INK MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2022

A guide to finer living in Connecticut & abroad February 2022

Vol 17 Issue 193 inkct.com

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FEBRUARY 2022 Vol. 17 Issue 193

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Feature Stories

Departments

Wall Street Gallery

Framing Milestones, Memories, & Bowling Balls

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Ask Ashley - Is Comedy the New Self-Care?

The Cheesemonger - Great Pairings

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The Heart of the Heart of Valentines Day

The Origins of Lovers Day

Now is the Winter of our Total Content 6 ways to enjoy the Season

Big Art in Small Spaces

A Vaccine for the Human Spirit

Artist Lisa Leach

Branching Out from the Family Tree.

Love is in the air!!! Welcome to this, our February installment in a twelve part series that we like to call INK Publications 2022! It’s amazing to me that we have been designing, printing, and distributing complimentary magazines all over the state of Connecticut for what is now approaching twenty years? If you are reading this, as always, thank you. When I was first inspired to develop INK in 2002, I was working as a photo editor for a small, Independent newspaper in Essex called “The Main Street News.” It was a great little paper with a really fun, enthusiastic, and cool group of people making it all happen. Front to back, fifty-two weeks a year, we covered all things local from a relatively small nest of offices above a laundromat in the Essex Plaza. If Johnny caught a touchdown pass, his picture made the paper. If Susan graduated Magnum Cum Laude from Yale University, that was in there too. It was a big deal. Those clippings, often held in perpetuality to be shared with the next generation. There was a sense of permanence just a short twenty years ago. Things were not necessarily “better” but in some ways perhaps more accessable.

We still print a paper magazine here at INK. Our sponsors are the people in your neighborhood. They have great businesses offering unparalleled services to the public. There is person behind every purchase. A person who may not yet carry your favorite product but can be asked to. A person that if you shop there a while, will ask you how your kids doing, or if you got your car fixed yet. When you buy a new rake, you’re not hounded by rake advertisements for the next month. You do have a rake after all. They offer convience. No phone trees, no bots, they don’t ping the phone in your purse to glean predictors, you don’t necessarily need you to give them your email address unless you want to. They, like us, offer what you have in your hand right now. A chance to unplug. LOCAL IS BEST! The internet will be there when you get back...

Jeffery Lilly

Contributors

founder / publisher

Ashley Alt - ask ashley

Daniel Lev Shkolnik - editorial

Susan Cornell - editorial

Carolina Marquez-Sterling - design

Caryn B. Davis - editorial/photography

Paul Partica - the cheesemonger

Alison Kaufman - music mirth & mojo

John Tolmie - editorial

Art LiPuma - on the vine

Kate Tolmie - photography

Rona Mann - editorial

Joe Urso - ad design

Advertising

Contact us to receive our media kit with detailed marketing information.

Jeffery Lilly - Publisher 860.581.0026 Bob Houde - Advertising Director bob@inkct.com 860.303.6690

Rona Mann - Greater Connecticut six07co@att.net - 401-539-7762 Richard Malinsky - Shoreline richard@inkct.com - 215.704.9273

On the Cover: “Rowan Berries” Photo by Tatyana Andreyeya

visit inkct.com

All content of INK Publications including but not limited to text, photos, graphics and layout are copyrighted by Inkct LLC. Reproductions without the permission of the publisher are prohibited. Inkct LLC is not responsible for images or graphics submitted for editorial or by advertisers which are not copyrighted or released for use in this publication.

Inkct LLC - 314 Flat Rock Place Unit F125, Westbrook, CT 06498 - email: submissions@ink-pub.com - visit www.inkct.com

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VA L E N T I N E H . Z A H N C O M M U N I T Y

G A L L E R Y

T H E GA L L E RY AT M I D D L ES E X H E A LT H S H O R E L I N E M E D I C A L C E N T E R

Virtual Gallery Exhibit New Haven Paint & Clay Club “New Year – New Works”

February 14 - May 6, 2022

Janet Warner, Feel It All Around, oil on linen (detail)

Visit the gallery from the comfort of your own home at MiddlesexHealth.org/NHPCC The New Haven Paint & Clay Club is Connecticut’s oldest continuously active arts organization. The club draws members and exhibitors from across Connecticut, New York and New England.

Sponsored by

250 Flat Rock Place, Westbrook, CT 06498 860-358-6200 + info@midhosp.org + MiddlesexHealth.org

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FIRST IM MPR RE ESSIONS Annual Assssociat s sociat e Artists Show & Sale Also Congratullations, featturing new Elected Artist Members

Ja anuary 14 – February a e 24, 2022

Presenting Sponsor Art: Nick Salerno, Turn in the Road, acrylic; Rick R Daskam, Two Bottles and a Lemon, oil; Debra Paulson, Calm Beffo ore, watercolor; Matthew Schwager, Hydrangeas, pasteel; Aleta Gudelski, Hope, mixed media; Sara Drought Nebel, Daissy Painting, oil

Valentine Gems

February 4 to 28, 2022

Jeanne Rosier Smith Riverside Pastel 12 x 16”

Kathy Anderson Anemones & Zinnias Oil 9 x 12”

Paul Batch Outlying Beauty Oil 6 x 8”

Susan Powell Fine Art

679 Boston Post Road Madison, CT 203 . 318 . 0616 www.susanpowellfineart.com

Patt Baldino Birds of a Feather Oil 10 x 8”

Del-Bourree Bach Winter Glow Acrylic 9 x 17”

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Wall Street Gallery Framing Milestones, Memories, & Bowling Balls

by Rona Mann

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o Jim Reinhart, there is no such thing as an inanimate object.

For whether it’s a vintage movie poster, a century-old family photograph, a child’s swimming medal, golf ball responsible for a hole-in-one, baby shoes, an antique watch, or even a trumpet, he can frame it and give it new life.

Reinhart has been framing memories “for almost 45 years now.”

His shop, Wall Street Gallery on the corner of Bradley Road and Wall Street in downtown Madison, is not only a testament to his award-winning attention to detail, but also is a museum of art within, a showcase of his customers’ memories and keepsakes and lives. It’s a place where life’s special moments are preserved, the past permanently frozen in time, perpetuated forever.

The shop, with a gallery of ever-changing work, is both a place to bring your treasures for preservation as well as a place to visit and stay awhile. While there, take a good look around. There are examples of Reinhart’s own handiwork and the things most important to him like the assortment of framed photographs, pen and ink drawings, and representations of the many dogs and cats who have inhabited his home and heart over the years; or take a peek in the gallery portion of the shop. One wall has a fascinating collection of framed covers from The New Yorker Magazine. “My parents subscribed, now I subscribe. I’ve been reading it since I was a child.” The covers are serious works of art: some picturesque, some telling a story tongue-in-cheek, but all make you stop and take notice.

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“My parents subscribed, now I subscribe.

I’ve been reading it since I was a child.”

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In another part of the shop is the “Frida Wall,” a large, framed display of the work of famous Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, known for her unique self-portraiture as well as images in nature. Now, turn slightly to the left and gaze upon the small frame Jim calls “Seven Buttons.” This is a remarkable story.

As a member of the Professional Picture Framers, a national trade association, Wall Street Gallery has from time to time participated in their international competitions. This one intrigued Jim as entrants were tasked with simply framing seven buttons. That was it! Reinhart visited a store in New York City where they sell nothing but buttons, carefully choosing his seven of varying shapes and sizes. He then artistically positioned them inside a simple frame and went on to win the competition!

“Seven Buttons” is displayed near an ever-growing collection of ribbons garnered from other competition both national and international...not bad for a man who only had two weeks of schooling years ago in San Francisco. Ah, but he learned from the best, famous French picture framer, Paul Frederick who established the first school for that art. Even though Reinhart has risen to the very top of his craft, he realizes that the art is constantly evolving, and he works hard to stay current. Where once he was a one-man band, now Wall Street Gallery boasts a staff of five, all expert in different areas of framing and all much respected by Reinhart.

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The sign outside the shop proclaims a list of everything they are about from dry mounting to shadowboxing and needlepoint, to over 1500 mouldings from which to choose, to their strict museum standards. But the #1 item on that sign is “Advice.” They give it freely, they give it honestly, and they give it with your special item paramount to everything else.

Jim didn’t want us to go on and on with words because, especially in this case, a picture is worth a thousand words. So please take a few minutes to look at the amazing images on these pages, then take your own journey to Wall Street Gallery and see for yourself what they can do for you.

Frames are not just for pictures, they are for the times of your life.

The milestones, the times gone by, the old teacup, Grandma’s hairnet, the baby tooth, the book, military commendations, the dogs and cats you loved and lost, and yes, he says, even a bowling ball! There is nothing that Jim Reinhart and his staff at Wall Street Gallery cannot preserve. If it is forever locked as a memory, don’t

keep it in the attic or the basement. Whatever it is, it has meaning and memory for you, so take it where it will be treated with the utmost care and respect.

Even that trumpet.

Wall Street Gallery is located where Bradley Road meets Wall Street, right in the heart of downtown Madison www.wallstreetgallery.net (203) 245-2912

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AskAshley Is Comedy The New Self-Care?

“It’s about time we started laughing again.”

Happy February, everyone! How are we feeling about 2022 so far?

While the winter months can pull us into a lonely and lethargic funk (they call it the “Winter Blues” for a reason), they can also provide us with a little something called boredom (ever heard of it?) — and boredom, believe it or not, can be a great thing for our minds, creativity, and even our health.

As we’re still living in a fear-based world that is seemingly encompassed with a deep, dark mood that some days feels impossible to be lifted, we must find ways to lighten the load and take the pressure off

of ourselves to be the perfect parent, the perfect partner, and the perfect professional.

Instead of waiting around for the weather to warm up, for a better job to come along, for the pandemic to be over (you’ll be waiting for awhile), let’s see what life could be like if we come to terms with the fact that a lot of what we fuss over simply isn’t that serious.

I like to view this column as a mental reprieve from the neverending news on rising COVID cases (and I hope you do, too), so I’m not going

to recap details of the latest variant or remind you to mask up indoors.

What I am going to do is sidestep the usual topics traditionally reserved for February, like Valentine’s Day, and what the latest wellness crazes are (there’s enough of those), and instead, give you a spin on self-careas-laughter.

Because while bubble baths and 5-minute meditations are nice, they really only benefit the“self,”while laughter can easily be shared with others.

And when practiced daily — just like eating right and exercising — incorporating comedy into your daily routine can completely change your life.

Laughter, according to PhD Heidi Hanna, is “like an instant vacation for your brain,” stating it initiates the relaxation response,“shifting brain chemistry toward positivity, creativity, and collaboration.”

“Humor allows us to see things in new and unexpected ways,” Hanna was quoted in a recent medically reviewed health article. “It’s not about making difficult things funny or ignoring pain and suffering, but allowing ourselves to see the lighter side of life more often as a way to release the tension and recharge our own battery.”

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Well said. In light of the dark days of winter, here are some tips to bring more laughter into your life: Replace scrolling negative news with funny content: We’ve all fallen victim to the doom scroll — obsessively scrolling our social platforms to pass the time, only to feel worse about ourselves. And might I add, mentally drained. Instead of turning to Instagram and Twitter for superficial dopamine hits that last but a minute, use it to release your tension from the day, aka laugh. Follow people and accounts that make you laugh. Take inventory of the pages you follow and Marie Kondo all the noise that doesn’t spark joy for you. Your late night doom scroll now becomes your giggle scroll. Isn’t that a better way to live?

Wear a tiara: Or a boa or a cape or whatever makes you feel a little bit ridiculous. We know there are major benefits to dressing up, from improving our mood to making us feel more confident. In addition to dressing to feel good, why not take it a step further and wear something that makes us (and others around us) laugh? Just like putting on a new jacket elicits that “I'm-awesome-I-look-awesome” vibe, throwing on a

cowboy hat on your lunch break could be exactly what you need to come back to your office refreshed and full of good ideas.

Bring out the kid in you: You know what I envy about children? They do, say, and wear whatever they want with ZERO regard to how they might be perceived by their peers. Pretending to be a squirrel on the playground? Why not? Talking about heading to Space on the weekends like it’s a 10-minute drive to the park? No big deal. Running around the house whistling and screaming like a maniac? Just another Sunday. Whether you have kids of your own or need to borrow some from a friend for an afternoon, look to them for inspiration to laugh, and mimic their hilarious behavior.

Seek laughter out: Much like the perfect mate (or the perfect bottle of wine), laughter isn’t going to come knocking on your door — you have to seek it out. Thankfully, comedy can be found anywhere, from the movies and podcasts to comedy shows and your regular hangout with friends. Get some funny games to throw on your living room shelf for when boredom strikes. Buy tickets to a local comedy club. Read a humor novel. Laugh at yourself for no reason at all.

All too often, people get into this zone of taking life too seriously. If you take a step back to appreciate how vast and complicated the world is, you’ll not only see what truly matters, but you’ll approach life with a far less negative lens.

May you have a happy, lovely, and laughter-filled month of February.

To keep up with Ashley, sign up for her mental health tips newsletter, https://ashleyalt.substack.com/.

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“Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.”

Venus and Adonis

The Heart of the Heart of Valentine’s Day

by Daniel Shkolnik

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The history of Valentine’s Day reads like a comedy of errors, full of mixed-up identities and misunderstandings, revelry and romance.

Traditionally a Catholic feast day for three different saints named Valentine, today we feast on confectionery, exchange stationery, and largely ignore the holiday’s roots. But what’s really at the heart of this holiday? We like to say it’s “love,” but is that true?

Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages his Saints’ Day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is also a patron saint of Terni, epilepsy and beekeepers.

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“Birds do it, bees do it Even

let’s fall in love” Cole Porter

The holiday known as Valentine’s Day was influenced by Romans, Catholic popes, Victorian poets, and industrialists, but when and why this tradition first emerged isn’t clear. The Catholic church recognizes three saints by the name of Valentine. One was a priest executed by Emperor Claudius II of Rome on February 14, 269 AD. Another was the bishop of Trenti, martyred on February 14, 273 AD. The third Valentine was also martyred February 14 somewhere in Africa (we don’t know much about him).

The Valentine with the most romantic legend is the first of the three: St. Valentine, the priest. As legend has it, Emperor Claudius II passed a decree that none of the soldiers in his legions were allowed to marry. Single men, he believed, made better soldiers than married ones. In response, Valentine began to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When it came out that Valentine was performing

weddings behind the emperor’s back, he was thrown in prison. During his imprisonment, it’s said the jailer’s blind daughter would come to visit Valentine. He in turn cured her of her blindness. As legend has it, Valentine sent the first Valentine himself, writing a letter to the jailer’s daughter which he signed, “from your Valentine.”

Shortly after, he was beheaded.

Romantic as this legend of underground marriages and forbidden jail-house romance might be, it’s likely a medieval fabrication. We have no direct historical accounts of St. Valentine’s life. The real-life story of St. Valentine probably had little to do with romance and mostly to do with Christian persecution under the Roman Empire.

A She-Wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. Frescoe byLudovico Carracci (1555–1619) in Palazzo Magnani, Bologna.

Saint Valentine of Terni oversees the construction of his basilica at Terni, from a 14th-century French manuscript.

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Ok, then how did St. Valentine become a symbol of love?

There are some theories that say St. Valentine’s Day is actually a Roman fertility holiday in Catholic clothing. The feast of Lupercalia was celebrated by the Romans from February 13th to 15th beginning at the sacred cave where Rome’s founders, Romulus and Remus, were weaned by a she-wolf (lupa). The holiday was dedicated to Faunus, the god of agriculture, and Roman priests would take strips of goat’s hide dipped in sacrificial blood and gently slap both crops and women with it as a blessing. The touch of the hide was believed to bring fertility to both earth and body.

Once Christianity became the religion of the day, the Lupercalia hypothesis suggests Pope Gelasius I tried to plaster over the pagan fête in the 5th century by establishing St. Valentine’s Day as a feast day, making the saint’s marytrdom the focal point of February 14th. The problem with this theory, however, is that St. Valentine’s Day wasn’t celebrated as a day of romance in Europe till the 14th century, about 700 years after it was established as a feast day by Pope Gelasius I. Another theory holds that St. Valentine’s Day took on the connotation of love because it was believed that mid-February was when birds began their mating season. In his poem “Parlement of Foules,” the 14th century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

Two hundred years later, while writing Hamlet, Shakespeare referenced the popular belief that if two single people met on the morning of St. Valentine’s Day, they were destined to be married.

To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s Day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine.

Ironically, these lines are spoken by Ophelia, driven mad after her love, Hamlet, kills her father. Love has never been easy, apparently.

While it might have been poets who popularized the holiday’s romantic nature, industrialists transformed the holiday into what we know today.

Colored full-figure portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer.

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A Midsummer Night’ss Dream

27 The myth that Valentine’s Day is a holiday “invented” by greeting card companies is just that: a myth. Much like jokes, howeeverr, myths might carry a grain of truth. While the real origins o of Valentine’s Day are still murky y,, many of its modern traditiions began or were amplified by 19thh century industrialization aand 20th and 21st century commercialization. n In the 1800s, the mass-production of papeer--goods ushered in factory-made cards, and with the cheapen ning of postage, led to the increased popularity of pre-mad de Valentines a cards, replacing the medieval tradition of handwritten Valentine letters. Chocolates becam me associated with the day when, in 1868, the British chocolate company Cadbury created a decorated box of chocolates in the shape of a heart for Valentine’s a Day y..

It’s not so much that Valentine’s Day was “manufactured” but that manufacturing entered into the heart of Valentine’s Day. Similar to Easterr,, Christmas, and All Hallows Eve (Halloween), the religious essence of St. Valentine’s Day is all but gone from popular conception. What we have in its place is a day where love is communicateed through the buying and gifting of massproduced chocolates, roses, cards, and so o forth.

These symbolic gifts allow us to make geestures of affection without requiring us to risk ttrue vulnerability—the basis for true connectiion.

Through its commercialization, V Vaalentinee’s Day seems to have become a holiday where we conspicuously cuously avoid lov ve instead of engaging in it.

But companies B i aren’t ’ entirely i l to blame bl her h e. H Helen l Fi Fisher h r,, a sociologist at Rutgers University y, in a comment to NPR regarrding the holiday said that “If people didn’t want to buy Hallmark card ds, they would not be bought, and Hallmark would go out of businesss.”

Companies continue to exist in part because they give us w what we already desire—even if that isn’t what we actually need d. In a brilliant episode of the television show South Park, the

protagonists set out to destroy the heart of W Waall-M Mart only to find the “heart” of the retail giant is a mirror. As tthe metaphor suggests, the problem of consumerism lies within n us.

The problem of modern love, howeverr,, also lies b between us.

Esther Perel, Perel, a psychologist who specializes in n couples’ therapy, points out how w the institutio on of marriage is different than it ev ver was before. Today o y,, we tend to idealize “true u love” and im magine we can find a sin ngle person wh ho can fill all the n needs that a viillage once prov vided: security y, friendship, fun n, adventure, iidentity y, selfw worth.

Where b before we might rely on a housee of worship for o sense of trranscendence, our we now expecct our beloved t provide us o to our experience o total union, ecstacy of y, and a absolute love.

“This is a grand setup for failu ure,” says Pereel. No one perrson can do an nd be all these th hings for us, an nd we may become disench hanted with our parrtner when theey inevitably fall short o of these expecttations, or we burn ourselves out try ying to meet th hem.

In Journey of the Heart, Jo ohn Welwood writes that because marriages are no longer superg glued together by social custom like they once were, we m must become conscious of who, why y, and how we love one ano other.

Waaking up on V Vaalentine’s Day y,, we have the oppo ortunity to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask: what is this ho oliday really about? What does it actually mean to love someo one? And in what ways are we withholding that love from oth hers?

If love is really the heart of V Vaalentine’s Day y,, no am mount of chocolate will stand in for that.

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Now is the Winter of Our Total Content

By Caryn B. Davis Winter in New England is a funny thing. The holidays seem to carry us through part of it, but as soon as January hits, the reality that the next three months will bring dark, cold, and inclement weather, finally settles in. While winter is a good time to be more reflective and insular or write the great American novel, or take an Italian cooking class, or learn to paint, some of us still get cabin fever. Fortunately, we live in an area with plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to see us through to spring even if we save that novel or culinary class for next year’s to-do list.

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Photo by Caryn B. Davis

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1.

Fire & Ice Festival, Putnam, CT

The annual ‘Fire & Ice’ Valentine’s Festival is back! This ultra-fun event takes place on February 12 with a full day and night of live music, fire dancers, horse- drawn carriage rides, ice sculptures, and ice carving demonstrations; and of course, plenty of food and drink. Wander through the streets of this historical village located on the banks of the Quinebaug River to witness all the icy artwork created by professionals and amateurs alike. Be dazzled as flame throwing and fire breathing performers twirl, spin, and juggle with blazing torches. This is a great way to kick off your Valentine’s Day celebration. www.facebook.com/PutnamFireIceFestival

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Wigwam Escape, Washington, CT

Escape rooms are all the rage. These interactive, puzzle-solving adventure games played with friends or strangers, were popularized in Europe and Asia and have been cropping up across the United States ever since.

The Institute for American Indian Studies Museum & Research Center (IAIS) has taken this immersive experience to a whole new level by opening Wigwam Escape, an escape room that educates the public about Native American cultures. Wigwam Escape takes place in the year 1518 in a Native American village. The objective is to bring medicine to the nearby fishing village of Metachiwon, whose residents have become stricken by disease. Participants have one day (which translates into one hour of game time) to source all the supplies needed for the seven-mile trek. After the game is over, participants undergo a debriefing to talk about their experience and the types of plants, materials, and tools they used. IAIS also has an onsite museum, hiking trails, and an outdoor replica of a 16th century Algonkian village. www.wigwamescape.org

Above Photos: Courtesy of Fire and Ice Bottom Photos: Courtesy of Wigwam Escape

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Country Quilt Llama Farm, Cornwall, CT

There is nothing cooler than taking a llama on a long wintry walk. These large, yet docile animals have given us their wool for warm clothing, their back for transportation, and their companionship. Debbie Labbe, the farm’s owner, has been working with llamas for over 30 years. She offers educational programs in schools, pet therapy in convalescent homes, and year-round walks for all ages throughout Connecticut’s northwest woodlands. www.countryquiltllamafarm.com/llama-walks

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Connecticut’s Ski Resorts

When we think of skiing, we generally think of packing up the car and driving several hours to Vermont.

But Connecticut has four ski resorts in close proximity that don’t require an overnight stay. Ski Sundown, Mohawk Mountain Ski Area, Mount Southington, and Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort all have downhill skiing, snowboarding, night skiing, and lessons and are comparable in that regard, but some of the experiences differ. Mohawk Mountain and Powder Ridge both have snow tubing, but Powder Ridge also has snow biking. Ski Sundown offers an adaptive racing program, and Mount Southington has freeskiing, a type of alpine skiing involving tricks, stunts, jumps, and spins set in a terrain park. All promise a fun day out on the slopes. www. visitconnecticut.com/state/ski-areas/winter-activities

Above Photos of Llamas: by Caryn B. Davis Bottom Photos: Courtesy of Mohawk Mountain

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Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Visiting the Hill-Stead Museum is like stepping back in time, which is just what its creator, Theodate Pope Riddle (1867–1946), intended.

The Colonial Revival retirement home she built for her parents was as precisely orchestrated as her last will which established a trust that would ultimately turn it into a museum for the “enjoyment of the public.” Because Riddle wanted it to reflect how her family lived, she stipulated that “the house and its contents remain intact.” By this, she meant that every object was to stay not only in the same room but also in its exact location. Unlike other historic home museums, the Hill-Stead has no railings or text panels and very few ropes, so visitors can get close to the artwork and have the full experience of being a guest in the Popes’ home as it appeared in 1901. Hill-Stead is home to a sizeable assemblage of European, American, Near Eastern, and Asian paintings, sculpture, works on paper, books, ceramics, furniture, rugs, textiles, metalwork, glass, and other decorative arts, many of which had been collected by Alfred Pope, Theodate’s father. Adorning the walls of the 19 rooms open to the public are remarkable paintings

by Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet, among others. Each room has been thoughtfully designed and decorated with furnishings and textiles that best complement the artwork. www.hillstead.org

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Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Garden, Deerfield, MA

There are approximately 15,000 varieties of butterflies in the world and between 150,000-250,000 species of moths. While all these genera are not on view at Magic Wings, their 4,000 native and tropical lepidopterous do not disappoint.

The 8,000 square foot glass conservatory is filled with butterflies, moths, birds, reptiles, fruit trees, flowers, waterfalls, a koi pond, walking paths, and lush tropical vegetation. It is a delight to the senses with fragrant scents and movement and color everywhere, just in the sheer volume of flying insects and abundant plant life. It’s like being in the jungle. The butterflies are fantastical to watch as they flutter freely landing on feeders, flora, and humans alike. They come in all sizes, patterns, and shades, and in varying degrees of luminosity. It’s an incredibly beautiful way to pass an afternoon. www.magicwings.com

Hill-Stead Museum by Caryn B. Davis Butterfly Lepidopterous Photo Courtesy of Serg_Velusceac Right Page: Gondola Village at Ocean House, Essex, by Caryn B. Davis

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37 Gondola Village at Ocean House, Watch Hill, RI

Now you can experience the French Alps without leaving the country at the Ocean House Gondola Village. It is simply enchanting. They have created a magical winter wonderland with outdoor seating and warm blankets set around firepits where guests can enjoy a bottle of chilled champagne and small bites while watching the sunset over the ocean. Lunch or dinner can be had in one of three restored vintage gondolas, each outfitted with plush pillows and the softest electric blankets imaginable.

They are ultra-comfy and cozy and perfect for two to six friends. The four-course French inspired, private dinner is served on Le Creuset tableware and paired with a signature Veuve Clicquot cocktail. It’s a great way to spend a romantic Valentines Day or take advantage of one of the Ocean House’s Valentines Day packages like this one that includes a flight by private jet into the nearby Westerly airport, a threenight stay, dinner at the Gondola Village, a couples massage, a set of matching his and hers Cartier watches and Louis Vuitton coats, and other special surprises. https://www.oceanhouseri.com/

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Big

Art Small Spaces

A Vaccine for the Human Spirit

By Carolina Márquez-Sterling

N

othing prepared me for the feelings that arose upon arriving at this new little gallery. It was the middle of the day on a quiet street in a small country town with no soul in sight.

I walked over while looking over my shoulder as if I was about to embark on a voyage; I wanted to keep a secret. Let me explain.

Recently I was introduced to the concept of Free Little Art Gallery. They take after the Free Little Library, dotting the country with used books that you can take or leave behind once you have finished. Same with the Free Little Art Gallery. I stumbled upon it after a suggestion to look for it on Instagram.

Art is a great connector. It relies on feelings that arise when you see a piece displayed, created, and shared. Ultimately it connects creator and viewer.

From the caves of Altamira in Spain to the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel in Rome to the collections worldwide on walls, it communicates. Still, it also does something less tangible but equally important. It tells us who we are. It affirms we are part of humanity; it connects and proves human existence, whether appreciating or creating it.

As an artist but also an avid collector, I love to see what is being done by other fellow artists. I came to the founder and originator's site Stacy Milrany. She explains that she started the concept in December 2020.

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"Free Little Art Gallery The smallest, free-est gallery in the galaxy— Take a piece, or leave a piece, or both!"

Stacy Milrany

Opening day, Cat Hair_by Stacy Milrany Photo Courtesy of Stacy Milrany

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“When I work miniature, I feel like there’s less pressure. It feels like being a kid making art again.”

Artist Megan Pena-Ariet, Washington Post.

Clockwise: Photo Courtesy of Sara Drought Nebel, Untitled by Burton Holt Courtesy of Stacy Milrany, Monroe Free Little Art Gallery, Artist Scott Espeseth. Beloit Wisconsin. Photo Courtesy © Jim Escalante.

The year of the distressing pandemic lock-downs. She did this to lift people. Her exact words were, "My appreciation of art, artists, creativity, combined with my love of the Little Free Libraries combined with the hope to shed a little light, levity, and beauty on a heavy world and catastrophic year inspired this Free Little Art Gallery."

As with any project by an artist, a more profound reason and journey are explained on her website.

The small-scale gallery aims to unite the local area, stem the tide of confinement, and praise a shared love for visual expressions.

I immediately started to peruse her page, and then when I was wholly saturated with her images of miniature works of art, I went on to look for others. There are miniatures of everything, but small works of art seemed like a no-brainer. My own work is quite considerable and takes a lot of wall space to exhibit. Often it is not the finances that prevent one from enjoying art but rather space. This idea of small free art works took it to a whole other level.

There are numerous ways to create a Free Little Art Gallery (FLAG is the acronym used.) Most follow the model of the local free libraries, with an unmistakable front Plexi-glassed entryway door, solid rooftop, and three walls standing up on a pedestal with a latch to allow access. It is, nevertheless, as open in design as the art it will house in terms of construction.

Besides the physical metrics of these small galleries, there is a request for etiquette in appreciating them. Most of the FLAGs ask that you leave the benches, easels, figurines acting as miniature patrons and viewers of the art. Sightseers are encouraged to take pictures and post them via on-line media and equally prompted to take a piece home with them, assuming they have been inspired with the good fortune of a newfound treasure. While artists are urged to create new small works to share for others' appreciation.

All ages and art levels are welcome to contribute. I saw quite a few on-line that focused on children's work. This is always intriguing because children have a way of expressing themselves wholly, honestly, and authentically. The style is without guile.

Pure emotion expressed.

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"And no matter what year it is, I believe we can all benefit from more creativity and moments of joy in our lives. So I hope the Free Little Art Gallery can contribute to those things––even if only a small scale."

Stacy Milrany

The works of art are almost always handmade and or painted, carved, weaved, and constructed. There are no limits as with any full-size gallery except the limitation of size. Think doll size! There are sculptures, paintings, pottery, dioramas, textiles, metal works, prints and collages, and so much more. I saw autumn leaves and branches of interesting shapes treated as art. This is a tremendous way to appreciate nature and its brilliance as a form of art. With a FLAG experience there is a unique intimacy that you don't get from a museum or gallery. Its nominal size does not reflect its effect on you when standing in front of one. Even small art is important. It is heart expressed. With this idea, more than anything, it is accessible to everyone, which organically makes it an interactive experience.

My next step in the research was to see if I could find one near me. So, I typed the query into the browser, "FLAGs near me." To my astonishment and delight, there was one located 20 minutes from my home. I quickly grabbed my camera and a small abstract of ink drawings I was making for greeting cards. I typed in the address into my GPS, and voila, I was on my way to my new art adventure.

Photos Above of Stacy Milrany Courtesy of Stacy Milrany, Photo by W. Westergard

A spontaneous smile transformed my face when I gazed at the little gallery. There, in living color, was a tiny replica of something I have witnessed hundreds of times.

Something that I have been involved with

my whole professional life. A gallery super small, super whimsical, super magical. For twenty minutes, I just stared. I was transported to another awareness. My imagination flourished like a time-lapse video.

I got lost in the reverie of seeing these artworks contained in this small space with the diminutive spectators. It was fantastical.

It was enchanting. It triggered something that had been missing in me for a while.

Joy! That little space on a quiet road filled with tiny works of art reminded me why I became an artist in the first place. It's fun.

With a swoosh of thoughts akin to a gentle summer breeze, I was reminded of the thrill of sharing my work for the sake of collaboration.

I unlatched the door and placed my ink drawing inside. I then curated the pieces to balance the space. I re-latched the door and took a step back. I felt pride. The kind of pride you feel when you do something good but anonymously. This act of sharing felt terrific.

Visual language is universal in communicating thoughts and feelings. It has an uncanny way of being straightforward and puzzling at the same time. Which leads to the interpretation to be all your own.

Creating in miniature can be a liberating exercise for an artist. It is an opportunity to create without the often-self-imposed stress artists who have been doing it for a while suffer.

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“The galleries are a universal outlet for people to make things and feel safe to put their art out there,” Sweet says, “to tap themselves and find something within.”

Castine Maine Arts Association President Johanna Sweet DownEast

Rhinebeck NY Free Little Art Gallery before my piece was added, Photo Courtesy Carolina Marquez- Sterling MLK, by Stacy Milrany, Photo Courtesy of Stacy Milrany

It can be a way to free themselves from their own style and explore new avenues. Less commitment, fewer materials wasted. And at the very least, a return to the experience of creating for the sake of it.

There is now a network of FLAGs across the country. Last I looked, one in Phoenix, AZ, Madison, WI, Albuquerque NM, several in upstate NY, one in RI, and two in Washington DC. Debuting this month on Capitol Hill, Allyson Klinner, an Architect, says, "Living and practicing in DC has made me realize that the creative community is often overshadowed here in the city. I wanted to make a space not only for the display of work but also for the free exchange of art and creativity, as these things should be accessible for all."

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"This continuous taking and leaving cycle creates the potential for creativity and joy to spread throughout the Edmond community and beyond."

Edmund Oklahoma Fine Art Institute

The last two years have been crushing for the human spirit, but often great ideas come out of hard times. I applaud Stacy Milrany.

Her concept is at once a creative, healing, and heart-centered phenomenon. Born from the womb of catastrophe, it has become a beacon of hope, a pathogen of creativity that has gone viral. I don't know about you, but that's one virus I want to catch.

Why not create one yourself? Wave your own FLAG. For more information, visit founder Stacy Milrany's website: https://www.milrany.com/ free-little-art-gallery https://www.instagram. com/free_little_art_gallery/ In addition, there is a website/blog that has quite a few registered FLAGs with websites and locations all over the country, in Canada and abroad. Included is information and ideas on how to build your own FLAG. https://findafreelittleartgallery.com https://findafreelittleartgallery. com/2021/09/06/how-to-build-a-free-little-artgallery/

Clockwise: Free Little Art Gallery, Rhinebeck NY After my piece is added.

Courtesy Carolina Marquez- Sterling, Monroe Free Little Art Gallery, Opening Day, Artist Scott Espeseth, Beloit Wisconsin.

Photo Courtesy © Jim Escalante.

Free Little Art Gallery, Close-up

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Lisa first got the idea to create her family parents died in 2003-04, and it took her on 50 years of letters and envelopes with “za motherr, Doris Lund (a children’s author a fatherr, Sidney Lund (writer and owner of in Fairfield County that served engineerin grandfatherr, Cartoonist/Humorist/Auth She said she didn’t want her three grown through the boxes, so she donated many items to Indiana University and set about tree collage. It includes many family pictu telegrams, stamps, and pieces of letters, a patchwork shirt which colors the picture’ Now she holds classes and teaches others own family tree (using memorabilia if the collage they choose. “Everybody has the think a lot of people have it taught out of people (say), ‘Oh, that’s not the way you that color.’”

Lisa said she is especially drawn to collag texture and sometimes creating transpare always loved the idea of using something you would normally not use for art, some throw away like brunch napkins or leftov using it in a whole new way y,” she said, ad

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“It It’s so fun. fun I have always loved the t idea

of using sometthing unconventional that you would nor mall y not use foor art, something you might even throw away like bbrunch napkins or lef eftover wrapping a papper and using it in a whole new way,,”

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first paintings she did with a horse. “It It James said he enjoys his wife’s artwork how to create collages and paintings. T together in other ways: They edit each periodic “staff meetings” where they d Centerr.

At this point, Lisa has worked on many always pushing the envelope and tryin don’t know how to do. So then eventua anything that you don’t know how to d Lisa was not always this confident in h spent a decade in a physically and emo - experiences she documented in her fic characters’ names) book, “Lucinda” pu plans to relaunch in the future. “It’s all inch of this.”

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Above Clockwise: Spring Uphill — Tissue Collage, 12 Light, Be! — Tissue collage, 16-by-20 inches, done live on California Riding — Mixed media/oil, 24-by-36 inches, c

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"all all healing com mes froom God God."

Spirit Wiind Center for f Creeativity & Healing is located on the t Velvet e Mill’s second level (Suite 130) in Connecticut’s Ston nington Boroough at 22 Bayview Avenue. Artist Lisa Leach holds “L Let it RIP Art Parties” at a her studio. Cost: $30 per person and includes supplies, insstruction, music and refr e eshments. Forr more information about coollage/painting classes or to view Lisa Leach’ L s artwork, go to www.llisaleach.com or call 203-216-4779. Foor assistance with busin ness writing, website, and social media, contact Spiritual Business Consultant C James Leach at 203-451-740 01 or go to www.spiritwindceenter.org.

Above: Outside entrance of Velvet e Mill closest to Spirit Wiind Center for Creativity & Healing (22 Bayview Avenu ue) in Stonington, Connecticut.

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GREAT PAIRINGS!

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The

Cheesemonger Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop, Centerbrook CT

I will admit that I used to be a cheese purist. When I ate cheese, I wanted nothing on it, only a plain cracker or baguette to enjoy it on. Then I was introduced to English Stilton with a little sweet butter on a table water biscuit. This was finished with a glass of Port Wine. It was, and still is, outstanding. This delight was followed by a soft-ripening triple crème served on a pear, with a glass of a highquality dessert wine such as a Sauterne from France or a Trochin Beeron Auslese from Germany. These are high quality sweet wines that achieve sweetness from allowing the grapes to fully ripen on the vine, not by adding sugar. This combination is also amazing.

Well anyway, my old rules were changed forever.

Not a day goes by without a question of what goes with what. I think a lot of people are hesitant to choose because they feel they are making the wrong choice. I always feel that whatever you like is right.

Ask ten different chefs how to scramble an egg and you will get ten different answers.

Figs Of all the fruits it seems that figs are the number one fruit to pair with cheese.You can find figs fresh, in spreads, cakes, and in syrup. All seem to work. Two of the most popular fig spreads for me are Dalmatia spread from Croatia and Davina from Greece. Both products are excellent. They are also great on baked Brie, bagels, toast, cookies, and assorted pies, cheese cakes and assorted sandwiches. Try it on fresh ricotta with toasted walnuts.

My Favorite Sandwich I’m always having something to do at work so when I’m in a hurry my go to sandwich is thin sliced Black Forest ham, Fromage D’Affinois soft-ripening cheese, and fig spread on a fresh baguette or panini bread. It’s amazing how good this is.

Balsamic Vinegar I’m talking the ‘really aged, takes too long to pour’ style balsamic. We love it on a vast assortment of different types of cheeses, especially good on aged parmigiana style cheese, Brie, blues, cheddars, goat and sheep, etc. Also good on fresh fruits like pears, strawberries and raspberries. Try it on vanilla ice cream.

My Favorite Salad dressing Pick your favorite lettuce or greens and mixture of carrots, celery, radishes, peppers, etc., whatever you like. Drizzle a really good high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil over your mixture, then top with the balsamic, no need to even mix. Then top with fresh goat or blue cheese. Finish with a few walnuts or even better, caramelized pecans.

Be careful with your choice of balsamic. If it’s the very thin watery supermarket style start over. That would not work and it would ruin whatever wine you may be having. A good balsamic you can almost drink as a liqueur.

A great appetizer would be thin sliced prosciutto, a slice of fresh fig, Italian Gorgonzola cheese and balsamic vinegar. Place a small

slice of the Gorgonzola on the fig, drizzle the balsamic over this and then roll the mixture in a slice of prosciutto, heat if you can possibly wait to taste it.

Acacia Honey This product has become a real fan favorite. Just like the multi-use of Balsamic, it’s great on cheese, fruit, cheese cake, cookies, cereals, granola, waffles and pancakes, and yogurts, to name a few. It turns a well-aged Parmigiano Reggiano into a great dessert. Please note that it has to be Acacia honey. When I offer this recipe I hear many say“oh I have honey at home”. It has to be Acacia Honey to work. This honey has no after taste like other honeys do. It has a smooth natural finish that really lends itself to the pairing. I love it on goat and blue cheeses.

Blake Hill Preserves from Vermont This is a recently new product line that’s only been out a few years.

They produce a vast selection of fruit preserves and what they refer to as a cheese pairing selection. There are too many delicacies here to mention but I’ll just tease you with a few so you can savor the possibilities. They not only lend themselves to cheese but they make great pairings with other foods.

Apricot, Orange & Honey Preserve They offer a recipe as a finish on Cornish hens with a little butter then roasting to a golden brown. I also like it on grilled salmon or sautéed shrimp.

Spiced Plum with Port This recipe blends a grilled sirloin with blue cheese along with the spiced plum and port jam.

Fig with Pear and Honey A recipe for a hamburger with fig, pear, and honey topping then finish with melted cheese.

French Onion with Rosemary Great on aged Gouda and Swiss cheeses but a great finish on a pork tenderloin or grilled pork chops. You can see this product line on their website www.BlakeHillPreserves.com Choose your favorite wine then pair it with your favorite cheese and try a new topping. You might just invent your new favorite gourmet treat. I do advise avoiding really hot and spicy meats and cheeses if you’re going to drink that special bottle of wine. Although often popular, they will alter your ability to taste the true essence of the wine just the way having a vinaigrette salad dressing will spoil what might have been a great wine. Try a blue cheese dressing instead and let the wine work on its own merits.

Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop www.CheeseCt.com

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