August 14, 4pm. Tickets are $15 and available at the gallery or through the gallery website-LaurenClarkFineArt.com. There you will find the links to each of the shows. Lauren Clark Fine Art - 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com, Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com, 413-528-0432.
You know the things that I am afraid of I’m not afraid to tell And if we ever leave a legacy It’s that we loved each other well Cause I’ve seen the shadows of so many people Trying on the treasures of youth But a road that fancy and fast Ends in a fatal crash And I’m glad we got off To tell you the truth --Indigo Girls “Power of Two”
8 • 2016 AUGUST THE ARTFUL MIND
EILEEN MAHONEY
More and more people are daring to "color outside the lines", learning to express their innate creativity in a variety of art media that give voice to their desires, longings, wishes. Creative Transitions, is an expressive arts practice that engages individuals and groups in the exploration of different art media as a way to tap into their own innate creativity. Below is a sampling of upcoming program offerings of explorations in August and through the Fall: Creativity Unstuck, part of an exhibition at St. Francis Gallery, Rt. 102, Lee, Ma., is an exhibition of expressive arts students work, some based on their exploration of Julia Cameron’s Artist's Way. Opening reception on August 20 from 3-6 pm. The common thread of their work is their desire to move more fully into their creative expression. Their work reflects their process of reclaiming their voice, gaining confidence in their own craft and developing their willingness to show up- in their work, in the gallery and in life. Art in the Adirondacks- September 9 - 11: a week-end for women to relax into their creative selves at a 100 + year old “camp” in the Adirondacks at Big Moose Lake (the fire boy starts the fire in your cabin every morning!). Everything provided. Just bring yourself! Artist's Way- Wednesdays, September 14 - December 14, a 12-week process to clear any blocks and reframe old beliefs, enabling you to move forward to create, claim and "voice" your own creative expression- whatever your chosen medium. Based on Julia Cameron's Artist's Way. Mindful Art and the Art of Mindfulness- An exploration of being present to oneself and one's art as a way to create mindfully and be more fully present if life. Dates TBD. Mindful, Creative Recovery - a 6 week practice group for those recovering from addictions. Participants will learn mindfulness meditation, and art as skillful tools to continue recovery, develop resilience and meet life's challenges. Date TDB Expressive Arts is predicated on the knowing that each individual is creative and that tapping into that creativity is a doorway into each person's spirit that can become a path to resilience and joy in everyday life. The focus is on process, not producing a finished piece. NO ART EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY: JUST AN OPEN MIND. All groups will be facilitated by Eileen Mahoney, MA, Expressive Arts Therapist and Coach. Eileen combines her practice of Mindfulness and Sufism in her Expressive Arts work to serve a wide range of clients: adults and adolescents who are at a point of change in their lives: those who want to tap into their creativity and may be stuck in some way; or those who may have experienced trauma, addiction, loss & grief. Creative Transitions - For more information, call Eileen at 413-441-4258 or email: creativetransitionsberkshires@gmail.com
SHIMMERING WATER SERIES, EAST/WEST, 2011 18" X 18" EACH DRAWING
MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER,
BERKSHIRE CRAFTS FAIR MONUMENT MOUNTAIN REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Now in its 43rd year, the Berkshire Crafts Fair will return to Monument Mountain Regional High School August 12 – 14, from 10 am to 5 pm each day. The fair will showcase the work of 89 artisans (35 of whom are new), carefully selected by jury for the quality and variety of their offerings. Visitors can expect a wide array of products and prices in each category of craft, from contemporary and traditional jewelry, to furniture, ceramics, textiles, glassware, and more. One hallmark of the fair is its breadth: the exhibition and sale draws master artisans from as far away as California and Florida as well as many regional artists. Admission to the fair is $8 and children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge. The show emphasizes quality, and variety. Since its beginnings in 1974, the Berkshire Crafts Fair has been recognized nationally as a major destination for fine arts and crafts. The fair was included on the “Harris List of the Nation’s Best Arts and Crafts Shows” and granted the “Sunshine Artist 200 Best Award” by Sunshine Artist Arts and Crafts Fair Magazine. Artistic Director Neel Webber describes the environment at the Berkshire Crafts Fair in two words: “comfortable and beautiful.” Webber continued: “It’s a great way to spend an afternoon. It’s not large; it’s not small. The crafts are very high quality. The focus is on looking at the work and meeting the artists. You get to see contemporary crafts, meet the artists, and ask them questions.” He adds “It’s being run by the community – students, faculty, and the community at large.” This is a unique community effort, with unique student rewards. “There are a lot of students inspired by what they see” said Webber. Students of Monument Mountain Regional High School form an integral part of the operation at the fair. In turn, they have the opportunity to witness professional art in the making. As Webber noted, “There are people [artisans] making a living, making art. They are generally happy and they’re professional artists contributing to society. “Students are exposed to a community effort that raises a lot of money and brings good will to them. They are greatly appreciated. They’re proud of that.” The Berkshire Crafts Fair is a not-for –profit event that generates funds for scholarships and educational endeavors at Monument Mountain Regional High School. Proceeds from the fair have funded an impressive array of special projects for faculty and staff at Monument Mountain Regional High School. Over the past 42 years, revenue from the fair has provided the school with over $75,000 in scholarships for graduates, a new track and tennis courts, a student center, air conditioning in the school auditorium and gymnasium, world travel for teachers and students, and a variety of equipment for the school at large.
FROM ROCKEFELLER CENTER TO RAILROAD STREET GEOFFREY MOSS
The Process In 2011 the international architectural firm Gensler, in Rockefeller Center, asked Geoffrey Moss to create works to occupy that firm’s massive spaces of sliding and stabile walls, cubicles that morphed into conference rooms. The proposed project was to be installed for three months. The agenda: to have Moss create works to co-exist with actual working spaces for designers and architects. Here, a unique challenge for the artist, perhaps a counterpoint to his career of showing works in galleries, collaborating for stage sets, and inking graphic political newspaper statements; environments of somewhat more traditional contemplation. Moss recalls “…. I was pleased to be offered the project; loved the space, moving white walls, and natural light, advantaged views of all New York below. Simultaneously, I was acutely aware that early on some purist Yale architecture classmates debated against precious spaces being “mucked up” by the “distraction of ART!” Would Ayn Rand approve of my visual intrusion?”
The Solution The artist realized his initial idea to celebrate “contemporary space.” Maquettes were first done, followed by a total of 35 paintings and works on paper. Because of his background allegiance to Bauhaus geometry, recognizable structured forms of nature inherent in his previous works appear, punctuated by energetic drawing in black and grays. After two seasons of painting, the installation was completed, exhibited, and extended for an extra month through January 2012. Beginning this month, The Lauren Clark Gallery will offer a small selection of pieces by Geoffrey Moss from that New York installation. Lauren Clark Fine Art - 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com, www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com, 413-5280432.
SCHANTZ GALLERIES CONTEMPORARY GLASS CHANDELIER BY DALE CHIHULY
Schantz Galleries Contemporary Glass has expanded into an additional showroom located at the train station in Stockbridge. The historic “Stockbridge Station” is located at 2 Depot Street, only 3/10 of a mile from the gallery’s Elm Street location. The 120 year-old landmark building offers a very unique environment for exhibiting and viewing works by contemporary artists working in glass. The current exhibition features many large scale sculptures and is a group show with works by Rik Allen, Alex Bernstein, Peter Bremers, Nancy Callan, José Chardiet, Robin Grebe, Richard Jolley, Tommie Rush, Thomas Scoon and Bertil Vallien. Stockbridge Station - August hours at the “Station” are Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.; 413-298-5163. Schantz Galleries, 3 Elm Street, Stockbridge is open daily in August from 10-6. 413-298-3044; www.schantzgalleries.com
“My boyfriends back and your gonna be in trouble- hay-la! hay-la! My boyfriends back!” --From the second studio album released by the American pop girl group The Angels
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 9
CREATIVE TRANSITIONS Creative Transitions, is an expressive arts practice that engages individuals and groups in the exploration of different art media as a way to tap into their own innate creativity. ART IN THE ADIRONDACKS September 9 - 11
A week-end for women to relax into their creative selves at a 100+ year old “camp” in the Adirondacks at Big Moose Lake (the fire boy starts the fire in your cabin every morning!). Everything provided. Just bring yourself!
ARTIST'S WAY September 14 - December 14
A 12 week process to clear any blocks and reframe old beliefs, enabling you to move forward to create, claim and "voice" your own creative expression- whatever your chosen medium. Based on Julia Cameron's Artist's Way.
Creative Transitions - For more information, call Eileen at 413- 441-4258 or email: creativetransitionsberkshires@gmail.com
10 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
Creativity UNSTUCK
SAINT FRANCIS GALLERY
A curated display of Expressive Arts Student's work, designed by Eileen Mahoney Part of a larger new exhibit at the Gallery
Opening reception Saturday, August 20 from 3-6pm Eileen is an Expressive Arts Therapist whose practice empowers individuals to harness their creative energies. FaceBook: Creative Transitions email: creativetransitionsberkshires@gmail.com
1370 Pleasant Street, Rte 102 Lee, MA (next to fire dept) www.saintfrancisgallery.com 413. 717. 5199 Open Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon 10-5
G. Moss, Primary Statement, 2012, oil on canvas, 48"x48"
GEOFFREY MOSS New Works
LAUREN CLARK FINE ART
25 Railroad St. Great Barrington, MA 413.528.0432 Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com www.ClarkFineArt.com
LAureN CLArk FiNe Art presents
“COlOR EnVY”
three Great Minds in living Color
dAVid EddY JUliO GRAndA dOUGlASS tRUtH August 6 through August 28
Reception for the Artists, Saturday, August 6, 4-7pm
25 RAilROAd StREEt, GREAt BARRinGtOn, MA 413-528-0432 LaurenClarkFineArt.com
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 11
JOHN CLARKE THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF INTERVIEW BY HARRYET
Harryet: John, I love your photographs, and I definitely see them as art. They are dreamy, mysterious, colorful, sensitive, interesting, and show you have a sharp eye. Can you tell me what techniques you work with to get those effects? And are there any new techniques you’re currently exploring? John Clarke: Thanks, Harryet. I think a big part of what you’re describing in my photographs stems from my background as a painter. Although it’s not the only approach I take with my photography, most of what I’ve been sharing lately has a painterly feel, and that comes from a few different shooting and processing techniques. Some images are best shown in sharp focus, so for those I use a tripod or some other stabilizer, even if it’s just the side of a building or an old fence post, to try to get the most crisp image I can. Windows, especially fogged or grimy ones with multiple panes a couple of inches apart, are great, because I can press the lens (or iPhone) right against one pane for stability, and use the other as a natural filter. Much of what I’ve been working on lately has been shot with some sort of purposeful blur. I have a really basic digital SLR (a Nikon D40), and over a few years of experimentation I’ve found that by shooting with a shutter speed of between a half a second and two seconds under really low light, especially at dusk, I can move the camera organically, responding to the scene, like a gesture drawing, and get photographs that look like pastel drawings. I have also discovered a smartphone camera app
12 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
CANDEE
called Slow Shutter, which allows me to shoot long exposures with my iPhone. Again, moving the camera (phone) while shooting blurs and softens the subject, and editing options in the app allow me to clarify and refine the degree and sharpness of the blur. After capture, I do minimal processing of the Nikon images, relying primarily on the effect created by low light, long exposure and movement. Images shot with the iPhone often go through a series of processing apps, from grit and scratch filters to tonal adjustments and edging. I let the painter in me lead the way as I explore variations of a single image until I settle on one that feels right. As both my Nikon and the iPhone generate such small image files, I don’t do any cropping. I have also been actually drawing, and in some cases painting, on my photographs, although I do this on a very selective basis. Only certain images warrant this approach, but the potential for this type of work is infinite and exciting. Having a family, working at Sohn Fine Art and Lauren Clark Fine Art, how do you find time to shoot creative photographs? John: I was doing a lot of drawing in Orrin’s first year, before he was mobile. I could carve out bits of time here and there and was surprised how much work I could really get done, despite my busy schedule. But as soon as Orrin started walking, it became harder and harder to do anything “studio based” unless he was sleeping. One of the great advantages of digital photography is that the dark-
room is now your home computer, and—even more conveniently—with iPhone photography, you can shoot, edit, process and export images all from your phone. The iPhone becomes a portable console with almost all the tools you need to take and refine beautiful photographs. Since the iPhone is so small (and most of us have them on us anyway), every walk, every trip, every drive, is potentially a photo opportunity, if you’re observant and quick. Editing can be done anywhere, at any time of day. After an exhausting day, sinking into the couch with some wine between 10:30 and 11:30 pm and exploring the images of the day with creative apps is a wonderful way to keep working, without the commitment of both time and energy that the studio or darkroom demands. It must be like a pleasant escape for you in some ways—to get into your own head and discover nature and life the way you do. Are you content with the time you’re allowed to spend on shooting, with all the other wonderful but time-consuming things in your life? John: I would love to wake up in the morning with nothing on my plate except my family and my creative work. I think that, in our own ways, most artists I know are striving for that. But the reality is that the majority of us also have to bring in a steady enough income so that the stress of daily life isn’t debilitating. I work in two visual art galleries, so I am constantly surrounded by art at work. I feel lucky for that.
Bartholomew’s Cobble. John Clarke
Milkweed. John Clarke
I don’t think of my creative work as an escape, although I do loose time when I’m engaged in a creative project, so I am certainly transported, however briefly, from the endless responsibilities and demands of daily life. But I don’t feel that those demands are in any way a negative… they are not something to be escaped from. It’s simply that I create compulsively, and so I need to have an outlet for it, regardless of how much else is vying for my time, energy or attention.
Which of your photographs do you think hold an abundance of important info? Which ones define what you’d like to say with your work? John: I think some images are successful, and most aren’t. But each day brings the hope that I’ll capture something that moves me. I do have a few favorite images, but they tend to change over time… I can look back over the years and see the refinement of my eye, the evolution of my vision. What drove me five years ago doesn’t drive me now. Whether you notice the growth or not, if you do something on a
daily basis, you grow. A visual artist happens to leave behind the visual evidence of that growth. With the right kind of eyes, it’s there to see. There are some touchstone pieces that are landmarks in my own development, at least as far as I see it. I just had a show called The Bridge, which was really a celebration of my artistic evolution over the past four years, bridging the gap between the painter and photographer in me. The show highlighted crucial pieces in my development, culminating in a large-scale mixed media piece. A year before, I showed a series of pieces inspired by a poem I wrote when Orrin was born. The year before that, it was a series of photos of Housatonic from my apartment window. Each show is the biggest show, the most important thing I’ve done, until it’s done, and then it’s onward again. But separate from images that I feel to be artistically “important,” there are also just those random images that, for whatever reason, work. They speak to me, as though I weren’t the artist. The reason they work is a mystery, and I’m happy to let that
mystery remain. I just feel it. These are usually the ones that I hang at home.
Do you feel you are trying to provide new ways of seeing for your viewers? John: Honestly, I am not creating anything for an audience. I don’t mean to sound all Howard Roark, but it’s the truth. I have found that showing and sharing my art has its importance to me as a person, but my drive and commitment to create is purely personal. As Bono puts it, “I’m just trying to find a decent melody, a song that I can sing in my own company.” I am the only audience and critic during creation. With that in mind, I feel that I spend time in a few different camps… there are traditional techniques that I love, and yet part of me wants to see something I’ve never seen before. This brings up something fundamental: how one defines a visual artist. Depending on whom you ask, you can get such a wide range of answers. Some say an artist is one who can draw and render with deadly accuracy.
Continued on next page... THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 13
Painted Marsh. John Clarke
Others cite conceptual artists who are creating spaces and situations to stimulate thought, discussion, and dialogue. There are a lot of Johns kicking around inside me, and they all have their own feelings about these things. Usually, the image at hand speaks to one John over the others, and the decisions I make finalizing a piece are inherent in the type of image I’m working on. Different images play to the different facets of my aesthetic sense, and I let the image dictate the end result.
You document history through your eyes—such as the growing and changing of your son. Time flies, and you are there to watch him grow up. Do you ever think of photographing him and your wife as a way of slowing down time, documenting and feeling a sense of appreciation and pride? John: This has never been more true for me now that I have a son. I only notice how much he’s grown and changed when I see pictures of him. Before he was born, I felt I had no ability to shoot images of people. I think my desire to capture and share the incredible person I see in him has helped 14 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
me develop as a photographer.
What are you working on at the present time? Is it a new body of work, a new series? Where is your head at with your art in this great month of July in the Berkshires?!! John: The Bridge show in April was exhausting to me on so many levels and, in a way, brought me up to date with my vision. Although I continue to shoot daily, I don’t have a new series or a new show in the works. I do have two major projects vying for my time right now, neither of which is visuallybased. In the summer of 2000, I spent three weeks learning to ride freight trains with my best friend John Roberts, and the story of that initial trip has been kicking around in me for sixteen years. A few years back, I isolated sixty short stories from those three weeks on the tracks, and I’m only now trying to work those into a novel. Three years ago, Geoff Young said to me, “You’ll think it’s finished, and then you’ll spend five years tweaking the language to get it right.” I resented that statement at the time, but it’s proven true. Through the Berkshire International Film Festival, I had the great privilege of
Path. John Clarke
meeting and talking at length with the actor Michael Harney about the artist’s responsibility to create and share, and he warned me about the “paralysis of integrity.” It was a big aha moment for me… not getting so hung up perfecting something that you never share it. His wisdom re-inspired me in a big way. I’m also always interested in recording my songs. I have one CD, All Beneath Our Train, that I recorded and mixed, and another called Rooms, with the band Bell Engine, but I have a new batch of songs that I’d love to work on. Recording songs is so time-consuming, and necessitates a lot of time isolated in “headphone land,” so it proves to be the most challenging work with my current lifestyle. But I’m planning on tackling that over the next year, with my good friend Chuck Colonair taking the role of a producer, helping me articulate my musical ideas through various instruments and recording approaches. What are the challenges that pop up at this point in your creative thinking? John: Too many ideas, not enough time or re-
Rains Bring Autumn In. John Clarke
sources to see them through. That’s a big one. Another is a lack of understanding of how to bring a project, like a children’s book or a novel, into the hands of the right person or people to get them off the ground. It’s probably pretty common, but when time and resources are limited, it’s so easy to just continue to operate in your comfort zone and let everything outside that fall away, with the excuse that you simply “don’t have enough time.” Building a website is a perfect example… I don’t have the money to pay a professional, nor do I prioritize the time it would take to learn to do it myself… instead I just keep creating, working, enjoying my family— and things like a website, or the creative projects too far down the list, just wait Clearly you photograph for yourself first—important as an artist—but do you go beyond that then, and start considering what other people might like, what they might buy? Or is that just not important to you? John: I wish I had more commercial sense when it comes to creating. The wonderful photographer
John Atchley, who is also represented by Sohn Fine Art, has a very successful series of soft focus images, reminiscent of Rothko’s colorfield paintings, that sell very well. I am happy for him, because I know that he has had that lucky occurrence of creating something as an artist that has also become widely popular with a general audience. He did not set out to make pictures that would sell; they just happen to. I can’t even pretend to understand how to create an image or series that would sell. I just do my work the best way I know how. But this is one of the ways that a gallery can help an artist. A gallery owner, in my case Cassandra Sohn of Sohn Fine Art, helps present her artists to the public in a consistent, cohesive way. She doesn’t tell her artists what to do, but she does have a say in what her gallery shows. So in that way, she is acting as a type of filter between the artist and a potential buyer. When do you put down the camera and enjoy your son? John: Believe it or not, I don’t have the camera with
me most times I’m with Orrin. What I do try to do though is see when a moment is special and catch it. I don’t follow him around all day shooting, but I shoot a lot of images a few moments each day… when he’s playing in a strange shadow pattern, or I have an extraordinary view of him throwing rocks… I think part of the secret is grabbing the camera and getting it set to shoot in as little time as possible. Most moments are too fleeting to capture, and it’s easy to get frustrated when you try. But Liz, Orrin and I live in an idyllic spot in North Egremont, with meadows and horses and barns and dirt roads, so walking with Orrin with the iPhone in my pocket allows me to enjoy him and still grab some images in the moments that stand out for me. I use Facebook like a website, so as far as social media is concerned, it may look like I spend all day running behind him with a camera. But in truth, I enjoy being with him more than taking pictures of him, so it feels balanced. In some ways, our artwork helps us all to overcome obstacles in our lives. Amazingly, it just does that. Maybe you can look at your camera Continued on next page...
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 15
Housi Corner Market. John Clarke
and say, You, my magical metal object, have helped me to manage to live decently. So do you ever think you’d rather be spending time with your equipment and your craft, than doing the work you have to do to get by? John: I’m not much of a gear head. I don’t geek out on lenses or camera bodies or guitar amps or microphones. I have some simple equipment that allows me to explore my creativity. Throughout my life I’ve felt equally creative, whether it’s with paint and canvas or an iPhone, an old four-track cassette recorder or ProTools. I’m fairly adaptable, and will make do with what’s available. Having said that, there’s no denying the incredible impact that technology has had on the tools available to us, and the creative fields are no exception. Once I am comfortable with the tools readily available to me, I will suck them dry exploring the creative options they afford. But I don’t feel indebted to the tools. They simply define how my creative spirit comes across at any given time in my life. Regarding any feeling of conflict about creating verses “doing real work,” it’s only when a creative deadline is looming that I feel my jobs get in the way. As I said, I long for a time when my family and my art are how I spend my time, but as I’ve also 16 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
said, I understand the challenges of living here in the Berkshires, contributing to the raising of a family, and trying to remain active as an artist. I don’t need to waste any energy wishing things were different. There are lots of ways to steal a bit of time here and there to create. I worked on The Bridge nights, after Orrin was asleep, often between 2 and 6 am. It wasn’t hard while it was happening. I had a deadline and the energy was there. It may not be like that always, but I’d much rather get out of bed and work than lie awake all night worrying about it. Where and when can we see your work this summer? Website? Show? And how would you say you fit in now as an artist in the Berkshires? John: I’d love to say that my website will be live by the time this article is out, but the truth is it won’t. Sohn Fine Art has an Artist Page on their website for all their photographers, and many of my images are available online there (sohnfineart.com). I also always have work at the gallery (69 Church Street, Lenox). And as I’ve mentioned, I will continue to use Facebook to share images, so that is a good way to see what I am up to. I don’t have any shows planned at this point, but I never know…
often, the birth of a show is as simple as considering what I’m already doing in a new light. The Berkshires… what a wealth of creativity and thought. I am one of so many artists trying to find their way, their place in the world. I think there is a mutual respect among the creative individuals you come across here, but we’re all working hard toward our personal goals, and in that way, it’s fractured and personal. That’s not a criticism of anything. That’s the way it should be. If I wish for anything, it’s that what I have, in the various facets of my life, continues, while the financial pressures slowly lessen. Thank you, John!
F
rOBert FOrte
robertforte.com Crossroads, Oil on Canvas
ELEANOR LORD
ELEANORLORD.COM
Mary Carol Rudin
"Round in Atmosphere", Acrylic on Canvas, 18 x 24
www.mcrudin.com 510 WARREN STREET GALLERY
510 WARREN STREET, HUDSON, NY 518-822-0510 (Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5 or by app) 510warrenstreetgallery@gmail.com 510warrenstreetgallery.com
510
WARREN ST GALLERY
Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops, 27 x 26 inches, Oil on Canvas
JeNNiFer PAzieNzA
jennpazienza@gmail.com http://jenniferpazienza.com/
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 17
WHERE TROUBLES MELT LIKE LEMON DROPS BY JENNIFER PAZIENZA
It is mid July. I am writing from an apartment in lower Manhattan on Broome Street, a renovated icehouse adjacent to Little Italy. A landscape that recalls memories from another life, a landscape far removed from my Keswick Ridge studio. It is warm, but cool enough to have the windows open—a breeze blows through the 6th floor apartment. Looking out the north west-facing window the city sprawl vibrates beneath me, pulsing with life. It is twilight, a magical time. I think of Piet Mondrian and his syncopated Broadway Boogie-Woogie and wonder what it must have been like for him to re-create all that energy.
BROADWAY BOOGIE-WOOGIE PIET MONDRIAN *https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Piet _Mondrian%2C_1942_-_Broadway_Boogie_Woogie.jpg
The painting has been a part of my teaching repertoire through my entire art education career. From years as an elementary art teacher to a university art education professor. An undergraduate music student once recreated the painting in a musical score. To its colours and geometry, she assigned each square and rectangle quarter, half and full notes, as well as rests for the white spaces. Fascinating. Intellectually I have always appreciated the painting and how in it, Mondrian reconstructs and joins his love of Boo-
gie-woogie dance music with an interpretation of the street and vehicle lights he saw from his NYC apartment. Yet, there has always been something missing from the painting for me, although there was no room to say that in the art history courses I took. I was taught to regard it as an important work of modern art. Feminist interpretations were not on offer and what I felt about the painting was irrelevant. Tonight, some 40 years later I Google the image. I look and listen to its rhythm against the accelerated melody I here outside my window. I find several You-Tube examples of Boogie-woogie and listen to those. The painting is so tidy compared to the music I hear and the activity I witness on the streets below. I imagine a dancing Mondrian. Then it comes to me. Although Broadway Boogie-Woogie rightly holds a significant place in American Abstract Art, the sounds and smells that rise up and surround me, that certainly surrounded Mondrian from the streets and in the dance halls over 70 years ago, the diversity of humanity that is this city, that is its life-blood, is what is missing. Mondrian constrains the unruly cacophony to a grid of primary colours, the grid becoming a checkpoint for Modernity. I am reminded that Mondrian believed the act of abstraction brings us closer to the fundamental quality of objects, closer to truth. Notice the word objects. He does not say subjects. Broadway Boogie-Woogie speaks to his faith in abstraction as the means by which we arrive at “the mystical energy that is the balance of opposites.” What interests me is how Mondrian’s abstraction grew from his landscape painting, particularly his tree paintings and how that connection was omitted from my modern art history classes. Not surprising since my formation as a painter and art educator in the 60s, early 70s still prized an aesthetic of flatness, one that was slowly giving way to Postmodernism, but could not yet possess its own reflexivity. Even a cursory look reveals to us how his particular abstraction contributed to and fulfilled the myths of early Modernism and a desire to control the messiness of nature. In these tree images we begin to see the geometry that would transform and dominate organic positive and negative space and make Broadway Boogie-Woogie possible.
birth of our grandson underscored by an emergency C-section. My mind turns to a reflection on his birth and the birth of a painting and I am humbly reminded that my work as a painter pales by comparison. Then reflection on the gift of his creation and birth reminds me too, that while the product may seem otherwise, the process of re-creating lived experiences in paint, is anything but tidy and orderly. With no interest in diminishing its historical relevance, it must be admitted that Broadway Boogie-Woogie is an illusion of tidiness, and an illusion that the mystical is reached through orderly abstraction. Broadway BoogieWoogie is the product of particular myths, held by an individual born into a particular historical period.* My grandson is a spiritual, organic, dynamic being who may grow up to hold Broadway Boogie-Woogie in high regard. But will he like me, find himself alienated from it too? Will he recognize that the grid of geometric primary colours veils, rather than reveals fundamental truths? That the rhetoric surrounding the painting speaks to the beliefs of a particular art historical moment? That the beauty of artistic creation, like birth and life is messier than that? That the re-creation of tree branches as branches for example, without the overlay of intentional abstraction, can speak to truths that bring us closer to how it is human nature is not different, or separate from all other Nature? That we can look to Mondrian’s early tree paintings and see how they speak to contemporary life? How it is we desperately need them to. *For more on this, please take a look at Rosalind Krauss, Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/originality-avant-gardeand-other-modernist-myths Jennifer Pazienza’s work is held in Public and Corporate Collections in the Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta and in numerous private collections throughout the US, Canada and Italy. Jennifer regularly exhibits in the Berkshire area, most recently at the 510 Warren Street Gallery June 2016 Invitational Group Show in Hudson, NY. Website: http://jenniferpazienza.com/ Email: jennpazienza@gmail.com
HTTP://WWW.BING.COM/IMAGES/SEARCH?Q=MONDRIAN+LAN DSCAPES&FORM=HDRSC2
Although I live in New Brunswick, Canada, I was born across the Hudson River in New Jersey. In my early childhood we would make our way to Brooklyn to visit our extended Sicilian immigrant family. That was over fifty years ago. This week I return to Brooklyn to witness the untidy
(Chekhov’s) The Seagull is nonsense and utterly worthless. It was written just as Ibsen writes his plays . . . The play is chock full of all sorts of things, but no one really knows what they are for. And Europe shouts, “Wonderful!” . . . Chekhov is one of our most gifted writers, but The Seagull is a very bad play.” --Leo Tolstoy, (regarding the Petersburg Premier of the play) -- 1897 18 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
CAMP KINDERLAND ARTS & ACTIVISM FESTIVAL
The celebrated progressive movement institution Camp Kinderland will launch its first ever Kinderland Arts & Activism Festival in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts this Labor Day weekend. The Kinderland Arts & Activism Festival aims to foster artistic collaboration for social justice, and bring together musicians, artists, and dancers, with activists and organizers for a celebration of art as an agent of peace. Headlining the festival are folk musician and songwriter Dar Williams, famous for her top-selling independent folk albums in the 1990s and dedication to social causes, and Guy Davis, son of artists and civil rights activists Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, and a world renowned Blues artist in his own right. The festival will feature more than twenty musical guests from around the world, and from a variety of genres, including folk/americana, jazz, Latin, East African, klezmer, children’s, hip hop, and funk. The festival line-up can be viewed here. The festival is family-friendly, and children under the age of 18 get free admission with a guardian. In addition to the musical guests, social justice activism will also play an essential role in the festival. “The goal is for the music and visual arts to draw in fans and unite people in celebration of their common values, then provide them with access to activists, resources, and organizations that can engage them in social causes, both locally and internationally,” says Ileana Font-Soloway, Camp Kinderland’s Development Director and festival organizer. “By providing access to educational workshops that advocate for the role of the arts in social justice activism, led by some of the same artists putting on a great concert, people will leave the festival with the tools necessary to make a social impact, and the event will inevitably produce agents for social change.” Camp Kinderland is a logical venue for such an event, with its 93-year history of social justice activism. A children’s sleepaway camp that was started as a summer getaway from the tenements of New York City in 1923, it maintains its mission of integrating progressive values with arts, recreation, and activism through its summer programming. Providing scholarship tuition assistance for many of its campers every year, it has a diverse camper and alumni base of families looking to reinforce the progressive values they instill at home, and teach the social justice history often missing in a traditional school curriculum. “When I first came to Camp Kinderland in 2011, I saw that line of pro-union bumper stickers on the staff cars, and I walked in past all those posters of peace activists, and I said, ‘Oh, I see you're that kind of camp,’ said Dar Williams. “That was the beginning of a very enlightening day. I'd never heard the Internationale in four-part harmony, not before or since. What a joy to add my voice to yours!” Camp Kinderland - 1543 Colebrook River Road, Tolland, Massachusetts. More information and ticket sales available at http://campkinderland.org/festival/tickets/
WATERCOLORS
CUSTOM HOUSE PORTRAIT IN WATERCOLOR
MARGUERITE BRIDE
This is a great time to commission a house portrait. For locations near the Berkshires, Marguerite Bride will do the photo shoot herself, but if you live afar, not a problem… .you take the photos and send to her. The process is straight forward….she will do a drawing for you to approve; you may make additions, deletions, you can even decide on season and time of day. It’s a delightful journey for all involved. Visit Bride’s website for more details and a portfolio of custom house portraits she has done. And don’t forget….she’ll do houses, barns, businesses, a special scene too… you name it. Commissioned work is always welcome. Known primarily for her custom house portraits and watercolors of the Berkshires, Marguerite Bride’s repertoire includes far more than that. Take a look at her online portfolio for a visit to Italy, Ireland, France, Mexico, England and other far flung destinations. You will also see lighthouses from near and far (even Lake Superior), quaint New England scenes, and some fascinating moonscapes. And the most recently added “Jazz Visions” page. Marguerite Bride will be exhibiting her paintings in two more venues during late summer and autumn: Jazz Visions, a duo exhibit with Lee Everett is on view at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield until August 27. Gallery is open Wednesdays – Saturdays, 11 am – 5 pm. Stockbridge Summer Arts & Crafts Show, Main Street, Stockbridge on August 20 and 21. This is a free event and is open on Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 10-4. Marguerite Bride – Home Studio at 46 Glory Drive, Pittsfield, Massachusetts by appointment only. Call 413841-1659 or 413-442-7718; margebride-paintings.com; margebride@aol.com; Facebook: Marguerite Bride Watercolors.
L’ATELIER BERKSHIRES ART GALLERY GROUP EXHIBITION TAJ MONGIARDO, THE CUBE, CAST ACRYLIC 9X9
L’Atelier Berkshires Art Gallery proudly presents “L’Atelier Artist Group Exhibition” featuring major works from masterful contemporary artists. Exhibiting furniture and fine art by Nicholas, Taj, Massimo, Carlo Mongiardo. Paintings by Kiki Dufault, John Ratajkowski, and Eamonn O’Boyle. Sculpture by Sarah Logan, Eva Connell and Natalie Tyler. Exhibition runs from August 1- 31. Find and take home extraordinary glass, bronze, ceramic and acrylic sculptures. One-of–a-kind oil paintings and encaustics by remarkable painters. Exceptional and rare contemporary furniture designs by the best designers out there. Discover fresh and innovative contemporary art at L'Atelier Berkshires Art Gallery and Studio. Unique paintings and sculpture by prominent artists are on exhibition in a historic Great Barrington building. Sculpture casting and mold making services are available for artists and designers. L’Atelier Berkshires - 597 Main Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 11am-5pm, and by appointment. For more information contact: Natalie Tyler, 510-469-5468, natalie.tyler@atelierberks.com; www.atelierberks.com
Summer Hours: Open Thursday, Sunday and Monday 10am – 4pm Friday and Saturday 10am – 8pm
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 19
Grier Horner My Life As A Dog. oil on canvas, 70 x 46”, 2005
Artist
GRIER HORNER
Harryet: Why are you compelled to paint? Grier Horner: Some things you don't have much control over. Art is one of those things. I hadn't painted since I was a teenager, then a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art when I was about 60 triggered a compulsion to paint. Although I sometimes describe it as being hit by lightning, that's an exaggeration. My brother-in-law Joerg Haeberli, a collector of antique Peruvian textiles, wanted to show me the Peruvian section of the Met. Not expecting much, I accompanied him. In one display case there were funeral masks. They were painted a dull but rich cinnabar red, and were so worn by time that in places the gold underneath was exposed. This only enhanced their beauty. I was so taken by these masks that soon I was trying to copy them using sheet aluminum. I couldn't pull it off. But that's what pulled me into creating art—not exactly being struck by lightning. It had, however, opened up an avenue that I've travelled ever since, one that filled the hole in my life 20 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
It’s My Funeral Isn’t It? 72 x 48, oil 2004
INTERVIEW BY HARRYET
CANDEE
created by my retirement as the associate editor of The Berkshire Eagle at 62.
ing, art and family. My wife, children and grandchildren have been a great joy.
What have been your life's passions? Grier: Cigarettes and Whisky and Wild, Wild Women. Plus football when I was in high school, sailing, longdistance biking in my 50s, architecture, The Eagle, writ-
Tell us about your life, and what you’re about as a person. Grier: One interesting thing about my life as an artist is that, at 81, time is running out. I still have plans and hopes, but time is rearing its head. I may be able to see
If you could, for a moment, take the role of being your own curator, how would you describe your best body of work? Grier: You recently said that much of what I do is fiery. That is a description I love, and would use as the curator. I think it would fit my series of 38 abstract paintings about my hero, Joan of Arc, perfectly. But some of my stuff is gentler. For instance, my latest project has been of a young woman dancing and playing with her sixyear-old daughter. Spirited and beautiful, but certainly not fiery.
What things capture your eyes and imagination, and what propels you to paint them? Grier: A long, long list of things, ranging from the abstract color forms I sometimes see when I close my eyes, to the thing that has attracted male artists for hundreds of years—women of beauty and personality. One of my favorites is the Winged Victory sculpture at the Berkshire Museum. She is so powerful and beautiful. I am currently doing sketches for a large piece inspired by her.
Grier Horner Lower Case. From Scarlet Letter series, 2005-2006
my 16-year-old granddaughter graduate from college. But I doubt I will be around for the graduations of the others, aged three to nine. In my previous life, I worked 32 years at The Berkshire Eagle, first as a reporter and then as the associate editor. The paper nominated me for a Pulitzer Prize for a series of stories I did about an abused child and his death, and the failure of a child protection agency to take the basic investigative steps needed to protect him.
What are your dreams and ambitions at this point in your life? How are they different from when you were a very young man? Grier: My dream at 70 was to be rich and famous. I've banked that down to having my work gain wider exposure. I would like it to be shown in college museums. From the time I was in Brown until I was almost 50, my dream was to be a novelist. I wrote two but neither was very good. Now my son Michael is about to have his first novel published. So that dream, once removed, is being realized. If you can tell us, what have you learned about life, and what words can you share that we can learn from? Life is a gift. Don't squander it.
Were you always a painter? You mentioned that you painted in your teens. Grier: I have loved art since Life Magazine brought Jackson Pollock thunderGrier Horner ing into our house in August 1949. I was going into my freshman year in high school, and until then I didn't know anything so stirring and beautiful existed in art. Life made me an art lover, but not a painter. I did do a large painting to celebrate the birth of our first child, Shannon. Executed with the tinting oils used to color house paint, it didn't dry for 30 years. When I was 60, I could finally touch it without getting paint on my fingers. About the same time, I started painting seriously. Presumably there was no connection. Where did you grow up? Grier: New York City, its suburbs, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania and upstate New York. We moved to Tarrytown, NY, on the Hudson River, when I was entering seventh grade. It was my seventh school. I graduated from Washington Irving High School in Tarrytown and then went to Brown. If you asked: "WHEN did you grow up?” Barbara Horner, my wife, would tell you, "Not until he was 60— if then."
Jeanne d’Arc, #15. ‘It is for God to make revelations to whom He pleases.’, acrylic on Mylar and canvas, 80 x 45, 2008 from a series of 36 paintings
I see on your blog that you have beautiful photos, and something to say about the environment, such as when you voice your opinions on the Pfizer (now Specialty Minerals) mine in Adams. Do you feel a need to teach your readers about man’s treatment of nature? Grier: My blog is "Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man" ( www.grierhorner.com) and it's a place for me to show and talk about my art and my life—and other people's art as well. Occasionally I tackle environmental issues. As the open pit mine at Specialty Minerals grows larger, I have been surprised that so little attention has been paid to that large-scale limestone operation at the foot of Mount Greylock.
I enjoy reading about your support for other CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 21
I have to keep reminding myself that I have something to offer, that Joe Thompson, the director of MASS MoCA, has visited my studio twice and that a curator at RISD also visited. Neither offered me a show, but Joe Thompson has given me encouragement. So have Phil Pryjma at the St. Francis gallery; Lisa Griffith, head of the BCC art department and its wonderful but shortlived downtown gallery; Keith Shaw, former director of the Rudd Art Museum in North Adams, and Megan Whilden, former head of the Lichtenstein, Jennifer Glockner, its current head, and her right-hand woman Shiobbean Lemme. The biggest shows were my Retrospective at the Lichtenstein for my 80th birthday; my Dresden show, which opened BCC's downtown gallery in 2012; my Jeanne d'Arc show that same year at the Zeitgeist Gallery, a fine place that died a premature death. Also notable was my Scarlet Letter Wall at the Lenox library where 104 of my paintings formed one large work, 6 feet high by 32 feet wide. It had financial support from the Sue A. and Robert H. Gersky Foundation. What music preferences do you have? Grier: I don't spend much time listening to music anymore. I used to think I would want Beethoven, Bach and Rachmoninoff filling the house with glorious sound when I retired. But I find now I prefer silence. Sometimes I'll latch onto a pop singer like Bruce Springsteen or Billy Joel. At one time I was crazy about folk music. This month a rockabilly singer I heard in Wellfleet knocked my socks off.
Grier Horner Dresden. 61 x 49”, oil and collage, 2006 From the series Dresden Firebombing
artists... this is a great thing to do. What do you look for in others' art that prompts you to care enough to write about it? Your critiques are beautifully written. Grier: Thanks for the compliment, Harryet. If I like what I see another artist do, I often post it on my blog or my Facebook page. The blog used to be an everyother-day event, but now I often only post once or twice a month. It's a small thing I do to try to spread the word about talent in this region.
Have any poems or fiction been a direct influence in your art-making? Can you go into some detail, please? Grier: Ed Ochester, one of the major American poets, is my brother-in-law. I have used lines from his wrenching poem "Oh, By the Way." It starts gently: "My friend April Fallon tells me that blood on the exterior of the brain is cooler than that in the interior and that it's in the cooler blood that dreams reside. What do you think?"
Great stuff—I love it. Grier, I’m guessing you enjoy the gallery scene. Do you still have art at St. Francis Gallery in Lee? Grier: I do get a kick out of going to galleries, and an
22 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
even bigger kick out of seeing my work in them. Phil Pryma, director of St. Francis Gallery, has been generous in hanging a number of my works over the last couple of years. He hung a ten-foot-high portrait of my mother above what would have been the altar in the old church, and it dominated the gallery for several months. A smaller photo-based piece—three feet by four feet— will be on display at the gallery during August and September. It is part of my Swamp Series of the last two years. The one going up, like many in the series, involves placing the subject of one of my photos into another, using Photoshop. Grier: From what I've read about artists in their old age, it appears many of them go into a new phase. That may be happening to me with the photography. But it does seem strange not to be covering a canvas with paint, and I know I will get back to it. One big problem though is that several hundred of my paintings, most of them large, have taken over my studio and leave me no place to paint.
Are you actively promoting your art and looking for new venues to display your art? Grier: Not as hard as I should be. After several rejections I stop applying for shows for months, concentrating on the work instead. It takes me a long time to get back into the application mode which I need to do to fulfill my commitment to the Martha Boschen Porter Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
When I say the word, Berkshires, what comes to your mind, and if you could be any other place on this planet, where would it be? Grier: The word brings images of hills and mountains, cloud formations, fields of high grass and, now, a rich art environment with MASS MoCA, the Clark, the Williams College Museum of Art, the Berkshire Museum… Pittsfield has been my home since 1965—all those years in the same house. I worry about the number of people ground down by poverty in Pittsfield and some other county towns. I worry about the gangs plaguing Pittsfield. I worry about the heroin, the closing of GE and Sabic. Nevertheless, I love this city. It seems much more real than most communities in the Berkshires. Where would I want to live if I wasn't here? Let me think… Some years ago it might have been Manhattan. Now I want to stay put. My friends are here. Here, I'm home.
Grier, I’d love to hear a significant story from your life experience. Grier: How about one from my high school years? I was one starting halfback on the Washington Irving football team in Tarrytown, N.Y. Angelo Monte was the other. Angelo was a fine runner. He could go through you, spin and go around you, score with regularity. I was a good runner too. But not like Angelo, who was 50 pounds heavier and 50 times more confident. He went on to start as an end at Georgia University. Basically, our offense was give the ball to Angelo. It had served us well as we came into our final game—the one against our traditional rival, North Tarrytown. Coach Millman put in a really brilliant stealth pass play that would put me on the left sideline well down the field, and Angelo down the right sideline. Billy Paller, the quarterback, could pass to whoever was open. On the day of the game, it was pouring. The field was soaked and would be churned into mud fast. So Millman and Billy called the secret play the first time we got the ball. Again, strategically brilliant. Angelo and I were both wide open. But instead of being on the
Grier Horner Alicia at the Man of Kent. oil on canvas, 71 x 47.5”, 2006 From the series People Grier Horner The Three Graces. acrylic on canvas, 60 x 42”
other side of the field, Angelo was 15 yards ahead of me. Despite the heavy rain, Billy threw a long spiral pass. It was over my head and I yelled, "You get it, Angelo." He dove for it but couldn't reach it. As we ran back to the huddle, he asked, "Why didn't you try for it?" It is a question I still wonder about sometimes in the middle of the night over 60 years later. I have never determined whether that ball was too high for me to catch. The decision to put the responsibility on Angelo, who clearly didn't have a chance to haul it in, said something important about me. My nickname was "Guts" because I played defense with abandon. But on that day I did not have the guts to try to catch the ball. The game ended in a 0-0 tie. Coach Millman never reamed me out about it. In fact he never mentioned it. Maybe, just maybe, it was too high.
Do you sense the growth in the population of artists? Seems like everyone has their hands in the arts. Why do you think there is so much art going on these days? Is it about the communication that’s so needed today? Is it about reflections people have that they want and need to share, and their own interpretations of things? For you as well?
Grier: I think you're right but I don't have a clue why. The art schools are turning out far more artists than they used to. So not only are there more but they have good credentials. Could it be that more people are being exposed to art because of the proliferation of galleries and museums?
Could be… What makes a great artist? Grier: I think great artists are born, not made. It's like having a great voice. Of course, training, drive and having something to say help. It's not that the rest of us have to be mediocre. It's just that greatness will elude us.
I hope your trip to the ocean these past few days was wonderful! Now that you are back, safe and sound, can you tell me what you remember most about this trip? What would you try to document about your time away? Grier: Many things crowd the "remember most" catagory. The Baton Rouge police killing and the truck terrorist in Nice topped the list of bad memories that week. But there were many good ones: - Having our three kids and five grandchildren together for a week. The basic sweetness of kids is lovely. They can go sour suddenly. But the sweetness always resur-
faces. And our family shares a lot of laughs and memories. - I noticed that the ocean waves left lines on the sloping beach as the tide went out, lines that looked like mountain range upon mountain range. Some rugged, some stylized, as in that Japanese art, some gentle as the Berkshires. - I experienced "teletransportation" for the first time. That's the sci-fi trick of beaming a person from one place to another. I was listening to a great rockabilly singer, Sarah Swain, at a free outdoor concert in Wellfleet on Friday evening, when it happened. After she sang a few songs, I was in Louisiana, 1,000 miles away. And she wasn't singing about Louisiana. I was convinced that I was in Louisiana—that the singer, the concert tent, the audience and me were all in Louisiana, where one branch of us live. Maybe for ten minutes, fifteen minutes. I don't really know. Then doubt and reality crept in slowly. Finally I figured out where I was. Maybe Sarah Swain is a magician. Maybe a little of it will rub off on me. You’re amazing. Thank you Grier. GRIERHORNER.COM
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 23
MONTEREY GENERAL STORE HARRY ORLYK
NATALIE LEVINE
HARRY ORLYK, THE WHITE CREEK
The Monterey General Store is pleased to be hosting a reception with the artist Harry Orlyk, whose work is currently being exhibited throughout the store. All are welcome to attend this event, Saturday, June 18th, from 5-7pm. Refreshments will be served. This work will be on display through August, 2016. Harry Orlyk, who resides in Salem, New York, describes his process of painting his exquisite landscapes in oils on linen: “A quarter century of painting has been an act of the imagination to determine who and what I am with respect to the earth and sky. Process, rather than product oriented, searching for the daily painting, has become a way of living in relationship with the earth. To become a human being, a part of nature rather than someone separate observing it from the outside, like hunter- gathers, I am led from one opportunity to the next, being directed by seasonal stages. The relationship has become the trust I give it to show me where my next painting will be. Each painting entails facing a swath of creation and observing something of its story, becomes a long log of small truths.” 448 Main Rd, Monterey, MA.
NATALIE LEVINE, ASHMERE LAKE
NOW ON THE SCENE IN THE BERKSHIRES
Born in New York City and raised in the Metropolitan New York area, Ms. Levine has enjoyed a successful 30year career as a fine artist and earned many accolades for her work. The grandaughter of a French immigrant to the United States, she was introduced to the great works of French artists at an early age and continued a lifelong love of French art, food, antiques and wine, which led to the development of a unique artistic perspective. Her style has been described as both Impressionistic and Realistic, successfully combining the light and color of the Impressionists’ paintings while still maintaining the detail and reality of the late 19th century Realists. Additional family influences included a grandfather who was a successful Parisian dress designer who inspired Ms. Levine to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion Design and Illustration in New York City. There she was introduced to the paintings of William Robinson Leigh, painter of the American West that were displayed on the walls throughout the school; she was moved by those paintings to further enhance her painting skills. “After working 30 years as an impressionist painter, I transitioned to a new genre I call “Botanicals”. Working mostly intuitively, my elements, both real and imagined bring together the necessary inspiration to engage the viewer on a journey of discovery, enchantment, fantasy and whimsy.” Art work on view all year round at Lenox Print & Mercantile, 11 Housatonic, St, Lenox MA. 413 637-2234.
9 W EEKS , 9 W RITERS
Advanced workshop in prose and poetry with Jayne Benjulian “As Roethke said (after Shakespeare), you must ‘kill your darlings,’ must not flinch from deleting words, lines and even stanzas you love. You must, that is, if you want to write like Benjulian in lines that are taut, spare, and fiercely compressed. I admire her poems, too, for their cinematic sense, complete with deftly-drawn characters, vivid scenes, and authentic dialogue, and for how they align family drama with the drama of the human condition.” —Rebecca Foust on Five Sextillion Atoms
Thursday evenings, 7 - 9 PM, Housatonic September 22 - December 1 (no workshop October 13 or November 24)
For more information: JayneBenjulian.com/events 24 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
MARY CAROL RUDIN
As a painter I love to take on the challenge of subjects and mediums. My website, http://www.mcrudin.com/ shows the variety of themes and interpretations I have explored to date. My journey continues as I try new combinations of material and interpretations both representational and abstract. Sometimes a metaphor, a symbol, a phrase, or a quip provokes an image that I decide to want to express. I also like to create titles that I hope lead the viewer closer to what I had in mind when I was painting. Travel also provides me with inspiration. I find the experience of colors, light, and culture endlessly interesting. Images and imagination are at work and thoughts of interpreting them in art run through my head. Recognizing that I will not recall all that I saw, I take many photographs that I can use as references when I return to my easel. Some of my work can be displayed in any direction desired. I describe these works as “No Right Side Up” and to overcome the idea that a signature dictates the direction the painting should be hung, I only sign on the back. I layout my ideas on paper and make studies in color before I commit to a final work. This allows me to work out the details and arrive at what feels like a successful composition. Often what seemed like a good idea has to be reworked and the final painting is quite different than the initial concept. In Los Angeles I studied drawing and watercolor and pastel at Brentwood Art Center and UCLA Extension. I also studied with landscape painter John Strong, and abstract painter Ilana Bloch. In New York City I have studied at the Art Students League and Chelsea Classical Studios. My work has been sold through St. Francis Gallery in South Lee, Massachusetts and 510 Warren Street Gallery in Hudson, New York. Please visit me at www.mcrudin.com
FRONT ST. GALLERY
SeLF POrtrAit By kAte kNAPP
Painting classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1pm at the studio in Housatonic and Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field. Also available for private critiques. Open to all. Please come paint with us!
gallery hours: open by chance and by appointment anytime 413. 274. 6607 (gallery) 413. 429. 7141 (cell) 413. 528. 9546 (home) Front Street, Housatonic, MA
Stephen Filmus
COMMISSIONS Time to commission your favorite scene. art.sfilmus@verizon.net
I
413-528-1253
Joyce Goldstein GALLERY
Mimi Graminski with poet Sarah Stern
But Today is Different
A Collaboration of Art & Poetry Opening Reception: Saturday, August 13, 2016 4:00-6:00pm Poetry Reading at 5:00pm
exhibit ends September 10, 2016 Joycegoldsteingallery.com mimigraminsky.com
MIMI GRAMINSKY, PARTS SUSPENDED. SEWN DRAWING ON LINEN 6"X5"
Joyce Goldstein Gallery
16 Main Street, Chatham, New york 518. 764. 8989 JoysGall@fairpoint.net Gallery Hours: thursday - Sunday Noon to 5:00pm
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 25
FRONT STREET GALLERY KATE KNAPP
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…. join us and experience something different. Painting classes continue on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1:30pm at the studio and Thursday mornings out in the field. These classes are open to all...come to one or come again if it works for you. All levels and materials welcome. Private critiques available. Classes at Front Street are for those wishing to learn, those who just want to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art, and/or those who have some experience under their belt. Perfect if you are seeking fresh insight into watercolors, and other mediums. A teacher for many years, Kate Knapp 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 are excellent. Peek in to see! Front Street Gallery – Front Street, Housatonic, MA. Gallery open by appointment or chance anytime. 413-528-9546 at home or 413-429-7141 (cell).
26 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
ELIXER FINE DINING IN GREAT BARRINGTON
In the early spring, I contracted Lyme. All of the co-infections were present as well as meningitis. Although this was the most physically painful and debilitating experience of my life, it was also the most transformational. With the support of loving friends, the help of an amazing acupuncturist, my body’s innate ability to heal, my inherited strong inner core, and being surrounded by a myriad of light beings, I was able to come out on the other side. I want to express my gratitude to all who offered support to me, including many friends of ELIXER, that paid in advance for meals to help keep things afloat while I endured this illness. After being closed for 3 months, I am so thrilled that ELIXER has been up and running again since the summer solstice, offering delicious, 100% organic, vegan fare, made with love and intention. We offer nutritional/lifestyle guideline/consultations and a 21 day restorative cleanse. Please come and experience the healing deliciousness and nurturing environment of ELIXER. We look forward to serving you. ELIXER – 70 Railroad Street (next to Triplex, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; organictearoom@gmail.com. Elixergb.com; 413-644-8999. Open Thursday, Sunday and Monday 10am – 4pm; Friday and Saturday 10am – 8pm.
NEW MARLBOROUGH MEETING HOUSE GALLERY JULIE SHAPIRO
WILD LIFE
The Meeting House Gallery in New Marlborough presents its second theme show of the season, Wild Life, with 23 artists showing exciting three dimensional as well as two dimensional work. Three dimensional artists include Peter Thorne with wood and stone creations, Joe Wheaton with elegant metal creations , Robin Tost, Lucinda Shmulsky and Eric Callahan with new multimedia creations, and Brian Mikesell with his unusual Ikebana. Photographers include internationally recognized Dan Mead and Sally Eagle’s African animals, as well as work by Dominick Avellino, Nikki Hayes, Natalie Manzino, Holly McNeely, and Barbara Winters. Painters include Diane Barth, Eugene Cleary, Susan Crofut, Matt Poindexter, Olge Scwede, Julie Shapiro, Walter Simons, Elizabeth Torsay Wilson, and Andrew Zdziarski. These are spiced by Becky Schreiber’s folded paper creations and the fine quilted images of Teresa Bills. The Meeting House Gallery is housed in an historic church building which also hosts the Music and More concert and literary series later in the season. The gallery, on the lowest level of the building, is refreshingly cool on a hot summer’s day. The art work, professionally displayed, is well-lit by both natural light and spot lighting. Located on Route 57 in New Marlborough, the gallery is located near the acclaimed Olde Inn on the Green. Supported by the New Marlborough Village Association, the Gallery is run by a volunteer Gallery Committee of artists and art lovers. Now in its nineteenth season, this collaborative enterprise offers work by outstanding artists from the Berkshires, some of whom are nationally and internationally recognized. Wild Life runs July 30 through August 28 and is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 AM to 4 PM. The final show of the season will be New Marlborough Artists, showcasing eight local artists, and will run September 3 through October 2. Music and More begins Saturday, August 27 at 4:30 with seven exciting events ending October 8. Music and More - For information newmarlborough.org./music-more
DENISE B CHANDLER DENISE B CHANDER
FINE ART LIMITED EDITION PHOTOGRAPHY
LAUREN CLARK FINE ART DAVID EDDY, GIRL WITH FLOWER
COLOR ENVY
Lauren Clark Fine Art presents “Color Envy” featuring David Eddy, Julio Granda, and Douglass Truth Saturday, August 6 through Sunday, August 28. Reception for the artists at the gallery on Saturday, August 6, 4-7pm. Great minds don't always think alike, and in the case of these three colorful artists this rings especially true. There is no common theme here-just three career painters whose work I really like-each with their decidedly individual personality and style. David Eddy paints wild and wonderful work, haunting and imaginative, managing to make portraits that are sweet and somewhat creepy at the same time. Self-taught, he pours a palpable raw energy into his painting-often chasing after images that reveal themselves during the creative process. Delightfully unique faces peer out at the viewer and areas of dazzling yet subdued color show through his scrapings and burst into life across the picture plane. Julio Granda refers to his latest body of work, painted for this show, as “Feral Nebulae”. Tiny, rich works thick with paint coming in and out of focus as starscapes and abstractions. For Granda feral is as much akin to freedom as it is to wildness and these paintings reflect this theory. His is an expansive view which includes the very definition of nebulae; as quoted from the New Oxford American Dictionary, “A cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter”. This is the artistic world of Julio Granda. Douglass Truth on his work as a painter -“In my paintings, writings and performances, the harlequin, the clown, and other, more mysterious (to me, at least) characters show up to show us, in ways difficult to articulate in our normal linguistic fashion, in which directions we might be coming from, and which we might be going to. To encourage us to take a deeper look, not into the fashionable recreations of the other-worlds and under-worlds that can be found without looking very hard, but into what’s really going on around us in the corner grocery store, our kitchen, our place of work, the cities in which we somehow, miraculously, find ourselves living”. For more information please contact the gallery. Lauren Clark Fine Art - 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com, www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com, 413-528-0432.
Denise B Chandler is a fine art photographer who has had her work exhibited at The Berkshire Museum, Sohn Fine Art Gallery, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, IS -183 Art School of the Berkshires, St. Francis Gallery, Chesterwood, The Hudson Opera House, Spencertown Academy Arts Center, and Tivoli Artists Gallery. In 2012, Chandler completed the Photography Residency Program at Maine Media Workshops & College. While in Maine, she was guided, encouraged and her work critiqued by renowned photographers: Michael Wilson, Andrea Monica, Peter Ralston, Arthur Meyerson, David Turner, Brenton Hamilton, David Wells, and Syl Arena. Chandler has continued her formal workshop training with master photographers, Seth Resnick, Greg Gorman, and John Paul Caponigro. Denise B Chandler, a lifelong Lenox resident where she maintains her studio and private gallery. The majority of Chandler’s work is contemporary and concentrates on the details of a subject frequently embracing bold colors, geometric shapes and patterns. Denise B Chandler is represented by Sohn Fine Art Gallery at 69 Church St. in Lenox, Massachusetts where various selections of her work can be seen throughout the year. Chandler offers private gallery visits at her personal studio/gallery by appointment only...please call either number listed below. A member of 510 Warren Street Gallery, Hudson, NY., her fine art photography can now be viewed Friday and Saturday 12 - 5, and Sunday 12-5 or by appointment.Denise B Chandler, Studio & Gallery visits by appointment only. 415 New Lenox Rd, Lenox, MA. Please call 413-637-2344 or 413-281-8461 (cell). Website: denisebchandler.com / : info@denisebchandler.com
STEPHEN FILMUS COMMISSIONS
For me, it is joyous to feel that I have captured the essence of a special time and place through my art and have given new life to a memory that will give pleasure for years to come. The commission process is collaboration between artist and client. Whenever possible we visit the site together and discuss elements of subject, color, form and the ‘feeling’ of the scene. The next step for me is to create a detailed color sketch that reflects the client’s vision and gives them a good sense of how the finished artwork will look. At this point the commissioner can give input and suggestions as I work toward the final design. Lastly, I simply do what I know how to do – I sit at my easel and paint. Stephen Filmus is represented by J. Todd Gallery in Wellesley, MA. His work can be seen at his studio in Great Barrington by appointment. Stephen Filmus – art.sfilmus@verizon.net, 413-528-1253, www.stephenfilmus.com
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 27
TOD RANDOLPH Actress
INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD ACKER
Harryet: Tod, you are playing the Restoration era playwright Aphra Behn this summer, in the play Or, by Liz Duffy Adams, at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox (running through Labor Day weekend, www.shakespeare.org/shows/2016/or). Is this the first time you've played a writer? Tod Randolph: I’ve played a lot of writers! I've played Virginia Woolf three times, in three different plays. I've played Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Thompson, Edith Wharton, and now Aphra makes five. I love playing writers. I love how smart they are, and rebellious and unconventional. I get to say the most fantastic and interesting words and sentences, express the most complex thoughts. The first play I did about Woolf was called Virginia, by Edna O'Brien, and all the text was made of excerpts from her writings. That was the first time I got to work with one of my favorite directors, Normi Noel. The same was true when I played Edith, in a couple of Dennis Krausnick plays, and Emily too, in a play by Mickey Friedman. To be able to speak aloud to an audience in the poet's or novelist's own words is a wonderful opportunity.
What are some of the boundary rules you set up for yourself and other actors—things that you’ve learned through experience will help the work flow 28 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
smoothly, enjoyably, and successfully? Tod: Well, as theatre actors we're pretty dependent on the director and how he or she wants to work. I'm lucky to have spent most of my professional life working in a company that allows actors tremendous freedom, and desires collaboration between all parties... in theory, at least. We've had our share of people who seem to delight in imposing themselves on others. But Shakespeare & Company, where I've worked off and on for over 25 years, is an actor-based company, and so we get to throw our ideas into the mix all the time. It's taken for granted that everyone has a right to speak up in the rehearsal room and offer up ideas, thoughts, questions, visions. It's a basic rule of rehearsal etiquette wherever you work that actors don't tell each other what to do, but it's great to work in an atmosphere where ideas can be bounced around and everyone's voice is heard. I know I step over boundaries sometimes—it's a constant learning process. Have you made close friends while working on the stage? I’m thinking there must be some really good reasons why you would bond with certain fellow actors as opposed to others. Have there been theatre experiences where it was just work and no real bonding of the theatre people?
Tod: There's no bonding quite like the bonding that happens in the theatre! It's one of the greatest things about it. Some of the closest friends I have are people I've met while either working or training in theatrical contexts. Because its purpose is to explore the meaning of our humanity, there is nothing that is off limits in theatre—no stone left unturned, nothing that we can't talk about, as Tina Packer says, "to speak that which is unspeakable”—and so there develops a comradeship that I think is unparalleled in any other field. This is simply because, in the course of the work we do, we discover how deeply we are the same as each other, within and including all our differences. Language unites us, and the expression of that which we feel. And curiosity. When you play a character, you are required to walk around inside the skin of another person. Yes, I have worked sometimes with people who didn't seem to be present in the work, and they are the ones I don't miss when the show closes. And there are others with whom I've developed particular bonds that hold over great distances and long periods of time. A theatrical production is usually a twomonth job, give or take—unless you have the good fortune to be involved in something that gets extended for a longer period—so it's over pretty quickly, and everyone goes their separate ways. But if you're lucky, you have new friendships to treasure, and when you're really lucky, you can work with those same people again someday. What do you think are your most favored features, the ones that always help get you casted at auditions? Tod: The longer I do this, the more I learn that casting has almost nothing to do with me, so I worry less and less about it. The times when I've booked a job with a
With castmates, backstage at Mixed Company, “in light of Jane,” 2007
director who didn't already know me, I've gone into the audition room with a sense of joy and pleasure in being able to play the part for five minutes. Then I can knock it out of the park, and they like what they see. But it took me a very long time—years—to learn how to do that. I've given some really terrible auditions in my time! And just as often, I can do really well and still not get the job, again for reasons that have nothing to do with me and everything to do with the director's ideas, or the play's requirements, or politics, or some other element. The fact that I'm not "a name," as it's called, is a big factor, for example. Producers need to sell tickets, and actors who have done a lot of film and TV are more of a box-office draw.
Is being casted easier for the younger female actors, or does age have no relevance? You may feel you get stronger as you get older, but is it true that one may lose some of the naturalness one once had? How do you keep the essence of those great qualities, like reactions, imagination, fearlessness? Tod: Well firstly… yes, for women, once you get into your forties and fifties (I'm fifty-three. I shouldn't put that in writing but it's true.) there is less work available. And not having made myself into a Name, it's harder to get seen. But I'm better now than I was in my thirties, way better than in my twenties... not just stronger, but more transparent, more flexible emotionally, more skilled in craft, more interesting as a person... this is true for most actors, in my experience. Actors mature later than, say, dancers. And unlike dancers, we are able keep working throughout our lives, if given the opportunity. Imagination never gets old, so long as we keep exercising it. It becomes more and more powerful. I don't have a child's fearlessness anymore, but I have an adult's abil-
ity to not be held back by my fear. When I was really young and had no idea what I was doing, working out of pure instinct—like in eighth grade—I think that was probably some amazing work that I did. Once you start to train and think about what you're doing, you get worse for a while, until lots more time passes and you can integrate the training into your being, and then you get better again.
What have you learned about life through your years of acting that you are grateful for? Tod: That what I feel in any given moment isn't necessarily true, it's just a feeling, and it will pass. It has something to teach me, perhaps, or it’s giving me a heads-up about something, but I don't have to give it too much importance. I've learned to understand and to manage emotion pretty well, and not to fear it. More recently, I've learned more about when to express it, and when not to. How to be smarter about telling the truth. When did you start acting? How and why did you pinpoint that as a strong interest and goal for you? Tod: My big brother was in a lot of plays at our school, starting when he was in sixth grade or so, so I grew up watching
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Tod Randolph Photograph by Edward Acker
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 29
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, 2014
him. Always wanted to be like him, of course. My first part, I was in seventh grade. There was this wonderful, amazing English teacher who directed the plays twice a year, Alice Mamarchev. She had been an actress, and she was incredibly skilled at working with us kids. What is it you love about the art of acting? Tod: The sense of personal freedom it gives me. The joy of that bonding with others backstage, that I mentioned before. The intense pleasure of finding just the right note for the expression of a moment, or a sequence of moments in the course of a character's journey through the story. As I get older, I also take great satisfaction in the feeling of mastery, of having this one thing that I know how to do superlatively well, even when I'm hopeless at other things!
Did you have a very strong imagination, or any other personality characteristic that led you to believe that acting was your forte? Tod: Yes I think I've always had a very strong imagination. The sense of that wasn't what led me into acting, but once I was there, I think I realized that this was a way in which I could use it. But I was always able to entertain myself as a kid by making up stories in my own head—I could transport myself, disappear into a made-up world. And I always loved to read, and still do. I'm constantly reading. I love novels; I love a great story that won't let me stop turning the pages.
Of all the other possibilities out there, what would have been your least likely choice? Why? Tod: Do you mean, what career would I not want to have? I could never have been an academic, I was never very happy in that environment. 30 • AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
Photograph by Kevin Sprague
What has been your favorite role so far? I’ll bet they keep getting more interesting for you, and the experiences keep getting more complicated. Maybe more challenging as well? Tod: I’ve had some great, great parts to play. I've been very lucky. I think if I had to pick one, it would be the part that Joan Ackermann wrote for me, a play called, "in light of Jane." It was about a lighting designer whose husband had died, and she comes to a sort of magical theatrical space in order to process her loss. I loved it. I love Joan's writing. The words were just delicious to say. I spent of lot of time making up the backstory of Jane's relationship with her husband, when they met, when they courted, when he had a breakdown... it was a fantastic relationship! All in my own head, inspired by Joan. And she wrote me these long, rich, extraordinary speeches... we did it at Mixed Company in 2007. How do you prepare for a role that is very challenging for you, different than others you have experienced? Tod: Not sure how to answer that, since every part is so different, but I think my process is more or less the same, no matter what I'm doing. I'll read the play a few times before rehearsals begin, but I don't really start work until I'm in the room with the director and the other actors. A huge amount of information comes from the first reading of the play by the whole company. I begin to assess my character's relationships with others, how she enters the world, what are her values, what's her hidden story, what are her needs and desires, what's the rhythm at which she lives... then often we'll read it again and talk about it, scene by scene, moment by moment—and much more information arises and gets clearer, having to do with the story and the development of the relationships through the arc of the play. But the
real work begins once we get on our feet, because for me it's all in the body—how does the mind express through the body, how does she move, stand, hold herself, touch things and people, relate to the space around her. I usually find, at some point in the second or third week (sooner if I'm lucky), one physical key that unlocks the character as a whole—then I've got her, I know who she is. I can slip into her being in an instant just by shifting into that physical shape, whatever it is. It might be leading with her chin, or a certain pressure around her ankles, or her posture as a whole, or sometimes the rhythm in which she speaks... Once that happens, it's pretty smooth sailing from then on. That use of physical transformation goes back to the mask training I got at Juilliard from a teacher named Pierre LeFevre. It opened up something fundamental for me—something about moment-to-moment storytelling with the body. I always come back to it. Before you go on stage, do you still get that scary/thrill feeling? Tod: Yes! It never really goes away. I think at this point if I were to be backstage and not feel that, I'd be worried I wasn't ready to go on. I remember my friend Normi came across a study somewhere which found that an actor waiting to go onstage had similar levels of adrenaline coursing through their body as someone being charged by a wild animal. What techniques do you often use to calm yourself before entering the stage? Tod: Breathe. And wait.
Have you ever fumbled with the lines you’ve memorized? Memorization is a huge part of acting… what do you find to be the best ways to memorize lines?
Tod: I’m blessed with a rapacious memory, so for me it isn't as much of a struggle as it is for some. But I did go up on a line in front of an audience last summer for the first time in my life, so now I have a reference point I didn't have before! Horrible, agonizing experience, may it never be repeated... For me, memorization is about rhythm, and about sound, rather than concept or thought. Usually, I learn the lines by speaking them out loud, on my feet, in the rehearsal room, in relationship with the other actor. And then repetition, repetition— but never just off the page. From mentors and teachers you passed through during the learning stages, what was the best-kept secret you were told? I won’t tell a soul, I promise! Tod: You mean a how-to secret? Faster, louder, funnier. Learn your lines, and don't bump into the furniture. No, I don't know... I don't think I have a how-to secret to share. I remember hearing that Lawrence Olivier went through a period of years at the height of his career when his stagefright was so debilitating, he told his fellow actors not to look directly into his eyes during the
With some castmates and director Catherine Taylor-Williams, Xingu, The Mount Photograph by Kevin Sprague
performance. But I don't think that's a secret, really. I remember a friend telling me about something, an image that has always stayed with me: She was working I think as an ASM on a new Sondheim piece, don't remember where or when, but as she was leaving late one night she saw him playing the piano on the stage, alone, just improvising, with the ghost light up there, and an ashtray with a lit cigarette at each end of the keyboard... he would play up to the high end and take a drag, then play down to the low notes and take a drag... She said she stood there listening and watching for a long time. Whenever someone mentions Sondheim, that's what I see in my mind. That secret moment. Tod Randolph
Photograph by Edward Acker
The audience, this time, is only a handful. Do your acting and the energy change? How so? Maybe the audience doesn’t feel
it the same way the actors do when it’s a small audience and not a full house? Tod: The energy can be different, but hopefully the acting is the same! I try to give my best, no matter how small the house is. If I need to do it just for myself, then that's what I do. I don't feel good afterwards unless I've done the best I can, whatever that is on that day. But there are audiences that feed us, and there are audiences that feed on us, and it doesn't necessarily have to do with the numbers. I think it has to do with, is there a critical mass of people out there in the house who are willing to participate with us, to express back to us—or are there too many of them who either aren't willing or don't know how? In your travels, have you had to learn other languages in order to perform certain roles? Tod: I learned some French in school, but didn't keep it up. I am, like most Americans, not bi-lingual, and wish I were. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 31
wasn't part of the training at Juilliard, and I never read his books. I've never read a book about acting. Tried, couldn't get into them. Boring. Theory doesn't interest me that much, unless I'm having an actual conversation with someone about it, and there's a specific context. Then I'm interested. Are you happy to ad-lib at times in a role? Is it ever a necessity to know how to be spontaneous on stage? When others forget their lines, maybe? Any examples you can look back on and recall? Tod: I’m not so good at that! I always think of the perfect thing to say a few hours later, on my way home in the car, or in the bathtub... but it hasn't happened to me that often. I remember one time when I was a kid, trying to come up with something to cover another actor's mistake, and it ended up looking like I'd forgotten my line. Very annoying. I envy those who can make stuff up in the moment. My friend Elizabeth Ingram, a brilliant actress, she can extemporize in iambic pentameter. Extraordinary to witness, and the audience has no idea. Have you ever felt you couldn’t shake off a character you portrayed after the show ended? Tod: No, it's usually during the rehearsal period that I feel taken over for a while. Sometimes that's fun, and sometimes it's hard. But once the show is set and we're into the regular performance schedule, I can step in and out easily. There are parts that I miss, after closing, and wish I could continue playing, but that's a different thing.
Do you find being an actor an asset in real life when certain situations arise? Tod: Not really. Just kidding… Actually, there are times when it comes in handy. Like, when I have to schmooze with people, for example, I know how to turn on the charm. Although I don't really enjoy that. As I said just above, I'm not very good at improvisation. I'm shy, socially, and often timid about meeting new people. Can't think of what to say. With the people I know and love I can relax. When I'm in a context that is familiar, I can relax and stop being shy and anxious. I suppose one thing I can do that is very hard for most people is speaking in public. When a situation arises that calls for that, it is a big advantage to have an actor's experience. And I use my acting all the time when I'm teaching, of course. That's a great interface of skills.
Tod Randolph Photograph by Edward Acker
In your opinion, what criteria does an audience apply to a show when judging whether or not that show is a success? Tod: I do not know the answer to this question. I see audiences give standing ovations all the time now, and though it feels really good to be on the receiving end of that, they mean less and less the more often they happen. I've seen lots of standing ovations given to work I thought was... well, less than good. I don't know why audiences react the way they do. Some people believe it's a direct correlation to the price of the ticket, as in, “If I had to shell out that much money, then by god it's going to be brilliant, even if it isn't!" But I can't really
32 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
say. I only know what I like. And I don't always agree with even my best theatre friends on what is good. I suppose that's as it should be. What are your thoughts on Stanislavski? Are you a true fan of his ways of teaching modern theatre? I mean, do you think modern theatre was bound to emerge regardless of such so-called founders? Tod: It's people who bring new ways of working into the collective consciousness. I don't see how you can separate "modern theatre" from the innovators who brought it into being. But honestly, I don't know enough about Stanislavski to talk much about him—his work
What was the most thrilling stage design you’ve been surrounded by? Tod: That's easy—The Mount! Playing Edith Wharton in the house she designed, built and lived in, playing Shakespeare on that enormous magical outdoor stage in the woods behind the mansion... nothing will ever compare.
If the stage set is simple, does it have any affect on your performance? Tod: Hmmm... probably, though I'm not sure I can say how. Each performance is inseparable from the space in which it's played. I think.
You are a member of Shakespeare & Company here in the Berkshires. How are they different from other educational processes and techniques? I know the language is one difference. Tod: When I first encountered the Shakespeare & Company training philosophy, I had graduated from Juilliard just a few months earlier. In the Juilliard Drama Divi-
sion, the word "emotion" was almost never spoken. It just didn't come up. At the time, I didn't think that was strange (I was soooo young). But the training was based on British ways of working and thinking, very technical, lots of Alexander Technique, lots of speech training (with a guy named Tim Monich, absolute genius, a star student of Edith Skinner… he knew how to make the most boring drill exercises fun), and lots of control. And then I landed in the Shake & Co month-long January workshop, in the midst of a group of people who not only talked CONSTANTLY about feelings, they actually expressed them! In front of everyone! It was so messy and wild and exciting. They had this saying, "on your voice," which means, among other things, to say the thing you want to say clearly and directly, allowing your voice to contain the real emotion underneath that thought. And, so importantly, a completely different way of breathing—not controlling it, but instead allowing its natural rhythm, watching it as it falls in and out, and letting the breath move me rather than the other way around. It was REVOLUTIONARY to this obedient little student who always tried to get it right, to realize that I hadn't even begun to tap into what was inside me... that inner chaotic mess I'd always tried to hide, that it had value and importance and power and creative juice. And then, the advantage I had, thanks to my hardearned technique (all the pronunciation, inflection, melody, phrasing—knowledge that had been drilled into me), was the ability to remain intelligible in the midst of wild emotional passion. I could blow the roof off the building with my feelings, and make the content of what I was saying in Shakespeare's verse absolutely clear, all at the same time. That Juilliard speech training was the bedrock, and then the emotional energy I suddenly had access to for the first time was the soil and the moss and the tendrils of green plants and trees... so these two different ways of working have always gone well together
Richard III, 2010 Photograph by Kevin Sprague
for me. I call on both of them, all the time.
Can any good, experienced actor do Shakespeare well? What does it take to master a Shakespearian role? Tod: You mean, if they've never done it before? I think so, yes. But I can only speak for myself; every actor works differently. What it takes for me to master a Shakespearean role is to bring all of myself to bear on the process: all my physical, mental, emotional, spiritual intelligences come into play; all my history, my DNA, my training, my mistakes, learnings, ideas, instincts, intuition, spatial awareness, physical impulses. Day by day, as the performance is crafted, I call on whatever I might need for each thought, each sequence, each relationship, each movement in space... What playwrights do you admire, and why? Tod: This question makes me want to spend more time in New York, seeing new work. And a trip to London would be an enormous treat. Well, I very much enjoyed playing in a Sarah Treem play last summer, and I'm a big fan of a British writer named Moira Buffini—I love her storytelling. I love Stoppard. I love the Irish writers… I love Shaw, Friel, McDonough, Shanley. I love wit, and I love plays that dance on the razor edge between light and dark. If I were living in NY and going to lots of theatre I'd have a better answer to this question. As it is, I rely on other people to keep me up to date, like my friend Nicole Ricciardi. She always knows where the best work is to be found.
If you were asked to direct, for example, Alice in Wonderland, but make it your interpretation, what’s your guess as to what you’d like to do to this production? It doesn’t have to be Alice; it can be anything you think of that interests you.
Tod: I have an idea for a MacBeth, but I don't want to say what it is. I don't want anyone to steal it. It's not a "concept," more a particular thought with which to begin exploration... I want to direct Othello—I’ve acted in it three times, and don't ever want to act in it again unless I can play Iago, but I really want to direct it. The directing I've done so far has been with students, graduate-level, and I've loved the process so much, I want very much to do more of it, both with students and with pros. What I love about it is the opportunity to explore the whole of the play with a group of actors, as opposed to just one role, and being able to provide the gravitational center, if you will, helping everyone to find and hold their pathway through the dance. But as to "my interpretation" of a play, I think the most important thing is casting, and then we all get into the room and start to play, and see what happens—what emerges for each actor and what story do they want to tell—then I take all those stories, find how they fit together, find the spatial relationships that most clearly express them, help the actors find the rhythmic shifts and the emotional nuances... it's always about what best serves the play. I directed a reading for the WAM Theatre Fresh Takes series of a Buffini play called Silence—I’d love to direct a full production of that. A very strange and beautiful story, about a prince in the Dark Ages who discovers he's a girl. Have you been in musicals as well as dramatic theatre? I’m wondering if you have musical skills. Tod: Not since school. I do have a singing voice, but I never developed it. One of my regrets. As a teenager, what was your favorite passtime? Who were you usually with when going through teen life experiences? Tod: Sleep. Well, I had some incredible friends when I
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THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 33
The Lion In Winter, Palm Beach Dramaworks, 2013 Tod Randolph
was a kid, even though I think I didn't really know how to be good friend... We got into some stuff, better not to say too much about it! But I got to do a lot of theatre during those years, that was the thing I always loved the most. Academically I started out with straight A's, then ended up graduating by the skin of my teeth. But right now, in Or, I'm acting with a friend I went to high school with, Allyn Burrows - we both ended up going into theatre - he's an artistic director now, in Boston, the Actor's Shakespeare Project - it's a great pleasure to be working with him again, we've actually known each other since we were 12.
Have you gone through anything profound in your life that has help enhance your acting abilities? Lifedeath situations, relationships, anything? Tod: Everything. Acting is about being human, so there's not a single experience that doesn't come into the work. I'm not always aware specifically, of now I'm drawing on this, that or the other, but it's always there. It depends on the play, and what's needed to tell that story.
Did you grow up in an artistic family? And where was that, by the way? Tod: I grew up in the 'burbs of Boston, and in Wareham on Buzzards Bay, where I still spend as much time as I can. My brother Christopher is an actor. My other brother is a musician and composer. My dad did music and some theatre in college, and then he went into medicine—psychiatry. He ran one of the public mental health centers in Boston for about thirty years. But recently he's been back into theatre, at The Tavern Club 34 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
in Boston. They write their own musicals and do oneact plays, sometimes readings, and they bring people in to teach acting classes. My brother has worked some with the members there, and so has another friend, an actor who teaches at Emerson, Ken Cheeseman. My dad directs, acts, sings, produces, stage-manages... they have a blast! I've performed there a couple of times, in solo shows that we've brought in for an evening, fabulous fun.
Do you LOVE chocolate? What is your favorite dessert? Tod: I like chocolate and vanilla together! I love the vanilla cream bars from Chocolate Springs, and their salted caramel truffles, and the chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting... I also love creme brulee... or oh, my brother's girlfriend Audrey makes the most incredible lemon ice cream. It is Out. Of. This. World. Why are “Hamilton” tickets going for $800 and up? Just wondering if you happen to know…. Tod: Sigh. Because people are paying. They charge that much because they can. But I do know that Lin-Manuel Miranda has made a special effort to get as many school kids in to see Hamilton as possible—they've brought them in by the tens of thousands, at this point, and more all the time.
My all-time favorite is Les Miserables. It’s my dream to be in that—as the innkeeper’s wife! What is your dream role? Tod: Cleopatra; Constance in King John (had a chance
to do it in 2005 and turned it down for health reasons, another big regret); Hannah in Arcadia; Hezione and/or Lady Utterword in Heartbreak House; Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses; Galactia in Scenes From An Execution by Howard Barker; Prospero; Iago; Lear; Titus Andronicus; MacBeth (except I couldn't do the swordfighting); Candida; Liubov Andreyevna in The Cherry Orchard; Arlene in Off the Map; Julianna in The Batting Cage; Vivian in Wit; Jeanne in Gabriel by Moira Buffini; Beatrice (which I've played but I'd love to do it again); Mother Courage...
There’s Acting, and then there is ACTING. Let’s say an actor takes a role in a TV soap opera… would that at all damage his or her chances for getting a big role in theatre or film? I only ask you this because, from observation, soap opera actors are so damn mechanical! I just don’t get it. Tod: From what I've seen in the past (and the world of soaps is very different now, so many have been cancelled since the advent of the web series, and since so much TV and film is available on the internet 24 hours a day), if an actor did a soap for a year or two, they could move on to better things and it would have served as an important stepping stone. But once you’ve stayed on a soap for longer than that, it’s harder to move on, you get associated in people's minds with that show and you’re pretty much stuck. I used to watch soaps a lot. I loved them! General Hospital was my fave, and All My Children... they both had a great sense of humor about themselves, and most of the acting and writing was better than on others. Soaps are very hard work. Those ac-
tors work seriously long hours, and they earn every paycheck. But yes, it's totally formulaic. You need to be pretty. And well-built. If you have talent, okay, but what do you look like? This is not confined to soap operas.
Here in the Berkshires, most of us must wear more than one hat to get by. Do you? Describe the other hats you wear! Tod: I learned to teach the Alexander Technique when I was living in New York. I trained there at a school called The Studio, in the early 90s. Then after moving up here I got a massage license. I trained at the Kripalu School of Massage just a few years before it closed (which was such a shame… It was a great program, but the Massachusetts licensure laws changed, and they found they were unable to fulfill the new requirements. It's kind of crazy; every state in the US has different requirements for massage licensure). I also have done some training in Craniosacral Therapy, which is another bodywork modality that I love. Ever feel your life is in complete flux? Tod: All the time. Always. I don't think I'm alone in that, especially now. The world is changing so rapidly and life is so incredibly complicated. But internally too... this thing called menopause seems to go on forever. The question, what will the rest of my life look like, has not been answered yet, and I don't know when or if it will. But change is life, that's universal—life is change. My Buddhist practice supports me through all the changes. I began the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo a little over 30 years ago, and I find it more and more profound and enriching and important all the time, for my sense of identity, my role in the world, my life-condition, my health, physical, mental, emotional... Nichiren Buddhism starts with the premise that life is joy, and desire is the fuel we need in order to grow—it teaches that the life-condition of Buddhahood exists at all times, in all things. I have found this to be true.
Do you ever feel that when you play a role, it has mysteriously and magically carried over to your real life? If you say yes (hoping you do) can you sight an experience to illustrate? Tod: Sorry to disappoint! No, as I said above, when I'm in rehearsal there can sometimes be some confusion of boundaries, and the character can seem to take me over for those few weeks. But once we're into performance, that stops happening. I'm clear on who I am, and who the character is. I can't say I've had any magical experiences of a character carrying over into my territory. There have been characters that have made me blissfully happy to play—Jane, in Joan's play that I mentioned above; Eleanor, in The Lion In Winter, which I did in Florida a few years ago; Sonia, in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (got to work with Matt Penn, Jim Frangione and Lizzie Aspenlieder on that, and we had the best houses, such a fantastic experience). There was The How and the Why, last summer, directed by Nicole Ricciardi—I didn't want that one to end; Portia in Merchant, in 1998, that was one of the happiest times of my life; Imogen in Cymbeline the winter before that in NY… that was a dream come true. I'd wanted to play that part for ages. The Enchanted April, in 2006, directed by Normi Noel, with a cast that included some of my best friends... so many others, so many others... I've been incredibly lucky. Some roles have been harder, and a bit of a relief when they were over. But most of my jobs have been just spectacular.
Are there any roles you will never accept, even if they pay a lot? T: Hmmmmm... how much?
From The Enchanted April, 2006
Tod Randolph
Tell us about your film experience. I look forward to seeing you in the film that is coming up in the fall, and the one that has been out with Mark Ruffalo. How is it different than theatre work for you? Tod: Hugely different. I have so little experience with it that it's a bit difficult even to talk about, but it comes down to scale, I think, the size of what you are doing. The camera is so much closer than a live audience, especially in a big theatre. So instead of sending impulses into the body, you need simply to have the thoughts. Camera's all about the eyes. I learned a lot in a camera class I took in NY in the late 90s, at the Sally Johnson Studio (called just The Studio now, run by one of my
photograph by Kevin Sprague
old classmates, Brad Calcaterra—if anyone out there is looking for a great place to go to class: thestudioact.com). It took me a good year to learn how to scale back. But once I got the hang of it, I started to love it, and was able to apply the principles Sally taught to stage work too, in small venues like Mixed Company here in GB. It’s all about the energy field generated between actors, and how to be present, how to ride that connection. There was some incredible work done in that class, with wonderful actors. But on the set, the challenge is to stay focused amongst all the distractions that surround you, because the illusion is not supported CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 35
the way it is in the theatre. You are surrounded by people and equipment, so the reality of the situation you are playing exists only in your imagination - which has to be going full blast and be sustained through multiple takes, stops and starts. I find it very hard, and the more I do it the more respect I gain for the really good film actors. But then, they don't necessarily know how to do what I do... we who work primarily in the theatre are always frustrated when film and TV stars are given Broadway jobs, for example, because it's a different set of skills, and just because you can do one doesn't mean you can automatically do the other. Some actors can do both. I envy them. And I envy their power in the industry.
Who are your favorite actors, who you do not know personally? Tod: I love Juliet Stevenson, Allison Janney, Ben Wishaw, Lily Tomlin, Campbell Scott, de Niro, Emma Thompson, Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Naomi Watts, Richard Jenkins, Benicio del Toro, Russell Crowe, Mark Rylance, Maggie Smith, Miranda Richardson... omg, these people are all white! Viola Davis, Joe Morton—I got to read a Shakespeare scene with him once, what an honor that was. Lennie James. Morgan Freeman. I remember him as Easy Reader on the Electric Company! Marianne JeanBaptiste. Lin-Manuel, even though I haven't seen Hamilton yet. Andre Braugher, who I went to Juilliard with, we played Othello and Desdemona our senior year. Lisa Gay Hamilton, who was a year behind us. Incredible actress, and a great producer too. She made a beautiful documentary about Beah Richards, another great actress. I remember once sitting with her and Andre, listening to them talk to a journalist about being at Juilliard as people of color—it opened my white eyes to things I had never seen, never thought of. 36 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
I used to get starstruck in NYC every time I saw an actor on the streets. Did you ever get that? Why do you think that happens? Tod: Of course I do! But I make it a point not to bother them. (I've occasionally been on the receiving end of unwanted attentions from fans, most notably once when I was waiting for my morning coffee at Haven). But these people are important to us, they've struck a chord in us somewhere. Also, there's a celebrity worship we get into here in the US. I do it too. I remember seeing Willem Dafoe on my very own street once in the Village—such a thrill. And I saw Meryl once in G.B., at the coffee place, back when it was Great Barrington Coffee Roasters. OMG. If you were to share a weekend on an uninhabited island with anyone, who would this be, and if you have made this person up, what would they be like? What would they look like? Tod: Let's see... a lover, of course, and yes I'll have to make him up. He'll be part Matthew Macfadyen in Pride & Prejudice, part Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man, part Albert Finney in Tom Jones, part Tom Hanks in Big, part Cary Grant in oh, anything, and part John Patrick Shanley.
What’s the most thrilling adventure you have had so far? It can be unrelated to acting! Tod: I’m a homebody. I find joy on the journey within. It's a big deal for me to take a job away from home, like when I went to West Palm Beach three years ago. That was the first time I'd worked outside the Berkshires in many years, and it was a great adventure. I was absurdly happy on that gig. (This is making me sound very dull.) I have a close friend whose family has a cottage on Lesbos—we have a dream of taking a month or more to go stay there. That would be a fantastic adventure! I'll make sure that happens. I went to the Painted Desert once
Tod Randolph Photograph by Edward Acker
with my sister Robin. She was more adventurous then I in some ways… she jumped out of plane once, and went on a lot of kayaking trips and camping trips. She moved to Hawaii a couple of years before she passed away, and that was a great adventure for her. But for me... there is a Buddhist concept called human revolution, which means to use the chanting of nam-myoho-renge-kyo to transform our character and circumstances so that Buddhahood shines forth in everything we do—“to attain enlightenment in one's own form”—and to help others to do the same, thereby contributing to the creation of a peaceful world. That process is a daily adventure for me. It fills my life with the openness of infinite possibility, and my work takes me into the most extraordinary explorations of humanity… as one of the characters in Or, says, "Inward views!" As you get older and wiser, Toddy, what do you consider one of your most valuable beliefs? Tod: That whatever happens, I have the tools, the skills and the willingness to create value out of it. No matter how difficult.
What will you be leaving behind for the world to remember you by? Tod: I have no idea. I don't think about it. I think what matters is what we do now, while we're here. What we leave behind will be the effect of all our actions, I suppose. But it's this moment that I can do something with. Theatre is fleeting; it leaves not a rack behind... but that ephemerality is not a measure of the experience. There is a human impulse, an instinct, to tell stories—that's what I do. What happens or changes as a result within the people in the audience, I have no control over. It's up to them what it means to them, and what they do with it.
Tod Randolph with Keira Keeley, Emma O’Donnell, Julie Jesneck, Laura Houck Dancing At Lughnasa, Portland Stage, 2015
After being out of formal training for so many years, do you find yourself still needing training and workshops, learning more? We never stop learning! Tod: I haven't gotten my ass to class for a long time, actually. I need to. Yes, I think it's important. The moment we stop striving to get better at this, we pretty much die as artists.
If we have lived before, what kind of past lives do you think you’ve had? Any reason why? I think I was in WWII in the French underground… Tod: I had one life when I was married to someone I know in this life. She's a woman now, but then she was my husband. We met in a "spacework" class, led by Elisa Novick, with whom I studied for many years. She was a sort of mentor for me in the use of consciousness and intuition, reading old patterns and creating new ones of greater coherence—family constellation work, also applied to current and historical global situations. Incredibly brilliant stuff… I learned so much working with her. Anyway, we became friends and discovered at some point that we'd had this previous connection... it was a very good marriage! Don't remember where or when it was, a couple of thousand years ago I think. There are one or two others I've become aware of. Ordinary lives. Things often happen in ordinary lives that are so powerful we're still living with the repercussions, many incarnations later. I completed and cleared out a lot of old karma in those classes.
How has the internet changed your life? Tod: Sigh. Well, it certainly hasn't simplified anything. It hasn't substantially changed my career, but only because I'm such a technophobe that I haven't really learned how to use it, professionally I mean. It makes a lot of demands, doesn't it? And brings in information that maybe I'd rather not have. Or that maybe my nerv-
ous system isn't designed to absorb in such vast amounts. I need to make a website, and learn how to tape auditions, and all kinds of other things... I'm way behind. Does it slim down the demand for live theatre, or quench a thirst for it? Tod: Live theatre offers something unique, which is the direct experience of vibration, from solar plexus to solar plexus, if you will, in a shared space and time, within the context of a collective: the actor, the word, the audience. That tradition goes back to the golden age of Greece and beyond, into our distant past. So no, I don't think the internet can quench whatever thirst we might have for that. There's no other way to get it, you have to be in the room, you have to be in the playing space together with the actors to experience that. Actual lifeto-life human communication in real time. Even the largest screens are a poor substitute. But we do have to fight harder for the dwindling resources. Theatre is expensive, and it doesn't make money, as a rule. The only way it will continue is if people continue to believe that it's necessary. Can you share with us a few more of the plays you were in? Someone reading this might have a revelation and say, “Oh, THAT was TODDY!?!?! Woah!” Tod: Here are a few that I haven't already mentioned: Duet for One; Julius Caesar; Mrs. Klein; (these were all in the Stables theatre at the Mount, directed by Tina Packer), the final production on the Mainstage there, Midsummer Night's Dream in 2001, also Tina; Richard III, 2010; As You Like It, 2011; I directed Shanley's the dreamer examines his pillow, with John Douglas Thompson, in 2009; Xingu, at the Mount, the inaugural production of The Wharton Salon, directed by Catherine Taylor-Williams, with an ensemble of some of my best friends...
What challenges are you continually facing, and can you tell us about one challenge you managed to conquer, perhaps we all can be inspired by it. Tod: Putting myself out there is a daily struggle. I love staying home and living deep inside my comfort zone. Every day I have to challenge that. I've learned at least that I need to put structures into place that force me to engage with the world and do the things I'm afraid to do. Not sure how inspiring that is! Sometimes it's all I can do to get out of bed, or to leave the house... it helps when things are set up so that someone is counting on me to show up for something. Then I have to show up for them, even if I wouldn't for myself.
And, where might you find yourself in five years, if you had any opportunity you desired? Tod: I want to be in a movie with Meryl Streep someday. We should play sisters. I want to get lots more film work. Make more money. I already have so many things I want, a beautiful home, friendship, to be surrounded by beauty all the time, living here in the Berks... I guess I'd like to fulfill my potential, which I don't think I've come close to doing yet. Whatever that looks like. I'd like to try my hand at the Greeks. And Shaw. And direct more. And do more new work. Maybe even write one of the three or four screenplays that have been kicking around in my head for about twenty years. I'd like to arrive at a level of confidence, self-assurance, fearlessness, that truly won't be shaken by anything. Thank you, Tod!
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 37
9 WEEKS, 9 WRITERS
FINE LINE MULTIMEDIA
Every writer has a voice. Every writer has a story. Every writer has a story about her voice, including how she came to acquire and record that voice. In this workshop, we will work on developing and clarifying our individual voices and leveraging voice to strengthen a speaker or narrator. The workshop is designed for writers who want to understand more deeply their own gifts and challenges and use that knowledge to elevate the level of their work. The number of writers will be capped at nine. We will focus on elements of craft as they pertain to the mission of each writer—most certainly voice, but also language and structure. We will address revision and look at several examples of work in draft and revised forms. In this place of collaborative learning, where some of us write poetry and some prose, we will learn from artists who are doing something different than we are and let their practices influence our work. Thursday evenings, 7-9 PM, Housatonic September 22 – December 1 (no workshop October 13 or November 24) 9 sessions, $405. Jayne Benjulian is the author of Five Sextillion Atoms. Her poems appear in numerous literary journals in the U.S. and abroad; her essays about theater, poetry, and the influence of artists on each other in theater playbills and performance journals. Her work as a poet, essayist and dramaturg informs her strikingly original approach to teaching. She was an Ossabaw Island Project Fellow; teaching fellow at Emory University; lecturer in the Graduate Program in Theater at San Francisco State University; director of new play development at Magic Theatre; Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Lyon, France; and chief speechwriter at Apple. For more about the workshop: www.jaynebenjulian.com/events
Fine Line Multimedia provides single or multi-camera video of music, dance and theater performances. Services include: scripting and storyboard art, videography with professional high definition cameras, high quality audio recording, sensitive lighting design and creative editing with the latest non-linear editing system. For the past 45 years Fine Line Multimedia has provided audio/video performance production for The Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, Berkshire Performing Arts Center, National Music Foundation, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, United Way of the Berkshires, Arlo Guthrie, Rising Son Records, Bobby Sweet, World Moja, Phil Woods, Grace Kelly, Heather Fisch, Opera Nouveau, Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company and many more. Fine Line was established in 1970 by Lee Everett in Lenox, Massachusetts. Everett came to the Berkshires after studying Advertising Design and Visual Communications at Pratt Institute and working for years as an Art Director in New York. He taught Art in local schools and began a full-service multimedia studio in Lenox specializing in the Performing and Visual Arts and other business and industry. With Photography, Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing, Audio/Video Production, Website, Social Network Creation and Administration together under one roof, Fine Line can satisfy the artistic communications and promotional needs of a wide range of clients. Please look at some examples from our portfolios of work on our website and use the contact information on the site to get further information, to see more samples, photographs or video reels, for professional and client references or for a free project consultation. Fine Line Multimedia - 66 Church Street, Lenox, MA; www.finelinelenox.com Contact: Lee Everett, 413-637-2020, everett@berkshire.rr.com
ADVANCED WORKSHOP IN PROSE AND POETRYWITH JAYNE BENJULIAN
38 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
LIVE PERFORMANCE PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO
SCOTT TAYLOR, SUMMER RETREAT 40 X 30”
SCOTT TAYLOR, EPHEMERAL AFTERNOON 36 X 36”
SCOTT TAYLOR GOLDEN ACRYLICS ON CANVAS
OUT OF BOUNDS
The next two shows for Scott Taylor will be coming up as the summer winds down and although the shows will be happening in two separate locations, they will come under one title. Taylor for the last twenty five years has been know basically as a Berkshire County Artist but with these two shows he looks to expand his horizons. Taylor’s first leg of his Out Of Bounds tour doesn’t actually get him out of the county that he knows so well, but it does push his boundaries to the far eastern border of the Berkshires and the town of Becket. August 27th through September 18th Taylor’s work will be shown at the well known Becket Arts Center. For this show Taylor has selected several of his atmospheric landscapes to display and will include several new works as well. There is an opening reception from 2-4pm on August 27th. Also showing at the arts center will be the work of Mary Ann Davis and Arthur Hillman. Continuing the Out of Bounds tour, Taylor will be opening at the new Art Annex gallery on Route 23 in Hillsdale, New York with an opening reception on September 3rd at 2-5. For this leg of the tour Taylor will be showing a mixture of images from his newest florals to his colorful landscapes and of course his iconic old trucks with attitude. The show in Hillsdale will be up through September 25th. The artist will be at the gallery every Saturday 11-6 and Sunday 11-5 while the show is up to talk about his work. www.scotttaylorpaintings.com
DIANA FELBER GALLERY THIRD SUMMER EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL FLOWER
JOHN LIPKOWITZ
JOHN LIPKOWITZ FROM DAKOTA TERRITORY SERIES
DAKOTA TERRITORY
John Lipkowitz born and raised in Manhattan, relocated to Great Barrington, MA in 2006, and has never lost his zest for travel. A self employed attorney in the City, he was fortunate enough to be able to indulge in that travel bug and nearly twenty years ago grabbed his camera and with his wife Nina began traveling to exotic destinations around the world. Travel and photography thereafter became twin passions and during the waning years of film he continued to perfect his eye and photographic techniques. The digital age enabled Lipkowitz to take control of his entire photographic process, from the viewfinder to the final print and thereafter to framing decisions. Each stage of this process adds another element of creation, enabling the artist, for better or worse, to fully claim his product. Dakota Territory results from Lipkowitz’ re-engagement with the American West and a return to “yesteryear” in the old Lone Ranger tradition as he and his wife visited South Dakota wild horse rescue ranches, Custer State Park and Badlands National Park and North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park with a little wandering in Eastern Montana. The wild horses, no longer quite wild but clearly not domesticated, have largely been rescued as whole herds from public lands as an alternative to sale for slaughter and, as they allowed him to walk closely among them, became compelling subjects. Free range bison within the State and National Parks occasionally crossed their paths while driving, enabling some close encounters with our country’s newly named United States Mammal. Pronghorn antelope, unique ungulates and the second fastest mammal on earth, still mark for Lipkowitz and his wife that invisible boundary between central and west somewhere in the Dakotas, and a first such sighting continues to define their entrance into The West. Dramatic landscapes, both within and without the parks, continuously presented themselves, sometimes as not so subtle reminders of the traditional West. Driving through small western towns and along lonely dirt roads, old, long unused grain elevators beside rail sidings and abandoned homesteads took them back to the early decades of the Twentieth Century or even further. This exhibit highlights the photographer’s choices among the nearly 4,000 images taken on his trip and will be showing at the 510 Warren Street Gallery, 510 Warren Street, Hudson, NY. Gallery hours: Friday and Saturday, 12-6; Sunday, 12-5. Artist’s reception, Saturday, September 10, 2016, 3-6 PM. Alternating images from Dakota Territory will also be on exhibit through the end of 2016.
ROBERT FORTE ROBERT FORTE, THE PICNIC
After recently completing a body of work, I began to develop several new avenues for self-expression. Each builds directly upon my last show, which reinterpreted my childhood icons through an adult lens. The affinity with my current work lies in the use of strong color and simplified forms to establish mood and emotional impact. The focus of my new paintings, however, shifts from remembered subjects to internal psychological conflicts, reflections, confrontations and awareness. These themes resonate throughout my placement, pairing and grouping of human figures, and the use of distortion for greater physical immediacy. The second approach that I have adopted seeks the same results but is more indirect. Here I use subjects mostly drawn from nature to channel the psychological content. How often we experience the known and familiar through perceptions altered by context and outlook. These paintings work as semi-abstractions through bold and stark imagery that isolates and magnifies objects to heighten the underlying theme. Locally, Forte has exhibited in Great Barrington and Housatonic, and until recently was a regular exhibitor at 510 Warren Street Gallery in Hudson, NY. He also participated in the New Marlborough summer shows at the Meeting House Gallery. After retiring from the practice of law, Forte studied painting with Cornelia Foss at The Art Students League in New York, and figurative drawing and painting with Philip Pearlstein and Minerva Durham. Forte's works are held in many private collections throughout the country. Robert Forte - www.robertforte.com
The Diana Felber Gallery will host the third summer exhibition August 3 – September 11, with an opening reception on Saturday, August 13 and a special Gallery concert at 8:00pm, by Maya Solovéy. Resurrecting a deceased (beloved Berkshire) artist for this show, we will feature Bessie Boris’ “Botanicals”. The rest of the artists are still very much alive and productive. We are proudly showing Warner Friedman’s paintings from his ‘White Series’, plus a couple of his ‘skies’; the seaside drawings of the ever energetic Lorna Ritz; Terri Moore’s beguiling “Bergs”, watercolor on Yupo; Nina Evans colorful glass roundels; Meryl Joseph’s striking abstract oil paintings, plus a few of her “archeological” assemblages. For sculpture these months you will be treated to David Bryce’s orientally inspired characters. The craft room will now highlight new watercolors by Ellen Kaiden, watery and glowing. And don’t miss the absolutely charming collages by Lorraine Klagsbrun. Finally, the talented Naomi Grossman, whose wire sculptures of women have been so intriguing to all, will now exhibit drawings and photos of figures she’s made quite her own. Diana Felber Gallery - 6 Harris St, West Stockbridge, MA. Gallery Hours: Open daily 11-6pm; closed Tuesdays. 413-854-7002, dianafelbergallery.com, Diana@dianafelbergallery.com
“Love will keep us together Think of me, bob, whenever...”
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 39
ERIC KORENMAN BEHIND THE CAMERA WITH
Harryet: Hi Eric. To begin with, I am interested in knowing what has made photography the primary interest in your life and the vehicle for your artistic endeavors? Eric Korenman: I’ve been a photographer since I was handed a Diana 120mm camera by Mrs. Burdett in third grade, and was told to go out and take pictures. She taught me to develop, print and begin to look at photographs critically. I can’t thank her enough for that experience. Since then, I've nearly always had a camera with me. Even when not carrying a camera, I find myself observing and looking for “the shot.” Later in life, I realized that this way of taking snapshots, real or imagined, has helped me to organize my life. It seems to have rubbed off on my kids, too. They often grab me and say, “Dad, look! The light. It’s perfect!” I’ve taught them to 40 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE
appreciate that moment. Because just as quickly, it is gone.
Have you had formal training? Who have your mentors been throughout your journey of learning to be a portrait photographer? Eric: As a child, I spent many summers studying photography at USDAN, an incredible arts camp in Huntington, N.Y. Other mentors include photographers I met while at college—Michael Rockefeller and Nicholas Nobili, to mention a couple. In recent years, local artists Michael Flower and Bill Wright gave me the confidence to step outside of my comfort zone and pursue the photography I really want to do. Another major influence on my artistic life has been Huck Elling, local fabric artist. She was the first artist I approached to collaborate on a proj-
ect and I thank her so much for working with me. She also sent me down the comedy world path (more on that later) and I thank her for that as well.
Aside from your portraits, which I think are so alive and personal and well-crafted, what else do you shoot? Eric: I do enjoy occasionally shooting social events. I avoid the “smile everyone” social, snappy shot and try to capture the personalities, the interactions, and the swirl and show of the event. Of all the areas you focus on—still life, scenic, commercial, world travel—which is your favorite, and why? Eric: Definitely the one-on-one portrait. Everyone, including myself to some degree, hates to have a
Eric Korenman Krystyna Hutchinson and Corrine Fisher. 2016
camera pointed at their face. My goal is to make the camera go away and to let the person I am photographing come through. Getting someone to relax and be themselves in front of the camera is incredibly rewarding.
You have shot so many interesting people. What if a person is not exciting… you know, no electric charge comes from their end? What do you do to make the photo shoot as captivating as possible? Eric: Well, there are those times when no matter what you do, you can’t get your subject to settle in. You have to roll with the shoot. As soon as you appear unsure of yourself, it is all over. I had one shoot where my client showed up flustered and jumpy. She said, “I just broke up with my boyfriend; I need a shot of tequila. And I want the pictures to project happy, friendly confidence.” I told her that there was no way we were going to get the shot that day. We started talking and she opened up about her life. The pictures I took completely captured who she was at that moment. In fact, that shoot was one of my favorites. Understandably, she wasn’t thrilled with the results. Months later she told me that friends said the pictures perfectly captured who she was at that moment. I considered it the highest compliment. I still love the shots from that session. At this point, what is most important for you with your work?
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
Eric Korenman Grana #2. 2013
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 41
Eric Korenman Ari Shaffir. 2015
Eric Korenman Gilbert Gottfried. 2015
Eric Korenman Judy Gold. 2016
Eric: To be honest and to not hold back.
Are you incredibly busy like the rest of us? Times are funny—it seems people are thriving from having too much on their plates, and they like the challenge of doing more than they can handle! Where are you at with this? Eric: I have embraced the fact that I am a “dual sleeper.” I often get up at 2 a.m. and work until 4 a.m. It is an incredibly peaceful and clear-headed time of night. I get a lot of editing done during those hours.
How do you work with people to make them feel comfortable investing in a portrait, or having a professional shoot for an event? I’m asking this partly because I have a vision in mind to one day teach a younger generation how to get on their feet making a living in the arts. Eric: Mostly it has been word of mouth and social 42 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
media. Talent will only get you so far. You need to constantly be pursuing leads, finding new ones and shaking off the dead ends. Something changed when I turned forty. I stopped concerning myself with how people perceive my work, and I became more tenacious in the pursuit of the work I want to do.
Does your work entail much traveling? Or do you work a lot from your studio? Eric: Not much traveling. I’ve divided my photography career between the Berkshires and NYC. I go down to my NYC studio (a rental understanding I have with a NYC photographer) every few months and shoot intensively for a week. I come home exhausted and happy. Cassandra Sohn represents your work. You must have met some other amazing photographers while with her—who have you met that
has become an inspiration for you, even if their work differs from yours? Eric: I have to. The Berkshires is a small, tight community. I don’t want offend anyone by leaving them out… When shooting a subject, how well do you have to know their personality to get the best out of them, and to get photos they will adore? Eric: That is always the challenge. I’ve settled into a style where I interview my subject. At some point, I start to take pictures but continue to interview them. As I mentioned, my goal is to make the camera disappear and engage my subject in talking about themselves. Most people like to talk about themselves, and I am honestly interested in listening. (At some point earlier in life I did think about becoming a psychiatrist…) How do you find your family life to be in the
Eric Korenman Proserpina Men. 2012
Berkshires? It’s a wonderful place to live and love and be happy, but are there any drawbacks to the attention you give to your work, as opposed the the attention your family needs? Is it a balance, or does it get hard at times to be an artist and a family man? You must have a lot of support! Eric: If not for the Berkshires, I don’t think I would have ever had the freedom or time. That and the incredible support of the artistic community. I could not have done this in my hometown, NYC. My wife and children are incredibly supportive as well. I thank them for putting up with my craziness. How do you view our art scene here in the Berkshires? What do you think we lack here and should try to create? I would love to see more re-purposed buildings for quality affordable art studios—places where artists can work, share ideas and show their work.
Eric Korenman Bobcat Goldthwait. 2015
Shooting is an art… what do you as a professional photographer need to be aware of when you are snapping photos? Eric: So very much is lost by simply just “taking a picture.” The smells, the weather, your mood, what you just ate or drank, who you are with is gone. That one moment of light and shadow has to carry the weight of all that missing information. That is the challenge. It doesn’t work most of the time. But when it does… it pops. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE... THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 43
What are you inspired, excited and passionate about? Eric: Well, my fine art deals with issues of abundance and decadence. I am always thinking about how much “stuff” we have to deal with—real and virtual. Our Amazon Prime culture: the need it, get it now, always connected, overload, 25-hour news cycle world. I think that is also what draws me to comedians, which I’m also fascinated by. The more I learn about the comedy world, the more I am inspired by their insane career choice. No one just comes out of school a comedian. They have to get up on stage and bomb over and over, night after night to perfect their craft. They are driven to go back and ask more and are often on the road, away from friends and family and for terrible pay. You ask them, “Why do you do this?” They say, “I have to.” Are they nuts? Yes. And beautifully so. The good ones parse out and help explain—or least let us laugh at—the meaning of existence in today’s world. I think you are a dog lover… do you photograph animals? Eric: I don’t often work with animals. But I do love to photograph my dogs from time to time. 44 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
Favorite photographers? Eric: That is easy. Diane Arbus and Richard Avedon. Heroine Yin and Hero Yang.
Fine artist? Eric: Edward Hopper—sometimes called the finest photographer who painted. Man, could he paint light. Walk North Street in Pittsfield about an hour before sunset. It is all Hopper. Movies and directors? Eric: Lars Von Triers’ Melancholia and Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain. Both movies are full of images that alone could stand as incredible photographs. Both were incredibly inspiring to my Masked and Proserpine Path series. Favorite restaurant? Eric: Zinc and District. I’m always a sucker for a good bistro dinner, preferably at the bar.
All-time favorite sport? Eric: Umm. I went to an arts camp! So I’m not much of a sportsman, much to the disappointment of my dad. By the way, my dad loved the arts and gave me my first camera, which I still own and cherish to this day.
Eric Korenman Kate Maguire at Hotel on North 2015
Where did you grow up? What was your childhood like? Eric: Manhattan. I snottily assumed that all kids took the 6 train downtown to see arthouse films and smoke cigarettes. Four years of college in New Hampshire erased that illusion. There I learned to appreciate the fog rising off the river on fall mornings. And (I kid you not), I had never really seen stars, let alone the Milky Way, until I left NYC. How did you end up in the Berkshires, and what made you want to stay? Eric: My wife grew up here. We spent the 90s visiting, and after we married and I started my career, we decided to move here in July, 2000. We have never looked back. We love it here.
Anything else you’d like to tell us about? Eric: Yes! I will be in multi-artist show at the Sohn Fine Art Gallery, showing new work. VANITAS will show in the Back Gallery there from August 12 through September 25, with an artists’ reception on Saturday, August 20, from 4 to 7. Other artists in the show include Stephanie Blumenthal, Steven Duede, Marsden Epworth, Allan Markman, Anne Mourier, Cecilia Schmidt and Kevin Sprague. G
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 45
Denise B Chandler Fine Art Photography
Horse, Denise b Chandler
eXHiBitiNG and rePreSeNteD by:
• Sohn Fine Art Gallery 69 Church St., Lenox, MA
• 510 Warren Street Gallery 510 Warren St., Hudson, Ny www.denisebchandler.com info@denisebchandler.com
46 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
510
WARREN ST GALLERY
LARRY S. FRANKEL larryfrankelphotography.com
413. 645. 3246
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 47
MARGUERITE BRIDE AND LEE EVERETT
Marguerite Bride, w/c
Phil Woods. photograph by Lee Everett
JAZZ VISIONS
Harryet: An amazing project worked on for two years! And two talented artists combine their art efforts in the respect and love for music… this intrigues me. You and Lee Everett have joined forces – his photography, and your watercolors, on canvas, might I add to the excitement – the perfect peanut butter and chocolate with icing on top… congrats… tell me, Marge! How did this all begin? Marge Bride: I’m not quite sure I have ever been compared to peanut butter and chocolate before…but I like it! Sometimes all it takes is a simple suggestion. You see, Lee has been the “house photographer” for the Pittsfield CityJazz Festivals since they started in 2005 and I have been the “jazz spouse”, helping and supporting my husband’s musical obsession. Lee and I have been “art buddies” for many years as well. I have done some music-influenced paintings, but never really considered a whole show of them. The idea came alive during one of the concerts in the fall of 2014… Ed said … “hey, why don’t you and Lee put on an exhibit….his photography, your paintings.” Simple start, simple idea. Lee and I did have to mull 48 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE
it over for a while before committing, though. We both felt it should be a good-size exhibit in order to be worth all the effort. So, before we jumped in, we wanted a committed venue and an exhibit date. When I mentioned the prospect of the exhibit to Jen Glockner (Cultural Director, Pittsfield) she was thrilled and immediately asked me when to book us at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts. We were delighted…the perfect place and size! Lee and I met there and we both said “this is it”; we figured we would each provide approximately 20 pieces. I felt it was important to include an educational component. Plus I wanted do something different, to push my own boundaries, provide a new (and difficult, as it turns out) technical challenge: watercolor on canvas. And, since I would need the time to paint, we allowed two years for preparation. Marge, the jazz aspect of this three-cornered angle is exciting. I am wondering, is it just jazz? And, as for the jazz, any particular genre, is it all general mix, or is it based on celebrating particular musicians? Please explain.
Marge: It’s an exhibit of jazz genres “in general.” We are both including scenes of local interest (Pittsfield CityJazz Festivals, Tanglewood Jazz Festivals, Music Inn, and other local venues); but there will be plenty from beyond the Berkshires, as well. My niche is painting architectural scenes, so my pieces include many structures… old and new, local and afar…like the Apollo and the Cotton Club in New York, the Newport and Montreal Jazz Festivals, Mission and Castle Street Café among others…with historical information that will be displayed along with the paintings. This is where my desire to provide an educational element comes in. Jazz has been referred to as “America’s cultural gift to the world” and that’s a heritage we are proud of. I have also included paintings of instruments (Joy of Sax, The Master’s Hands and Solo on the Side), especially those featured in local concerts. I tend not to do many “people” portraits but did include some of musicians who performed locally, such as Phil Woods, Andy Wrba and his Monday jazz group at Mission; and, even a group scene of the New Black Eagles Jazz Band who performed at the first Pittsfield
CityJazz Festival in 2005. I hope combination of Lee’s spectacular and sensitive performance photos and my paintings will provide viewers with a wellrounded display, and maybe they’ll learn a few things too.
I adore the concept of combining the performing arts with visual art. It has a historical documentary feeling that can endure for years and years, generations of people learning how things work together! I understand that your husband Ed, was the genius behind the Jazz Festival that has been going on now for years in Pittsfield…. tell me about the Jazz Festival, please. Marge: The visual and performing arts are like first cousins that work and play well together. From the early days of the festival, Ed made it a point to include a visual aspect. With the guidance of Art Niedeck, one of the board members, each spring Berkshires Jazz sponsors a jazz-focused art competition in all the Pittsfield high schools. The art is hung for all to see during Jazz Appreciation Month (City Hall, Lichtenstein, and the Berkshire Museum have all hosted this exhibit). It is juried by local professional artists, and the winners are awarded a small cash prize. The art of the first-place winner represents that year’s Pittsfield CityJazz Festival on all of the marketing materials, programs and ads. At the main concert during the fall festival, usually at the Colonial, I sit with and introduce the artist to the attendees while he/she signs souvenir posters. Its great fun and
always a thrill for the young artist. The art produced by these high-school students blows me away…I’m glad I am not a jurist! Having visual and performing arts partnered in this way provides a wider audience for both the visual and the musical…we believe in cross-pollination of the arts. A very brief history about how the festival started……when we moved to Pittsfield (from Lenox, by way of eastern Massachusetts) in 2004, we ran into Jimmy (then Mayor of Pittsfield) and Ellen Ruberto the day we passed papers on our new home. We introduced ourselves, had a nice chat, and when Ed and Jimmy realized they were at Villanova at the same time, Ellen asked Ed what he studied there. He said, “Well…mostly I ran the Villanova Jazz Festivals, and I’d love to bring some jazz to Pittsfield”. Her response …. “We need more jazz here in Pittsfield”. And that is how it all started. It was a simple suggestion that took off, and has been happening every fall since 2005. I guess you might even say there would not be a “Jazz Visions” exhibit without that conversation.
Your watercolors have incorporated your travels, scenes of country, still lifes, more… I have watched you progress over the years. Your artwork is crisp, with depth and perception. Why is this project your biggest one yet? It’s so much more than a gallery exhibition. Marge: You’re right. It is much more, at least to me…. I mentioned having an educational compo-
nent? Turns out I was the one doing most of the learning. I have listened to more jazz, revisited more venues and performances, watched hours of Ken Burns’ JAZZ series on PBS, did more research and reading than I ever expected to, in prep for this show… trying to get a handle on jazz as both an art form and to understand what might make a good painting. Did I mention that I never really liked jazz very much? Big band jazz makes me crazy…always did and still does! But I now can appreciate the skill and creativity, and the history, even if I don’t like some of the sounds. I have grown to love the sound of smaller groups more these days….particularly when heard in person … try Mission on a Monday evening, you won’t be sorry. Since our first two dates were at the Newport Jazz Festival, I knew early on that jazz would be a part of my life… if I wanted to stay married that is…. the writing was on the wall. Combining our two loves… music and art… into a project we could both be involved in made it a lot of fun as well. And because he is such a great wordsmith, I gave him the task of creating the words that would accompany each painting. What have you learned so far about art and the world around you? Marge: I look at things differently than I did before I painted…I’m always analyzing colors and identifying interesting compositions in everyday scenes. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
Mollys and the Dungeon, New Orleans. Marguerite Bride watercolor Charles Neville. photograph by Lee Everett
THE ARTFUL MINDAUGUST 2016 • 49
Missing New Orleans. Marguerite Bride watercolor
Even though I paint very little of what I see, being a painter changes one’s view of the world…in an artistic sense. I think that is true for most artists. Painting also makes me think inward a lot and I have developed a deep appreciation for other artists’ work…be it painting, photography, printmaking, music….any of the creative arts. I love the process and appreciate how it is different for every person. I give lessons and I have found I learn more from my students than I could ever have imagined. It’s really quite wonderful.
What is it like working with a co-pilot on this venture? Marge: Once we identified what had to be done, we then worked pretty hard individually getting our own parts ready. I think we are both pretty laid back and easy-going….although I tend to get a little obsessive about details sometimes. I make check-lists and timelines, project plans …that’s just me. I’m quite sure we will still be friends when this is over.
What is it you admire in Lee’s photography work? What do you think he admires about your watercolors? Marge: I love the energy….Lee’s photos of perform50 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
ers are alive and expressive and he’s a master at capturing just the right moment. You can hear the music when you see his pictures. Lee has told me many times how much he loves my watercolors, especially scenes and atmosphere. Was capturing musicians a challenge for you, compared to your other styles of painting you have done? How? Marge: I am not an expert at painting faces…I seem to be able to capture body language, but sometimes faces throw me off. However, I have to say I did a couple in this exhibit that I am really proud of….one of Phil Woods, called “Man with the Hat” (which is based on a great shot taken by Lee, right here in Pittsfield) and the other of Andy Wrba playing the bass at Mission called “Home Bass”. Both seemed to catch the expressions I was seeking; and, they actually look like them too.
Are your watercolors from actual live subjects or do you work from photos? Marge: I am not a plein air painter, nor can I paint from ideas alone…I’ve tried that…doesn’t work for me. My method is to take tons of reference photos of my subject, whether it’s a building, instrument, ani-
mal, person…doesn’t matter. Then I study them and do a drawing (usually many). Oftentimes the drawing doesn’t even resemble the photos. But that’s good…they are there for guidance and inspiration, not for copying. I will view them in black and white, too, and paint using my own version of colors that seem to work. The paintings in Jazz Visions are inspired by a combination of my own reference photos of the venues and performers I have seen, photos of Lee’s, some of Ed’s and for the places that no longer exist, I had to do some research and use old images from the web or books as reference, and one, an old movie cel. What are yours and Lee’s and Ed’s expectations for this year’s event? What is the mission statement about? Marge: Well, I’m hoping that many of our pieces find new homes. ...that viewers love the show and learn a little something they didn’t know before. I have one piece that will have a silent auction attached to it… .a fine-art reproduction of “The Master’s Hands.” Dave Brubeck himself signed it. He signed the original, which was auctioned in 2009 at a fundraising event for the Colonial Theatre, and two of the signed repros are in private collections. This is the only one
remaining, and the proceeds will benefit Berkshires Jazz. So I’m also guessing Ed is hoping that Berkshires Jazz will receive a nice bonus to help keep bringing great Jazz to the Berkshires. We never really created a mission statement per se. Never thought of it…just might bring the viewers closer to and have more appreciation for jazz in general.
Creating projects such as this is a huge endeavor. Have you found many bumps in the road while planning and organizing? What kinds of things needed to happen over these past two years? Marge: Surprisingly, there were no bumps; things fell into place when they were supposed to. We divided up the “tasks”… things that needed to happen included grant application, securing a venue and exhibit time, determining approximately how many pieces we should be preparing for the space, arranging marketing and pr (including social media, eblasts, interviews etc.), designing, ordering and distributing postcards and posters, and arranging for hanging and reception responsibilities. Believe it or not, that’s how I run all my projects. In a previous career, I was a project manager in the software industry….we lived by checklists…I guess it’s a carry-over.
You can take this event on the road; can you imagine doing this in Europe somewhere? I can! Marge: This was not conceived as a traveling show, but the idea is very appealing. If there are enough un-
Dave Brubeck. photography by Lee Everett
sold pieces after the show closes on Aug. 27, I’d love to see it somewhere else. Europe? Sure...I’ll go.
Is it considered untraditional to do watercolors on an actual canvas, as opposed to watercolor paper? Marge: It is true that watercolor on canvas is not the “traditional” medium, but it is an “officially accepted” medium …. I found out when submitting some pieces in a national watercolor competition. The canvas is specially prepared. I was actually doing that part myself, but then found the stretched canvases already prepped could be purchased…..so that is what I used. And many are quite large…2’ x 4’….I would never do that size on paper…. the weight of the frame, mat and glass would make it too heavy. Watercolors on canvas are sprayed with a matte varnish the make them permanent, then framed as you would an oil or acrylic. All of mine are in floater frames. I’m not what you call “pigment shy” so some people might even think they are oils at first. They are different, that’s for sure…I even wrote up a tutorial about painting on canvas on my website. Who do you use as a framer? Marge: I frame them myself, having worked in a frame shop for a year as an apprentice, I learned plenty! Lee also has plenty of experience as a framer, but no longer has the space to do so. For this project he used Sohn Gallery in Lenox.
The opening, August 5, 5 – 8pm at the Lichtenstein Center in Pittsfield is going to be quiet a celebration! You both must be very excited. What will people be in for? Oh, this is worth every second of effort. Is there anything I can help you with on this great project just about to break lose? Marge: I ALWAYS get nervous at openings, ALWAYS….and how many have I done now? Doesn’t matter, I will be a wreck. We are hoping we have jazz playing as well, background…hopefully live, but if not, we will figure something out. Because the opening coincides with Pittsfield’s First Friday Artswalk, plus being smack dab in the middle of the tourist season, I expect it might be very lively! Whom do you have to thank for their help, there must be a handful of amazing people supporting in the efforts to make this a reality. Marge: Well, of course Ed (his idea) and Lee (it couldn’t happen without his stunning photos and his hard work), and Jen Glockner for so enthusiastically inviting our exhibit to be at the Lichtenstein. Also a big thanks to the Pittsfield Cultural who saw value in this project and is partially funding it. F
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 51
Great selection from...
52 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
Michelangelo Eats Figs Part II from “No Cure For The Medieval Mind”
The neighborhood Michelangelo was walking through that evening looking for figs was familiar to him because, being the workingman’s district, many of the laborers who worked under his direction rebuilding Saint Peters for the Pope lived there. He also had lived there years ago, and so, in his search for the figs he made a few stops calling on his foreman of the stonecutters, and the supervisor of stores and supplies for the Vatican workshops. It should be kept in mind that at this time, late in Michelangelo’s life, he was entirely in charge of the rebuilding of Saint Peters. For this enormous labor he accepted no payment at all. The Vatican had for years, even centuries, been plagued by graft and corruption in its various huge building projects. A big church was looked upon as an endless source of income for architects, masons, and stonecutters, and this tradition of never bringing to completion the big edifices goes back to the time of the cathedrals. It was the advent of Michelangelo that put an end to this tradition. Perfectly pure and honest in himself, there was no way for anyone to take advantage of his position, and added to that, he could not be gotten around with false information or the exaggeration of problems because he was more knowledgeable about any of the work of his subordinates than they were. When jealous contemporaries attempted to criticize him to either the Pope or the Cardinals they turned a deaf ear to the critics, or turned them out altogether pointing out that Michelangelo was saving the church thousands of ducats every year, so it was pointless to level any criticism against him. Actually, the Holy Fathers took great delight in hearing stories about how Michelangelo had rebuilt the home of some poor man to Vitruvius’ specifications, some simple man whose job it was just to move bricks from one place to another at the beck and call of the masons. So when the head foreman received his instructions to assemble twenty workmen to work in L’Indaco’s church first thing in the morning, they gathered for the task without hesitation. When the warehouses of the Vatican, in which all the building materials were stored for the reconstruction of Saint Peters received orders to pack up such and such expensive stone specifically for floor mosaics and to
load them into carts they obeyed without question. That night Michelangelo returned to the church with the figs. He found the building locked up, and the candles extinguished. He pounded on the door and after a long wait, a wait in which the great man fully was able to feel his previous fault, L’Indaco opened the door to him and a few minutes later they got verso il basso per l'ottone dei chiodini. During the night Michelangelo and L’Indaco tore out as much of the floor as possible, concentrating on those portions that were the most embarrassing, and when morning came they received the help of twenty of the Vatican stonemasons who arrived ready to work on the project. Michelangelo made only a few adjustments to the original design. He multiplied the basic design in its width by a small fraction, which caused the patterns to fall in the proper order, but he left unchanged the proportions for the length of the church. This slight change could not be detected by eye. Another change he made was to eliminate all of the white and off-white marble in the design, substituting very light gray tints of granite, which is a much harder stone. He pointed out to L’Indaco that white marble, although strikingly beautiful in a floor when first installed, soon becomes dark and dingy with ground in dirt. L’Indaco knew quite well that the granite and porphyry stones Michelangelo was using in the floor, were superior in every way to the marble he had planned to use, but his budget for the entire project would not have been enough to pay for even the outside edges of the design, much less the entire floor. But Michelangelo had reached that point in his career where it was unnecessary for him to take into consideration either the cost of the materials or the time required. All the time I was telling the old priest what had happened between Michelangelo and L’Indaco he kept casting occasional glances at the floor under his feet. What I was in the process of telling him constituted an entire improvised explanation as to why the floor of his church was in such pristine condition, and also why it had needed almost no restoration over the past many centuries. So it turned out that the virtual obscurity of the church, and its location outside of the more famous districts of Rome was an asset, when viewed strictly from the standpoint of a trafficinducing anecdote. Now, with the use of a little promotional material his church could take its place in the list of locations it is incumbent on the modern tourist to visit. You may object and point out that the purpose of a church, in the past as in the present, has nothing to do with tourism, and is unrelated to what sort of floors, mosaics, paintings and frescoes are to be seen in the structure, but that objection raises a question that has plagued Christianity from the very beginning. Should a church contain images? That very question, led to the first argument that produced the first great schism of Christianity. Those against the use of images correctly point out that the images, no matter what they may be or how perfectly made, distract the worshiper from the true purpose of the religious experience, and substitute a purely aesthetic, visceral and physical set of stimulations for the more important function of the saving of the soul for the next life. The defenders of the decorations of the churches say that such puritanical ideas are just so much straw blowing around in the breeze, and are of no account
when put to the test, because even the most spiritual of individuals has no possible way to visualize any heaven or hell or anything else for that matter unless the mind is guided by a number of useful tools. And, as a matter of fact, there have always been those who would ostracize the art of language as well as the art of images, all you need to do is consider the crazy idea of vows of silence so popular among religious fanatics. What is a vow of silence in the first place? It is an attack on the idea of the usefulness of language. A vow of silence makes as much sense as a vow of blindness. To complete the idea of a vow of silence after we have added to it a vow of blindness, we should really proceed to a vow of not smelling anything as well, because the nose is often very instrumental in leading a lost soul into perdition. A holy man should be blindfolded, have a clothespin on his nose, and never say anything at all. That is the ideal situation for him. Meanwhile, we are ignoring a very important sense and a dangerous one, the sense of touch. The sense of touch will have to go the way of speech and seeing, as well as smelling. How we are going to get rid of the sense of touch I am not sure, probably some big mittens will do, but one might still start paying attention to the feel of the inside of the mittens themselves. Finally we arrive at the sense of taste, but that sense will have to be preserved however if one is to go on existing at all. It certainly comes under attack over and over again with elaborate fasts that begin on a certain day, and extend through to the end of the month. The more devout persons sometimes extend their fasts till they look like those Buddha’s with ribs like wicker baskets. But the sense of taste has to exert itself in the end because without it we would dwindle down to nothing. Looked at in this way, one can come to the conclusion that the experience of life itself, which really only consists of the awareness of the world through the machinery God gave us to understand it with, is denied by any attempt to silence or deny the physical senses. I would like to say to those people, “Be patient, you are going to have all of eternity to enjoy nothingness. Why be in such a hurry to start?” -Richard Britell G
“Actors must understand each other, know each other, help each other, absolutely love each other; must, absolutely must.” --Sir Laurence Olivier, 1975 THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 53
RJ infront of Tranquility
RJ ROSEGARTEN
Harryet: I’m wondering, how do you decide what objects to use in a found-object sculpture? RJ Rosegarten: There is no science or rationale to my selection process. When an item catches my fancy because of its color, texture, shape or original use, I make the purchase. I gather many different, eclectic objects because, somewhere deep inside, they speak to me. The objects are usually so varied there is absolutely no pattern. I put away what I buy. Sometimes when I pick them up again at a later date, I can’t remember why I purchased them in the first place. But most times, when I return to them, my creative juices start flowing. My motto is, “When in doubt, don’t throw out.”
You are a collector of many objects—Iroquois beaded tourist art, PEZ candy dispensers, presidential campaign memorabilia, World’s Fair postcards, etc. How influential was your passion for collecting in leading you to creating three-dimensional, mixed media compositions? 54 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
SCULPTOR
INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE
RJ: Yes, I am an inveterate collector and I am always on the hunt for my collections. Since I was a kid, I was always passionate about collecting something or other. My eyes were always constantly moving, and they still are. Shapes of things, textures, color or the absence of color fascinate me. So my collecting and the gathering of material for my art run on parallel tracks; I never search out one without thinking of the other. For about ten years, influenced by Pop Art, I painted. My paintings were large and the images were extremely colorful. The paintings were whimsical and expressed my mood at the time. For the most part, the titles of the paintings were humorous—“Antonio Fleicemeier Sues His Hairdressers” or “I’m Schizophrenic and So Am I.” Then one day I went to an outdoor antique show in the city. Lined along the street were a group of wooden objects. I had no idea what they were. The dealer explained that they were wooden molds used in sand casting to make metal parts. I was intrigued.
I bought twenty-five pieces and almost immediately gravitated toward creating three-dimensional compositions of found objects. It was as if someone had closed one door and opened another, and I never looked back. I began “painting” with these objects, using them as color, texture, shape and design. I have a new series called “Junk Drawers,” consisting of hundreds of items we all throw into drawers when we’re not quite ready to throw them out. Many people have told me that these junk drawers are like abstract paintings, so I guess the connection to my past artistic life is there. My work is simply three-dimensional paintings without using paint or brush. You find uses for material objects that have been tossed away, neglected and maybe considered useless, especially if the object is just a part of something, or if it’s broken, or whatever. You resurrect these objects and give them a new life and mystique. What was your first stimulus for bringing
this art form to life? RJ: I am a collector. I have been a collector for as long as I can remember. Collecting is what keeps me going. Like many kids, if it wasn’t coins, it was trading cards or comic books. Until I was thirteen, I lived in a one-bedroom apartment, and so my collecting was limited to objects that fit into cigar boxes. When my medium changed, so did my appreciation for the unused and discarded. There is material everywhere. Flea markets, yard sales and antique shows are my main source for material. Friends can be great also. Their stuff becomes my stuff. My artistic challenge is always to find a way to renew and combine the unrelated, and to give it new life. An artist friend suggested that the title of all my work should be “Homage to Renewal.” That says it all. In collecting odds and ends, how do you decide what to keep and what to throw away, to avoid major collecting issues that could take over house and home? RJ: Initially, the wooden patterns were the basis for
Aphrodite-Gothic. 18 x 24 x 8” RJ Rosegarten
my early work. As time passed, I enlarged my scope. There is no object I won’t consider using in one of my compositions, although size does become a factor. From time to time, I look into my storage boxes and see if the objects still talk to me. If they don’t, I simply throw them out. I don’t hoard; I collect. I just did a thorough clean-out in my studio. It was a catharsis.
What has been the strangest found object you have used in a piece? RJ: I put a boxed tarantula in one of my pieces because it worked visually and I enjoyed its shock value. I gave it to one of my sons as a gift. He called me a week later and told me he had to return it. The tarantula frightened my granddaughters; and the cigarettes, bullets, and miniature guns disturbed my daughter-in-law. I gratefully took it back and replaced it with a new piece. I really like this piece and put it in my solo show last month at The Art Annex in Hillsdale. It caused a lot of conversation.
Do you feel objects have an energy spirit that can affect and influence the lives of people in some grey way, as opposed to black and white? RJ: I feel that if you own a piece of art, you must love it. There can be no neutrality. When I see a painting, a piece of sculpture or a photograph that I want to buy, it has to talk to my wife as well. The piece of art will be up for a long time in our home, and I want us both to love it as we pass it by. Why own it if it doesn’t move you and continually please you? The energy of art is gratifying, enriching, inspiring, and engaging. Is there anything in your family history that might have made you into such a creative person? RJ: My parents had no artistic talent. If you gave them a ruler they couldn’t draw a straight line. They did however enjoy my ability and were very encouraging. My dad was an accountant. In his office, he kept a large box of “stuff”—business cards, paper CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 55
RJ in Studio
clips, rubber stamps, pencils, foreign coins, trinkets—all sorts of odds and ends. When I was a kid and visited his office, he would spill them out on the floor and ask me to sort them. I would put them together by color, texture, or shape. It would take me an hour to make the piles. When I left, he would dump all the items back into the box. It took me a while to catch on, since he was always adding new stuff. When I think about it, I believe his junk box could be the basis of my fascination with found objects and mixed media.
With the gallery in Hillsdale up and running, are you now more interested in making art to sell, or is the personal desire to create still rule number one? RJ: I don’t create for a sale. I create because I enjoy the process, the challenge and the fulfillment when 56 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
disparate things come together and form new relationships. Half the fun is the hunt for these items. But of course I want people to see my work, enjoy it and buy it if it talks to them and nourishes them. You should dig it if you want to own it. Otherwise, why bother?
Why have you never opened your own gallery or joined a co-op gallery? RJ: I have absolutely no interest in owning a gallery. I have been a member of two co-op galleries, but if you are part of a co-op, you have to invest time and energy on the business side, and I prefer to concentrate on my art. Is there anything in your life that you still desire, anything that you’ve always wanted and are still trying to obtain? If so, how are you working to-
wards this, and if not, why not? RJ: The simple answer is no. My wife, Doreen Rappaport, and I have a most fulfilling life in the Berkshires and in New York City. My art and her writing keep our life up here rich and interesting. Each day is a new experience. Being bored is not in our vocabulary. What artists in your past and present do you admire and learn from? Who keeps you inspired? RJ: Robert Indiana, Joseph Cornell, Robert Rauschenberg, Keith Haring, Louise Nevelson and anyone who breaks new ground and doesn't look back. Viewing these artists enriches my life. Both Doreen and I are “museum-aholics.” How can you learn and grow creatively if you don’t absorb the great art that is out there?
You are happily married, have eight grandchildren, and live in a beautiful place in the Berkshires. I know your wife writes children’s books and is quite prolific. It must be a blessing to have a partner who is just as creative as you. Do you share your creative journeys, even though they are different? RJ: This question makes me smile. I am extremely fortunate to have a life partner as talented as Doreen. She has written over fifty-five books for children and young adults. She loves her work. I love my work. We create separately in the same house, but we share much—opinions, critiques and constructive comments on each other’s works-in-process. I never finalize a construction until I get input from her. We don’t always agree, but we are always open to the sharing process.
RJ Rosegarten Junk Draw.
What’s next for you? Art or otherwise… RJ: My collecting as a hobby will continue. I currently have three new compositions dancing in my head which should be completed by mid-September. This is the exciting period, when things are uncertain, when I am on the edge of the creative process, but feeling the momentum.
Thank you for making a genuinely great contribution to the appreciation of art in Hillsdale. Tell us your thoughts on the emerging gallery scene there. RJ: The addition of Bill Sullivan and Lynne Chmurzynski’s gallery, The Art Annex, is a major step in Hillsdale’s art development. Lynne and Bill have open minds; they respond to many different forms of art. It was an honor to have a solo show in
their beautiful space. They are the future of Hillsdale. By the way, people will have a chance to see much more of the local art scene at the Hillsdale ArtsWalk on August 27th. The Art Annex will be showing more of my work along with other artists who’ve exhibited since it opened in March—Betzie Bendis, Paul Solovay, Metin Oner, and Scott Taylor who is on the calendar for September. All day, there will be artists and skilled artisans under tents, outdoors, all over the Hamlet. rjrosegarten@aol.com
F THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 57
“MOUNTAIN VIEW” 3-STRING ‘DOG-DISH’ RESONATOR ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC
BERKSHIRE HANDMADE Drunk Bay Cigar Box Guitars CHAPTER 2
Innovation. Craft. Music. The Berkshires is known for and has ALL of it. Most of us agree that using locally sourced materials beats importing. We love the idea of supporting local craftspeople before overseas mass-production. We like the idea of HANDMADE instruments, expertly and lovingly designed and made right here in Berkshire County. Local craftspeople are building guitars, ukuleles, ‘strum stick dulcimers,’ bamboo and walking stick flutes, cigar box guitars and ‘canjos’ and The Music Store is fortunate to represent some of this wonderful collection! And so, we proudly present our Homegrown Musical Masterworks, extraordinary instruments made locally and often using locally sourced materials as well! 58 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
“Li’l Escort” vintage box, 3-string acoustic/electric
In each chapter of this series we will introduce a new instrument by a local maker, so stay tuned to the Artful Mind as the months progress into summer and beyond.
Dr. Easy’s Drunk Bay Cigar Box Guitars Where old meets new in Berkshire County! by David Reed (AKA Dr. Easy) Tamboura Productions
First documented in the Civil War era, Cigar Box Guitars appeared as a functional re-use of available materials - boxes of ANY kind from ammo boxes to cigar boxes and biscuit tins with scrap wood for necks and screen wire for strings - to give inexpensive musical cheer where traditional stringed instruments were scarce, impractical or prohibitively expensive. And the tradition has endured to the present with many such instruments enjoying a revival on the market today. Berkshire County, famous for its innovations in music and the arts does it BETTER! And the intersection between innovation and delight is never clearer than in the varied family of 3-string fretless slide cigar box guitars - made and performed with by professional musician and craftsman, David Reed, who, since 2010, has made and performed with nearly 175 of these extraordinary instruments. Combining recycled materials and modern electronics, each unique acoustic/electric Drunk Bay Cigar Box Guitar makes beautiful music and provides delightful visual appeal! Made from a modern, black wooden cigar box, a spun aluminum resonator cone, repurposed woods (in-
“Two Angels” modern box, 3-string acoustic/electric
cluding an artistic burled maple & purpleheart peghead - reminiscent of the Berkshire Hills Skyline! - and an antique oak neck with padauk fingerboard) combined with its modern piezo pickup, the “Mountain View ‘Dog Dish’ Resonator” sings the blues with the best of them. The “Li’l Escort,” however, transports us back to the good, or NOT so good, old days. The body is made from a vintage guitar box that has been used and abused - even set on fire! With an antique skeleton key bridge, an oak neck made from a bygone church pew and recycled maple fingerboard, this 1940s(?) box “escorts” us back to a delightfully grittier time. Escort’s 3 tuners are open-backed, vintage style. The piezo electric pickup makes sure you hear about it! And then there is “The Two Angels,” a box whose modern electronics (a screamin’ P90-style pickup that WAILS!), marblewood fingerboard, burled maple neck, 5-piece laminated peg head, sink faucet aerators for sound holes, and a stunningly beautiful, angelic cigar box body, reminds us that NO-ONE should mess with the power of the “Two Angels!” Both “Mountain View” resonator and “Two Angels” electric CBGs come equipped with modern, black, enclosed Tombstone tuners. These three CBGs - and others like them - are available at The Music Store in Great Barrington. And Dr. Easy invites you to visit his website were you can learn more about Drunk Bay Cigar Box Guitars, view/hear some video clips, and find out where he’s performing next! Check out www.tambouraproductions.com for more information. In next month’s issue: Rowe Stick Dulcimers - A Strumming Delight.
Grandma Becky’s Recipes
by Laura Pian
Borscht
Growing up with my russian grandmother always included an astounding old-world meal which included at least one unique delicacy. these irresistible dishes were prepared not only to dance upon our taste buds, but to entice our eyes as well. With summer’s peak upon us, i cannot help but recall the chilled and refreshing dishes Grandma Becky would have waiting for us after a long day of fun in the Bronx summer sun. Grandma Becky’s borscht, a russian staple made from fresh red root beets is quite simple to prepare. Borscht is full of nutrients and naturally rich in a deep red color. Beets are low in calories, free from fat, high in potassium, folate, and vitamin C. they are also a terrific source of dietary fiber, magnesium, iron and vitamin B6. the nutrients in beets have been shown to provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory support. the rich, velvety red hue that naturally comes from this vegetable will make your eyes want to drink up! Family rumor has it that Grandma Becky tended to a garden and grew many of her own vegetables. One day while nine months pregnant, she went out to tend to her precious red beets and went into labor with my mother, the baby of five. Although all four of her older children were born at home, my mom was born in the hospital. Leave it to Becky to deliver her youngest child while her pockets were over-flowing with the beets she had just pulled out from her garden! My favorite memory of Grandma Becky’s borscht was when we’d sit down at the table. Grandma would take the corner of her apron, dip it into the borscht and paint my lips the most regal red i could ever imagine. i felt like a beautiful princess! For those of you who may also want to feel like a ruby red lipped princess, whip-up the following recipe: Ingredients: ~ 2 lbs fresh beets ~ 12 cups water ~ ¾ cup sugar ~ Juice of one lemon ~ 4 tbs apple cider vinegar ~ Salt & pepper to taste
Place 12 cups of water into a large pot. Peel and quarter beets and add to water. Bring to a boil. Simmer on medium heat for approximately 45 minutes. Usina a slotted spoon, remove beets to a dish in order to cool a bit. do not drain water from pot. When cool enough to handle, shred beets coarsely with hand shredder (or food processor). Return shreds into water in pot. Add sugar, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. Refrigerate overnight. Place into bowls with a ladle. top with a large dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche. Garnish with any of your favorite vegetables such as cubed boiled potatoes, chopped cucumber, thinly sliced radish, sliced green scallions, coarsely chopped hard-boiled egg, and any chopped green herbs. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. May be frozen into small portions.
Enjoy and esn gezunt (to your health)!
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 59
SCOTT BOND
HEALTHY PRODUCTS FOR HAIR & BODY
Harryet: With all of the millions of products out there, what do your products for hair and skin have that makes them superior to your competitors’ products? Scott Bond: Integrity, for starters. We’re a luxury hair company, but one that uses healthy, green ingredients. KNOW! Hair & Body is American-made, non-synthetic, vegan and low-toxic You don’t have to convince me – I tried your body wash and hair shampoo, and they smell heavenly. And due to the organic ingredients you use, they work well with my natural chemistry. What are the ingredients you love best in your hair and body products? There are a lot of NO’s on your ingredient list, like “No DEAs.” What are those, anyway? Scott: That is great to hear! Two of my favorite ingredients are Camelia Oleifera seed extract (green tea), and polyphenols. Along with vitamins A & C, they are help60 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE
ful in stimulating hair growth, softening one’s hair and boosting luster. Aloe Barbadensis leaf extract (aloe) contains proteolytic enzymes, which repair dead skin cells on the scalp, leave hair soft and shiny and help prevent breakage. DEAs are short for Diethanolamine, an emusifier or foaming agent. They are used to adjust the pH of the product. A completed study in 1998 found an association between the topical application of DEAs and cancer in laboratory animals. What sparked your interest in the development of your product line? Did it have anything to do with this new era of health and awareness? Scott: While working on clients’ hair, I heard from wives, mothers and expectant mothers who were concerned about the toxins in the hair products that they and their families used. This tied into my own life, as I
had been questioning the chemicals in the products I use at home. I spent the next two years developing KNOW!’s shampoo, body wash, and conditioner.
What benefits do your products have that could work for specific issues, like dry skin or over-colored hair, or… Scott: My products are sulfate-free, so the cleansing agents are much less harsh on the hair. And the products leave no residue, which is less damaging to dry hair and over-colored hair. As far as dry skin goes, the aloe I mentioned earlier is very soothing and lubricating, and leaves your skin almost lotion-soft after using the body wash! Your salon experience is extensive, and began when you were twenty. How did you begin your career? How might it be, for you, an artistic adventure? Scott: My career did begin at twenty. I started as an as-
Your partner, Steven Miller, is a wonderful artist. In your opinion, how do you think he became successful at making his abstract art? Its tough out there, and he seems to have done quite well for himself. I personally love his work. Scott: Thank you - I think so, too. To me, Steven’s work propelled him to success. His work is thoughtful, precise and well-defined. His use of color is magical.
sistant at Frederic Fekkai at Bergdorf Goodman, the top salon in NYC at the time. I applied to be a cutting assistant, as I feared hair coloring. The salon called me and said they wanted me to join their team as a coloring assistant. I wanted to work at this salon more than anything, so in a panic I said, “When do I start?” I was so happy to learn that hair coloring was like painting. I am able to create beauty with brush strokes, much like a painter. Now that I have added cutting as one of my skill sets, I am like a painting sculptor.
You must be a people person too, gaining their trust, enjoying conversation… Isn’t it almost unprofessional for the stylist and the client to just stick to the business of hair and not get too involved with each other’s personal life? Scott: I guess I am a people person. It’s easy to enjoy conversations, because I tend to talk a lot. I think in my industry it is unprofessional not to become involved with your clients, unless you don’t jibe. What you learn about clients’ lives naturally guides you in the look that best suits them. I like to know about their lifestyles and adjust their cuts for the lives that they lead.
What aspects of your business do you enjoy the most, and why? Scott: The creating and trendsetting. I like being ahead of the curve with fashion and beauty. I also like the freedom I have.
Scott, where did you grow up? Where did you attend career training? Scott: I grew up in Southern California in a town called
Glendora, the Pride of the Foothills… As a sophomore in high school I did the majority of my training at Citrus Beauty College and finished at twenty in NYC. It took a little while. Oops.
In your opinion, what do you think is trending now in terms of making people’s lives richer and better? I think the art world, in all its venues, has grown and prospered over the past five years. Do you agree? Scott: I think what is trending now - at least in hair - are pretty, sunny, real colors with more classic, clean cuts. Chic and simple! And I do agree - things seem to be moving in many fun directions, and people appear interested.
Do you and he have a lot of work-related conversations, places where your career concerns overlap? There must be areas that are shared, inspired, helpful? Can you give an example? Scott: We do… we both create with a brush and color. There are a lot of exchanges like, “What did you think of so-and-so’s hair?” and a lot of “What do you think of these lines in this painting?” I think talking about our work helps each of us to be more fluid. Have you thought of creating a perfume line? Or a gift line, or something else - maybe using Steven’s paintings as a package design? I can see it now! How gorgeous!! Scott: HA! I have not thought about perfume, but I really want to do candles. I will be playing with those this winter. Also, I am obsessed with lip balm, so that’s on my mind more than ever now that I have bees and honey. I also have a children’s line I am working on that I want Steven to design the packaging for. Don’t forget the pet line, down the road. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 61
I can see it too. FAB!!
How true is it in your line of work: It’s who you know. Scott: I think who you know in any field is important, but you have to have talent to be put in front of the people who can help you. The universe sends you where you need to be. Now, in your work as a stylist/colorist, what do you always try to make happen for your clients to keep them coming back for more? Scott: Make them smile!
Does someone in your field have to do a lot of leg work to get your foot into the door? How is it done for you? You are in so many magazines, television, film….. It’s amazing to me how you do all this promoting! Who is behind it all? You? A mentor? Scott: In my case it was shoe work. I spent my last bit of money on a fancy pair of shoes for my interview, and I swear it worked. I have been very fortunate and have had public relations people in my chair, been sent on assignments and been promoted by the salons I worked in. I work hard and give 200%, always. I also had two amazing women in my assistant days. One taught me speed and precision, the other taught me how to develop my eye, and the chemistry behind color. I am grateful to them both. Constance Hartnett and Parvin Klein, thank you!
What do you find yourself doing in your spare time? What do you enjoy and what makes you spring to life? Scott: In my spare time I have become an indentured servant to my old farmhouse in CT, which I adore. Tending to the bees, the garden, the house itself, cooking and spending time with my husband, my granddaughter, her mother and our dog. I also LOVE to travel abroad. 62 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND
Do you love working in the city and coming home to the foothills of your country home? Scott: I do. It is a great way to split time and recharge. Recently, I’ve been building a lovely clientele in Connecticut, and this allows me an extra day or so at the house.
Can you tell us some of the famous people from theatre, film, tv and music whose hair you work on? Is it on set, or do you go to their homes? How does this all work? Scott: Some of the jobs that I had the most fun working on are LA Confidential, Charlie Bartlett, X-Men, Inspector Gadget, The Ice Storm, The Today Show, Martha Stewart, The View, Wayward Pines, In Treatment, and Unscripted. Sometimes names are hush-hush, but Meredith Vieira and Hope Davis let me share. Thanks ladies! Depending on scheduling, I go to them, they come to me, I work on set, in an office, a film trailer - anywhere there is running water, really. For hair and skin care, Scott, please share with us one top-secret bit of advice! Scott: A little splash of cold water never hurt anyone!
I happen to be in a play, God of Carnage, coming up soon… The actresses in the play both had blonde hair, and I have brown. Not that that really matters, but what can I do with my straight, longish hair in order to portray the female character - the one who visits the couple’s apartment? The easygoing one, if I have to describe her in one word or less. Scott: I think you might be playing the role Hope Davis played, and for which she was nominated for a Tony award. I worked on that show… small world. I think, for you, straight longish hair is totally the way to go, brown or blonde doesn’t make a difference. Clean and classic!
Does it work differently for men than for women in this business of hair? Scott: I think men and women in my industry can be equally talented. I feel like it is easier for a man to work on a woman, because of a trust factor that many women don’t have with each other. Women on the other hand are adored by their male clients.
Tell me a little about your personal lifestyle… what your home looks like, where you love to travel to, your favorite food, what your personal ambition may be? Scott: Hmmmm, my personal lifestyle… In the city, my home is very modern and leaning towards minimal, but still warm. In the country, it is the complete opposite, super-comfy, country, farmy, laid back, and still tasteful, with fun pieces with a story in every corner. I love to travel anywhere in Europe - any country, for that matter. The world is a wonderful place, and I want to experience it all. My favorite food is Mexican; I have never met a taco I didn’t like, and could eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner. I also like local things. I really just want to live, live, live and give, give, give. We are so lucky to have a wonderful playground everywhere we go. Let’s be happy, love, and get along.
Now is your chance to write about anything. Tell us what you want readers to know about you and your business: products or anything that I have somehow overlooked in these questions. Scott: In one’s life things can change in the blink of an eye. So embrace what you have and practice gratitude, dream big and go for it. If it isn’t hard it isn’t worth it. And keep your eyes peeled: KNOW! Hair & Body is getting a new name (same great product). BOND STREET HAIR will be in a store near you soon!
THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2016 • 63
Paintin’ The Town
photographs & event covered by Natalie Tyler
Arthur Schwartz, Kip Towl, Jim Lamme
Georgeanne Rousseau, Madeline and Ian Hooper, Steve Godwin, Ron Pleasants
Martha Piper (board) and Joe Gonzalez
Bob Mitchell, Lee Blatt, Drew Clark
Jane and Terry Shea
Katie Stewart and Jane H.
This year's Fete Des Fleurs was held on Saturday July 31st at The Lenox Club. The Berkshire Botanical Garden's finest came out to honor Jo Dare and Bob Mitchell. Starting with a fabulous cocktail party that led into a enchanting dinner, this year's Fete Des Fleurs was a special one.
64 •AUGUST 2016 THE ARTFUL MIND