The artful mind july issue 2014

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 MONTHLY BERKSHIRE ARTZINE

THE SOURCE FOR PROMOTING ART SINCE 1994

Sculptor Don Gummer

Photographed by Jane Feldman

Vault Gallery 413.644.0221

Marilyn Kalish

marilynkalish.com

1 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

Artwork by Laurie

FRONT STREET GALLERY KATE KNAPP

Pastels, oils, acrylics and watercolors…..abstract and representational…..landscapes, still lifes and portraits….a unique variety of painting technique and styles….you will be transported to another world and see things in a way you never have before…. join us and experience something different.

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

Classes at Front Street are for those wishing to learn, those who just want to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art, and/or those who have some experience under their belt.

A teacher for many years, Kate Knapp has a keen sense of each student’s artistic needs to take a step beyond. Perfect setting for setting up still lifes; lighting and space are excellent.

Kate Knapp’s paintings are also on display at 510 Warren St. Gallery in Hudson, NY. Please stop by to see all the many works of art by exceptional artists.

Front Street Gallery – Front Street, Housatonic, MA. Gallery open by appointment or chance. 413-528-9546 or 413-429-7141 (cell).

2 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

CATA “I AM A PART OF ART”

Community Access to the Arts (CATA) presents “I Am a Part of Art,” a celebration of CATA’s visual artists and writers. The monthlong exhibit at Berkshire Museum features over 100 works of art created by artists with disabilities from Berkshire County. A poetry reading on opening night includes selected works from CATA’s Writers Workshop, read by guest reader Joe Cacaci, Founding CoArtistic Director of Berkshire Playwrights Lab and a writer himself.

The opening reception, free and open to the public, is Thursday, July 24 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in The Crane Room.

Faculty member Pat Hogan reflects, “It is a privilege to be a CATA teacher. Our artists astonish us every day with their rare insight and innate ability to communicate through movement, words or painting.”

Work featured in the show includes a variety of media such as graphite and charcoal, acrylic paint, chalk and oil pastel, and paper mache, and includes abstract and representational paintings and drawings as well as some sculpture. All work will be for sale, with proceeds supporting both the artists and CATA programs in the visual arts.

CATA’s visual arts faculty members are artists in their own right: Jeff Gagnon, Pat Hogan, Leslie Klein, Marlene Marshall, Janice Shields, Stefanie Weber, and Michael Wolski.

“I Am a Part of Art” runs through August 23 and is made possible through the generosity of The Coolidge Hill Foundation, Beth Maher, Frames on Wheels, and Canyon Ranch.

Community Access to the Arts (CATA) www.communityaccesstotheARTS.org

BERKSHIRE FRINGE FESTIVAL

This August, the Berkshire Fringe moves north to the Upstreet Cultural district to kick off its 10th anniversary season at Shire City Sanctuary. From August 2-August 18, the Fringe will celebrate its decade milestone with over 30 performances, special events, pick your own price nights and free concerts by beloved Berkshire Fringe artists and ensembles from around the world.

2014 ‘best of the fest’ highlights include: Retrospectacle, the 2014 Fringe kickoff party on Saturday, August 2 features live performances, auction, dj, dancing and special musical guest, May V. Oskan; Brooklyn’s beloved Under The Table Theater Ensemble present two hilarious and poignant physical comedies, The Hunchbacks of Notre Dame and Solo: A Two Person Show; The Wardrobe Ensemble from Bristol, UK return with their award winning show RIOT and the US premiere of 33; Fringe favorite The Pi Clowns from San Francisco, CA inspire audiences of all ages and award winning monologist Dan Bernitt from Lexington, KY delivers an encore performance of his touchingly poetic hit, Thanks for the Scabies, Jerkface! Plus, a British themed pub quiz, Community Performance Lab, new work showcases, free concerts and more!

All performances take place at Shire City Sanctuary located at 40 Melville Street in Pittsfield, MA. www.berkshirefringe.org, e-mail info@berkshirefringe.org or call 413-320-4175.

JULY 2014 calendar Artful Fun in the Summer!

museums & galleries

ART ON MAIN Gallery at Barnbrook Realty, 271 Main St., Gt. Barrington, MA 413- 528-2446 Mia Munzer Le Comte’s exhibit: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” will be on display June 28 – Sep 4, reception Sat, August 30, 5-7 p.m.

CATA “I AM A PART OF ART” www.communityaccesstotheARTS.org Celebration & opening reception, free and open to the public, is Thursday, July 24 from 5- 7. The month-long exhibit at Berkshire Museum features over 100 works of art created by artists with disabilities from Berkshire County.

510 WARREN STREET GALLERY Hudson, NY • 518-822-0510 July artist Peggy Reeves, “More Drama”; August artist John Lipkowitz. “Paris Giverney and the Loire Valley: Personal Impressions”. Reception Aug 9, 3-6pm

FRONT STREET GALLERY Front St., Housatonic, MA • 413-274-6607 / 413-528-9546, or cell at 413-429-7141 Housatonic Gallery for students and artists. Featuring watercolors

by Kate Knapp (Saturday and Sunday 12-5pm or by appointment) GOOD PURPOSE GALLERY 40 Main St., Lee, MA Duet in Color, an exhibit of works by Charles Steinhacker & Linda Clayton, thru Aug 10.

INNER VISION STUDIO Furnace Rd, corner of Cone Hill,West Stockbridge, MA 413-232-4027 / InnerVision-Studio.com "A magical place for art" Watercolor, photography, drawing Open Sat & Sun 12-4 pm, June 21 thru Aug 31 Sunday Paint-Ins at the Studio & West Stockbridge Village Call for details

LAUREN CLARK FINE ART 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA • 413-528-0432 / www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com; Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com Maurice “Pops” Peterson, New Frontiers in Pop Art, reception on Sat, July 12, 4-7pm MARGUERITE BRIDE NUarts Studios, Studio #9, 311 North St., Pittsfield, MA margebride-paintings.com • 413-841-1659 Original Watercolors, house portraits, commissions, lessons

NEW MARLBOROUGH MEETING HOUSE GALLERY New Marlborough on Rt. 57, close to the Inn on the Green Showcasing eleven artists working on a large and small scale who will combine their exper-tise to create an exciting exhibition using wood, metal and stone.

THE MORRISON GALLERY 208 Old Barn Road near the inters. Rts 7 & 341 in Kent, CT. • 860-927-4501 / wm@morrisongallery.com / www.morrisongallery.com Featuring a new exhibition of encaustic paintings by Raphaëlle Goethals and sculpture by Gwynn Murrill through July. For more information visit NO. SIX DEPOT ROASTERY AND CAFÉ 6 Depot Street in West Stockbridge, MA “Mongolia”, photographic exhibit of work by Damon Vrettos, rec.

Fri, July 11, 5:30-ypm.

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM Rte 183, Stockbridge, MA .8 413-298-4100 American Masters: Rockwell and Hopper, thru September

SANFORD SMITH FINE ART 13 Railroad Street, Great Barrington MA • 413-528-6777 Exhibit of new paintings by Karen LeSage, August 8 - September 14. Rec. Sat, Aug 9, 4-6pm. (11 – 6, Fri.& Sat. til 7)

SCHANTZ GALLERIES 3 Elm St, Stockbridge, MA • 413-298-3044 www.schantzgalleries.com A destination for those seeking premier artists working in glass.

(11 - 5 daily)

SOHN FINE ART GALLERY 69 Church Street, Lenox, MA and 6 Elm Street, Stockbridge • 413-551-7353 / info@sohnfineart.com / www.sohnfineart.com Seth Resnick exhibition, public artist’s presentation at The Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge, MA, on July 19, 2:30pm. Reception at Sohn Fine Art Gallery from 4 - 7. The exhibition features contemporary landscapes, all photographed in 2013. Resnick will also teach a one-day artist led workshop ("Lightroom Live") July 20, 9 - 5 at Red Lion Inn. SPENCERTOWN ACADEMY ARTS CENTER 790 Route 203 in Spencertown, N.Y 518-392-3693 / www.spencertownacademy.org Kris Gali, one woman show: Dreams and Digressions, June 28 Aug 10.

ST. FRANCIS GALLERY Rt 102, South Lee, MA (2 mi. east from the Red Lion Inn) June 20 - July 27...The Complexity of Experience Engaging Reality

THOMAS COLE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE 218 Spring St., Catskill, NY • 518-943-7465 / www. thomascole.org July 16 - Oct. 2: Thomas Cole's Honey, an exhibition by Stanley Maltzman. Pastels, watercolors, drawings of nearly 200 year old honey locust tree planted by Thomas Cole after the house completed in l815. Open Wed. - Sun., 10-4

music/theatre

ASTON MAGNA MUSIC FESTIVAL Aston Magna Music Festival announces its 2014 season of familiar and rarely-heard early music from the 16th-19th centuries, on five Saturdays in Great Barrington, June 21-July 19. The programs are also presented Thursdays at Slosberg Auditorium, Brandeis University, and Fri nights at Bard College, Annandaleon-Hudson.Saturdays at 6 p.m. in Gt Barrington at the Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, & July 12 at 8pm at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center BARRINGTON STAGE CO. Box Office: 58 Union Street, Pittsfield • 413-236-8888 / barringtonstageco.org “From Prague to Havana”, “Breaking the Code”...see complete schedule.

BERMUDA AVENUE TRIANGLE - summer theatre time!!!!

POINT OF VIEW PLAYERS, Director Iris Singer July 17, 18 & 19 @ Elk’s Lodge, Albany, NY Easy drive from the Berkshires - Google it!

A sexy comedy about the mishaps of two women and one man who find eachother through the most surprising circumstances.

Annette Fabree and Laney Kazan were in this on Broadway and was a major funny hit. Think your ready for some tumul and mishagas!?

HELSINKI CAFE 405 Columbia Street, Hudson, New York 12534 518.828.4800 / info@helsinkihudson.com July 13: The Lone Bellow; Stephen Merriit, July 25,The Voodoo Orchestra North, Aug 4, see complete schedule.

JACOB’S PILLOW 358 George Carter Rd, Becket, MA • 413-243-0745 Dorrance Dance July 17-27; Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble, July 23-27; Circa, July 30-Aug 3 MAHAIWE THEATRE 14 Castle St., Gt. Barrington, MA • 413-528-0100 July 5, 8pm: NATALIE MERCHANT and her band TANNERY POND CONCERTS

Darrow School, New Lebanon, NY • 888-820-1696 July 12: Jasper String Quartet; Aug 2: Gleb Ivanov; Sept 6: Ji, piano. 8pm.

THE EGG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 1 Empire Plaza, Albany, NY • www.theegg.org Sat. Aug 16, 7:30-9pm: LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE, Comedy Ballet

events

BERKSHIRE WOODWORKERS GUILD The Berkshire Botanical Garden, Routes 183 & 102, Stockbridge, MA / www.berkshirewoodworkers.org 15th Annual Fine Woodwork Show at on Sat, July 19 and Sun, July 20, l0-5pm. There will be Handcrafted Fine Wood Furniture, Boats, Garden Items, Art and Accessories from 18 area craftspersons who will be on the premises. Saturday will feature a demonstration and two Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Scholarships will be awarded to the recipients.

NORFOLK ARTISTS & FRIENDS Battell Stoeckel Gallery, Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate, Rtes. 44 and 272 • 860-542-5095 / www.norfolkart.org August Arts Weekend group show sponsored by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival featuring 26 area artists who will be available to discuss their work. August 8, 5-7:30 p.m. (opening reception); August 9, 12-5 p.m.; August 10, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

25% of sales to go to the Music Shed Restoration Fund TANGLEWOOD

THE OTIS CULTURAL COUNCIL The Seventh Annual Otis Arts Festival, on Saturday, July 26, 9am-3pm. FREE admission, indoors, at Farmington River Elementary School, 555 No. Main Road (Rte. 8), Otis. Over 50 artisans and craftspeople of pottery, leather, fiber, water and oil paintings, photography, quilts, jewelry, wood crafts, much more.

Musical entertainment by Moonshine Holler, traditional American music, 12-2pm. Info, call 413 269-4674.

THE VANDERBILT HOUSE 161 Main, St., Philmont, NY • www.murdercafe.net Sat. July 12: Comedy, Murder & fine dining. Doors open at 6:30pm, dinner & show at 7pm. Make reservations!

TRiARTS SHARON PLAYHOUSE 49 Amenia Rd, Route 343, Sharon, CT • 860-364-7469 July 24-27: Nine Wives; Aug 1-3: Spring Awakening; Aug 13-24: Disney’s The Little Mermaid

workshops

SABINE VOLLMER VON FALKEN PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKSHOPS • 413-298-4933 www.sabinephotoart.com, info@sabinephotoart.com View Light with a Critical Eye - explore the beautiful light of the Berkshires by taking a weekend photography workshop. Dates:

July19 and 20, 2014

film

VENTFORT FILMS: A BERKSHIRE CONNECTION Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum Thursdays, July 17 – August 28, 7 pm.$10 free-will donations

Send in your calendar submissions by 10th of the month prior to publication ... see us on ISSUU.COM Look up The Artful Mind Artzine and read past to present issues.

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 •3

JOHN LIPKOWITZ

Phil Dolmais

June 20 - July 27

The Complexity of Experience Engaging Reality

Saint Francis Gallery

1370 Pleasant street. route 102

LEE. MA

(next to fire dept.)

complete schedule: www.saintfrancisgallery.com 413.717. 5199 open fri-mon 11-5:30pm

PARIS, GIVERNEY AND THE LOIRE VALLEY: Personal Impressions AUGUST 8 - AUGUST 31, 2014 ARTIST’S RECEPTION: AUGUST 9, 3 - 6 PM

510 WARREN STREET GALLERY HUDSON, NEW YORK

HOURS: FRIDAY & SATURDAY 12 - 6, SUNDAY 12 - 5

FRONT STREET GALLERY

MANHATTAN Oil and Watercolors

by KATE KNAPP July through August Reception: August 5, 3 - 6pm

Painting Classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10 - 1pm at the Studio and Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field.

4 • JULY 2014

THE ARTFUL MIND

Open to all.

413-274-6607 413-429-7141 (cell) 413-528-9546 Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sunday 12-5 or by appointment FRONT STREET, downtown HOUSATONIC, MA

Let’s get outside and paint!

Ann Marie Scott, Byrdcliff Shed, 8 x 10, oil on paper

Workshops are for everyone! Beginner and advanced alike.

I am offering one and two day plein air painting and drawing workshops starting Spring into Autumn.

For more information and to sign up contact annmscott@roadrunner.com

WWW.ANNSCOTTPAINTING.COM

Karen

LeSage

new work

August 8 - September 14 Reception: Saturday, August 9 4:00-6:00 Sanford Smith Fine Art 13 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA 413.528.6777 Open 7 Days THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 •5

THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE JULY 2014

“Let’s do something, let’s make art”

POP UP ART GALLERY NOW THROUGH LABOR DAY

Sculptor Don Gummer Photography by Jane Feldman Interview by Amy Tanner ...10

Cover – model for piece for Doha Airport in Qatar. The finished piece is still untitled, but, will stand 35 ft. tall x 95' x 75', bronze stainless steel and Stained glass. It will be in a Persian Gulf lagoon at the entrance to the New Doha International airport.

New Marlborough Village Association A Conversation with Elizabeth Lombardi Harryet Candee...8 Planet Waves for JUNE Eric Francis.....18

Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Eunice Agar Richard Britell ( will be back in August) Eric Francis Sasha Seymour (will be back in August) Amy Tanner Photographers Jane Feldman Sabine Vollmer von Falken Publisher Harryet Candee

Copy Editor Marguerite Bride

Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet Candee

Box 985, Great Barrington, MA 01230 artfulmind@yahoo.com http://issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs

http://issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs/ artfulmind_may_issue2014

413 854 4400 ALL MATERIAL due the 10th 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.

6 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

MUSIC STORE

In the era of superstores, internet and catalog shopping, an old fashioned, boutique-style music store nonetheless nestles in the heart of the Berkshires. Located at the end of Great Barrington, Massachusetts’ Railroad Street, The Music Store welcomes the delights of making music in the SUMMER! Specializing in fine handmade guitars and one of the widest selections of ukuleles in the Northeast, The Music Store offers fine, folk, orchestral and unusual instruments, both new and used, along with a wide array of music motif gifts and musical accessories including possibly the widest range of professional level strings, and reeds in the Berkshires.

A large assortment of traditional and international percussion, including African Djembes, is available. And unusual instruments including locally made walking stick bamboo flutes and Dr. Easy’s Sonic Boxes (extraordinary acoustic electric Cigar Box Guitars), the amazing and almost indestructible Composite Acoustic Cargo Guitars (made entirely from Carbon Graphite), Catania Cat’s Paws and Kalimbas, Serenity Bamboo and High Spirit hardwood flutes, and the new Steel Singing Drums nestle happily next to their more traditional cousins.

Student violins from $179 to $2800 share the stage with guitars for all ages and abilities including locally and internationally luthier handmade guitars.

While many of our prices meet or beat Musician’s Friend or Guitar Center and our other super-seller competitors, the personal service, expertise, kindness and availability of our fine family of staff offers priceless service to the already magical musical experience waiting for everyone at The Music Store.

For musicians and music lovers seeking gift ideas, our array of clothing, housewares, stationary, jewelry, mouse pads, clocks, key chains and knick-knacks will interest and amuse, as will a full line of harmonicas, tuners, stands, sticks and even an odd Washboard Tie!. Visit our wickedly wonderful CLOSEOUT CORNER for the best bargains. Experience our 2 for $5.00 guitar strings and name brand guitars.

Add some sheet music and the marvelous, magical, musical experience of The Music Store awaits.

The Music Store, 87 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA, 413-528-2460. Open Wednesday through Sunday.

Closed Monday.

“Great art picks up where nature ends.”

-Marc Chagall

With downtown Pittsfield continuing to evolve as a cultural destination, Union Street is experiencing a mini-renaissance of its own, coming alive with a new gallery. Four artists from the NUarts Studios at 311 North Street have taken over 25 Union Street and have converted it into a seasonal “POP UP Gallery,” a temporary site to serve summertime visitors to the Upstreet Pittsfield Cultural District.

Berkshire artists Marguerite Bride, Debbie Carter, Joanie Ciolfi and Scott Taylor have filled the intimate gallery space with a selection of original watercolors, oils, mixed media and acrylics. To maintain variety and establish return visits, the exhibits will be refreshed every two weeks with new art; the artists will also rotate their location in the gallery, maintaining a constantly fresh view. The four are personally staffing the gallery throughout the summer.

The arts have played a critical role in the revitalization of downtown Pittsfield. However, the artists noticed a void: with the recent departure of Mary’s Carrot Cake —and Gallery 25 along with it—, and the untimely closure of Wild Sage, the “cultural corner” of the short street was lacking a destination to complement Barrington Stage, which is across Union Street from the new POP UP Gallery. Even with the closure of other galleries in town this past year, Pittsfield is still a “happening place” and the four artists wanted to make sure no one forgot that. So, the artists banded together to organize new gallery.

Acknowledging the importance of the theater-going crowd, POP UP Gallery will have hours that are compatible with and convenient to Barrington Stage’s main-stage performances.

An official grand opening with all four artists will be held on Saturday, July 5, 6-8 pm. The gallery will also be open at other times by chance, and by appointment with any of the artists.

Pop UP Art Gallery - 25 Union Street, Pittsfield; visit PopUpUnionSt.wordpress.com, and Facebook page “Pop UP Art Gallery on Union Street” for hours and more information.

20 YEARS! ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 7

EARLY SPRING VIEW, TERRY WISE PHOTOGRAPHER HONEY SHARP

NEW MARLBOROUGH VILLAGE ASSOCIATION

A Conversation with Elizabeth Lombardi

Scissors-Stone with the idea that we would feature 3D artists using these materials. Last year we mounted a very popular show featuring fabric and fiber artists. “PORTALS”, after much tossing around of possible themes, was chosen as something which could be literal or a motif for something more abstract and allegorical. It will include, for instance, small sculptures made of shrapnel by Joe Wheaton. It also includes stunning work by our local astronomer, Rubin Kier.

“New Marlborough Artists” is an annual, rotating showcasing of our local talent, which this year will include paintings by Ann Getsinger, and unusual pottery by Cookie Coyne.

ELIzABETH LOMBARDI, JULIANA HEADMISTRESS, WATERCOLOR

Harryet Candee: Elizabeth, you must work very hard on pulling together three super shows for this season. What are some of the tasks involved in making this all come together?

And… what portion of the work is all in your hands? How did you and the New Marlborough Village Association and arts team come up with these three venues?

Elizabeth Lombardi: While the New Marlborough Village Association primarily looks after the welfare of its historical church building and the village green, the Meeting House Gallery is the result of the combined efforts of several artists and an art appreciator. We begin meeting in January to think first of themes for the shows and then which artists that we know from the past, or have been recently brought to our attention, would work well together. I probably take the most responsibility for the first show as some of the committee divide their time between New York and New Marlborough and are not yet up for the summer then. Otherwise, we each have a niche. The graphics artist Holly McNeely does invitations and posters; photographer Lee Backer prints labels, etc. As many as possible help to mount the shows.

The idea “Wood-Metal-Stone” took off from the game Paper8• JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

What is the common goal for the Gallery, and what might make it unique?

ELL: As the gallery is a non-profit with no paid committee members, its goal is to showcase regional talent, provide themes which can stretch artists’ imaginations, and be a cultural center for New Marlborough and surrounding communities.

The Gallery is perhaps unique in its 17 year longevity and increasing popularity.

You are an artist, too! How wonderful is that. Tell me how you became part of the Berkshire art scene and involved with this group? Who did you initially connect with?

ELL: My husband and I started being a part of the commuting folks in 1970—first from Long Island, and later from Princeton, NJ. I was very active as a painter and a teacher in Princeton, as well as chair of the Garden State Watercolor Society. Initially, I showed with the Sheffield Art League. When the Mill River Gallery opened in the 1980s I was invited to exhibit. There, I met the sculptor Robin Tost, who was also exhibiting—lovely, humorous figures. That gallery closed when the owners moved to the Arizona art scene. As full time residents in 2004, I reconnected with Robin and became part of the Gallery Committee.

When I forgot a meeting a couple of years later, I was voted chair. It’s really a popular position …..

How does the board select its’ artists for showcase? How does one get to show in the Gallery?

ELL: In the last several years, as the Gallery has become better known, artists have come to us, hoping to be included in shows.

As we begin forming shows in January, we get in touch with these artists and ask them for samples or photos of their work in order to judge their suitability.

ANN GETSINGER, IT’S A SHELL

Who were the founders of this association, and are they still active?

ELL: Ann Getsinger, a well-known artist in her own right, took up the cause of creating the Gallery 17 years ago. She was initially helped by Suzie Hardcastle, who has since passed on. Ann and other early helpers including , Robin Tost and Larry Wallach, are still participants in shows and occasionally lend a hand with the hanging of an exhibit. I should mention that the Gallery is delightfully cool during hot summer days as a part of it is below grade (with appropriate de-humidification). The Gallery consists of three well lit spaces.

Are you working on next years yet? What would you like to see in the future that would make the shows even more spectacular? I guess, a wish list is what I’m looking for as an answer.

ELL: Actually, since the Gallery is a seasonal affair (parking is limited in the winter) and we are all volunteers, we take a vacation between the last show and the beginning of January—keeping our eyes and ears open, just in case ….. We especially hope that new folks will discover the beauty of New Marlborough and this unusual gallery. We are easy to find by following Route 23 east 4+ miles from Great Barrington, and turning right onto Route 57 for 5+ miles. Look for the Meeting House on the village green.

G

CHICAGO ALBUMEN WORKS

AMY TANNER

THE BIRTH OF A VIRGIN

“When I started down the road of writing a novel, I wanted it to be pure enjoyment. For me, the writer, and for whomever read it. Actually, I wanted it to be impossible to put down, a brain candy, an intellectual sugar high that created a vast, limitless addiction. To more. Turned out that my original plan of churning this literary confection out in six months took more like six years. Never mind that. It was worth every minute. “ Here’s what Kirkus Reviews has to say about it: “What do immortal presences, a hardened war correspondent, a fugitive head of state and a masseuse have to do with one another?

Maybe nothing, maybe everything...Despite the novel’s increasingly outré events, Tanner keeps her characters firmly rooted, treating them as real people with real thoughts and motivations.

As a result, the central characters emerge as complex, believable entities, no matter how odd things get around them, which makes every bit of both humor and pathos earned. Tonally, Tanner’s debut follows in the footsteps of Terry Pratchett’s warmly sympathetic humanism...[she] does an admirable job of juggling characters, events and emotions, fitting them into a satisfyingly screwed-up story with crack timing and solid footing.”

Welcome to my world.

Amy Tanner - visit www.amytanner.net for news & other unlikely stories. The Virgin of Hopeless Causes is available at Amazon.com

Since the invention of photography in the 1830’s, photographs have served a vital purpose in preserving memories, conveying information, and moving viewers with their beauty and imagery. At Chicago Albumen Works, we are trusted experts in the photographic processes of the past and present, and are leaders in preserving and digitizing photographs, manuscripts, and two-dimensional art for future generations.

Among the specialized services that we provide are scanning and photographing works of art to produce digital files, digitally restoring damaged or deteriorated photographs, rehousing collections in archival storage materials, and digital printing using archival inks and papers. In addition to these services, we are also experts in handmade nineteenth century or “alternative” processes including albumen and platinum/palladium printing.

Since 1976, we have provided photography, exhibition printing, and preservation services for institutions with rigorous standards including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, Guggenheim, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution. We have also provided services for many local institutions including the Berkshire Athenaeum, Jacob’s Pillow, Berkshire Historical Society, and the Norman Rockwell Museum. Allow us to bring our many years of experience to your project or collection.

Founded in Chicago, our studio has been located in Housatonic’s Monument Mills for 32 years. Pick-up and dropoff within 150 miles is frequently available. Members of the American Institute for Conservation – Photographic Materials Group, Berkshire Creative, and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology.

Chicago Albumen Works studio, 174 Front Street, Housatonic, MA; 413-274-6901, Monday thru Friday by appointment. www.albumenworks.com

BERKSHIRE WOODWORKERS GUILD 15TH ANNUAL SHOW

Berkshire Woodworker’s Guild is having it’s 15th Annual Fine Woodwork Show at The Berkshire Botanical Garden, Routes 183 & 102, Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20 from l0am to 5pm.

There will be Handcrafted Fine Wood Furniture, Boats, Garden Items, Art and Accessories from 18 area craftspersons who will be on the premises. Saturday will feature a demonstration and two Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Scholarships will be awarded to the recipients.

There is plenty of Free Parking and only a five dollar admission which may be applied to the entrance ticket to the gardens.

Berkshire Woodworker’s Guild - for further information contact Jim Law at: Law-n-Law@HotMail.com or 413-229-5935, or go to our website at: www.berkshirewoodworkers.org

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 9

THE ALCHEMY OF DON

GUMMER

DETAILED SHOT OF 12 12 12, STAINLESS STEEL WITH BLUE STAINED GLASS, 9 1/2 FT. TALL

interview by Amy Tanner photographs of Don Gummer and his work taken at his NYC studio by photographer Jane Feldman

On a sublime autumn day this past November I drove into Connecticut to interview Don Gummer, one of the premier American sculptors of our time. His work was on display at the Morrison Gallery in Kent, Connecticut, and I had taken the opportunity to view his technically precise, strangely beautiful pieces. After strolling amid bronze disks spinning in space, divided boulders held in infinite free-fall, and bewitching geometric shapes lifted to new heights by an active, lyrical structure, I met him at his studio...

I park beside the exterior of the industrial gray studio. A few sculptures placed to either side of the building tease, drawing you in, and you see that on the other side of the building a sweeping emerald lawn flows down to the intensely green lake, perfectly reflecting the pine trees rising across the water. The effect is magical—the bronze and silver sculptures on the grass appear to almost dance.

The studio interior is stark with geometric drawings stuck to the walls—some drawings are sketched directly onto the wall.

There are two tables—one for construction, one for computer work. A sliding glass door opens to a deck and a delicious view of the lake.

Don himself is deceptively unpretentious and plain-spoken, but the depth and grandeur of his vision establishes itself early in our conversation. We talk (he does; mostly I just listen) about creativity—alchemy, really—the process of moving ideas from theory to substance. We also discuss inspiration, the practice of creating public sculpture, and what it takes to suspend a rock in space.

10 • JULY 2014

THE ARTFUL MIND

Here is what we said:

Amy Tanner: Such a gorgeous view.

Don Gummer: Yeah...(smiles)

Incredible drive out here. What brought you to this part of the country?

Don: Well, first we moved to Millerton—we had a weekend/summer place there—and then this place came on the market, and we made an offer and bought it...Lived here fulltime for fifteen years, but now we’re in the City.

You like it because of its proximity to New York City?

Don: Sure, you can get there easily from here...it’s far enough away, but close enough...I didn’t know this area before we came up here in ’79, so nothing really said I had to come up to the Northwest corner [of Connecticut]...it just sort of happened.

You’ve mentioned how important it was working with other art students in school––do you have that kind of connection with any artists in NYC? Don: I maintain my friendships in the City...you meet new friends, artist friends in the art world, the film world, all those places...basically it’s just a bigger playground. And it’s a different kind of fun.

When you make large pieces, the concept is yours, but it requires a lot of assistance to make it a reality. What do you enjoy most about that collaborative effort?

Don: It just seems like a natural way to work. I mean, the scale of things you see right here...to make things that large is so much work, I couldn’t do it myself. I don’t weld, I don’t cut steel. I used to do everything myself before I started making very large pieces, but now I make things that are very durable, out of

PHOTOGRAPH BY JANE

FELDMAN

metal...I like working with a foundry, talking to the guys there, seeing how the work is going...it’s part of the process.

Sometimes I’ll make something small, and then make it bigger...but to answer your question, I like the process, I like working with other people after I’ve done all the conceptual work.

You get to see it in different stages—you finish something and then it goes through another process and then it gets finished again. You know—twice as much fun!

Fun is what it’s all about.

Don: Well, it’s gotta be. Otherwise you wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t.

Do you have a favorite part of the creative process?

Don: Hmmm...The very beginning, when I don’t know what I’m going to do. And then towards the end, when I know that I have a day when I’m going to complete something and I know specifically what that thing is. I also like that sometimes you go back and forth: treading water...not treading water...

In a bit of a limbo?

Don: Yeah, when you doubt that what you’re doing is any good, wondering if you should continue...But if it’s for a specific project then you have to continue. If you’re just working for yourself you can stop and abandon something. But then, even if you’re working for someone else, you can still stop what you’re doing and start something else...I like doing commissioned work, but you do everything for yourself, basically.

Do you have a preference for commissioned work?

Don: I like commissioned work because you know it’s going to be out in the world, people will see it, and I prefer that...But if I’m not working on a commission I can spend time on my own pieces, so there’s always something. Either you’re making some-

thing for a show, or doing something on commission—basically those two things.

Why did you start making public art?

Don: I was asked, Could you make something for this space?

And I did, and I like doing it. It’s just something you kind of fall into, if you’re a sculptor. I like large outdoor sculpture, site specific.

I imagine there is great satisfaction in tailoring the piece to the space.

Don: Yeah, well, you don’t really tailor it to the space, but the space gives you some sort of clue as to the scale, or what the area implies—the purpose of the piece—which carries you while you’re in the studio working on a conceptually-based, abstract idea.

What are you working on now?

Don: I’ve got four or five commissions I’m working on. A large piece for Doha, Qatar, in the Middle East, for a new airport. I’m working on a series of sculptures for the Broadway mall that goes along 59th Street to Columbia. I’m going to do something for the American Embassy in Moscow, and a piece for Indiana University. It’s gonna be near a new music building.

That’s quite a lot.

Don: The piece for Doha is done, but it has to be realized, and I’m just in that stage now.

Nuts and bolts.

Don: Yeah. (smiles) Signing a contract first.

So you may be dreaming about one piece at one point, and be in the finishing stages of another piece at the same point, juggling the various projects and their processes simultaneously. That’s something you probably had to grow into— multitasking on that scale.

Don: I’ve just always made things...I’ve been an artist since–– whenever––high school––or before. And after a lifetime of working you get a large body of work in different styles. I can

DON GUMMER, UNTITLED (DOHA MAQUETTE), 2013, ALUMINUM, STEEL, STAINED GLASS, SAND & STONE, 51 x 55 1/2 x 42 1/2 INCHES

go to certain parts of my past and take something that could have been improved upon, maybe, for the next piece. A particular space might call for something linear and lyrical, so I can reach back to something I did, even a photograph, that might inspire an idea. For the Indiana University piece I might do something in that way, but it’s not clear, because I don’t want to get tied down to a specific idea yet, too many ideas are floating around.

Some places I haven’t even seen yet—I’ve been to Moscow, but haven’t seen the embassy, so I don’t want to start thinking about the new piece until I see the space. The work in Doha is a large boulder, a suspended boulder...

Which is similar to your early piece Primary Separation...

Don: Right, that’s at MASS MoCA now, fully realized...So I have a lot of ideas to draw on for projects, you know...

Is it fun to delve back into the past and say, Hmmm...let’s explore that idea a little further...?

Don: Yes, but there has to be something new coming out of it...not repeating old work. It’s like a cable: there’s a set of wires coming out of the cable...a blue one, a red one, black—you pull on everything during your journey through the art life...I’ll do wall pieces, more geometrical kinds of things, for a while, and then I’ll do something different—more lyrical kinds of stuff...Or I’ll paint. There’s what I’m doing (he shows me a photo of the Doha maquette on his laptop). These drawings (points to drawings on the wall) are just to get the divisions of space in the cube—it’ll be stained glass, and let’s see...in this version they’re putting it in this lagoon at the airport. Originally this was seven tons, then it grew to eleven tons, then they wanted something that would be 22 tons, and now...

So you’re working with engineers?

Don: I have to have an engineer; for public work you pretty much always have to have one. So the span is almost a hundred feet, and [the boulder] is 35 feet above water. I’m getting a big boulder and having it digitally enlarged and made in exact replica and cast in bronze so it’s hollow, it’s lighter...

DON GUMMER

PHOTOGRAPH BY JANE

FELDMAN

Clever!

Don: Because to find a boulder that size and shape with

no cracks running through it would be really tough...So now I’m just working on details.

Does it have a name?

Don: Not yet. But for where it is—I think it works really well at the airport. It’s facing Mecca, it’s in a beautiful location.

It’s suspended above a pool of water?

Don: It’s all in water.

You must enjoy a challenge like that.

Don: I do. I like...I guess one of my goals would be to have something always in the sunlight, you know? Have work all around the world, so there’s always something...

So the sun never sets on your work!

Don: Right now there’re some gaps. (smiles) It’s just good to have permanent work. If you’re not happy about the piece it could be a nightmare, but most things I feel good about.

Is there anything you don’t feel good about?

Don: That exists out in the world and has my name on it, you mean? No. Some things, maybe, I like more than others— they’re more successful—but no. I feel okay about everything.

I mean, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t put it out in the world...I have maybe three or four sculptures I probably would melt down, but the bronze isn’t that good when you melt it down and reuse it...

When you were a child you wanted to be an illustrator for Walt Disney...

Don: I thought that would be the coolest job you could have. It probably would have been. Great job. He was the first artist I really thought: This Was An Artist. You could never be as good as this guy. And now—I don’t dismiss him, but he’s not a major figure in the art world.

And how did you find your way from idolizing Walt Disney to Constructivist sculpture?

Don: I started drawing first, then painting, and then gradually got into sculpture...There’s no one way to describe the journey, exactly...It’s a process of learning, educating yourself, being curious, discovering what the real challenges are in art, how to truly express yourself, what the value of that is, versus the value of drawing for somebody else...It happens in art school, when

Continued on next page....

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 11

you get exposed to fine art, and even before that.

In high school I had a great art teacher, and I was the school artist—for the newspaper, for decorations, for painting signs, all those things. When I graduated I went to art school and met some artists from New York and heard about Rothko and other serious names. And you start looking at other things...I try to figure out what it is about me that responds to certain types of work and not others.

It’s just that need to express yourself.

And you found that abstract art fulfilled that need better than realism?

Don: Yes. I think realist stuff is good too. I like realism, I like literal things, but there’s just so much you can’t do as a figurative artist, it’s just too limiting. Especially if you’re doing monumental work, you’re limited to just doing a big figure in order to make something big. But I like all kinds of varieties in art. I just need to make things...

There’s something primordial about big boulders...

Where did you find your boulder?

Don: Well I’ve only realized two earthwork pieces so far, and I found one boulder in Blandford, Massachusetts, in a quarry owned by a man named Chester Grand, and I was lucky because he’s not too far from here, and he’s the one who cut the boulder in half [for Primary Separation]. Some things are just luck, you know? A lot of things that happen in life are just serendipitous.

I was lucky that he was here with that saw and had the boulder I was looking for, and I was lucky that Joe Thompson (curator of MASS MoCA) came by the studio and saw the model [of Primary Separation] and wanted to make it. And somebody saw that, and they had a boulder at their property they wanted me to do something with, and I had a look at it and I said, I’ll do something with it, and that led to another piece...

Would you say there are themes you are exploring through your art?

Don: Themes?

Yes. If your work is a discussion with yourself, what are you discussing?

Don: I think if you look at them, they all have to do with a beginning, a middle and an end. Each piece is a journey. It starts from the bottom and I work vertically. I just think: This is the bottom and I’m working my way up. I never work from the top down. For a while I was doing work that was more horizontal, more architectural, and I kept wondering: How do I get to a place where I can just create vertical work? Because I was thinking in those architectural terms, and there are a limited number of things that can happen if you just use, say, wood, glue and screws or nails.

I mean, there’s only so much you can do. In a DON GUMMER, BASIC ACTION, 2011, STAINLESS STEEL & BRONzE sense, everything is limited in this way, but if you 121 x 90 x 53 INCHES want to put something out in the world that is PERMANENT INSTALLATION AT THE CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE BUILDING, going to last, you have to think about all those UNIVERSITY OF INDIANA, BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA other factors...The things that I do are usually larger at the top than they are at the bottom. It’s about expansion, growth.

That is exactly what I thought when I was looking at your pieces at the Morrison Gallery. How they grow from a still, static point into an expanded, evolved place.

Don: Mmmhmm. The earthwork pieces that I do are not quite like that. Built like they are, they’re a statement, just a statement...

Earthwork meaning similar to the Doha sculpture?

Don: Yes. When I was a student I did the model for the [earthwork Primary Separation] that’s at MASS MoCA. It was 1969 and everything seemed to be splitting apart: the Beatles, there was Vietnam, assassinations, my relationship at the time was ending...everything was just splitting and I kind of split from my home. I left home, and I was just into that concept of a break, a split, and that piece was the most direct way I could express that. I did a series of pieces, thinking that they would be great to see really large, but I couldn’t, as a student, do that. That was just the idea. And now, after all this time, I’m finally getting to a place where people are starting to want to see them, pay for them, and have them realized large-scale. It’s taking something from an earlier time to see what makes sense, without making something silly or pat.

Stones and large boulders are powerful things, you know.

Just the feeling of them.

DON GUMMER, SOUTH TOWER, 2008 61 x 16 x 14 INCHES

STAINLESS STEEL,

12 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

Seeing them in the air, out of context, is shocking and creates a tension.

Don: The curator, the head of MASS MoCA said that his son, when I installed it and he just literally saw it for the first time, said, “Dad, it’s really kind of stupid. It’s kind of stupid because it’s just a rock, but it’s kind of great because it’s just a rock.”

DON GUMMER, REACHING LEVEL, 2013 CAST BRONzE, 72 x 32 x 27 INCHES

Where is that one?

Don: In Greenwich, Connecticut, at a museum called Seven Bridges.

I was wondering if you could take us through the creation of a piece from conception to completion. How about After Rome?

Don: After Rome. Well, a lot of times I’ll start something without knowing what it’s going to be. I just start putting ideas together, and that one I think I started by drawing the arcs and curves and making the shapes and making the first few vertical lines and then putting them next to each other.

Was this working in plywood?

Don: No, cardboard. I was here [in Connecticut] for a couple of years and couldn’t walk—I had some leg issues and I couldn’t walk into the middle of the room. I had to make things smaller, on a table, so I could lean in and stand myself up, working that way. Some things I’ll just start...my high school teacher always said, Start by starting.

ON ROOFTOP, NYC, DON GUMMER WITH ESCAPE, 1995, CAST BRONzE, 90 x 72 x 84”, BACKGROUND, OFFSPRING, 2003, CAST STAINLESS STEEL AND STAINED GLASS, 109 x 40 x 40” AND...DOG IN THE MIDDLE! PHOTOGRAPH BY JANE FELDMAN

So you sit around and you hate yourself until you start working.

So I have to begin putting things together and one thing leads to another, and then there’s a moment when you think, Aha, now I know where this is going...and what you want it to do, and whether you can really do that or not—you know, get it all right.

It just becomes a process of trial and error, and adding, and then knowing when it’s finished.

When you’re finished with the cardboard model, what do you do?

Don: Well, see these wooden structures (points to models in studio). The one on the left is After Rome. I just made these nice curves that I liked, and put them together. Obviously they can’t just stay there without a top, so you go to the next step and the next...and it takes on a look and a movement, and then you sort of just fight for the resolution until it’s finished. That’s not totally resolved. Theoretically, it could continue. Using this method, looking at it, you see the next step is to add more [curves or lines], and it could continue, like Brancusi’s Endless Column. I started [After Rome] without knowing, picked up debris from the top of my table. Most of the stuff you see around here is that way.

Some things you have to know what you’re doing before you start, so I do a lot of drawing in my sketchbook—just ideas.

Then I have an idea about what I want to do, and then I start making it. You have a vague idea, but nothing too specific. You need to be flexible, for changes and change of direction, if something comes up. You can’t be too rigid. You have to let things happen in the work, because when you put something physically in space and look at it, it either works or it doesn’t.

So the [After Rome initial model] I had cast and re-enlarged to make the big one at the Morrison Gallery.

(Showing me another piece called Basic Action) This is the one for the president of Indiana University...but that one I knew from just a few quick sketches what I wanted to do. He was a philosopher and an engineer, and he wrote books about action theory—one thing leading to another—so I made an inside-out structure from bronze and surrounded it with stainless steel, so it has an inner life and an outer life...or the beginning of an idea,

and then the idea, which morphs into an even bigger idea, you know...perpetual motion.

Are there any pieces in your City studio that you’d like to talk about?

Don: This is something in my studio...something I started for a photography company and decided to finish...there’s a lens-like aperture...It’s a Japanese company, so the effect is like a lotus blossom opening up...

I was asked to do a commission for a state-of-the-art building for eye research [Open Eyes]. I wanted something oval-ish, like an eye, and colors of an eye, blues and browns and greens and grays...When people went into the building, I wanted something...not happy...but my work is always ‘up’...The effect is like taking a coin and flipping it around, but all the disks increase...that idea of taking an explosion and grounding it...

Your piece Anniversary looks like a bouquet of fireworks.

Don: That’s one of those pieces that began when I was cleaning off my tabletop after finishing something, because it was full of stuff. I’ve made sculptures out of empty paint tubes! But in this case, I just started putting things together. If you put two things together you have a beginning, and if you add a third thing you have a direction.

I can make something, and people look at it and they either like it or they can think about it, and it’s a good thing. But sometimes you do things and they’re worthless...and they take a lot of money...but you have to have faith that what you do is going to come back to you and it will work out...

Who buys your work?

Don: All kinds of people...I have work in many different countries. Sometimes you don’t know who they are. People interested in art, who have money...

I know I’m not explaining the process very well, because to me it seems so, well, obvious and simple...In a way it would be nice to see art or sculpture the way a non-artist sees something...But I’d like people to be able to feel what I was thinking when I created a piece, just by looking at it...you hope that’s the

case, whoever’s looking at it, if they like it, that they feel the same way about the work that you did...But once it’s done, you go on to the next thing...so describing the whole creative process is impossible, in a way, because you can make it sound as banal and stupid, or as complicated, as you want. I have a certain sensibility, and when I ‘m working on something, I carry that in my head when looking at things in the world. I know what it’s going to be like...it’s like having a sort of object in my head...thinking, Well, what if I had that here or this there, or this? I wish I could be more specific, but it’s just a feeling a lot of times, and sculpture has weight, gravity, standing support, expanse, physical expanse to bridge the way...

You’ve been described as ignoring trends in your work.

Don: Well, I don’t ignore trends. I’m interested in what’s going on, but I’m more interested in setting a trend than in following one. You can’t get away from them, really. You have to live in the world you live in, and be aware of what’s going on in it, and what people are doing. I think just being capable of making physical things has kept me going, and having some success, and sometimes a whole lot of success, but I want to be part of the dialogue at the same time. You can’t just bury your head in the ground, because it helps your art to be aware of all those things...

While staying true to your own particular vision.

Don: Well, you have to. Otherwise it’s not your vision. It’s somebody else’s. But it’s interesting how somebody else can tackle the same issues in a totally different way. You think, God, from just a black square—the beginning of Constructivism— [Kasimir Malevich] got it down to just a black square, that was in 1915...But still, you know, he came up with new geometric painting that could be interesting, showing you things in certain ways...Now there’s a lot of irony in work, which is kind of a cool thing to a certain point...The idea’s more psychological...

Right now my main thing is, I want the Doha piece to be done.

Yesterday I went along the stone wall of my studio, trying to find the perfect stone...

CONTINUED on next page....

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 13

ENTRANCE, STAIRS:

SUMMER SANCTUARY, 1981, PAINTED WOOD, 79 x 105 x 17 INCHES PHOTOGRAPH BY

JANE FELDMAN

DON GUMMER, TOWERS, 2006, STAINLESS STEEL, 136 x 60 x 30 INCHES PHOTOGRAPH BY JANE FELDMAN, NYC

To make the model from?

Don: To enlarge into a cast.

Approximately how big will it be?

Don: It’ll be about nine feet high, about twelve feet long...

Do you work with the same foundry all the time?

Don: Yeah. Polich/Tallix Fine Arts Foundry. They’re near Newburgh, New York. They make stuff all over the world. Artists from everywhere go there, they install work all over the place— it’s a real specialty. They’re good.

At one point we were living in LA, I was making wall pieces, not pieces in bronze. I met this guy who owned a small foundry, and he asked me if I wanted to have work cast there, so I made some things just as an experiment and had them cast. From then on, I’ve been mostly making these kind of sculptures. If I hadn’t met this guy, I don’t know what—maybe I would have found my way there eventually. I mean, I did do one before, a small one—by the window, there—a model for a piece I did at the UN plaza...then I sort of forgot about it. I went to LA, got a studio, and started that one outside the window—that’s the third [bronze] piece I did—just cutting up random pieces of foam core and making something with it, then I took it to these guys, and it was like putting bread in a toaster...

So recently I’ve been going back and finding these old drawings for wall pieces, and I started to frame some of these older drawings—I have some in my City studio as well—and then sometimes I’ll go back and do a few more...

You make reliefs every so often...

Don: Wall reliefs, yes. For a while, during a whole conceptual period I’d been reading about architecture because it made a lot more sense than reading about art, it was just more meaty...So I recently, about four years ago, started taking floor plans, combining floor plans, say a Vermont building with the floor plan of a Japanese house...just laying them together. That is like pop 14 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

art to me, it’s something that existed, and I make my own floor plans with these pieces...So I have no idea what it will be like next year. No idea. Sometimes you get tired of doing certain kinds of things and need change. I can do more in the line of variety with my work. There’s a lot of variety.

Which keeps you from getting bored.

Don: Yeah...but there’s still the same sensibility through each piece. I think they’re thoughtful, meditative. It’s all about searching for yourself; you’ve got to find a way to express what it’s like to take a breath of air. Sometimes [the pieces] are more like nouns, sometimes they’re more like verbs...more action.

Sometimes they’re just a statement...and right now I’m doing a series of haiku sculptures...they’re five-seven-five; they’re like numbers, there are three levels; visually it’s like the lines...

Do you ever write haiku?

Yes. Don: So I like the simplicity—how much you can do with very simple things if you’re given structure, boundaries...So you can have five things together, then seven things, and put another layer on top of that; you can write a haiku about that piece, and do the sculpture after. I just did one two days ago and I like it a lot...it’s a model, a lot of louvered, cut-out shapes...planes, materials that have slices cut out...openings...but it’s like...you feel almost a breeze going through this thing...and then, at one point when you’re looking at it you sense it has a lot of openings and spaces cut out of it—is it a wall or is it diaphanous, what is it?

And you can see behind it, but it’s strong...There’s a lot of variety available within just that simple structure.

I wanted to make things that are not too costly to make large, that are pretty straightforward, and that’s what I’m thinking about for the Broadway project...

The haiku sculptures are for the Broadway mall?

Don: From 59th Street North. It’s a divided road from Lincoln Center, where 59th Street becomes one way...But it would be really cool if I did eight of these things on a twenty block stretch, and tie them together with a theme...and that theme is the haiku...simple...I can make ones with solid planes, some with windows, little rooms, endless variety, but now I’m already

getting a little bit bored with it—not bored, but needing to get out to another place with it, which is kind of fun...And the first one I thought was pretty good, then not so good, so...we’ll see where it goes.

Somewhere interesting, I’m sure.

Don: I hope. But now I have four acceptable ones that are a basis to work from. I mean, I could do twenty fast enough...finish one in a couple of days––not the full size, but the model...

I guess I got into doing commissions through a professor at Yale, because he did commissions, and I was his assistant, so he and I would go travel around a bit, build things, install pieces on site. Through him I learned quite a lot...not so much theory, but the real working artist perspective. You just learn by doing.

Everything you do in life relates back to that. You either use it for your work or it informs your work. I got a pilot’s license.

During that whole process it shifted my work, just visualizing paths in the sky...It’s numbers...flying is a lot of numbers...anticipation...anticipating what to expect, so you get there and everything is right. You know what I mean?

That little head, that portrait (points to Art Nouveau sculpture of a young girl)––I got that in Great Barrington. It was in a box, in pieces. I asked if I could have it. I glued it back together...I do figurative stuff too...(smiles) If you get too much in a comfort zone you have to get out of it occasionally, but it’s very nice to have one.

After a few more minutes of chatting, he tells me he has a lunch date with his daughter, across the lake. I take the hint and head out to my car, steeped in the making of art, and the process of alchemy.

That this interview happened at all is due to the Artful mediation of William Morrison and Sarah Laser of Morrison Gallery in Kent, CT, where Don had a major solo exhibition this past October. The Artful Mind is extremely grateful for their invaluable assistance. His work is currently on permanent display at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA and Seven Bridges Museum in Greenwich, CT. For more information about Don Gummer and his work, visit www.dongummer.com.

Amy Tanner is a writer and inquiring mind for The Artful Mind. Her new novel, The Virgin of Hopeless Causes, is available at Amazon.com. Visit her at www.amytanner.net for further adventures.

MORRISON GALLERY

SABINE PHOTO ART

The Morrison Gallery is featuring a new exhibition of encaustic paintings by Raphaëlle Goethals and sculpture by Gwynn Murrill through July 20.

Drawn to aspects of the natural environment and the complex beauty of wildlife, Gwynn Murrill’s principal subject is the animal form. Early in her career as a student at UCLA, Murrill began constructing sculptures with wood as her main medium. In the mid-1980s, after receiving several prestigious grants, she transitioned to casting her work in bronze.

Murrill has shown her work in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad and her sculptures are represented in many public collections, including those of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena; and the American Embassy, Singapore. Her awards include a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Grant, and a Prix di Roma Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome. Recently Murrill’s work was featured in the inaugural exhibit of outdoor sculpture along Avenue of the Stars in Los Angeles.

She lives and works in Los Angeles.

Raphaëlle Goethals work morphs the expressive and the minimal and her signature surfaces have turned increasingly rich and psychologically compelling. The work may be seen as referring to minimalism and the fundamentality of Light and Space, yet reformulate the “question of Painting” in the classical sense.

Goethals’s work is represented in numerous private and corporate collections in the United States and Europe, and has been exhibited in international art fairs in Miami, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco. Her work is in permanent collections including the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the New Mexico Museum of Fine Art, the Boise Art Museum, Hewlett Packard, the Millennium group, Time Warner, Paul Allen, and numerous corporate and private collections in the United States and Europe.

Goethals lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Opened in 1999, the soaring, modern gallery offers on going exhibits of sculpture, painting and other media under the direction of owner William Morrison.

The Morrison Gallery is located at 8 Old Barn Road near the intersection of Routes 7 and 341 in Kent, Connecticut. For more information visit www.morrisongallery.com 860-927-4501 or email: wm@morrisongallery.com

A master of the subtleties of lighting and the nuance of background, sabine’s eye for detail provides imagery to be treasured for a lifetime.

Assignments are tailored to meet her client’s needs- a remembrance for a special occasion or a logo image, which creates an authentic professional online presence. It is to no surprise that she is a sought-after documentary and editorial photographer with the talent of both: interviewer, provoker and image-maker.

The Artful Mind showcases sabine’s work since 1994, the very beginning of the monthly Berkshire Artzine. Still young at 20 something, sabine's studio has become a brand for contemporary, unobtrusive, relaxed photography in the European style. It might be just the time for you to book your first sitting.

Photographic workshops are scheduled for this summer: VIEW LIGHT WITH A CRITICAL EYE: Explore the beautiful light of the Berkshires by taking a weekend photography workshop. In this workshop participants learn how natural light can create drama and fine distinction. Designed for serious learners who are interested in improving their artistic eye. All participants are asked to bring a digital SLR camera. Dates: July19 and 20, 2014.

Photo Art Prints and signed books “WOODLAND STYLE” and “ SHELL CHIC “, published by Storey Publishing, author Marlene H. Marshall, all photography by sabine can be purchased from your nearby book stores. Prints are directly available through sabine’s studio.

For more detailed info please contact Sabine Vollmer von Falken Photography Studio at www.sabinephotoart.com / info@sabinephotoart.com tel. 413-298-4933.

Sabine is a member of The American Society of Media Photographers asmp. The International Center of Photography ICP and the Wedding Photojournalist Association, WPJA.

NO. SIX DEPOT GALLERY MONGOLIA

“MONGOLIA” a photographic exhibit of the work of Damon Vrettos will be on display July 1- July 31 at No. Six Depot Gallery. An artist’s reception will be held on Friday, July 11th: 5:30-7:00pm.

Damon Vrettos is a traveler, photographer, musician and owner of The Abacus Imaging Group. Inspired by the high desert mountains of his southern California childhood, Damon’s love for photography grew as his family left the mountains behind and moved east. His subject matter shifts from natural wonders, to family, friends and strangers in his new community. Traveling the world with his large-format camera on his back, Damon’s journeys have taken him to China, Nepal, Thailand, Russia, Philippines and Australia.

And so why Mongolia? “I was inspired by an article about Kazakh eagle hunters I read way back in high school. My mission was TO GO. To not give in to the excuses NOT to do it.

To arrive in a foreign country and feel very much out of place, and feel thankful for that. To stay with a family that speaks no English, and wait 3 days before taking out a camera. To use film because, well, why wouldn’t you? To think through each photograph, to pause every time I look in the back of my 4x5 Speed Graphic and consider how amazing the world is. To share those pictures with the world.”

No. Six Depot Gallery is located in historic train station in West Stockbridge, adjoining No. Six Depot Roastery & Café, serving house-roasted coffee, breakfast and lunch and hosting Friday night events.

Artist

Eleanor Lord One of many at...

510 WARREN STREET, HUDSON, NY WWW.510WARRENSTREETGALLERY.COM

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 15

SOHN FINE ART GALLERY CROPPED PHOTOGRAPH BY SETH RESNICK

Sohn Fine Art Gallery is expanding and moving to a new location at 69 Church Street, Lenox, MA opening June 21. An exhibition of works by artists the Gallery represents will be on view through August 18, with a Grand Re-Opening reception on August 16 from 3:00 - 7:00.

Sohn Fine Art Gallery’s Stockbridge, MA location (6 Elm Street) will also remain open through August 30. The exhibition currently on view through the end of August at the Stockbridge location is One Hundred Sixty Thousand Miles of Color: One year of photographic work shot in 5 continents and over 20 countries by award winning photographer Seth Resnick, as part of the 2014 Master Artist Series Program (MAS).

In conjunction Resnick’s exhibition, a public artist’s presentation will be held at The Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge, MA, on July 19th at 2:30pm. The presentation will be followed by a reception at Sohn Fine Art Gallery from 4:00 - 7:00. The exhibition features contemporary landscapes, all photographed in 2013, when Resnick traveled 160,000 miles, visiting 5 continents and over 20 countries including Antarctica, Greenland and the Arctic, Iceland, and destinations like Rwanda, Botswana, Tanzania, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, and Boliva, to name a few. Resnick will also teach a one-day artist led workshop (“Lightroom Live”) July 20th, 9:00 - 5:00 at Red Lion Inn. Sohn Fine Art Gallery, Printing, Framing & Workshops 69 Church Street, Lenox, MA and 6 Elm Street, Stockbridge, MA; 413-551-7353; info@sohnfineart.com / www.sohnfineart.com

THOMAS COLE’S HONEY DRAWING BY STANLEY MALTzMAN

EXHIBIT BY STANLEY MALTZMAN

Thomas Cole’s Honey, an exhibition of watercolors, pastels and drawings by Stanley Maltzman, is on view at the Thomas Cole House in Catskill, NY, July 26 to October 2, with an opening reception on July 26.

Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School of American landscape painting, built his beautiful Federal style house above the west bank of the Hudson River in Catskill NY in l815. It was his home and studio from l833 until his death in l848. Shortly after the house was built he planted the honey locust tree now looming over the entrance porch. The giant, battered by nearly two hundred years of winter storms, is a majestic silhouette against the side of the house, and guests look into its ravaged surface from the entrance porch. With its trunk and branches of roughened bark, its gnarled surfaces of fissures, knots, volunteer shoots, it is a rich subject for an artist.

Stanley Maltzman, whose work was published in the April 2013 issue of The Artful Mind, has had years of experience drawing trees. He wrote and illustrated a book, Drawing Trees, published by North Light Books in 2000.

His work for this show emphasizes all the wonderful complexity of an ancient survivor in close-up studies, and there is a large view of the tree against the house. The event is a special honor because the Cole House features the work of Cole and his nineteenth century followers and has seldom, if ever, shown the work of a contemporary artist.

Maltzman is a leading artist in the Hudson-Catskill region and across the country, with a long list of museum and gallery exhibits, books, teaching assignments and commissions to his credit. He is a veteran of the Second World War. He and his family celebrated his 93rd birthday on July 4, 2014.

Maltzman is a widower after 58 years of marriage; he and his wife Rachael knew each other for 65 years. He paints and and draws regularly, still drives, for years has run a weekly life drawing studio in the Greenville NY Library, teaches week-long workshops, curates shows.

Stanley Maltzman is an inspiration for all the artists who read this publication.

Thomas Cole House, 218 Spring St., Catskill, NY. Open Wed. - Sun., 10 – 4; 518-943-7465; www. ThomasCole.org

DENISE B CHANDLER FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

When I look into the eyes of an animal I do not see an animal.

I see a living being.

I see a friend.

I feel a soul.

"Eyes on View" is the current show being exhibited on the walls of Stockbridge Coffee & Tea, on Elm St. in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The exhibit is a solo show of one particular body of work of Denise B Chandler titled "Eyes On View" and will run through the first week in September. "This is an ongoing body of work that is my examination of the soulfulness of the eyes and our own humanity" Chandler says. Ten images are currently hanging and will be changing regularly over the next 3 months. The exhibits starts with horses and a few dogs and will throughout the summer change with elephants, tigers, lions, alpacas, wolves, and equines from a rescue farm also joining the exhibit.

Chandler says, "My ears are always open and that is how I have found the most unusual places to photograph the animals I have. Two years ago, I heard of a private rescue for a pair of elephants in mid-coast Maine. I contacted the owner, made a donation to the foundation being created for the elephants, and was granted a private behind the scene photo opportunity with these magnificent animals. Then came the lions and tigers 3 months later and again in Maine. This time at the home of a couple whose actual living quarters are in the middle of their animal’s cages/runs . This past winter a friend shared with me a place where I could walk with wolves. In -9 degree weather I walked with wolves, through the woods, in Lake Placid. These are a few of the most unusual moments and then there are the ordinary moments when you're driving down the road and you notice a beautiful being either human or animal. All these moments are what make "Eyes On View."

Chandler's photographs are signed archival limited edition giclée prints that have a Certificate of Authenticity with each one. Each image is also available unframed and in different sizes by contacting the artist directly or Sohn Fine Art. Denise B Chandler is represented by Sohn Fine Art Gallery located in both Stockbridge and Lenox, Massachusetts. www.denisebchandler.com www.sohnfineart.com Email: info@denisebchandler.com Email: info@sohnfineart.com 413-281-8461 413-298-1025

JANE FELDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY WWW.JANEFELDMAN.COM

JANEFELDMANPHOTO@GMAIL.COM 16 • THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014

KAREN LESAGE SANFORD SMITH FINE ART

Sanford Smith Fine Art will host an exhibit of new paintings by Karen LeSage, August 8 through September 14. A reception will be held on Saturday, August 9 from 4:00-6:00.

Her show in 2013 sold out.

Gallery director Laura Reid comments on the wide appeal of LeSage’s work: “Her glowing canvases reflect the terrain of our region but offer something universal as well. They are wildly well-received. We are excited to be part of that.

She has been our number-one selling artist for the last four years.”

The new exhibit continues LeSage’s tradition of large, atmospheric, minimal landscapes in vivid, luminous colors.

Of them she says, “This work explores the territory between landscape painting and minimalist color-field painting. The Berkshire Mountains continually inspire. They provide color displays that change by the season, the day, the hour.”

LeSage was born in eastern Connecticut and studied at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. She lived and worked in New York for over a decade then moved to the hills of Litchfield, CT to raise her son. She has since become a noted artist with a growing national following.

When asked about the success of her Sanford Smith shows, LeSage said: “Their clientele loves the same region that I do.” Then adds with a smile, “It doesn’t hurt that the gallery is open 7 days a week.”

Some preview paintings are currently at the gallery to view on request.

Sanford Smith Fine Art, 13 Railroad Street, Great Barrington MA, 413-528-6777; open daily 11 – 6, Fri.& Sat. until 7.

JOHN LIPKOWITZ WARREN ST. GALLERY

Paris, Giverny and the Loire Valley: Personal Impressions.

The official artist’s reception will be Saturday, August 9, from 3-6 at the 510 Warren St. Gallery, 510 Warren Street, Hudson, New York.

John Lipkowitz, a retired New York City attorney, now living in Great Barrington travels and photographs at every opportunity, fully engaging two of his most significant passions.

An initial interest in wildlife photography and related travel has morphed into a broader spectrum as his wife, Nina, also has a loud voice in selecting travel destinations. John, learning flexibility as an opportunistic photographer, constantly adapts to new places and subjects, hopefully broadening his technique under these circumstances.

A recent trip to Paris provided just such an experience. Deciding on a single destination for a two week period gave them the chance to more broadly explore a fascinating city they had both visited several times over the preceding fifty years, but never with such potential depth. A couple of days trips by train to Monet’s home in Giverny and to the medieval city of Rouen and a one night overnight to the Loire Valley provided variety and breaks from the city itself.

With three cameras of the new micro four thirds mirrorless variety, one converted for infrared capture, and several lenses, and a camera bag weighing only 20 pounds, possibilities abounded.

John will be the featured artist at the 510 Warren St. Gallery during the month of August 2014, but he plans to have a selection images from Paris, Giverny and the Loire on exhibit beginning in July and expanding in themes and numbers in August.

510 Warren St. Gallery - 510 Warren Street, Hudson, New York.

“The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.”

-Francis Bacon

SAINT FRANCIS GALLERY GAIL DOLMANISTH, WHITE MOUNTAINS

Oliver Sacks, the famous neurologist, once asked “How do we think?”. Can any of us really know how? But it seems to become clearer when we have to interact with world around us.

The power of the imagination is awakened by art. There is a struggle for concepts, form, and meaning. All the powers of the self are called upon. At this level our experience dissolves, transforms, unifies and creates.

What is visual, what is image, what is language, what is intellectual and what is emotional all become fused together.

Without this experience we really cannot “see” anything or come to know ourselves.

Our next show, beginning June 20 will continuing thru July 27, will have a major selection of abstract art by celebrated area artists. It is work that talks to your inner self with both answers and questions simultaneously. These works are described as powerful, capricious, idiosyncratic, light hearted,….a delight, and an inspiration.

These artists, Karen Domanisth, Gail Downey, Mark Olshansky, Dennis Wheeler, and others will present this visual dialectic. Their work demonstrates the fascination they have for the way the world unfolds before them. Their art is like haiku poetry, meandering meditations that present a picture “seen clearly for the first time” but then again feeling familiar as if seen before as well. These creations present what cannot be said with beautiful simplicity and yet with depth, representing a fascination with the shapes of life itself, simultaneously surfacing in both its simplest and most elegant form.

The art work in this show is an invitation, an enticement, an invocation, and in a bold way it transforms. It also proves that you cannot truly “see” without this reciprocal process and the art’s ability to manipulate images within the mind and expand “mental space”. We invite you to the gallery experience; reinvigorate your visual imagination, an essential to enriching each other’s worlds and feeling alive.

St. Francis Gallery - Rt 102, South Lee just 2 miles east from the Red Lion Inn, open from 11am to 5pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 17

Planet Waves

ARIES (March 20-April 19)

In France, in the United States and in your life, July is the month of independence — when you start to crave emotional independence and start to make moves to design that for yourself. Well, design may be exaggerating a bit; it looks more like emotional jolts that prompt you to invent something new on the spot. The key is to go forward, even if you don’t think you can see the future. Take any unexpected development as an immediate prompt to get yourself in motion. You don’t need to know where you’re going. You just need to orient on one point so that you don’t go in circles. As you do this, all kinds of opportunities are likely to appear, including several from recent months that you were certain you missed. As they appear, you will see them more clearly for what they are.

TAURUS (April 19-May 20)

Your solar chart has become increasingly complex in recent weeks, which is another way of saying you may be less sure about who you are and what you want. It would, however, be far better to pause and not know than it would be to let someone decide for you. I am sure you’ve noticed the human tendency to want others to make our decisions. It saves mental effort and it saves responsibility, but in the end, you sacrifice choice. Or rather, you choose not to choose, in a passive way. I suggest you get underneath this psychology if you’re noticing that it exists. Clearly, you want to expand your horizons; you want some new energy in your physical space; you’re tired of a life that is so obsessively focused on work. If someone is offering you something that you see is appealing, and you want it, take full credit for your choice.

GEMINI (May 20-June 21)

With Mercury direct and Venus moving through your sign, you have the presence of mind and the charm necessary to resolve any misunderstandings that may have emerged during the recent Mercury retrograde. One particular disagreement may have been about an emotional attachment you had to a value or opinion that does not seem so compelling as it did a month ago. In fact you may be wondering why you cared so much. Without that attachment, you’re in a more conciliatory mood, and someone you care about will welcome your willingness to admit that you may have misjudged or over-communicated, or if appropriate, that you were a bit of a jerk. People move on from these things when they’re handled honestly. You have no need to hang onto the past with so much to look forward to.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

You have been under a lot of stress the past six months. It’s almost like you’ve done everything right and yet you cannot get the results that you want. It’s good you subscribe to the motto “when

Eric Francis

you’re going through hell, keep on going” — even if it wasn’t all that bad. Yet so many factors change this month that you have reason to remain not just optimistic but also motivated. In fact I suggest you remain especially motivated on all of the things that you want the most but seem to have been slogging along the most annoyingly. That might include some mix of sex, money, relationships and your career — you know, all the big stuff. Past performance is not an indicator of future returns. Yet the thing that might be the very most dependable indicator is your drive and passion, which will be running with full heat within one month from today. Tap that energy — it’s all yours.

LEO (July 22-Aug. 23)

July arrives with the one-and-only Leo New Moon conjunct Jupiter, at least till 2026 (and that one is not nearly as amazing as the one on July 26 of this year). So — this is the one, and to me it translates to a cosmic I Ching hexagram along the lines of Great Good Fortune. Make the most of it. The main variable seems to be understanding what you want to accomplish. You have a lot of small goals — and you must arrange them in such a way that they add up to something significant, or combine into one basic objective. Said another way, you have the winds of fortune blowing you in any direction you want — and you must focus that direction. It’s likely that you don’t have a name for the thing you want the most. If that is true, then call it “the nameless thing” and start to describe it, and refine your description till you know exactly what you’re talking about.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)

You may have to adjust your strategy in light of unexpected developments, though that is another way of saying that plenty is brewing behind the scenes that you may not be aware of yet.

Don’t mistake this for nothing happening. Mercury’s recent change of directions in the house associated with your professional ambitions is a reminder to pick up the threads on whatever may have been sidetracked about six weeks ago. Reassess that particular goal — you may want or need to revise it, or you may want to fold it into a new plan that has emerged more recently.

Either way there is something valuable involved that will help you advance your work and your reputation. I was about to write “if you’re interested,” though I see every reason to be interested, and to get yourself there if you’re having the least hesitation.

LIBRA (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)

Whatever enterprises you get involved in could work out very well for you — if you remember what you’ve learned during the past couple of seasons, and if you keep a positive view of what is possible. Those two conditions might be difficult to hold in one thought or gesture, mainly due to so many persistent challenges this year. I know how this can be, when you expect adversity because you’ve experienced it, then you create it by expecting it.

Do what you can to get out of this cycle. By the last week of July so many factors will have changed that you will be convinced far more is possible than you’ve experienced any time recently. Between now and then, you may have your doubts, though I suggest investing your energy in something more creative or pleasure-oriented rather than on regrets or worry.

SCORPIO

18 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

(Oct. 23Nov. 22) For most of the month Mars is making its way across the last degrees of Libra, on its way into your sign. Think of this as something trying to break through to the surface of your awareness —

July 2014

something that might feel edgy in a way you don’t understand.

What you’re feeling is likely to be different from your experiences since Mars entered Libra last December, which was the beginning of a long odyssey. Now, change is imminent. You just may not be sure if you really want it. This is, of course, a theme of its own for you. This would be a good time to ponder whether any element of the past you’re attached to is really worth keeping.

There are many new passions and ambitions coming into your life — I suggest you make space for them, which means for yourself.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 22) This month may go down in the history of your life as the moment you set yourself free. This is the quest of Sagittarius, and it’s easier in thought than it is in reality. Yet you’ve been releasing yourself from various bonds one at a time. Something that happened back in April comes to mind, and had that development not occurred you would be in a different situation right now. Yet that merely prepared the ground for what is possible. The real step is the one that you must take on your own, because you recognize that it’s possible and because you know that you can. Your charts suggest that anything you do will work out, as long as you feel good about it. That’s a suggestion to do the thing that you feel the very best about. Note, making one choice does not necessarily preclude another. Start with what you want the most.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)

You seem ready to let go of some of the responsibility you’ve taken on, though I suggest you do it in an orderly and structured way. You have a right to make decisions that serve your best interests, and it’s also good to remember that your reputation follows you. So I suggest you make this a conscious process of exchange, based on several core lessons you’ve learned during the various adventures and misadventures going back to your birthday. All that experience was there to teach you something about yourself, though it’s possible to forget even the hardestlearned lessons. These you want to remember, because that’s the most likely way you’ll be able to prevent them from happening again — and the most likely way you will recognize something different and much better when you see it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

Over the next four weeks cosmic activity moves into the signs Leo and Scorpio, which I would say is excellent news for you.

Mars and Jupiter, who were star players in the grand cross of 2014, change signs within a few weeks of one another. It’s often difficult for people to get the relationship aspect of their lives into harmony with the professional aspects; in fact this creates more tension than just about anything. Yet Jupiter in Leo will open up the possibilities in nearly all of your relationships. Mars in Scorpio will focus your drive and ambition. This is a dynamic mix of energies — though if you stay open-minded and open to change, what could be a clash will be more like a starburst into another world of possibilities. Let every step you take be a step in that direction.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

Water signs are sensitive to their environments — I believe more sensitive than any other kind of sign, and Pisces is the most delicate among them. It helps to have the Sun and planets in any of the water signs, and it helps when other elements provide some additional vitality. Later this month — I wish it were sooner, but all in good time — Jupiter and the Sun move into your house of vitality and wellbeing. This will ease some of the stress you’ve been under at work, allowing ideas rather than work to carry some more of the effort. Then Mars exits your house of contracts (Libra) and ingresses your house of faith in yourself (Scorpio).

On Aug. 1, the two make contact, which looks to me like you will be getting just the infusion of energy and passion that you need.

Till then, easy does it — as easy as you can, anyway. ~ Read Eric Francis daily at PlanetWaves.net

AMELIA

ANN SCOTT

ANN SCOTT, YELLOW BUSH, 11 x 14”, WATERCOLOR

COLLINS/EDITIONS formerly BERKSHIRE DIGITAL

After seven years of working for artists and photographers as Berkshire Digital, we have changed our name to collins|editions. We are a fine art reproduction service that offers the highest quality digital photography & reproduction of paintings as well as Giclée printing on archival papers and canvas with sizes up to 42” x 90”. Artists & photographers use us to create limited editions of their images. Private collectors and galleries use us to document their collections. Whether the reproduction needs are for archiving, printing, books, magazines, postcards or internet use, BD adheres to very strict color controls along with delivering stunning detail by using either a large format camera with a Better Light™ digital scanning back for making giclee prints as well as the best DSLR cameras for publication & internet uses.

In addition to the photography and printing services, collins|editions also offers graphic design, enabling clients to create show announcements, post cards and brochures. The website, www.CollinsEditions.com has a complete overview, lots of information and pricing.

The owner, Fred Collins, has been a commercial photographer for over 30 years having had studios in Boston and Stamford. He offers 20 years of experience with Photoshop™ enabling retouching, restoration and enhancement. The studio is located in Mt Washington but dropoff and PU can be arranged at other locations.

Collins|editions studio, 220 East St, Mt Washington, Massachusetts; 413-644-9663, www.CollinsEditions.com

Ann Scott just moved to the Berkshires after many years in Boston. Her passion for nature and all the beauty of the Berkshires made for a very easy transition.

Scott has exhibited and has traveled extensively throughout the US and Europe. She is currently represented by the Lyman Eyer Gallery in Provincetown and is an exhibiting artist at the Southern Vermont Art Center, Salmagundi in NYC and the Provincetown Art Association Museum.

If you are interested in taking plein air painting workshops please contact the artist for more information. Also see more of her work and on her website read about her adventures on her blog.

Ann Scott – email: annmscott@roadrunner.com; www.annscottpainting.com and read up on her adventures at http://annscottpainting.blogspot.com

Advertise your art!

Be Seen!!!

HOLISTIC FACIAL REJUVENATION

Amelia’s holistic facial rejuvenation is the unconventional, organic alternative with real-time results. A one hour session combines focused energy and a carefully developed system of patterned massage strokes to activate the twelve major nerve centers of the face, neck, shoulders and head.....for a soothing, psyche-nourishing, stress-releasing, revitalizing result.

This is a highly effective method of redefining facial features, improving muscle and skin tone awakening your beauty, and renewing your inner self.

The session includes massage of the head, neck, shoulders and upper arms; warm herbal compresses, cleansing and an organic mask to draw out impurities.

Look and feel as though you just enjoyed a two-week vacation … without the airfare.

Amelia ia a licensed aesthetician in practice for 20 plus years.

Formally at the New Age Health Spa, Neversink, N.Y. and The Healing Place, Lenox, Massachusetts, Amelia is famous for her “Home Visit Spa Days” for gathering friends, birthdays, bridal parties and Me time. A gift Certificate for a new mother or a mother-to-be is a welcome gift.

In a past life, (the 60’s) Amelia owned a unique restaurant on Bleecker Street in NY’s West Village, introducing Haagen Dazs to the City. “I search for and enjoy offering the best.”

Amelia’s Holistic Facial Rejuvenation - Rte. 23, Hillsdale, NY (near the Rte 22 intersection). For appointments and gift certificates call 518-320-8314 or Ameliasplacebb@yahoo.com

artfulmind@yahoo.com

“The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.”

- Piet Mondrian THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 19

Must see while summering in the Berkshires!!!

Directed by Iris Singer / POINT of VIEW PLAYERS Stage Manager Nick Himmelwright Original Play written by Renee Taylor & Joe Bologna

Bermuda Avenue Triangle Sorelle Brauth • Harryet Candee • Tracy Hynes • Tracy Henry • David Marcil • Frank Perilli

Laughter and comedic schtick

Two widows, one Jewish (Fanny Saperstein/Candee) and the other an Italian Catholic (Tess LaRuffa/Brauth), are set up in an upscale Las Vegas retirement condo by their career oriented daughters. Trapped by years of unhappiness, Fanny weeps like the Trevi Fountain and the unsmiling Tess does nothing but complain. But that all changes when these two ladies cross paths with the charming scoundrel, Johnny Paolucci (Perilli) who rocks both their worlds.

Thurs July 17, Fri July 18 & Sat July 19 • 8pm Albany ELKS LODGE (tix at door $15)25 South Allen Street, Albany, NY

Denise B Chandler Fine Art Photography

Stanley Maltzman

Thomas Cole’s Honey

Exhibition of watercolors, pastels and drawings July 26 — October 2

Opening Reception on July 26

“ When I look into the eyes of an animal I do not see an animal.

I see a living being. I see a friend. I feel a soul.” photographs by Denise B Chandler

Eyes On View Limited Edition Photography

Solo Exhibition

On view until September 5th

Reception with Artist July 17th 6:30—8:00 PM

Stockbridge Coffee & Tea

6 Elm St. - Stockbridge, MA

New images will be added throughout the summer

Denise B Chandler Fine Art Photography is represented by Sohn Fine Art Gallery located in both Stockbridge and Lenox. www.sohnfineart.com

Private studio and gallery visits by appointment 413. 281. 8461 info@denisebchandler.com www.denisebchandler.com

20 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

THOMAS COLE HOUSE 218 Spring St., Catskill, NY. Open Wed. - Sun., 10 – 4; 518-943-7465

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 21

22 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

LAUREN CLARK FINE ART MAURICE “POPS” PETERSON, FLIP FLOPS

NEW FRONTIERS IN POP ART

Lauren Clark Fine Art opens a month-long solo exhibition featuring the work of Maurice “Pops” Peterson, with a reception on Saturday, July 12, 4-7 PM. Lauren Clark Fine Art is located at 25 Railroad Street. ”New Frontiers in Pop Art” reflects Peterson’s distinctive style of Giclee canvas art, which is colorful, whimsical, and full of joy.

In addition to his life as artist, the multi-faceted Peterson is co-owner of Seven Salon and Spa in Stockbridge. He has been a producer and project manager with years of fashion-related work in television and the Internet. He was writer and producer of the international television series, Models, Profiles and Fantasies, where he shot segments and interviewed such fashion icons as Gianni Versace, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks in New York, France and Italy.

Peterson’s artistic and design talent were on display during his tenure as executive producer at RDA Interactive and ACG Communications, where he produced major websites for Nivea skin care, designer Todd Oldham, and Cosmogirl magazine. He developed award-winning sites for Pfizer, Biersdorf’s Futuro sports products and the original web portal for Hearst Magazines, HomeArts.com. He continues his work as a freelance website producer.

The show runs from July 12 through August 3.

Lauren Clark Fine Art - 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; 413-528-0432; www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com; Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com

ASTON MAGNA NICO MUHLY

TURBULENCE, VICE AND MUHLY

Aston Magna Music Festival spans July with three concerts of early music and a new work, Aston Magna — by virtuoso Nico Muhly, a young new composer whose Met Opera premier is much in the news.

Artistic Director Daniel Stepner presents pre-concert talks one hour before each event (Daniel Arts Center and Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center), and a wine and cheese reception with the artists follows.

On July 5, “Music from a Turbulent 17th Century England” offers galliards, laments and sonatas before and after the English Civil War, with music by Dowland, Lawes, Lanier, Purcell and Blow, with Deborah Rentz-Moore, mezzo-soprano; David Ripley, baritone; Peter Sykes, organ; Catherine Liddell, theorbo and lute; Stepner and Danielle Maddon, baroque violins; Laura Jeppesen, viola da gamba.

July 12 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, the ensemble presents “Vice Squad: Baroque Skirmishes with Alcohol, Tobacco and Love.” Bach’s Coffee Cantata; Purcell’s Songs of Love and Drink, Tobias Hume’s Tobacco and more; soloists Teresa Wakim, Frank Kelley, tenor and Jesse Blumberg, baritone join the Aston Magna ensemble.

The season concludes July 19 at Daniel Arts Center with Italian Trio Sonatas and a New Work — Aston Magna — by Nico Muhly. Works by Corelli, Vivaldi and others, with Stepner and Joan Plana, baroque violins; Laura Jeppesen, viola da gamba; and Michael Sponseller, harpsichord.

Aston Magna - Tickets at astonmagna.org, or 800-595-4849.

HOUSATONIC VALLEY ART LEAGUE HANS HEUBERGER,WORKTIME, GREAT BARRINGTON

ANNUAL JURIED SHOW

The Housatonic Valley Art League will open its’ annual, “Juried Art Show” on Thursday, July 3 with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 P.M. It’s called a “Juried” show because all the artwork entered are judged by two judges and only the ones that meet specific criteria make it into the show. The judges will also pick the most outstanding paintings in the show, which will be awarded certificates. This show, which had been held since the mid 1980s at Dewey Hall in Sheffield, has had a change of venue this year and has moved to Jenifer House Commons, 420 Stockbridge Road, in Great Barrington.

The HVAL has close to 150 members comprised of amateur and professional artists from the Berkshires, and neighboring New York and Connecticut. The League puts on several exhibitions for members throughout the year including it’s huge “Member’s Show” which just concluded at the same location during the month of June. It also invites distinguished artists to hold workshops for member and non-member artists.

All are welcome to drop in for refreshments and help celebrate the arts at the Juried Show’s opening reception on Thursday, July 3 from 4:30 to 6:30 P.M. The show will be open everyday, except Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., (until 7 on Fridays and Saturdays) and run from July 3 through July 27.

Housatonic Valley Art League - www.hvart.org

THE ARTFUL MIND JULY 2014 • 23

When unremarkable Miranda Pepper starts performing strange and miraculous feats, the dangerously handsome President of Poland can’t help but notice. Convinced she’s the mysterious woman haunting his dreams, he abandons his post to find her.

Bringing them together? Pure trouble. Trouble is, bringing them together...

Part epic love story, part magical mystery tour, The Virgin of Hopeless Causes will drag you sideways down roads you’ve never traveled before.

Finding your way back is up to you.

Available at Amazon.com

24 • JULY 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND