D&H CANVAS January 2023

The Delaware & Hudson

by Barry Plaxen

Welcome back from the Pandemic: Music in Central Valley.

Vocabulary Lesson: Manga: a term used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning.

Intervention: an interaction with a previously existing artwork, audience, venue/space or situation. It has the auspice of conceptual art and is commonly a form of performance art.

Highlights of the Month:

Highlands Arts Alliance’s first annual Yearly Contributors Photography

Letters

The December issue was amazing. How do you and Barry do that!?

Thanks for the lovely “In Memoriam” of Sr. Sylvia which was so warm and humanizing and even my long-winded tribute to her!

The mass for her was beautiful.

Gayle Clark Fedigan

Thank you for Canvas...your interest, your support, and your encouragement.

Janice Nimetz, Music in Central Valley

I appreciate the write up you did for the “Book Talk: American Shtetl”. It is a great advertisement! Thank you!

Irene Dunn, Chester Library

Thanks so much for the great writeup in the December issue!

Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

Jimmy Sturr

From

Exhibition

Free classical music concerts in Central Valley and Montgomery.

Kudos to: Rosner Soap of Sugar Loaf, for creating a soap to benefit the Orange County Land Trust’s efforts to purchase Sugar Loaf Mountain for the public.

In this issue:

If you glance at the centerspread calendar, there is an obvious dearth of live performing arts events this month to ring in the New Year. But schools and libraries do have a large number of events and we are happy to have stories about

Business Directory

Herbal Alchemy of Soap & Incense Craft Two Crow Cottage Burlingham, NY 12722-0210 www.etsy.com/shop/happyherbssoap

HURLEYVILLE PERFORMING

ARTS CENTRE & GALLERY 222 Movies Exhibitions Performances (845) 985-4722 hurleyvilleartscentr.org gallery222.org

GLORIA BONELLI & ASSOCIATES

Talent Management & Arts Administration glo@gloriabonelli.com

TOBIN CREATIVE Corporate Graphic Design Michael Tobin tobincreative.net

(5 lines

01/23 CANVAS Home Delivery Don’t miss an issue! Have CANVAS delivered to your home or office for only $25 a year! Name Address City State _______________________________ Zip Enclosed find my check in the amount of $25 for one year home delivery Mail payments to: CANVAS, 297 Stone

some of them featured in this issue.

You can read about art and music classes for children and adults, lots of book readings - including a Pulitzer Prize book in Liberty, and lectures on many topics, art-related and otherwise.

Everyone at CANVAS would like to thank you for your past readership, and we wish you all, readers, submitters, advertisers and, yes - venues!, a very happy and HEALTHY New Year.

May 2023 bring us all greater joy, and may our local arts community continue to entertain, edify and enlighten us so that we can revel in our oneness.

On The Cover

Community Arts: News, Views And Schedules

Serving Orange, Sullivan, & Pike Counties and bordering Ulster County hamlets.

Delaware & Hudson CANVAS 297 Stone Schoolhouse Road Bloomingburg, NY 12721

Publisher, Barry Plaxen barry@dhcanvas.com calendar@dhcanvas.com 845.733.4979

Editor, Sophia Krcic editor@dhcanvas.com ads@dhcanvas.com 845.666.0000

See page 8

CALENDARS

Art & Photography 14

Books 11

Category 11, 14

Centerspread: January 2023 12-13

Children & Teen’s & Clubs 10 Lectures, Masterclasses, Talks 14

COLUMNS

May I Have a Word with You 17

STORIES

ADS Gallery, Newburgh 22

Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh 10, 22

Bon Secours Hospital, Port Jervis 8

Catskill Art Space, Livingston Manor 4

Central Valley United Methodist Ch 20

Chant Realtors Gallery, Lords Valley 6

Chester Public Library 11, 16

City Hall, Port Jervis 8

City Winery, Montgomery 3, 20

Collabonation Productions ������������������3

Deerpark Town Hall, Huguenot 8

Delaware Highlands Conservancy 16

Delaware Valley Arts Alliance 14

Delaware Valley Opera Center 3

Desmond Center, Newburgh 5, 9, 22

Eagle Watching 16

Florida Public Library 10, 21

Freestyle Cypher, Newburgh 7

Gio’s Gelato Cafe, Port Jervis 8

Goshen Art League 5

Goshen Public Library 18, 21

Grand Montgomery Chamber Music 9

Highland Falls Library 19

Highlands Art Alliance 19

HPAC, Hurleyville 4, 17

Jhumpa Lahiri, author 5

Liberty Public Library 5

Mamakating Env Ed Ctr , Wurtsboro 8,21

Miss Maybell & Jazz Age Artistes 18

Montgomery Senior Center 9

Murder Mystery Manhattan 3

Music for Humanity 6

Music in Central Valley 20

Namina Forna, author 7

Nesin Cultural Arts 4

Noble Coffee Roasters, Campbell Hall 6

North East Watercolor Society ����������16

Orange County Arts Council 17

Orange County Land Trust 12, 19

Pine Bush Library 6

Port Jervis Library 10

Resorts World, Newburgh 5

River Valley Artists Guild 8

Rosner Soap, Sugar Loaf 19

Safe Harbors of the Hudson 10

SLPAC, Sugar Loaf 19

Starship, Sugar Loaf 19

Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra 4

SUNY Orange, Middletown 16

Toasted, Newburgh 7

UpFront Exhibition Space, Port Jervis 18

Wallkill River Center for the Arts 15

Wisner Library, Warwick 7, 21, 23

Zane Grey Museum, Lackawaxen 16

New Year’s Eve in Lake Huntington

Are you going to celebrate New Year’s Eve watching TV?!

Don’t do it! Celebrate LIVE with Collabonation Productions at the Delaware Valley Opera Center! Enjoy your own rocking New Year’s Eve with three LIVE bands!

Static in the Attic is an improvisational blues and rock & roll band out of Carbondale, PA. Feel the static with their funky riffs and bluesy grooves!

Spunday Mourning is an all original multi-genre band with powerful lyrically driven indie/rock/alternative music. The band’s original music is with conscious lyrics written to empower listeners to be the best humans on earth, taking you through the fractals of the mind.

Grounded in rock, funk, and blues, with an affinity for pushing boundaries,

Canopy is tight and loose in all the right ways. The lockstep communication displayed by these three musicians results in precisely executed compositions, as well as completely unique and unpredictable pieces of improvisation. Infectiously danceable, dangerously adventurous, and positively yours!

Collabonation Productions, an event company producing in Sullivan and Wayne Counties, invites you to enjoy your New Year’s Eve on December 31 in Huntington Hall at the Delaware Valley Opera Center, 6692 Route 52, Lake Huntington. Doors open at 6:30pm. The first band begins playing at 7:00pm Tix: www.delawarevalleyopera.com.

New Year’s Eve in Montgomery

Hustle back in time and ring in 2023 with an interactive murder mystery dinner and dance party! It’ll be disco or die, who will be Stayin’ Alive?

Tony Marinara is staging a comeback and bringing disco with him. No jive talking here, it will be a battle of the decades when Tony faces off with a foxy mama who has her eyes on the same club space. It’s disco inferno vs. a state-of-theart karaoke bar - the platform shoes are off!

City Winery Hudson Valley is the “Hudson Valley’s premier venue, restaurant, winery and event space” offering live music, wine, and food events in a converted 207-year-old mill with “good food, a full bar, and great wine.”

Murder Mystery

Manhattan is a creative entrepreneurship, helmed by Keith Dougherty (photo) who creates, produces, directs and writes highly entertaining spoofs such as Mommie, Fearest with Joan Clawfoot; Curse-a-Blanca: Sunsex Blvd.: Finale of the Dolls; Screamgirls;

Scarespray; No Clue!; Hocus Croakus; I Loved Lucy; Killing the Kartrashians; Die-Nasty; Desperate Mobwives; and Whatever Happened to Baby June?, a cross between ‘Baby Jane’ & ‘Gypsy’. Stayin’ Alive? A Disco Murder Mystery New Year’s Eve Party will be held at City Winery, 23 Factory Street, Montgomery, on December 31. The cast includes Keith Dougherty, Teri Monahan, Timothy Scott Harris, Amanda Baumler and B.J. Boothe.

Doors open at 6:00pm and tickets include a welcome drink, bubbly toast and a 3-course dinner (choice of entrees - chicken, shrimp, or ribs), and a Bubbly Toast to the New Year at 10:00pm.

For reservations, visit: www.citywinery.com/hudson valley.

An aerial shot of City Winery in Montgomery

Static in the Attic is: Jesse Mower, guitar/ vocals, Thomas Murray, bass guitar & vocals, & Tyler Essex, drums/percussion.

Spunday Morning is Brad Georgi, guitar/ vocals, Kristen Dasenbrock, vocals & other fun things, Francis Tempone, drums, Ryan Bloomer, bass, and Jason Burke, guitar/vocals.

Catskill Art Space: Members’ Exhibition

Catskill Art Space (CAS) explores contemporary art practices of emerging and established artists. Through exhibitions, performances, classes, lectures and screenings, CAS fosters creative community in the Catskills.

CAS was founded by Charles F. Beck in 1971, out of his Cooks Falls home, as a space for artists to gather and share common interests. CAS incorporated as a nonprofit organization as Catskill Art Society in 1972 and moved to Hurleyville to share the newly dedicated Sullivan County Museum building with the Sullivan County Historical Society.

In 2007, CAS renovated a historic building in Livingston Manor, built as the Manor Theater in 1929 and showing movies through the 1970s, to create exhibition space and classrooms on the

ground floor.

In 2020-22, CAS underwent a major renovation to activate its previously unoccupied second floor space, allowing the organization to expand the scale and scope of its programming. Coinciding with the renovation, the organization has reopened as Catskill Art Space.

With exhibition space spanning two floors and four galleries, CAS aspires to be a regional arts destination, delivering programming that is diverse, dynamic, and life-enriching. CAS promotes the visual and performing arts of, by, and for our communities, including world-class artists, local artists, and arts education. CAS regularly offers opportunities to show work, and welcome submissions from artists and arts groups through an

annual call for exhibition proposals.

CAS also empowers emerging and established artists of all ages to deepen their practices through various educational opportunities. Our longstanding CAS Kids program provides a free out-of-school learning opportunity, offering families intensive arts education combining art making and historical context.

“CAS members were invited to submit one artwork for inclusion in the Members Exhibition, a showing of our community’s tremendous talent,” said Sally Wright, Executive Director.

The exhibition is on view weekends from December 31 to January 28, at CAS, 48 Main Street, Livingston Manor.

The Members Exhibition runs concurrently with four other exhibits, James Turrell’s Avaar, Sol LeWitt’s vibrant Wall Drawing #991 and his Wall Drawing #992, and Francis Cape’s A Gathering of Utopian Benches

The opening reception will be held on December 31, 4:00pm-6:00pm

Visit castkillartspace.org.

Nesin Continues to Grow

Nesin Cultural Arts (NCA) currently serves nearly 200 students. This spring semester, January 27 to May 21, there are over a dozen programs in Chorus, Dance, Theatre and Visual Art offered to Pre-K through Grade 12 students.

NCA’s youth employment program offers training certification, community service, and employment opportunities to students in Grades 8 and up. Programs include: advanced students mentoring and supervising beginning students, students assisting faculty, and students working on the administrative and operation of all events, including front of house reception, setting up and ushering for professional concerts, exposing them to the professional world and etiquette, in addition to students learning to record and edit using professional recording equipment and software.

NCA also offers an Internship for a High School Senior and a College Internship and scholarships.

The Aspiring Young Musicians (AYM) program continues to grow, with strings, piano, organ, guitar, voice, wind and composition lessons to

about 65 students. All students receive some scholarship, and NCA now has a nice collection of quality instruments serving as scholarship instruments for many students. In addition to the AYM Orchestra there are two piano ensembles, a younger string ensemble and a guitar ensemble.

Read about the Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra at Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre, and a new acquisition of Native American flutes, donated by Allan Lokos and Susanna Weiss, and help support NCA. www.nesinculturalarts.org

Visit https://linktr.ee/nesinculturalarts to give online or email NCA General Manager Marina Lombardi at marina@ nesinculturalarts.org, call 845-798-9006 or mail a donation to P.O. Box 249, Monticello, NY 12701.

“Nevele” by Glenn Lieberman “Seaside” by Madelon Jones

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Maciej Toporowicz

“Liberi Fatale Liber 36” by Farhana Akhter

NCA students. Photo by Fiona Feltman.

Three of Many for The Goshen Art League

The Goshen Art League (GAL) annual winter holiday group show, Celebrate, runs through January 31 at the Goshen Music Hall, 223 Main Street. Members were asked to share “visual interpretations of the season and its varied wealth of traditions” for the theme this year.

Three of the many contributing members include Nancy Reed Jones, Michele Meek and Karen E. Gersch.

“I think I love plein air painting the best of all. It makes me realize that through my art I can finally use the talent God has given me to record one of the most beautiful places, the Hudson Valley, that he has created,” said Nancy Reed Jones

Along with artist/sculptor Robb Gomulka, Michele Meek is an officer of the GAL. She is a multi-disciplinary artist who loves to create three-dimensional

sculptural works of art. She currently works at Storm King Art Center and lives in Goshen with her family.

Karen E. Gersch (editor’s note: see page 22 for another endeavor of Karen’s!) studied dance and acrobatics and ran away to her first circus tent show, art supplies in tow. One-ring and three-ring shows, ballet and theater engagements, sketching, collaging and painting, took up her time. Now, she is teaching creative programs, choreographing, exhibiting, curating large-venue shows and creating new visual artworks.

In addition, GAL member Lisa O’Gorman has a solo show at GriffithOlivero Realtors, 226 Main Street, Goshen, through January 5 O’Gorman always enjoyed painting

“A Long Winter’s Nap” by Michele Meek but it was a back injury several years ago that would enable her to explore her creative side fully, discovering that painting had the ability to help her tolerate the injuries by rehabilitating her mentally and spiritually. Lisa has been inspired to create many plein air works, often catching glimpses of wildlife that she quickly works into her paintings. Lisa also has a successful pet portrait business as well.

Resorts World Hudson Valley Grand Opening December 28

The grand opening of Resorts World Hudson Valley (RWHV), the state’s newest casino, will take place on December 28 at 10:00am, company executives announced.

Located in Orange County at the Newburgh Mall, RWHV will feature 50,000 square feet of gaming and hospitality space including 1,200 stateof-the-art slot machines and electronic table games, as well as the Resorts World Bet Sports Bar.

“Resorts World Hudson Valley represents a shared vision that we, along with our partners in Orange County, had to create an entertainment destination that will attract hundreds of thousands of guests and visitors, while providing tremendous benefits to the local, regional and statewide community,” said Robert DeSalvio, President, Genting Americas East. “We are delighted to open our doors this holiday season and welcome everyone to Resorts World Hudson Valley!”

The opening of RWHV brings 250 new full-time jobs with an average annual wage of $72,000 (including salary and benefits). RWHV will contribute an estimated $65 million in taxes every year to support NYS public schools. To

date, Resorts World properties throughout the state have contributed more than $3.6 billion to support public schools in New York.

The casino will also provide a halo effect inside of the mall property it inhabits, playing a crucial role in a revitalization plan to benefit current tenants at the Newburgh Mall and attract new ones. Resorts World Hudson Valley is Genting’s third entertainment destination in New York, joining Resorts World Catskills in Monticello and Resorts World New York City in Queens. Across its three properties, Genting has invested more than $1.2 billion, including $50 million in RWHV.

Resorts World Hudson Valley guests are encouraged to sign up for Genting Rewards, Resorts World’s loyalty program. Membership is free with a valid photo ID and will provide you with exclusive access to unique offerings!

RWHV is operated by the Genting

Group, a global company founded in 1965, operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Bimini, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. Genting has more than 50 years of experience in the travel and leisure industry and collectively employs approximately 60,000 people while offering an unparalleled resort experience to over 50 million visitors a year worldwide.

For more information, visit www. rwhudsonvalleyny.com. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

One of the most significant sculptors of the twentieth century, Barbara Hepworth was a modernist British sculptor who, over the course of her career, changed her focus from simplified naturalistic forms to purely abstract shapes. Best known as a carver of wood and stone, Hepworth transformed modern sculpture with her unique pioneering method of piercing the block.

Early in her career, Hepworth focused on natural and figurative forms which soon evolved into more simplified, abstract shapes. She also incorporated painting, drawing, fabric design, printmaking, and making work in metal.

Laura Nicholls will explore the development of Hepworth’s artistic work dedicated to “...some universal or abstract vision of beauty,” at the Alice Desmond Center, 6 Albany Post Road, Newburgh, on January 4 at 12:30pm

To register: 845-565-1326.

Pulitzer in Liberty

Interpreter of Maladies is nine short stories by American author Jhumpa Lahiri published in 1999. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. It was also chosen as The New Yorker’s Best Debut of the Year and is on Oprah Winfrey’s Top Ten Book List.

The stories are about the lives of Indians and Indian Americans who are caught between their roots and the “New World”. Lahiri claims that she has “felt intense pressure to be two things, loyal to the old world and fluent in the new.” Much of her experiences growing up as a child were marked by these two sides tugging away at one another. When she became an adult, she found that she was able to be part of these two dimensions without the embarrassment and struggle that she had when she was a child.

Interpreter of Maladies will be discussed on January 26 at 1:00pm in the Liberty Library, 189 N. Main Street. For information: 845-292-6070.

“Cows in Winter” by Nancy Reed Jones

“Winter Farm” by Karen E. Gersch

Photography Exhibit in Lords Valley

Growing up in California, photographer Chris Heim often roamed the backwoods of Lake Tahoe. Fascinated with the scenery, he grew to love the natural light he observed. He desires to combine these elements creatively in his photographs.

A graduate of the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Heim has made a career in commercial and editorial photography. His photos have appeared in magazines, newspapers and numerous exhibitions. In a future exhibit, he will display his portraits from the Angola Prison Rodeo at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg in September 2023.

He and his family split their time between homes in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley.

The Office/Gallery at Chant Realtors in Lords Valley is pleased to welcome in the New Year with a new art show featuring photographic images by

Chris Heim. Works featured in the exhibit include a collection of Catskill Mountain Region nature scenes, which were taken during early morning walks with the photographer’s young son and their dog.

The opening reception takes place on January 7 from 5:00pm-7:00pm (weather permitting).

The exhibit is on display from January 1 to February 25 at The Office/Gallery at Chant Realtors, 631 Route 739, Lords Valley, PA.

For more information, phone 570-7757337 or email: mamajoan@ptd.net.

The Pine Bush Erie Railroad

When the Erie Railroad operated its first train through Orange County in 1841, it sparked a seismic shift for transportation in the Hudson Valley. By the end of the nineteenth century, the region was a nexus of railroad traffic and nearly all points in the county could be reached by rail. Though countless other railroads soon built routes through Orange County, the Erie maintained a powerful presence through the operation of various branch lines.

The Middletown & Crawford Railroad, later known as the Pine Bush branch, was a prime example of a railroad that connected the countryside to an industrial center. From its origin in Middletown to Pine Bush, the line connected communities such as Circleville, Bullville, and Thompson Ridge as well as highlighting Orange County’s once-prosperous dairy farming industry through the creameries that this line served.

Alex Prizgintas is an author, musician, historian, and preservationist. Preserving, publishing, and promoting topics of local history in ways that are both educational and entertaining (as well as sharing his passion for music on the cello and piano), his is a familar face to library patrons and historical society members who often take advantage of his lectures on fascinating, local topics - such as milk bottles, uncovering Orange County’s role in the American consumer use of fluid milk!

Join Alex as he explores the transformation of a forgotten branchlike railroad The Pine Bush Erie Railroad Line, and retraces the history of the Pine Bush branch, identifying its route through many local communities, at the Pine Bush Library Community Room, 227 Maple Avenue, on January 4 at 6:00pm. Call 845-744-4265, ext. 2 to sign up.

3D Music: Dave, Don & Don

Songs by Dave Kearney are powerful because he has actually lived them. His heartfelt performances elicit nods of recognition, tears, and a line of people telling him which song moved them the most. It is the crucible of his life experiences that makes Kearney a commanding artist.

Don Lowe is an adjunct professor who teaches composition and business writing at Naugatuck Valley Community College and public speaking at Mercy College. Plus, he’s a part-time DJ for Pawling Public Radio and a regular host at Open Mic Night at the Towne Crier in Beacon.

He is also a talented singer/songwriter and guitarist with a classic, southern and mid-western rock style.

Don Sparks is an American character actor and singer/songwriter who lives in the Hudson Valley. In 2018 he created the role of JD in the Broadway musical Escape to Margaritaville, and he was also cast in Mr. Robot.

January 21 at 7:30pm marks the 147th Music For Humanity Free Performance Night at Noble Coffee Roasters, 3020 Route 207, Campbell Hall, featuring three of the premier singer/songwriters of the Hudson Valley.

Alex Prizgintas

Erie Railroad Station, Pine Bush

Catskill Mountain Region by Chris Heim

Dave Kearney

Don Lowe Don Sparks

Converse with Namina Forna

Did you know that a prominent author commands tens of thousands of dollars for a speaking appearance or “author talk”? That’s out of range for most public libraries. Albert Wisner Public Library joined a consortium to bring virtual, realtime author talks to its patrons, and hopes you will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!

Namina Forna is the author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Gilded Ones, the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy. She now works as a screenwriter in Los Angeles and loves telling stories with fierce female leads.

In The Gilded Ones, readers are introduced to sixteen-year-old Deka, who lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki, near-

immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.

The second thrilling installment, The Merciless Ones, picks up six months since Deka freed the goddesses in the ancient kingdom of Otera and discovered who she really is...but war is waging across the kingdom, and the real battle has only just begun. For there is a dark force growing in Otera - a merciless power that Deka and her army must stop. Yet hidden secrets threaten to destroy everything Deka has known. And with her own gifts changing, Deka must discover if she holds the key to saving Otera, or if she might be its greatest threat.

Join an action-packed online conversation with Forna in a discussion about her second installment in the series, The Merciless Ones on January 12 at 2:00pm. To register, visit www. albertwisnerlibrary.org

Freestyle Cypher in Newburgh

Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization. It is similar to other improvisational music, such as jazz, where a lead instrumentalist acts as an improviser with a supporting band providing a beat.

Freestyle originally was simply verse that is free of style, written rhymes that do not follow a specific subject matter, particular beat, or predetermined cadence. The newer style with the improvisation grew popular starting in the early 1990s.

A cypher or cipher is an informal gathering of rappers, beatboxers, and/or breakdancers in a circle, in order to jam musically together. The term has also in recent years come to mean the crowd which forms around freestyle battles, consisting of spectators and onlookers.

A freestyle cypher is where emcees take turns making up improvisational rhymes about a subject or topic picked.

With his unique sound and music, Daniel Villegas shows that the whole Earth’s group consciousness is changing and that it’s all about changing our individual “frequencies” as we all strive to move towards a group consciousness that is completely heartcentered. With captivating Hip-Hop, Soul, Latin & Caribbean music, in rhyme, rap and poetry, he brings an innovative and free-style sound while occasionally break-dancing his skills into his endeavors wherever he goes as he passionately talks about ways to think and move geometrically.

“I’m doing a freestyle cypher and dance party with DjH20,” Villegas announced. “Emcees can sign up at my email: villeg52@gmail.com. Those who want to come watch are welcomed. The dancing will be great as well!”

Villegas’ rhyming hip-hop improv and dance party will be held at Toasted, 45 Liberty Street, Newburgh, on January 7 at 10:00pm.

Namina Forna, photo by Melanie D’Andrea

Daniel Villagas

DJ H20

River Valley Artists Guild of Port Jervis: “Winter Spirits!”

Art About Town, a series of art exhibits by the River Valley Artists Guild (RVAG) continues with the latest exhibit, Winter Spirits. The art, on display in various venues from January 9 to March 17, celebrates the awe-inspiring beauty brought by winter: magical snow, glistening icicles and so much more!

The following RVAG members will display their winter-themed works at Gio’s Gelato Cafe: Joan Kehlenbeck, RVAG president and awardwinning artist, Daniela Cooney, painter of animals and landscapes in acrylics and oils, Judith Cramer works in acrylics and mixed-media, Rosalind Hodgkins, who is inspired by the natural phenomena

of day and night, along with the season’s cycles, Rena Hottinger, an award winning painter and photographer, Patty Koch, who works in oils, and Judith Weiss, who starts her paintings from life and moves into recall.

Next location: Bon Secours Hospital Cafeteria, where viewers can see Art About Town curator and RVAG member Susan Miiller’s winter-themed oils and pastels. Miiller shares the meditative winter spirit of the landscape in her “winter wonderland” works.

At the Mayor’s Office in City Hall, visitors can enjoy viewing RVAG member Joe Petrosi’s bold and bright colored pencil works. Joe is a certified

art specialist, textile airbrush specialist, and awardwinning artist.

RVAG president Joan Kehlenbeck’s ongoing exhibit at Deerpark Town Hall remains on view. Joan is a wellknown artist who includes important local historic buildings and scenes in her paintings and pastels.

Locations are: Gio’s Gelato Café, 3032 Front Street, Bon Secours Hospital’s first floor cafeteria, 160 E Main Street, Mayor’s Office at City Hall, 138 Pike Street, all in Port Jervis. Deerpark Town Hall is located at 420 Route 209, Huguenot. For further information, email susanmiiller@yahoo.com or visit www. rivervalleyartistsguildofportjervis.com.

Now that the holidays are over, time to hunker down and relax. Join the Mamakating Environmental Education Center (MEEC) for a beautifully moving and intimate look at an amazing octopus.

A movie for the whole family, My Octopus Teacher, directed and written by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, with stars Craig Foster and Tom Foster, is an Oscar winning-film/documentary in which a filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.

Bring your blankets and PJ’s and cozy up on January 7 at 1:00pm for the first in MEEC’s movie series for 2023. Make an octopus snack/craft, followed by the Academy Award-winning movie. (FYI, the subject of death is covered in this film.) Refreshments available.

MEEC is at 762 South Road, Wurtsboro. To register: 845-644-5014.

January 2023 CANVAS cover feature: “Enchanted Winter Sunset” by Susan Miiller

“South Pole” by Judith Weiss

“Bird After Van Gogh” by Rena Hottinger

Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series: Pianist Jenny Lin Returns!

Pianist Jenny Lin is an artist of keen musicianship, brilliant technique, and a compelling perspective shaped by a deep fluency in global culture. Lin has built a vibrant international career, notable for innovative collaborations with a range of artists and creators.

She has performed with orchestras throughout the world, including the American Symphony Orchestra, NDR and SWR German Radio Orchestras, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, and others. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, at BAM Next Wave, Spoleto USA, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, and elsewhere.

Lin continues her collaboration with Philip Glass, performing his Etudes in concerts around the globe. This experience inspired Lin to create The Etudes Project, in which she works with a range of living composers to create new technical piano etudes, pairing each new piece with an etude from the classical canon.

The featured pianist in Elliot Goldenthal’s original motion picture score for Julie Taymor’s 2020 film, The Glorias, Lin’s catalog includes more than 30 albums.

Fluent in English, German, Mandarin, and French, she holds a bachelor’s degree in German Literature from Johns Hopkins University and studied music at the Hochschule für Musik, and at the Peabody Conservatory.

“Grand Montgomery Chamber Music (GMCM) audience members may remember her solo concert in November 2010 when she overwhelmed us with her outstanding performance of Bach and Shostakovich Preludes, in addition to music by Chopin.” - Derek Leet.

Lin returns to Montgomery and will perform etudes, a passacaglia, an impromptu, nocturne, ballade and chaconne by Glass, Chopin, Schubert and Bach-Busoni.

Philip Glass’s Piano Études Nos. 1, 2, 6, 16, are from a set of twenty works for solo piano, conceived in order for him expand his piano technique, with each taking a unique approach to the instrument.

The Kaminskys At Desmond Center

History proves that the world’s most famous borough is not only famous for the unique “Tree” that grew there, and the beloved “Bums” that baseballed there, but also for a “forest” of world class comics!

Alice Desmond Center will be presenting the gifts of two of them: Danny Kaye and Mel Brooks, each sharing the same surname, “Kaminsky”, but not related! Four of their films will be viewed accompanied with a discussion on the history: Yiddish Theater culture: The Borsch Belt and the uniqueness of Jewish humor!

During a tour of Asia in 1934, in Osaka, Japan, the experience of trying to entertain audiences who did not speak English inspired Kaye to do the pantomime gestures, songs, and facial expressions that eventually made his reputation. (In a restaurant in China, trying to order chicken, Kaye flapped his arms and clucked, giving the waiter an imitation of a chicken. The waiter nodded in understanding, bringing Kaye

two eggs.)

“Watch these films...Please!”

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, arguably Kaye’s most famous role, opens the two-month series on January 6, followed by Brooks’ The History of the World Part I on January 20

In 1981, Brooks joked that the only genres that he hadn’t spoofed were historical epics and Biblical spectacles. History of the World Part I was a tonguein-cheek look at human culture from the Dawn of Man to the French Revolution, with narration by Orson Welles.

The Court Jester, possibly Kaye’s masterpiece (see February 2023 CANVAS), and Brooks’ To Be or Not to Be follow on February 3 and 17

So, start 2023 with a good laugh and “Take this course...Please!”

Desmond’s film-lecture presentations run from 10:00am-1:00pm. The Town of Newburgh-Recreation Department’s Alice Desmond Center is located at 6 Albany Post Road, Newburgh.

To register, phone 845-565-1326.

Chopin’s Études formed the foundation for what was then a revolutionary playing style for the piano. They are some of the most challenging and evocative pieces of all the works in concert piano repertoire. Although Chopin did not invent the nocturne, he popularized and expanded on it, building on the form developed by Irish composer John Field.

The term “ballade” was used by Chopin in the sense of a balletic interlude or dance-piece, equivalent to the old Italian ballata, but the term may also have connotations of the medieval heroic ballad, a narrative minstrel-song, often of a fantastical character. There are dramatic and dance-like elements in Chopin’s use of the genre, and he may be said to be a pioneer of the ballade as an abstract musical form.

It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing his Impromptus by the Impromptus of Jan Václav Voříšek and by the music of

Voříšek’s teacher Václav Tomášek.

The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth century Spain and is still used today by composers such as Philip Glass.

The Bach-Busoni Editions are a series of publications by the Italian pianistcomposer Ferruccio Busoni containing primarily piano transcriptions of chaconnes and other keyboard music by J.S. Bach.

Lin performs her varied program for GMCM, now in its 35th year, on January 15 at 3:00pm on the Garrett Concert Stage in the Montgomery Senior Center, 36 Bridge Street. Admission is free. Masks are appreciated.

These concerts are made possible by the generous support of the Village of Montgomery. Visit www. montgomerychambermusic. com for information.

(1810-1849)

(1797-1828)

(1685-1750)

(1866–1924)

Pianist Jenny Lin

Chopin

Schubert

Glass b. 1937 Bach

Busoni

Melvin James Kaminsky (b.1926)

David Daniel Kaminsky (1911-1987)

The Search for Life in Our Galaxy

There are compelling arguments for the existence of life elsewhere in the Universe and possibly within our own Solar System. Given the vastness of our Universe, who or what else could be out there? We may never meet our cousins from other galaxies, but we have an opportunity to potentially do so right in our backyard.

Join NASA Solar System Ambassador

John Fontana (pictured) as he discusses the possibilities of life in the universe, as well as forthcoming planned missions to the Moon (in the 2020’s) and Mars (as early as the 2030’s) which will establish a basis for further exploration in the hopes of one day answering these eternal questions, on January 19 at 6:30pm in the Florida Library, 4 Cohen Circle. Call to register: 845- 651-7659.

“I Am Little Red” in Port Jervis

I Am Little Red is the brain-child of Linda Cabot who thought a documentary film would be an ideal vehicle to create awareness and dialogue about online child-sex trafficking. Her foresight catalyzed a creative dream team, which includes Academy Award-nominees and, most importantly, 10 survivors of sex-trafficking aged 14-21 from My Life My Choice who co-wrote the script.

I Am Little Red is a 10-minute animated short aimed at children most at-risk for sex trafficking (e.g. foster-care, runaway, LBGTQ, homeless, and adopted

children), with the goal of prevention and awareness by providing a modern take on the classic Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. Its narrator outlines awareness and preventative measures that can help Little Red (child/youth) stay safe from tactics typically used by a Wolf (tracker) to lure Little Red off their path.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the Port Jervis Free Library, 38 Pike Street, invites you to a “film & discussion” on January 26 at 6:00pm. Free admission. For information: 845-856-7313.

“We” Art Installation, Newburgh

The 1x1x1 series features one artist, one work, for one month in the window of the Ann Street Gallery in Newburgh. The series aims to be a nimble platform giving artists experimental space for solo exhibitions.

Gabriela Galván’s We series is part of an ongoing work exploring the intersection of nature and the urban condition in Newburgh. Through minimal interventions to the landscape which frame and re-contextualize the ground, Galván directs our consciousness to our surroundings, asking us to tread with awareness for what lies below our feet both physically and metaphorically.

For her 1x1x1 installation, Galván transposes a piece of public park onto a plush bed covering at full scale, an invitation for visitors to cover themselves in a blanket of grass within the Gallery. In We No.1, the physical object embodies a virtual plot of land. “We” reflects our own complicated entanglement with the earth. In our engagement with “We” -

laying below its surface, sitting upon it, carrying it with us - we may find it is not only the ground which has been displaced.

“For me, the landscape of Newburgh is full of manifestations of fragility and resistance by humans and nature, by society and ecology,” said Galván.

A multi-disciplinary artist and educator working across several disciplines including installation, public art, sculpture, video, drawing, design, and performance, her public projects include Aquatic Random at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in New York.

Her work, titled, We No.1, Fall, 1:11 pm at 41°50’62.2”N 74°01’6”9.4W, 2022 is an intervention to Downing Park in Newburgh (and digital print on Plush Berber) and is on view in the Gallery window 24/7 through January 14

Safe Harbors of the Hudson’s Ann Street Gallery is located at 104 Ann Street, Newburgh.

Visit annstreetgallery.org

Children & TEenS Calendar

Josephine-Louise Library, Walden MEEC ....................................... Mamakating Environmental Education Center, Wurtsboro PEEC Pocono

JLPL

Arts & Crafts (Free events only)

Kids Art Club

Ice Skate Decorating Craft 12yrs & up

JLPL Jan 11, 4:30pm

JLPL Jan 12, 6pm

JLPL Jan 19, 6pm Painting Class “Reflections on a Winter Scene” 12yrs & up JLPL Jan 26, 6pm

Family Felting Craft Night

Books

Pajama-time Storytime

Wisner Library, Warwick, Mondays 5:30pm Storytime 1-5yrs Chester Library, Tuesdays, 10:30am

Babytime infants up to 18 months Newburgh Library, Tuesdays, 10am Shake, Rattle & Read 1-5yrs Newburgh Library, Tuesdays, 1pm Preschool Storytime 3-5yrs Wisner Library, Warwick, Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 11:15am

Family Storytime Wallkill Library, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:30am Books & Babies Story Time w/Miss Sophie Milford, Library, Tuesdays & Fridays, 10:30am

Toddler Time 18-36 months

Newburgh Library, Wednesdays, 10am Storytime 1-5yrs Chester Library, Wednesdays, 10:30am Storytime in the Park outdoors Mamakating Library, Wurtsboro, Wednesdays, 10:30am Storytime

Goshen Library, Wednesdays 10:30am Storytime infants & toddlers Liberty Library, Wednesdays 11:00am Preschool Storytime 3-5yrs Newburgh Library, Thursdays, 10am

Read and Play Newburgh Library, Fridays, 10am Baby & Me Goshen Library, Fridays, 10:30am The Book Club grades 3-6 Goshen Library, Jan 10, 4pm

Read to Mocha the dog Mamakating Library, Wurtsboro, Jan 10, 4pm Read to The Dogs Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 10, 11, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 & Jan 31, 4:30pm

Toddler Time Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 11, 13, 20, 25, & 27 10:15am, Preschool Storytime

Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 11 & 25, 11:15am

“A Bad Case of Stripes” by David Shannon, grades K-2 Cornwall Library, Jan 12, 4:30pm PJ Storytime “The Mitten” Florida Library, Jan 12, 6:30pm “Horton Halfpott: The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor” by Tom Angleberger grades 3 & 4 Cornwall Library, Jan 19, 4:30pm “The Strangers” by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 6-9yrs Newburgh Library, Jan 21, 2pm Battle of the Books 6th-12thgrades Florida Library, Jan 24, 2:30pm Millennial Book Group teens

Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 24, 6pm Storytime preschool Liberty Library, Jan 25 & Feb 1, 11am “Liar & Spy” by Rebecca Stead, grades 5-8 Cornwall Library, Jan 26, 4:30pm

EntertainmenT & Recreation

Dungeons & Dragons teens

JLPL Jan 6 & 20, 5pm FREE “My Octopus Teacher” film & craft session MEEC Jan 7, 1pm “Magic! The Gathering Club”, teens JLPL Jan 7 & 21, 2pm FREE Music with Mr. Matt

Jan 9 & 30, 10:15am & 11:15am FREE & Jan 12, 19, 23 & 26, 10:15am, Wisner Library, Warwick, FREE Drop In Lego Club JLPL Jan 10 & 24, 3:30pm FREE Anime (Dragon Ball) Club teens & adults Goshen Library, Jan 11 & 25, 5:30pm Knee-High Naturalists 2-5yrs Newburgh Library, Jan 12, 19, 26, Feb 2, 1pm Saturday Matinee Drop-in Movie kids Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 14, 2pm FREE Winter Ecology Hike all ages PEEC Jan 15, 10am “Common Birds at Your Feeder” family

MEEC Jan 15, 1pm Ecozone Discovery Room! PEEC Jan 15, 1pm Paper Bag Players “Big Bag of Laughs” SUNY Orange, Orange Hall, Feb 5, 2pm

Clubs Calendar

themtharhills org

Josephine-Louise Library, Walden, Mondays, 9am-1pm MahJong Club Wisner Library, Warwick, Tuesdays 10am

Scrabble Club

Scrabble Club

UFO Support Group

Ellenville Library, Tuesday, 6pm

Wisner Library, Warwick, Thursdays, 1pm

Walker Valley Schoolhouse, 1st Wednesday, 7pm

Gabriela Galvan & her blanket of Downing Park grass.

Photo by Matt Moment.

Anime (Dragon Ball) Club Goshen Library, Jan 11 & 25, 5:30pm

James Camera Club

James Church, Goshen, 2nd Tuesday, 7pm

Club Livingston Manor Library, 3rd Thursday, 3pm

and Stitch

Library, Mondays, 6pm

& Stitch Club Newburgh Library Town Branch, 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 6;30pm

& Crocheting

Jeffersonville Library, 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 6:30pm

Library, Mondays, 1pm

Knitters

Library, Mondays 6pm

& Hardy Sons of the Desert Int’l Org.

sponsored by Alternative Counseling, Cornwall & Broadway Tailors, Newburgh

sponsored by Music on Market, Ellenville and Nesin Cultural Arts, Monticello

Environmental Education Center, Dingmans Ferry Listings not included in our centerspread calendar

Canvas category calendar

Music - pop, Folk, Country, Blues, rock, etc.

cABARET

Cinema

“Effie Gray” Dakota Fanning Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 2, 1pm FREE

“Sound of Metal” Cornwall Library, Jan 3, Noon FREE

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” Danny Kaye Alice Desmond Canter, Newburgh, Jan 6, 10am

“Sorry, Wrong Number” Barbara Stanwyck Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 9, 1pm FREE

“Where the Crawdads Sing” Liberty Library, Jan 12, 1pm FREE

“The History of the World Part I” Mel Brooks Alice Desmond Canter, Newburgh, Jan 20, 10am

“St. Vincent” Bill Murray Cornwall Library, Jan 23, Noon FREE

“I am Little Red” film & discussion Port Jervis Library, Jan 26, 6pm FREE

“Elvis” Tom Hanks, Austin Butler ������������������ Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 30, 1pm FREE

“Blow Out” John Travolta Cornwall Library, Jan 30, 6pm FREE

“The Court Jester” Danny Kaye Alice Desmond Center, Newburgh, Feb 3, 10am

FUndraisers

Newburgh Free Library Back Door Books (sale) Newburgh Library, Montgomery Street Entrance, Jan 21, 10am-2pm

HOLIDAY

(some events not listed in centerspread)

CANVAS cannot be responsible for errors & omissions. Please verify dates and times

Toombs Dixon “Origins of Rock & Roll”

Best of The Eagles

The Falcon, Marlboro, Dec 30, 7pm

Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Centre, Dec 30, 8pm

“CollaboNew Year’s Eve” Delaware Valley Opera Center, Lake Huntington, Dec 31, 7pm

NYE! The Big Takeover reggae, ska, Motown The Falcon, Marlboro, Dec 31, 7pm

Strawberry Fields “Ultimate Beatle’s Brunch” City Winery, Montgomery, Jan 14, Noon

Broken Heart Strings Hot Club City Winery, Montgomery, Jan 20, 6pm-9pm

STARSHIP w/Mickey Thomas rock Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, Jan 20, 8pm

Dave Kearney, Don Lowe, Don Sparks folk, Music for Humanity series

“The Sixties Show”

“A Night on Broadway”

Open Mic

Open Mic

Noble Coffee Roasters, Campbell Hall, Jan 21, 7:30pm

Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, Feb 3, 8pm

Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, Feb 4, 8pm

OPEN Mic & IN-HOUSE MUSIC

sponsored by Neil Alexander & NAIL, Newburgh

Listings not included in our centerspread calendar

Heartbeat Music Hall, Grahamsville, Wednesdays,7pm

Rafter’s Tavern, Callicoon, Sundays, 3pm

The Parting Glass Band Celtic Loughran’s Pub, Salisbury Mills, Thursdays, 5:30pm-6:30pm

Lara Hope’s Gold Hope Band rockabilly, r&b, country, folk

Oxford Station Duo folk, rock, country

City Winery, Montgomery, Jan 4, 5pm

DUBCO Acres, Warwick, Jan 7, 4pm

Peace, Love and Lights drive-thru

Bethel Woods, thru Jan 1 Historic House Tours Knox’s Headquarters, Vails Gate, Dec 27 & 28, 10am-3pm

Museums (some events not listed in centerspread)

Behind the Scenes Tour, the Woodstock historic site Bethel Woods, Mon-Wed, 12:30pm

Behind the Scenes Tour & Escape Room Experience Bethel Woods, Wednesdays, 4pm

Music - Classical

Jenny Linn piano, Grand Montgomery Chamber Music series

Montgomery Senior Center, Jan 15, 3pm FREE

Victoria von Arx & Janice Nimetz, pianos, Music in Central Valley series

Central Valley United Methodist Church, Jan 29, 3pm FREE

Sarah-Anjali jazz, folk, world City Winery, Montgomery, Jan 11, 5pm

Anjali Aurora City Winery, Montgomery, Jan 18, 5pm

Andrew Jordan City Winery, Montgomery, Jan 25, 5pm

Books: Discussions / readings / Signings

“This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger Cornwall Library, Jan 4, 4pm “The Guest List” by Lucy Foley Florida Library, Jan 6, 1pm “Life After Life” by Kate Atkinson Chester Library, Jan 9, 6:30pm

Monday Evening Adult Book Club Goshen Library, Jan 9, 6:30pm “The Postmistress of Paris” by Meg Waite Clayton Livingston Manor Library, Jan 10, TBA

Speculative Fiction Book Club

Music - jazz

Hal Galper Trio

Rafters Tavern, Callicoon, Saturdays, 3pm

Miss Maybelle & The Jazz Age Artistes ������������� Goshen Public Library, Jan 14, 2pm FREE

Poetry Readings

Harvey Greenwald Noble Coffee Roasters, Campbell Hall, Jan 5, 7pm

Freestyle Cypher & Dance Party Toasted, Newburgh, Jan 7, 10pm

David Messineo Java Blue Coffee & Market, Montgomery, Jan 17, 6pm

Alchemy Poets �������������������������������������������������������������������Liberty Library, Jan 19, 1pm FREE

Margaret Fox Soulshine Market, Pine Bush, Jan 28, 3pm

Hayden Wayne Poetry at the Church Goshen Methodist Church, Jan 30, 7pm Recreation

Line Dancing “Kickin’ w/Kathy and Billy” City Winery, Montgomery, Sundays, 2pm-5pm Drum Circle Ritz Theatre Lobby, Newburgh, Tuesdays, 6:30pm

Tri-State Drum & Dance Drum Circle UpFront Exhibition Space, Port Jervis, Jan 17, 7pm

Theatre - Musical & Variety

Goshen Library, Jan 12, 7pm

“Body Double” by Tess Gerritson Cornwall, Library, Jan 19, 2pm

Adult Nonfiction Book Club Goshen Library, Jan 19, 6:30pm

Virtual Short Story Discussion Mamakating Library, Wurtsboro, Jan 20, 4pm Book Club Meeting Josephine-Louise Library, Walden, Jan 23, 6:30pm

“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri Liberty Library, Jan 26, 1pm “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell Florida Library, Jan 26, 6:30pm “The Shell Seekers” by Rosamunde Pilcher

Cornwall Library, Jan 26, 7pm “Searching for Home” by Joe Gosler Wisner Library, Warwick, Feb 4, 11am

Writers’ Opportunity

The Chester Public Library Writers Project is accepting submissions of original short stories, poems, and art for its fifth publication. Must be well crafted and original work. All genres welcome. Up to 3 submissions allowed. If you send more than one submission they must be sent as individual attachments. One submission can be longer than 3000 words. Edits and corrections should be done before sending stories. Art submissions must be original, can be different mediums, and sent as a jpeg. If

accepted, you will receive information for the next step.

Work should be typed and submitted electronically using Microsoft word format to idunn@rcls.org by February 1. Include the following information separate from your submission:

Your name, phone #, address, email, and a short bio.

You can also attend the group meetings on Mondays at Noon at the Library, 1784 Kings Highway, Chester.

For information, call 845-469-4252.

Attention: CANVAS Distribution Assistants Needed

CANVAS is seeking agile people to assist with distribution.

It involves five to six days each month, generally between the 21st to the 28th of the month, dependant on weather, printing issue/dates and holidays.

You would be riding with the distribution manager in an SUV

passenger car, who would stop at each destination for you to bring the papers inside each location and place them, keeping track of the number of copies delivered.

You can choose to participate for one, or more, or all days.

Compensation could be payment, barter

for ads in CANVAS or a combination of both.

Details would need to be worked out and would depend on where you live, whether you could be met at some location where you could leave you car, or whether you’d come to a Bloomingburg location to be met.

We’re looking for CANVAS appreciators, friendly, personable people who enjoy riding around the area and admiring the beautiful scenery (and busy hamlets!).

References would be required.

Email barry@dhcanvas.com with your info and any questions.

sponsored by Steve’s Music Center, Rock Hill and Al’s Music Center, Port Jervis

CANVAS cannot be responsible for errors & omissions. Please verify dates and times.

Bradstan Cabaret Show “New Year’s Eve Celebration” Eldred Preserve, Dec 31, 9pm-2am

sponsored by Josephine-Louise Public Library, Walden

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Cinema

“Effie Gray” Wisner Library, Warwick,1pm

Recreation Line Dancing CITY 2pm

Cinema “Sound of Metal” Cornwall Library, Noon

Drum

6:30pm

The Oxford Station Duo will perform their folk rock, classic country and Americana music live at DUBCO Acres, Warwick, on January 7 at 4:00pm.

Cinema “Sorry, Wrong Number” Wisner Library, Warwick, 1pm

Recreation Line Dancing CITY 2pm

Recreation Drum Circle RITZ 6:30pm Cinema...........

Recreation Line Dancing CITY 2pm

Poetry David Messineo Java Blue Coffee, Montgomery, 6pm Recreation Drum Circle RITZ 6:30pm & UpF, 7pm

Cinema

“St. Vincent” Wisner Library, Warwick,1pm

Recreation Line Dancing CITY 2pm

Cinema “Elvis” Wisner Library, Warwick, 1pm

Line Dancing - see above

Cinema “Blow Out” Cornwall Library, 6pm

Poetry Hayden Wayne Goshen United Methodist Church, 7pm

Drum Circle RITZ 6:30pm

Join Jay Westerveld, President of the Sugar Loaf Historical Society, for an exploration of the cultural and natural history of Orange County’s most notable peak and hamlet.

Delve into Sugar Loaf’s remarkable history, from its Ice Age shelters to its unique ecological systems and its electrifying climbing and hiking routes. Learn about the mountain’s rare flora and fauna, its mining and bootlegging histories, and its extraordinary dual watershed resources that include the source of Warwick’s own Wawayanda Creek.

Drum Circle

6:30pm

Most importantly, why we should care about the Orange County Land Trust’s effort to save this defining landmark of our region.

January 8 at 1:00pm: Wisner Library, One McFarland Drive, Warwick.

To register: www.AlbertWisnerLibrary.org

Central Valley NFL-MONT Newburgh

DVO

Delaware Valley Opera Center, Lake Huntington FAL The Falcon, Marlboro GMCM Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Montgomery Senior Center

BRAD Bradstan Cabaret Series

Eldred Preserve, Eldred CITY City Winery Hudson Valley, Montgomery DESMOND Alice Desmond Center, Newburgh

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

Theatre-Dinner..............“Stayin’ Alive?”����������������������������CITY 6pm

Music..................”CollaboNew Year’s Eve” DVO 7pm Music - Reggae-Ska-Motown.....NYE! The Big Takeover FAL 7pm Cabaret..................New Year’s Eve Celebration BRAD 9pm-2am

of Walter Mitty” DESMOND 10am

Recreation....................Line Dancing CITY 2pm-5pm

Music - Jazz.........Hal Galper Trio Rafter’s Tavern, Callicoon, 3pm Poetry-Dance Party..........Freestyle Cypher TOAST 10pm

the World Part I” DESMOND 10am Heart Strings Hot Club CITY 6pm STARSHIP w/Mickey Thomas SLPAC 8pm

Fair.............Maker Market & Street Fair Mountaindale, 11am-5pm

Theatre - Beatles���Strawberry Fields Beatles Brunch���CITY Noon Music - Jazz...Miss Maybelle & The Jazz Age Artistes GOSH 2pm Music - Jazz.........Hal Galper Trio Rafter’s Tavern, Callicoon, 3pm

Music - Classical...................Jenny Linn piano...................GMCM 3pm Recreation....................Line Dancing CITY 2pm-5pm

Fundraiser......Newburgh Library Book Sale NFL-MONT 10am-2pm Music - Jazz.........Hal Galper Trio Rafter’s Tavern, Callicoon, 3pm

Music

Theatre

NOBLE

Noble Coffee Roasters, Campbell Hall RITZ Ritz Theatre Lobby, Newburgh SLPAC Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center

SUNYO-OH

SUNY Orange, Orange Hall, Middletown TOAST Toasted, Newburgh UpF UpFront Exhibition Space, Port Jervis

Goshen Public Library Central Valley United Methodist Church Newburgh Free Library, Montgomery St. Entrance

Canvas category calendar

SUNYO-MRG

sponsored

Art exhibits

SUNYO-OH SUNY Orange, Orange Hall, Middletown WRCA Wallkill River Center for the Arts, Montgomery

T.A. Clearwater paintings, pastels, prints Clearwater Gallery at Jones Farm, Cornwall, ongoing Karen E. Gersch, Gabrielle Dearborn, Josiah Dearborn drawings, paintings, silverwork Gersch Home Gallery, Montgomery, by appt, ongoing

James Turrell “Avaar”, Sol LeWitt “Wall Drawings”, & Francis Cape “A Gathering of Utopian Benches” CAS ongoing

Edward Cohen Gallery at Chant Realtors, Lords Valley, thru Dec 27

Ryan Fulton “Original Acrylics”

Cornwall Library, thru Dec 29

Kevin Gref & Lucy Sardonia “Transition” Domesticities, Youngsville, thru Dec 30

Pat MacDonald “Road Trip” Unitarian Universalist Cong , Rock Tavern, thru Dec 31 iena Cruz Visitor Center, Newburgh, thru Dec 31

Chrissy Pahucki Greenwood Lake Library, thru Dec 31

Barryville Area Arts Association group show & “The Story of Christmas in Classic Art” & “Creation Stories from Around the World” Artists Market Community Center, Shohola, thru Dec 31

“The Gingerbread Experience”

Liberty Museum & Arts Center, thru Jan 1

Lisa O’Gorman Griffith-Olivero Realtors, Goshen, thru Jan 5

Judy Reynolds “Epiphany of Life” SUNYO-MRG thru Jan 6

Winter Art Show group show

UpFront Exhibition Space, Port Jervis, thru Jan 7

Gabriela Galván “We series, # 1” Ann Street Gallery Window, Newburgh, thru Jan 14 “Holiday” group show WRCA thru Jan 15

Jennie Duke “Streaming the Light”

WRCA thru Jan 22

Emmanuel Ofori “Between Two Worlds” WRCA thru Jan 22 “Drapery” group show WRCA thru Jan 22

Philippe Safire “Transition”

CMA Gallery, Aquinas Hall, Newburgh, thru Jan 30

Marjorie Morrow “Maker’s Mark” Brigantine Goods, Jeffersonville, thru Jan 31 “Celebrate” Goshen Art League Goshen Music Hall, thru Jan 31 “Instructor’s Small Works Show” Alice Desmond Center, Newburgh, thru Jan 31

Catherine DeMaio paintings

CAS Members’ Exhibition

Rustic Wheelhouse, Chester, thru Jan

NEW ART EXHIBITS

DESM

Lectures, talks, masterclasses & demos

Alice Desmond Center, Newburgh

Mamakating Environmental Education Center, Wurtsboro

Pocono Environmental Education Center, Dingmans Ferry Lectures, Demos, Talks & Master Classes are FREE unless otherwise noted: (FEE) (Events Not lncluded in Centerspread Calendar) lectures,

Tours & Discussions

“Barbara Hepworth” Laura Nicholls

DESM Jan 4, 12:30pm FEE

“The Erie’s Pine Bush Branch: Then and Now: Alex Prizgintas Pine Bush Library, Jan 4, 6pm

Eagle-viewing guided bus tour, Delaware Highlands Conservancy Zane Grey Museum, Lackawaxen, Jan 7, 21, 28 11am-3pm

“Winter Survival Strategies” Pamela Golben DESM Jan 9, 10:30am FEE “Diet-Free 2023: Intuitive Eating” Michelle Viña Newburgh Library, Jan 9, 6:15pm “Women Air Force Service Pilots of WW II (WASP)” Rick Feingold��������������������������������� DESM Jan 10, 9:30am FEE

“Financial Resolutions” Harrie Mulé Newburgh Library, Jan 10, 6pm

“Martha Washington: A Timeless Woman” Matthew Weigman Jan 11, 10:30am FEE

“The Unknown Palisades” Eric Nelson zoom/Moffat Library, Washingtonville, Jan 11, 6:30pm “Communicating with Cats” Rebecca Golgoski DESM Jan 12, 12:30pm FEE

Winter Ecology Hike PEEC Jan 15, 10am FEE

“Common Birds at Your Feeder”

MEEC Jan 15, 1pm FEE

Winter Bird Identification Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 18, 6pm

“Medicare 101” Greg Tarris Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 19, 2pm

“The Search for Life in Our Galaxy” John Fontana Florida Library, Jan 19, 6:30pm

Eagle Watch Tour PEEC Jan 21, 9am FEE

“Jazz - An American Art” Barry Wiesenfeld Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 21, 11am

“The History of Chocolate in the Hudson River Valley” Peter G. Rose

Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 22, 2pm

“Cutting the Cord: How to Reduce Your Monthly Payments” Vincent Kayes

DESM Jan 24, 10am FEE

“Alzheimer’s: Know the 10 Signs: Early Detection Matters” Donna Davies

DESM Jan 25, 1 pm

“Work for Yourself @ 50” Newburgh Library, Jan 25, 6pm

“Nutrition and Diabetes” Moffat Library, Washingtonville, Jan 26, 6:30pm

Winter Birds at Pine Island Tour

PEEC Jan 28, 1pm FEE

CAS Dec 31-Jan 28

River Valley Artists Guild Art About Town: “Winter Spirits” RVAG members group show, Gio’s Gelato Cafe, Port Jervis & Susan Miiller oils & pastels, Bon Secours Hospital Cafeteria, Port Jervis, & Joe Petrosi color pencil drawings, Mayor’s Office, Port Jervis City Hall, & Joan Kehlenbeck oils & pastels Deerpark Town Hall, Huguenot�������������������Jan 9-Mar 17

“A Study in Black & White” Community Art Show Wisner Library, Warwick, Jan 9-Mar 31 “Open Choice” group show WRCA Jan 20-Feb 19

North East Watercolor Society group show SUNYO-OH Jan 24-Mar 17

Members & Teachers Show WRCA Jan 27-Feb 26

“Cause We Be Complicated: Dialogues of Black Artists” group show ADS Gallery, Newburgh, Feb 3-Mar 3

Photography exhibits

“Along the Towpath: The D&H Canal in Mamakating, 1828-1898” Wurtsboro Library

Nick Zungoli “Sugar Loaf Mountain Fundraiser Exhibit” & Nick Zungoli “AOTEAROA New Zealand” Exposures Gallery, Sugar Loaf, thru Dec “A Comprehensive Exhibition of Arctic and Antarctic Photography”

Sullivan County Museum, Hurleyville, thru Dec

David Nicholls Leo’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, Cornwall, thru Jan 3

Chris Heim Catskill nature scenes Gallery at Chant Realtors, Lords Valley, Jan 1-Feb 25

David Nicholls “A Paris Portrait” Cornwall Library, Jan 5-Feb 23

Yearly Contributor Photography Exhibition Highlands Arts Alliance

Highland Falls Library, Jan 11-28

ART & Photography receptions

CAS Members’ Exhibition

Catskill Art Space, Livingston Manor, Dec 31, 4pm-6pm

Winter Closing Art Reception Party “Celebrating a successful year of Art & Music”

UpFront Exhibition Space, Port Jervis, Jan 7, 2pm-6pm

Chris Heim Catskill nature scenes Gallery at Chant Realtors, Lords Valley, Jan 7, 5pm-7pm

Yearly Contributor Photography Exhibition Highlands Arts Alliance

Highland Falls Library, Jan 11, 5pm-6:45pm FEE

“Cause We Be Complicated: Dialogues of Black Artists” group show ADS Gallery, Newburgh, Feb 3, 6pm-8:30pm

Members & Teachers Show WRCA Feb 11, 3pm-5pm

North East Watercolor Society group show

SUNYO-OH Feb 26, 1pm-4:15pm

Winter Plant Walk - “Identifying Plants in Wintertime” MEEC Jan 28, 1pm FEE

Frozen Waterfall Tour PEEC Jan 28, 9am FEE

Bridge the Gap: Bird Bonanza PEEC Jan 29, 1pm FEE

“The Life & Times of a Quiet American Hero” Carolyn Ivanoff DESM Jan 30, 12:30 pm FEE “And That’s the Way It Is: A Look Back at 70 Years of TV News” Brian Rose

Chester Library, Jan 30, 7pm “Private Yankee Doodle” Peter Cutul DESM Feb 1, 12:30pm FEE

ARTIST Talks & Salons

zoom/Wisner Library, Jan 12, 2pm Highlands Arts Alliance Photographers’ Salon American Legion Hall, Highland Falls, Feb 4, 11am FEE

Namima Forna author

Visual & Literary Artists Opportunity

Two $2,500 fellowships will be awarded each in the categories of Visual Arts and Literary Arts to full-time residents of Sullivan County to facilitate the creation of new artwork.

In keeping with the belief that our communities are stronger and our lives are enriched when artists are encouraged to pursue their professional practice, the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) is proud to administer direct funding to artists who live and work in Sullivan County.

DVAA is your artistic home in the Upper Delaware Valley and Sullivan Catskills Region.

For 2023, four Individual Artist Fellowships (two in the Visual Arts and two in the Literary Arts) in the amount of $2,500 each, will be granted.

An element of this funding is a community engagement component. The project must engage a segment of the community through a public program such as an exhibition or performance that is open to the public.

The extended 2023 Application Deadline is January 30. Guidelines are now available.

For more information, contact DVAA’s Grants Manager at: grants@ delawarevalleyartsalliance.org or by phone at 845-252-7576.

The DVAA is now also accepting proposals for exhibition opportunities at the Elaine Giguere Arts Center in Narrowsburg for 2024.

www.delawarevalleyartsalliance.org Questions? Contact DVAA’s Gallery Director, Signe Ballew: 845-252-7576.

CANVAS cannot be responsible for errors & omissions. Please verify dates and times.

CAS Catskill Art Space, Livingston Manor

SUNY Orange, Mindy Ross Gallery, Newburgh

by Catskill Art Society, Wallkill River School, Goshen Art League & Wurtsboro Art Alliance

sponsored by SUNY Orange and Town of Newburgh Desmond Center

The Wallkill River Center for the Arts (WRCA) is offering numerous art classes in January with instruction by highly experienced teachers, renown and respected as for their artworks.

Beginner Acrylic with Nancy Reed Jones is for anyone who has always wanted to learn to paint but was intimidated by the more advanced classes. Classes will cover all the beginner fundamentals of painting including supplies, mixing color, how to use brushes, creating a good composition, how to pick a subject, identifying a focal point etc. Oil painters are welcome to attend.

Bring in a photo or other reference and Mike will assist in achieving the painting you have always wanted to paint. Learn everything from paint mixing, brushstrokes, and techniques to specific ways to capture the illusion of light and realism.

Beginning Watercolor with Alan Lewis: This beginner’s watercolor class will be focused on producing finished work. “I have noticed that I have learned best when following along painting with an artist, so that is the approach this class will follow. The approach will be to paint fast and loose, to cover the basics of watercolor by doing them, and hopefully to have some fun.

in a kiln to create beautiful and lasting pieces. Learn to make heirloom china or stunning contemporary works of art! The teacher will introduce new students to the world of porcelain painting, materials, tools and techniques. Turpentine is used in this class. If you are sensitive to it, please keep that in mind.

Cynthia Harris-Pagano, a specialist in portraits, will give instruction in drawing and painting the portrait head with charcoal and/or pastel. Students will work from life models, as well as instruction in light and shade with charcoal pencil. Instruction will facilitate the student in achieving the full range of light and dark tones, especially flesh tones.

Live In Person - Painting with William Noonan: For beginner, intermediate and advanced students. Any painting medium is welcome. Students are encouraged to follow their own stylistic inclinations while learning and practicing the basic rules of: drawing & painting techniques, composition, value, color mixing, color theory, materials and supplies, etc.

Advanced Oil with Mike Jaroszko: Learn tips from a pro in painting high realism and luminist light techniques.

Line-Shadow-Form: Basic Drawing Skills with William Noonan: This class is appropriate for artists who possess a basic understanding of the principles of drawing from life. Subjects like form, scale, shading and composition create the core of the curriculum and will consistently be revisited. Class work will include a variety of subjects, often drawing still lives from life to hone your observational skills and exploring other subjects such as interiors, landscapes, portrait and figures from live and photographic resources.

Intermediate students: Students who have taken the series before may choose their design and apply the techniques which they learned in the basic class. Paola will review your project with you and assist in achieving your design. Email Sarah Fortner Pierson: spierson@ wallkill.art to arrange a time to come in and make your initial drawing at least 10 days BEFORE the beginning of class. Email a picture of your proposed design to Paola for feedback and planning before class: pb.paolabari@gmail.com.

with William Noonan: This independent workshop is an opportunity for painters to work on their own projects with the assistance of an instructor and feedback from their peers. It is for intermediate and advanced painters who seek a way of structuring their artistic schedule and output. Participants should be self directed and will work from their own source material. Assistance will be given in this regard as to what works well as a painting source, how to combine photo resources, what to look out for in potential photos as it relates to painting. Any subject is acceptable: figure, landscape, still life, interiors...Students may also bring their own still life set-ups if they want to and work from life. Students may opt to attend this class via a virtual feed. The class will be supplemented by a closed Facebook group where students may share ideas with each other beyond the classroom environment.

Porcelain Painting with Paola Bari:

Designed for both beginning and intermediate students, this class will teach you how professionals paint on porcelain with overglazes. All projects will be fired

Tree of Life Pendant with Janet Baskerville: This is the class you have been waiting for! Come out, enjoy a warm relaxed atmosphere and learn how to make your own Tree of Life Pendant with copper wire. No special skills or tools required, all supplies are provided.

The Tree of Life commonly represents the interconnectedness of everything in the universe. It symbolizes togetherness and serves as a reminder that you are never alone or isolated, but rather that you are connected to the world. The roots of the Tree of Life dig deep and spread into the earth, thereby accepting nourishment from Mother Earth, and its branches reach up into the sky, accepting energy from the sun and moon.

Oil Painting Independent Study Lab

Slow stitching is a meditative and calming activity with a creative purpose. Gather your hand stitching, embroidery, knitting, or crocheting and join us to share time with other artistic people. Lap projects only (no machines). This class is organized by Denise Aumick who has been creatively working with threads, needles, and cloth for many years.

For more details about dates, times, supplies, mask requirements, prices and more information, visit www.walkill.art or email info@wallkill.art. WRCA is located at 232 Ward Street, Montgomery, Phone: 845-457-ARTS.

Wallkill River Center for the Arts: Start Your New Year with Art Lessons!

Acrylic by Nancy Reed Jones

Pastel Portrait by Cynthia Harris Pagano

Porcelain by Paola Bari

Oil by William Noonan

Oil by Mike Jaroszko

Watercolor by Alan Lewis

Tree of Life Pendant by Janet Baskerville

Show

The mission of the North East Watercolor Society (NEWS) is to promote and preserve the art of watercolor painting. The group provides educational opportunities, arranges exhibitions, and offers support, encouragement and fellowship.

The 2023 NEWS Members’ Show officially starts on January 24 and continues through March 17. The venue is the large space of Orange Hall Gallery, SUNY Orange

The show is not only an array of beautiful paintings; it serves as a teaching tool and learning experience of techniques, uses of medium, and creativity of subject and concept.

Since this will be an in-person event, the highlight of the exhibit timeframe will

see the return of the art reception and the highly anticipated demonstration. These are scheduled on February 26, from 1:00pm-4:15pm with the demonstration slated for 2:30pm. (Stay tuned to the February 2023 issue of CANVAS). Art show juror Maryann Burton will be the demonstrator.

Well-known watercolorist Janet Campbell, who is the second vice president of NEWS, is the 2023 members’

show coordinator.

Questions may be directed to Cultural Affairs at SUNY Orange via cultural@ sunyorange.edu or NEWS publicity correspondent Kate Hyden at khyden1@ hvc.rr.com.

Free parking is available in parking lot #1 which is adjacent to Orange Hall. GPS: 24 Grandview Ave, Middletown.

Television news has undergone remarkable transformations in the last seven decades. Beginning with Camel News Caravan with John Cameron Swayze (see photo) in 1948, evening newscasts drew tens of millions of viewers nightly and expanded from 15 minutes to 30 minutes when Walter Cronkite became the anchor of the CBS Evening News in 1963. With the launch of CNN in 1980, TV news expanded to 24 hours a day, seven days a week - and a new era in television journalism was born.

And That’s the Way It Is: A Look Back at 70 Years of TV News, presented by film lecturer Brian Rose, will look at the sweeping changes in television journalism over the last six decades.

Brian Rose has written several books on television history and cultural programming, and conducted more than a hundred Q&A’s with leading directors, actors, and writers.

This program will be on zoom, January 30 at 7:00pm. Registration is required to receive your zoom link.

Chester Library. Call 845-469-4252.

Eagle Watching by Bus or On Your Own

The Upper Delaware River region is one of the largest wintering habitats for eagles in the northeast U.S. because of abundant clean water and large, undisturbed stands of trees. Protected lands in Pike, Wayne, Sullivan and Delaware Counties provide a safe haven for these migratory birds, as well as breeding eagles that live here year-round.

The Delaware Highlands Conservancy works in partnership with landowners and communities to protect the natural heritage and quality of life of the Upper Delaware River region.

Join the Conservancy on a guided eagle-viewing bus tour. Learn from an expert guide and take a scenic drive on a heated bus throughout the Upper Delaware River region to look for and learn about bald eagles and their habitat.

Seats on trips are limited and advance reservations are required, so reserve your space for the 2023 winter trips on January 7, 21 & 28, February 4, 18 & 25. The trips commence at the Conservancy’s Winter Field Office at the Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen,

and run from 11:00am3:00pm. Snow dates are the Sundays following.

Kids under 12 free. Get tickets at www. delawarehighlands.org or call 570-226-3164 / 845583-1010.

Refunds are not provided in the event of canceled reservations or no-shows.

The Conservancy has partnered with the National Park Service and the NYS Department of Conservation to maintain well-marked Eagle Observation Areas open to the public. These viewing blinds are also staffed by volunteers on weekends through the winter season, and visitors can look through binoculars and spotting scopes to see bald eagles in the wild.

Pick up information about the bald eagle in the Upper Delaware River region, get maps and directions to eagle viewing locations, watch a short film, and view interpretive exhibits. The Visitor Center is staffed on Saturdays and Sundays in January and February, and open to visitors from 10:00am-3:00pm. Visit www.delawarehighlands.org/eagles to learn about eagle viewing on your own.

“Tall Ferns” by Janet Campbell

“Best Friends” by Sal Caldarone

“Distraction” by Kate Hyden

Photo by Gene Weinstein

To Our Dear Community,

As of January 2023, I will no longer be acting as Executive Director at the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre Owing to the vision of Janet Carrus, the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre was once a bold idea, then a building, and now it is a thriving community centered around shared artistic experiences.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to steer the ship brought into existence by an intrepid team of artists for six years. The team doubled down and served the community through two years of unprecedented hardship. Now as the world heals, HPAC too is at a moment of great potential. Going forward, HPAC will be in the capable hands of Ellyane Hutchinson and Tal Beery who will be acting as interim Co-Executive Directors. Janet Carrus will, of course, continue to serve as President of the organization.

Ellyane brings experience as an artist and HPAC’s Chief Operating Officer to her new role as Co-Executive Director

Programs & Operations. Tal will bring his experience as a curator and HPAC’s Chief Development Officer to his new role as Co-Executive Director Administration & Strategy.

The Co-Executive Director model allows HPAC to benefit from leadership with complementing professional experience, diverse gender, racial and cultural backgrounds, and varied livedexperiences. It also gives each leader the ability to focus on their core strengths, capacities and expertise, while working collaboratively and supporting one another in service to our community and our commitment to equity.

I know I speak on behalf of our staff and our Board when I say that we have tremendous faith in our team moving forward. Thank you to everyone who has continued to support HPAC, and we are excited for things to come.

All the best, and Happy New Year, Erin Dudley, Executive Director, Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre.

OCAC Introduces Todd Hulit

The Orange County Arts Council (OCAC) announces its new executive director, Todd Hulet (see photo) who brings with him over two decades of experience in the arts, education and entertainment fields. He most recently led the Events and Entertainment department through the opening of Legoland in Goshen.

Hulet is a member of the Dramatists Guild and serves on the national board of TYA/USA, the leading national organization for the professional field of theater for children and families. He is a champion for young artists and has served as an Arts educator for over 20 years. His passion for theater and experience creation comes from a deep appreciation for the wide spectrum of arts mediums and their ability to come together to create powerful moments. As a public speaker and professional development facilitator, he focuses on the intersection of arts principles and how we can fine tune our work through cross-medium study.

“On behalf of the board of the directors, I know we are all very excited to be working with Todd. New leadership brings possibilities for expanding growth

and creativity resources for our region,” said Janet HowardFatta

Hulet replaces Sarah McKay, who served as OCAC’s executive director from 2018 until August 2022.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Orange County Arts Council and look forward to the opportunity to serve this community,” said Hulet. “Sarah McKay has done an incredible job at leading the Council and I want to thank her for her years of service. The Council is on a path to do so much good in our community thanks to her hard work and dedication. We look forward to continuing this work as we expand and develop the Arts in Orange County.”

Hulet has played nearly every cabaret venue in NYC, written musicals that toured the country, guided multiple local non-profit efforts for Arts Advocacy, served as developmental consultant for arts organizations in six states, and designed and executed large-scale corporate events.

OCAC looks forward to working with Todd as he unfolds his vision for the future of the arts in Orange County.

CANVAS welcomes you, Todd!

May I Have A Word With You

Quotes

LIFE

Life is a powerful word and it gets our attention. Merchandizers have long known that.

During its golden years, from 1936 through the 1970’s, LIFE, the weekly magazine, was reaching one quarter of the American population.

One of the longest running TV ads in history featured a little boy named Mikey eating a bowl of LIFE cereal. His big brother would shout “Hey! He likes it! Mikey likes it!”

If you were asked to describe YOUR life in a few words, what would they be?

“All life is an experiment.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“Life is a tragedy when seen in closeup, but a comedy in long-shot.” - Charlie Chaplin.

“Life is trying things to see if they work.” - Ray Bradbury

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” - Helen Keller

“Life is like riding a bicycle; to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”Albert Einstein

“Life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering and it’s all over much too soon.” - Woody Allen

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.” - Woody Allen.

LOVE

I was sent a list of winning entries to a love poetry contest. The rules stated that the first line be sweet and loving, the second, just the opposite:

Kind intelligent, loving and hot. This describes everything you are not.

I want to feel your sweet embrace but don’t take that paper bag off your face.

I thought that I could love no other until, that is, I met your brother.

What inspired this amorous rhyme? Two parts vodka, one part lime.

PUN FUN

A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

I know a guy who’s addicted to brake fluid. But he says he can stop at any time.

I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.

Quips,

& Quiddities by Carol Pozefsky

Janet Carrus Ellyane Hutchinson Erin Dudley Tal Beery

Celebration at UpFront, Port Jervis

UpFront Exhibition

Space is an art gallery and small event space displaying art of many mediums with an array of styles, and also presenting major jazz artists in concert for its “groove port” series.

To celebrate a successful year of art and music, UpFront will hold a Winter Closing Art Reception Party The Winter Art Show will be on display, with a plethora of artworks in all genres by UpFront’s monthly contributors, including co-owner and assemblage artist Gordon Graff and Rosalind Hodgkins, among many, many others.

“Since I began painting 50 years ago, I have continually been fascinated by the metaphorical language of signs, symbols and myths,” says Hodgkins. “My painting style has shifted back and forth between the representational, expressionistic, abstract and the geometric as I explored the possibilities

of paint producing color, light, space and feeling.”

In addition, featured works by Jennifer Rose, Keith Helwig and Mark Wright will be on view.

Jennifer Rose paints in acrylic with a palette knife. Her individual style has evolved from expressive to non-objective, she says.

Helwig’s art has evolved through many styles, he says, including twodimensional and threedimensional sculpture in both abstract and super realism.

Mark Wright has been exploring multiple mediums in his retroexpressionist style. Over the last few years, historic Eastern myths have been his main interest for painting subjects.

Come to the celebration at 31 Jersey Avenue, Port Jervis, on January 7 from 2:00pm6:00pm. Admission is free, light refreshments. For info: 845-754-1808.

Jazz from 1900-1929 in Goshen

Miss Maybell & The Jazz Age Artistes are a group comprised of some of New York City’s best traditional jazz players who formed on a mutual love of vintage hot jazz, blues and ragtime music from 1900 to 1929!

“Ah, the Jazz Age of the Roaring Twenties, that romanticized, Great Gatsby era of music and mayhem, the days of hot jazz, ladies in flapper outfits and well-dressed men, before the Crash of 1929 brought it all to a screeching stop. Gee, it sure was the bee’s knees, and now, in the not-so-roaring Twenties, everything old is new again, thanks to Miss Maybell & The Jazz Age Artistes.” - Andrew Poretz.

“Miss Maybell plays banjo and taps her steel brushes on a tricked-out washboard. She also commands an impressive kazoo, but the secret weapon they unleash is Maybell’s vocals - deep and strong enough to join an angel choir with the likes of Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday.” - New Hampshire Magazine.

Miss Maybell, Lauren Sansaricq, has a vocal style that is similar to that of the classic blues singers of the era, ranging from Ethel Waters to Bessie Smith without copying any one vocalist. She puts plenty of bluesy feeling into the

songs (which include both vintage blues and vaudeville-type songs). She swings, and she also plays washboard.

“Pianist Charlie Judkins is a ragtime and stride pianist and is very much a complete band by himself in addition to begin a tasteful accompanist.” - LA Jazz Scene.

“Miss Maybell and Charlie Judkins share a groove that is truly timeless.”The Syncopated Times

On January 14 at 2:00pm the Goshen Public Library & Historical Society, 366 Main Street, will be hosting a live concert featuring Miss Maybell & The Jazz Age Artistes. Registration is required, and the program will be held in the Community Room.

To register: 845-294-6606.

Gordon Graff stands next to his many assemblages.

Photo by Jessica Cohen.

“In

the Moonlight” by Rosalind Hodgkins

Starship is Coming to Sugar Loaf!

Mickey Thomas is the owner of the soaring voice that propelled Starship through the decade of the 80’s. With his soulful and compelling vocals, Mickey has established himself as one of rock music’s most recognizable stars. With a catalog that spans over five decades, Mickey Thomas’ name is synonymous with rock n’ roll history.

Mickey made his mark in 1976 as lead vocalist on the megahit Fooled Around And Fell In Love with The Elvin Bishop Band. In 1979, Mickey joined Jefferson Starship as the lead vocalist, after the departure of Grace Slick and Marty Balin, and recorded a string of hits including Jane, No Way Out, Find Your Way Back, Stranger, and Layin It On The Line

The group was renamed Starship in 1985 and went on to record three #1 hit songs including We Built This City, Sara, and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, from the film Mannequin which also was an Academy Award nominee. Their hit It’s

Not Over Til It’s Over became Major League Baseball’s theme in 1987.

Mickey’s stellar voice and video charisma on Starships’s video classics such as We Built This City and Sara became staples on TV channels MTV and VH1.

One can expect to hear hits from Starship, Jefferson Starship, as well as a few selections from Jefferson Airplane as a nod to both bands’ beginnings, on January 20 at 8:00pm at the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, 231 Creamery Pond Road, when OME presents Starship featuring Mickey Thomas.

Tickets: www.sugarloafpacny.com

Rosner Soap Joins the Cause

Rosner Soap in Sugar Loaf launched a new soap affectionately named, Sugar Loaf Mountain on December 10th in honor of the namesake mountain of the arts/crafts hamlet in the town of Chester. This new soap, designed by Kat and Brian Parrella, shop proprietors, is an all-natural, vegan product handmade in small batches in their studio using traditional methods. With a fresh, unique scent and a hint of cedar, it is reminiscent of a hike in the woodlands surrounding this unique landmark and speaks to the feeling they have for the mountain that defines the hamlet they love.

The mountain that lends its name to this soap is currently the focus of a campaign by the Orange County Land Trust (OCLT) to raise funds to purchase over 300 acres of land, forest, and the rocky summit that comprises Sugar Loaf Mountain. In support of this effort, Rosner Soap donated all proceeds in December from the sale of the new soap to the cause to “Save the Mountain”. The first batch sold out in 3 days! Rosner soap is now accepting orders to reserve bars from the next batch, which will be available around the end of January to directly benefit OCLT and the cause.

An important cultural, historic, and

community icon, saving Sugar Loaf Mountain for preservation will protect water resources, forest, and wildlife habitats, as well as secure the firstever public access to the mountain for recreation, with plans to expand its access into Goosepond Mountain State Park.

Founded in 1998, Rosner Soap is a Sugar Loaf mainstay. The business features hand-crafted all-natural skin care products and specializes in the coldprocess. Their herbal soaps are created with only the highest quality ingredients, essential oils and organic herbs.

The products are available both in the Sugar Loaf shop (1375 Kings Highway) and online, and are enjoyed by devoted users across the country. For information and hours, visit www.rosnersoap.com.

For information about the “Save the Mountain” campaign: www.OCLT.org.

Highlands Arts Alliance Exhibit

As we all know, or should know, photography is the process of capturing light to create an image of the world that surrounds us. Images are captured using an assortment of camera equipment and techniques, and encompass a vast array of styles and types. The possibilities are as endless as our imaginations.

The Highlands Arts Alliance (HAA) Photographers’ Salon offers monthly gatherings to connect fellow photographers of all backgrounds and experience to share and critique work, learn new photographic styles/types and techniques. The monthly gatherings connect fellow photographers, where together they share, critique and learn new techniques, and offer monthly focused topic-led discussions, guest speakers, workshops and photo walks. Agenda items are announced in advance on local media, flyers and the website.

And now, an HAA special event offers Photo Salon participants, HAA members and non-member photographers an opportunity to showcase their photographic artwork in its 2023 Yearly

Contributors Photography Exhibition at the Highland Falls Library, 298 Main Street, Highland Falls, January 11-28, moderated by program founder and photographer Karen Parashkevov An opening reception will be held on January 11, from 5:00pm-6:45pm Fee: $20 (benefits HAA Photo Salon programs).

The next salon meeting is scheduled for February 4 at 11:00am at the American Legion Hall, 134 Old State Road, Highland Falls. Agenda to be announced. (See February CANVAS).

For additional information about the Photographers’ Salon, visit: www.highlandsartsalliance.org/ photographersalon. See ad on page 20.

Photography by Karen Parashkevov

Starship lands in Sugar Loaf on January 20 at 8:00pm

Music in Central Valley Returns with All-Schubert Program

Music in Central Valley is resuming its community music programs with a program of piano music.

Pianists Victoria von Arx and Janice Nimetz will perform piano solos and duos by a composer whose compositions for both configurations stand among the greatest in the literature: Franz Schubert!

Victoria von Arx, former member of the music faculty at the University of Albany, is a frequent piano soloist and chamber musician. With advanced degrees in both piano performance and musicology, she has performed and taught in New York City, New Jersey, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and has served on both the faculty and executive board of the Adamant Music School in Vermont.

She is the author of several scholarly articles appearing in the Journal of the Society for American Music, The International Dictionary of Black Composers, and RiD’im Newsletter.

Her book, Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau: A Guide to his Techniques and Philosophy, draws on her extensive studies with two protégés of Claudio Arrau.

Janice Nimetz currently serves as

piano mentor for Songcatchers, a music program in Westchester County designed for students of limited financial resources, and as Director of Music at Central Valley United Methodist Church. Formerly on the music faculties of Emma Willard School in Troy and the Rockland Conservatory in Spring Valley, she has performed as duettist in Saratoga, Glens Falls, and

Albany, and as soloist in New York City, Block Island, New Rochelle, and locally.

She has been a performing participant in the master classes of Menahem Pressler, John O’Conor, and Christopher Elton, and was awarded a Performer’s Certificate from Eastman School of Music. In addition, she holds an advanced degree in the history of

education.

The program includes Sonata in A Minor, D. 784; Rondo in A Major, D. 951; Characteristic March No. 1, D. 886; and the Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 (D. 760), popularly known as the Wanderer Fantasy, which is widely considered Schubert’s most technically demanding composition for the piano.

Schubert himself said “the devil may play it,” in reference to his own inability to do so properly. It is not only a technically formidable challenge for the performer, but also a structurally formidable four-movement work combining theme-and-variations with sonata form. Each movement transitions into the next instead of ending with a final definitive cadence, and each starts with a variation of the opening phrase of his lied “Der Wanderer”, D. 489.

The piano concert is on January 29, at 3:00pm at Central Valley United Methodist Church, 12 Smith Clove Road, Central Valley. Admission is open to everyone. A donation at the door is suggested. In case of inclement weather, February 5 has been scheduled as a snow date.

Call the Church Office at 845-9286570 for further information.

Rev. King Honored with Beatles Brunch

Strawberry Fields is the closest you can get to see the Beatles perform live!

These four acclaimed musicians deliver a unique theatrical experience. They take audiences of all ages on a chronological journey through the Beatle’s timeless catalog. The use of costumes, vintage instrumentation, and amplification deliver a truly authentic audio and visual experience.

Strawberry Fields consists of cast members from the Broadway and the touring company of the hit musical, Beatlemania They have performed throughout the country and around the world, most notably at Shea Stadium, CitiField, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium.

Strawberry Fields also holds the record for the longest-running Beatles show on Broadway, having performed the legendary Beatles Brunch for 18 consecutive years at BB Kings in Times Square, NYC.

The cast of Strawberry Fields is

delighted to bring the magic of their Beatles experience to City Winery Hudson Valley, located at 23 Factory Street, Montgomery.

City Winery Hudson Valley presents Strawberry Fields: Ultimate Beatles Brunch Honoring Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. on January 14 at Noon Doors open at 11:00am.

Tickets include an unlimited breakfast buffet, coffee, tea, juice and your concert ticket! “Come Together” with your fellow Beatles fans!

Children under 12 have free entry with brunch available for purchase. Sippable souvenir bottles available for purchase when attending! Gratuity not included.

Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) Wax statue, Madame Tussard’s Museum, Vienna

Victoria von Arx

Janice Nimetz

Strawberry Fields performing at City Winery, NYC.

Martin Luther King, Jr. by Vlada (etsy.com/shop/VsWallArtDecor)

“Nature Tots” Program at MEEC

Learn all about animals, plants, seasons and weather in a fun and hands-on way!

Mamakating Environmental Education Center (MEEC) will start a new Nature Tots program for 2-4 year olds with an adult. This weekly class is designed to introduce children to the joys of nature at a young age and cultivate a life-long love of the

natural world.

Every Friday, January 27 to March 3, from 10:00am10:45am, toddlers and their care-giver will learn about nature through outdoor exploration, songs, stories, crafts and other activities.

6-week pre-registration is required. Call MEEC, 762 South Road, Wurtsboro.

For information: 845-644-5014.

Hudson Valley Chocolate History

Our favorite winter hot drink started as an invigorating and nourishing brew that was quite different from today.

Culinary historian Peter G. Rose will present the early trade of the Hudson Valley’s Dutch settlers through the 18th century into the late 19th century, and will discuss how chocolate connected the world to early New Yorkers.

A sample tasting of 18th century hot chocolate will be provided, as well as one of the many early recipes and how it can be made today.

The History of Chocolate in the Hudson River Valley, a program for adults and teens, is at the Albert Wisner Library, 1 McFarland Drive, Warwick, on January 22 at 2:00pm.

To register: 845-986-1047, ext. 3.

New Anime Club for Teens & Adults

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. Since its release, Dragon Ball has become one of the most successful manga and anime series of all time, with the manga sold in over 40 countries and the anime broadcast in more than 80 countries.

Goshen Public Library & Historical Society, 366 Main Street, has started a club called the Anime (Dragon Ball) Club, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays

of every month, from 5:30pm-7:00pm

“Love the Dragon Ball series? Looking to start it for the first time? Or maybe the 15th time? Come watch an episode or two (or even three!) with us twice a month,” invites Melissa Tidd. “Future surprises may be in store! Snacks will be provided. Teens and adults welcome. Please be advised that there may be occasional mature humor.”

Phone: 845-294-6606.

“Hamnet” - The Book’s the Thing!

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell: England, 1580. A young Latin tutor, penniless and bullied by a violent father, falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman - a wild creature who walks her family’s estate with a falcon on her shoulder and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer.

Agnes understands plants and potions better than she does people, but once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose gifts as a writer are just beginning to awaken when his beloved young son succumbs

to bubonic plague.

A luminous portrait of a marriage, a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a hypnotic recreation of the story that inspired one of the greatest masterpieces of all time.

A short, deeply moving novel about the death of Shakespeare’s 11 year old son Hamnet - a name interchangeable with Hamlet in 15th century Britain - and the years leading up to the production of his great play.

Hamnet, a book discussion at the Florida Library, 4 Cohen Circle, takes place on January 26 at 6:30pm Register at www.floridapubliclibrary. org or phone: 845-651-7659.

Maggie O’Farrell

“‘Cause We Be Complicated: Dialogues of Black Artists” in Newburgh

To honor Black Heritage month, cocurators Jonette O’Kelley Miller and Karen E. Gersch have assembled a sterling cast of extraordinary visual artists to fill the Art Design Spirit Gallery in Newburgh in an exhibition entitled, ‘Cause We Be Complicated: Dialogues of Black Artists

Slightly set back from Ann Street in Newburgh, this beautiful venue features fourteen foot ceilings with wooden beams, approximately fifty feet of white walls and an all-glass front that lets natural light pour in. Designed and built by Gita Nandan and Jens Veneman - its architect and fabricator owners - it is a space that invites art to shine.

The featured artists, in alphabetical order, are: Lillian Alberti, Carol Bash, Khalidah Carrington, Gerardo Castro, Melissa Small Cooper, Ted Dixon, Colette V. Fournier, Oluwafiropo Margaret Ibitoye, F Geoffrey Johnson, Paula Mans, Emmanuel Ofori, Ransome, Yvonne P Lamar Rogers, Stevenson Estime and Auguster D Williams, Jr

Each artist, with their history of longevity in the arts, provides a unique perspective in their work, exploring

the reality that members of the African Diaspora are not monolithic.

Similar to all human beings, the dreams, tastes, languages and lives of Black people are birthed in a variety of social and ethnocultural nuances.

The fifteen Diasporan artists hail from Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Ulster Counties, from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C. The art, riveting, poetic and thought-

Meet Ebenezer D. Bassett

Learn about the life of the first Black Ambassador from the U.S., Ebenezer D. Bassett (18331908). Gaining an education in Derby, CT in the 1850s would launch this quiet American hero into the diplomatic corps of the U.S. during Reconstruction.

Correspondence between Bassett and Frederick Douglass discloses that Bassett suggested in 1867 that the world-famous Douglass apply for the “minister” position in Port-au-Prince when the next president took office. Douglass instead persuaded Bassett to put his name forward as the American minister to Haiti and the

Dominican Republic. (The U.S. would not begin using the title of “ambassador” until 1893.) Once Ulysses Grant won the White House, the new president was eager to reward leaders in the black community like Bassett who had helped preserve the Union, by nominating Bassett as the first African-American diplomat.

The Life and Times of a Quiet American Hero with Carolyn Ivanoff is at the Alice Desmond Center, 6 Albany Post Road, Newburgh, on January 30 at 12:30pm. Snow date February 1.

To register: 845-565-1326.

provoking, ranges from watercolors to acrylic and oil paintings, photographs and mixed media collages, sculptures, assemblages, archival ink, digital art, handmade books and a film.

The curators first met in 2019, when O’Kelley Miller answered an open call for an Arts Mid-Hudson-granted project that Gersch conceived, called Humanitee Tales. Gersch was quick to recognize Miller’s experience as a former Broadway dancer/actress and cast Miller in her show.

The two developed a rapport and friendship based on their mutual backgrounds in theater and art. Gersch holds a BFA from Pratt and Miller earned an MA in Modern Art History and MPA in Nonprofit Management from NYU. Since then, they have collaborated or worked on several projects, including several Black Renaissance Festivals at Ann Street Gallery

Gersch and Miller will be reaching out to regional schools, universities, libraries, arts organizations and cultural centers to invite public groups to tour the exhibit during weekday hours. Anyone interested should contact them via the email below.

The opening reception will be held on February 3, from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at Art Design Spirit Gallery, 105 Ann Street, Newburgh. The exhibition runs from February 3 to March 3. Hours are Friday through Sunday, from noon5:00pm.

For more information, email Karen: keg37@frontier.com or Jonette: jom. writes@gmail.com

Cats and Soldiers at Desmond Center

Communicating with Cats will explore the many ways your feline friend “speaks” - physically, vocally and telepathically (the universal language of animals). Your bond can strengthen when you know what your cat needs and wants. This lecture will also explore a few safe and easy ways to help your kitty, as well as telepathic tips, with real life stories from long distance telepathic readings with cats!

Rebecca Golgoski leads the session on January 12 at 12:30pm.\

Snow date: January 18.

Fort Montgomery State Historic Site Educator Peter Cutul will portray the life

of “Private Yankee Doodle” - an average private in the Continental Army. This presentation will cover the good, the bad, and the ugly; drawing from the revered diary of Joseph Plumb Martin as well as firsthand accounts from other soldiers. Using authentic reproduction objects, the clothing, rations, and equipment of a typical lower Hudson Valley enlisted soldier will be showcased. Loyalism in the Hudson Valley will also be discussed on February 1 at 12:30pm

Snow date: February 2.

Alice Desmond Center is located at 6 Albany Post Road, Newburgh.

To register: 845-565-1326.

Colette V. Fournier “Motorcycle Couple”, black & white photo, 1985

Detail from Gerardo Castro’s oil painting: “Mayra Santos-Febres Clothed with Strength and Dignity”

Black and White at Warwick’s Wisner

See what happens when artists put away their colorful palettes and focus only on shades of black & white.

Warwick photographer Renelle Lorray specializes in finding scenes viewed by very few and the details within. “After a day of frozen precipitation in much of Orange County,” she explained, “I took a drive to explore several areas including Pine Island and Warwick Village. There was glistening beauty everywhere, but I was intrigued by the parked train cars on the Jones Chemical property in the Village. Except for a pale blue sky, there was no color, so this made a great subject for a black and white shot.”

Diane Ouzoonian studied with Philip Guston and Gretna Campbell at the New York Studio School in Greenwich Village. She received a teaching credential at Montclair State University and taught art in the school system, and now teaches pastel, drawing and watercolor thoughout the library systems in Orange and Rockland counties. She retired from teaching drawing at Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh, and happily paints daily in pastels, watercolors and oils. She is an active member of the North East Watercolor Society (see page 16) and the Warwick Art League

“I started to draw cartoons for the New Yorker magazine after being inspired by David Sipress’s memoir What’s so Funny. I’ve submitted over three hundred drawings so far but haven’t heard back

from them yet. It took him 25 years to get accepted! Anyway, I’m enjoying the challenge of drawing them,” said Ouzoonian.

Award winning artist Sarah McHugh is ever inspired by the beauty of the Hudson Valley. Using diverse mediums, Sarah preserves nature, light, and seemingly ordinary moments into visual expressions that enrich the viewer’s soul. Her work has been exhibited in New York, throughout the Hudson Valley, and hangs in private collections across the country.

Sarah said the following about her art making process: “Drawing for me is NOT just a prep for a painting, but an experiential, expressive and meditative exercise for imagery that resonates fully on its own. I enjoy the play with the simple tools: drawing pencils, soft to hard, and a kneaded eraser to create the visual harmonious music of the values, the lights and the darks, the dance of the modulating contours to enhance and

unify a vision.”

Sarah Fortner Pierson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and received a Bachelors degree in Art Practice from UC Berkeley. She moved to New York City in 2001 to join Hunter College’s Master of Fine Art program. Pierson founded the Washingtonville Artist Collective in 2014. She is also an active member of the Goshen Art League and Orange County Arts Council and is the Executive Director of the Wallkill River Center for the Arts, in Montgomery.

“The natural world is full of strange wonders and geometries. Natural elements such as plants, landscape and rocks are most often the starting point for my work,” says Sarah. “Art is about the experience of life; its subject is our thoughts, emotions, and senses. At its best, art points out something new to the viewer such as beauty in an everyday object, symmetry in what seems like

chaos, a new perspective on a social issue or anything which deepens our experience and understanding of our lives,” she concluded.

Barry Plaxen explains how his self portrait came about: “In 2004, I took a six week course called Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain with Shawn Dell Joyce at the Country House Arts Center in Bloomingburg. Prior to her creating the Wallkill River School, Shawn held classes for adults and children at this wonderful location. My self-portrait, which was on exhibit earlier this year at the Wallkill River School, is a result of those classes. I am not a visual artist, but I believe my success with the drawing validates the old adage that everyone has the potential to create some kind of visual art,”

Paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculpture will be on display in a community arts show, A Study in Black & White, at the Albert Wisner Library, One McFarland Drive, Warwick, from January 9 to March 31

For information, call 845-986-1047.

Painting Class with Beth Balogh: “Reflections on a Winter Scene” January 26 at 6:00pm ages 12 and up! waldenpubliclibrary.org

The library is closed on: 1/2/23: New Year’s Day Observed and 1/16/23: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Renelle Lorray: “Frozen in its Tracks”

Diane Ouzoonian: Cartoons

Sarah McHugh: “Fruit Bowl Frolic”

Barry Plaxen: “Self-Portrait”

Sarah Fortner Pierson: “Hibiscus Secret”