the artful mind july 2018

THE ARTFUL MIND THE SOURCE FOR PROMOTING THE ARTS IN THE BERKSHIRES SINCE 1994

THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY LENOX, MA

JULY 2018

Photography by Edward Acker

Mary Carol Rudin

Mary Carol Rudin, Morrocan Market, 18 x 24” oil on canvas

photograph by Susan Quinn

THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY 22 Walker Street Lenox Massachusetts 413. 854 4400 artgallenman@yahoo.com th heartfulmindgallery.com

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 12 - 5, Closed Monday Open by Appoinrtment

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 1

2 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

ROBERT FORTE

"A Flowing Boundary" Oil on canvas

30" x 30"

THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY 22 Walker Ttreet, Lenox, MA Tuesday through Sunday 12 - 5 and by appointment

Reception for Artists

Saturday July 28 4 -7pm

WWW.ROBERTFORTE.COM

ANN GETSINGER IN MAINE Squashshore. Oil on linen, 20” x 30” 2018

July and August 2018

Granite Gallery - The Wandering Shorelinne Series July 13th to 18th 68 Main Street, Tenants Harbor, Maine

Arundel Farm Gallery - New Work July 19th to August 19th 76 Arundel Road, Kennebunkport, Maine

For more information Www.anngetsinger.com/news

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 3

Eleanor Lord

THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE

JULY 2018

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on” - Albert Einstein

OUR REMAINS OF THE DAY: HOMO HOMINI LUPUS CARL BERG AND JUDY BERG ... 8

ARTIST JOANIE CIOLFI 11

Harryet P. Candee...

ARTIST PHILIP KNOLL Harryet P. Candee.. 21

THE ARTISTS OF THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY EDWARD ACKER

E L E A N O RL O R D .COM

Harryet P. Candee...28

RICHARD BRITELL / FICTION FALDONI PT. I...39

PATRICK O’TOOLE ACTOR/DIRECTOR/CREATIVE MIND Monica Bliss... 40 THE VOICE OF JOYCE ART, PASSION AND PERFECTION Joyce Silver...45 PAINTING THE TOWN Natalie Tyler ...46

GRANDMA BECKY’S OLD WORLD RECIPES Laura Pian ...50 Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Monica Bliss, Richard Britell, Laura Pian, Joyce Silver, Carl and Judy Berg, Natalie Tyler Photographers Edward Acker, Lee Everett, Jane Feldman Tasja Keetman, Sabine von Falken Publisher Harryet P. Candee Copy Editor Marguerite Bride

Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet Puritzman

artfulmind@yahoo.com 413 854 4400

FYI: ©Copyright laws in effect throughout The Artful Mind for logo & all graphics including text material. Copyright laws for photographers and writers throughout The Artful Mind. Permission to reprint is required in all instances. In any case the issue does not appear on the stands as planned due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, advertisers will be compensated on a one to one basis. All commentaries by writers are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher and take no responsibility for their facts and opinions.

4 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

JEAN GERMAIN

Jazz From Row Six an award-winning book,

along with a series of magical portraits highlighting many great musicians from the Big Band era at

THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY

jeangermainphotography.com germainphoto@gmail.com

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 5

CALENDAR OF EVENTS BY DAY AND BY NIGHT

ART

L’ATELIER BERKSHIRES 597 MAIN STREET, GREAT BARRINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS www.atelierberks.com.

• 510-469-5468 natalie.tyler@atelierberks.com Discover fresh contemporary artists in a historic Great Barrington building. Oil paintings, bronze & glass sculpture and unique furniture.

TIMELESS on Exhibition July 1st-Sept.4th Summer Soiree Art Party Friday July 27th 69pm Art Salon: Collectors on Building an Art Collection Friday August 17th 6pm. Summer Hours: Monday-Sunday 11-5pm

510 WARREN STREET GALLERY 510 WARREN STREET, HUDSON, NY 518-822-0510 510warrenstreetgallery@gmail.com / 510warrenstreetgallery.com John Lipkowitz: Cuban Visions: Its Car and its people. Thru July 29; Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5 or by app

ANN GETSINGER www.arundelfarmgallery.com Starting in the Mid-Coast area of Maine, opening at Granite Gallery, Friday, July 13th, "The Wandering Shoreline", a series of 17 connected and stand-alone paintings describing aspects of life on a particular stretch of coastline, will be on view, along with other related Maine work, just a few miles from where the work was created. Thursday, July 18, in southern Maine, the first in a two-part exhibit at Arundel Farm Gallery, called New Work, will be presented. The artist is offering a two-day workshop at Arundel Farm Gallery, “Stimulating Still Life” on August 1st and 2nd.

BECKET ARTS CENTER 7 BROOKER HILL RD, BECKET, MA Paintings by Rose Tanenbaum & Stephanie Jaffe, Karlene McConnell, Ivan Rosenblum and Allan Seppa. Thru July 29.

BERKSHIRE MUSEUM 39 SOUTH ST., PITTSFIELD, MA • 413-443-7171 Art of The Hills: A Juried Exhibition of Berkshire Artists, thru Sept 3, 2018

LISA VOLLMER PHOTOGRAPHY NEW STUDIO + GALLERY 325 STOCKBRIDGE ROAD, GT. BARRINGTON • 413-429-6511 / www.lisavollmer.com The Studio specializes in portrait, event, editorial and commercial photography : by appointment. The Gallery represents Sabine Vollmer von Falken, Thatcher Hullerman Cook, Carolina Palermo Schulze and Tom Zetterstrom.

(Open daily from 11-4pm closed on Wednesdays) MASS MoCA 1040 MASSMOCA WAY, NORTH ADAMS, MA • 413-662-2111 LAURIE ANDERSON, THRU 2019; LOUISE BOURGEOIS, THRU 2019

STANDING WOMAN, 2016, OIL ON CANVAS, 70 X 50 INCHES

Samuel Levy: Mirrors Sculpture Garden & Carriage House Ground Floor 362 1/2 Warren Street Hudson, New York 12534 518.828.5907 art@johndavisgallery.com

MARGUERITE BRIDE HOME STUDIO AT 46 GLORY DRIVE PITTSFIELD, MA • 413- 841-1659 or 413-442-7718 MARGEBRIDE-PAINTINGS.COM FB: MARGUERITE BRIDE WATERCOLORS 51 Park Restaurant and Tavern at 51 Park St, Lee is showing Bride’s “Jazz Vision” series of watercolors through late fall. The food is great… plus…cool air and cool jazz! Matted reproductions of these paintings plus other Berkshire scenes are available at Good Purpose Gallery, 40 Main Street in Lee. Original watercolors, house portraits, commissions, fine art reproductions. Seasonal scenes always on exhibit at Crowne Plaza, Pittsfield; Studio visits by appt.

DEB KOFFMAN’S ARTSPACE 137 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA Hours: Thursdays through Mondays, 11 - 5 pm and by appointment • 413-274-1201 Sat: 10:30-12:45 class meets. No experience in drawing necessary, just a willingness to look deeply and watch your mind. This class and geographic connections within her native Puerto Rican is conducted in silence. Adult class. $10, please & call to landscape. July 29- September 16, 2018 Artist Talk: register. First Tuesday of every month.

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM Thursday August 2, 7:00 pm.

August 7, 2018 Theme: NO BIG DEAL 9 GLENDALE RD, STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-298-4100 Hosted this month by Ted Phelps!!! Community comes toGUILD OF BERKSHIRE ARTISTS Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell, and the gether to share their artistic voices. Which we DEEPLY WEST STOCKBRIDGE, MA Narrative Tradition. Thru October 28, 2018 need!!!! 7-9PM July 21, 2-5pm: Imagine: Opening reception. Refreshments will be served. On view at Welles Gallery at the SAINT FRANCIS GALLERY DENISE B CHANDLER Lenox Library, 18 Main St., Lenox.

1370 SOUTH ST, RTE. 102, SOUTH LEE, MA FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTO ART 413-637-2344 or 413-281-8461 (leave message) PORTRAITURE BEYOND PORTRAITS THRU JULY 30.

FRONT STREET GALLERY *Lenox home studio & gallery appointments available.

129 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA • 413-274-6607 *Exhibiting and represented by Sohn Fine Art, Lenox, SCHANTZ GALLERIES Kate Knapp oils and watercolors and classes open to all.

MA. 3 ELM ST, STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-298-3044 schantzgalleries.com KIMBALL FARMS LIFE CARE COMMUNITY DISTINCTIONS IN GLASS : Peter Bremers, Martin JaDIANA FELBER GALLERY 235 WALKER ST, LENOX, MA • 413-637-7043 necký, and Harue Shimomoto 6 HARRIS ST., WEST STOCKBRIDGE, MA Cross Border Art, thru summer 413-854-7002dianafelbergallery.com August 2 to 26. Gallery Reception August 2.6-7:30pm Open 11-6pm, closed Tues. hours: Daily, 10:30 - 5 LAUREN CLARK FINE ART 325 STOCKBRIDGE RD, GT. BARRINGTON MA FERRIN CONTEMPORARY SOHN FINE ART 413-528-0432 1315 MASS MOCA WAY, NORTH ADAMS, MA 69 CHURCH ST, LENOX, MA • www.sohnfineart.com Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com Cristina Córdova Del balcón, a solo exhibition of new Light + Dark. Featuring camera-less photography by www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com work by Cristina Córdova, featuring large and small figural Chuck Kelton, Garry Fabian Miller. Thru Sept 2, 2018.

Abby DuBow, Explorations: New Directions, thru July sculptures exploring the relationship between the human 30.

6 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY 22 WALKER ST, LENOX, MA • 413-854-4400 theartfulmindgallery.com / artgallenman@yahoo.com An Eclectic Message...Reception for Berkshire Fine Artists on canvas, Photography, mixed media and sculpture, Saturday, July 28, 4 - 7pm THE CLARK 225 SOUTH ST, • 413-458-2303Williamstown, MA A City Transformed, photographs of Paris, 1850-1900, thru Sept 23, 2018; Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900, thru Sept 3, 2018 THE MOUNT HOME OF EDITH WHARTON 2 PLUNKETT ST, LENOX, MA • 413-551-5111 info@edithwharton.org SculptureNow Exhibition thru Oct, 31.

VAULT GALLERY 322 MAIN ST, GT. BARRINGTON, MA • 413-644-0221 Marilyn Kalish at work and process on view, beautiful gallery and wonderful collection of paintings

THEATRE

BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY 122 NORTH ST, PITTSFIELD, MA • 413-236-8888 / info@barringtonstageco.org July 12-July 28: A Doll’s House, Part 2. By Lucas Hnath, Directed by Joe Calarco. In the final scene of Ibsen’s 1879 ground-breaking masterwork, Nora Helmer makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and children and begin a life on her own. A Doll’s House, Part 2 dares to wonder what Ibsen’s Nora has been up to since she slammed the door. Called “the best play of the year” by The New York Times, it explores the emotional chaos that results when Nora returns 15 years later to the family she left behind. “An explosive new play,” says The Hollywood Reporter.

THE MOUNT HOME OF EDITH WHARTON 2 PLUNKETT ST, LENOX, MA • 413-551-5111 Love’s Labor Lost by William Shakespeare, directed by Kelly Galvin, July 10-Aug 18

WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL 1000 MAIN ST, WILLIAMSTOWN, MA • 413-458-3253 July 20 - Aug 1: Lempicka; Aug 5-Aug 19: The Member of the Wedding; July 25-Aug 4: Seared, July 11-July 22: Artney Jackson

Talks & EvEnTs

THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL OTIS ARTS FESTIVAL will take place on Saturday, September 1, from 9am to 3pm indoors at the Farmington River Elementary School located at 555 North Main Road (Rte. 8No.) Admission is FREE. Artisans and craftspeople of pottery, stain glass, paintings, photography, quilts, jewelry and much more. Musical entertainment by pianist Susan Aery. Food available for purchase. Info, call 413 822-4554.

THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY 22 WALKER ST LENOX MA • 413 854 4400 theartfulmindgallery.com Book Talk by author and artist Roselle Kline Chartock: Windsor Mountain: A Lenox Boarding School Where The Arts Really Mattered. Monday July 30, 4:30-5:30. Open to public. Refreshments. Artist Talk: Carolyn Newberger: Drawing From Life, Writing From Life, Wed. Aug 15, 56:30. Free. Refreshments

Charles MarvilleFrench, 1816–1879 Place et rue de l’École Polytechnique, from rue Descartes 1865–69 Albumen print Lent by The Troob Family Foundation A City Transformed Photographs of Paris, 1850 - 1900 July 1 - September 23, 2018 The Clark Art Institute 225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 413-458-2303

VENTFORT HALL MANSION AND GILDED AGE MUSEUM 104 WALKER ST LENOX, MA • 413-637-3206 Ghost Hunt: A Spirited Evening. July 27 - July 28, 7pm.$35.

Join David Raby for a paranormal investigation of the historic and haunted Ventfort Hall. A non-fiction author and paranormal investigator, Raby has always been intrigued by history. He undauntedly enters haunted locations that would terrify others with hopes of contacting lingering spirits to discover why they remain.

MUSIC .....

The Badila Family: Young Paris Friday July 20 tix 20 in advance, 25 at doorBorn in Paris and raised in Hudson, Young Paris‘ (Milandou Badila) unique blend of traditional Afro-culture, high fashion, and visionary approach to music and media make him a creative pop-culture force to be reckoned with.

THE HUDSON OPERA HUDSON HALL 327 Warren st, Hudson NY hello@hudsonhall.org See total schedule on website

DAVID REED Saturday, July 21: David Reed | Solo at the Millerton Farmer's Market, Rt. 44/Dutchess St., Millerton, NY. 111PM Roots & Herbs music! Saturday, July 21: David Reed | Solo at Aegean Breeze...YASSOU!

DEWEY HALL 91 MAIN ST. · SHEFFIELD, MA August 11 is the return of the popular Useless Cans (aka the Adirondack Hot Club). September: Swing Night will be Sept 6 at the Oldtone Roots Music Festival with The Lucky 5 and Tuba Skinny

TANNERY POND CONCERTS 110 DARROW RD, NEW LEBANON, NY • 888-820-1696 / tannerypondconcerts.org Zorá String Quartet & Hanzhi Wang, Accordion: 8PM August 18, 2018

THE EGREMONT BARN SOUTH EGREMONT, MA • theegremontbarn.com Dave Dempsy & Friends, July 19, 8pm; Pinedrop Band, July 20, 8pm; Tarbox Ramblers, July 21, 8pm

CLUB HELSINKI HUDSON 405 COLUMBIA ST., HUDSON, NY • 518-828-4800 heslinkihudson.com / info@helsinkihudson.com Shannon McNally, The DuPont Brothers, Fri, July 20, doors open at 6pm. 21 and over.; JD McPherson, Sam Lewis, Tues, July 24, 6pm, 21 and over PS21 2980 NEW YORK 66, CHATHAM, NEW YORK PS21 |(518) 392-6121 Chatham Rory Block’s Gospel & Blues Fest Weekend July 20, 8:00 pm

THE STATIONARY FACTORY 63 FLANSBURG AVE., DALTON, MA • 413-329-5499 JOCELYN & CHRIS ARNDT: Tickets:$12 advance / $15 day of show Devastatingly powerful vocals and retro-rock guitar, with lyrics that run the gamut from vulnerable to allout venomous: siblings Jocelyn & Chris Arndt are creating a new generation of authentic album rock. Jocelyn & Chris perform at venues and festivals coast to coast, backed by a killer band and non-stop, full-throttle stage presence. They create live shows that are unforgettable. Jocelyn & Chris Arndt, cracked the Billboard Top 35 (AAA) with their single, Red Stops Traffic earlier this year.

artfulmind@yahoo.com

ISSUU.COM 413 854 4400 theartfulmindgallery.coM THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 7

Our Remains of the Day: Homo homini lupus I am writing from the far end of the bridge between Spring and Summer. Fresh green is everywhere. The lilacs, viburnum, and spirea no longer punctuate a feathery green landscape, the asparagus, exhausted from output is slowing down, and the ramps have melted into the forest underground until next April. All signs that Summer has swallowed all but Spring’s tail. By the time you read this, we’ll be subtracting, rather than adding, minutes to the day.

It is that time of year when, looking out of the window, all seems right with the world. The seeds planted a month ago have grown into young spinach, chard, lettuce, and arugula. Young, but definitely legal. And, the peas have started reaching toward the string that will support them as they sprout their pods, timed to take over from the asparagus needing a well deserved rest.

Nature seems to be behaving as it should, so maybe we should just relax. Things are okay, right?

I thought about making the theme of this column “extremes,” but it seemed too abstract, too politely removed 8• JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Photographs by Carl Berg

Written by Judy Berg

to cohabit with the news of these days. How do I reckon the beauteous bounty in my backyard with the photo in today’s paper of a pilot whale that washed up on a beach in Thailand, dying from the effects of the 18 pounds of plastic garbage in its stomach. Thus, our title. Except, we must amend it a bit from “man is wolf to man,” to “man is wolf to all living things.” The article accompanying the photo of our victim estimates that if we continue to act like “wolves,” by 2050, we will be responsible for 16 billion metric tons of plastic waste in our environment.

I can’t imagine that amount of plastic, but I do use plastic bags, all the while telling myself that we can find a way to make them biodegradable, or better yet, just ban them altogether. Surely, we can find a way to live without them.

June 13 What’s for supper? That’s what the evening meal was called in Michigan, where I grew up. Dinner was some-

thing that you had on Sunday, after church, at about three in the afternoon. I knew nothing of an evening dinner until I was drawn east by the promise of a more cosmopolitan and sophisticated way of life. Here, we invite people over for an evening dinner. Tonight, we call it supper because it is a small meal for the two of us, a stir-fry, with a bright new crown of broccoli from the garden, a few remaining asparagus from the patch that’s now being allowed to do what it’s wanted to do from the beginning: reach for the sky and wave it’s ferny leaves before turning yellow in the fall, and fallow for the winter. We throw in some sweet red bell pepper and gulf shrimp from the local supermarket, and some shallots that were hiding in the onion basket. Cook up some rice, toss a garden salad, and we have supper.

As we enjoy our supper, we talk about the mother and nursing baby who were pulled apart by immigration police in Texas. We try to imagine how a man, or woman, who probably has children at home, could feel right after doing such a thing. Carl’s answer is that the

woman and child are not seen as human, and I think he’s right. We have plenty of evidence over the years with all of our lupus (sorry, wolves) acts: persecution of Christians by Romans, persecution of Moslems by Christians, slaughter of Native Americans by European invaders, enslavement of Africans, the Holocaust. This is by no means a complete list; I’ve left out entire centuries and continents. As a psychologist, I see the dehumanization of humans as a thought disorder. As a person, I see it as a moral disorder.

A recent newspaper column introduced us to a “tradwife,” a North Dakota woman of nordic descent who married a man of nordic descent, and then extolled on a white supremacist radio show, her proud delight to have had blond-haired, blue-eyed babies who look like herself. The article goes on to describe how the white nationalist movement is trying to lure women turned off by their male supremacist lingo into their ranks with promises of white domestic bliss. One taker issued a “white baby challenge,” to counter the higher birthrates in non-white Americans, and boasted of having produced six. The stench of racism and sexism cooked up together is noxious. It’s getting harder and harder to be simply human in this culturally and racially polarized world. And, if you think the “trad-wife” movement is just a temporary blip on our cultural screen, read or dial The Handmaid’s Tale.

I can’t think of the ”white baby challenge” without picturing the baby that was, this week, pulled away from its mother’s breast in Texas, as she sought entry into the US. Non-white babies need not apply. And, why would they want to? We seem to be returning to the country of my youth when Big Bill Broonzy sang: “If you is white you’s alright, if you’s brown, stick around, but if you’s black, get back.” The difference now is that our President, having made clear his preference for Nordic immigrants earlier this year, has instituted policies that convey to non-whites: Get Back.

June 17 What’s for dinner? Tonight, we have guests, so it’s called dinner. After slathering a butterflied leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary, we rolled it up and roasted it on the grill rotisserie. A light salad of tender greens

from the garden, tarted up with marinated baby artichokes and green beans, seemed to be the way to begin. The meat was paired with a vaguely Mediterranean melange of eggplant, potato, tomato and onion, with mint thrown in at the last minute, just because it seemed to move everything in an easterly direction.

Since it’s June, there must be strawberries, tonight anointed with a splash of Cassis because it’s dinner, not supper.

As we eat, we talk about our grandchildren, reviewing their progress and accomplishments in the culturally rich and secure environments in which they grow. The subtext, sometimes spoken, sometimes not, is the current circumstance of at least two thousand children in the past two months, who have been forcibly, sometimes violently, separated from their parents who are trying to enter our country illegally. The perennial question is, how do we digest this knowledge, along with our fine food, and our fine talk about our fine families.

I’m not being facetious, here. These are good

people gathered around our table, who are deeply pained about what’s going on at the border. They volunteer time, they call their local congressman, they protest.

What remains with me as I write this, are the most terrifying words recently heard from the mouth of Trump, speaking admiringly of Kim Jong Un; “He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” And, what would we forfeit if we did his bidding? We might still have our fine dinners in our fine homes, but we would lose the freedom to protest the policies that make those dinners just a little bit harder to digest. We would hollow out our democracy to a shell of itself, just like the hollowed out tree that sits along the driveway to our fine home. Hopefully, we know something about the art of the deal, and know a bad one when we see one.

Veritas, unitas, caritas. Now, there’s a deal I can live with.

-Judy and Carl Berg

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 9

SOLO PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION at

OLD CHATHAM COUNTRY STORE GALLERY 639 ALBANY TURNPIKE ROAD OLD CHATHAM, NEW YORK 12136

FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

by CARL BERG www.nonationimages.com

AUGUST 2 —AUGUST 28, 2018

OPENING RECEPTION: SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2018 3—5 PM rsvp: (917) 597-2203 or carlberg@nonationimages.com

10 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

JOANIE CIOLFI Harryet: Joanie, your art is beautiful!

Joanie Ciolfi: Thank you Harryet! You’re definitely responding to my paintings the way that I hope others will as well. Painting and color are the way that I best express myself. It’s about being inspired by something and interpreting it in a way that is tangible. To capture the essence of the message that I’m trying to convey.

Tell us Joanie, what are some of your artistic intentions and routines?

Joanie: I wish that I could say that I have a plan or mapped out intention for creating work, but it’s mostly reliant of what is going on in my life at the time. Painting for me is similar to practicing yoga

INTERVIEW BY HARRYET P. CANDEE

everyday. It has become my routine and often times I don’t feel complete if I haven’t painted.

I’ve been extremely fortunate that my past work experience as a surface and textile designer, taught me to structure my time and created a rhythm to working whether I felt inspired or not.

Often I’m asked how many days a week that I paint. In the fall, winter and spring months I’m at my studio almost everyday. There’s always something to work on whether it’s part of my creative process or something mechanical, like prepping canvases or cleaning tools. Oil paintings take much longer to dry so I often work on many pieces simultaneously. Whether or not I’m physically at the studio, my mind rarely takes a break from planning

ARTIST

out my next project.

The work you are creating at the moment, how different is it from past work? What challenges are you confronting within your new body of work?

Joanie: I hope that my newest work comes across as freer and unencumbered. Feeling comfortable in my mark making and not overworking a piece.

Last fall I broke my right wrist and I’m right handed. Unable to hold brushes, I decided to start using palette knives and other tools to lay paint on the canvas with my left hand. I partially guided my left hand with my right, but I really found the challenge liberating!Continued on next page....

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 11

joanie ciolfi

JOANIE CIOLFI I set out with no expectations, but ended up creating one of my favorite paintings. Through color, texture and atmospheric quality I was able to create “Platinum Barn “ which is based on a favorite barn in Sheffield. I love to work on large canvases and that too allows for the freedom in my strokes.

“Bucket and Brush”, which could be a self portrait, is definitely a symbol of the tools of the trade. This particular image was captured through photography on the day that I painted the walls of my new gallery in downtown Lenox last summer. Light poured through the window at just the right level to illuminate the metal bucket. It really is about paying attention to the light. What is it about the angle of the light that can so dramatically take your breath away? For many artists it may be about patience and structuring a still life, but for me it’s paying attention to the moment. From the inception, I knew that this would be a special painting and a very large one at that. Sometimes it’s about 12 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Black Bull

seeing simple objects in a new scale. That is where the personality of this object takes on a life of its own.

The landscapes I have seen in your latest body of work make me delirious with excitement.

Everything moves on the large canvas. Can you achieve the same dramatic effects if you were to be given a small-sized canvas to work on?

Joanie: The large landscapes are painted with large tools.Perhaps they could be worked into smaller paintings, but I think that they could lose the flow and energy that you see in these larger pieces.

What provokes you to do a still life, like Big Sky, that is rumbling and full of spirit?

Joanie: Honestly Harryet, there are a few different reasons for the variety of work that I create. One is about inspiration and emotion and what feelings I need to express at the time. Two, is that I find if

I’m working on a very detailed piece, my next painting has to be unbridled. I’ve been painting since I was about nine years old and my hands need a break from the more detailed work. So it almost becomes an exercise for loosening my mind as well as my hands.

I understand that, Joanie. The feeling you get under your skin, those flowing currents of energy and the pent-up whirlwinds needing to be set free. What can you tell us about Black Bull, Blue Cow and all their companions in this body of work?

Joanie: The cow series began by chance on a trip to my son’s school. In passing I first noticed their distinctive shape and character, but eventually their personality and soulfulness shone through. My early work was more traditional in nature, but throughout the years I’ve transformed them into more modern and contemporary works.

BUCKET AND BRUSH JOANIE CIOLFI

You have done a series on Dresses. Can you tell us about the oil on canvas painting, Priscilla, one from your latest work you now have at your gallery in Lenox?

Joanie: It begins again with staying in the moment and responding to images that tend to awaken my senses. I stumbled upon “Priscilla” in a local midcentury store. Fabric has been a huge part of my life and there was something in the styling and the light on the organza of this 1960’s wedding dress that captured my heart. I left the store that day but continued to think about it over the next few weeks. That’s when I know that I have to respond to my emotional connection to the piece. I had a similar experience that prompted me to buy a collection of tutus when a local ballet instructor was closing his business. Selling everything off, I went to his studio that was directly beneath my own.

These dream-filled visions were hanging from a rack with forty of its closest friends. They were el-

egant and reminiscent of so many childhood dreams. In my mind I’m still a young girl with visions of being a dancer, reliving the joyful years that my daughter danced, as well as the inspiration that so many of us have through the sculpture of the Degas Dancer. I remember being mesmerized as an eleven year old on my first field trip and visit to the Clark Art Institute.

In your daily life, do you have as much energy that is similar to what we see when looking at your abstract work such as Cascade and Inscriptions?

Joanie: My energy waxes and wanes like it do for all of us, but I definitely try to capitalize on the high-energy moments. “Cascade” was created after a glorious weekend filled with high energy and sunshine. This was a way for my emotions to overflow onto canvas.

How do you center yourself and begin a work of art, and how do you know when you are ready to forge forward? With so much going on in our lives today, your output in terms of your art makes the world look like a very exciting energy-filled planet.

Joanie: Ok that’s an easy one. It starts with a good nights sleep and cup of coffee. Without either of those I’m unable to do just about anything. I do think the centering comes from feeling in balance with my surroundings. I’m beyond fortunate to have a supportive family who understands the highs and lows of being an artist. As for forging forward on a new collection, it’s an understanding of when I feel that I’ve tapped out a series and the imagery no longer feels fresh. At that point I usu ally do a 180-degree turn to work on a new body of work that utilizes a different mental and skill set. Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 13

joanie ciolfi

PRISCILLA JOANIE CIOLFI

14 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

BIG SKY JOANIE CIOLFI

CHERISH JOANIE CIOLFI

How much of what you create comes from formal art education and training?

Joanie: As I had mentioned earlier, I’ve been painting and creating since I was really young. Primarily my painting style is self-taught. I attended Fine Arts school for two years and then went on for three more years to earn a degree in Visual Design.

Through both areas of concentration I studied, drawing, color theory, painting, design, calligraphy, fashion illustration, photography, packaging, bookbinding, papermaking, typography, and art history.

I then went on to work in fields of exhibition and photographic research and textile design. It’s through all of these studies that I’m able to draw

from when I’m visualizing a new body of work.

Who has been your main mentor in art?

Joanie: I’ve had so many influences throughout my years, through teachers and peers but the mentor that I have the most respect and admiration for was my Design Professor Dietmar Winkler. Dietmar, a world re-known graphic designer, specializes in Typographic Design. He taught me to see each assignment as a real problem that needed to be solved; challenging through content and thought process; stretching boundaries in ways that are much more resemblance of current design practices. He embraced the variety of materials that

were used and the thought process that went with them. He encouraged me to be true to my skill set, because that’s what set me apart from the rest. To this day, his wit, knowledge, structured teaching, Continued on next page... mature thought process and enthusiasm for being the best that you can be is what motivates me.

What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses and challenges in art, and do they parallel with your personal life?

Joanie: I think my strength might be an innate sense of color. It was something that I’ve had for Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 15

joanie ciolfi

wonderland series joanie ciolfi

as long as I can remember. My weakness is in knowing when to put a paintbrush down and step away from the canvas. If I get to a point where I question what to do next , that’s when I need to walk away and give myself time to come back to the image with fresh eyes. I’d say that’s also a trait that carries over into my personal life, yet I rarely have the same amount of time to figure things out.

Which painting of yours reflects your heat and soul?

Joanie: There are two pieces come to mind and they are large abstracts works. The first was called “Grateful” and the second is called “Cherish”.

16 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

And, why this work of art?

Joanie: They were both painted with a very full heart in thankfulness after healthy diagnoses.

I am glad for you, Joanie. How do you feel about having a summer gallery space in Lenox, MA? Joanie: I love it! Last summer was my inaugural year. As an artist we tend to work in solitary situations. I often create paintings that I’m not certain anyone will ever see.

The gallery has provided me the outlet to have all my work on display in one place. It’s given a sense of continuity that I wasn’t always certain been there. Especially when my artwork was stored and

hidden from view. I can appreciate the color stories and the line quality, the balance of feminine and masculine in my subject matter as well as technique. What I find the most rewarding is the response when visitors enter the gallery for the first time and they take a deep breath and smile and tell me how joyful this environment makes them feel.

It really doesn’t get much better than that!

What is the traffic generally like in the summer for you at your gallery?

Joanie: Last summer was the first year that the gallery was open from July through October. The traffic was fantastic and I met people visiting the Berkshires from around the world.

JOANIE CIOLFI platinum barn

Do you have people come to your studio? Where would that be?

Joanie: I have a studio at NuArts at 311 North Street. It’s in downtown Pittsfield. This is where I paint most of the year and it’s available to visit by appointment by calling me at 413-441-2626.

What is it you love most about Berkshire County?

Joanie: There’s a lot to love. It’s our home, it’s lush, and it’s colors, it’s bucolic, it’s history, and it’s dedication and commitment to artists and the arts in all forms.

The only thing that would make it more ideal is for this beautiful county and community to be situated on the ocean.

Oh, I agree with that! Where were you brought up and how did you land in the Berkshires?

Joanie: I was born and raised in Pittsfield. I’m the youngest of five and was extremely fortunate to be surrounded by a family that supported and cultivated my interests. I moved away for college and spent the next fourteen years living in and around Boston. I returned when my husband and I began our family. The Berkshires felt like the perfect place to do that.

Are you a full time artist? What would you rather be doing if at all possible? Why? Joanie: I am a full time artist. I really can’t think of what I would rather be doing except for traveling of course. Painting allows me the liberty to ex-

plore any area that I’m curious about and translate it into a visual language for everyone to interpret in his or her own way.

Thank you Joanie!

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 17

FRONT ST. GALLERY STILL LIFE BY KATE KNAPP

Painting classes continue on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1:30pm at the studio and Thursday mornings out in the field. These classes are open to all...come to one or come again if it works for you. All levels and materials welcome. Private critiques available.

Classes at Front Street are for those wishing to learn, those who just want to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art, and/or those who have some experience under their belt. Perfect if you are seeking fresh insight into watercolors, and other mediums. A teacher for many years, Kate Knapp has a keen sense of each student’s artistic needs to take a step beyond. Perfect setting for setting up still lifes; lighting and space are excellent. Peek in to see!

Front Street Gallery – Front Street, Housatonic, MA. Gallery open by appointment or chance anytime.

413-528-9546 at home or 413-429-7141 (cell).

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ANN GETSINGER MAINE, ANYONE? WILD AND DOMESTIC

For those familiar with the ancient push-pull between inland rolling hills and the deep blue sea, the dynamic attraction to place found in Ann Getsinger’s psychologically imaginative realism may resonate. Through the placement of objects in real and imagined landscapes, adding weather and a myriad of circumstances, a new world appears.

This long time Berkshire-based artist, with a studio in New Marlborough, also maintains a “since childhood” relationship with coastal Maine. She’ll be showing her oil paintings in two places there this summer, first a new series at the Granite Gallery in Tenants Harbor, followed by a two-part exhibit at Arundel Farm Gallery in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Starting in the Mid-Coast area of Maine, opening at Granite Gallery, Friday, July 13th, "The Wandering Shoreline", a series of 17 connected and stand-alone paintings describing aspects of life on a particular stretch of coastline, will be on view, along with other related Maine work, just a few miles from where the work was created.

Opening Thursday, July 18, in southern Maine, the first in a two-part exhibit at Arundel Farm Gallery, called New Work, will be presented. The artist is offering a twoday workshop at Arundel Farm Gallery, “Stimulating Still Life” on August 1st and 2nd.

Ann Getsinger - www.arundelfarmgallery.com.

MARGUERITE BRIDE SUMMER EXHIBITS

Marguerite Bride is exhibiting at many venues during the summer.

From May 1 – August 31, she is one of many artists exhibiting at the Artful Mind Gallery at 22 Walker Street in Lenox. A second reception is scheduled for late July.

The gallery is open 12n – 5pm, closed on Mondays.

51 Park Restaurant and Tavern at 51 Park St, Lee is showing Bride’s “Jazz Vision” series of watercolors through late fall. The food is great… plus…cool air and cool jazz! Matted reproductions of these paintings plus other Berkshire scenes are available at Good Purpose Gallery, 40 Main Street in Lee. On Friday, July 13, for the third year in a row, Bride demoing watercolor technique from 11 am – 2 pm at the Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio, 92 Hawthorne St, Lenox, Mass. She will be painting under a tent on the grounds of this stunning site...come sit for a while, get a free watercolor lesson and demo with museum admission.

July 18-Aug 25 - In celebration of 2018 Berkshire’s Summer of Music, there will be 14 artfully decorated pianos placed in public area throughout the Berkshires.

Bride’s piano will live on Park Square in Pittsfield for all to play and enjoy during this time. On August 26 all pianos will be removed and then auctioned as a fund raiser for the Berkshire Music School.

July 28-29, as most years, Bride will have a booth at the Church on the Hill Juried Fine Art and Craft Show at Lilac Park, Main Street, Lenox, Mass. This outdoor show happens rain or shine (usually rain), free admission, ample parking. Hours are Saturday 10am - 5pm, Sunday 10am 4pm.

For the first time, paintings will be on exhibit at the 3day 2018 Berkshire Crafts Fair at Monument Mountain High School, August 10-12. Look for Marge Bride’s booth…and don’t forget…it is indoors and cool! Admission charged.

Anytime is a great time to commission a house portrait or favorite scene you would like captured in a watercolor.

Paintings (or even a personalized gift certificate, then the artist will work directly with the recipient) are cherished and personal gifts for weddings, retirement, new home, old home, anniversaries, graduation…..any occasion is special. Commission work is always welcome. Be in touch!

Marguerite Bride – 413-841-1659 or 413-442-7718; margebride-paintings.com; margebride@aol.com; Facebook: Marguerite Bride Watercolors.

“think left and think right and think low and think high.

Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”

-Dr. Suess

FRONT ST. GALLERY

Kate Knapp

“Eric’s Great Gardens”@FB

Painting classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1pm at the studio in Housatonic and Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field.

landscape design installations ericsmith715@gmail.com 917. 892. 7548

Also available for private critiques.

Open to all. Please come paint with us!

gallery hours: open by chance and by appointment anytime 413. 274. 6607 (gallery) 413. 429. 7141 (cell) 413. 528. 9546 (home)

Front Street, Housatonic, MA

carolYn neWBerger

Artist Talk: Carolyn Newberger: Drawing From Life, Writing From Life, Wed. Aug 15, 5-6:30.

The Artful Mind Gallery 22 walker, lenox ma

www.carolynnewberger.com cnewberger@me.com

Free. Refreshments

The Artful Mind Gallery, Lenox MA

510 Warren Street Gallery, Hudson NY Galatea Fine Art, Boston MA THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 19

20 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

ARTIST PHILIP KNOLL

philip knoll owls 2017 12 x 12” Graphite on paper mounted on panel

INTERVIEW BY HARRYET P. CANDEE

Harryet: Philip, is it all about the image? Seriously, you must have so much fun at making art, and I am referring to the artwork, Magna Viagra, and other similar art works. Where in the world did this all come from? And, why?

Philip Knoll: Really happy that you picked up on the “fun”. Yes, I would like my work to be fun. Fun to make, fun to look at, and fun to think about. Not to say it’s not serious. Making the work is physically demanding, not to be taken serious. My cartoon work comes from childhood, as I was sort of a sickly kid. Ear infections, high fevers and such, and spent a lot of time at home watching cartoons on T.V. and drawing. Loony Tunes, Mighty Mouse,

etc. I loved the plasticity of the cartoons as well as the content of the shows. The cartoons hinted at subjects beyond a five-year -olds experience as I strived to discover these hidden messages and their meaning.

Do you know Berkshire artist, Morgan Bulkeley?

Philip: Yes! Morgan is great! I really cherish our friendship. Morgan and I share a lot of similarities.

We both love nature. We both love telling stories with our art. We both use cartoon imagery. And music. One fond memory of Morgan was during a visit to his studio to see what the “Mad Professor” was up to. He'd pop in a cassette and we'd jam

out. His recent retrospective at the Berkshire Museum was stunning. Epic. Fun.

Morgan definitely has an artistic sense of humor, like you. Phil, I am aware of your animal portraiture. Why are these domesticated baby animals a subject of interest to you?

Philip: The animal portraits came about after seeing a show of Chuck Close portraits in New York.

Huge pictures of people like Philip Glass, which still has this appeal and power after all these years — and I thought, “Why not big portraits of puppies and kittens. That would be a trip!” My recent pieces are big – around 43” x 43”, but one day I Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 21

philip knoll

22 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

The Buddy SySTem 2013 20 x 16” acrylic, ink on panel

philip and dauGhter lanna

philip knoll picasso at work 2018 9 x 7” ink and Graphite on paper

would like to make some 8’ x 8’ artworks of animals. The pieces are made with watercolor, colored pencil and graphite on paper. They are time-consuming and physically demanding, but it is the layering of color and line which gives them the “life” I desire.

How has living in the Berkshires influenced your train of thought and artistic process in choosing what you create as an artist?

Philip: Sue, my wife and fellow artist, and I moved from New York to the Berkshires 16 years ago. We had been showing at the Geoffrey Young Gallery in Great Barrington, for a number of years and developed a wonderful friendship with Geoff, Morgan and a slew of other interesting people in the “Berkshire art scene”. The move felt natural.

Except, the winters were a shock! The Berkshire

winters are way colder than in New York! Living in the woods surely has had an influence in terms of subject matter. Life here is chill, less frantic. Although, animals have consistently been part my work from the beginning.

Sue Muskat, your wife, is an artist. Her work is much different. I am wondering about how your artistic minds work together, as well as being a challenge to one another?

Philip: I consider Sue to be one of the greatest painters alive today! I’m not joking. She is fantastic! Sue and I see a lot of art while helping run the Geoffrey Young Gallery for about 5 years now, and I can honestly say she’s up there with the best.

She’s unbelievably precise and intuitively a colorist. Her subject matter is iconic, gems of human ingenuity, and the work is fun. Sue and I have been

sharing a studio since the early 90’s. We help each other all the time. I help her with the drawing aspect of her work and she helps me with the color in mine. Pretty compatible! I’m flattered she still asks my opinion on color, because she’s the chroma master! We met in grad school at Virginia Commonwealth University. It took us all of one week to move in together. After graduation she said, “I’m moving to New York. Wanna come?”

We did. It was one of the scariest things, ever! I had three hundred dollars in my pocket and that was it! Somehow it all worked out.

Good story, phil. So, what in particular do you love about Sue’s artistic abilities?

Philip: I’m envious of Sue’s meticulousness, focus and steady hand. She makes interesting subject Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 23

philip knoll puppies and kittens 2015 20 x 16” Graphite on paper mounted on panel

matter even more interesting! That’s a rare and special gift.

What projects do you collaborate on together?

Philip: All our work is sort of collaboration because we help each other so much. Curating for the Geoffrey Young Gallery is a true collaboration.

All aspects of the gallery work is done together.

She does most of the intellectual stuff and I do most of the grunt work, but we choose the work that will be shown together. We have put together some really good shows!

What’s it like living with an artist?

24 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Philip: Mostly it's good! Sue has been at an artist residency in New Haven this summer, so there has been more minutia to juggle.

Of all your childhood experiences, which one surfaces for you?

Philip: My dad was in the Air Force, so there was a lot of moving around. From 1966 to 1969 he was stationed in Japan. Living in Japan was formative, and the Japanese culture and aesthetic still inspires me today. And Japanese food is the best!

Yes, I do agree. (Bizen in Gt Barrington!) Where and when did you study art?

A: I’ve been drawing since I was about two. I attended the University of Texas Austin, where I learned a lot. Peter Saul taught there. Seeing his paintings for the first time hit me, “You can do that?!?!” His work gave permission to do anything in art. Peter Saul was pretty much my art education. Great friends like Chris Ware were at UT, too. We influenced each other quite a bit. Went to grad school at Virginia Commonwealth University where I didn’t learn so much, but I met Sue! Worth it then! What other careers did you own, and how did you turn into a full time artist?

Philip: There have been so many crazy jobs!

9 X 6’

philip knoll niche 2015

48 x 36”

philip knoll THE RABBIT HUNTRESS 2018 INK AND GRAPHITE ON PAPER

watercolor and Graphite on paper

While trying to earn money for grad school I was part of a landscaping crew in Texas. One day, while riding in the back of the truck, a guy asked, “Phil, have you ever been to jail?” I said, “No.” He looked astounded and said, “I’ve never met anyone who's not been in jail!” In New York I worked as a recreational therapist on Roosevelt Island for incarcerated tuberculosis patients. That was a motley crew! One day a patient pulled an 8inch knife! It was pressing into my belly and my thought was, I’m going to see my intestines! I kept thinking how great it is that we’re in a hospital for immediate medical care. On the inside I was scared shitless, but on the outside calmly I told the

dude, “You don’t want to do this, put the knife down.” Eventually, the guy set down the knife and walked away. Yikes! I’m glad not to have seen my intestines!

So am I. What are your main concerns with our planet and our country today?

Philip: Everything! What a depressing time we live in! What idiocy that our country elected such a President! Don’t get me started!!!

Ok, I won’t do that! What ‘mountains’ have you successfully climbed that has led you to where you are today in your life?

Philip: Over the years I’ve become good friends with some awesome collectors, artists, curators and gallerists. That is a very great thing! And, I am grateful to the loyal fans whose enthusiasm keeps me making art. Selling a piece of artwork is the greatest honor. The Judith Rothschild Foundation bought a few of mine. Now they are in MoMA, so I have drawings at MoMA. How cool is that?!?

Very. If you were to say what is the greatest importance of art, what would you tell us?

Philip: Art is everything that it is to be human.

Thank you, Philip!

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 25

26 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

BERKSHIRE FINE ARTISTS WORKING IN PAINT,

MIXED MEDIA, PHOTOGRAPHY

& SCULPTURE

Eclectic Messagees

ARTIST’S RECEPTION

saturday july 28 • 4-7pm

Celebrate with the artists!

the artful mind gallery !

22 walker street lenox massachusetts tues - sun 12-5 by appointment on mondays

ARTGALLENMAN@yahoo.com / theartfulmindgallery.com THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 27

The Artists of The Artful Mind Gallery Harryet P. Candee

Promoting artists for 26 years, I’ve happily helped them to lift off and to connect to resources that support them on their artistic journey and artistic self-discovery. The Artful Mind Gallery is the result and extension of the years I applied myself to the process of publishing an arts magazine to support multi-disciplinary artists, arts and venues. From the interview pages to the artists’ monthly columns, to the art of display, advertising and press releases, to the great fun and complete artistic bliss of designing the layout from the front to back cover. Now, it is time to see the art and artists on the pages, move onto the walls.

For me, the hanging of art in the gallery is similar to the layout of the magazine, and is why I thoroughly enjoy the creative art of curating.

28 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Harryet

I have worked in a range of gallery styles and now have the opportunity to bring to The Artful Mind Gallery what I have learned. To bring to Lenox and the greater Berkshire area a gallery that has as its primary mission, the representation of art and artists within a lively, accesEarly April

Jeff Bynack does the signage

sible and joyful setting.

Unpacking Menage Trois by Robert Wilk

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 29

How its suppose to be.

The artists trust my ability to represent them aesthetically and

Carolyn Newberger

economically, and that aspect of the gallery, mediating the acquisition of art, I really enjoy. So far, meeting new people and exchanging ideas while being surrounded by brilliant, living art has been very stimulating; I love the challenge of the “sale” since it means that like my wish for puppies, an artwork has gone to a good home, or business where it will do good. Where it will live and contribute to the wellbeing of those who engage with it.

30 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Linda Clayton

Sean McCusker and Br

ruce Panock

Scott Taylor

Wendy and Susan

Robert Forte

Natalie Tyler and

Janet Pumphrey

Adam Zamberletti

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 31

Karen S. Jacobs

Bruce Panock

Tyler Blodgett

32 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Roselle Chartock

Edward Pelkey art

Marguerite Bride

There is an art to collecting art. It’s about initial investment and long-term value, monetary certainly, but not only.

There is beauty and message to consider, the life of the artist Ghetta Hirsch

and their career, growth, development, and achievements.

Engaging emerging artists and established artists’ work is an evolving event that can be experienced, followed and enjoyed for years. As I see it, living with original artwork can sculpt each chapter of our lives. At the Artful Mind Gallery, we believe Art should be seen and heard. We encourage you to look at our works of fine art, we invite you to, sit beside them for a while and listen to what they have to say.

Edward Pelkey

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 33

Michael King Mary Carol Rudin

JoAnne Spies

34 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

First Opening Reception in June.

Eclectic Messages, the title of the new exhibit for these 26 artists, is dedicated to their collective love of art, the collective nature of the gallery, but acknowledges each artist’s distinct style and means of interpretation. Together, their diverse artwork functions as a complete aesthetic, yet each work can be easily extracted, adopted and taken home.

Lillian Climo, Assistant

Ernest Kirk

Jennifer Pazienza working on mural in Italy.

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 35

I love living in the Berkshires. It’s natural beauty and cultural life nourishes and entertains me. I find that there is no other destination that has brought together such a wealth of diverse, clever artists. We work hard, but that brings us joy. We have our hands in many venues all at once, but that keeps us buzzed and productive as we practice the art of juggling our artistic lives within and against the demands of all aspects of life. We take in the world around us, hoping to unravel its mysteries through the study of art history and the human condition and eventually crafting our responses in our unique and individual art forms and styles. We may at times need a break, an escape and go elsewhere, for a while, for a breather, but the comfort

But...how!?

of knowing we can return to the Berkshires and it’s supportive communities makes it all worth the trip.

Robert U. Taylor... yes, that’s him. In 1969.

Jean Germain

36 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Karen and Carolyn

We have created a destination for enjoying time in a beautiful space. The Artful Mind Gallery honours Art and self-expression, encourages thoughtful moments, unique perspectives and directions topped off with a sense of surprise, mystery, joy and hope.

Sean, friend, JoAnne at opening in June

At opening.

Robert U. Taylor, 2018

Robert Forte

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 37

Bruce and Leslee

Join us at our next Artists’ reception

Saturday, July 28, from 4 -7pm.

Photos by Lilliam Climo

38 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Lillian, JoAnne and Grier

Robert Wilk

theartfulmindgallery.com

the mixing of the sand and the lime together in a huge tub with a garden hoe.

Mixing the plaster up for the masons was so like working in the garden that Faldoni was quite in his element. All daylong he worked at has task, pouring sand, and lime to his trough and then mixing it up with the hoe. After an hour or so of this mixing, he shoveled all the mortar into a wheelbarrow and brought it to the masons who managed to use it all up in almost no time, so that from morning till night there was not a moment to take a little rest. Soon the base coat of the plaster was finished throughout all of the walls of the church and it was time for the masons to begin laying the finish coat, the one that the artist and his apprentices would actually paint on.

FALDONI Part 1

RICHARD BRITELL Faldoni was just 17 when he first began to work as Cimabue's apprentice. He was certainly used to hard work, being made to hoe and weed vegetable gardens from a tender age, and to haul bricks and mortar for the masons work as soon as he was able. Although he was willing to work like a donkey and would never complain, still he was a very dense boy and the friars had given up trying to teach him to read and write after a few hopeless sessions.

If one of the friars happened to be talking of Faldoni he would often rap the top of his head with his knuckles, and this gesture, in Italian, indicated that the person referred to was hard headed. The boy was so accustomed to being referred to as hardheaded that he would even rap the top of his head with his knuckles himself with a peculiar sort of pride, to indicate how thick he was, whenever he was discovered to have done something especially stupid.

So it was with great reluctance that Faldoni was given the task of assisting the assistants on the murals Cimabue was doing in the church at the time. All of the walls of their great church were to be covered with plaster and then painted in fresco. The entire of life of Christ was to be recorded, each with its own niche surrounded with geometric borders. Fortunately the first step, the plastering of the walls, was a gigantic task that none wanted to do, nobody but Faldoni that is.

But even the plastering Faldoni was not allowed to do at first because the plaster is the ground of the fresco painting, and its surface must be rendered perfectly smooth, a task difficult for even a master mason. There was also the first base coat of rough cast plaster to be applied but this was also considered too difficult for Faldoni, so his job turned out to be

It so happened one Sunday afternoon that an entire vat of the plaster was left over when the walls were finished, so Faldoni, instead of discarding it, brought it to his cell and attempted to plaster the walls with it. There was a great quantity of plaster, and it was a very small cell.

What looked like the simplest thing in the world when he watched the mason doing it, turned out to be nearly impossible for him, but after several hours he completed the plastering of the back wall of his cell. This wall measured six feet wide by seven feet high. The top portion he got nearly smooth, but down toward the floor he made a terrible mess of it. At midnight he began the second wall, and at three in the morning he started on the third wall. By morning the cell was finished. The forth wall was perfect even down at the floor, and in the corners. In the corners even a master plasterer has a difficult time of it.

At work that day the finish coat of plaster was being applied. This was a section of plaster only so big as could be completely painted in one day. With fresco painting the finish coat takes one full day to dry, and during that time all of the painting on the new section of plaster must be completed.

Even a day later it is too late to make any changes and so everything must be in readiness for when the mason finishes the daily patch. This being so, all of the extra masons were sent home and only one remained as that was sufficient to keep the artists occupied. Faldoni’s job was much simplified because he needed only to make the one batch of plaster mortar for the days work, and after that he was free to watch the work being done. He was not allowed to touch anything however because everything was organized down to the smallest details.

The more experienced apprentices would be painting the birds, animals, trees and foliage and the great master himself, when all was ready, approached the work to paint in the faces. Only the faces would the master painter execute, all the rest was filled in by the helpers like some gigantic paint by numbers masterpiece.

Faldoni, suffering from boredom, asked the other assistants so many questions about the work that they suggested to the master that he be given some other time consuming meaningless task to keep him busy. So the master set him to work to grind up the pigments for the various colors in use on the project.

All the hours Faldoni spent mixing up mortar for the masons and bringing it to them in a wheelbarrow was excellent training for the work of preparing colors, because on a small scale it was the exact same sort of endless drudgery. It had only one difference. Anyone could mix up plaster with a hoe in a trough, but the grinding of stones into powder took a little more skill and the result was more precious.

It often happens with workmen in a crew on a huge task, that an incompetent workman, thought to be of not much use is simply ignored for long periods of time, and has to simply stand idly by while everyone else is working with great intensity. This now happened to Faldoni. Whenever he finished one of the various tedious steps in the color making process, it would be two hours before he could interrupt the master to find out what he should do next, and how it was to be done. Finally he simply gave up and stood by like a lamppost, watching the work progress. He was especially interested in how the master painted the faces to completion so rapidly and deftly without any trouble as if it was even easier that laying the plaster on the wall in the first place. Faldoni would have liked to be allowed, just as a favor, to paint in some small and unimportant section of the work. He was thinking it might be acceptable for him to paint some of the blue of the sky up in a corner, or perhaps he might be allowed to paint some section of the ground, with a few stalks of grass sticking up here and there. He might make a mess of it, but then it could be easily scrubbed out with a sponge and replaced. When Faldoni asked to be allowed to paint something the other apprentices not only refused, but reacted in horror, as if he had asked to do some cutting of flesh in a delicate operation being preformed by some surgeons.

At the end of the day there were always leftover materials scattered around on the floor in front of the mural, and whenever it was possible Faldoni started to save up these remainders, intending to practice painting all by himself in his cell.

He thought that when it came time to actually do some painting, a good idea for a subject would come into his mind as if by magic, and he would just sit down to work and execute it just like a servant doing the bidding of his master, but who does not begin by attempting a face? Just as a test however, he plastered a small section of his cell, right in the middle of the back wall. He plastered a patch only about one-foot square. Earlier in the day he had mixed up a few colors in preparation, even though he did not have any idea what he would paint. But that was how the master did it, so he did the same thing.

The colors he mixed were a sort of leaf green, a sky blue, a kind of sickly yellow in which brown got in by mistake, and also black. Having no drawing to go by, he started right in and painted a face. It was a green-blue face, and the background was partly yellow and partly black. If he had painted his blue-green face in Germany in the time between the wars it would have been considered a work of German Expressionism: like something by Otto Dix, or George Grosz. But this was not 1928, but 1298, and such painted faces would not have been understood or appreciated in his convent.

Nevertheless, he liked the face he had painted, for some inexplicable reason, and he did not scrape it out, as he had intended when he began. Perhaps he liked it because he had painted it, and that was all there was to it. He said to himself, "This is the best painting ever created in this cell, both the best, and the only painting ever created here." And with this judgment he rapped three times on the top of his head with his knuckles.

Continued next month Excerpted from the Blog, "No Cure For The Medieval Mind" -Richard Britell

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 39

s ’ t a Th

! k c i r t a P

ACTOR / DIRECTOR / CREATIVE MIND

Monica Bliss: Tell us about yourself, your personal background. (where were you born, raised, tell us about your parents, where did you study?)

Patrick Toole: I'm from Lee, was raised in Lee and went to Catholic school until I was high school age, then went to a private high school and went on to major in Film at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. My father owns the Toole Insurance Agency in Lee, which services much of the Berkshire's insurance needs. There is a lot of business

40 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

PATRICK O’TOOLE

interview by Monica Bliss

men in my family, my father and my uncle. They're thoughtful yet conservative, but they love the arts.

My father and mother have always been great supporters of what I do. My father's and I share artforms I think – the art of people – his from a business perspective and me from the arts.

Tell us about your home life and what do you love about living in the Berkshires?

Toole: I live in Great Barrington with my roommate

and good friend Adam. My apartment is right next to the Housie river and I can both see it from my bedroom window and walk down to it from my backyard. I saw a fox there this morning. It's beautiful and makes me feel centered when I spend any time outside. There's a great community around here of many kinds of people, artists, blue collar workers, 2nd home owners, some young people, but many old people, hippies, farmers, etc., and though it feels limited as an artist sometimes in its size and

Patrick as Vladamir Zeleny The Whit, Pittsfield, MA

accessibility, I like the vibe most of the time. There's less hustle and more doing it for the love it seems than the big city. I am also a teacher, that is another huge part of what I do, and a big part of my life is driving to different schools in the region to teach my filmmaking programs with kids. I spend a lot of time in Dutchess and Columbia county New York, all over Western Mass, and Northeast CT. I live a localized yet nomadish existence and I have a hard time living life any other way.

Why theater?

Toole: To be honest theater and film are on equal ground with me, I love the strengths of both mediums. There's a huge barrier in the professional world between theater and film and what I've discovered through practicing both, making films and acting in shows, is that they can both learn from each other.

Filmmakers could be working with their actors and

camera operators in a more theatrical way, enfranchising actors in the way they are enfranchised by acting in a play. Conversely, many theater actors and directors can learn how to use the nuance and subtlety of film to their benefit.

Being a part of an ensemble was a life-changing experience for me when I was a teenager. Being a part of a theater production has the potential to bring out the very best in the people involved. In my life I have sought deep connections, and I think that's why theater grabbed me and I took to it so readily. It absolutely inspires connection among people – between the actors on stage, and between the actors and the audience. A rehearsal room is a place where its encouraged to feel your feelings, and to express them. When I first discovered it was immensely freeing to me. I also love to tell stories, more than love, I need to tell stories and there's nothing quite like the medium of theater to share a story with an audience.

I just love sharing things with lots of people at once!

It's a communal experience we are all taking part in – the actors, the audience, the stage hands – we are all 100% present in experiencing this story at this moment. We share energy, experience, and emotions – that's a form of human connection that is… kind of unmatched.

Tell us about yourself as an actor. What is your process and/or method?

Toole: My process shifts from show to show, and I still don't really know what I'm doing most of the time. I put in my time to study solo – to memorize lines and ask the necessary questions. Why am I saying this in this moment? Why do I behave this way?

What am I not saying? What does this mean? Solitude is the time for questions. Then in rehearsal I start to figure things out. Ask the questions, try difContinued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 41

Patrick in Housatonic summer production - location in historic factory, a very unusal and clever play ferent ways of playing the scene, and above all paying attention. I've studied a variety of different expert scholars on the subject of acting, and I've been looking for the common ground between them, and experimenting with different methods when able to.

I love improvising around the text in rehearsal, I find out so much about what my character is actually thinking and feeling. But the important thing that I find illusive often is during performance; to stay present in the task of paying attention to what's really happening, not just performing a series of verbal and physical lines of dialogue.

What's next for you?

Toole: I will be directing a play for the first time, a production of Fuddy Meers by David LindsayAbaire, a play that I absolutely adore, at the Whitney Center for the Arts. I've been working with a group of actors for quite a while and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work with them as a director in a play.

Why Fuddy Meers?

Toole: This play is a big box of weird and ridiculous and dangerous stuff. It's so very very funny; it's loud and profane, and extremely clever. Most of who the 42 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

characters are and what they do in the story serve the comedy immensely. But what kept me engaged when I first encountered it was the fantastic mystery of it all. Claire is a woman who forgets everything every morning. And on the particular morning that this play is set, she is straight away abducted from her home by a limping, lisping man in a ski mask.

That's how you start a freaking play. What follows is a story that builds the audience's disorientation and confusion, before finally illuminating everything. It's a beautifully structured play, full of dynamic parts for actors to play. And it's just the right size and shape for the Whitney, for the actors in my troupe, and for myself to direct for the first time. It's also quite frightening – there's real darkness in this play and I don't intend shy away from it. Going forward I'll adopt the mantra that I often use when I'm acting on stage, "Let's see what happens." Whitney Center for the Arts presents Fuddy Meers, a comedy,

by David Lindsay-Abaire directed by Patrick Toole, Saturday, July 7th 8pm; Sunday, July 8th 7:30pm; Thursday, July 12th 7:30pm; Friday, July 13th 8pm; Saturday, July 14th 8pm and Sunday, July 15th 7:30pm. Tickets are $18 General Admission or $15 for students, seniors and groups. Tickets are available at the door, for sale online at www.thewhit.org

or may be reserved by calling 413-443-0289.

What's going on for you the rest of the summer and this fall?

Toole: I'm teaching a youth filmmaking workshop for kids 10-14 in partnership with the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative at the end of June in Great Barrington. Go here for more info or to sign up: shop.berkshire.edu and look under "Kid's Academy. (can we add a plug for this in the article perhaps? ) In July I'll be screening a new film I've just completed called Priorities alongside another feature film at the Mahaiwe. That will be July 14th. And then after Fuddy Meers closes I'll be heading off to New Haven to play Dull in the Elm Shakespeare Company's production of Love's Labour's Lost. It's looking like an awesome summer of theater and filmmaking ahead. In the Fall I'll be producing a workshop production of an original play I've written called Ivan Gales' Underground Adventure Hour at the Whit as well.

Who is your role model, and why?

Toole: I’ve been fortunate enough to have had several amazing male role models in my life growing up, but the man who had the largest impact on me was my first film and theater teacher named Jesse

Filmmaking. Patrick Toole

Howard. He was a dedicated high school theater director who had high standards for the work we would produce, and high standards for the performing students – the work we created was very high quality for high school, and because of the way we approached the work, we all had investment in its result. But what was seriously mindblowing about Jesse is how he engaged with us. I’ve had teachers and directors after that who were really tuned into the floaty mystical power of theater, and teachers and directors who were very practical and good at producing. Jesse was a master of both these things, and he was fearless with us; he was not afraid of our moods, our teenage malaise – if there was a problem he would go up to you and make eye contact and say, “what’s the deal here?” No other teacher I’d ever had would engage with me in that way. And if he sensed there was a real mood developing in the room, he would lead us through some mystical exercise that he made up on the spot, with the intention of getting us into the here and now.

As I started teaching, I emulated Jesse so much that I would have a hard time figuring out how exactly he taught the way he did. I would get frustrated. It took me a while to shed those expectations I had on myself and actually take his real life advice,

“Do your thing. Not my thing.” It took me a while to learn what my thing is, but I’ve found it. I still meet with him regularly and we get swept away talking about teaching.

What's your superpower, or what's your spirit animal?

Toole: My superpower, I believe, is something I inherited from the Toole family: people. I have no problem talking to most people, tuning in to their frequency. Once we were filming in a local coffee shop and the upstairs neighbor came down and was furious that we were still filming at 12 midnight – his wife was very sick with cancer and we were keeping her from sleeping. My assistant director went out to talk to him so we could continue filming, but she came back in and said, “He’s really pissed. He wants to call the police.” So we stopped filming and I went out. I’m not sure exactly what I said but within 20 seconds the situation was de-escalated and we had come to an agreement – he walked back up to his room satisfied. I am not afraid of individuals most of the time, and when I need something for a project, like when I produced and acted in The Aliens in a tunnel in Housatonic, what we needed was permission to set up lights, seats, and

rehearse and bring an audience into the tunnel of an operational curtain company’s crumbling building.

A difficult task, to get the blessing of a big company like that to let us do everything we wanted to do. At first they just said, “No.” But I just kept asking, and asking the right questions, “What exactly is making you say no, out of curiosity.”

“Well, it’s a liability to do all that.”

“What if we had insurance?”

“Well that would be a different story.”

And it turned out all we needed was insurance, and to convince this woman that our company was going to be responsible – that we were somewhere in the middle between a big professional company with lots of money, and a group of punks trying to put on a play. We both had little money and were responsible young theater creators, and that we kind of know what we’re doing. For me that conversation was a fun challenge, and the only time I have a hard time with people is when there is something they are unwilling to tell me – when there is a brick wall, “No” with little explanation and when you ask questions defensiveness ensues.

Thank you, Patrick!

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 43

roBert Wilk

tHE artFul minD GallErY 22 Walker street

lenox, ma

rwsculpture.com

THE VOICE OF JOYCE JOYCE SILVER

ART, PASSION & PERFECTION Many of us look at art and it gives us great joy; to contemplate great art, that's easy. When viewing the Masters, whether it is a brush stroke or the contemplation of the artist's craft, we marvel at the artist's skill in conveying a natural image or in some instances, the essence of an image. Many devices are used when art imitates or even enhances nature.

Painting is easy. Color, light, the artist's skill with his brush, all merge to create a tableau that pleases our senses. While it reflects great skill to capture the viewers imagination, painted art, unless more contemporary, is two dimensional.

As we've progressed through the ages, we began to sculpt with clay and bronze, raising art forms to the third dimension. Now you can view an object like Rodin's Balzac, in which the figure has proportions larger than life. Bold casting, an inner perception of Balzac the man, helps Rodin create his masterpiece.

Rodin looks at the essence of his subject and sculpts the man as human, majestic, and having emotional and spiritual qualities not even Balzac himself knew about or wished to express. Capturing the essence of a person, the known and the unknown, has a power of its own and turns us mere mortals into monuments to be remembered and adored for generations.

spect and awe for both the artistic work and the artist's subject.

When the artists were poor, they transformed the ordinary to the extraordinary. Their muses were the men and women of their time, their wives, the scullery maid, or if you are extraordinarily talented and lucky, the leaders of the French Revolution. Rodin carefully sculpted the head, then the articulated the arms and the torso, using folds of cloth to recreate the ripples of cloth! Amazing!

Rodin, like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci before him, struggled to please those he sculpted. And he needed the patronage of great wealth to support his talents. Unfortunately for Rodin, he lived in an age of competition for patrons and his temperament prevented him from achieving great fame and recognition during his lifetime.

When I look ahead to our lifetime, glass art stands out as a new form of art and sculpture. It is three dimensional, portraying the natural world and the world of abstract forms. It is a new art form in America, brought here in the 1960's by the Maestro Lino Tagliapietra. Art glass and museum quality sculpture started in Pilchuck, Washington, not far from Seattle.

Part camp, part hot shoppe, many came to this site in the '60's to learn a new craft. If you were a glass blower, Lino was most likely your mentor. Dale Chihuly studied with Lino. Glass blowing is very different from the sculpture of Rodin or another contemporary glass artist, Paul Stankard.

Lino Tagliapietra Rodin's sculpture of Balzac

That is the power of great sculpture. It transcends reality and captures the essence or the soul of the artist's object of desire. One merely has to look at the great sculptures or paintings to perceive a quality of excellence merged into a creative three-dimensional piece that makes us tremble with understanding, re-

In 1961, Paul Stankard, learning from 19th century paper weight artists, created botanical sculptures in miniature using "Lamp Work"; a bunsen burner's flame guided Stankard's creations. Thin rods of glass formed into sculptural shapes resembling flowers, sprites, insects and more in a unique compact tableau, comprised of many individual sculpted forms. Like Rodin, he assembles each piece in his Botanical Study by hand, recreating his love of nature. One piece at a time, using up the Negative Space in which he will eventu-

ally encase the purist clear crystal sphere. Paul Stankard is fascinated by nature and self-taught to capture nature in miniature and immortalize its beauty forever in small art gems, the Paperweight. Paul’s creations combine a realism that the old paperweights never conveyed.

Paul Stankard's Paperweights Photo: Ron Farina

Paul Stankard's road to artistic creation is a strange one. At an early age, he was thought to be "disabled", "slow witted". In fact, he was dyslexic. Thinking he had limited abilities, he apprenticed and became a Master Glass Blower at a scientific instrument factory, turning out glass rods and vessels for scientific labs.

From this humble beginning, the great Glass Blower emerged. The techniques he learned helped Stankard hone his craft. Using lamp work, a glass burner, and tweezers, he carefully drew his shapes out of the fire and created his masterpiece. Nothing is blown, not even the clear glass or cube chosen to encapsulate his homage to nature. Using his love of poetry, he will interpret the poet's garden. Using Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson as his subject. At 75 years old, Paul Stankard still creates a sculpture a week. Some of his recent pieces are illustrated below.

His work is exhibited and recognized as great art by the Smithsonian and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Making his own immortal imprint on our minds!

Enjoy these studies. Great art has no downside, only an upside. It is perfection in and of itself, or in the eye of the beholder. When we’re in the presence of true genius, we know. A sense of peace and tranquility, sometimes an edginess, can overcome us as we gaze at art! We are richer for having had the privilege of looking. And if we’re most lucky, and can possess great works of art, in my humble opinion, that is indeed fortunate. info@wordpress TheVoiceofJoyce.me THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 45

Painting The Town

on saturday may 19, is183 drew the best of the kitchykinky campers for a full out annual benefit gala and dance party. Joseph Wheaton's projections cascaded across party goers and multimedia installations to create an epic atmosphere. infamous for unrestrained creativity and featuring artist-achieved adornments and accoutrements, dining provisions, and a "so bad it's good" dance floor, is183’s annual gala raises funds for the Berkshires’ visual arts school providing artmaking experiences and instruction to youth and adults all over Berkshire county. all while inspiring an awesome artsy party vibe!

Joe Wheaton’s projections for the camp kitchy kinky

keith emerling 46 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

sahar Zellou

kristin grippo

is183 Board members Vicki Bonnington and seth nash

Photographs by Natalie tyler

Water skiing

Boxxawine and nancy nogood

party goers susie hannah, ashley converse and chris lynch

Jonathan canno with tory hanna of Whiskey treaty road show

lucie castaldo, executive director and friend

lucie castaldo, executive director and Waterfall perry

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 47

collins | editions

Opening in 2005, as Berkshire Digital, we did fine art printing mainly for artists represented by The Iris Gallery of Fine Art in Great Barrington before opening our doors to the public. We do color calibrated printing on archival papers. These archival prints, also known to many people as Giclée prints, can be made in different sizes from 5x7 to 42” x 80”. Photographers & artists also use us to create limited editions of their images.

In addition to the printing services, collins | editions also offers accurate digital photo-reproduction of paintings and illustrations for use in books, magazines, brochures, cards and websites. See a complete overview of services offered, along with pricing at www.collinseditions.com The owner, Fred Collins, has been a commercial and fine art photographer for over 30 years having had studios in Boston and Stamford. He offers over 25 years of experience with Photoshop™ enabling retouching, restoration and enhancement to prints and digital files.

The studio is located in Mt Washington but dropoff and PU is available through Frames On Wheels, located at 84 Railroad Street in Great Barrington, MA (413) 528-0997. collins | editions studio - (413) 644-9663 www.CollinsEditions.com, fred@collinseditions.com

MARY CAROL RUDIN SUNSET AT WEST, ACRYLIC AND OIL ON CANVAS 12 X 24”

I believe there is always something to learn from other artists and I spend a good deal of time looking at the work of others. I consider how they arrive at their personal interpretations. I consider what painting rules the artist followed and what rules are challenged or defied. I always learn something.

My every experience brings me to think as a painter.

I see most things as the possibility for a drawing or a painting. Every object, structure, creature, landscape, sky, water brings me to think about how to interpret it in art.

Other times a metaphor, a symbol, a phrase, or a quip provokes an image. Then, using identifiable things, I hope to suggest a story to the viewer.

It helps me think through the piece by drawing it first. Sometimes a small scale piece and then, generally, a full scale drawing the size the painting will be.

As I work out the placements and the proportions I make changes and edit to try and focus on what I am hoping to say to the viewer. I also think of titles as I draw; hoping to give some information about the subject and leave some interpretation to the viewer.

Some pieces suggest to me that color leads the way.

Other images feel like they need a softer focus and less color to make the message come through. A hazy morning light provokes different feelings than a bright blue sky filled with clouds.

I am working in oils as well as acrylics. For me both mediums offer particular challenges as well as pleasures. I have also used both mediums in a single work.

Mary Carol Can be reached at: Rudinmcrudin123@gmail.com www.mcrudin.com

CROSS BORDER ART KIMBALL FARMS LIFE CARE COMMUNITY ART EXHIBIT

Kimball Farms Lifecare Community presents Cross Border Act, an exhibition of Jennifer Pazienza’s evocative canvasses and the dreamy photography of Claudia D’Alessandro. Only a few months old, we have already hosted wonderful shows featuring the stunning photography of husband-wife team and world travelers Dan Mead and Sally Eagle; the lush and uplifting paintings of Martina Angela Muller and her students; the beautiful work of colorist Robert Logsdon; and intriguing drawings and sculpture by Patrick Stolfo and Peter Barrett. We are grateful for the beauty they have brought to our space.

Kimball Farms residents, staff and visitors are thrilled to have uplifting art as part of their everyday space and are so grateful for the generosity of all participating artists. We joyfully anticipate years of changing exhibits and friendships with the greater community through the bridge of art. Truly, art is the genuine nourishment for our souls!

Kimball Farms Lifecare Community, 235 Walker Street, Lenox, MA. The Art Exhibit is open Monday – Sunday Noon – 5:00pm. For inquiries and purchases please contact Sharon Lazerson at 413-637-7043.

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine you what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.”

-George Bernard Shaw

48 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

JIM SCHANTZ MISTY MORNING HOUSATONIC BEND, 2016; OIL ON CANVAS, 48 X 48"

SCHANTZ GALLERIES BART ELSBACH LIGHT, LIGHT, 2018; OIL; 18 X 24”

RIVER ART PROJECT

Schantz Galleries is proud to present the second annual River Art Project at its Stockbridge Station gallery space, featuring six recognized painters from the Berkshire region who work with the river as subject: Bart Elsbach, Michael Filmus, Harriette Joffe, Scott Prior, Jim Schantz, and Gabrielle Senza. In this critical time, efforts to protect the environment and our rivers are more important than ever. The River Art Project brings together art and the environment in a cross-disciplinary way to raise awareness of the beauty and importance of the river environment, offer educational opportunities on how to protect this natural resource, and showcase the rich artistic talents of the region. Artists are uniquely situated to arouse public interest through the visual expression of nature’s beauty. The River Art Project does precisely that—harnessing the allure of the river as a catalyst for advocacy. Among them, the six participating artists evoke diverse landscape art traditions to create both exquisite works of art and inspiring agents of change.

For the second year, The River Art Project has teamed up with three organizations that are actively working to protect the Hudson and Housatonic Rivers: The Hudson Riverkeeper, the Housatonic Riverkeeper Initiative, and the Housatonic Valley Association. Half of all net proceeds from art sales during the four-month exhibition will be donated equally to the three organizations; in 2017, The River Art Project donated a total of $15,000 and hopes to meet and beat that goal in 2018. Works of art range from 10 to 48” and in price from $1,000 to $24,000.

A panel discussion on Wednesday August 15 will feature Paul Gallay, President of Hudson Riverkeeper, Tim Gray, Housatonic Riverkeeper/Director of Housatonic River Initiative and Dennis Regan, Housatonic Valley Association’s Berkshire Director speaking about their proactive efforts to protect our water and air. Visit www.riverartproject.com to learn more and listen to The River Art Project’s first River Presentation, Paul Gallay’s “Who Doesn’t Care About Clean Water?”

Schantz Galleries Contemporary Glass, 3 Elm Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 413-298-3044, www.schantzgalleries.com. For additional and larger image please contact Kim Saul, kim@schantzgalleries.com

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 45

ROBERT FORTE

"MUSIC WITHOUT BOUNDARIES"ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 32" X 40"

Robert Forte's paintings continue to explore themes and ideas drawn from experiences in his life and in the world around him. The canvas used as a vehicle of expression as opposed to representation provides Forte with the excitement that makes painting an ongoing adventure and a source of limitless possibilities. Antecedent artists that inspire are the great expressionists Soutine and Schiele, Beckmann, Kirchner and Kokoschka. Forte also enjoys the minimalism of contemporary artists such as Alex Katz and the unique imagery of Bacon, Guston and Kitaj.

The politically catastrophic events now in progress in this country, and the social upheavals worldwide have reinforced Forte's need to give vigorous expression to ideas and emotions that resonate both personally and universally. The anticipated assault on human rights and dignity make it all the more imperative to use the canvas forcefully, both as a reaffirmation of oneself and a reaching out to others. There are many ways and media with which to achieve this, but Forte has concentrated his work on oils, adding acrylics for their adaptability to rapid brushstrokes.

Forte recently concluded his first solo show in New York City, titled "Paint, Passion, Perception". Currently, he is preparing for a group show at Atlantic Gallery in New York City on the theme of "arrivals and departures". He also has begun a new body of work in preparation for solo shows at two New York City galleries in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Forte is now an Affiliate of the Circle Foundation for the Arts.

Robert Forte - www.robertforte.com See his work in the Berkshires at The Artful Mind Gallery, 22 Walker St, Lenox, MA. Open daily, closed Monday. 12 - 5 and by appointment. theartfulmindgallery.com

L’ATELIER BERKSHIRES GALLERY

TIMELESS EXHIBITION OF CONTEMPORARY MASTER ARTISTS

SUMMER SOIREE ART PARTY. Friday JULY 6th 6-9pm.

TIMELESS is an exhibition of Contemporary Artists who have mastered their craft. This exhibition includes inspirational landscapes, stunning portraits and colorful abstact paintings. As well as bronze, glass, ceramic sculpture and one-of-a-kind furniture. Bring into your world, unique and timeless artworks at L’Atelier Berkshire Gallery, while supporting the arts.

Artists from the Berkshires and beyond exhibiting this summer. Incredible car paintings by renowned artist Shan Fannin. Ella Delyanis’s landscapes capture the beauty of the outdoors and bring nature inside.

Sculptures by Italian artist Eva Cocco and Berkshire artists Natalie Tyler and Adam Zamberletti. Portraits oil paintings by Leah Lopez, Marshall Jones and Liz Adams Jones. New abstract paintings by Kiki Dufault and more.

For more information contact: Natalie Tyler, Phone: 510-469-5468 or Email at natalie.tyler@atelierberks.com L'ATELIER BERKSHIRES GALLERY 597 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230 www.atelierberks.com

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2018 • 49

Grandma Becky’s

Authentic Old World Recipes

Written and shared with a loving spoonful by Laura Pian Who loves the summertime? so many thoughts come to mind when this season approaches; a season full of long, hot days, camp crushes, memorable family vacations, juicy ripened fruit and fresh-from-the-garden foods. i will never forget the summer when grandma Becky’s friend Bertha came for a visit from israel. We all shared two weeks of love and tastes of a world i never knew from. the ladies spent lots of time laughing and telling stories. When they weren’t kibitzing, they were getting downright serious in the kitchen and ohhhh the cooking they did! one evening on my plate was an unfamiliar ball — “ewww, what is this?”, i asked. it wasn’t a meatball, it wasn’t a spinach ball, and it certainly was no matzoh ball. i had never seen or tasted anything like this. grandma looked at me with a smile and said “shah mameleh, esn” (shh little girl, eat.) it was a beautiful plate, surrounded by sliced cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, and strips of fresh red pepper. Bertha prepared hers with a tahini sauce. the flavors were like music in my mouth. they blended together so wonderfully and made my mouth happy. the texture was interesting on the inside, not quite mushy yet it did have a sort of pasty, gritty feel to it. together with the fresh garden vegetables, and the crunchy fried exterior… i loved it! i remember that day, as Bertha continued to roll ‘em up and drop them into the frying pan, i continued to pop them into my mouth like giant peanuts! We must have produced in excess of 100 balls to freeze for later in the year.

i never did find a written recipe for Bertha’s falafel balls, as she did not have one herself, “a bisl fun dem, a bisl fun vos” (a little of this, a little of that) grandma Becky would always say about cooking. dishes like these are from the heart, a trial and error project so to speak. that’s where the beauty lies in old world cooking. many of the ingredients are added into the mixing bowl based upon your personal tastes. You cannot go wrong! these can be served in between a pita bread, atop your favorite greens with tzikiki sauce, or just pop them into your mouth as a healthy vegetarian snack. recently, i prepared falafel balls in my newest and favorite kitchen small appliance, my air-fryer. i’d like to share this recipe with you here today.

GranDma bECKY & bErtHa’S inSpirED FalaFEl - 2 cups chickpeas, drained, rinsed and skinned (if using dried chickpeas, soak in cold water for 24 hrs.

Once soaked, drain, rinse and pat dry) - 1/2 chopped red onion - 2 garlic cloves - 3/4 cup fresh parsley leaves - 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves - 2 tsp cumin powder - 3 tbs flour of your choice (i used almond) - 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) - 1 tsp sea salt - 1 tsp black pepper - 1 tbs fresh lemon juice

blend above ingredients in food processor until minced. mixture should be course, not too smooth. transfer mixture to working bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place into refrigerator. Chill for 1-2 hours. Once chilled, scoop mixture out with a small cookie scoop, shape into a ball. place these raw balls onto a cookie sheet and freeze overnight. this allows the balls to set and allow for easy handling when cooking. When ready to cook, spray each ball with olive oil, rubbing the oil completely around the ball. place balls single layer into air fryer and set to 390 degrees for 15 minutes, checking and turning periodically. to prepare tzatzki sauce: - Grate 1 cucumber, and squeeze out water - 1 tsp dried dill - 1/2 tsp black pepper - 3 tbs fresh lemon juice - 1/2 tsp garlic powder - 1 cup plain yogurt (use Greek as it is thicker)

stir together and serve with your fresh falafel balls.

50 • JULY 2018 THE ARTFUL MIND

Enjoy, and esn gezunt (eat well)!

EDWARD ACKER PHOTOGRAPHER

Time Flies D Get Pictures EdwardAckerPhotographer.com 413-446-8348