Ink Magazine - May 2019

May 2019

Complimentary

publicationsÂŽ

www.inkct.com

Vol 15 Issue 162 2019

A guide to finer living in Connecticut & abroad.

INFORMED + EMPOWERED

We’re

nding and treating breast cancer earlier.

Our Comprehensive Breast Center is the only one in Connecticut using dual-head molecular breast imaging to detect cancers mammography alone may miss. And our team works closely with patients to nd those at higher risk due to genetics or other factors. So, we can give closer attention, personalized support and peace of mind to women who need it most.

Together, it all adds up to the smarter choice for breast health.

MiddlesexHealth.org/empowered

MAKE EVERY DAY LEGENDARY. THE CULMINATION OF COMFORT, LUXURY, AND POWERFUL LIVING IS EMBODIED IN THE FIRST-EVER BMW X7 — THE BIGGEST BMW EVER BUILT.

Enjoy a curated collection of life-improving technology – from standard safety features to the cutting-edge developments of the latest onboard driver assistance systems. It’s time to experience the next level of comfort, luxury, and performance. Reserve your test drive in the BMW X7 today.

Special lease and nance offers available by BMW of New London through BMW Financial Services.

BMW of New London BMW of NewStreet, London 543 Colman 543 Colman Street, New London, CT 06320 New London, CT 06320 860-447-3141 860-447-3141 bmwofnewlondon.com bmwofnewlondon.com

Discover the Galapagos on the new Celebrity Flora

SM

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When you explore the unforgettable Galapagos Islands aboard the ship designed for this destination, you’ll save 50% off the second

guest with select packages of 10 or 11 nights.* Plus, get round-trip air

from the United States or Canada at no extra charge through Flights

by Celebrity when you book select packages of 10, 11, or 16 nights.*

Luxurious suites—yes, they’re all suites—are the largest sailing here, outward-facing design brings you closer than ever to the islands, and advanced technologies make Celebrity Flora as eco-friendly as she is stunning. You’ll have the vacation of a lifetime.

Sailing May 2019. Bookings now open. celebrity.com | 1-800-CELEBRITY | Call your travel advisor

† Air valued up to $1,500 per person including air taxes and fees. * Offers apply to new, individual bookings made March 12 to June 5, 2019, for select Galapagos cruises and cruise packages aboard Celebrity Flora departing May 26 to December 31, 2019.

Cruise Fare Savings offer: Galapagos cruise packages of 10 or 11 nights include half off the second guest’s cruise fare with the purchase of the first guest’s cruise fare at full price. Round-Trip Air offer: Galapagos cruise packages of 10, 11, or 16 nights receive round-trip air departing from US or Canadian gateways, booked via Flights by Celebrity. Guests with independent air arrangements may choose a $1,000 per person cruise fare savings instead of air via Flights by Celebrity. Offer applies to the first two guests in a stateroom, is subject to availability and change; is capacity controlled, nontransferable, and not combinable with any other offer; and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Air tickets may be purchased on a nonrefundable or refundable basis and are each subject to the cancellation terms of the applicable airlines and Flights by Celebrity. Offers are available to residents of the United States and Canada. Refer to Cruise Ticket Contract for additional terms and conditions. Celebrity reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, and to change or update fares, fees, and surcharges at any time without prior notice. ©2019 Celebrity Cruises Inc. Ships’ registry: Ecuador.

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www.inkct.com

Features

MAY 2019

Nothing Wrong With“Lo Mismo” Cuckoo’s Nest Continues to Delight

pg. 10

This Decorator has NO Attitude!

“Let Cottage Whimsey Do Something Beautiful For You.”

pg. 18

Columns, Reviews, Events

ISSUE CONTENTS

Cardinal Points Not Narcissus, Great Egret, St. Augustine, Florida

pg. 36

Crusty Old Diver Fishing On The Dock of The Bay

pg. 60

The Cheesemonger The Cheese Pairing Collection, by Blake Hill

pg. 74

On the Vine Organic Wines

pg. 76

Food Thoughts from Italy It’s Really Springtime In Italy and Connecticut

pg. 78

April Events Upcoming Events in Connecticut

pg. 80

INK is much more than a magazine. It is an illustration of Connecticut life. A drive down winding roads past innocent looking gravel driveways.

There are big things happening at the other end of those driveways. Our

Roll Past the Barrel!

state is filled with the most amazing people doing incredible things.

Barrel Racing is Turning Everything Around.

Ingenuity and purposeful living abounds. You really never know who

pg. 26

commerce intertwine. Whether you call Connecticut home, or you’ve

you are talking to. Artisanship is second nature here; art, culture, and come to“get away from it all” one thing is for certain. You know what you love about being here. Our devotion is and always has been to capture the “Connecticut experience” one story at a time.

“Your neighbor just designed a new postage stamp and the gentleman down

Let There Be Light The Night Photography of David Zapatka.

pg. 42

the street discovered Machu Pichu.” For over a decade, Ink Publications has documented Connecticut residents and life here in the Nutmeg state. Today more than ever, we take great pride in telling these stories.

from all of us at Ink On the Cover: Race Rock Lighthouse, Long Island Sound southwest of Fishers Island, New York. Photo by David Zaptka

INK staff Dean Keller: Connecticut’s Monuments Man

pg. 52

Contributors:

Advertising:

Jeffery Lilly- originator/founder/publisher

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

Stephanie Sittnick - founder/publisher/sales design/account receivables Carolyn Battisa - editorial Sloan Brewster- editorial Alison Kaufman - editorial/photos Mark Seth Lender - editorial/photos Barbara Malinsky - editorial Rona Mann - editorial

Serena Bates:

A. Vincent Scarano - editorial/photos

Making Sculpture, Telling Stories

Anne Semmes - editorial

pg. 64

John Tolmie - editorial/photos

Please direct your advertising inquiries and questions to: Stephanie Sittnick - Director of Advertising advertising@ink-pub.com - 860-227-8199 Cheryl Powell - Greater Connecticut cheryl@ink-pub.com - 860-608-5749 Rona Mann - Greater Connecticut six07co@att.net - 401-539-7762 Jacki Hornish - Litchfield jacki@inkct - 860-488-0393 Richard Malinski - Art & Culture/Shoreline richard@inkct.com - 215-704-9273

Every issue is printed using 100% Soy based ink.

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.

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

INK PUBLISHING, LLC 71 Maple Avenue, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 email: submissions@ink-pub.com www.inkct.com

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CONCEIVED AND ORIGINALLY DIRECTED BY JOHN-MICHAEL MUSIC AND NEW LYRICS BY STEPHEN

MAY 22 - JUNE 16

TEBELAK SCHWARTZ

FO R T I C KE T S , VI S I T IVO RYT O NPLAYHO USE . O RG

103 MAIN STREET | IVORYTON, CT 06442 | 860.767.7318

David Dunlop COLOR AND LUMINANCE

MAY 10 TO JUNE 22, 2019 Opening: Friday, May 10, 5-8 pm

SUSAN POWELL FINE ART 679 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT 203 318 0616 www.susanpowell neart.com

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Discovering New Beauty Watercolor Landscapes of the Northeast

On view April 27 - August 3, 2019 Drawn largely from the Lyman Allyn’s permanent collection, this exhibition features watercolors of the forest, elds, hills, shoreline, and sea.

William Trost Richards, The Rocks at Newport, Rhode Island, 1881, gouache on paper, private collection.

Lyman Allyn

625 Williams Street New London, CT 06320 A R T M U S E U M www.lymanallyn.org

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Photo by Jeffery Lilly

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Nothing Wrong With “Lo Mismo” Cuckoo’s Nest Continues to Delight

by RONA MANN

When you’ve got something that’s working – that’s been working for 43 years – you don’t mess with it.

B

ut you do keep a watchful eye on it, every single day. You do listen to your customers, every single day. You keep delivering nothing but fresh and from-scratch food, every single day. And every now and then, when the mood hits, you do tweak it.

This is Cuckoo’s Nest (no “the” in their name), that delightful award-winning restaurant that’s been feeding the coastline for 43 years. Yes, it’s Mexican food, but it’s also Southwestern food, it’s fresh seafood, and the best meats. It’s crisp salads, hamburgers, hot dogs, street tacos, and fajitas. It’s steak and seafood and New Orleans Cajun gumbo and made-fresh-daily soups. It’s also a gluten free menu, something for the vegetarian, and something for the omnivore. In short, Cuckoo’s Nest is YOUR kind of place, a place you can frequent...well, frequently, because there are so many menu choices and so many different kinds of cuisine. Think Mexican food is heavy? “Not at all,” says Mari, who laughingly gives her title at the restaurant as “Observe and Suggest.” “That’s a stigma that’s wrong. Here we have a lot of vegetables, fresh meat, and fish...you won’t go to sleep after lunch!”

Left to right: Gregorio Laramunaz, Heather Emanuelson, Omar Torres, Edmilson Souza

Customers who frequent Cuckoo’s Nest do so for the atmosphere (fun and friendly), the waitstaff (knowledgeable, and also fun and friendly), and Jason, holder of the title of Best Bartender Statewide. To say Jason is “fun and friendly” is an understatement. He is exactly what every restaurateur wants in their bartender and exactly what every customer wants from their bartender. He is chatty and friendly, without being annoying or cloying. He can mix up a mean Margarita or anything else you care to throw at him, and best of all – most important of all – he KNOWS his customers. “He remembers everyone, what they drink, and how they like it,” says Heather Emanuelson, co-owner and General Manager of Cuckoo’s Nest.

Great drinks and company where happy hour always lives up to it’s name. Photo by Jeffery Lilly

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Both she and Eddie Souza, her partner, have a long history with the restaurant, and that makes for the best kind of owners because they know it from every side. Heather started as a waitress and put herself through college by waiting tables at Cuckoo’s Nest, while Eddie toiled in the kitchen, first as a dishwasher, later becoming Head Chef.

That’s the thing about this very special

Jason Guercia, voted best at the bar.

restaurant: there’s a consistency of employment and a loyalty that’s unmatched by the employees.

Eddie enjoys showing off the kitchen, and why not? It is thoroughly whistle clean. “The inspectors who come through here always say this is the place they would bring their families because it’s so clean,” he says with enviable pride. There’s certainly every reason for pride because when it comes to cleanliness and order, Souza is a tough taskmaster. Everything in “his kitchen” has a place, everything is in its place, and every place is immaculate, being constantly and consistently cleaned. From the smiling lady who makes desserts from scratch, to the grills, to the ovens where tortillas and nachos are

fashioned, to the walk-in cooler and freezer, it is not hard to see why such a wonderful product comes out of this space every day.

Sundays at Cuckoo’s Nest features their famous All-You-Can-Eat Buffet, a mouth-watering variety of food including an omelette station, taco bar, carving station, french toast, ham, Cajun specialties, Mexican favorites, desserts, and more. It’s served from 10AM-2PM in addition to Cuckoo Nest’s regular menu, and offered at the astounding price of just $15.99.

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Make your reservation now to join Heather, Eddie, Jason, and Mari for the Mother’s Day Buffet with added meat and seafood specials and a family-friendly price tag of only $19.99 per person. After all, Mother always taught you to be careful with money, and she always loved good food. It’s a win-win!

Perhaps “Christmas” for Cuckoo’s Nest each year and their customers is Cinco de Mayo, coming up this Sunday. It’s an ongoing celebration from the moment the doors open until they close. Enjoy the five piece Mariachi band, face and body art, a specially decorated wall of flowers to serve as a background for your selfies, delicious specials in addition to the regular menu, drink specials featuring the Nest’s own select tequila, live music in the evening, and nothing but happy people enjoying food and fun.

Planning a party this spring or summer?

Whether it’s for graduation, out of town guests, a birthday, or just because, Cuckoo’s Nest has both an indoor and outdoor party space, each seating up to 60 people. Let Eddie or Heather individually tailor a menu for your guests, so you don’t have to cook or clean up and can fully enjoy the fiesta that’s always what Cuckoo’s Nest is about. Come on a Thursday or Sunday and enjoy live music to complement your event.

Chefs Peter and Greg delight in creating specials that change weekly and

are posted on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, so be sure to check them out; and being creative chefs, they also enjoy tweaking their already popular recipes, in Spanish a term known as “retocar.”

Recently the restaurant partnered with Hot Lady, a family and veteran-owned company that produces a very special Sriracha Hot Sauce. Eddie is so impressed with what it does for food and drink, he has incorporated it into many of the restaurant’s offerings, so be sure to give it a try when you’re there.

Consistency. Some restaurants don’t bother with it, they just put out the food and hope people will like it, even though it may not be the same every time their customer dines.

Others wish for consistency, but aren’t willing to put in the effort to ensure it. Then there’s Cuckoo’s Nest: consistent in their

food preparation, consistent in service, consistent at the bar, at Sunday brunch, and in the party rooms.

Guess that’s why they’ve been around for 43 years and why they’re consistently winning kudos and awards from magazines, newspapers, and food reviewers; however the award that means the most to Eddie, Heather, Mari, and their staff comes from their customers who consistently return for good food, good service, a good drink; and most of all, a good time….every time.

Cuckoo’s Nest: 43 years of “lo mismo.” In Spanish, that’s “the same,” and that’s not bad!

Go have a good time at Cuckoo’s Nest, 1712 Boston Post Road (Rt. 1) in Old Saybrook. (860) 399-9060.

Check out their extensive menu and see the upcoming events: www.cuckoosnest.biz

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In our idyllic setting near the Connecticut shoreline, hospitality and refinement merge to perfection.

Here’s a place designed to cultivate your interests, your activities and the bounty of your well-tended lifestyle.

VEM. 860-581-4881

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If you must break apart, do it together.

With a focus on mediation for divorce, custody and financial matters, I help my clients successfully resolve issues in a private, less costly setting, thus avoiding the financial and emotional costs of litigation.

Law Offices of

Miriam Gardner-Frum 860-440-3933 | ctdivorceandmediation.com

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photo by Stephanie Sittnick

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This Decorator has NO Attitude!

“Let Cottage Whimsey Do Something Beautiful For You.”

by RONA MANN

Carol Cyr is a happy woman.

Different than many because she is perfectly content where she is right now. She has worked hard to get where she is, but has thoroughly enjoyed every day she put in to getting there. She has a successful business. She has customers who have easily evolved into friends over the many years spanning her career. And she makes people happy because when you're always surrounded by the kind of beauty that reflects you and your family, you are at peace.

There is no more personal level on which you can meet someone than on their turf...their home. Their safe place. The place where they can be themselves, the place

where they prepare their meals, rear their children, dream their dreams and relax without judgment. It's personal, very personal, and that's where Carol Cyr enters the picture.

That’s why Cyr loves what she does.

She is not a realtor, nor a home builder, but she is a home beautifier. As the delightful proprietor of Cottage Whimsey in Old Saybrook, Cyr spends every day at the appealing space she has created, meeting people with whom she will work, helping to make their dreams real, helping them to create their own beauty, whether they have a tiny loft, an office, or a seaside mansion. It matters not to Carol if they want her help in doing or re-doing their entire space, or just want a newly upholstered cushion for the living room; she still gets that rush of inspiration and creative juice flowing with every project.

Although Cyr's background is that of a decorator, she now happily refers to what she does as, "Most of my job is to keep people from making mistakes." Then she laughs because she readily acknowledges that "everyone has needs and wants, but not everyone can physically make them happen. I can and do.”

Cyr has owned the iconic Cottage Whimsey for ten years now, having taken the reins of the well-established home decorating den in 2009.

“It always had an outstanding reputation,” Cyr begins, “so I was not about to change the

Carol Cyr and Winnie LoGioco, photo by Stephanie Sittnick

20 just days from the Boston Post Road location to their home on the new Middlesex Turnpike. It is not only larger, but also not lacking windows, so the space is continuously bathed in light. Customers can hold upholstery samples up to the light and see true colors, and there is also a working studio and workroom downstairs so Cyr can create her magic right on site. She also has added to her business the unique practice of mentoring customers who want to do their own work, right in that downstairs studio...hence the comment, “I keep people from making mistakes!”

name. This is what people knew and liked, and I liked the name ‘Cottage Whimsey as well.”

Last October the bolts of fabric, the window treatments, the wallpaper books, and more were straining at the very seams at Cottage Whimsey’s Boston Post Road location, so it was time for a move. “I had been looking for a while,” Carol said, “but it had to be just the right space.” Now it is.

Like a caravan of Bedouins, the Cottage Whimsey staff moved the entire operation in

Cyr has always believed in the old adage about measuring before cutting, since the saying goes, "Measure twice, cut once." However, she thinks you should measure as many times as it takes to get it right...and then, and only then, do you cut!

The upstairs portion of Cottage Whimsey is all at once a light and airy place with what seems to be hundreds of sample books throughout.

Still, there is no clutter here. A customer comes in looking for new upholstery fabric saying, “I like flowers, but I don’t want a big pattern. I want a smaller design.” The words

hardly leave her lips before Carol Cyr knows the exact book to select from the shelves.

"Here," she offers, "take a look at these for a while. If you don't find anything that suits you, we've got plenty more." What an understatement, because if it involves fabric, wallpaper, or window treatments, they’ve got it in spades at Cottage Whimsey!

Just a glance at some of the samples, and you may well find names you easily recognize, easily the best in the business: Ralph Lauren, Laura Ashley, Romo, Brunshwig & Fils, Schumacher, Hinson, Jane Churchill, Robert Allen, Cowan & Tout...the list seems endless.

Looking for new window treatments? You will be dazzled at Cottage Whimsey for they offer classic fitted wood shutters, Hunter Douglas honeycombs, roman shades, tailored cornices, draperies; plus hard window treatments such as shades, blinds, and shutters; soft window treatments like sheers, curtains, swags, valances, and roman shades; or perhaps a combination of both called a layered window treatment. There are woven woods, cellular shades, pleated blinds, verticals, cordless and motorized shades for child safety, panel tracks...and if all this is confusing, that’s why Carol Cyr is there to guide, to suggest, to come

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to your home or office, look at the space, do all the measuring professionally, and help you find the look YOU want. Cyr has no

decorator’s attitude; her only goal is to make your home a comfortable place for YOU, decorated to reflect YOUR taste. “It’s a process,” Cyr says. “I ask a lot of questions, show samples, have lots of patience. There are so many variables. We work till the customer says it works,” and for the hundreds of homes, offices, inns, and restaurants Carol has helped decorate, indeed it works.

Want to bring Carol some photos? She'll welcome them but will still want to go visit your space so that it will be done and done right, the only way she knows how to do things. “We’ll go anywhere,” she says cheerfully. “Connecticut, New York, wherever the customer is.”

You will also find custom furniture at Cottage Whimsey, just another

offering from the talented Carol Cyr. She will work with anyone, bring lots of experience to the table, and bring it with no attitude at all because above all, she has the highest respect for the way a client feels about their home, and that earns her respect before she ever cuts a piece of fabric for you.

Come see what’s new for your home at Cottage Whimsey, now located at 375 Middlesex Turnpike in Old Saybrook. www.cottagewhimsey.com (860) 395-0636

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BE ORIGINAL Original Art | Original Gifts | Original Lifestyle

Come see “The Sky’s the Limit” show in the Gallery!

Original Fine Art Silks & Textiles Soaps/Candles

Local Pottery Woodworking Journals/Cards

Tables/Benches

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Needle Felting

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A small piece of “Moon over Stratocumulus” by Gigi Horr Liverant – come see the rest!

22 Darling Road, Salem 860.608.6526 Thurs-Sun 10am-7pm

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Linda Bonaiuto-Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara whirls round a barrel with Preacher.

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Roll Past the Barrel!

Barrel Racing is Turning Everything Around.

By Sloan Brewster

W

hen Linda Bonaiuto-O'Hara found a barrel racer named Preacher, not only did she discover a new discipline that helped her through the loss of her beloved show horse, she also took on an activity she could share with her daughter.

It's been only four years since Linda, age 55, started barrel racing – a rodeo event in which a horse and rider race through a triangular course whipping around three carefully placed barrels. She became involved in the sport to take her mind off of the numbing grief. Now she does it competitively.

In 2015, she and her daughter Brittany O'Hara lost three horses. The first to go was Brittany's horse, Tiara, whom she had to put down because of an injury a week after she gave birth to her son. Then, about five months later, the horse Linda had for 20 years – Camous Custom, or “Cammy”– died. Linda's heartache was so fierce she almost gave up riding. "I think my heart was broken; first of all, she was my best friend," Linda said. "Other than say, my husband, she knew everything."

For weeks, Linda would not get on a horse, and then a woman who boarded horses at her farm – Fortunato Farm – in Killingworth, told her to "snap out of it." Linda bucked up and took a ride on Sugar, a barrel racer the woman was boarding. At that time, Lady, Brittany's first horse and a barrel racer, was 31 years old and could no longer be ridden. Sugar had a comparable lineage to the elder horse, and Linda noticed the similarities right away. “As soon as she got back to the barn she said to me, ‘Oh my God, Brittany, you have to ride Sugar, it's just like riding Lady,'" Brittany said.

Brittany ultimately bought Sugar, and that summer, at the Goshen Stampede, she and the horse competed in their first barrel race.

Several months later, Lady died. Brittany said she attributes the older horse's death, at least in part, to the fact that she had a new horse, and "I would be okay."

Meanwhile, Linda realized she was ready for another horse but knew she didn't want a show horse or one like Cammy. With a nudge from Brittany, she decided to try barrel racing

Above: Brittany O’Hara and Sugar during practice. Top right: Brittany and Spirit take a pose.

and found Preacher, who was four at the time.

Taking on the sport with her daughter helped Linda get through her anguish. Now they are members of the National Barrel Horse Association.

It was not the first time Linda pulled herself through a difficult time by working with a horse, though the last time the challenge she overcame was physical. "For all intents and purposes I shouldn't even have been riding since 1996," Linda said. That year she broke her back when she fell off a horse. To repair the

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Linda tacks up Preacher for practice while Brittany tacks up and rides Sugar.

damage, her doctor put in rods and performed fusion surgery. With the rods in place, horseback riding was impossible, so Linda made the doctor remove them. "I wouldn't be me if I weren't riding a horse," she said.

Despite being in tremendous pain, Linda never went to physical therapy. Instead, she went to her barn. With very deliberate motions, she brushed her horse bending down and standing up, not riding, but using her body nonetheless. Her doctor was amazed by her recovery and continues to be

Brittany whips round a barrel on Sugar.

impressed 20 years after the surgery when an MRI showed she had no arthritis at the site of the old injury.

Brittany, who got Lady when she was six, now has two barrel racers, Sugar, who's getting older, and Spirit Teak, who is three.

She had her first taste of the sport when she was seven and read â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Barrel Racing,' by Sharon Camarillo, then taught herself. She enjoys the speed of barrel racing and said every second counts. "Even a tenth of a second matters," Brittany said.

To prepare for competitions, the women ride daily and perform drills, getting their horses to use different parts of their bodies; and while they have barrels set up, they don't usually make barrel runs in drills. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Barrel racers don't just get on their horses and make them race as fast as possible,â&#x20AC;? Brittany said. "It's about conditioning horses and doing different drills and making them use all parts of their body together. They have to be in shape and in condition. You can't expect a horse to go out and turn a barrel if they are not in shape."

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Linda runs a barrel with Preacher.

Brittany and Sugar race round a barrel.

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31 Janice Crotta of Bethany, who has been training Brittany and Linda for three years, said riders in the sport have to be strong and possess good horsemanship, and horses have to be athletic with a good build. The animals have to be able to handle a lot of stress, so they have to have a good heart and a sound mind and can't be wired.

It is also a means for her and her daughter to deepen their bond and help one another.

"We're family, but we actually like each other. We work hard together, and we play hard together," Linda said. Like show riding, barrel racing meshes with Linda's penchant

A challenging, and at times, frightening sport, barrel racing requires riders to work in concert with their horses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For you and your horse to barrel race, when your horse is moving you cannot be behind your horse, you have to be with him,â&#x20AC;? Linda said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He cannot do his job if you are not doing your job. You have to be together."

Linda, who boasts that she is the shortest and oldest racer in her circuit, said while she is grateful for everything she has, especially her family and grandson, she needs something that's about her. Barrel racing and riding in general fill that gap. "It's not about my husband. It's not about my daughter. It's not about anything," she said. "It's about me...when I get out there, it's about me and my horse."

for taking on challenges and winning, one significant difference being that in barrel racing, instead of ribbons, the prize is cold hard cash. "95 percent of the time we're in the winnings," Linda said.

Brittany and Linda are not the only motherdaughter barrel racing team. Crotta, who said

the sport is catching on, runs barrels with her daughters and granddaughters. Her daughter, Kacey Crotta Fortier enjoys the sport with her daughter, Mylie Milewski, who is 11, and according to her grandmother, has already surpassed many adults in the sport. Crotta's other daughter, Missy Santos, owns All in Farm in Woodbury, where barrel races are held from May through October. Crotta's nine year old granddaughter, Marla Crotta lives in Texas and comes to Connecticut for the summer.

"We all run barrels, we all compete against each other, and it's amazing," Crotta said.

"There are a lot of moms and daughters that run barrels."

Competitive barrel racing in Connecticut will start up again in May at All in Farm with the first event of the season on May 10th. Saddle View Farm in Bethany will hold its first barrel racing event of the season on May 4th, the arena will open at noon.

There will also be barrel racing and other rodeo events at the Goshen Stampede in June.

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Meanwhile, his mate shuttles back and forth, forth and back with insects in her mouth; ants by the baker’s dozen shimmering, in dark iridescence, day-for-night. She squeezes (groceries and all) into the opening that is perfectly round and perfectly small to feed a colony of her own.

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Then out.

Then off.

Again, for something else.

Sap-iens Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Between these winged deliveries Yellow-bellied Sapsucker tucks into the cavity, craftsman, designer, laborer in one. Minutes later shows his face, beak as full of sawdust as it can be, a snow of grains falling the length of the tree. In all his colors, black, white, deep crimson, yellow as if illumined by the final glow of the sun even though it is only Noontime.

On a day that will end too soon.

And not soon enough.

Photos and editorial © Mark Seth Lender He is working as fast as he can. Hammering reshaping creating space, where there was none. Works as hard as he can. Rest is not his friend nor time North of a rigid line where in a good year spring and the incipient chill of winter are no more than sixty days apart, everything doing is done with a start.

There are already young in the nest and they… will not… wait.

The baby birds grow and grow at an exponential pace. He wants to stop he wants to work and needs to sustain himself, all three in contradiction. They must have more room. The builder inside him wins. That is his way. He is responsible. The future depends upon him.

He feels this.

He knows this.

His persistence tells you so.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, in the season when life renews itself and the world again is green, never gets to sit on the shelf.

Orchids are flowering under the pines, and in the open field stands of wildflowers host the urgent dance of fritillaries bartering for nectar

in exchange for the pollen that they bring. The song sparrow and the sparrow hawk conjoin in unequal embrace. A yellow-headed blackbird lands calling his throaty call, the cattails swaying under him. While below him marsh wrens bend cattail leaves into a basket that will be their homestead. The lynx crosses the shallow stream. His round wide paws barely splashing, he climbs the bank that is low but steep and then through the high grasses and into the trees, on a mission of his own.

At a distance the moose and her calf watch him retreat, wary and weary for all that the coming seasons will demand.

Inside the yet unfinished nest Yellow-bellied Sapsucker closes his eyes, and for a brief while, without having to spread his wings, takes flight!

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Field Note:

turned to look, over her shoulder and across her folded wings. As did the other birds in the vicinity. They all looked, and more than once.

Woodpeckers are cavity nesters. If you see a perfectly round hole in the side of a tree, chances are there is or was a woodpecker nest inside. Unlike the iconic woven construct we usually mean by “nest,” woodpecker houses don’t give, and accommodating a growing family is big work. And it does not seem that work can be done in advance. In the still-cold season when nesting begins, in order for first the eggs and later the young to keep warm a nest cavity probably needs to start off as small as possible. Then the race is on as the chicks grow and more and more space is required. Which accounts for the sapsucker’s fervent pace and why they were imperturbable.

Or rather, so single-minded.

I kept my distance of course despite which, every time the sapsuckers exited the nest they would look at me.

Likewise a crested grebe, on her bundle of reeds out in the very middle of the pond where she was safe enough from most things that might come to harm her, even she

They made it clear enough. They did not want me to be there. But this I came to understand only in retrospect.

At the time I did not think about it. The tree the yellowbellied sapsuckers had chosen was just off a paved road,

in a park, where people came not in large numbers but with some frequency. There was that grebe, American coots, common goldeneyes, yellow-headed blackbirds and a host of others. I thought, if this was the place the birds choose it must be all right with them. It seemed to me that they were tolerant and that was all there was to it. Now I see it differently. In their industry the sapsuckers were too much involved in their necessary work to be intolerant. And the historical truth, apparent to me now is that they were always there. The birds were engaged in an intergenerational endeavor (the living equivalent of building cathedrals or pyramids), insuring the unbroken line of survival of their respective kind; and by that work, immobilized. We just… showed up. And took up the territory. And crowded in right on top of them. The way we always do. That look the sapsuckers gave me was as I had supposed, a making sure that I would do no harm, but it was also a request to do no more harm than I was doing already. Or more likely to undo the harm I’d done by leaving.

Mark Seth Lender is a producer for wildlife content at Living on Earth ( LOE.org ), the only program on US Public Radio exclusively dedicated to wildlife and environmental reporting.

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Let There Be Light The Night Photography of David Zapatka.

Lynde Point Lighthouse, Old Saybrook, CT

By Susan Cornell Photos by David Zapatka

T

elevision Cameraman David Zapatka’s day job has taken him worldwide – from four Olympic competitions to Superbowls to political campaigns – but it’s his night job that’s really lit. Zapatka captures star-light images of lighthouses in a way no one has ever done.

Zapatka started taking pictures at 13, got into television in college, and has stuck with TV ever since (pushing 40 years in the industry), working at a very high level in news and sports coverage. In 1993 he moved, fell in love with a little abandoned lighthouse beneath the Jamestown Bridge, and became involved with a group when they announced they were going to renovate Plum Beach Lighthouse in North Kingstown.

“I said I’d do a documentary on the renovation when it happens. Two years later the renovation started and I got so involved with the contractor and the Coast Guard and the group that a year after they asked me if I’d be president of the Plum Beach Light which I

Photographer David Zapatka

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took on and still am,” Zapatka said. “That got me involved in ways I hadn’t planned.”

Fast forward to 2013 when he took the first image of a different lighthouse on Bay. He Narragansett shared the photo with his Coast Guard friends who “were as amazed at what I could do with just that one shot as was I.” Peck Ledge Lighthouse, Norwalk, CT

Zapatka hadn’t done much nighttime still photography but realized it was possible to shoot a lighthouse that had no lights other than the red light on the top by lighting the scene with a flashlight using a process called “light painting.”

With results that impressed, he went to other properties in Rhode Island. With few active lighthouses with a beacon Little Rhodie, Zapatka quickly ran out of material (lighthouses without a beacon, aka standing lighthouses, are not as appealing to him).

Next up was Massachusetts and then Connecticut lighthouses. The first Connecticut ones shot were four in one night: Avery Point, New London Harbor Light, and the two in Old Saybrook (2015).

"It's very rare to find a photography project that hasn't been done before, and I stumbled upon this project.”

He knows he’s getting close to the end of his television career. "It's been demanding physically and mentally, a lot of travel, it's been very

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Orient Point Lighthouse, Long Island, NY

Watch Hill Lighthouse, Watch Hill, RI

rewarding, and I’ve been honored to work at a high level,” he said.

Now, he’s found this project that allows him to concentrate on a legacy.

“It’s a legacy that I can leave whereas my television career is just so fleeting and there’s nothing tangible I can put on the wall. Now in the last five years I've got this artwork I never knew was in me but has always been out there waiting to be discovered," Zapatka said adding, "I'm back to where I started in still photography and applying the lighting techniques I learned in television but using them in a still photography way that brings to life history right in front of us."

Digital cameras enable us to do what was not possible before. Without getting technical,

Plum Beach Lighthouse, Jamestown, RI

film did not allow capturing stars as pinpoints of light.

crash into the rocks. I had mixed emotions – What a great picture, oh, how’s my boat?”

“The camera actually sees more than what my eye I can see. You can sort of see the stars and the Milky Way, you just can’t see them the way the camera can.”

“I’d take a couple of pictures and rush over to make sure the boat was still there. I was pretty much out of breath.”

No Photoshop, no special effects.

“That’s not my thing. My art is to create a realistic scene that’s very much what’s before me at that moment. I’m not adding stars or the Milky Way.” Zapata reflects on that very first "discovery" in October 2013. "I'm alone on Dutch Island, early fall, very warm night. I'm yelling like a child although there's no one else around and no one can hear me: ‘Oh My God!' I can't believe what I'm looking at.”

Fast forward a few months later to the second lighthouse, Point Judith, which is land-based. It was eight degrees out, and there were 20 mph winds. "A completely different set of circumstances yet the results were the same – I was totally amazed I could capture this type of image. Both photo sessions were enlightening to me because I realized this was possible."

Keep in mind that this is an island, arrived at by his new-atthe-time 28-foot Sea Ray. “It was a rushed shoot. I had trouble setting the anchor. I was worried the boat would slip anchor and

Race Rock Lighthouse, Long Island, NY

Latimer Reef Lighthouse, Fishers Island

Castle Hill Lighthouse, Newport, RI

Block Island North Light

North Chop Lighthouse, Marthaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vineyard

Southeast Light, Block Island

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Plymouth Bug Light, Plymouth Harbor, MA

He has a 20-foot tripod at his disposal. This telescoping monster came about as he pondered how to get a shot of the Plum Beach Lighthouse which doesn't have land around it. While checking the chart, he observed there is land in 14 feet of water at mean low tide. So, a welder friend built a tripod to put in the water. "Now I can do a shot no one else has done before. My book [Stars & Lights] has 10 to 11 shots with stars above. Am I crazy? I guess I am.”

Hendricks Head Lighthouse, Boothbay Harbor, ME

When you view his work, you probably won’t appreciate the amount of danger involved. It didn’t take long to learn a PFD, rock climbing helmet, EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), and ice crampons are musthaves. It's not enough to merely text your spouse when you're back.

A career that has included covering foolish undertakings … and deaths … has likely given

him a greater comprehension of danger. “I do a lot of risk assessment. Safety is paramount.”

Shooting many of the pictures he equates to climbing Mount Everest: “When you’re at the summit, you’re only halfway there.”

High on the to-accomplish list is New London Ledge Light which he has attempted without success. “I attribute that to the theory that the lighthouse is haunted and that’s prohibited me from shooting it -- twice.”

Custom made 20 ft. tripod

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Robbins Reef Lighthouse, Bayonne, NJ

The mission is not to become rich. “Sharing my collection with people is important to me.

The United States Lighthouse Society has adopted this project under its nonprofit 501c3.

Eventually, this will live in their archives so that people will access.” He has shot 150 of approximately 800 lighthouses in the country.

“I don't say it lightly. It is historically significant because these pictures have not existed before now and, with climate change and sea levels rising, lighthouses are potentially imperiled because any big storm might wash away lighthouses that haven't been shot before.”

“From an artistic standpoint and from a historical standpoint, it’s something that needs to be done.”

And how has this project changed Zapatka?

“It's really discovering when you're alone after shooting a lighthouse laying on the ground and looking at all the stars above: it truly makes you realize how small and insignificant

Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse, Gosnold, MA

we really are. I've done this a number of times, though lately, its impact is lessened while working with someone else. Several years ago while shooting on Swan's Island, Maine, in the middle of a warm winter night, and on a largely deserted island. Just me and the stars, for about a half-hour. It was mesmerizing!"

Stars & Lighthouses: The Night Photography of David Zapatka.

Will be on display Beginning on June 6 at: The Connecticut Cancer Foundation

15 North Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 860-388-0788 A selling exhibition of a spectacular selection of photographs by David Zapatka will be featured at Connecticut Cancer Foundation’s Art Gallery. An opening Reception and Gallery Discussion, open to the public, will be held on 6 June from 5:30-7:30pm. A portion of all sales will be donated to the Connecticut Cancer Foundation to provide direct financial assistance to CT cancer patients and their families.

His book, Stars & Lights, can be purchased through Zapatka's website starsandlighthouses.com where his gallery of work can also be viewed.

Point Judith Lighthouse, Narragansett, RI

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Cosimo d'Medici equestrian statue restored. photo credit: Deane Keller papers, 1910-1983 (inclusive), 1943-1975 (bulk). Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University

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Dean Keller: Connecticut’s Monuments Man

By Barbara Malinsky / Images courtesy Yale University Library “Artworks are the last prisoners of World War II.” – Ronald Lauder, Art Connoisseur

Connecticut’s native son, Dean Keller, was a faculty member of Fine Arts at Yale University.

He won the Prix de Rome in 1926. When World War II was declared, he was asked by the dean of the School of Fine Arts, Theodore Sizer, to serve as a fine arts officer in the United States Army’s Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program. He was a product of the Roberts Commission which was created to help the US Army protect works of cultural value in Alliedoccupied areas of Europe. Its formal name was the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and

Historic Monuments in War Nazi-appropriated Areas. property was also inventoried under the auspices of this commission. The program was known as Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) which worked to rescue and preserve items of cultural significance.

From 1943 to 1946, Keller was as an officer of the US 5th Army in the MFAA and was responsible for the transportation and identification of artworks in Tuscany, Italy, the center of the Italian Renaissance and a major site of Nazi looting. Nazi troops had been actively bombing churches, destroying

or dislocating public arts, and seizing paintings from museums including the Uffizi. When the US invaded Italy, Keller repatriated lost works, including Giambologna’s statue of Cosimo I de Medici, a prominent figure of Florence’s Piazza della Signoria. In addition, he also documented damage to buildings and murals across Tuscany by taking thousands of photographs with Charles Bernholz.

One of his most significant contributions was to preserve the murals of the Camposanto, a medieval cemetery in Pisa. In July 1944, America bombardment created a fire that caused the frescoes to fracture. It was Keller

Top Right: Deane Keller seated in front of rescued paintings. Center Left: Deane Keller's War Department identification card. Bottom: Cosimo d'Medici statue lowered on to a truck.

Images Courtesy: Deane Keller papers, 1910-1983 (inclusive), 1943-1975 (bulk). Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University

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Deane Keller and part of Cosimo d'Medici equestrian statue in hiding outside Florence. Image Courtesy: Deane Keller papers, 1910-1983 (inclusive), 1943-1975 (bulk).

Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University

who organized art experts and enlisted men to protect the mural pieces and protect the area from further damage. Restoring the frescoes has been ongoing for seventy years.

The Nazi’s goal was to steal all historically important works of art for Hitler’s planned

Furhermuseum in Austria, which was a sprawling complex that Hitler planned to showcase his plunder. Much of the work was stored in a salt mine in Altausee, which was high in the Austrian Alps. The Nazi’s were determined to protect their looted artwork and booby-trapped the entire mine. Two other

members of the MFAA Captain Robert Posey and Private Lincoln Kirstein were the first through the small gap in the rubble blocking the entrance to the salt mine. (Always an aesthete, Kirstein with George Balanchine founded New York City Ballet in 1948.) What they saw when they entered with their flickering lamps was astounding. Resting on empty cardboard boxes were eight panels of the Adoration of the Lamb by Jan van Eyck, considered one of the masterpieces of 15th century European art. In one panel, the Virgin May is wearing a crown of flowers and sits reading a book. “The miraculous jewels of the Crowned Virgin seemed to attract the light from our flickering acetylene lamps,” Kirstin wrote later.

“Calm and beautiful, the altarpiece was, quite simply, there.”

They found and recovered countless artworks stolen by the Nazis.

The mine was the perfect storage facility. There was a complex series of tunnels that had been mined by the same families for about 3,000 years. The internal conditions were between 40 and 47 degrees and Deane Keller helping to load a crate into a train. Image Courtesy: Deane Keller papers, 1910-1983 (inclusive), 1943-1975 (bulk).

Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University

55 mand, steal trainloads of art. The son-in-law told them the location of Goering’s collection as well as Hilter’s stash at Altaussee.

about 65 percent humidity, ideal for storing stolen art. The deepest tunnels were more than a mile inside the mountain, safe from enemy bombs even if the remote location was discovered. The Germans built floors, walls, and shelving as well as a workshop deep in the chambers. From 1943 through 1945, streams of trucks transported tons of art there.

The Allies knew of Altaussee thanks to a toothache. Two months earlier, Posey was in Trier with Kirstein in eastern Germany and needed treatment. The dentist he found introduced him to his son-in-law who was trying to gain safe passage for this family to Paris though he had helped Herman Goering, Hitler’s second-in-com-

The work of the Monuments Men was largely forgotten until an art scholar, Lynn H. Nicholas, working in Brussels, read an obituary about a French woman who spied on the Nazi’s looting operation for years and singularly saved 60,000 works of art. That spurred Nicholas to spend a decade researching her 1995 book, The Rape of Europa, which began the resurrection of this historic saga leading to the movie. The Monuments Men, which dealt with the same subject, was based upon Robert Edsel’s book of the same name and later made into a movie.

When hostilities were ended, the tallies were outstanding; 6,577 paintings, 2,000 drawings or watercolors, 954 prints, 137 pieces of sculp-

ture, 129 pieces of armor, 79 baskets of objects, 484 cases of objects thought to be archives, 78 pieces of furniture, 122 tapestries, 1,200 – 1,700 cases of books, and 283 cases of unknown objects.

What has disappeared is incalculable. Many works were thought by Hitler to be degenerate and therefore destroyed. These may have included works by avant-garde artists like Picasso, Braque, and others. Other works of art may still remain in Germany, Austria, and

Top Left: Deane Keller on a train to Florence. Top Right: Crate containing recovered works being safely loaded onto a boxcar. Bottom: Deane Keller with Botticelli's "La Primavera.

Images Courtesy: Deane Keller papers, 1910-1983 (inclusive), 1943-1975 (bulk). Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University

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Top: Deane Keller inspects crates with a soldier. Bottom: Four men with the bronze horse prepared for transport. Images Courtesy: Deane Keller papers, 1910-1983 (inclusive), 1943-1975 (bulk).

Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University

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other countries in private homes and elsewhere, one of which was recently discovered containing Renoirs, and other important paintings. Many families are still trying to have their artwork repatriated though they must document that they had possession of them which, in many cases, is impossible since the items were ruthlessly taken off the walls of their homes while they were spirited off to concentration camps.

A recent book and movie, Woman in Gold, chronicles the attempts of an heir of the Jewish Bloch-Bauer family to repatriate the portrait of her aunt painted by the illustrious artist Gustave Klimt. Though she had documentation, the Austrian Government refused to release the painting though it was clearly that of a family member. In the Belvedere Museum in Austria, she was displayed as the Woman in Gold, stripped of her Jewish provenance while she was, in fact, Adele Bloch-Bauer. Eventually, the heir was successful and sold the painting to Ronald Lauder where it is continuously on display at the Neue Gallery in New York City.

After returning from the war, Keller resumed teaching at Yale’s School of Fine Arts. Retiring in 1979 after forty years, he was also professor emeritus of painting at the Paier College of Art. In addition to his academic career, Keller was a prolific portrait painter and became known as the “unofficial portraitist of the Yale faculty”.

He completed over 160 portraits for the university

Clockwise from top Left: Camposanto, Pisa, with skulls in a broken sarcophagus. Deane Keller excavating Michelangelo's Bound Slave from protective covering, Florence. Deane Keller and Luca Signorelli's Crucifixion in a German art deposit, Alto Adige, Italy. Images Courtesy: Deane Keller papers, 1910-1983 (inclusive), 1943-1975 (bulk).

Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University

including faculty, corporation board members, and two presidents. Portraits for

clients included Senator Robert A. Taft, Governor John David Lodge, and Presidents William Howard Taft and Herbert Hoover.

In recognition of his heroic World War II preservation contributions, he received the Legion of Merit, The British Empire Medal, Crown of Italy Partisan Medal, Medal of the Opera (Pisa), and the Order of St. John Lateran from the Vatican. His remains were divided and interred in New Britain, Connecticut and the Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa, which is identified with an engraved marble slab.

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Schools Are Back In Session By: John Tolmie Underwater Photos: Peter Correale

Freediving the briny waters off the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island during the month of May is a challenging endeavor. The ocean is still cold and it’s a shocker when you jump in.

Unlike my warm blooded body, the fish we are off to hunt are adapted to the cool salty water and are in a frenzied state ready to feed on the bountiful bait found in our nutrient rich waters.

Massive schools of striped bass have traveled hundreds of miles and when they arrive they congregate along our reefs.

Today these fat sleek scaly submarines would be our quarry.

On a bright cold and crisp morning in late May we head south to the belly of Block Island in hopes of landing on a school of plump stripers. Three other divers and I have secured a trip with the New England’s premier captain aboard Spear-It Charters. Captain Dave Hochman has been freediving and spearfishing

the waters off the coasts of Connecticut and Rhode Island for over 35 years. There isn’t a reef, a wreck or a rock that Dave hasn’t touched in his years exploring the underwater world. This is the reason I charter with Dave. He’s also become a great friend and mentor over the years. He’s always training me at how I can better rig my gear and contributing pointers on how to better hunt each specific species of fish in his gruff yet jovial manner.

“OK boys Get ready… yesterday there were huge schools of big scup on this reef.”

Captain Dave shouts over the drone of the

motor, “And keep a lookout for schools of thirty pound bass. They were buzzing us yesterday in pods of three to four fish.” Dave is great at painting a picture of what to expect when we drop to the seaweed covered bottom. Right underneath us at fifty feet of water sits a rocky reef and the fish finder tells us that there are big fish circling its precipice. The tide is moving causing a substantial current coming from the east. The Captain cruises into the current to get us ahead of the reef. We will need time to get in the water, recheck our guns and do a breatheup. If timed just right we can dive down and land on the structure,

61 using the current to guide us in.

The Captain cuts the engine and yells, “OK boys… go get ‘em!” The four of us stagger our entrees into the water giving us enough distance between for safety. Unlike diving in the southern clear and blue waters, here in New England the visibility is often less than 10 feet underwater.

Having some space between each other is very important. We are here to spear some fish, not each other!

As I roll over the side, the familiar chill of early season water seeps into my wetsuit and I do my best to ignore this uncomfortable part of the sport. I take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly. I do this to lower

my heart rate and build life giving oxygen into my system. I’ll be diving 50 feet and I’ll need to conserve as much energy as possible in order to stay down for a 90 second dive. Once I’m done with the slow breathe-up, I take five quick deep breaths in succession and hold my breath on the last inhalation. In one fluid motion, I spit out my snorkel and start to descend. I slowly and lazily kick down with my long fins while relieving the pressure in my ears. The light fades and the water gets colder as I pass through a thermocline. The bottom is still several feet below me and the visibility is only about 12 feet. Just before I see the bottom, I hear several “booms” around me. Striped bass slap their tails in a furious motion when disturbed and the sound they make is like an erratic drum solo. Hearing this for the first time in over fives month only builds the excitement. I cruise to the bottom and coast over to a giant boulder for cover. The curious bass know something landed on the bottom and they start to move in to investigate.

These fish are perfect for harvesting, not too small and not the big breeders. They are nice 30 to 35 pounders! If I could land one, it would feed my family for weeks to come.

The visibility is hampering my decisions on which fish to harvest. I see flashes of fish tails and fins and eyes looking at me as they cruise through the green sea. I collect myself and tell

myself I only have a few more seconds before I’ll have to leave bottom. My speargun lies on the boulder in front of me and I look slowly to my right. The fish are moving very fast and with four divers within a small confine of space, they are spooked. This is less than perfect conditions for hunting bass. But I’ve been diving these waters for over 25 years and I know I can harvest one if I calm down and just focus.

fish with ink and paper before preparing it for the grill. It’s these experiences that keep me coming back time and again to the wonder of the underwater world.

For New England and New York Spearfishing Club information go to the Tristate Skindivers Facebook page, for spearfishing charters at all levels of experience please visit Spearfishcharters.com, for local spearfishing gear check out NewEnglandFreedive.com, for local custom made spearguns visit aoshunspearfishing.com and to see some more underwater photos of striped bass and other indigenous species check out @petercorreale on Instagram.

A nice fat hydrodynamic mass moves in with its fins laid down.

Too late for a head shot, I train my gun at the spine of the fish and lead it slightly. I time the shot perfectly and stone the fish as the spear passes through. Stoked, I swim over and grab the fish by its gills and start my ascent. I make six hard kicks to breech through the current holding me on the bottom. My lungs are burning and my throat spasms instinctively in search of sweet air. As I fin my way up, rays of sunlight flow over me once again. I pop through the surface and I gulp in a precious lung full of cool air. I hold the fish up and bark to the Captain to come pick me up.

The boat floats over; Dave reaches over the side, smiles and gives me an atta boy as he pulls the beast over the gunnel.

I decided at that moment I would make a Gyotaku print of my first striped bass harvest of the season. I would immortalize this beautiful

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Serena Bates: Making Sculpture, Telling Stories

By Carolyn Battista / Photos by A. Vincent Scarano

F

or Serena Bates, an awardwinning sculptor, it’s all about stories. She engages with her viewers, her subjects, the people and animals she meets. She finds stories—often “quirky” ones--and she tells them. “I love to tell a story with my work,” she says.

Her work can be seen in many respected galleries, including those of the Salmagundi Club in Manhattan, and also at various sites around Westerly, R. I. For instance, there’s a Bates dog in front of the Westerly Animal Shelter, and there’s the Bates bust of Leonardo Colucci at a popular beach spot. Uh, Leonardo Colucci? Who? Serena grins. “Oh, Lenny!” she says. “He was the owner of the Andrea Restaurant in Misquamicut. When he passed away, his family commissioned the bust.” It’s now a familiar

presence at the bar, as was the genial Lenny himself. His fans take selfies with the bust.

led visitors to the gallery's exhibit of art that addressed our need to stop harming our planet.

Serena likes to talk about her sculptures— about the cat staring down a mouse, about the rat with a bird skull in its mouth. She also tells how finding a closed-off door in the Hygienic

At her studio near the Westerly-Ashaway border, Serena regularly works in bronze, ceramic, copper, resin and stone. The studio is in an old two-story barn, renovated by her boyfriend, Richard Mann, who’d been using it for storage. But, she says, “I took it over, one room at a time.” She credits Rick with being a good sport about losing his space, and renovations continue.

The couple even spent Valentine’s Day installing new flooring.

art gallery in New London made her think of Edgar Allen Poe, and of his raven whose message was “Nevermore!” That led her to create a flock of crows, made of paper and wire, to soar and perch at the Hygienic. They

The barn, next to conservancy land, has a backyard along the Pawcatuck River. “I’ve got a raku pit out there, for firing,” Serena notes.

Big windows offer peaceful views and provide excellent light for her work. There are some

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comfy couches and colorful rugs, but, she points out, “There’s mostly art stuff,” including kilns, molds, clay, and sculptures (a few by friends, but mostly her own). That sculpture of a woman? “She’s drying out.” Nearby is a dog sculpture in progress. It’s a Dutch Shepherd, commissioned by a friend, a veterinarian who raises that breed. “It’s going to be in resin, painted to look like bronze.” There’s a little copper lotus on a table, and on a mantel, there are three sculpted stone heads, including one of “Virginia—a little Italian lady.”

Serena was thrilled to be included in the symposium where she sculpted Virginia. She’d taken a brief workshop led by Philippe Faraut, a well-known sculptor and teacher. He was impressed with her work there and invited her to join him and other highly skilled artists at a two-week sculpture symposium in Tuscany this past September. It was a rare opportunity for the artists, who tend to work alone, to inform and support one another while working and learning.

Serena, who calls Faraut her mentor, was pleased to notice that when Faraut works, he doesn’t measure. She doesn’t either. “I see where the stone is going to take me,” she says.

She shipped most of her work from the symposium back to Rhode Island, but she wanted to carry Virginia herself. “I brought her home in a salad bowl, in my backpack.” she says.

She’s used to meeting challenges, from fast, safe sculpture transport to the larger, longer-

term matter of learning and doing art under often tough circumstances. Her dad died when he was 39, leaving her mom to raise three daughters alone. They lived in Virginia, but her mom—also named Serena Bates—was from the Westerly area, so she moved her family back and worked, first as a waitress, later as a pipefitter.

Today she helps out at the studio and also works as a CNA. Her namesake says, “She’s a hard worker. She’s strong. I get my work ethic from her.”

The young Serena was accepted at Brown University, but finances were such that she went to business school instead.

Her first job, after graduation, was as a secretary at Mystic Seaport’s Maritime Gallery, a place where now, her work is shown. For years, she worked days and took night classes, mostly at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. “It was small; you got a good foundation, good training,” she says. She spent some weekends working in a foundry, “to learn what to do.”

She adds, “I never got a degree, but I got lots

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of experience.” She’s not sorry that she didn’t go to Brown.

“I found my love for sculpting,” she says, after starting out as a painter. Early on, she approached a gallery to show her work, but the gallery owner said, “Oh my dear, you can’t. You have no awards.”

Serena went home and fired off an email, arguing that this was wrong, that emerging artists need the opportunity to show work to receive awards.

The owner relented; Serena began exhibiting at the gallery, and soon, she had awards.

She appreciates her business training, noting that many artists struggle because they lack that. The sale of a piece is exciting—but she knows well that the sale must help to pay for things like casting and shipping other pieces. Recently such practical thinking led her to make an unexpected purchase at an estate sale. “It was not a planned thing,” she says, but there were five kilns, some 300 molds and a lot of bisque ware, from bowls to figurines. After some walking-andthinking, she figured “Why not?” and bought

it all. She later sold three of the kilns and the molds, to help fund her Tuscany trip. Then she opened a paint-your-own pottery operation (where her mom often helps out) in one room of her studio. “It’s just a minor part of what I

The gallery is at the Phoenix, a stylish new supper club in an old building in Pawcatuck.

Last year Rick bought the building, long neglected and vandalized after a series of restaurants there closed, and took on the vast project of turning it into what’s now an attractive, welcoming place. He says, “I figured I could retire, or I could buy a condemned, 10,000square foot building and turn it into a supper club.”

This month Serena travels to Little Rock, Arkansas, where she’s been invited to show work in an annual festival at “Sculpture at the River Market.” And then?

She’ll continue looking, listening, engaging people, doing sculpture, and telling stories. She says, “People want stories.”

do,” she says, but it helps pay for heat and electric service in the big barn.

FOR MORE INFO: Serena’s comprehensive website, serenabates.com, has full-color views of her work. It also includes her biography and lists her awards, her gallery shows, and her pro-

These days there are regular shows of her work and that of other artists at the Crow’s Nest gallery, which she manages and where wire-and-paper crows again draw attention.

fessional memberships and affiliations. Her phone number is 401-932-9775; studio address is 189 Potter Hill Road, Westerly; office address is 194 Potter Hill Road, Westerly. The Phoenix can be accessed through its Facebook page.

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PLEASE JOIN US FOR FIRST FRIDAY, MAY 3rd, 2019 FROM 5 - 8 pm FOR AN EHHIBIT OF NEW PAINTINGS FROM HIS HOME & TRAVELS BY LEIF NILSSON WITH LIVE MUSIC BY ARROWHEAD. Arrowhead strings along on most Sunday afternoons. Find out about the Concerts in the Garden, First Fridays, Leifs paintings, prints and more at

www nilssonstudio com

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The

Cheesemonger Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop, Centerbrook CT

The Cheese Pairing Collection, by Blake Hill Until recent years I used to be a purist when it came to my cheese. I wanted nothing to interfere with the taste, much like a coffee taster who wouldn’t think of adding cream to his coffee. Then we traveled to Italy. After a great five course meal at Antinori winery, we were given a second dessert. This consisted of several local pecorino cheeses with a topping of Acacia honey. The way I enjoy cheese changed forever.

I now don’t hesitate topping my cheese with honey, preserves, balsamic vinegar, figs, apricots, nuts, jams, chutneys and whatever else someone suggests is a great pairing. I do admit that this can be a trial and error method but I so enjoy the journey.

So, what would be a cheese mongers dream? How about somebody preparing a selection of high quality sweet and savory fruit spreads infused with honey, liquors, herbs, and spices and then pairing the selection with the proper cheeses and then beautifully packaging them for gifts and retail. Thank you, Blake Hill, for doing just that.

About Blake Hill

Strawberry and Vanilla - Decadent, luxurious, fruity jam for triple crèmes Apricot, Orange and Honey - For washed rinds like Oma, Diva, Chaumes Orange with Ten Year Single Malt Whisky - For cheddars, Stag, Ford Quebec 7 year Spiced Plum with Port - For blue cheese, Bayley Hazen, Arethusa Blue, Stilton Raspberry Mostarda with Ice Wine - For bloomy rinds like Harbison

In addition to the Cheese Pairing Selection Blake Hill produces many other preserves/jams Naked pure fruit jams - strawberry, blueberry, peach, raspberry all made with no-added-sugars, preservatives, colors or sweeteners Extra Fruit Preserves/Jams - strawberry and rhubarb, summer peach and ginger, wild Maine blueberries, raspberry and hibiscus

Blake Hill farms is located in Windsor Vermont. They have become one of the most sought-after local jam, marmalade, and chutney producers at farmers markets and specialty food stores. They have teamed up with local cheese makers and craft breweries to provide gourmet products for the specialty food trade. This all came to be through the efforts of Joe Hanglin and Vicky Allard.

Quintessential Marmalades - Meyer lemon with lemon, Persian lime infused with coconut, spicy orange and lime infused with ginger, sweet orange infused with bourbon, Meyer lemon, classic sweet orange

Blake Hill comments that they are proud to being the only producer to win Gold at the SOFI’s (International Fancy Food Show), the US Food Award, and the World Marmalade Award! They are known for bold flavors, super clean ingredients, and no-sugar added options on the market.

Blake Hill also offers a beautiful gift assortment of eight different one-and-a-half-ounce size jars so you can try a bigger selection at one time. In addition to being a great gift I like it for personal use. It’s a great accompaniment to a cheese tray by adding one or two of these one serving samplers.

THE CHEESE PAIRING COLLECTION

In addition to the pairing with different cheeses, these preserves can have so many other uses. We tried using the French onion with rosemary jam as a topping for a pork tenderloin. It was great, full of flavor, juicy and tender. You can be creative and add life to a sandwich or maybe a panini with the savory selection. Try the cherry and port on ice cream or maybe cheese cake. You can always use them on toast, English muffins or bagels.

Gourmet, all natural, less sugar, no gluten, no dairy, no GMOs, no nuts, no fillers, Vegan, Kosher Fig, Pear and Honey - complex, luscious fig jam, perfect with everything.

Try with English Ford cheddar, Piave Vechio, Bucheron, Humboltd Fog, Midnight Moon, Ewephoria, La Tur, Fromage D’Affinois Wild Blueberry and Thyme - tart, incredibly fruity, for goat cheese and Camembert, D’Affinois, Brie, Lat Tur, triple crèmes, Kunik French Onion with Rosemary - sweet, savory, complex jam for nutty Alpine style cheese Appenzeller, Challerhocker, Gruyere, Red Witch Heirloom Apple and Maple - Fresh-from -the-orchard apple taste for cheddars Cherry with Port and Cardamom - Delicately spiced bright cherries for blues and brie’s

Spicy Pantry - fresno and Thai chili, Jalabeno and lime chili, chipotle and maple chili

You may not find these fine products everywhere but check with your local Cheese Shop or specialty food store.

I want to thank Vicky and Joe for supplying information and photos for this article.

Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop, (860) 767-8500 33 Main Street, Centerbrook, CT 06409 www.cheeseshopcenterbrook.com

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Organic Wines With so many people becoming health conscious these days’ people are looking closer to what is in the product by reading the label. More and more products are being made with less fillers and more organically. Even your pet’s food is following suite. Wine is no different, as matter of fact, some wine has been produced for hundreds of years organically.

By Art LiPuma, General Manager SeaSide Wine & Spirits, Old Saybrook, CT

From the 1920’s to recent day there has been more grapes grown with organic methods, especially in Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Germany). Many wineries tend not to label their wines as certified organic due to the high fees they have to pay for the certification.

There are a lot of rules that have to be followed for a wine to be certified organic.

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similar agents. Once they settle to the bottom of the tank, the wine is then siphoned from the rest from the barrel.

The pulp that remains on the bottom is then discarded.

Organic wines do not have the addition of sulfur dioxide during fermentation and the vineyards do not use pesticides or any chemicals growing or cultivating the vines. The grapes are handpicked to avoid using any machinery for harvesting., The left over wine waste is also used for compost in the vineyards. They refer to this as sustainable farming practice.

Vegan wines use Bentonite for the agent in fining wines, however, egg whites and albumin are expectable for most Vegans. Other criteria used for Vegan wines are the non use of animal by products in the making of the wine. Some wineries are now labeling their wines that qualify as Vegan. The big question… does organic wines taste any different than non organic ones? The answer is no. As previously mentioned there are several hundreds of vineyards that are organic that don’t advertise as being so, meaning that sometimes you don’t even know your drinking an organic wine. Many wine retailers now have an organic section from around the world.

Biodynamic practices allow the grapes to grow in their natural state without the addition of chemicals, malolactic bacteria or cultured yeast. Even though neither style adds sulfites, they are found naturally in the earth; hence they are naturally occurring in grapes and other fruits. Sulfites are measured in parts per million (ppm). There are guidelines for the quantity of sulfites that can be found in organic wines, which is under 10 ppm of natural occurring sulfites. Sulfur is used also as an additive in wine making by burning it which creates sulfur dioxide. This compound is used as a preservative in wine making, but is considered synthetic. The required added level of sulfites needs to be under 100 ppm for biodynamic wines.

Sulfites are blamed for many reactions in drinking wine including: headaches, stuffy head and dry mouth but this is not all caused by added sulfites. They are more likely caused by the histamines, tannins and of course the alcohol in the wine. A few of the major concerns of using added sulfites in wines or other foods are the reactions that they can cause. Hives, redness, upset stomach, drop in blood pressure, dizziness, trouble swallowing and trouble breathing are some of these. (this only effects only a very small amount of people).

Due to the fact that some of these reactions can be life threatening, in 1986 the United States signed a law that all wine sold in the county had to be labeled with a government warning label if the wine contains sulfites over 10ppm. By 1988 the labels were on all wine bottles sold in the U.S. Finning agents in wine are used to fine, stabilize and clarify. They are added in the tank or barrel during fermentation. The agents that are usually used are egg whites, milk proteins and other

Here at Seaside Wine we are dedicating our wine tastings in the month of May to organic wines every Saturday from 2:30 to 5:30.

So come and join us.

Cheers!

Art LiPuma, General Manager at SeaSide Wine & Spirits 118 Main St, Old Saybrook, Connecticut www.seasidewineandspirits.com

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Really Springtime In Italy and Connecticut May brings us the first group of vegetables that make for wonderful fillings in this stuffed breast of young chicken served over risotto.

We used the skin-on, boneless breast from a 3-pound Bell & Evans all-natural young chicken.

Written and Photos by Bob Zemmel, Owner of Alforno Trattoria

A young broiler chicken of three or so pounds yields a tender and moist chicken breast. We want to avoid 5- or 6-pound roasters, which tend to toughen under high heat.

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The skin protects the lean meat of the breast during the high-heat searing and adds tons of flavor to the dish. I encourage you to cook it this way, even if you don’t want to eat the glorious extra fat and calories to be found in the crisp skin.

This boned-out, skin-on breast may be a challenge at home to get ready, but local meat departments like Walt’s in Old Saybrook, Cliff ’s Quality Meats in Centerbrook and the Guilford Food Center will all cheerfully bone out your fresh chicken breast leaving the skin intact, if you ask.

We stuffed our breast with a mixture of diced onions, (super sweet Vidalias are appearing in the markets), wild mushrooms, green peas and diced grape tomatoes. We bound the stuffing with a little olive oil. If there is any stuffing remaining, it makes a terrific topping for crostini. Toast a couple of thin slices of crusty bread, rub with a clove of garlic and brush with extra virgin olive oil.

Spoon the leftover stuffing on top of the bread, and serve warm or at room temperature as an antipasto.

We served the beautiful finished chicken over sweet pea risotto. You could substitute any rice, potato or vegetable on the side. In Italy the risotto would serve as its own first course, “il primo.” The meat course or “secondo” follows with assorted vegetables on the table.

Here in America, we are used to our meat or fish served with a starch on the same plate, so that is what we offer here. This will serve two as an entrée.

SPRINGTIME STUFFED BREAST OF YOUNG CHICKEN 1 skin-on boneless breast from a young, 3-pound broiler, about 12 ounces

For the stuffing: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/4 large Spanish or Vidalia onion 4 ounces dry white wine 4 ounces wild or cultivated mushroom such as morel or shitake 2 ounces grape tomatoes, chopped coarsely 1 ounce panko bread crumbs 2 ounces peas 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

For the risotto: 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 of a Spanish or Vidalia onion, diced 4 ounces carnaroli rice 8 ounces chicken broth 2 ounces green peas 2 ounces grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

To make the stuffing: Heat a 8- or 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil and onions, and cook until onions are wilted. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, stirring until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the peas and tomatoes and cook until just heated through. Remove from heat, and fold in the grated cheese and bread crumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare the chicken: Salt and pepper the chicken breast on both sides. With the chicken skin side up, spoon stuffing on one half of the breast. Fold the other half over the stuffing and secure with a couple of toothpicks.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the sauté pan used for the stuffing. Slide a spatula underneath the chicken and gently place it in the center of the sauté pan. It should sizzle so beware of spattering oil. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes or until bottom is golden brown. Put the pan with the chicken in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until an internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached. The top should also be golden brown. Remove pan from heat, and allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes while you finish the risotto.

To prepare the risotto: Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, stirring frequently. Add the rice, stirring to coat the rice with the butter. Reduce heat to medium low and add the chicken broth. Stir periodically for 15 minutes or until the mixture is creamy and the rice is al dente. Fold in the peas and the grated cheese. Allow to rest on the stove, with the heat off, for 5 minutes.

Final assembly: Stir the risotto and spoon onto an oval platter.

Carefully slice the chicken into 4 pieces. Arrange the chicken slices on top of the risotto. Garnish with any leftover peas and chopped tomatoes. Serves 2.

Enjoy!

Alforno Trattoria • Bar • Pizza 1654 Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook, CT 860-399-4166 | www.Alforno.net

MAY EVENTS

80 Month of May Westbrook May events at Waters Edge Resort & Spa. Please go to our website www.WatersEdgeResortAndSpa.com for complete list of events Friday May 3rd – Comedy at the Edge presented by Comedy Craft Beer $20 per person | Show Starts at 7:00pm Sunday May 12th – Mother’s Day Brunch 9:00am to 5:00pm $49.95 per person Children under 10 $22.00 Children under 5 Free Friday May 24th – Sunset Bar & Grill Opens for the Season Saturday May 25th – A Tribute to Billy Joel performed by River of Dreams Cabaret Style Dinner Show $49++ per person 6:00pm Reception 7:00pm Dinner Show REPEAT EVENTS: Prix Fixe Lunch Mon. through Fri. 11:30am-2:30pm $14++ Prix Fixe Dinner Mon. through Fri. 5:30pm-9pm $25++ Lobster Boil specials and trivia every Monday Happy Hour Specials Mon. through Fri. 4pm-6pm Taco and Tequila specials every Tuesday Girl’s Night Out every Wednesday Thursday Night Burger Specials Sparkling & Sushi specials every Friday night Live music every Friday and Saturday night Award winning Brunch every Sunday Tickets available online or by calling the front desk 860-399-5901.

Water’s Edge Resort and Spa, 1525 Boston Post Road, Westbrook, CT For info, call 860-399-5901 or visit www.WatersEdgeResortAndSpa.com Month of May - Old Saybrook May Events at The Back Porch Restaurant Thursday, 5/2 – Nightshift from 6:30pm Friday, 5/3 – Coyote River Band from 7pm Saturday, 5/4 – Avenue Groove from 7pm Sunday, 5/5 – Primetime from 4pm Wednesday, 5/8 – Tyler Coleman from 5:30pm Thursday, 5/9 – Out of the Boxx from 6:30pm Friday, 5/10 – NeoSound from 7pm Saturday, 5/11 – Major Motion from 7pm Sunday, 5/12 – Le'Mixx from 4pm Wednesday, 5/15 – Keith Cooper and Trish Radill from 5:30pm Thursday, 5/16 – Four Barrel Billy from 6:30pm Friday, 5/17 – Sugar Daddy from 7pm Saturday, 5/18 – Kathy Thompson Band from 7pm Sunday, 5/19 – Mass Conn Fusion from 4pm Wednesday, 5/22 – Syndicate Duo from 5:30pm Thursday, 5/23 – Green Hill from 6:30pm Friday, 5/24 – Michael Cleary Band from 7pm Saturday, 5/25 – The Bernadettes from 7pm Sunday, 5/26 – Nu Groove from 4pm Memorial Day, Monday, 5/27 – Signature Band from 4pm Wednesday, 5/29 – Carrie Ashton from 5:30pm Thursday, 5/30 – Katie Perkins from 6:30pm Friday, 5/31 – Upside Down from 7pm

Month of May- Branford Treat Mom to Mother’s Day at Lenny’s Sunday, May 12th. Specials will include Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, Slow Roasted Prime Rib, Wester Ross Scottish Salmon, Hot Lobster Rolls, Fresh North Atlantic Swordfish and more. Free glass of Wine for Mom! Full Menu Offered - Call Ahead Seating Available REPEAT EVENTS: Thursday Nights – Ladies’ Night $6 Martinis and Apps at the bar Friday Nights - Happy Hour 4-6 $2 Bud Light bottles and Free Wings Sunday Fundays – Build your own Bloody Mary Bar and Live Music 1-4 pm Please go to our website www.lennysnow.com for complete list of events. Lennys 205 South Montowese St (Rt. 146) Branford, CT 06405 www.lennysnow.com 203-488-1500 Month of May- Essex May Events at Scotch Plains Tavern Kentucky Derby 5/4: Derby party starts at 4pm. Prizes for the best hat.

Enjoy a mint julep and all your Derby favorites!

Cinco de Mayo 5/5: Join us for Brunch and then from 3pm on enjoy Chef Taco Specials. $3 Coronas and $5 Margaritas all day.

Mother’s Day 5/12: Join us for Brunch and Chef Specials along with live music in the afternoon Live Music: Wednesday, 5/1 – Keith Cooper and Trish Lendroth from 5:30pm Friday, 5/3 – Righteous Continental from 8pm Saturday, 5/4 – Four Barrel Billy from 8pm Sunday, 5/5 – Sweet Tea Daddy from 3pm Wednesday, 5/8 – Coal Tattoo from 5:30pm Friday, 5/10 – Fusion from 8pm Saturday, 5/11 – Big Nasty from 8pm Sunday, 5/12 – Brett Bottomly Trio from 3pm Wednesday, 5/15 – T. Ray Taylor from 5:30pm Friday, 5/17 – Nu Groove from 8pm Sunday, 5/19 – Bonfire Acoustic from 3pm Wednesday, 5/22 –Terri and Rob Duo from 5:30pm Thursday, 5/23 –Leaf Jumpers Duo from 6pm Friday, 5/24 – Blues on the Rocks from 8pm Saturday, 5/25 – Katie Perkins from 8pm Sunday, 5/26 – Ramblin Dan Stevens from 3pm Wednesday, 5/29 – FrankenPhil from 5:30pm Thursday, 5/30 – Tyler Coleman from 5:30pm Friday, 5/31 – Mixed Signals from 8pm

Repeat Events: Happy Hour Specials: Monday – Friday from 4pm – 6pm

Repeat Events: Happy Hour Specials: Monday – Friday from 3pm – 6pm Mondays: Half-Price Wine Bottles from 5pm – close Tuesdays: Taco Tuesday from 5pm – close Wednesdays: Live Music from 5:30pm – 8:30pm Thursdays: Ladies Nite with Drink & Happy Hour Specials 3pm – close Fridays: Prime Rib from 5pm – close & Live Music from 8pm – 12am Saturdays: Live Music from 8pm – 12am Sundays: Brunch from 11:30am – 3:00pm & Live Music 3pm – 6pm

The Back Porch Restaurant & Bar, 142 Ferry Road, Old Saybrook CT Call 860.510.0282 or visit backporcholdsaybrook.com

Scotch Plains Tavern, 124 Westbrook Road, Essex CT Call 860.662.4032 or visit scotchplainstavern.com

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May 1-17 Westbrook Open call exhibit “Local Vision IV” at the Valentine H. Zahn Community Gallery at Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center. The exhibition features selected works by pastel artists from throughout Connecticut. The works were chosen through an open call, curatorial process and is curated by Jan Ayer. The Gallery is open during regular business hours and is located at 250 Flat Rock Place, Westbrook, CT. For more information, contact Middlesex Health at 860-358-4065 or zahngallery@gmail.com.

May 3 Salem Learn to make your own Cellini Spiral Bracelet with Pauline Clifford. Prerequisite: Proficiency with flat Cellini pattern. Kit includes needle, beading thread, clasp, and beads. Class Fee: $40.

The Red House, 22 Darling Road, Salem.Visit salemredhouse.com for more info. (860) 608-6526.

May 4 Mystic Mystic Spring Stroll – Join the fun on May 4th during the Downtown Mystic Spring Stroll!

Come shop and gather a bouquet by receiving a coin for each purchase which can be turned in for a free flower from the flower cart, while supplies last. The more coins the more flowers you will receive! While you are gathering your flowers, you will be entertained with live music from Stonington HS music ensembles, a harp player and other local musicians. We are excited about the return of the Mystic Garland dancers who will be preforming in various location in downtown. 10:00 – 5:00. Many of the stores will also be othering sips & bites. Spring hats encouraged! Downtown Mystic

May 9 Old Lyme Harry White - Art in the Garden.

Refreshments served at 6:30 pm, Lectures start at 7:00 pm. Fee: $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. The Lyme Art Association presents the Elected Artists Exhibition, with works by the most accomplished artists of the Association, as well as an exhibition of work from the Connecticut Watercolor Society. Open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 am – 5 pm, and by appointment. The Lyme Art Association 90 Lyme Street in Old Lyme,(860) 434-7802 for more information or visit lymeartassociation.org.

May 7-21 Old Saybrook Wine Course at Alforno in Old Saybrook To Explore the World of Wine. Alforno in Old Saybrook will host a series of wine education tastings that will meet on Tuesdays through May 21.

The hour-long sessions will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Alforno’s new bar. Ben Zemmel, who draws on 10 years of immersive experience in the study of wine, will lead the wine-tasting journey through Italy’s wine regions as well as the American West Coast, France and Spain. He will guide guests through the characteristics of each region’s wines. Each session will feature four wines paired with small bites.The schedule is: Campania, May 7; Burgundy, Beaujolais and Rhone, May 14, and Spain, May 21. For more details on the wines please visit our website: www.alforno.net/events. Each tasting will be limited to eight guests. Sessions are sold in multiples of two per person – 2, 4, 6 or all 8 sessions. The cost is $30 per session. To register, email Ben Zemmel at ben@alforno.net. Alforno, at 1654 Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook, is open daily for lunch and dinner. Telephone: 860-399-4166.

May 10 - June 22, Madison David Dunlop: Color and Luminance. Opening Reception to meet David Dunlop: Friday, May 10, from 5 to 8 pm, wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Join us for our 15th solo exhibition at the gallery of this acclaimed artist. We are very pleased to present these exciting new works. David Dunlop is a modern-day old master whose luminous landscapes draw from both Renaissance techniques and contemporary science. He is an Artist, Teacher, Lecturer and Emmy award-winning television host and writer of the PBS Series entitled, "Landscapes through Time with David Dunlop." His paintings have been shown internationally and are held in the collections of major corporations.

His contemporary abstractions based on nature, in his distinctive technique of oil painting on aluminum, are appealing to collectors of both traditional and contemporary art. The gallery is located at 679 Boston Post Road, Madison near the fire station.

Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm, and any day by appointment. For further information, please call (203) 3180616, email us at susanpowellfineart@gmail.com and visit www.susanpowellfineart.com to see works in the show.

MAY EVENTS

May - August New London Exhibition of Watercolor Landscapes opens at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum.

The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is pleased to announce the opening of Discovering New Beauty: Watercolor Landscapes of the Northeast. This exhibition features more than 50 works of art examining the varied landscapes of the Northeast over the last century and a half. The show will be on view through August 3, 2019. Lyman Allyn Art Museum 625 Williams St New London, CT 06320

MAY EVENTS

82 May 11, Mystic Join the Grand Opening Celebration of the new Uptown Gallery at Finer Line, Saturday, May 11, 4-8 pm. For 33 years the Finer Line Gallery and Framers of the Lost Art have served Southeastern Connecticut art collectors and now boast an expansion into their second floor space, featuring only the finest original paintings and sculptures by the area’s most respected artists including David Bareford, Del Bourree Bach, Jackie Jones, Sarah Lucas, David & Pam Lussier, Jonathan McPhillips, Dan Truth, Christopher Zhang and others. Next door to the new Uptown Gallery is Russ Kramer Gallery, featuring original paintings and limited edition prints by one of America’s leading marine artists specializing in historic yacht racing scenes. Both galleries will be hosting guests with hors d’oeuvres, wine and other refreshments.

May 11 - September 1 Greenwich Summer with the Averys. On May 11, 2019, the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, will open Summer with the Averys [Milton | Sally | March]. Featuring landscapes, seascapes, beach scenes, and figural compositions—as well as rarely seen travel sketchbooks—the exhibition takes an innovative approach to the superb work produced by the Avery family.

Along with canonical paintings by Milton Avery, the show offers a unique opportunity to become acquainted with the remarkable art created by Avery’s wife Sally and their daughter March. As it was for many artists before and since, summertime was a moment of heightened creativity for the Averys.

Escaping from their hectic lives in New York, the three artists were inspired by these bucolic and sometimes unfamiliar settings. The art they produced—including oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints—was filled with the splendor of natural phenomena and the sociability of family, friends, and acquaintances; the work ranges from the representational to the nearly abstract. The exhibition is organized

by Kenneth E. Silver, Silver Professor of Art History at New York University and Bruce Museum Adjunct Curator of Art, assisted by Stephanie Guyet, Bruce Museum Zvi Grunberg Fellow, 2018-19, and will be accompanied by an audio guide and a scholarly catalogue, featuring full-color illustrations of all the works in the show.

Educational programming will include a talk on May 30 with the exhibition curators and Barbara Haskell, a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art and Milton Avery authority. The exhibition closes on September 1, 2019. Bruce Museum 1 Museum Drive Greenwich, CT 06830-7157 May 12 Deep River MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH AT THE LACE FACTORY. Enjoy Mother's day at the historic Lace Factory, overlooking the river and steam train! Brunch is BYOB and features a full brunch buffet, omelet bar, carving station, chef’s seasonal surprises, house made bloody mary mix and OJ to accompany your favorite spirits & sparklings *Corkage fee and soft drink charges apply. Sunday, May 12th from 10am – 2pm (last seating at 1pm) $24.95++ Adults $12.95++ Kids 10 & under For Reservations: PH: (860)526.4445 www.thelacefactory.com 161 River St. Deep River, CT

May 14 Salem Come with a creative spirit and let the COLOR and SHAPES inspire and guide you in this abstract acrylic painting experience with Julianna W. Cameron.

Julianna will demonstrate and give creative encouragement to paint with a fluid hand and let the colors create a landscape. No previous painting experience necessary. Tuesday evening 6-8:30pm.

Class Fee: $35. The Red House, 22 Darling Road, Salem. Visit salemredhouse.com for more info. (860) 608-6526 May 17 - June 14 Guilford Guilford Art Center is pleased to announce its newest gallery exhibition, entitled Ceramics 2019: A National Juried Exhibition, from May 17 – June 14 in the gallery at Guilford Art Center. This exhibition presents contemporary works in clay, both functional and non-functional by American artists from across the nation. It represents a fascinating overview of the variety of ways ceramic artists further craft traditions, explore innovative approaches, and utilize this ancient medium for creating compelling new works.

Ceramics 2019 is juried by Joshua Green, Executive Director, National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). Green has selected works by 37 artists in a range of styles and approaches. Works on view includes functional ware, sculptural objects and conceptual works. The opening reception for Ceramics 2019 will be held Friday, May 17 from 5-7 pm; it is free and open to the public. Following the opening, gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm; Saturday, 10am4pm and Sunday 12-4pm. For more information contact the Guilford Art Center at 203-453-5947 or www.guilfordartcenter.org.

May 17 Guilford ‘Through The Looking Glass’ Featuring Connecticut photographers Dawn Kubie; floral macro-images, and Fran McMullen, fine art and editorial photography. Friday May 17, 2019 57PM Also currently exhibiting recent works in oil, watercolor, photography, pottery, glass and jewelry by our eclectic and distinguished family of talented gallery artists and artisans. Light refreshments served. This event occurs monthly every third Friday, and is free and open to the public. The Birds Nest Gallery and Salon, 25 Water Street • Guilford, CT 06437 • 203.689.5745 • art@thebirdnestsalon.com May 22 - June 16 Ivoryton Godspell is the first major musical theater hit from threetime Grammy and Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, and Children of Eden). Loosely based around the Gospel of St. Matthew, the show follows a company of characters who unite to become a community through teachings of love, kindness, and acceptance. Led by the international hit, “Day by Day,” Godspell features a parade of beloved songs, including, “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,” “Learn Your Lessons Well,” “All for the Best,” “All Good Gifts,” “Turn Back, O Man” and “By My Side.” Saturday matinees added: Saturday, June 1st and June 15th. Email: info@ivorytonplayhouse.org Theatre Address: 103 Main Street Ivoryton, CT 06442 Box Office Phone: 860.767.7318

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NEWLY RENOVATED BALLROOMS Sunday, May 12

Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Brunch

Friday, May 24

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Saturday, May 25 A Tribute To

Billy Joel

Performed by River of Dreams

For Details & Reservations: WatersEdgeResortandSpa.com 1525 Boston Post Rd Westbrook, CT 06498 (860) 399-5901