Tam for issuu com oct 15

THE ARTFUL MIND

THE SOURCE FOR PROMOTING ART SINCE 1994

Alison Larkin Author / Comedienne

OCTOBER 2015

Photography by Sabine von Falken

Scott Taylor, Convergence

FRONT ST. GALLERY

THE BERKSHIRE COLLECTION Through October 25, 2015

Saint Francis Gallery

1370 Pleasant street. route 102 LEE. MA (next to fire dept.)

complete schedule: www.saintfrancisgallery.com

413.717. 5199 Open Fri, Sat., Sun., & Mon. 10-5 pm

Gallery supports creative humanitarian work in Kenya

Kate Knapp UNDER WATER

October 2 - November 1: 510 Warren Street Gallery, Hudson, NY Opening Reception: Saturday October 3, 3-6pm Painting Classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10 - 1pm at the studio in Housatonic and Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field. Open to all.

gallery hours Sat & Sun or by appointment 12-5pm 413-274-6607 413-429-7141(cell) 413-528-9546 Front Street, downtown, Housatonic, MA

Sybil M. Perry

“For Love of the Land�

New Paintings

October 3 – November 29, 2015 Opening Reception Saturday, October 10 3-5pm Artist Talk Saturday, October 24, 3 pm The Covered Bridge Gallery Upstairs at Cornwall Bridge Pottery Store 6KDURQ *RVKHQ 7XUQSLNH 5RXWH ‡ :HVW &RUQZDOO &7 +RXUV &ROXPEXV 'D\ :HHNHQG 2FW DP SP 5HJXODU +RXUV 6DW DQG 6XQ DP SP DQG E\ DSSRLQWPHQW

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artfulmind@yahoo.com for ad rates!

Scott Taylor, Convergence

The BerKShire COlleCTiOn Through October 25, 2015

Saint Francis Gallery

1370 Pleasant street. route 102 LEE. MA (next to fire dept.)

complete schedule: www.saintfrancisgallery.com

413.717. 5199 Open Fri, Sat., Sun., & Mon. 10-5 pm

3’x4’ recently commissioned landscape

Commissions

Stephen Filmus

by well-known artist

art.sfilmus@verizon.net 413-528-1253 www.stephenfilmus.com

NINA LIPKOWITZ

JOHN LIPKOWITZ

Garden Gone Wild

SPRINGTIME IN JAPAN

Gallery supports creative humanitarian work in Kenya

November 6 — 29, 2015

Opening Reception November 7

• 3-6pm

510 Warren Street Gallery Hudson, New York 518-822-0510

NINALIPKOWITZ.COM

510WARRENSTREETGALLERY@GMAIL.COM 510WARRENSTREETGALLERY.COM

Hours: Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5 or by appointment

JOHN LIPKOWITZ,"THE GREAT TORII, MIYAJIMA, JAPAN"

December 4 - December 27 Artist reception: December 5, 2015 3 - 6pm 510 Warren Street Gallery H udSon , n eW y ork

518-822-0510 • HourS: Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 1

The ArTful Mind ArTzine October 2015

Paint a book, read a canvas. Dance with a paintbrush and strum with paper mache.

The MuSiC STOre

Alison Larkin, photographed by Sabine von Falken Artist Sybil Perry Harryet Candee... 8

frank’s WayWe Talk Playwriting And Other Things frAnK GiOiA Photography by Sabine von Falken Interview by Amy Tanner ... 11

Alison larkin

author / Comedienne Photography by Sabine von Falken ... 12

Planet Waves Astrology OCTOBer Eric Francis ... 16

fiCTiOn: Otis the Playwright Part i Richard Britell ... 24

Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Eunice Agar, Richard Britell, Eric Francis, Kris Galli, Amy Tanner Photographers Edward Acker, Lee Everett, Jane Feldman Sabine von Falken, Alison Wedd

What better way to celebrate the start of a Beautiful Berkshire autumn than to gift yourself and those you love with music? the Music Store’s Fifteenth year in business in Great Barrington has proven many things! We enjoy helping the community, near and far to make music which has been an enjoyable and productive enterprise for us. and we look forward to continuing this mission into the second half of our second decade. We offer wonderful musical instruments and accessories at competitive pricing.

We have a good time serving our community, her musicians and music lovers. Come see some of the fun . . .

Composite acoustic guitars (the forever guitar!) and their peerless travel guitar, the Cargo, a favorite of our own dr. easy, david reed, made of carbon graphite and impervious to most changes of temperature and humidity. you can see it often in his hands in performance locally and abroad.

Guild Guitars - light, powerful, affordable. terrific ukuleles! 60+ different models: Soprano, Concert, tenor and Baritone, acoustic and acoustic/electric, six string, resonator, the Maccaferri-like Makala Waterman uke (made all of plastic for easy portability almost anywhere), the remarkable u-Bass, and the new solid body uke Bass by the Magic Fluke Co. you might even hear dr. easy play a banuke!

How about a Cordoba Cuatro? or a West african djembe with a smashing carry bag? or another dr. easy favorite, the klong yaw! try takamine for a guitar to suit almost any budget

(the Pro Series at deep unpublished discounts). dr. easy can tell you about his. alvarez guitars - celebrating their 50th year with beautiful limited editions!

Breedlove - beautiful, american, sustainable. and so many more brands and types, including luthier handmade instruments from $150-$5000. ever heard of dr. easy’s drunk Bay Cigar Boxes? acoustic/electric cigar box guitars, exquisitely made, which bring the past into the present with a delightful punch, acoustically and plugged in! you can even hear them on the patio and in action Saturday nights at GB’s own aegean Breeze restaurant!

Harmonicas, in (almost) every key (try a Suzuki Hammond ‘Mouth organ’).

Picks (exotic, too), strings, sticks and reeds.

Violins, Mandolins, dulcimers, Banjos, and Banjo ukes.

Handmade and international percussion instruments. dreamy native american and locally made bamboo and wooden flutes and walking stick flutes. and there is more to delight the eyes, intrigue the ears and bring warm joy to the heart!

We remain your neighborhood music store, where advice and help are free and music is the universal language.

Working with local luthiers and repairmen we offer stringed and band instrument repair. and we just may have something you haven’t seen before (have you heard the electric Cigar Box Guitars?). We match (or beat) many on-line prices for the merchandise that we sell, and do so in person, for the most part cheerfully (though we reserve the right to glower a little when asked if we can ‘do better’ on the price of a pick!)!

Come and see us soon and help us celebrate the very end of our 15th year. your patronage helps the community and makes it a more tuneful, healthy and happy place!

Happy music making in the end of the Berkshire summer and the beginning of autumn!

The Music Store, located at 87 Railroad Street in Great Barrington, is open Wednesdays through Saturdays and by appointment. Call us at 413-528-2460, visit us on line at www.themusicstoreplus.com, on Facebook as The Music Store Plus, or see our listings on Reverb.com.

Publisher Harryet Candee

Copy Editor

Marguerite Bride

Editorial proofreading Kris Galli Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet Candee

Mailing Address: Box 985, Great Barrington, MA 01230

artfulmind@yahoo.com 413 854 4400 All MATeriAl due the 9 of the month prior to publication

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. Disclaimer rights available upon request. Serving the Art community with the intention of enhancing communication and sharing positive creativity in all aspects of our lives. We at The Artful Mind are not responsible for any copyrights of the artists, we only interview them about the art they create.

2 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

68 Main St., Lee, MA. 413-243-0242

ARTFUL CALENDAR OCTOBER 2015 Art

deB KOffMAn’S ArTSPACe 137 Front St, HouSatoniC, Ma • 413-274-1201 Sat: 10:30-12:45 class meets. no experience in drawing necessary, just a willingness to look deepely and watch your mind. this class is conducted in silence. adult class. $10, please call to register.

510 WArren STreeT GAllerY 510 Warren Street, HudSon, ny • 518-822-0510 Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5 or by appointment; 510warrenstreetgallery@gmail.com / 510warrenstreetgallery.com kate knapp, oct 2-nov 1: under Water, reception Sat oct 3, 3-6pm; nina lipkowitz Featured artist in november.

Pen, ink & watercolor paintings in an exhibition called Garden Gone Wild. opening reception is november 7, 36pm

lAuren ClArK fine ArT 25 railroad Street, Great BarrinGton, Ma • 413-528-0432 / lauren@laurenClarkFineart.com / www.laurenClarkFineart.com Series of talks on various concepts of art, thurs oct 15, 6:30pm. "renaissance, and Baroque, What exactly is the difference Between these two." Concepts for this talk are from the work, "renaissance and Baroque," by Heinrich Wolfflin, the influential turn of the century art historian. the talk is by richard Britell, whose paintings are well known at the lauren Clark Gallery.

CArrie hAddAd GAllerY 622 Warren St, HudSon, ny • 518-822-1915 Color theory, Vincent Pomilio, James o’Shea, and Stephen Brophy. reception Sun oct 11, 2-4pm

deniSe B ChAndler Fine art PHotoGraPHy www.denisebchandler.com exhibiting and represented by Sohn Fine art, lenox Ma, abstrakt, thru oct 4; new member artist at 510 Warren St Gallery, Hudson, ny, view work during gallery hours,

6 dePOT CAfe & GAllerY 6 dePot St., W. StoCkBridGe, Ma • 413-232-2025 rutH kolBert- a SerieS oF draWinGS oct.1oct.31, open 8 - 4pm (closed tuesdays) frOnT STreeT GAllerY 129 Front St, HouSatoniC, Ma • 413-274-6607 Housatonic galery for students and artists, featuring watercolor and oil paintings by artist kate knapp

GAllerY at r&f enCAuSTiCS 84 ten BroeCk aVe, kinGSton, ny • 800-206-8088 lynette Haggard, solo exhibition, Frames of reference, thru oct 17

GOOd PurPOSe GAller 40 Main Street, lee, Ma • 413-394-5045 9am - 4pm every day; gallery@cipberkshire.org; goodpurpose.org dancing with Colors, which features the artwork of olga Gernovski, and of Margaret Buchte. oct 10 - nov17. Join us at the gallery on Sat oct 10,5:30 - 7:30pm for opening reception. Complimentary appetizers, wine, and entertainment, opportunity to meet artists

MArGueriTe Bride HoMe Studio at 46 Glory driVe, PittSField, Ma • 413-841-1659 marge-bride-paintings.com FB: Marguerite Bride Watercolors original watercolors, specializing in custom house and building portraits. lessons in watercolor technique. now on exhibit: irish Watercolors on Canvas at the underground Salon, Christine’s Home Furnishings, Bridge St, Gt. Barrington, Ma MASSMoCA 1040 MaSS MoCa Way, nortH adaMS, Ma • 413-664-4481 Jim Shaw: entertainment doubts, now thru Jan 2015

MOrGAn lehMAn GAllerY 535 WeSt 22nd St, nyC kysa Johnson, the long Goodbye, thru oct 17

MOrriSOn GAllerY 8 old Barn rd., kent, Ct • 860-927-4501 donald Gummer on Broadway, through oct. Beautiful gallery filled with a variety of artists

Lee Marshall, Untitled, watercolor, Main Gallery JOhn dAViS GAllerY

362 1/2 WARREn ST, HUDSon, nY • 518-828-5907 Saturday, october 17th the gallery will have six solo shows (watercolors, sculpture, photography/Installation, constructions and paintings). The work will be on display through november 8th with a reception for the artists on Saturday, october 17th from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m.

OMi inTernATiOnAl ArTS CenTer 1405 County route 22, GHent, ny • 917-941-2671 two 2015 Fall exhibitions: linear element: alain kirili and James Siena; reframing nature: allan Wexler. reception Sun oct 11, 1:30-4pm, thru Jan 2016 SChAnTz GAllerieS 3 elM St, StoCkBridGe, Ma • 413-298-3044 schantzgalleries.com a destination for those seeking premier artists working in glass SCOTT BArrOW 17 HouSatoniC St, lenox, Ma • 413-637-2299 Photography on view be Scott Barrow

SOhn fine ArT 69 CHurCH St, lenox, Ma exhibition of photography, framing, printing & workshops. abstrakt, thru oct 4.

ST. frAnCiS GAllerY rte. 102, SoutH lee (just 2 miles east from the Red Lion Inn) Friday thru Monday 10-5pm. the Berkshire Collection, through oct 25

VAulT GAllerY 322 Main St, Gt. BarrinGton, Ma • 413-644-0221 Marilyn kalish at work and process on view, beautiful gallery with a wonderful collection of paintings

EVENtS / WorkShopS

BerKShire feSTiVAl Of WOMen WriTerS Berkshirewomenwriters.org / info@berkshirewomenwriters.org Creative Spirit: a Showcase for Women Writers, artists and artisans, on Sunday november 22 from 10 – 4pm at the Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield

PArAdiSe CiTY ArTS feSTiVAl tHree County FairGroundS in nortHaMPton, Ma. www.paradisecityarts.com / 800-511-9725.

21st annual event october 10, 11 & 12 at the one of america’s top-ranked shows of fine crafts, paintings and sculpture, Paradise City features 260 outstanding artists in four buildings, sensational cuisine, live music, creative activities, demonstrations and an outdoor sculpture garden.

thEAtrE & ENtErtAINMENt

ClOSe enCOunTerS WiTh MuSiC MaHaiWe PerForMinG artS Center, Gt BarrinGton, Ma • 413-528-0100 for tix Sat oct 24, 6pm: Grand Piano Quartets-Brahms and dvorak; dec 12, Sat. 6pm: “dually” noted, Music for Four Hands

COlOniAl TheATre 111 SoutH St, PittSField, Ma • 413-997-4444 annual Pittsfield Jazz Festival: Greg Hopkins Jazz orchestra with guest soloist randy Brecker on trrumpet, Sat oct 17, 8pm

MASSMoCA 1040 MaSS MoCa Way, nortH adaMS, Ma • 413-664-4481 katie Workum and kimberly Mitchell, Sat oct 24; keys open doors: the Hidden life of laura Palmer, oct 30; Beth Stelling, nov 7. info@massmoca for tickets & info

MAhAiWe TheATre 14 CaStle St, Gt BarrinGton, Ma • 413-52-0100 10th anniversary Gala: an intimate evening with audra Mcdonald, Sun, oct 11, 8pm; Met opera live in Hd: Verdi’s ii trovatore encore; Sat nov 14, 8pm, an intimate evening with art Garfunkel PrOCTOrS TheATre SCHeneCtady, ny • 1-800-840-9227 the Book of Mormon, Sat oct 17- Sun nov 25.

ShAKeSPeAre & CO. 70 keMBle St, lenox, Ma • 413-637-1199 thurs, oct 8, 8pm: ark theatre Company: Babylon revisited; oct 10, 2pm: richard iii with Hamish linklater

Be added to the calendar! deadline: October 9 artfulmind@yahoo.com

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 3

ClOSe enCOunTerS WiTh MuSiC VioliniSt ara GreGorian

PHoto: roland PaBSt

ninA liPKOWiTz

nina liPkoWitz

510 Warren Street Gallery

510 Warren Street Gallery will be featuring new work by nina lipkowitz for the month of november. nina will be showing her pen, ink & watercolor paintings in an exhibition called Garden Gone Wild. opening reception is november 7, 3-6pm nine years ago nina lipkowitz, an accomplished sculptor and potter moved from new york City to the Berkshires and planted her first garden. it was filled with flowers specially chosen to be subjects for her paintings.

Many of her compositions seem to be carefully arranged, some in her own hand-built, and altered, wheelthrown vessels. others are flowers which cannot be contained and have exploded directly onto the paper. each flower in this show represents just one or two days of spring and summer. Jonquils and daffodils followed by

tulips in riotous shapes and colors; bleeding hearts, allium, irises, peonies, poppies and lilies. each a poignant reminder of the fragility and the beauty of life, each a visual reminder of how precious yet precarious life is.. nina lives in Great Barrington, Ma where she gardens, paints, teaches yoga and travels as much as possible. to see more of her work, visit nina’s website ninalipkowitz.com.

510 Warren Street Gallery, 510 warren Street, Hudson, nY 518-822-0510. Gallery hours: Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5 or by appointment; 510warrenstreetgallery@gmail.com; 510warrenstreetgallery.com

Going into its 24th year of presenting outstanding chamber music with lively commentary, the Berkshires’ premier chamber music organization, Close encounters With Music, continues to expand its original programming of classical, contemporary and cutting-edge music. the 2015-2016 season will be one of celebration and discovery, featuring world-renowned musicians and extraordinary new faces. the season opens at the Mahaiwe Performing arts Center on Saturday, october 24, at 6 PM with two epic works

by Brahms and dvořák, two giants whose lives intersected, both nurtured by the traditions of Central europe. these pieces are symphonic in scope, with unbuttoned, folksy finales; four superb soloists convene to play some of the most vivacious and appealing music in the repertoire. the program features Brahms’ G minor Piano Quartet op. 25, with its animated Hungarian idioms and whirlwind coda; and the Piano Quartet no. 2 in e-flat Major op. 87, one of dvořák’s most sublime works. the two composers, friends and fellow admirers during their lifetime, stand side by side with these powerful masterpieces that display the seemingly endless inventiveness of both in architecture, melody, instrumental interplay, and sheer sonic beauty. tickets for this performance are $45 (orchestra and Mezzanine) and $25 (Balcony).

Close encounters With Music concerts are broadcast on WMHt-FM, and audiences are encouraged to tune into the new weekly broadcasts of “Classical Music according to yehuda” on WaMC northeast radio or visit www.wamc.org.Close encounters With Music stands at the intersection of music, art and the vast richness of Western culture. entertaining, erudite and lively commentary from founder and artistic director yehuda Hanani puts composers and their times in perspective to enrich the concert experience.

Close Encounters With Music - Post office Box 34, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Mahaiwe Box office: 413528-0100; CEWM: 800-843-0778; www.cewm.org; cewmusic@aol.com

ARTWORKFORKIDSROOMS.COM

4 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

Dressed Up for Breakfast, acrylic and ink

Artist Margie Biener

GEOFFREY MOSS

Primary Barn

20 x 20

oil on canvas

BARNS REDUX

PAINTINGS / DRAWINGS LAUREN CLARK FINE ART

25 Railroad St. Great Barrington, MA 413. 528. 0432 Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com

Kris Galli

Denise B Chandler Fine Art Photography

Rain © Denise B Chandler 2015

EXHIBITING AT:

Sohn Fine Art Gallery 69 Church St., Lenox, MA 510 Warren Street Gallery 510 Warren St., Hudson, NY Denise B Chandler Fine Art Photography is represented

by Sohn Fine Art Gallery

www.denisebchandler.com

info@denisebchandler.com

JENNIFER PAZIENZA

Saint Francis Gallery Winged Vessel, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 60”

“Firecracker” Oil on Canvas, 24x36

Represented by

Lauren Clark Fine Art

25 Railroad St. Great Barrington

krisgallifineart.com

1370 Pleasant Street, route 102, lee, Ma (next to fire dept.)

413.717.5199 open Friday - Monday 10 - 5pm www.saintfrancisgallery.com

jennpazienza@gmail.com

http://jenniferpazienza.com/

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 5

GeOffreY MOSS BarnS redux lauren Clark Fine art

GeoFFrey MoSS, 2 BarnS, 12 x 12”, oil on CanVaS

Perplexed, a collector of Geoffrey Moss’s work, and a friend, — as so often that kind of relationship fosters —-challenged the artist for not remaining with one subject, the subjects he owned.

Moss, not one to relinquish influences of his Vermont undergraduate liberal arts roots and yale’s instructional intensity, quipped….”impossible… there’s so much out there to examine and rearrange…”

Certainly Moss’s works on paper and paintings are stylistically recognizable if only for their off centered themes; resolutely “american,” a compulsively -centered awareness of new england isolation, always a reverence for drawing to demonstrate to us the process, adjustments, the moving of paint over paint, color interaction, intricate virtuosity avoided whenever possible. now gallery goers particularly curious to connect with Moss’s perpetual re-engagement with the “anatomy of everything” can see works dedicated to local barns; a series in progress for more than 20 years documenting our disappearing architecture; welcomed back by his long-time dealer, lauren Clark.

Lauren Clark Fine Art - 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 413-528-0432.

6 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

STePhen filMuS CoMMiSSionS

Several times recently, i have been asked to make a real and personal contribution to someone’s life and home by creating a painting of their favorite natural setting. the commission process is a collaboration between artist and client. Whenever possible we visit the site together and discuss the elements of subject, color, form and the “feeling” of the scene. the next step for me is to create a detailed color sketch that reflects the client’s vision and gives them a good sense of how the finished artwork will look. at this point the commissioner can give input and suggestions as i work toward the final design. lastly, i simply do what i know how to do – i sit at my easel and paint.

For me, it is joyous to feel that i have captured the essence of a special time and place through my art and have given new life to a memory that will give pleasure for years to come.

Stephen Filmus is represented by J. todd Gallery in Wellesley, Ma. He is presently exhibiting several landscapes at the Bennington Center for the arts and his work can also be seen at his studio in Great Barrington by appointment.

Contact art.sfilmus@verizon.net, 413-528-1253, www.stephenfilmus.com

deniSe B ChAndler Fine art liMited edition PHotoGraPHy Barn © deniSe B CHandler

denise B Chandler is a fine art photographer who has had her work exhibited at the Berkshire Museum, Sohn Fine art Gallery, lichtenstein Center for the arts, iS -183 art School of the Berkshires, St. Francis Gallery, Chesterwood, the Hudson opera House, Spencertown academy arts Center, and tivoli artists Gallery. in 2012, Chandler completed the Photography residency Program at Maine Media Workshops & College. While in Maine, she was guided, encouraged and her work critiqued by renowned photographers: Michael Wilson, andrea Monica, Peter ralston, arthur Meyerson, david turner, Brenton Hamilton, david Wells, and Syl arena. Chandler has continued her formal workshop training with master photographers, Seth resnick, Greg Gorman, and John Paul Caponigro. later this month she will once more train with Seth resnick, John Paul Caponigro and Jay Maisel. denise B Chandler is represented by Sohn Fine art Gallery at 69 Church St. in lenox, Massachusetts where various selections of her work can be seen throughout the year. Chandler will be one of the featured artists in the upcoming exhibition "abstrakt" from July 30th through october 4th.

Chandler offers private gallery visits at her personal studio/gallery by appointment only...please call either number listed below. a new member of 510 Warren Street Gallery in Hudson, ny., her fine art photography can now be viewed Friday and Saturday 12 - 5, and Sunday 12-5 or by appointment.

Denise B Chandler, Studio & Gallery visits by appointment only. 415 new Lenox Rd, Lenox, MA. Please call 413-637-2344 or 413-281-8461 (cell). Website: denisebchandler.com email: info@denisebchandler.com

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 7

ArTiST SYBil PerrY

Sybil Perry, Around The Bend, Pastel on paper, 17" x 17" 2014

Harryet Candee: Why have you called your exhibition of new work at the Covered Bridge Gallery in West Cornwall (above the Pottery Store) “For Love of the Land?”

Sybil Perry: i was making large abstract oil paintings when we moved to this tri-state area. the land’s beauty soon beckoned to me, particularly the wild areas. i have a strong need to be a part of nature’s seasonal rhythms. the smell of fresh-cut grass and the sight of a starry night sky nourish me. observing the land puts me in closer touch. it refreshes me. My art is a response to the call i get from the land to go outside and play. i never tire of trees, such magnificent beings. they can be delicate, or hold such quiet power, or burst with energy. the paintings in pastel, my exciting new medium, grow as explorations of layers of color. they are inspired by images gathered out-of-doors and then completed in my studio.

Eric Sloane said: “When we touch the earth, we

8 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

Interview by Harryet Candee

experience time past and time present. Miracles of life, like the seed, are evidence of something larger than ourselves.”

Sybil, I read this quote in your written explanation of your art process. Can you explain why you feel this quote reflects your personal feelings on creating art and celebrating being alive and surrounded by nature?

Sybil: Mr. Sloane celebrated the same things as i do in nature. i celebrate them when i paint and also when i design or take care of clients’ gardens—two things i fully enjoy. one time i was weeding in tall flowers, and when i stood up i felt i was attached momentarily by a thread to something high in the sky. this strong feeling lasted several minutes. i’ll never forget it.

Discipline is very important as an artist and so we pick up these ways of learning… “You must stick with it,” “Stop and step back to see your work,” and so forth. What techniques have you felt you

had to teach yourself?

Sybil: do i schedule myself to paint daily? do i think of it as a job similar to any other person’s job? in my experience, the discipline of getting into the studio and being present is key. My routine is to sit quietly facing the easel in the morning when i am fresh—often with my cup of coffee. i work very hard when i am painting. i use everything i have ever absorbed that has interested me. Sometimes i even get wonderful ideas, “aha” moments, often when in the shower! to me, each painting is a new beginning where i try for something that is beyond attainment.

You mention on your website that you love working in color. Have you studied the nude or still life in charcoal, pencil, or other black and white media?

What was the feeling for you going from black and white to color, if this is the case? How did the development to color transpire for you?

Sybil: yes, i drew the nude in pencil, charcoal, and

Sybil Perry, Morning Ride, Pastel on paper, 17" x 17" 2014

pen & ink. i especially loved using a rapidograph pen to draw figures. it was so freeing! But you can make no mistakes—this ink is permanent! Making the transition to color was very difficult for me. i would do a complete pencil drawing and then try to paint over it. then the drawing was lost. i began painting seriously doing landscapes in watercolor, while painting with a friend who was very accomplished. My paintings that first year all turned to mud! But watching her paint was an inspiration. later, after taking classes, i painted clothed as well as nude figures in watercolor. the colors in the skin really fascinated me, particularly black skin where i saw purples, deep blues and maroons. i painted a fellow student’s head one day before the professor

Sybil Perry, Around The Bend, Pastel on paper, 17" x 17" 2014

arrived. He looked at the finished piece, which he wanted to have, and said, “But i thought i was black!”

It’s very inspiring to watch the energy come forth and show itself when you have pastel sticks in your hand and paper in front of you. It must be amazing to you at certain times, as if some power is guiding you along the way. Do you feel this is true, Sybil?

Sybil: How do i do this? i can paint but i can’t do it alone. in making art, i feel connected. it’s a sense of expansion. i feel we are somehow partnered in ways that we cannot see. there is something that “calls us to work.” i love to think of it as playing with the colors. Sometimes something magical

happens. i recently finished a large pastel and had a mat made. only when i taped the painting behind the mat and looked at it from a distance did i notice a huge wolf face staring out of the trees at me. i hadn’t seen it before. i don’t know what the message to me is. Many people won’t notice him. they’ll bring their own personal story to it, which is fine. i left him there. Maybe someone will see him and connect.

How is art a form of spirituality for you? Does actual religion come into play for you? or is it something innate that you feel between you and the subject?

Continued onof next page....

Sybil: the painting itself comes out solitude in

Sybil Perry Favorite Route, Pastel on paper 15" x 18" 2015

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 9

ArTiST SYBil PerrY

Sybil Perry In The Shade, Pastel on paper, 16 1/2" x 13 1/2" 2015

Sybil Perry At The Footbridge, Pastel on paper, 20" x 16" 2015

the studio, when i am meditating in worship. daily spiritual guidance sometimes comes as a hunch, in a conversation i’ve recently had with others, as something i have dreamed, or even a still, small voice. on the other hand, it quite often happens when i am actually standing up there painting, and something i thought i was painting changes and becomes something else. i want it to become something i had not quite expected! that is what i welcome, because i know it came from somewhere else, rather than from me. i can only recognize the unexpected after it has happened. i cannot make it happen. When it does, another world opens up before me, one that is full of mystery. When the piece works well, it frees itself from time and space.

What are some of your earliest memories as a child exploring something beautiful for the first time? Do you ever bring back memories to help you create art?

S: i remember my family’s summer home on a clear lake in northern Wisconsin. Perhaps i learned

10 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

my love of nature there. My father taught me fishing, both on rivers and back lakes, with a casting rod as well as a fly rod. i remember floating along on a small raft looking down at the sunfish nests closer to shore. i learned how to live happily alongside huge snapping turtles, and i learned just exactly where the sandbars were. i knew why all the ducks went out in the middle of the lake at night. it was full of magical memories. at a later time, i introduced our three boys to that lake.

Do you prefer a certain season for making art?

Sybil: not really. all the seasons are good ones. i think painting is mysterious, glorious, dangerous, costly. Whatever else it is, it’s not easy. it only happens when it is welcomed into the life of the artist and her world. My adventure is in the work itself.

When not painting, i feel disconnected from the core of my being. i now want to bring into form something just beyond my reach. What exactly do i hear or see? i am just a channel to what wishes to be born. Can i be open to the painting that wants

to happen? i’m looking for what’s invisible to the eye, something more than i’ve ever painted in the past. that is my wish for all seasons. other than the earlier quote, can you give us a quote that you can relate to and wish others to be aware of?

Sybil: Martha Graham said: “deep in your soul lies a blood memory which may be 2000 years old. it will carry you into an area that is not your present habitual habit—but far beyond what you know. art can be a way to express the inexpressible—to go beyond the instant. you find that which speaks to you and you act on it.”

s

Jennifer PAzienzA WinGed VeSSel

PArAdiSe CiTY ArTS feSTiVAl ColuMBuS day Weekend riCH dunBraCk, arCHiteCtural CloCk, 8 Ft. HeiGHt

The Boston Globe declared it “Wild and Wonderful”, the Hartford Courant called it “a Mecca for art lovers” and AmericanStyle named it the #1 art and Craft Show in america. the Paradise City arts Festival in northampton marks its 21st year as new england’s premier showcase for fine and functional art, with a breadth of exhibitors and activities that will keep you enthralled and entertained all weekend long! it’s also american Craft Week, which brings together organizations from all fifty states in recognition of the countless ways handmade objects enrich our daily lives and contribute to our national aesthetic and economy. Paradise City is proud to be a Celebration Sponsor of american Craft Week.

Meet 260 outstanding painters, sculptors and master craft designers from nearly 30 states. the Festival dining tent provides mouthwatering food prepared by some of northampton’s finest chefs. local restaurants serve up exotic curries, pad thai, BBQ ribs, wood-fired pizza, fresh lobster rolls, pulled pork sliders, dim sum, locavore burgers, overstuffed burritos, mango lassi, warm apple crisp and homemade ice cream. the Soundstage welcomes new orleans-style jazz from the Paradise Jazz Group on Saturday; the Spampinato Brothers, known for their years in nrBQ, on Sunday; and original music, blues and country rock by the inimitable roger Salloom Band on Columbus day. a delectable themed exhibition “eat, drink and Be Merry!” gives you fresh and savory ideas for entertaining. From the objects we use to prepare and serve our food to the environments we create in which to enjoy it, this themed exhibit features delectable works cooked up in the studios of Paradise City’s artists. as Julia Child said, “People who love to eat are always the best people.” Plus, the Festival’s Silent art auction features hundreds of beautiful and valuable pieces donated by the exhibiting artists, and 100% of the proceeds benefit WGBy Public television for Western new england. no wonder Boston Magazine declares, “the Paradise City arts Festival has a vibrant soul that many similar exhibitions reach for but never attain... a unique visual arts institution!”

Paradise City Arts Festival, october 10, 11 & 12, at northampton’s 3 County Fairgrounds, on old Ferry Road off Rt. 9. From the Mass Pike, take exit 4 to I-91 north to Exit 19. For complete show and travel information and discount admission coupons, visit www.paradisecityarts.com or call 800-511-9725.

in Winged Vessel a, 48 x 60 inch oil painting on canvas, Jennifer Pazienza invites the viewer to consider beauty, memory and recreation in her painting practice. She explains: “We were celebrating Canada’s year of Craft when a friend brought me a lovely, unassuming Peter Powning ceramic work to paint from. no bigger than eight inches across and six inches high. i instantly fell in love with it! i made a dozen or so drawings in charcoal and oil on Mylar, but knew it had to be bigger.”

Why that vessel? you had been working with other Powning pieces. “Good question. at the time i had been reading elaine Scarry’s book, on Beauty and Being Just where she tells us that beauty prompts recreation, it makes us draw it, paint it, or take photographs of it, write poetry or songs for example. as well as seek for its precedents. after making Winged Vessel, and all the others, i wanted to test the veracity of Scarry’s ideas. in a moment of purposeful reflection my mind wandered back in time to an image of ingrid Bergman in the movie notorious. a

striped top with cropped sleeves and a partially bare midriff moved into consciousness. We rented the movie and indeed she does wear such a top! But it’s the memory of her character i think, that most comes through in Winged Vessel, the sense of something about to happen, something about to take flight.”

Jennifer Pazienza’s work is held in Public, Private and Corporate Collections in the uS, Canada and italy. Winged Vessel and others are part of the Berkshire Collection, a group show at the St. Francis Gallery in South lee, Ma through october 25.

Jennifer Pazienza http://jenniferpazienza.com; jennpazienza@gmail.com “The people in the cheaper seats clap your hands.

And the rest of you, just rattle your jewelry.”

-John Lennon

“To uncover the character’s inner thoughts is the actor’s major quest.”

-B. MacDonald

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 11

AliSOn lArKin AuThOr / COMedienne Interview by Harryet Candee

Alison Larkin is the bestselling author of The English American, an acclaimed comedienne, an award winning audiobook narrator, a classically trained actress who has appeared on and off Broadway and the mother of two teenagers. She lives in the Berkshires.

I first met Alison when we were in BTG’s production at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA., (directed by Travis Daly), “Oliver Twist,” a few years ago. I enjoyed watching her spring to life and felt drawn to her friendly nature, and especially, love her sing-song British voice that she can easily change at a heart-beat to a Southern bell accent. ...

There is a reason for that.

Harryet Candee: Your novel The English American sprang from your autobiographical one-woman show. it tells the story of an adopted english woman who finds her birth parents—and a whole lot more— in the united States. how much is fiction and how much isn’t?

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Photography by Sabine von Falken

Alison Larkin: like Pippa, the heroine of my novel, i was adopted from Washington dC as a baby and raised in england and africa by loving english parents. like Pippa, when i found my birth parents—who are also free-spirited, creative americans—it answered key questions about myself that freed me up to go ahead and create a life i truly love.

However, while Pippa’s journey in many ways mirrors my own, in many ways it doesn’t. For example, i don’t have a non-adopted sister, a dad who works in the foreign office, a dog called Boris, a mysterious lover who e-mails me from Hong kong or a penchant for Fig newtons. the list goes on. in other words, it’s fiction.

Were you an outgoing child? Or were you shy?

Alison: Both. i still am actually. i do like to chat with people when i am out and about, but my friendships are always one-on-one, and i need to spend time alone. i can’t stand small talk and i avoid parties and large gatherings whenever possible.

The english American was a Redbook magazine Book Club Pick of the Month and a Vogue magazine Most Powerful Book of the Season, and people love it. Why do you think it’s been so successful?

Alison: the “who am i, what do i want, what is my purpose” question is one we all ask, adopted or not. How much of us is nature, how much is nurture, and how much is individual choice? that’s a universal question.

Plus my publisher, Simon and Schuster, really got behind it. Plus it’s got short chapters, and people don’t have time to read long ones anymore. i was really thrilled when my book did well enough for us to be able to move to the Berkshires.

Are you writing a new book? if so, what is it about?

Alison: i just finished a new draft of my second novel.

My new heroine is in her 50’s and fled to america years before the story begins because of something that happened to her in england—we find out what during the course of the book. She’s a witty, slightly eccentric Miss

Marple type, and she gets the love story, which is pretty epic, and directly affected by one of the secrets at the heart of the story.

You were a classical actress and playwright in england. Soon after meeting your birth mother you became a stand-up comic in new York. how did that happen?

Alison: a few weeks after meeting my birth parents, i stood up at a comedy club in nyC and said “Hallo. My name is alison larkin and i come from Bald Mountain, tennessee.” the audience laughed. i didn’t have anyone else to talk to about what had just happened so i decided i might as well tell them. the beauty of stand-up comedy is that you can say anything you want, as long as you can figure out a way to make it funny.

So what kind of things did you say?

Alison: “i think everyone should be adopted. that way you can meet your birth parents when you’re old enough to cope with them.” and “the whole adoption agency thing is a bit of a lottery. you never know who you’re going to get as parents. i got lucky. then again, if i’d been adopted by Mia Farrow, today i could be married to Woody allen.” and “the key to dealing with a fear of abandonment? date people you don’t like, so if they do leave you it doesn’t matter.”

Your first one-woman show, which was a combination of stand-up and theater played to packed houses, received high critical acclaim on both side of the Atlantic. in the show you played yourself, your adoptive english mother, your southern American birth mother and yourself. What made you decide to write it?

Alison: i couldn’t figure out a clearer way to answer the question, “Why did someone from a happy adoptive family need to find her birth parents?” Plus it gave me the opportunity to explore the differences between england and america through comedy.

Performances of yours have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for different organizations. Your latest show, Alison Larkin LIVE! previewed to a packed house at the Mahaiwe last May. Was that a benefit performance?

Alison: yes. i performed the show to raise money for the Montessori School of the Berkshires Scholarship Fund. not many people know this, but they have a great adolescent program for 7th and 8th grades, which i felt deserved real support.

So, how did you find your birth parents? Were you shocked by the success of actually finding them?

Alison: it would take a novel to answer that question. oh—wait! i’ve written one!

did any of your parents support your creativity?

Alison: My english parents were very encouraging about my flute playing and singing and acting, but they were rather bewildered by my interest in writing. My birth parents had both worked with writers all their lives and they read some of what i’d written—in which i had very little confidence—and encouraged me, which helped a lot.

i am just wondering, and this may not be a fair question, but do you consider yourself english or American?

Alison: i consider myself an american with a British accent and a Brit with american enthusiasm levels. When i’m english i apologize for things i didn’t do. But when i’m an american i blame it all on you…

You’ve narrated over 100 audiobooks, many of them new York Times bestsellers. You narrated Audiofile’s best non-fiction audiobook of the year, Consider the fork by Bee Wilson, and won several awards for your narration of your own novel, The english American. What are some of your favorite recent narrations?

Alison: i’m delighted to have taken over for one of my favorite British actresses, Penelope keith, as the new narrator of the agatha raisin mystery series by M.C. Beaton. and i’m thrilled to have narrated the 200th anniversary audiobook editions of Pride and Prejudice and emma by Jane austen, alice in Wonderland and most recently the Secret adversary by agatha Christie, which are part of a new series of British classic audiobooks i’m narrating called alison larkin Presents.

So Alison larkin, also known as the english American, will be bringing the British classics to a new American audience! With humor no doubt?

Alison is joyfully at work! Photograph by Sabine von Falken

Alison: yes! Jane austen’s novels are often narrated with great earnestness, but they are actually very funny. lewis Carroll and agatha Christie’s novels are also full of humor. i am particularly excited to have the opportunity to bring the British classics to an american audience in a fun and accessible way.

Are they available to download?

Alison: yes. you can listen to a sample and get a 30% discount if you order via www.alisonlarkin.com

“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice. Why is that one of your favorite Jane Austen quotes?

Alison: Because it’s true. Jane austen is saying that if we listen to our own inner voice, instead of simply assuming that other people know better than we do, we’ll get the answers we need. Continued on next page...

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 13

AliSOn lArKin Author / Comedienne

Alison Larkin ...

Just Get Me to the Theatre On Time.... photo: Sabine von Falken

how did you get into the audiobook work?

Alison: When the english american won an audioFile earphones award, tantor audio, now a division of recorded Books, told me that if i would commit to recording a certain number of books a year from them, they would set me up with a home studio and teach me the technical side of things. it’s much easier narrating other people’s books than writing your own so i said yeS! that was in 2012. i’ve been doing it ever since.

Who else do you record books for?

Alison: Macmillan, Blackstone, Brilliance, Harper Collins, random House, dreamscape, Mind’s eye, disney, Penguin, BMa and British Classic audio to name a few.

Back to acting. Your first solo show was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. everyone adores you for your wit and honesty and willingness to talk about things most people don’t talk about. Would you want to still take on a serious acting role for a theatre production

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here or in england, if offered one? That would mean bringing up your formal training skills and working with other actors. how would you feel about this?

Alison: My last serious acting role was on Broadway in 1997, in a play called Stanley with the royal national theater, starring anthony Sher. it was a four-month run and directed by John Caird, who directed les Miserables. i loved the rehearsal period—but honestly, having to say the same lines night after night after night for four months was excruciating. i much prefer the freedom that writing and performing my own material brings.

Having said that, performing solo and recording audiobooks solo can be quite lonely, so i’d probably be open to working in a play again, especially if the script and part were really strong. and especially if i didn’t have to leave my kids. or the Berkshires. or drive too far. or spend too much time away from writing my new book.

Where did you perform as a stand-up, and who with?

Alison: i was a regular at the Comic Strip and the

Boston Comedy Club in nyC, and at the Comedy Store in la, and was in the line-up with dave Chappelle, rodney dangerfield and andrew dice Clay, who introduced me the first night i appeared at the Comedy Store.

how did you discover the Berkshires? When was that?

Alison: Five years ago. When my kids were born, despite the fact that i had a busy career in la, i couldn’t figure out how to raise thoughtful, happy kids and be in the entertainment industry. So we moved to new Jersey. Which was a mistake. i had highly creative kids and we were surrounded by people whose main goal in life was to land a steady job in a pharmaceutical company. the crunch came when my neighbor, horrified that i had an obama sign on my front lawn, came over to me and said “But obama’s an elitist! He went to Harvard,” as if this were a bad thing. i had a friend who lived in the Berkshires who suggested i check it out. it was February and snowing. everyone told me not to come up in February, so i came up in February. i felt something

Alison Larkin ...Made It to the Mahaiwe ...How lovely is this?

shift when i got out of the car on railroad street. then i checked out the schools and Shakespeare and Company and tanglewood and Butternut, and i knew i’d found the place i wanted to raise my kids. We moved to the Berkshires in 2010.

You sing beautifully. Tell me about your dnA song, which has had over 10,000 views!

Alison: i think the laws which currently prohibit adopted people and people conceived through anonymous sperm and egg donation from knowing the truth about their origins are hurting the people they were allegedly designed to protect, i.e. the kids who become adults. i wanted people to understand why i think it’s appalling, and i figured the most concise way would be to write a song about it. So i did.

Can you share some lyrics?

Alison: “they say the genes count for a lot, and i’m not meaning levi’s, from ‘Can you roll your tongue?’ to ‘Can you roll your eyes?’ to ‘Will you be a diabetic?

Will you have a stroke?’ When medicine can save a life it stops being a joke.” etc etc. then “every child born today deserves to know their dna.” you can get to it via my website or by Googling alison larkin dna song.

You’re such a busy lady! do you ever find yourself sitting quietly and just thinking, or would you be

photo: Sabine von Falken

bored by that? i would!

Alison: i don’t have time to sit much these days—i work constantly and have two teenage kids—but i do make time to process things, which usually happens when i’m walking or skiing or swimming in the Stockbridge Bowl.

Apart from your kids, who i know you spend a lot of time with, what truly makes you happy, Alison?

Alison: traveling somewhere new, where there is a very different culture, like Hong kong. or it will, when i have time to do it.

Singing songs from musicals, or the 30’s and 40’s, and traditional Scottish and irish music. Finding someone in the Berkshires who also likes to sing this kind of music would make me very, very happy, but so far the pals i’ve made like much cooler music than i. they’re hip—i’m hop. other things that make me happy? Chocolate, other people’s cooking, listening to music, silence, great poetry, swimming in the Stockbridge Bowl, looking at the sky and, to quote dorothy Parker, although “i hate writing, i love having written.”

Are you searching for something to fulfill your life?

Alison: i have wonderful kids, work and a life i love.

What could be more fulfilling than that? a few more like-minded friends maybe. But there are only so many hours in a day.

if you were to learn something totally new and fresh from the start, what would it be, and why?

Alison: i’d learn to paint… not sure why.

if you were to bring a handful of British people over to live in the Berkshires, and a handful of Americans to live in england, what important ideas would you need them to know beforehand? What would you tell them?

Alison: to the Brits i’d say: “it’s quite safe. no one’s going to laugh at you. you can be yourself here.” to the americans i’d say: “if the Brits put down your enthusiasm or try to force you to conform to a more traditional way of thinking, get on a plane and come home.”

how can people get in touch with you, book you for an event, listen to your audiobooks or learn more about you?

Alison: they can reach me through my website, which is www.alisonlarkin.com. i’d love to hear from any of your readers; especially if they’d like to sing!

Thank you, Alison! See’ya later for tea!

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 15

Planet Waves October 2015 Eric Francis ArieS (March 20 - April 19) you certainly have plenty to do and you’re motivated to get it done. What’s essential is that you bring your imagination to your work rather than just your time, effort and focus. there’s a purpose to what you’re doing, and the way to keep in contact with that purpose is to allow in the creative element all the time. this may run contrary to what colleagues and coworkers are doing; they seem to have ideas of their own, and they may seem obsessed with something that misses the mark. therefore, you’re the person who must interject the element of that special something that keeps the project meaningful. Be subtle about this. there are ways to add the magic elixir that are not quite obvious, though you do have the advantage of understanding the original purpose of whatever you’re doing. that said, and collaborations aside for a moment, this can be an incredibly productive and moreover creative month for you.

Make sure you leave yourself enough time and space to focus on your own individual priorities, both professional and creative. don’t let work commitments siphon off all your energy, ideas and motivation; make sure you take a little something home every night after work, and that you focus on your own priorities. that means projects, but it also means people -- especially after Mercury stations direct on the 9th.

TAuruS (April 19 - May 20) regarding your work-related endeavors, make sure you include the most important element: yourself. you seem to be involved in a project that leaves out some essential element of your talent. only you can incorporate that; it’s the essence of professionalism in a field where you care about what you’re doing. it’s not up to bosses, editors, directors or colleagues to make that happen. only you can show up with that one ingredient that only you can bring. alternately, it may be that you’re seeking to add this element to your life and work, and now is

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an excellent time to do that -- especially if you’re interested in getting paid for your creativity. Seen one way, your charts tell the story of ‘professionalizing’ your innate talents. Most people take the opposite approach -- they sell out on what they really want to do, and put all their energy into what they think will support them financially. you cannot and must not compromise here, but that runs in two directions. the first is making sure that you consider what you love the most as a viable job. the other is making sure that you bring your most authentic creativity into whatever you do, as a day-to-day discipline. that means putting love, care and real ideas into whatever you touch. Purpose is inherent in who you are, and it can be inherent in everything that you do.

GeMini (May 20 - June 21) if you’re looking for that brilliant idea that’s going to ring the bell, you’re heading in the right direction (though it may not seem that way). Proceed with mindfulness and take the approach of doing things one step at a time. Be meticulous. do not skip steps, especially involving communication with collaborators. if you find something that needs fixing, get to it now, so that it’s not there to distract or delay you in the future. you may not believe it now, but you’re working toward something that’s on a larger scale than you’re accustomed to. you are doing something that has the ability to resonate with others, and you may have been working toward this for a long time. it may be a new project, or it may be an existing one (dating back up to 18 months or so) whose time has come. i suggest you experiment with both existing and new projects and see what resonates. that’s the concept to work with -- resonance. this same astrology may involve a relationship, and if it does, the resonance i’m talking about is specifically creative-erotic. i am not saying romantic. i’m not saying soulmate. i’m not saying hookup. i’m saying that rare morph of adventurous,

nourishing pleasure that is available to you just about everywhere and with more people than you might imagine. though few will admit it, this is the good stuff. really good.

CAnCer (June 21 - July 22) the developing theme of your charts is about writing, which is great if you consider yourself a writer. under that scenario, the next year of your life can be a bonanza of collecting on long-delayed ideas, stories you’ve been brewing, or projects that have needed that extra burst of energy or resources to make them happen. i would remind you that there is a confidence issue you’re working with -- and it’s one that you’re finally in a position to work out. Seen one way, i’m talking about having faith in yourself. But there is a practical element involved. Confidence is the elusive state of mind where you align your motivation, your abilities and a specific idea that you want to express. the keyword is specific. Specific as opposed to generic, vague, foggy or uncertain. Work with focus and precision on the idea, or element of an idea, that you’re developing. Give it time and patience. Work with the past and not against it. i would remind you that, though you may not fancy yourself a writer or even an idea person, the digital environment has swallowed us all like high tide at the Bay of Fundy.

We walk, breathe and swim in a universe of ideas, of words, of images and of communication. to be a massage therapist you must be your own publicist. ride with that tide.

leO (July 22 - July 23) you have the opportunity over the next two months to reorganize and align your finances with your true purpose in life. this is sometimes called integrity. i would second that motion. along the way to doing this, the details matter -- and they matter quite a bit. if you pretend they’re not a factor or skip them over, you will get results in the short term but undermine yourself in the long run. What you now have is the potential to establish yourself financially as a well-rooted perennial plant, more like a tree and less like a marigold. as you do this, it’s essential that you be mindful of self-limiting ideas and habits. it’s true that you’re a leo and that your planet is really the star at the center of the solar system. But you have a way of thinking in miniature.

Miniature works just fine as long as it’s intended as a test, or as a scale model of something larger. So think in terms of scale, and how you might develop an idea into something that reaches farther and wider than you’re accustomed to working. one priority over the next year is going to be improving your income, and you seem strongly inclined to do this on the ‘right livelihood’ approach to existence. this is possible, though it takes a combination of intelligence, actual thought, courage and action.

VirGO (Aug 23 - Sept 23) Jupiter is now in your sign -- joined by Venus and Mars. you have every reason to feel good about yourself, though it would seem that in recent weeks you’ve either had your doubts, or you’ve committed to letting go of them. What exactly is this about? one thing to keep an eye on is your concern about others disrupting your life, or the power of their personality dominating you. this can have a way of making you feel like less than who and what you are, which in turn can have a way of making you doubt yourself or your value in someone’s eyes.

Here is the thing: the force of others’ personalities will be an increasing factor in your life for the foreseeable future. you will need to respond consciously -- and you have options. the most important one is to learn how to engage people who intimidate you in conversation. i recognize that society is being swallowed by utter panic at the mere thought of going offscript, though this is an art you must master. once you get good at engaging these high-energy personalities in a dialog, they will cease to be scary. the other bit is being comfortable with people who express desire for you. you have many options for how to respond; though among them, fear is neither useful, helpful nor empowering. Many better choices exist.

liBrA (Sept 22 - Oct 23) one theme of the past couple of years that is worth considering is the way in which you’ve had to dismantle your ideas about relationships. Most people cling to their relational concepts with little or no thought; many circumstances have conspired to make that nearly impossible for you. the absence of predictability has compelled you to stay in the moment, seemingly as a matter of survival. We are all under enormous pressure to conform to rules of relating that few people have actually thought through and that most people violate. What’s vital is that you honor your actual tendencies in relationships. not what you think you should do, or what others told you that you should do, but what you actually want and how you actually feel. if you’re paying attention you will see that this is an evolving set of values, and in truth every relationship is the result of an energy pattern you make with another person. Which brings us to a deeper question -- your relationship to yourself. it’s now vital that you remember that how you treat yourself matters. it sets the tone for the rest of your life. there are facets of this understanding that have come with difficult lessons, ones that it’s not necessary to repeat, if you would remember them. they point to something much better -- the joy of being your own person.

SCOrPiO (Oct 23 - Nov 22) Messages coming from your solar chart suggest you’re being called on some bold adventures. yet you may be feeling some tension between your desire to create something beautiful and your fear of being judged or seen through, or the feeling that you’re faking something. the only way to get beyond that kind of paradox is to take a chance on yourself. at a certain point you will need to decide that who you are is beyond judgment and reproach, which is another way of saying that you’re not worried what people think about you or what you do. But you cannot have it both ways; you can’t transcend judgment and also respond to people as if they’re your parents. therefore, if you’re going to create something, or feel something, you would need to give yourself enough space to feel and think and be, without stepping in as your own critic before you’re even finished. an example of this would be choosing not to do something because you know it won’t come out well. the way to take another path is to allow yourself to be guided by your own curiosity, without concerning yourself in advance with what you will find. rather, take each discovery as it comes, and consider what it teaches you; consider its particular pleasure or invitation to something deeper. the art studio and the gallery are different things with different purposes.

SAGiTTAriuS (Nov 22 - Dec 22) Saturn is now in your sign, which in a word is about maturity. as you experience the effects, the benefits and the challenges of this transit (which will last until late 2017), remember something -- the world is in a crisis of maturity. Perhaps in the past too much was made of the requirement to grow up and be an adult. today too little is made of it. Particularly in the united States, and to a growing extent in other countries, we are encouraged to stay immature and to overlook anything that requires serious thought or selfreflection. this is a selfserving scenario -- like frat boys encouraging one another to drink, the better to pretend it’s not a problem. there are ways in which Saturn will seem to limit you, to hamper your freedom and to rein in your choices. this will help you factor out what is not necessary. there is an essential benefit to the efficiency and focus that you will gain under this transit. the one truly valuable gift you can give yourself is to be your own authority. it may not seem so thrilling today, but in the end you will be grateful that you’ve stepped up to the honor of taking responsibility for your own choices, your own necessities, your own idea of who you are and what you want to become. if you let that guide you, you will do brilliantly. remember: Saturn always gives more than it takes away.

CAPriCOrn (Dec 22 - Jan 20) Consider the concept of inner freedom -- that is, the freedom to be honest about who you are and what you feel within the space of your own thoughts. this is typically the first freedom sacrificed to control devices such as shame and guilt. often

these sacrifices are passed down the generations like some precious inheritance, only to leave people bound and hampered and barely able to move around the world. Saturn moving into Sagittarius, your solar 12th house, describes a phase of your life when you can and indeed must reclaim your inner freedom.

By this i mean freedom from dysfunctional beliefs, denial, religiosity, guilt and false ideas of purity. i also mean freedom to think and feel what you want within the sanctity of your own mind, undaunted by the many expectations that have been put upon you, and that you’ve often internalized. i reckon that in learning to give yourself the freedom to actually be yourself, you will hold sacred the freedom of others to be themselves. in encountering such a profound inner confrontation, i reckon you will observe that the meeting places between different people are small, and delicate, and deserve to be honored. as you learn to honor your own distinction, your own difference from others, you will honor their difference from you and, in the process, finally recognize how much you have in common.

AQuAriuS (Jan 20 feb 19) there is a place for you in the world. there’s a place for everyone who wants one. the reason why is that the world is constantly changing, if for no other reason than people die and are born every day. What seems to remain consistent are the patterns of society, but even those change, if ever slowly. your role is to establish patterns that are consistent with your ideas and your approach to life, recognizing the imminent necessities of our moment -- and to do this in the public forum known as the culture. as you proceed, there are two things to be mindful of. one is that the most essential patterns to observe and work with are in your own mind. the mind truly is a microcosm of family, of society and of the global condition, all of which are in upheaval now. Second is that rather than innovating something new, you’re more likely to be updating something traditional, something well-established or time-honored. you are taking something that has already existed and modifying it for a new context. originality is not an actual value, since nearly everything is derivative. yet the retrieval of something func-

tional, something that works, in a new context, is original enough for anyone whose goal is to get the job done rather than to make a splash. there is work to do. do it well, and work joyfully.

PiSCeS (Feb 19 - Mar 20) you have recently passed through one phase of an initiation which had the effect of demonstrating your commitment to the truth. i don’t mean the truth in some mystical sense, but rather your commitment to what you know. this initiation will last for a while, and proceed as you take on evergreater challenges in the world. i suggest you consciously embrace and love every minute, day, week and month of it. as a Pisces you tend to take things on faith. this, however, creates some famously skeptical people, who are in reaction. i suggest you view the faith versus fact issue as an equation where both sides will eventually balance. if something is valid and authentic, it will probably stand up both to a test of faith and also to an examination of the data. Probably, but not definitely. there are times when a set of facts will point to an absurd conclusion, and times when faith will bear out a point of view that is otherwise not supported by known reality. you must therefore be gentle and avoid coming to quick conclusions. the beauty of your sign is that it grants the ability to be circumspect, which means to look around the whole circle of existence. keep an open mind, and pay attention to what both your senses and your intuition tell you. in general, pay attention. read eric francis daily on planetwaves.net

artiSt

eleAnOr lOrd

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”

-Pablo Picasso 510 Warren Street, HudSon, ny WWW.510WArrenSTreeTGAllerY.COM 518-822-0510

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 17

band, so she’s involved in doing something. But i had a lot of narration in my play, and it came at any point, not at the beginning of a scene or the end of a scene, it was kind of like another character. So what i’ve done is i’ve given a lot of that dialogue to the main character in the play, Frankie. and i’ve decided that, because i’ve had so much difficulty locating what i refer to as an italian voice, that i will play my father and my grandfather, and that’ll give me some of the joy of acting in it as well. So that’s the way i’ve set it up in this draft that i’m working on. at this point, having discovered that i had to change the narration––i had just about finished the first act and the thought of rewriting it––well, i was disappointed, annoyed, depressed—you know. But as i started to do it, it really wasn’t that difficult. the second act starts in the 1960s and elaborates on some of the other themes––what this young boy, now twenty years old, needs to do to save his life. So that’s almost like the feel-good part to me. the first act starts in a drug scene and ends in a drug scene and it’s— there is no feel good. it’s all bad. But i see it as a complete story, or a “memory play”, as tennessee Williams used to call it. So i just have to see how it plays out as i continue to write, continue to collaborate––because i’m still collaborating with Jody Green, which has been great. We’ve met once a week for the last year over a lot of coffee and a couple of beers and it’s really worked out.

is that’s what’s taking up the most room in your head?

Frank: that’s it. although i have to say, just recently i’ve become friends with a couple of women who do storytelling around the corner at deb’s (deb koffman’s art Space), and i’ve felt a renewed interest in doing some more of that. i did it for a year…i felt it really took a lot of energy––

frank’s WayWe Talk Playwriting And Other Things Interview by Amy Tanner

frank Gioia––local writer, storyteller, actor, and playwright––is an extraordinary person. hearing him vividly describe his moving and wildly improbable life draws you to the heart of what it means to have a past that might have limited you but instead propelled you into some of the most inventive living yet devised. i met frank a few years ago in rudi Bach’s acting class at Mixed Company in Great Barrington. not long after that we started meeting for coffee to talk about writing and life, and i’m happy to say we still do. What follows is a record of one conversation we had earlier in the summer at housie Market. it was a gorgeous day. We sat outside, ate sandwiches, and chatted.

frank Gioia: So i’ve been working on this project for a year now—this is the play set in the 50’s…about a young boy and what happens to him as he becomes a teenager.

How his life changes. and it’s based on my short stories. initially i wrote it with a narrator. i thought that i was following in the footsteps of tennessee Williams or something…

18 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

Photo by Sabine von Falken

Amy Tanner: Why not?

Frank: really. Why not? But recently while having a discussion with a guy who’s a playwright, he brought to my attention that whenever the narrator speaks, the action on the stage stops. which is really true. you have to give the actors something to do or they just stand there if the narrator is carrying on. So i decided to–– have you looked at Our Town?

Frank: i read our Town twice.…and i read The Glass Menagerie twice. there’s four characters. tom, the son, is the narrator in the play…i just, i mean i still have—

does action stop in The Glass Menagerie when he speaks?

Frank: no, because the way it’s set up, the narrator is a character in the play, and the staging is done in such a way that he speaks when basically he’s alone. He goes out on the fire escape. He’s having a cigarette. and he kind of just, speaks. there are a couple of sequences where his mother, amanda––where she might be involved in her own head space; she might be staring at a photograph of her ex-hus-

To perform regularly there?

Frank: yeah. i felt like i really exposed myself…i was doing some storytelling in Pittsfield as well…and now Six depot is holding storytelling nights. So i’ll go to that and i’ll sit in the audience and see what it feels like. So i might decide to do a little bit of that again. Because i think it’s pretty exciting stuff.

But the writing is really where i’ve been spending a lot of my time, and also i spend a lot of time gardening and playing around with fruits and vegetables and flowers, and it’s kinda nice. i like it. it’s good for the body to move it around, and it’s also relaxing for the mind, so it works out for me, and i like that sense of accomplishment as well. you can work for a couple of hours in the garden, you look and you see a difference. as opposed to writing…

You can work for a couple of hours and then erase it all…

Frank: Because you know, writing is not instant gratification!

So…to get in the wayback machine…was writing your first form of creative self-expression?

Frank: no, i don’t think so. i think that my first form of creative self-expression was design. i can remember being 13 or 14 years old and being very involved in the furnishings that my mother bought. i would go to the furniture store and help her select these silly lamps, or whatever i thought at the time was attractive. and i always had the design interest, and in fact when i worked as a building contractor i worked with a lot of clients on the design aspect of the work as well. then i got into designing gardens and commercial spaces and— And is that after you owned your retail business?

Frank: Before. i did retail, and designed my own line of handbags and carry bags and things of that nature, and i had people who sewed them…and then when i retired i worked in the props shop at Shakespeare and Company for a year, just volunteering, hanging around with people who liked the theatre, and hooked up with rudi Bach, and the writing came along. in my 40s and 50s i started writing

short stories, just because some of my friends thought that it would be fun to get together and read our stuff to each other. and so we did. and i compiled this group of stories some years ago; started hanging out with you and rudi and those folks at class, started to do some more writing, and explored that, and the acting and the storytelling. it’s just that aesthetics is one of my interests. it sounds like an important part of who and what you are.

Frank: i think that’s true.

And you were in Vietnam, with such an aesthetic sense…Why did you join the army?

Frank: i didn’t have a lot of choices. at least i didn’t think i had a lot of choices. i didn’t go to good high schools, i didn’t grow up in a neighborhood where people went to college. it was kind of like, people wanted to get out of the neighborhood, but there were very few avenues to do that.

So some friends of mine decided they wanted to join the army, and they convinced me that it would be a good thing, that it would be good for me. i would get out, i would learn a trade, i would be able to care for myself in the world.

Was this before the war?

Frank: this was in January of 1963, so no one in this country, unless they were in some sort of security or government job or something, had even heard of Vietnam, much less known that there was a war going on there.

The war had started before it was common knowledge?

Frank: the war started…eisenhower sent military advisors to South Vietnam, i think in 59. Because there’s a history of the first american being killed in 1959. i got there in September of 1963, there were about 20,000 american troops there. i was in a support capacity, so i was not as threatened as people who went out in the field and tried to engage the enemy. But it was still scary. i was young. there was a lot of—i don’t think they used the word “terrorism” then, but there were a lot of things that could happen to you. if you drove someplace to pick up supplies, when you got back to your truck it could be boobytrapped. Someone

could throw a hand grenade at you. the base you were at could be mortared.

Plenty of ways to die.

Frank: yeah. But i got lucky. i was fine. i did my time, and i don’t know that it turned my life around necessarily, but it changed it. it created a space in between, so that what i had done prior to going into the army, i could look at that as the past, and being out of the army, i could look at what was ahead of me as being the future, and they didn’t have to be the same thing. So i think that was the benefit for me. it gave me an interval that got me away from those things that were threatening my life.

And then you narrowly avoided getting drafted into the Mafia.

Frank: (laughter) and then i narrowly avoided getting drafted into the Mafia. it’s true. it’s true. i had met a guy— i mean—being italian in the 50’s in Brooklyn, there were people that were “connected.” and so i knew people who had relatives—in fact I had a relative—who was “connected.” i had gone to high school with people who were in the Mafia in later years, and i met someone in the army, my friend Mikey, who wanted me to become a mafioso. He had been involved with these people from a very early age, and he wanted to take me to meet his Capo. in fact, he came to my house and engaged me around that topic. after some consideration i decided i didn’t wish to go that route. it could have been more dangerous than Vietnam. i thought it was violent, but the kind of violence you had to inflict upon people who didn’t follow the rules or didn’t pay their debts, or just because somebody decided that it was over for them and he wanted their territory or whatever the case may be. and it was the young guys who had to prove their mettle, so to speak; who were, you know, engaged to do these tasks. So i passed on that.

Sounds like a wise decision. So at some point you realized you had stories to tell. What was that like?

Frank: you know, i would get a little nervous when i read my stories with my friends; even with my close friends i would get nervous. i had never really done that kind of

thing before. i had never acted in any high school plays or anything of that nature. and something happened to me when i was nine or ten. i was involved in a little production in school that didn’t turn out right, and it scarred me for the longest time. When rudi asked me to join the acting class, i wanted to do it, i really did, but i was extremely frightened. i didn’t know how my stuff would play, what people would think of it…and i didn’t know how exposed you would need to be to tell your stories, read your stories… as it turned out i always felt extremely safe. i always felt very supported. i got really positive feedback from people…So for me it was really a winner, and continues to be a winner; i just––i really just love it. i’ve met a tremendous amount of people. i now have multi-generational friends, which i find very exciting. and it’s a good time. it’s really worked out.

does creating for you always feel good?

Frank: does it always feel good? i think it feels good most of the time. But surely not all of the time. the writing process is challenging. and you can write for a few hours and not have anything to show for it, which can be very disappointing. the getting up on stage process seems to create more anxiety, but it takes you to a level of excitement—it takes me to a level of excitement—that can be even higher. So it’s kind of like, the more threatening it is, the more exciting it can be. But sure, i find in the writing, sometimes, the disappointment. But it’s just worked for me; overall, it’s a positive experience. So when i decided just recently to change the narrator’s voice in the play and i realized what i would have to do, i was totally depressed, i felt it was going to be near to impossible, i didn’t know how to start, where to start, and i remember i worked all morning on this not long ago and i accomplished very little. and Susie (Franks’s wife, writer Susie kaufman) said, “you know, there’s a guy reading over at the Mount. a guy from Mississippi. Maybe you want to go and just listen.”

So we went and listened to this guy, his first name was Snowdon. i can’t remember his last name. the guy was lovely. and he just made me feel better, you know? and i wrote the next morning, i got something done, and it was Continued on next page...

ROBERT FORTE

Exhibition of art at

510 WARREN ST. GAllERY Hudson, NY November 2015

WWW.510WARRENSTREETGALLERY.COM WWW.ROBERTFORTE.COM

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 19

FRANK GIOIA

just because i ran into this guy who i’ll probably never see again, although Susie said she was going to get his book. But the guy was just a terrific writer, he had a wonderful disposition, he was not full of himself, he was easy to talk to and nice to be around, and he really just changed my entire outlook. i was really so surprised by it, actually. Somebody you don’t even know. i think seeing people who are really good at what they do can automatically uplift and elevate us.

Frank: Just seeing the creative process working

Yes, and feeling it. it’s a quickening. if you see somebody doing something that you can do, and they’re doing it better than you feel you can do in that moment, if you allow it to inspire you, it’s very powerful. i think it can help restore your faith in the beauty that you are working to create.

Frank: yeah. it really worked for me. i was surprised.

how do you see your work as evolving? What would you like it to become?

Frank: you know, i’ve never allowed myself in this process of writing the play to actually believe that it would be performed. i’ve always—

Why not?

Frank: i don’t know. not sure. Fear, probably. i’ve always kept kind of a low profile and thought, “Just a staged reading. i would be happy with that.” you know, just invite my friends. But the fact is that the more i work on it, the more i see it improve…and if i allow myself to believe the feedback i get from people that

this is really good material, this is interesting stuff, it’s rich, it has real content, etc. i think, “Gee, i wonder?

Could this really be staged? is this something that could be developed? Would a producer be interested?” etc. So i allow myself, in my most unguarded moments, to go there. But mostly it’s, “if i can do a staged reading, that’s just fine.” and if something more comes of it, that would be unbelievably wonderful.

The musical.

Frank: (laughter) the musical. i have a title!

What is it?

Frank: Fourteen Holy Martyrs. Which is the name of the grammar school that i attended as a young boy.

Working title, i guess you could say. i’ve been thinking about it for a while and i kept changing it and then one day, “this is it, this is what i’m calling it!”

Are there fourteen…anything?

Frank: i’m trying to figure out—i haven’t written the ending yet, and i’m trying to develop it around the fourteen martyrs, these saints of the church. as i’ve played with the idea in my head a little bit the ending would actually be a mass…Maybe in some way those martyrs would call to the people i lost along the way. not really sure. that’s in flux, but i would like to be able to do something like that. never having done it before, it’s pretty imposing, but we’ll see. i think a mark of maturing as a writer is being open to symbolism; seeing how it shows up, the connections that spontaneously occur. But the most impor-

tant part is being open. You can’t force your intellect to make something like that true in a work, because symbology is visceral. it’s subconscious. Anyway, that sounds fantastic.

Frank: i think the more open you’re willing to allow yourself to be, the more opportunity you have for something unexpected to develop, to pop up. i’ve been open to listening to other people––Jody specifically, but other people as well––Susie gives me really good feedback… it is important not to get bogged down in other people’s stuff. But if somebody has clear and well-rounded advice, criticism, suggestions, i’m usually pretty open to that. and i feel that now i’m on a path. i think i know what i’m trying to do. i’m getting to a point where i have to look at it as an editor, at what doesn’t match up, what doesn’t work all that well, what’s not as good–– and then write an ending. Which i think will be really challenging.

Hopefully fun, a little bit.

Frank: i think fun would be good.

is there anything else you want the world to know?

Frank: no. (laughter)

on particularly auspicious Tuesday nights, Frank Gioia can sometimes be found telling stories onstage at Deb Koffman’s Art Space in Housatonic (www.debkoffman.com). You can email him at frankjoy@roadrunner.com. Stay tuned for future performances…I know I will…

Amy Tanner is a writer and Soulful Pleasure coach.

Her fabulist novel, the Virgin of Hopeless Causes, is available at Amazon.com. You can visit her at www.amytanner.com, or send her a nice email at amy.tannerly@gmail.com

L

20 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

dAnCinG WiTh COlOrS danCinG Girl, olGa GernoVSki

JOhn liPKOWiTz SPrinGtiMe in JaPan

JoHn liPkoWitz, noodle SHoP, PHotoGraPH, JaPan

John lipkowitz, a photographer now retired to Great Barrington, lives to shoot, or, perhaps, he shoots to live.

His answer to the question of which, parallels the answer to a chicken or egg question and depends upon no discernible criteria. Fortunately for him and hopefully for us as well, John finds his answers and his inspiration in travel, often to exotic places far from the Berkshires. this time he travelled nearly half way around the world to Honshu, the principal island of Japan.

John’s wife nina organized the group of individuals with whom they went on an overseas adventure travel itinerary specifically to be in Japan as the cherry blossoms opened, and they landed in tokyo three days after the first official bloom was recorded. Visiting several cities and a number of rural areas over three weeks allowed a broad spectrum of Japanese cultural and religious experiences in a country where much of the population practices both Buddhism and Shintoism. these deeply spiritual practices permeate large portions of this culture, much of which John has sought to capture in this exhibit. travel photography is a genre in which many of us engage and the ability to create a collection of images which approach the sublime rather than descending to the mundane is no easy task. in this selection, John gives us a broad range, from an ecstatic wonderment at the reappearance of Sakura or cherry blossoms, to the beauty of Japanese gardens, shrines and temples, always with the impact of thousand year old traditions. While the camera and selfie may be of recent vintage, the blessings of new blooms heralding spring are nearly timeless. in realizing the images included in his Japan collection John has utilized not only traditional Western fine art coated photographic papers, but has experimented with an uncoated Japanese hand made paper and a coated paper incorporating visible fibers in the hope that these evince an enhanced Japanese aesthetic.

“Springtime In Japan” will be exhibited December 4 27, with a reception December 5, 3-6pm at the 510 Warren Gallery, 510 Warren St., Hudson, nY, 518-822-0510.

Hours are Friday & Saturday, 12-6 and Sunday 12-5. A rotating selection of Japanese images will also be on display during September, october and november, 2015.

GOOd PurPOSe GAllerY

Good Purpose Gallery will be exhibiting dancing with Colors, which features the artwork of olga Gernovski, and of Margaret Buchte. the show opens on october 10 and runs through november 17. Join us at the gallery on Saturday october 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm for the opening reception. there will be complimentary appetizers, wine, and entertainment, as well as the opportunity to meet and converse with the artists. a classically trained artist born in the ukraine, olga Gernovski has been described as a “contemporary romantic.” Her paintings are an exploration of human emotions, color and movement. Music is a strong source of inspiration for much of her work, not only in terms of subject matter but influencing her colors and her brush strokes. according to Gernovski, “My paintings capture mood, music, moment, and movement. as in life, nothing is stationary, but always in motion.”

Margaret Buchte of Great Barrington, Ma, is a selftaught artist who draws her inspiration from the beauty of the Berkshires and beyond. She has been painting in oils with passion and joy for over twenty years. Margaret is always striving to capture the essence and beauty of a scene under dramatic light.

Good Purpose Gallery and Spectrum Playhouse are professional venues that exist to offer students real-life training, experience, and integration with the community. Both venues host professional artists and events on a regular basis throughout the year, including student events such as plays, performances, art exhibits, and more.

For more information on the Gallery, please visit our website. Good Purpose Gallery - 40 Main Street, Lee, Massachusetts. The gallery is open 9am - 4pm every day; 413-394-5045; gallery@cipberkshire.org; goodpurpose.org You see things; and you say, “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’

-George Bernard Shaw

MArGueriTe Bride MaGGie’S FarM, MarGuerite Bride, WaterColor

CuStoM PaintinGS in WaterColor

this is a great time to work with watercolor artist Marguerite Bride in designing your custom house portrait. think it’s complicated? it’s actually easier than you might imagine and plus it’s a rewarding and fun experience. Visit Bride’s website to see more than 100 local and regional homes she has painted, ranging from tiny bungalows to Victorian mansions…in all seasons and all perspectives. But it doesn’t have to be a house… it could be a painting of a favorite scene, your old barn, your business, school, college, just about anything. a gift of art is a thoughtful, creative and cherished gift.

But often it is hard to pick out a painting for another. Consider giving a gift certificate for a custom painting… which is like giving two in one…the painting itself and the very enjoyable journey the recipient takes with the artist in helping plan it. a lovely personalized gift certificate along with information about the painting, the artist, and the process creates a special and memorable gift for holiday, retirement, going away, wedding….any occasion.

Fine art reproductions and note cards of her Berkshire images and others are available at the red lion inn Gift Shop (Stockbridge), lenox Print & Mercantile (lenox), St. Francis Gallery (So lee), and Hancock Shaker Village (Hancock). Seasonal scenes are always on display in the public areas of the Crowne Plaza and also at Mary’s Carrot Cake Shop, both in Pittsfield. additionally, her newer originals plus assorted matted reproductions are available at the underground Salon at Christine’s Home Furnishings on Bridge Street in Great Barrington.

Commissions are always welcome. and there is still time to have it done for Christmas, but just barely, so don’t delay!

Marguerite Bride – home studio at 46 Glory Drive, Pittsfield, Massachusetts by appointment only. Call 413841-1659 or 413-442-7718; margebride-paintings.com; margebride@aol.com; Facebook: Marguerite Bride Watercolors

Have a great hair day!

Samantha Candee

is now accepting appointments Give our new talented stylist the boost of confidence she deserves. It gives her the experience she needs to succeed and provide a great discount rate for the community. To receive 15% off of your service by showing this ad.

413. 528. 9999 Great Barrington, MA

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 21

lAuren ClArK fine ArT

lauren Clark Fine art is pleased to announce a series of talks on various concepts of art history. We begin the series with the topic, “renaissance, and Baroque, What exactly is the difference Between these two.” this talk will take place on thursday, october 15, at 6:30pm. Concepts for this talk are from the work, “renaissance and Baroque,” by Heinrich Wolfflin, the influential turn of the century art historian.

What fundamental differences separate the works of the renaissance, from the work of the Baroque period that followed it? ideas considered are historical, religious, philosophical, and scientific. the talk is by richard Britell, whose paintings are well known at the lauren Clark Gallery, and whose writings can be found in the pages of The Artful Mind Artzine each month.

Lauren Clark Fine Art - 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, Mass.; lauren@laurenClarkFineart.com, 413528-0432, www.laurenClarkFineart.com

“Be the change you want to see in the World.”

-Muhatma Gandhi

rOBerT fOrTe

“although my paintings have a realistic context, my passion for painting is, somewhat paradoxically, a passion for the unknown that lies beneath the surface of perception. For me, the starting point is a need to talk through paint, a conversation, if you will, between something seen and something hidden. there is always a sense of the journey’s end, but it ultimately is the light, the color and even the brushstroke that reveals the intangible in the tangible. in effect, the object or scene is abstracted and reassembled as the painting progresses, in hopefully unpredictable ways; the conundrum that i call ‘abstract realism’. “ this is a departure from first-learned principles - observe keenly and paint accurately - but builds on them rather than discards them. this bedrock foundation robert Forte owes to two wonderful artists, Minerva durham and Cornelia Foss, under whose tutelage he was lucky enough to find himself from the very start.

“So often artists, or writers about artists, limn a body of work in ways that are recondite and ultimately unsatisfying. For me, art is an explosion of feeling expressed in an infinite variety of different ways to reflect divergent views of the world around us. even a painting of a wedge of apple pie can contain a subtext that probes beneath a flaky crust. ultimately, art should be accessible both visually and verbally. after all, it is the earliest extant form of communication.”

Robert Forte’s paintings are in numerous collections throughout the country, and can be seen on a bi-monthly basis at the 510 Warren Street Gallery in Hudson, new York.

The BerKShire COlleCTiOn dean niMMer

SAinT frAnCiS GAllerY

The Berkshire Collection continues until October 25 and is a wonderful collection of varied and exceptional local talent. At the opening in September there was an enthusiastic crowd of supporters; both valued friends of the gallery and new patrons as well, admiring the strength of the artwork displayed. This new selection of work and new artists represented is a significant contribution to art in the Berkshires. The joy and energy perceived in these creations is palpable and visually alive.

The spirit of the gallery is to provide this experience in all of our shows. This emotional process is the soul of our culture, our humanity. The driving force is to create something that goes directly to the core of our being and communicates without words to anyone who will allow. There is a sense of spirit that emanates from the gallery that turns a simple visit into an inner drive to understand each others and our own creativity. This unique combination of complexity and simplicity of meaning allows us to see more than we did before. “Seeing” cannot happen in isolation.

We need to partner with the creative work of other souls in order to experience the richness that we alone can not hold on to. This experience is available thru any of the arts. And it is the work that is displayed in the gallery that gives you time to see how all this creative expression is the art of our fathers, our mothers, and even those not yet born, sometimes even part of our strongest desires and struggles all without words to block the true meaning we connect to.

A new show, The Magic of Light and Small Miracles, will begin in November and continue till the gallery closes in December after the holidays.

St. Francis Gallery - Rte. 102, South Lee just 2 miles east from the Red Lion Inn. Gallery hours: Friday thru Monday 10-5pm.

“To play needs much work.

But when we experience the work as play, then it is not play anymore.”

- Peter Brook 22 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

CreATiVe SPiriT ShOWCASe

BerkSHire FeStiVal oF WoMen

the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers will host Creative Spirit: A Showcase for Women Writers, Artists and Artisans, on Sunday november 22 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm at the Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield. the free event will showcase the creative talents of women in and around the Berkshires. authors, publishers, artists, artisans, and other businesses and organizations will offer goods, services, and networking opportunities with a focus on celebrating the creativity of women.

Space is limited; some table space for vendors is still available. For information contact lorrin krouss at info@berkshirewomenwriters.org the event is an expansion of the highly successful BFWW Book expo held in March 2015. “the community response to the Book expo was extraordinary, so we listened to the call to broaden the scope of the event to feature the creative works of women in all of the arts,” says Festival Founder Jennifer Browdy. the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers, a program of the non-profit Women’s Collaborative for Creativity and leadership, inspires, nourishes and strengthens women’s creative voices by offering stimulating workshops and events year-round designed to encourage women and girls to engage with one another and their communities, and develop as creative leaders. the Festival has also issued a Call for Submissions for its 2016 Program Guide, which will include year-round BFWW events, as well creative writing by women of all ages. advertising opportunities are also available for what will be the region’s only literary magazine by and for creative women.

Berkshire Festival of Women - For submission guidelines, ad rates, or to reserve your table for the november 22 Showcase, visit Berkshirewomenwriters.org or email info@berkshirewomenwriters.org

MArGie Biener CountinG SHeeP

artWorkForkidSrooMS.CoM

announcing the launching of a new, vibrant, creative online art Gallery, artWorkForkidSrooMS.CoM featuring the colorful, whimsical, imaginative creations of artist, Margie Biener.

Margie, a Great neck, ny and Great Barrington, Ma artist started her career at an early age painting murals in homes, hospitals and various businesses. Her creative imagination, artistic skills and interest in advertising led her to jobs at several prestigious advertising agencies, such as ogilvy & Mather, young & rubicam, and deutsch inc.

Her love for art and children led her to be the art director for commercials for disney and Jell-o. Margie’s printed textile designs can also be found on newborn and infant’s clothing. Botticelli, rocky & Bullwinkle as well as Mother nature influenced her designs.

Margie’s medium for her creations is acrylic paints and ink on both canvas and paper. Be sure to “walk” through Margie’s Gallery, artWorkForkidSrooMS.CoM, enjoy her ingenious artistic style of mixing colors, imagination and childhood. Her artwork inspires us to smile, and remember the child within all of us.

Margie Biener – artworkforkidsrooms.com

KATe KnAPP

oCtoBer 2 - noVeMBer 1 at 510 Warren Street Gallery

under WATer

the paintings in this exhibit represent the time kate knapp has spent for many years in the West indies. Her favorite place to be is in the water. Here, where the turquoise Caribbean Sea surrounds the islands, the fish and coral reefs abound. in these underwater landscapes painted mostly in oil, knapp has tried and succeeded to show us what lives beneath the surface. With vivid colors, a result of her impressionist training, and lush brush strokes an example of her expressionistic approach, knapp takes us on an underwater adventure. We are surrounded by brilliant coral formations and schools of unusual fish swimming all around us. Shells and strange sea forms fill these canvases with abstract and yet identifiable creatures in their native habitat. in one painting, unique plant and coral life of all colors grows on abandoned wharf pilings as bright yellow fish swim around them. knapp focuses on and captures the movement of the multi colored fish and sea fans as they come and go and bend and sway in the currents of the clear blue water as if they are all part of a silent symphony. Besides the mostly large oils there are also several gouache and watercolor studies which have a very different feeling as only a watercolor medium painting water can give. all of the paintings make us very aware of the love that knapp has for this uncommon landscape. opening reception is Saturday, october 3, 3-6pm. 510 Warren Street Gallery, Hudson, nY. www.510warrenstreetgallery.com / 518-822-0510

Holidays are coming up! Here’s a gift for everyone!

Love your tables with a set of your own customized drink coasters

The ArTful Mind OCTOBer 2015 • 23

Otis The Playwright Part 1

riCHard Brittel

otis the wolf found himself tied up in the back of a peasant cart. He had never been in a cart, and never tied up, but he soon figured out his situation. He immediately recognized the very wheel that had been repaired by the blacksmith’s boy and his father, so he knew he was at the mercy of those three men who were headed south with the old cart. He imagined that if they had known he was a wolf they would have done away with him on the spot, but since they had rescued him they must have assumed he was a dog. What did they want with a dog? there were several possibilities. if they were starving, they might cook him for dinner. or perhaps they liked dogs and their most recent had died.

Perhaps they wanted to sell him to a dog collector, or use him as a guard at night… He had no idea. at dinnertime, he had his first opportunity to see what the future had in store for him. He was untied, attached to a leash and a collar, and fed dinner. He was not fed scraps as he had expected, but he was given the same fare as his captors, which consisted of some wild rabbit garnished with rice and vegetables. otis wolfed down his dinner. it was the first real food he had eaten for days, so when he’d finished, he lay down next to the fire where his new owners were relaxing and promptly fell asleep. When he awoke it was late at night, so he lay still and tried to ascertain from the conversation he overheard what to expect from his new owners. He had no inclination to run away; he had made up his mind to attach himself to people in order to avoid starvation. otis could make out very little from the conversation because he did not know the language, and the three individuals offered him very scant information. they were three men of various ages: an old man, someone middle-aged, and also a young man considerably worn down on the edges. they were similar-looking, so much so that they were perhaps related, perhaps even from the same family. they did not appear to be particularly intelligent, and there was something comical about their facial expressions. they were the type of men whose frustrations and desperations might cause others to laugh at them. otis thought that if he had to assign them an occupation, an endeavor at which their shortcomings and inadequacies could be turned to a profit, they might perhaps be traveling entertainers, who set up a makeshift stage in a village and entertain all comers for a copper. they would act out scenes of desperation and suffering for the merriment of a crowd, who are always longing to laugh at the misfortunes of others. otis was 24 • 2015 OCTOBer The ArTful Mind

correct in this observation, but perhaps his intuition was augmented by the shadowy recollection of the very same men who had passed through the blacksmith’s village, the day before he began his work as a spy. otis, having decided to attach himself to the traveling comedians, set to work first thing in the morning to win their trust and confidence. He correctly assumed that the only way to be free of the collar and the leash was to convince them that he had no interest in running away from them. He engaged in the usual dog-like activities, such as groveling, begging, and staring intently at morsels of food, but he put all of his hopes in one thing: fetch. Fetch is a game as important to the master as to the dog. in fetch, the ego of the master is constantly stroked and reinforced. in the mind of the master, the dog is a pet that will run to the ends of the earth in order to retrieve a possession. it is no wonder then, that whenever a master engages in fetch with his dog, the greatest satisfaction results from throwing the object as far away as possible. Picture a master and dog playing fetch, but he can only throw the stick a few feet, never further than the end of a leash tied to a stake in the ground. that will never do; both dog and man want the stick to fly as far as possible. otis, knowing this, invited his new masters to play fetch, and no sooner had the game begun than the collar came off, never to be attached to his neck again.

His three new masters were not the most intelligent of men, and they tended to occupy their spare time in simple pursuits such as card games and checkers. otis found these games to be very boring, and would have preferred collecting herbs and wildflowers, cataloging them and finding the latin names for them in anthologies. But he had to adjust himself to the intellectual level of his surroundings. How it was that the youngest of the comedians continually lost at checkers to the old man was very confusing to otis. if otis had been able to move the pieces himself, losing wouldn’t have been a possibility. What was it like for otis to watch a game of checkers? it was like watching children play tic-tactoe; one child keeps losing, regardless of whether he goes first or last. you want to shout out to the child, “don’t put your x there!” but you hold your tongue, because your advice would just be a reminder that the child is not smart. So it was that otis had to suffer through long games of checkers where the correct moves were so obvious it gave him a stomachache.

Cards were no better. often those comedians wondered aloud, “Why is this dog whining and complaining so much when we play checkers?” the best otis could do was to encourage his owners to take credit for training him to do tricks. during the first week of his new occupation he went through all of the basics: rolling over and playing dead, not eating food balanced on the nose, walking on the hind feet… all of the simple things. When they were in town, he sat quietly behind the stage and wondered how it was possible that their simple stories and actions could

“Everything you can imagine is real.”

-Pablo Picasso

move an audience so much. not only that, but watching the comedians rehearse their skits in the evening, otis soon came to understand that everything was being done by rote, from memory, with no improvisation to enliven the performance. Finally he could stand it no longer. He felt he had to intervene. there was a skit involving a domestic argument: a husband and wife are having a fight about a fish pie. it was all in pantomime, but the gist of the story appeared to be that the husband was complaining to the wife that the fish pie was burnt, but the wife wanted to put it back in the oven because in her opinion, it was not ready yet. the husband gets more and more angry, and the third character, playing the role of the son, is trying to drag his father away from his mother. the scene builds to a climax, and the fish pie falls to the floor. the fact that the pie falls to the floor is the entire point of the skit, and the mirth is provided only by the extreme horror of the actors at the sight of the disaster.

What a pathetic skit, otis thought to himself. So the next time the fish pie skit was enacted, he bided his time waiting for the right moment. the husband and wife are arguing. the son has not yet intervened. Very slowly, creeping along on his stomach, on to the stage comes otis. He crawls across the stage in the direction of the fish pie, but constantly pauses and looks around cautiously. Finally, at the height of the argument, he stretches out his neck, snatches the fish pie from the table and bounds out of the imaginary door. the comedians, unaware anything has happened, run through the skit to the end, only to stagger around in amazement finding the fish pie has disappeared. at the moment the fish pie is snatched, the audience erupts in uncontrollable laughter. only later did the troupe realize what had happened. So the three of them set to work, patiently teaching otis to repeat his actions in the skit on command. teaching otis to act his part in the skit he had re-written for them did not prove difficult. at the very moment when otis snatched the pie from the table and the audience erupted in laughter, the lives of the wandering comedians were transformed. the road they had traveled for so many years had been a desperate one. their profession, indistinguishable from begging in many ways, often had to be augmented by activities none of them would have been willing to talk about. But from the instant otis grabbed the fish pie from the table, their road became paved with gold.

Wherever they went, they were expected. they no longer passed the hat around; there was an admission charge and their audiences were anxious to pay.

G