Ink Magazine - October 2016

October 2016 15 A guide to finer living in Connecticut & abroad.

publications®

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Vol 12 Issue 130 2016

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THE NEXT DIMENSION IN BREAST IMAGING st A v to Ide r le s r

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Features

OCTOBER January 1, 2016 2006

Columns, Reviews, Events

ISSUE CONTENTS

The Cheesemonger

From Farm to Bottle The “Accidental”Success that is Staehly Farm Winery

pg. 8

Milk and the cows that produce it

pg. 76

On the Vine The Harvest or the Saltwater Farm Vineyard Harvest

pg. 78

October Events Events throughout Connecticut

pg. 80

Cooper & Smith Gallery Bridging the Artistic Gap

pg. 16

Exuberant Intimacy: The World Class Chamber Music of Musical Masterworks

pg. 24

Melissa Groo Award Winning Wildlife Photographer

pg. 30

Lady Blaze The Dazzling Subculture of Fire Spinning.

pg. 40 On the cover: Snowy Egret - Photo by Melissa Groo Above: “The Gift” By Laural Cunningham-Hill

INK staff

Laural Cunningham-Hill The Imaginarium of

Capsulariums. pg. 50

Contributors:

Advertising:

Jeffery Lilly- publisher/design/founder

Contact us to receive our media kit complete with detailed advertising information including ad rates, demographics, and distribution in your area.

Stephanie Sittnick- publisher/sales/design Carolyn Battisa - editorial Laurencia Ciprus - editorial

Woodlawn Cemetary: New York City’s Most Unusual Museum

pg. 60

Caryn B. Davis- editorial/photography Charmagne Eckert - editorial Alan Fields - Design in Mind Sharma Piersall Howard - editorial

Rona Mann - editorial

Celebrates Its Fortieth Year

pg. 66 We encourage the public to submit stories, poems, photography, essays, and all things creative. If you know of a person or place of interest, please submit your ideas to: submissions@ink-pub.com We will do our best to put your ideas in INK.

Stephanie Sittnick - Director of Advertising advertising@ink-pub.com 860-227-8199 Kaitlin K. McDermott - Greater Connecticut kaitlin@inkct.com 203.273.3762

Nancy LaMar-Rodgers - editorial Barbara Malinsky- editorial

The Wesleyan Navaratri Festival

Please direct your advertising inquiries and questions to:

Cheryl Powell - Saybrook - Branford cheryl@ink-pub.com 860-608-5749

Paul Partica, The Cheesemonger

Rona Mann - Clinton - Stonington

A. Vincent Scarano - photography

six07co@att.net 401-539-7762

Every issue is printed using 100% Soy based ink.

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From Farm to Bottle The “Accidental” Success that is Staehly Farm Winery

by RONA MANN Photos by Stephanie Sittnick

It all started with six Christmas trees.

It was propelled by a leap of faith.

And now it’s a thriving success.

Chris and Gail Staehly got married in 1984.

He was an aerospace engineer; when they had their son, Kevin the next year, Gail became a stay-at-home mom. And that was that...or so they thought. But then serendipity intervened a few times, and their lives took some interesting and unexpected turns.

“We had a long expanse of land out front,” Chris begins, “so my father-in-law suggested we grow Christmas trees. We didn’t really know anything about it, so we started with just 250 trees. I figured if I had all those trees, I

wouldn’t have to cut that much grass.” He laughs, “I soon found out they’re a lot more work than mowing!”

At first the trees brought disappointment along with the extra work when the first year Staehly only sold six of them. “I was so angry I decided to cut them all down and be done with it.” But Chris’ father-in-law convinced him to be patient and hang in. The advice paid off. Staehly Farm now boasts 18,000 Christmas trees on their property, is a very popular stop for those in the surrounding river towns, and the trees have won top honors at the Durham Fair for the last half dozen years or more.

The early 90’s proved to be a rough time for the aerospace industry. Chris survived layoff after layoff until one day his luck ran out, and he found himself wondering what he would do next. “We started dabbling in produce. Gail already had a little self serve stand with an honor box at the road, so we added one greenhouse, and Gail did most of it.”

Whether it was flowers, plants, or the apples and cherries from their trees, it all proved to be the right thing. People were stopping, people were buying, and the farm was flourishing. “So in 2005 we finally decided to go for it,” Chris says. “We put up a farm stand building, added more greenhouses, and suddenly we were full time farmers.”

With the added advantage of having heritage variety trees that go back decades, the Staehlys began to grow apples, sour cherries, peaches, and more delicious fruit.

“But suddenly we were seeing a decrease in our volume of sales,” said Kevin. “People aren’t canning today as much as they used to.”

Chris wondered, “What are we going to do with all this extra fruit? We don’t want to waste it.”

The answer, strangely enough, came from the owner of Two Roads Brewery in Stratford. He suggested the Staehlys make wine. “But it’s

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very costly to build a vineyard,” Chris protested. “What did we know about making wine?” The answer came swiftly. “I didn’t mean grape wine; I meant fruit wine.”

“We are the only winery in Middlesex County to produce fruit wines from what we grow,” Kevin says proudly, offering a taste from their selection of nine wines. The Staehlys currently produce Dry Apple, Semi-Sweet Apple, Sweet

farms we partner with, therefore it’s always fresh. Our corn is unbelievable...we go every day for that.”

The Staehlys, now intrigued by the idea, found a consultant who specialized in the growing and production of fruit wine. He subsequently came to the farm, studied what was there, and determined they could indeed make excellent wine from their fruit. As a professional winemaker, he was also able to teach Kevin and Chris the basics; and with yet another leap of faith, the Staehlys were now winemakers, opening Stahley Farm Winery in October of 2014, complete with tasting room.

Apple, Spiced Apple, Blueberry, Pomodoro, Cherry, and a Peach dessert wine. By the holidays, Rhubarb wine will also be available.

While the focus right now is definitely on the wine (with Kevin and Chris making a new flavor every three months), customers can still stop by for fresh eggs, butter, cheese, giant pies, and more. “We do a lot of local sourcing,” Gail says. “With farming you have to work together with other farmers, so not everything here is ours; but we get it locally from

But for right now, the focus is on the wine. Ask any of the Stahleys, and they’ll tell you they’re winemakers, albeit vineyard-less ones. All wines are 12% alcohol, fully corked, and aged to perfection. But they’re not the only ones who think so. Their Pomodoro Wine recently won a double gold award at The Big E, the highest designation - one of only three wineries in all New England to do so. Kevin is especially proud of the Semi-Sweet Apple variety which took gold at the very prestigious

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Finger Lakes International Wine Competition in New York. “There were over 3000 different wines there representing all 50 states, all the Canadian provinces, and 27 countries. And we took gold.”

It’s fall, the Stahleys’ favorite time of year.

They’re busy getting ready for their Fall Flavor Festival, harvesting and decorating, putting the pumpkins out front, setting up the hay maze, and welcoming everyone Noon to 6PM on October 1st and 2nd for wine tasting, cheese tasting, food trucks, and a whole lot of fun.

The Staehlys are the quintessential American success story: a good, honest, hardworking family who love doing what they do and sharing it with their friends, neighbors, and customers.

They love “discovering” new wines and experimenting until they’re just right. They love providing fresh produce on a daily basis and watching you tag your Christmas tree during the holidays. They delight in the fall...the season of the harvest and Halloween, and they are positively childlike in decorating and providing treats and surprises to fit the season. These are the Staehlys...the accidental farmers and vineyardless winemakers, loving what they do every day, because they’ve learned through a leap of faith or two what’s really important in life.

And to think it all began with six Christmas trees, a layoff, and all that delicious fruit.

Visit Stahley’s Farm Vineyard, conveniently located at 278 Town Street (Rt. 82), right near everything in East Haddam www.staehlys.com (860) 873-9774 Open all year, because there’s always something good!

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Cooper & Smith Gallery, Bridging the Artistic Gap

By Gina King Photos by Jeffery Lilly

from observation, but Nathaniel points out how, in Kudlow’s work, “the three dimensional illusion folding paper and fabric, acts as a portal into a dual universe of traditional realism and abstraction.”

"Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad." - Salvador Dali Cooper & Smith is not the first gallery to occupy the space at 10 Main Street in Essex; in fact, it’s the fourth. But the gallery is the first for its owners, Pamela St. Clair and Nathaniel Foote.

They considered opening a gallery “in theory, only,” says Pamela, when property owners occasionally approached them with offers to put galleries in empty storefront buildings. “Eventually,” says Nathaniel, “we thought, why not?"

They find their arts backgrounds—Pamela’s in publishing and writing, and Nathaniel’s in television, music, and painting—to be advantageous. “It also helps,” says Nathaniel, “that Pamela and I have a seamless process when surveying large volumes of art. At home, we can debate forever which drawer the silverware

should be in. We don't debate about art. There we share a common vision."

The scores of paintings at Cooper & Smith all have a story to share. As visitors stroll around the bright, 5,000-square-foot space, they encounter a curated collection, primarily oil paintings, in a variety of genres and styles, such as the plein air landscapes of Maine artist, Donald Demers or the still life paintings of Judith Pond Kudlow. Both artists work directly

The large space provides them with the opportunity to traverse a familiar gulf in the art industry between abstract and representational art.

"Visitors would burn themselves out after the first aisle if we were to show just one style,” says Pamela. “It’s easy to become saturated with 100 feet of any one art, no matter how excellent.”

Nathaniel sees no conflict in such a diverse range, noting that “abstraction itself is a necessary component for artists in any genre.

Every art form relies on the distillation of the observable." Instead of a preoccupation with style, they look for evidence of drawing at any stage in the artist's process. Drawing, as well as a masterful command of color, are at the core of the current exhibit, a 15 year retrospective of paintings by internationally acclaimed artist, Stephen Westfall. On view through midJanuary, Westfall’s bold geometric abstractions

20 fall along a continuum of Minimalism that includes Frank Stella, Agnes Martin, and Sol Lewitt.

“Looking back, it was a miracle that we pulled the place together,” explains Pamela.

They weren’t facing major renovations, but it still took months and at least $10,000 just to clean and prepare the show space before they could even think about acquiring art. “We were starting from scratch,” says Nathaniel, “cold-calling, rekindling friendships, reaching out to connections from art school.” Finding not only the right art, but enough of the right art to fill approximately 6,000 feet of wall space was a compounding challenge. Pamela adds, "If we weren’t painting walls, we were traveling up and down the coast.

Nathaniel was racing to New York to pick up paintings the night before we opened."

That night was June 24, 2015. They hired a jazz duo from New York: Conrad Korsch, bassist for Rod Stewart’s band and legendary jazz guitarist, Ron Affif. In the beginning, they rotated their featured exhibits monthly. When it became apparent that the art was holding the public’s attention and deserved longer periods of exposure, they switched to a more flexible schedule. “We are hanging art that endures,” says Nathaniel, “art that people want to have around for a lifetime.” And with certain collectors regularly checking in to see new work, they’re constantly updating their catalog.

For anyone wondering what it’s like for a couple

to work together, it’s a challenge, they both agree, but one they work hard at every day. One of the struggles, according to Pamela, is not talking about work all the time. But then again, they are working all the time; not only when the gallery doors are open, but behind the scenes as well, researching new artists, traveling to studios, keeping up with the paperwork, maintaining the website, advertising—doing it all themselves. “I never would have agreed to such a risky undertaking if not for my confidence in Nathaniel’s art,” says Pamela. And in keeping with the compatibility of a true partnership, where Pamela leaves off, Nathaniel continues, explaining that they adhere to “a division of labor that makes the most of each other’s strengths.”

They met in 2009, both having recently returned to Connecticut. After studying art at The Cooper

Union in Manhattan, Nathaniel, an established American Realist painter, had a number of jobs before ending up in Paris, France. He was living month to month out of a tiny room he describes as a "chambre de bonne," while painting, drawing, and traveling—and loving it all. A career opportunity brought him back to New York, where he worked as an Emmy award winning animator and art director. He was commuting between New York and Connecticut when he met Pamela, a published poet with a math degree from Smith College.

Their friendship began when “Sweetboy,” the Rhodesian RidgebackRottweiler-Pit Bull mix he rescued from the streets of New York City, climbed into Pamela’s lap and wouldn’t let her leave. “He knew before we did that we would be together,” says Pamela. Sweetboy shows up in Nathaniel’s artwork, gazing with gentle eyes out of a portrait and posthumously, walking down Essex Main Street.

Mid-way between Boston and New York, Essex turns out to be the ideal location for such a sizable art gallery. “If you walk outside, especially with a French easel, it's amazing the people you meet from all over the world,” says Nathaniel. “Our clients wait tables. They run Fortune 500 companies. They are high energy, passionate people. They’re seekers, connoisseurs, amateurs, professionals, collectors, or artists themselves.” One American buyer placed a long riverscape in his cubicle in Hong Kong. A Connecticut couple wanted the perfect piece to install at the hearth of a spacious Fairfield home. “It’s the best part of the job,” says Pamela, “to be able to connect clients with art that resonates on some level as an extension or reflection of their own stories.”

Cooper & Smith, LLC, 10 Main Street,, Essex, Connecticut (860) 581-8526 www.cooperandsmithgallery.com

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Exuberant Intimacy: The World Class Chamber Music of Musical Masterworks

By Charmagne Eckert Photos by Ania Simpson / Musical Masterworks

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he discussion is intense. To one side, a generously proportioned speaker holds forth his opinions in a sonorous voice, his tone insistent. Across from him a protest is mounted, riding over his arguments in a back and forth counterpoint, soon supported by another delicate, but no less adamant, companion.

The conversation is intelligent, passionate and utterly compelling; private, and at the same time, inclusive of the listener. It is what Johann Wolfgang Goethe is said to have called, “four rational people conversing.” It is Chamber Music.

For just over a quarter century, Musical Masterworks has been offering world-class chamber music performances in the beautiful, acoustically flawless Meetinghouse of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Musical Masterworks was born of a passion for music in all its forms, and from the recognition by its founders, that access to outstanding classical music need not be limited to large urban venues.

As one of Masterworks’ founders and President, Alden Rockwell Murphy puts it, “There is a deep love of music in this community, there are people who have been aficionados all of their lives, and also people who are surprising themselves as they are discovering chamber music for the first time.”

Under the leadership of its present Artistic Director Edward Arron, who was bequeathed the position in 2009, Musical Masterworks has been subtly transforming to reflect the impassioned musicianship that illuminates Arron’s mastery as a renowned cellist. He follows in the tradition of excellence established by the first Artistic Director, Charles Wadsworth, who is perhaps best know as the Founding Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City. Arron brings his virtuosity as a performer, devotion to education – traveling worldwide to perform and as Professor of Cello at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst – but he also a parent.

The integration of education and performance with personal life are part of what informs Arron’s work with Musical Masterworks; for him, music is clearly something to be lived.

Edward Arron “The musical [experience] is elemental. People are using their imaginations, they are cooperating, they are being inspired to do [their own] great things. The arts bring out so much humanity and the world is desperately in need of that. To bring music to communities, and to push the envelope in creating wonderful contexts with programs; or simply educating young children, starting them on instruments, opening the channels of the imagination – this sense of being steeped in the world of

music and trying to pass that along feels right for me,” Arron says. Arron’s interest in sharing his enthusiasm for chamber music with younger generations meshes seamlessly with the educational component of Masterworks’ mission to bring professional chamber music ensembles into area schools.

Their community outreach program has been active since 1997 and has brought over 35,000 concerts to more than 20 schools.

Accordingly, the upcoming 2016-17 season offers a special opportunity that younger audiences may find of particular interest when, on December 3rd and 4th, Musical Masterworks presents the Brooklyn Ryder quartet. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hailed them as, “. . . four classical musicians performing with the energy of young rock stars jamming on their guitars, a Beethoven-goes-indie foray into making classical music accessible but also celebrating why it was good in the first

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Standing ovation 25th season concert finale

place.” Arron who has know the musicians for many years, elaborates, “They have combined extraordinary musical training and things they have experienced traveling the world with different kinds of music. In addition to their tremendous talent, they are engaging and

unpretentious. It ends up being a truly joyful couple of hours.” Beyond a cheeky elegance likely to appeal to all ages, one of the members, Collin Jacobsen, is also a composer. The quartet will be performing a selection of his original works, framed by Boccherini and

Beethoven, providing a unique opportunity to, as Arron puts it, “ . . . have a living breathing composer up there who can explain his piece and then deliver. Collin’s music is powerful, accessible; it’s clever. And here we’ve actually got the composer on stage and playing it for our audience.”

A new feature this season is the pre-concert talk being presented by Arron at the February performances in direct response to multiple requests by audience members eager to learn more about the structure and context of the music they so enjoy. The February evenings feature the works of Johannes Brahms and Robert Schuman, including Schuman’s Frauenliebe und-leben song cycles. “That, I think, is just a wonderful world to walk into.

With the relationships between Johannes Brahms and the Schumans – Robert and Clara – how they influenced each other personally and compositionally. And to see with the Brahms song cycles, how the music is put together with the text. Our audience [members] are very acute listeners and I think this will lend another dimension for them in understanding how characters and motif are used. I am thrilled that they seem interested in digging

Robbin Myers Kristina White Alden Murphy Monique Foster by Ania Simpson

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deeper and understanding the history and artistic aspects of the music,” Arron explains.

The talk will be suited for everyone from older children to adult and promises to offer a consideration of history and musical structure blended with the dramatic story of the intertwined private lives of three great composers.

Musical Masterworks enriches the lives of everyone who has had the fortune to experience their offerings, but it is because of the enthusiastic support of individuals and businesses in the community that it is possible for Masterworks to keep bringing this remarkable music to the region. Above all says Murphy, a debt of gratitude is owed to the many individuals who have worked tirelessly to ensure the ongoing success of the programs, “Our board of directors are all volunteers and they are just amazing. They really know how to run an organization like this. We could never do this without everyone who gives so generously of their time.”

Even the setting is essential to the tone and

Jon Butler

integrity of the concert series and, to Arron, it could hardly be a more ideal collaboration. “The Meetinghouse is one of the most incredible chamber music venues I’ve ever set foot in.

The acoustics are perfect, it’s aesthetically

David Dangremond with Che-Yun and Charles Wadsworth 2006

gorgeous and there’s this incredible immediacy between the performers and the audience because the audience is so close to the stage.

There’s an electricity and energy that takes place every single time. For those who’ve experienced it there is a realization of how powerful – healing and truly inspiring – live chamber music can be.”

To experience for yourself the upcoming 201617 Musical Masterworks season – opening October 22nd in the iconic colonial Meetinghouse of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme – visit: http://musicalmasterworks.org/concerts.

For further information and to purchase tickets contact: Website: http://musicalmasterworks.org Link to Concert Schedule: http://musicalmasterworks.org/concerts Phone: 860-434-2252 Concert Address: Musical Masterworks: First Congregational Church of Old Lyme 2 Ferry Road Old Lyme, CT 06371

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Award Winning Wildlife Photographer, Melissa Groo

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Audubon - Great Egret

By Anne W. Semmes / Photos Melissa Groo

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icture her with hat, long hair in a ponytail, and camouflage camera gear - her nearly sixfoot frame stretched out somewhere on the grasslands of North Dakota waiting for that Western Grebe; or leaning out the window of a Range Rover in Tanzania to capture a suddenly climbing cheetah; or sitting stone-still beside an inlet in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest for a shot of that rare Spirit Bear coming to fish for salmon; or perhaps standing hip-deep in water on a Bahama atoll focused on a Roseate Spoonbill preening its bright pink feathers.

This is how wildlife photographer, Melissa Groo spends her time, working to make herself invisible, practicing the patience of a Jane Goodall to get those intimate and extraordinary photos that have made her a prizewinner on the national scale. Her photo of an egret that won her the 2015 Audubon Grand Prize for Photography has been exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Groo took up photography just nine years ago years ago, “but wildlife photography almost six years ago. At first I did just macro and then landscapes.”

“That’s a painting, isn’t it?” said a prominent guest at a recent Audubon Connecticut fundraising event in Greenwich upon seeing Melissa’s acclaimed “Audubon Egret” imprinted on metal, displayed as a silent auction item. Yes, that egret does look like a painting with its magnificent burst of delicate plumage, curved neck and shocking chartreuse lores that surely John James

passion, alerting her to bird arrivals, even if they are casualties like the pair of Scarlet Tanagers, dubbed “star-crossed lovers,” that flew in tandem into a reflecting glass door.

Melissa immortalized them with her camera, side by side, where they live on as the cover of a book of poetry.

Scarlet Tanagers

Audubon would have envied. Groo had given up all hope with the fading light in that Florida lagoon when the bird sailed in and began its preening.

But she doesn’t have to travel far to capture extraordinary images. Based in Ithaca, New York, Melissa now lives on the edge of a forest preserve. Her neighbors are now tuned into her

Hoping for years to capture the elusive bobcat when “the only sign many people will ever see are their tracks in the snow,” she had to travel to Yellowstone National Park to find one. Back home a few weeks later, she found a mother bobcat and two young feeding nearby on a deer carcass. One of those bobcat images made the cover of the magazine Outdoor Photographer, with another seen around the world via Melissa’s Facebook page.

Groo sums up that discovery moment: “You don’t have to travel far to experience miraculous moments in nature.”

To follow this Facebook page is to enter the life and worth and welfare of whatever wild thing she has photographed. What has become her nature journal is a free-for-all. “I consider myself a wildlife biographer almost as much as a photographer, because I aim to visually tell the stories of wild animals' lives.”

Melissa has come a long and curious way in creating

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Bobcat - Mother & Kit

Yellowstone Bobcat

wildlife art with her camera. She has been featured in countless magazines, including Smithsonian and National Wildlife Magazine; is a sought-after teacher on photos safaris from East Africa to Brazil to the great Sandhill Crane migration in Nebraska; and now writer on the subject of nature photography.

Only a few years ago Groo focused on forest elephants, working with the legendary field biologist Katy Payne who discovered how elephants communicate via infrasound- those rumbling noises too low for human ears to detect. Melissa, as research assistant to Payne’s Elephant Listening Project for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, was spending her days in the Central African Republic making a

Sandhill Crane

daily dangerous morning walk through the wilds from her camp to a clearing where she was priming her observation skills of elephants and their sounds while serving as videographer. It was there she learned how to frame a picture to tell a story, how to be patient, “to wait for a story to unfold.”

Before Groo began to work with Payne, she’d already fallen in love with whales.

While pursuing a promising career in education with the Rockefeller Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, she went kayaking in Alaska. When a humpback whale rose out of the water, Melissa fell in love with whales, to the point of annually swimming with them off the Dominican Republic.

that has Groo question, “How can we get close enough to get the intimate shots we want while minimizing the disturbance our presence inevitably causes?” Now she depends on blinds, camouflage clothing, and a favorite mobile blind - her car - as non-invasive tools to get those intimate shots.

This wildlife photographer is most definitely in that camp that decries the use of baiting (beyond the bird feeder) to entice wild animals into view. She’s become a spokesperson on the big stage for “keeping the wild in wildlife photography.”

She serves on the Ethics Committee of the North American Nature Photography Association and works with other Melissa is now living a most organizations to craft challenging life in search of guidelines for photograAfrican Elephants those arresting and intimate phers to encourage them photographs of wildlife. There is a definite dis- “to place the welfare of animals above the desire comfort in leaving her husband, Matt Gelder for great photos.” As a new columnist for and daughter, Ruby to travel to distant places Outdoor Photographer magazine on the topic of with all that sophisticated and heavy camera wildlife photography, she’s busily offering gear and the getting down and dirty she feels strategies for respecting subjects. She’s also compelled to do to better bring her into the increasingly drawn to effecting conservation bird’s world – notwithstanding the mosquitoes through the use of her camera. and ticks that await her. But it is that close embrace of bird or bobcat wherever she may be Groo often includes quotations from naturalists,

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Top row L to R: Snowy Egrets, American Avocets, Least Tern (Mom broods two chicks) Bottom row L to R: American Flamingo, Laysan Albatross, Wood Duck Below: Melissa focusing on her next subject.

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Top row L to R: Zebras, Red Fox family, Father Lion w/cub Bottom row L to R: Black & White Colobus Monkey, Spirit Bear, Cheetah Below: A wildlife photographer captured in her native enviroment.

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Eastern Screech Owl

Musk Ox

poets, and conservationists with her shared photographs. On a July photo tour of Nome, Alaska she posted on Facebook an endearing shot of a muskox family with a Carl Safina quote, “To endow animals with human emotions has long been a scientific taboo. But if we do not, we risk missing something fundamental, about both animals and us.”

Twice this year Melissa has been able to take her family with her on assignment, earlier to Hawaii on a photo teaching assignment with writer Hob Osterlund, who lives amongst albatrosses.

And more recently, Groo and family were ensconced for a bird-rich week at the famous Audubon Camp on Hog Island, Maine where she taught bird photography.

Melissa has Steve Kress, director of the camp, to thank for turning her on to the “beauty and behavior of birds” and for her passion for bird conservation. Kress, who works at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, had once taught Melissa in his spring birding course, “Spring Field Ornithology.”

“Seems like things have come full circle that I should be teaching bird photography at a camp Steve runs,’ says Melissa, “since he so importantly inspired my love of birds.”

There is no doubt that Groo has led a richly filled life that has endowed her with accomplishments that have put her on a trajectory of extraordinary success. She has been on three Smithsonian magazine assignments with famed writer Alex

Nome Fox

Shoumatoff and recently another honor has come her way when she won the 2017 North American Nature Photography Association’s Vision Award, given every two years to a photographer for "early career excellence, vision and inspiration to others in nature photography, conservation and education."

Not bad for a girl who only began to turn a lens onto wild animals just a handful of years ago.

Snowy Owl

A writer-friend, Timothy Dumas of Greenwich, has eloquently described Melissa Groo’s gift: “She possesses one of those ambidextrous minds, equally at home in science and literature.”

Visit www.melissagroo.com for information on upcoming workshops and to order prints Note: Anne W. Semmes is not only the author of this story, but also her very proud mother.

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Lady, Ablaze The Dazzling Subculture of Fire Spinning.

By Daniel Shkolnik

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woman’s hula-hoop was on fire. One man swung a flaming sword. Another flung a Chinese rope dart—also flaming. Ten wicked Dragon Staffs spun red circles through the night. Poi carved flaming clovers and infinity loops in the darkness. Some people breathed fire, others ate it.

Someone wielded a whip that cracked out fireballs. One man with a steampunk top hat and an Aussie accent made (and ate) a continuous line of flaming jellyfish.

Almost all modern fire manipulation is done with two basic components: wicks and camping fuel. The simple wick-and-fuel formula, combined with an experimental DIY spirit, has made it easy for fire to jump from one prop, weapon, or instrument to another. Ancient

Now, Lady Blaze is her alter ego of choice, and her preferred crowd-pleaser is her five-wick, flaming hula-hoop. She can put this ring of fire through a retinue of on-and off-body tricks, smooth isolations, or various other eye-dazzling displays. She began hooping 18 years ago with a regular hula-hoop and began her performing career a few years later. She lit her hoop aflame in the mid-2000s after her friends saw a video online of a girl with a burning hula-hoop. They were impressed by the novelty of it, but not by the moves. “You’re better than her,” was her friends’ consensus, and they made Stein her first fire hoop. She’s been burning ever since.

This is not a sneak peak at hell. This was the scene at the Northeast Fire and Arts Festival in Oxford, Connecticut this past spring.

To get a better sense of this hot and quickly-expanding subculture, I later met up with one of the dancers present at the festival, professional fire dancer, Lauren Beth Stein. Better known as LB, or by her stage name, Lady Blaze, Stein has been spinning fire for 12 years.

Based in New Haven, she owns and performs under the auspices of LBSpinnerZ ArtZ. What Stein and other “burners” do is known as fire performance, or more commonly, fire spinning or fire dancing.

Fire performance has several ritualistic ancestors in various parts of the world such as the Polynesian islands, Mexico, and India’s Thar Desert. But since the ‘90s, there’s been a modern explosion of fire dance and dancers— albeit, with much closer ties to circus troupes than to ancient tribes.

The experimental ethos of this subculture goes something like a pyromaniac’s credo: things on fire are usually better. Fueled by that experimental mantra, the arsenal of props continues to grow.

But to call Stein a fire spinner and be done with it, wouldn’t do her career justice. Stein is a stilt walker, a puppeteer, an environmental educator, and—when she was on the Connecticut roller derby circuit from 2007 to about 2013— she skated with the CT Roller Girls as Pam TERROR!

Today, Stein performs with her partner, Joseph Paul Janicki, a.k.a. Jumpin’ Joe—a pro BMX biker turned fire spinner. When Janicki met Stein in 2011, sparks flew: they started dating; and not long after, Janicki’s high-flying BMX stunt bike caught fire. Intentionally, of course.

Inspired by Stein, he affixed four flaming wicks onto his bike where the spokes would otherwise be and began performing with her.

weapons like staffs, scimitars, and rope darts are super-charged with flame. Entire routines with hula-hoops, fans, flower sticks can be set ablaze. And many old or newly-invented variations such as GyroDOOPs—a hoop embedded with a flaming gyroscope—and puppyhammers—a Chinese “soft” weapon called the meteor hammer with Māori poi attached to the ends (no puppies involved).

Between the two of them, the pair has 9 tattoos, 27 piercings (25 of them on Stein), and some two-dozen fire props that they use in performances. Their arsenal includes fire fingers, fire fans, fire orb, levitation wand, regular and white lotus poi, flower and dragon sticks, contact sword, GyroDOOP, and many others. It took years of training to build up their skill set, and it takes hours of weekly practice to keep it kindled. And with the internet age, new

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Photo by Daniel Shkolnik

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moves and variations spread like wildfire across the net. “Even with the props you’re good at,” says Stein, “there are always new moves to learn.”

festivals there’s at least one person standing by with a fire blanket. And even seasoned professionals have been known to have accidents—sometimes fatal. In other words: don’t try this at home.

But even in this vast and fast subculture where new ideas catch on quickly, the duo may still be on the cutting edge with Janicki’s fire bike. As far as they—and I— can tell, Janicki’s flaming BMX bike is the only one of its kind. “Lots of my bike stunt friends have seen me do it, but they have no interest,” says Janicki. He says the element of fire is a barrier that has to be leapt. But once it is, the effect is fantastic— especially when Stein is lying on the ground and he’s hopping over her, the tires inches away from her face.

“People love it, they think it’s insane and that I’m going to kill her.”

Janicki has years of training as a professional

stuntman and trial rider, so the illusion of risk is much greater than the reality of risk. But with the virtually of the duo’s tricks, there is a very real element of danger. Fire safety is important, and at all fire performances and

But there are many who do want to try fire spinning—more and more all the time. Around Connecticut, the spinning community is growing fast. Stein says she used to know practically everyone who spun a fire hoop in Connecticut—and everyone knew her. Over the last three or four years the number has grown so fast, she can’t make that boast anymore. But if you’re spinning around the New Haven area, or want to learn how, Lady Blaze is still a name you want to know. Stein runs public “spin jams” for local spinners looking to learn or practice their craft, teaches hoop classes, and performs throughout the northeast.

Lady Blaze and Jumpin’ Joe regularly tour the

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Photos by Daniel Shkolnik

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circuit of local fire festivals such as NEFA and Wildfire as well as music festivals like Wormtown and Strange Creek. This year they traveled as far out as the Oxford Kinetics Festival in Ohio, and Playthink, a flow arts festival in Kentucky. And back in 2012, Stein went into Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to attend the mother— or rather, father—of all fire festivals: Burning Man. Burning Man has become a sort of mecca of the fire spinning world. It takes place in Black Rock City, a sprawling settlement of tens of thousands of people that rises out of the desert for one week out of the year; and then when it’s over, disappears like it was never there. In this surreal boomtown, people ride around on Chinese pirate ships, build huge mechanical hyenas, and inhabit structures that look like alien Taj Mahals. It has its own tribes: “sparkle ponies,” “shirtcockers,” “yogabunnies,” and of course: fire spinners.

Stein brought her burning hoop skills to

Burning Man in 2012; and for one week she camped out on “the playa”—nickname for the Black Rock Desert—fire dancing and watching elaborate wooden palaces and creatures burn to the ground.

“It’s extreme camping,” Stein says. “Very extreme camping.”

“I would go back,” she says, but Janicki’s in no hurry to go.

“It’s a desert. It destroys your bike.” And with dust storms, day-night temperatures that fluctuate between 100 and 40 degrees, high costs, and a growing touristic quality to the festival, there are many fire spinners who aren’t jumping on their nearest steampunk-style dirigible headed for la playa.

Luckily, you don’t have to make a pilgrimage into the Nevada desert to catch a taste of the fire spinning culture. Keep an eye on the LBSpinnerZ ArtZ website and Lady

Blaze’s Facebook page. Odds are you can catch this high-heat duo burning bright at a party, parade, or festival near you.

Follow Lady Blaze onFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladyblazeartz/ Visit her online: http://lbspinnerz.com

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The Imaginarium of Capsulariums.

first convention hatched a stellar stint in cosplay design and education.

By Laurencia Ciprus

M

adame Groeda Wyrde is incarnated.

This anagrammed, pseudonym of shadow noir illustrator Edward Gorey is resurrected in the hell-broth talent of artist Laural Cunningham-Hill. LCH is an ideal channel for Mme. Wyrde – the phantom mischief behind Gorey’s infamous “Fantod Deck,” his satirical poke at the dark art of Tarot. A mythic journey worthy of Joseph Campbell set her up with a full box of magic. The daughter of two artists who played in the black loam of a childhood spent in the woods, Cunningham-Hill was instructed in the ancient ways of foraging and critical elements of the natural world by her dad. It wasn’t uncommon for this boundless family to bring back dead creatures after a trek through the forest, which proved a loving and slightly off-center foundation for a creative future.

With Morticia Addams as a role model, and artists Bosch, Dali, Gorey, and Charles Addams as inspiration, Cunningham-Hill took her MassArt degree in illustration into a fire circle of directions – ranging from curatorial framing for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s “Polaroid Reproduction Project,” to a respected career in commercial a. In her late 20’s; and in a parallel universe, the Massachusetts native was mesmerized by her first sci-fi convention. She arrived in a friend’s hearse at The World Sci-Fi Fantasy Convention in Baltimore as a surreal distraction from nursing a pretty conventional broken heart. Sans costume, CunninghamHill wound up modeling a chain-maille ensemble for a vendor at the event, while capturing the eye of her future husband. This

Project to the astral plane of motherhood and a hiatus from the art scene, and enter the exquisite alchemy of Cunningham-Hill’s ingenious jewelry line: “Capsulariums” – an invented name for vessel, like aquarium or terrarium.

The muses

returned in full force the day her son came home from school with an owl pellet. Presto: the artist’s dark side was reignited. These pellet-like-pills – sterilized in low temperature commercial ovens – are the intact, skeletal leavings from the raptor’s consumption of tiny rodents. Distributors ship them to schools for educational purposes pulled from massive stockpiles in Midwestern barns. In the case of Laura Cunningham-Hill they are not discarded bits, but art material.

Dissected and meticulously rinsed, she catalogs

them by size and type in a collection of tackle boxes. The bones then take on fresh meaning as she places them in random patterns, like the divination of runes. The spirits of the tiny creatures have been telling Laura what they want to become since 2012 and are transformed into reverent relics of human figures, flora, and insects. These miniature dioramas are measured by the millimeter and perfectly encapsulated in the discarded watch casings from Steampunk artists who extract the gears and inner-workings and leave the metal carcasses much like the raptors do their pellets.

Cunningham-Hill’s traditional training in fine art is evidenced by her work’s parallels to centuries of Tribal adornments and in harmony with Victorian Era “Cabinets of Curiosities” – collections which displayed dried pressed flowers, bones, shells, and other natural objects. Capsulariums are truly mesmerizing in a melding of dark art and veneration. There are tableau pendants like “Cemetery Visitors” – depicting bats hovering over a microcosmic graveyard; the filigreed and stone encrusted “Pollination” with bees and flowers, or the impossibly intricate “Poseidon” in a cobalt enameled case, which would rival any Hellenic artifact. The process ranges from one to two hours for the smalls and up to ten hours for the most ambitious pieces. In addition to the enhancements of crystals and stones, LCH adds pearl buttons for moons and strips of plastic mortician’s cadaver teeth for the insect components.

Capsulariums transcend art and are Cunningham-Hill’s loving memorial to her connections to the natural kingdom. “These poor little mice and voles which were first only food are now transformed into venerated spirits with new meaning. I’ve always loved animals and

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was always rescuing wild creatures as a child.

I’ve had scores of pets: cats and dogs; mice, rabbits, fish; a macaw and cockatiels.” She pauses and reflects fondly. “I’m sure I’ve left something out. Oh yes…of course! We had a 12 foot Albino Burmese Python. She was, oh so very docile and incredibly easy to handle.

She was donated to the Southwick Zoo when we discovered that you needed a permit for a snake over 8 feet in Massachusetts. The guy that ran the reptile house ended up taking her home for his private collection when he left the zoo.”

So what’s the next conjuring for this artist who loves the spirit world and animal bones? “I want to do a mandala next…a sort of bone mosaic. There is also the art show at the Arisa Sci-Fi Convention in Boston coming up in 2017. This is my fourth year as a participant, and I have crafted a mask incorporating bones.” She shifts back into the earthly plane and discusses her serious intention for the trajectory of the jewelry line: “I would like the body of the Capsularium works to be

appreciated as fine art and garner a gallery following, and I am looking forward to exploring this channel.”

The days are growing shorter and the light dimmer, with Halloween on the darkening horizon. The conversation is cut short, as a local filmmaker is shooting a scene from his 10-page screenplay in the LCH’s home. The Cunningham-Hill master bedroom has been appropriated as a temporary set and is now transformed into a space in Aleppo; yet another parallel universe in the mist and shadow. The filming throws off the family schedule, and plans for the annual Cunningham-Hill Halloween celebration are deferred for now. “Last year, the latest “Mad Max” came out, and we jumped on the theme. This year with the filming, we are likely going to do a last minute blowout with inspiration from our friends.”

It will assuredly be epic and otherworldly, albeit business as usual for this incarnate of Madame Groeda Wyrde:

“X” for enticements of spirit and life, “Y” for the yearnings of creativity, rife, “Z” for the zeal of the infinite muse, and the miniature, magical vessels they use.

For further information about the art and works of Massachusetts based artist, Laura CunninghamHill, please visit her website: www.capsulariums.com

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Woodlawn Cemetary: New York City’s Most Unusual Museum Photos and profile by Caryn B. Davis

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he most unusual museum in New York is the not The Metropolitan Museum of Art, nor the American Museum of National History, nor The Guggenheim. It’s not even located in the borough of Manhattan.

It’s spread out amongst 400 lush acres in the Bronx. According to the New York Times, New York’s most unusual museum is Woodlawn Cemetery.

Woodlawn Cemetery was established in 1863 by a group of concerned businessmen who wanted to create an eternal resting place that was easily reachable from Manhattan. Over 300,000 people are buried there from scientists to statesmen, from explorers to educators, and from dancers to debutantes. The tombstones read more like pages from a history book as the cemetery is home to some of our country’s most influential citizens. They include America’s first investigative reporter Nellie Bly; suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton; textile mogul Augustus Juilliard who started the

Juilliard School; entrepreneur Roland H. Macy who opened the superstore; composer Irving Berlin; sculptor and founder of the Whitney Museum, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whiney; and jazz musicians Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Max Roach among many others.

In fact, there are so many jazz musicians entombed along the hillside known as “Jazz Corner” that every April Woodlawn hosts a series of programs and performances that pay homage to these musical masters and their contribution to our culture. It is not as odd as it seems for so many prolific musicians to be buried in the same location. New York has always attracted musicians with the promise of fame and fortune; and during the birth of the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance, it was no different. So when it came time for the families of these legendary greats to bury their dead, Woodlawn

was a natural choice, especially after a subway stop was added making it accessible from all the boroughs.

Woodlawn is incomparable in its serene beauty and offers a respite from the bustling metropolis that surrounds it. It feels more like a park than a bone yard with rolling hills, waterfalls, lakes, elaborate gardens, and a collection of 3,500 large canopy and ornamental trees.

Many New Yorkers awaken early to participate in bird watching expeditions, while others prefer to stroll the grounds during the afternoon hours for guided garden tours.

After the Civil War, the country began to see a “shift from the rural cemetery model to the landscape-lawn plan,” as cited in Woodlawn’s application for the National Register of

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Historic Places. Prominent landscape architects such as the Olmsted Brothers whose projects include many of our national parks; and Beatrix Farrand who is credited with the White House Rose Garden among others, contributed their talents to several lots creating “interesting and complex site designs and memorial gardens.”

Along with an awakening of non-traditional ways in which cemeteries could be perceived, came the introduction of funerary art. Wealthy New Yorkers commissioned prominent architects and artists to construct their lavish and lasting memorials. The efforts of their genius encompass over 1300 mausoleums, monuments, metalwork, stained glass windows, and fine art sculptures. The work of giants such as Louis Comfort Tiffany, John Merven Carrère, and Thomas Hastings whose firm also designed the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue; and sculptor Daniel Chester French, who crafted the 170-ton statue of a seated Abraham for the Lincoln Memorial, are sprinkled throughout.

“Woodlawn’s private lots and their corresponding memorials represent some of the finest examples of funerary art in the nation. They constitute an exceptional example of multifaceted design, including collaborative works by architects, landscape architects, sculptors, artisans, and fabricators, many of which represent the preeminent designers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Two aspects of this collaboration are noteworthy.

First, the extraordinary number of private mausolea are likely the largest and most distinctive collection in the nation. Second, the cemetery used circular lots surrounded by

roads or paths, as a unique setting for the placement of many of these monuments and mausolea. The resulting composition is not only a spectacular assemblage of monuments in a verdant landscape setting, but it also represents a virtual library and study collection of attributed design and art – critically recognized in architectural, landscape, and other design journals well into the twentieth century,” as described in the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Woodlawn Cemetery for the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

Boelte, one of the founders of the kindergarten movement in this country; and Margaret Rudkin, whose baked goods eventually became the conglomerate known as Pepperidge Farm; are remembered for their contributions.

In 2011, Woodlawn was designated a National Historic Landmark. Every year over 100,000 people visit. Some come to commune with loved ones, while others participate in concerts, lectures, and events hosted by the Woodlawn Conservancy, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and enhance the Cemetery. Public and private tours can be arranged practically on any topic of interest because of the multitude of illustrious people buried there and the vast representation of art and horticulture. Woodlawn maintains a staff historian and a team of volunteer docents who can tailor an itinerary to fit any topic of interest.

The Conservancy is also responsible for cleaning, repairing, and restoring Woodlawn’s many sculptures, mausoleums, and monuments. They have implemented a training program in conjunction with the World Monuments Fund and the International Masonry Institute to ensure the continued preservation of New York’s most unusual museum.

During Hispanic and Caribbean Heritage Month for example, visitors are directed to the resting places of those Spanish, South American, and Caribbean descendants who introduced New Yorkers to all aspects of the Latino culture such as their music, political beliefs, artwork, and businesses. Cuban born Celia Cruz, dubbed the “Queen of Salsa” is on the tour, as is David Glasgow Farragut, son of a Spanish merchant captain who had the distinction of becoming the first admiral of the U.S. Navy. His gravesite is a National Historic Landmark and part of the American Latino Heritage Trail.

During Women’s History Month, notable woman such as Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim across the English Channel; Marie Kraus

This past September, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Herman Melville’s death (the famed author who penned the classic Moby Dick), Woodlawn Cemetery hosted a program entitled, “Celebrating Melville: Writer for the World,” that featured a lecture series by Dr. John Bryant, President of the Melville Society.

For more information log onto www.thewoodlawncemetery.org.

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The Wesleyan Navaratri Festival Celebrates Its Fortieth Year

By Barbara Malinsky o to India without a passport! Come to Wesleyan University and immerse yourself in its culture at the multi-day Navaratri Festival taking place in October. The actual date of the festival is determined astrologically but occurs every October at Wesleyan. You may wonder why such a fantastic array of Indian music, song, and dance takes place in our small state of Connecticut. Wesleyan University has one of the top ethnomusicology programs in the country.

It prides itself as having top Indian talent in its department and that esteemed faculty has been responsible for creating and directing this festival.

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The Navaratri Festival (nava meaning nine in Sanskrit and ratri meaning nights) is typically a nine-day festival honoring the goddess Durga

who is considered the mother of the universe and believed to be the power behind the world of creation. She has nine manifestations that are celebrated in the Navaratri Festival but a nine-day festival is not practical. Wesleyan’s festival is abbreviated to a few days and honors the goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and art, who is one aspect of Durga. The festival began as Jody Cormack a regular event in 1976.

Viswanathan, wife of Tanjore Viswanathan, explained the evolution of the event. “My husband was a classical South Indian flautist and vocalist. When I first met him, he and his brother Tanjore Ranganathan, (who played the mridangam - a two headed drum), were on the west coast as music faulty at California Institute of the Arts. Both bothers were descendents from seven

generations of musicians, singers, and dancers. In the Fall of 1975, Wesleyan’s Music Department wooed them to come east and teach.”

“Ranganathan was the first Artist-in-Residence in Wesleyan’s World Music program, and Viswanathan (a prominent concertizing musician in India) had been a doctoral candidate at Wesleyan. “When they left California all of their advanced students followed them in order to continue their studies. Several of us enrolled in Wesleyan’s undergraduate and graduate programs. I eventually received my PhD at Wesleyan, specializing in South Indian vocal music and Adjunct Professor David Nelson earned his PhD, specializing in the south Indian drum tradition.”

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“Although a modest Navaratri celebration had briefly taken place at Wesleyan under the guidance of former faculty from India, Viswanathan wanted to establish it as a yearly event that included whatever top Indian artists he could engage. Because of his own esteemed reputation, he was able to attract the crème de la crème of Indian talent and over the years we hosted many great musicians. Of course, it was great press for Wesleyan, hosting artists of that caliber.

Because funds were limited, our efforts during those first years were very home grown and organic. To save money, some of the concert slots were filled by advanced American students of Indian music. With Viswanathan as head chef, students and friends would join together to make ticketed dinners that would accommodate around 120 people.

We decorated the concert space ourselves, made flower garlands and put up traditional

Indian hangings. It was all a lot of fun. The festival was held in the World Music Hall which was a wonderful, intimate space but which is no longer possible because of new occupancy regulations.”

The festival begins with a free colloquium by PhD Candidate Joseph Getter, Building at Home: The First Half-Century of Music and Dance of India at Wesleyan on Thursday, October 27.

The Vocal Music of South India takes place the following evening at Crowell Concert Hall.

David Nelson, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music will perform on the mridangam, a double-headed drum, accompanied by vocalist

and Adjunct Professor of Music B. Balasubrahmaniyan, and violinist Sandhya Anand. Professor Nelson shared some of the points of interest of South Indian Music.

“All Southern Indian Music (Carnatic Music) is

72 devotional in its lyrics. The entire body of South Indian classical song consists of about 10,000 songs with text. The songs date back to the seventh century but the body of work performed is from the second half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century.”

The difference between Indian and Western music is that Western music follows chord structures and scales. “South Indian vocal music has no chord structures; it consists of hundreds of scales and melodic phrases specific to the scales. The components of the music are raga

towards the last third of the concert. If you are uninitiated, the tones create a hypnotic effect and transport you to another realm.

Saturday presents Shankar, an Indianborn American violinist, singer, and composer who earned a PhD in from Wesleyan ethnomusicology University in 1974, and co-founded the group Shakti with British guitar player John McLaughlin the next year and other major contemporary musicians. He is known for his fusion of Indian music with other forms.

Sunday begins with Saraswati Puja, a Hindu ceremony that is a religious service, led by A. V. Srinivasan, and marks the most auspicious day of the year for the beginning new endeavors.

or melody, tala or meter, and poetic text. The solo artist (who is either a singer or an instrumentalist) is the dominant component. The drum is pitched to the singer/instrument while the instrumentalists follow the solo performer who keeps the tala (or rhythmic cycle) going using hand gestures, waves of the hand, and claps. The solo artist is always the leader.”

The ensemble consists of a drummer, melodic accompanist (often a violinist), singer, and tambura, which provides the drone and is played on an upright stringed instrument. There is no sheet music since the music is learned by rote from one’s guru or teacher. These are the technical elements of South Indian vocal music.

What you will hear at this year’s Navaratri will be tight ensemble work from the drummer, violinist, and singer. There will be sung freerhythmic improvisation, the compositions themselves, and an extended drum solo

The grand finale takes place on Sunday afternoon with a festival of dance. Classical Indian dance is rooted in devotion (bhakti) and the celebration of the Infinite Source. Direct from Bangalore, the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble will dazzle you with its intricate forms, costumes, and musicality. Although there are many forms of Indian dance, they will perform Odissi, which originates in the state of Orissa where dance dates back to the first century BCE. Many dance movements have been recreated from the temple sculptures in Orissa. However, dance and music were also part of the daily

offerings made to the deities in the temples and formed an integral part of the ritual worship inside these sacred spaces.

According to Surupa Sen, Artistic Director and choreographer for Nritragam, “Our dancers cross train in many different techniques to be able to appreciate and learn from other art forms.”

The performance will include six dancers and five musicians. The program will have a mix of duets, trios, and group performances that will include abstract as well as storytelling dance accompanied by live music. The dancers will be costumed in elaborate silk with silver jewelry.

There will also be English explanations before each piece accompanied by a short demonstration if there is a story along with some hand gestures to enable the audience to follow the dance in a more informed manner. Dance Magazine has acclaimed this group. “The ensemble mesmerized a sold-out audience with its artistry, energy, technique, and beauty.”

For specific times and further information go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/navaratri

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“It’s wonderrful to be coming hom me to Mysticc.”

THEE REEMAARRKABLE PEOPLE L OF MA ASONICA AR RE AT RE AT MYS STIC “I was awarree of M Masonicar asonicarree’s grreat eat rreputation eputation while doingg hospital volunteer work andd when I hearrdd that they werree building a new retir retirrement community c in M Mystic, ystic, I signed right up. What could be a morree perrfect fect marriage than a home in a place I love, crreated eated bbyy M Masonicar asonicarre, people I knoow and trust?”

—Dorothy Atkinson, futurree resident resident dent

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n the case of Dorothy Atkinson, her autobiography phy would be filled with an innumerable number of impresssive personal accomplishments—and many chapters wou uld have to be devoted to her love and dedication to tthe development and preservation of the timeless beauty uty in her beloved childhood home, the Village Village of Mysttic.

Dorothy explains, “I was born and raised in Mystic, aand my family was involved in the Village Village’s early civic aand business growth going back to the turn of the centuryy— it’s so wonderful to be coming home.

With the decision to move to Masonicare at Mysttic, Dorothy’s enthusiasm and energy will become a val aluaable resource and inspiration, helping to shape this new and unique retirement community. y. Dorothy Atkinson is an example of the remarkable friends and neighbors who will be enjoying life at Masonicare at Mystic.

OPENING PENING NOVEM VEMBER 2016 Call 860-543-4529 today f a personall appointment. for i t nt. t !"#$%$"#$"&'()*)"+','-..).&$#'()*)"+',''/$012 ' ' '' 23'452$ 3'452$ Masonicare at at Mystic Sal ales Office: 23 Cla lara ra Driv ive, Mystic, CT masonicare-mystic.org

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The Cast Members

Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop, Centerbrook CT

In the United States there are considered to be seven major cow breeds as listed by the Purebred Dairy Cattle Association. In an article by Michael Looper, Professor and Department head from the University of Arkansas, he lists the butterfat content of each breed which is shown in parenthesis in ascending order:

Milk and the cows that produce it

Milking Shorthorn (3.59%) This breed was originally used as both a beef and dairy animal. To my eye, this breed looks like beef cattle. Milking Shorthorns come in several colors, with different shades of red, red and white, and sometimes solid white.

They weigh in around 1,200 to 1,300 pounds and produce around 17,000 pounds of milk per year.

think there may be very few people who dislike cheese. I even know people who say they do not like it but paradoxically eat pizza. Where would we be without it? No fondue?

Holstein (3.64%) This largest breed of cow, weighing in at 1,500 pounds on average, is recognized by its striking black and white color. Holsteins also produce the largest quantity of milk of all breeds, about 25,000 pounds per year, but they are also known for producing milk with lower butterfat content.

The Holstein breed accounts for almost 90% of the milk cows in The United States.

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Milk is such an important staple in our everyday diet. In addition to drinking it, we cook and consume it in so many forms: butter, cream, ice cream and cheese, just to name a few. So I thought it time to discuss the origins of cheese – milk, and the cows that produce this white gold.

Butterfat Content Milk is sold with different amounts of butterfat content: whole milk, 2%, 1% and non-fat. However, the percentage of butterfat content in the milk that cows produce can differ between breeds. This amount will vary from 3.5% to as high as 5% or more. The amount of fat in milk will also depend on the time of year the milk is produced. Cows that graze on fresh spring and summer grass may yield more butterfat and slightly sweeter milk than cows eating drier matter during fall and winter. However, nutrition can vary and there is no set rule here as to what season is best for more butterfat. Cows in both early and late lactation produce more butter fat than then cows in mid lactation.

Milk types with lower butterfat content simply have varying amounts of butterfat removed. This is accomplished by letting milk sit, then skimming off the cream which rises to the top. Whole milk is basically milk straight from a cow where nothing has been done to alter its butterfat content.

Often, butterfat is removed expressly for cheese-making consistency since the steady percentage of fat in the milk results in a consistenttasting cheese.

As a point of interest, the other day I was reading the signage on a 2% milk carton which stated that it contained 38% less fat than whole milk. This wording can create the illusion of a big difference in fat content. Although the numbers are technically correct, this is actually taking a product – milk straight from a cow – that has less than 4% fat to begin with, down to 2% percent, a difference of about 1.5% of the total volume of milk.

(By the way, there is a similar issue with decaffeinated coffees that state 99% of the caffeine has been removed. Once again, this is technically correct. However, considering that Arabica coffee only contains 1% caffeine to begin with, they are simply removing 99% of the 1% it started with. Food for thought, this is my perspective on the issue.)

There is much talk today about how the theory of avoiding as much fat as possible may not be the right thing to do. I recently read a review by Dr. Mario Kratz in the European Journal of Nutrition. The article states that “people who eat full-fat dairy are no more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes than people who stick to low-fat dairy.” There are many others who feel that a high-fat diet is less likely to contribute to obesity than a low-fat diet. Personally, I feel moderation is the key.

Red and White (3.64%) This breed is a close relative to the Holsteins. The main difference is the red and white color that originally caused them to be culled from the Holstein breed. Not until the late 1960’s did Red and Whites become their own registered breed. Size and milk production is that of the Holstein breed.

Ayrshire (3.88%) Originally from the county of Ayrshire in Scotland, this very strong breed is known for large milk production – about 17,000 pounds per year. Ayrshires are usually brown or slight cherry red and white in color. They average about 1,200 pounds in size.

Brown Swiss (3.98%) Originated in the Swiss Alps, this is a very old breed of cows dating back a few thousand years. (photo left) Brown Swiss milk has higher butterfat content than most other breeds, weighing around 1,300 to 1,500. They are usually a light brown color, with a black nose and tongue. These cows produce 20,000 pounds of milk per year and their high butterfat yield makes for very good cheese-making.

Guernsey (4.46%) With an unusual golden milk color, it is no surprise that milk from this 1,100 pound cow is used more for cheese-making then drinking. The Guernsey breed is marked by a typically light brown coat and clear nose; they produce about 16,000 pounds of milk per year.

Jersey (4.64%) One of the more popular breeds, after the Holsteins, Jersey milk produces the highest butterfat. Hence, these cows are known as the “cheese breed.” Jerseys originate from the British Island of Jersey and are smaller, weighing around 900 to 1000 pounds and producing 16,000 to 17,000 pounds of milk yearly.

As a matter of interest, Buffalo milk is the highest butterfat-producing animal milk that is normally used for cheese. Buffalo yield can reach two and three times higher than that of cows.

I give thanks to the farmers who work 24/7 to provide us with milk.

Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop

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By Jessica Maloney of Saltwater Farm Vineyard

The Harvest or the Saltwater Farm Vineyard Harvest hough it may sound glamorous operating a vineyard and winery, managing and cultivating a vineyard is year round work which requires both expertise and lots of manual labor. While there are many long, chilly, lonely days spent mounding and pruning the vines during the winter months, the growing season for grapes in Southeastern CT is typically mid-May thru late September or October.

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Throughout the spring and summer there are several practices utilized to encourage a prosperous crop. Before the growth cycle begins, shoot thinning to two primary canes per vine minimizes the number of fruitful shoots, the intention being to produce fewer but higher quality grape clusters.

Hedging (cutting back the leaf growth on the tops and sides of the grapevines) throughout the summer ensures nutrients are going primarily to the grape clusters and not excess foliage. And leaf thinning around the base of the canopy during the summer months increases airflow, reducing the risk of damage from disease and moisture, and increases sun exposure, both of which are crucial to the grapes’ maturation.

Hot, dry summers are ideal conditions for reaching high sugar levels ultimately converted to alcohol in the grapes, while too much rain or humidity can be problematic. If all has gone favorably, by the end of August the grapes should be experiencing veraison, the onset of ripening. Arguably the most beautiful stage of the grapes growth cycle, out in the vineyard veraison can be noted by the red grapes inparticular, as they transition from green skins to speckled purple to dark purple.

September and October can be ‘make it or break it’ months for the year’s crop as inconsistencies in weather and temperature must be monitored and the continued maturity of the the grapes must be weighed against the risk of physical damage to the crop. Wildlife, including birds and deer, can also be a threat to the harvest as they help themselves to some of the ripening fruit. For example, our Pinot Noir is both figuratively and quite literally thin-skinned and very susceptible to both disease and damage if left on the vine too long while also being a favorite of our resident deer, so it is generally harvested the earliest.

In ideal conditions our white grapes (Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) along with the Pinot Noir are harvested at the end of September. As long as the weather holds and there is not an early frost or major weather event such as a tropical storm, the Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes will be left on the vine until the last week of October. Harvest days start early at sunrise and can continue until dusk with all harvesting being done by hand.

Yellow plastic bins, called lugs, are placed between the rows of vines about 10 yards apart, each holding approximately 20 lbs or more of fruit. The tractor, its trailer, and a couple of strong vineyard crew collect them a few dozen at a time. Typically only one variety of grape will be harvested in a single day, the goal being harvesting the entire varietals crop in one day so that vinification (winemaking) can begin.

Throughout harvest day, as the grapes are brought into the winery, they are prepped for fermentation. White grapes are brought immediately to press.

The grapes are crushed with a bladder press removing the skins from contact with the juice, as our white wines are fermented without allowing any skin contact. Conversely, red grapes are not pressed immediately and are

put thru a machine which de-stems the clusters (removing stems and any intacted foliage) while maintaining contact of the juice and skins for the duration of fermentation. It is not until after fermentation that the skins are removed from the red wine (pressed) and then aged in oaked.

Thus far, 2016 has been an impressive growing season with hot temperatures driving sugar levels up and our proximity to the ocean keeping the humidity relatively low considering its oppressive and lasting presence this summer. But as the English proverb warns, you should not count your chickens - or in our case grapes - before they have ‘hatched’ and we are guardedly optimistic that Mother Nature will continue to cooperate and we realize another abundant harvest this fall.

Saltwater Farm Vineyard encourages volunteers to join in the harvest.

For more information about volunteering visit our website www.saltwaterfarmvineyard.com.

Join Saltwater Farm Vineyard at their newest spot, M/BAR, for a selection of their Stonington-grown and produced wines, as well as an international wine list, exclusively local craft beer on draft and their signature craft cocktail list. Enjoy evening service Wednesday - Sunday and breakfast and lunch seven days a week starting at 7am.

Wines to try @ M/BAR estate "Gold Arc" Chardonnay, Saltwater Farm Vineyard, 2014 Aging in French oak barrels confers softness while still retaining a refreshing citrus backbone.

Cabernet Rosé, Saltwater Farm Vineyard, 2015 Pretty and floral in appearance. Playful brine aromatics introduce the wine while delicate flavors of dried strawberries linger on the finish. estate Cabernet Franc, Saltwater Farm Vineyard, 2013 Charming and aromatic... this flirtatious wine has a presence of violet, rich blackberries and hints of espresso bean, cardamom, tobacco leaf and cracked pepper.

Brut Reserve, Pol Roger, Épernay, Champagne, FRA, NV A man of sophisticated taste, a favorite of Sir Winston Churchill.

Rosé, Commanderie de la Bargemone, Coteaus d'air, Provence, FRA, 2015 A quintessential Provencal rosé: fresh, focused and classically dry.

Bright acidity, beautiful balance and a clean finish.

Riesling, Alfred Merkelbach, Wurzgarten Kabinett, Mosel, Germany, 2014 A Riesling that might upend previous notions of this grape. Quite dry and invigorating with very little residual sugar.

2014 "Juvenile" Zinfandel, Napa, CA A cuvée of vines up to eighty years old, the provenance of Turley epitomizes perhaps the best zinfandel to ever derive from California properties.

OCTOBER EVENTS

80 October 9 Westbrook End of Season Pig Roast.

We're gearing up for a great pig roast on Columbus Day Weekend!

Join us at the Westbrook Town Beach on Sunday October 9 (rain or shine) from 1-4pm to celebrate our end of the season. We'll be serving expertly smoked pigs, house made cole slaw, potato salad and baked beans, and corn on the cob with freshly sliced watermelon to finish. Tickets are $20 per person or $25 at the door and includes one plate of food and one soft drink. Please contact John Annello at 860.662.3081 for more details and to purchase your tickets. Hog Wild, 392 Seaside Avenue, Westbrook, CT October 1-28 Westbrook “Seasons on the Shoreline” at the Valentine H. Zahn Community Gallery at Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center. The exhibition features fine art quilts by members of Sisters in Cloth. The Gallery is open during regular business hours and is located at 250 Flat Rock Place, Westbrook, CT. For more information, contact Middlesex Hospital at 860-358-6200 or info@midhosp.org.

October 1 - November 19 Courtyard Gallery, Mystic's Hidden Treasure.

"The Beginning of Something Beautiful" The Courtyard Gallery has become known for diverse and eclectic work in all media and styles, and our fall offering is no exception. Seasoned art lovers and those just starting to collect can find something that suits their personalities and tastes among the beautiful and constantly changing work all of our talented artists bring to the Courtyard. This fall you'll find new work by all of our gallery artists arranged and hung comfortably together, including paintings by Ralph Acosta, Sunil Howlader, Sarah Stifler Lucas, Christopher Zhang, Sheila Barbone, Craig Masten, Charles Liguori, Lee Chabot, Susan Shaw, Del-Bourree Bach, sculpture and mixed media works by Jillian Barber, Robert Scutt, Susan Van Winkle, Howard Lewis, Amy Hannum, David Madacsi, Carol Dunn, Lori Rembetski, Serena Bates (whose whimsical Harbor Seals are shown here) and many others. Be sure to join us for one of our Sunday Salons, weekly from 3-6PM, join artists and collectors for wine, refreshments and a chance to add a beautiful new treasure to your collection. Gallery fall hours: Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat 11-6, Sun12-6 and always by appointment or chance. 12 Water Street - B3, Mystic, CT 06355, http://www.courtyardgallerymystic.com/ 860.536.5059 October 7 - November 5 Madison The Susan Powell Fine Art Gallery will kick off its fall season with an opening party Friday, October 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the gallery, at 679 Boston Post Road, Madison. All are invited to meet the artists. The exhibit, New England Impressions will run from Friday, October 7 to Saturday, November 5, and showcases landscapes, seascapes, shoreline views and still lifes by 24 nationally-acclaimed artists including Del-Bourree Bach, Ira Barkoff, Peter Bergeron, Dan Brown, David Dunlop, John Falato, Carol Jenkins, James Magner, Leonard Mizerek, Deborah Quinn-Munson, Polly Seip, Dennis Sheehan and George Van Hook. "Dramatic shapes, light, color, and texture delight the senses," says gallery owner Susan Powell. "From bold brushwork and gesture of impressionist oils to realist depictions of seasonal panoramas, the exhibition presents a fantastic variety of views. Gallery Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and anytime by appointment. For more information, call 203-318-0616, email susanpowellfineart@gmail.com, or visit www.susanpowellfineart.com to see images.

October 23 New London Hot Cider Walk and Rally: An End to Domestic Violence.

The Power of Purple campaign will present its 4th Annual awareness raising event to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Hot Cider Walk and Rally: An End to Domestic Violence. This year, the Hot Cider Walk & Rally will feature the special theme of Safe Homes Include Safe Pets. At Safe Futures, the primary goal is to ensure the safety of the people who need help—and that includes their family members.The event will take place on Sunday, October 23 at the Beth El Synagogue, 660 Ocean Avenue in New London. The suggested donation is $10 for adults, children (under 18) are free; all registrants will receive a Power of Purple T-shirt and bracelet. For on line pre-registration and for more information, visit www.SafeFuturesCT.org or call (860) 884-8945.

October 27 Guilford Alopecia Gets Gorgeous!

Thursday October 27th 6 - 8 pm ANUYU Guilford, Ct If you have suffered hairloss in patches or complete baldness, join an exvlusive event at ANuYu as we host an evening with Andrea T o r r e Cosmetologist/Wig Expert, and Cosmetic Artist, Christine Zimmerman for YOU to try on beautiful wigs, meet others with Alopecia, have a makeup application and know that you are a among many thriving women with Alopecia Areata, RSVP to reserve spot by text 203-415-6047 or 203-453-1112. ANUYU 1100 Boston Post, Guilford, CT October 29 Clinton Cindy Stevens,a palette knife artist, and Clinton watercolor artist Bruce Lighty will be reuniting for a new show, Coastal Colors Part II, featuring local landscapes as well as scenes from Block Island and Monhegan Island in Maine. Their show last year was very successful so they decided to do a brand new show, with their new work! Please join Cindy and Bruce at an opening reception Saturday, October 29th from 5-8p.m. at Cindy Stevens Fine Art, 30 East Main Street, Clinton. Refreshments will be served. For gallery hours and more information call Cindy at 860-304-1666 or check Www.cindystevensfineart.com.