The artful mind for issuu com aug 2014

THE ARTFUL MIND

AUGUST 2014 MONTHLY BERKSHIRE ARTZINE

THE SOURCE FOR PROMOTING ART SINCE 1994

Roselle Chartock

Photographed byCassandra Sohn

Schantz Galleries c o n t e m p o r a r y

a r t

Get Physical.

While many galleries are opting to represent art online, in Stockbridge Massachusetts you can visit one of the leading art glass galleries in the world.

Three Elm Street Stockbridge Massachusetts 413.298.3044

LATCHEZAR BOYADJIEV Torso V, 2014

Cast glass,

18 x 12 x 3.5�

413.854-7744

Vault Gallery

Birth

marilynkalish.com

Marilyn Kalish

525 South Main Street, Great BarrinGton, Ma 413. 528. 3095

eunice aGar

eunice agar, Blueberry Fields, Maine

PAINTINGS, DRAWING, PRINTS www.euniceagar.com

1 • AUGUST 2014 THE ARTFUL MIND

www.BackyardheirlooMS.coM

and found on

hourS: Sat. & Sun. 10 - 5pM & By appointMent

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

MARGUERITE BRIDE pop up art Gallery

Marguerite Bride is exhibiting her watercolors in the popup Gallery on union Street pittsfield until labor day. She is joined

by Scott taylor, deb carter and Joanie ciolfi who have created this temporary gallery to brighten union Street during the summer months. the art plus the artists’ exhibit areas in the gallery change every 2-3 weeks ensuring a fresh exhibit for visitors on a regular basis. the gallery is staffed by the artists themselves and is open one hour before every Barrington Stage (main stage) performance, by appointment with any of the artists, or by chance.

Because the artists each have studios just upstairs from the gallery in the nu arts Studios, there are many opportunities to catch one of them there or in the pop up. Visit the website for contact information and more details.

Pop Up Art Gallery on Union Street – 25 Union Street, Pittsfield. Visit popupunionst.wordpress.com for hours and contact information and details. Visit “Pop Up Art Gallery on Union Street” Facebook page for many images and events.

2 •auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

LAUREN CLARK FINE ART the art of aBBy duBow

lauren clark fine art presents the work of artist abby duBow, with an opening reception Saturday, aug. 9, 4-7 p.m. the public is welcome, and refreshments will be served. the show runs through Sept. 1. duBow creates monotypes, monoprints, collage and chinecollé, using oil-based inks and a variety of plates including plexiglas, zinc, copper, tin, prepared fiberboard and other found materials. her initial image may be painted, scratched, collaged, embossed, drawn and then printed. the resulting work has the feel of building a three dimensional construction. abby duBow received her Ba from Bennington college and her Ma from the Bank Street School of education. She has been a working artist and art educator for more than 30 years. She has continued to pursue her own art education at such diverse venues as atelier 17 in paris, the art Students league, the Brooklyn Museum, parsons School of design, Great river arts institute and the contemporary art center. her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the country and is in many private collections. She has received many awards for creativity and excellence.

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

museums & galleries

calendar of events

510 WARREN STREET GALLERY hudson, ny • 518-822-0510 august artist John lipkowitz. “paris Giverney and the loire Valley: personal impressions”. reception aug 9, 3-6pm

BACKYARD HEIRLOOMS 525 South Main St, Gt Barrington, Ma • 413 528-3095 architectural Sculpture for the home and garden. featuring custom birdhouses, tree houses, kid scapes & natural functional art CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY 622 warren St., hudson ny• 518-828-1915 carriehaddadgallery.com a nod to the paSt: July 17 - august 17th, 2014 paintings

by Mark Beard, Bruce Murphy, James o'Shea & photographs by david halliday

FRONT STREET GALLERY 129 front St., housatonic, Ma • 413-274-6607 / 413-528-9546, or cell at 413-429-7141 kate knapp: Manhattan oil and watercolors July through august reception: august 9, 3 - 6pm 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. aug 1 - Sept 30. celebrate the artistry and self-expression of individuals diagnosed with autism Spectrum disorder and other learning differences in an exhibit at the Good purpose Gallery. opening reception thurs, aug14 5-7pm.

HISTORIC NORTHAMPTON 46 Bridge Street northampton, Ma • www.historic-northampton.org "riVer of dreaMS" by anthony w. lee: an exhibition about the northampton and hampden canal 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 abby duBow: opening reception Saturday, aug. 9, 4-7 p.m. the public is welcome, and refreshments will be served. the show runs through Sept. 1.

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.

POP UP ART GALLERY union Street – 25 union Street, pittsfield artists Marguerite Bride, Scott taylor, deb carter and Joanie ciolfi share this lovely gallery space, til labor day.

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 opens aug 2. three Generations, a new exhibition of works by alexander liberman, cleve Gray and his son luke Gray, opens august 2nd at the Morrison Gallery in kent. the show begins with a reception from 5-7pm.the gallery will exhibit a grouping of steel sculpture made by liberman during the early 1970s, a selection of important paintings by cleve Gray, and new paintings by luke Gray.

NO. SIX DEPOT ROASTERY AND CAFÉ 6 depot Street in west Stockbridge, Ma Jim youngerman: Works on Paper til Sept 2

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 exhibiting selected works by artists the Gallery represents. this exhibition will remain on view through august 18, with a Grand re-opening reception on Saturday, august 16 from 3 7 pm

JACOB’S PILLOW 358 George carter rd, Becket, Ma • 413-243-0745 august 17 a JaZZ happeninG 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.

events

FRONT STREET GALLERY 129 front St, housatonic, Ma • www.amytanner.net a Mad tea party: amy tanner The Virgin of Hopeless Causes Book release party, Sunday, august 10. 3-6 pm (reading starts @ 3:30)

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:

august 23 & 24, 2014

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.

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) the road less traveled- creative detours, aug 1 thru Sept 8, reception aug 9, 3-6pm THE HARRISON GALLERY 39 Spring St, williamstown Ma • 413-458-1700 august: curt hanson & John Macdonald: friends curt hanson John Macdonald

music/theatre

BARRINGTON STAGE CO. Box office: 58 union Street, pittsfield • 413-236-8888 / barringtonstageco.org aug 9 : a conversation with fran lebowitz. hosted by Joe donohue from waMc radio, 8pm CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC august 10, Sunday | 2pm: yearS of pilGriMaGe doctorow center for the arts, hunter, ny SouVenir de florence august 17, Sun 2pm the catskill Mountain foundation's orpheum film and performing arts center, 6050 Main St, tannersville, ny. Music from High Peaks to Olana: aug 15, fri 6pm, olana - hudson, ny.

Music from High Peaks to The Norman Rockwell Museum august 18, Mon.5:30 pM, the norman rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Ma

EARTHDANCE 252 prospect Street, plainfield, Ma dance improvisation & performance intensive with chris aiken & angie hauser aug 11,5:00pm - aug 17, 3:00pm THE COLONIAL THEATRE 111 South Street - pittsfield, Ma (413) 997-4444 august 7 - 17: SeuSSical! the play.

THE ARTFUL MIND AUGUST 2014 •3

JOHN LIPKOWITZ

Bruce MacDonald

August 1 - September 8 The Road Less Traveled—Creative Detours Reception for Artists August 9, 3 - 6pm

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

presents

Abby DuBow

“EXPLORATIONS”

August 9 - September 1 Reception for Artist • Saturday, August 9, 4 - 7pm Lauren Clark Fine Art

25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA 413. 528. 0432 4 • auGuSt 2014

LaurenClarkFineArt.com

the artful Mind

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

KATE KNAPP MANHATTAN

Oil and Watercolors

July through August

Reception: August 9, 3 - 6pm

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

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 •5

THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE AUGUST 2014

“It’s the time of the season for lovin.”

MUSIC STORE

Roselle Chartock, Author and Artist Photography by Cassandra Sohn Interview by H. Candee ...12

Cover location – Windsor Mountain School, Stockbridge, MA

Sara Katzoff on the fringe Harryet Candee...8

Roselle Chartock / author and artist Harryet Candee... 12 Planet Waves for AUGUST Eric Francis.....18 Otis The Wolf (Part II) Richard Britell...19 Simply Sasha ...23

Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Eunice Agar, Richard Britell, Eric Francis Sasha Seymour, Amy Tanner Photographers Cassandra Sohn, 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/the_artful_mind_art zine.june2014.

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 • auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

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.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED – CREATIVE DETOURS ST. FRANCIS GALLERY

coming to the Berkshires for its quiet beauty you realize there is much of that unimaginable pleasure hidden in the small detours that take you to parts not readily seen but that need to be explored. the art displayed in St. francis Gallery is also like that intriguing exploration, from classic landscapes to uninhibited expressionism. it invites you to what seems to be an unknown place and an unknown adventure full of depth, light, tangled shapes, and joyous color. often such detours in life are transforming, an exploration that can shift the illusions and preconceived ideas we live with. these “creative detours” create a vitality that feeds your sense of adventure to go further. each gallery show is a new and imaginative exploration; this one is no exception. in addition to bringing you new artists to discover for the first time we also invited those whose work excited people in previous shows but now have returned with a compelling freshness.

Both realistic and representational artworks will provide you with a wide range of mediums that by their design will challenge all the ideas you bring with you and stimulate the visual senses. this will make “the road less traveled” a compelling and sensual delight. come see our new exhibition of local art work beginning august 1 till September 8, with an artist’s reception august 9, 36pm. lite fare and music, feeding your soul with the beauty that it needs just as our own Berkshires do with a quiet passion. in addition our galleries’ support of our nonprofits rounds out the contribution with growth, improvement, strength, and productive projects for all those we donate to.

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.

artist

Eleanor Lord

One of many at...

510 warren Street, hudSon, ny

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 7

off katZ Sara the frinGe on

Harryet Candee: Are you ready for this eventful summer in the Berkshires? What are some of your fun plans?

Sara Katzoff: absolutely! the Berkshire fringe is something i look forward to and plan all year and my favorite moment of the entire summer is happening right now. artists have started to arrive from all over the world and our season is in full swing. this year, we have over 30 performances, free concerts and workshops happening now through august 18 as part of the Berkshire fringe’s 10thanniversary. we are celebrating with a massive kickoff party august 2nd. featuring live performances, food, drink and a huge dance party in our new digs at Shire city Sanctuary. our galas are so much fun and they always draw a really exciting mix of audiences. definitely a highlight of the summer!

What were you busy with during the winter months in terms of preparing for Fringe?

Sara: this winter and spring i was focused on our move to pittsfield and envisioning the fringe in a completely new city and venue. it’s been a big change for the festival and one that all of us and our artists are really excited about it. we have met so many incredible, creative people and everyone has been so welcoming. it’s really inspiring to be a part of the creative energy and momentum that is taking shape all over the city.

What makes this summer’s line up different?

Sara: for our tenth season we are presenting a ‘best of the fest’ retrospective of works by some of our favorite artists and ensembles that have performed at the fringe over the past decade. artists include the wardrobe ensemble from Bristol, uk, under the table from Brooklyn, the pi clowns from San francisco and dan Bernitt from lexington, ky. these artists are in residence with us here in pittsfield performing at the fringe and also developing new work. two of the companies who are here are each performing two very different shows. it presents a rare opportunity for audiences to see how a group of collaborators work and train together to approach and perform not just a particular play but a body of work they have written and generated as a company over several years.

Do you personally know many of the actors?

Sara: yes. we have about 40 performers and musicians at the fringe and i have the incredible pleasure of knowing all of them. i’m really excited to be celebrating them and reintroducing their work to the Berkshires.

8• auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

How did Fringe start?

Sara: during my junior year of college, i traveled to california to perform and train with a theater company called dell’arte. while i was on the west coast, i observed how dell’arte drew artists from all over the world and attracted a huge community of supporters of all ages and backgrounds. it was really inspiring. as artists who grew up (or attended college) in the Berkshires, my collaborators (peter wise and ryan olson) had experienced how our peers were not attending live theater and cultural events because performances were often too expensive and the content was not particularly relevant to them. when i returned from california, i approached ryan and peter about starting a theater festival that would change that and the fringe began to take form. over the last ten years we have built a festival that is committed to presenting high quality, financially accessible and adventurous new works by fresh, emerging ensembles from around the globe. i think the work we do inspires audiences to think about theater in a completely different way.

I find the Berkshires a great place for making really good friends, networking and carrying out creative endeavors, like no other place I have lived. Do you agree? How has all this taken shape for you in terms of friendships, creative projects and connections you have made here? It’s almost like a mecca for art gatherings!

Sara: i’ve lived all over the united States and i absolutely agree that the Berkshires are truly unique. Several of the most significant artistic collaborations and partnerships in my life have emerged from living and making work here. having grown up in the area, i am also grateful to have traveled, lived and worked elsewhere.

Spending time away gave me perspective and allowed me to appreciate how incredible it is here. the Berkshires are a wonderful place but it can be challenging to make a living, particularly as a young professional and an artist. it’s a huge issue for our region right now and certainly one of the many reasons my collaborators and i felt so strongly about coming home and starting the fringe here. we wanted to create more opportunities for emerging artists and new audiences.

How would you describe our community up here in the Berkshires to someone, say, from Alaska, who may be thinking of moving here?

Sara: as Sarah Bernhardt said, “life begets life, energy creates energy...” there is something almost indescribable about this partic-

R. Jacoub Photography

ular part of the world and why so many creative minds have thrived here for centuries. Beyond the natural beauty and cultural bounty, the Berkshires are truly a surreal place filled with the most interesting, generous and inspiring people you will ever meet. there are so many unsung entrepreneurs, artists, teachers and farmers who work with tireless passion to build and give back to this community and they do so with no expectation of recognition or reward. these are the real heroes of this region and i think what they are generating is one of the many reasons so many other creative people are drawn to the Berkshires and chose to make a life here.

About Fringe, what keeps this small theatre a happening upscale venue? Who are the creative thinkers behind the scenes?

Sara: i actually wouldn’t consider the fringe an ‘upscale’ venue--though it certainly is a happening one! part of our work and our mission as an organization is to dispel the notion that theater is something that is only available or of interest to a specific kind or demographic of person. My collaborators and i believe that theater is for everyone and it should be celebrated and enjoyed as such. we have certainly worked to build an artistic home for emerging artists but we have also created a place where all kinds of audiences feel welcome.

What have some of the challenges and struggles you have encountered along the way? Do you think most are in hindsight and now green pastures are on the horizon for the next bunch of years?

Sara: Being an artist and an artistic director has always meant needing to be creative, flexible, innovative and open to embracing all kinds of challenges. that never stops, nor would i want it to! what i do want is for the process of funding the arts to be less of a constant challenge. artists are rarely paid living wages and that needs to change. that change starts with putting an end to the exoticism of the “struggling artist” which is an image that a lot of us are taught to accept as the reality of doing what we love. when you do what you love, people assume you are willing to do it for free and when you are starting out, you need opportunities. the down side of that is there is an expectation that you don’t have to compensate artists. while the arts are certainly appreciated, they are not always valued as something worth paying for. the arts are vital and valuable and those who make art deserve to be compensated fairly. that is definitely something i wish i knew in my 20’s. So, to answer your question, the greener pasture i look towards is the emergence

of an american society that values, supports, is wild about artists and as a result, we chose to fund, attend and pay them for their work- which ultimately benefits everyone.

What part of Fringe is your passion? That gives you a great boost of excitement?

Sara: for the past decade, my partners and i have been passionate about presenting and producing adventurous new work by emerging artists whose voices are often unrecognized in the mainstream. these performers, musicians, composers, directors, choreographers, multi media artists and ensembles are shifting the cultural landscape and telling stories that are rarely heard elsewhere. i am passionate about expanding that aspect of the cultural dialog and providing resources and recognition to new voices. My collaborators and i recognized a need for this when we were all in our early 20’s and i think that passion has translated into a festival that resonates with diverse artists audiences in this community.

A sampler of what one of the theatre productions lined up for us would be great! A behind the scenes description, maybe? An interesting tidbit about one of the actors?

Sara: we’ve been planning our 10th anniversary season for a few years now and one of the companies we identified early on that we wanted to invite to return was under the table. their work is filled with such exuberant joy, sincerity, hilarity and depth. they have been so busy traveling and touring across canada and europe that we weren’t sure it would be possible for them to be here. as fate would have it, they were available and their newest show, the hunchbacks of notre dame opens on august 5. as an added bonus of serendipity, Shire city Sanctuary is a former notre dame church so it’s a perfect match! we are also delighted to welcome back andrew Quick, leah Gardner and kelsey custard of the pi clowns. (yup. those are their real names!) kelsey is actually a performer with cirque du soleil in las Vegas and is taking time off to come back to the Berkshires. the wardrobe ensemble are traveling a great distance to present the uS premiere of their new show 33, which they began developing here at the fringe in 2012. wardrobe is a nine member theater ensemble from Bristol, uk and they are amazing physical performers and musicians. Berkshire audiences will remember them from the sold out run of their show riot which we presented in 2012. indecently, they are doing six encore productions of riot so if you missed it, now is your chance!

I need to know, Sara, what plans are in store for you as an artist?

Where are you going, and what is your vision you wish to see to fruition?

Sara katzoff co--artistic director photo: R.Jacoub

Sara: My partners and i started Bazaar productions when i was 21 and because we all knew so little about running an arts organization and producing a festival, i devoted most of my 20’s to honing my skills as an arts administration ninja. for the first several years, i was focused on the big picture vision for the Berkshire fringe and now that the festival is 10, i have the opportunity to focus more on my own creative projects. My background is in physical theater and i have always been passionate about developing new work. i trained as an actor and still perform frequently. over the last few years i have also started freelancing as a director and writer and collaborating with many different kinds of artists, designers and theater makers here in the Berkshires, in new york city and throughout the northeast. currently, i am writing and researching a new piece about

the history and politics of the northwest passage that my partners at kickwheel ensemble theater and i will begin devising and workshopping in the fall of 2014. you can learn more at kickwheel.org Sara Katzoff is a founding member of Kickwheel Ensemble Theater and co-artistic director of The Berkshire Fringe which is celebrating its 10th anniversary season August 2-August 18 at Shire City Sanctuary in Pittsfield. For tickets and information, visit berkshirefringe.org or call 413.320.4175

Jane feldMan

photoGraphy

JANEFELDMAN.COM

JanefeldManphoto@GMail.coM

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 9

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.

10 • auGuSt 2014

the artful Mind

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.

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

CHICAGO ALBUMEN WORKS

Sohn fine art has expanded and has moved to a new location. now located at 69 church Street, lenox, Ma, Sohn fine art is currently exhibiting selected works by artists the Gallery represents. this exhibition will remain on view through august 18, with a Grand re-opening reception on Saturday, august 16 from 3 7 pm, where you will have the rare opportunity to meet most of the artists the Gallery represents. in addition to a larger space, and the expansion of all divisions of the company, including the Gallery, fine art archival printing, and workshops, Sohn fine art now also officially offers framing. the current exhibition reveals the large range of photographic mediums and styles of the artists. this includes work by award winning, Master photographer, Greg Gorman, who is known for his striking black and white celebrity portraits and nudes, as well as John atchley’s abstracts that hone in on the details and subtleties in nature. you will also find on view a sanitary still life of a chicken foot on a white cloth by anne Mourier-defalco, and enchanting Berkshire tree portraits, printed with incredible detail and depth as sepia -toned solar plate etchings (photo intaglios) by yvette lucas. national Geographic photographer, nathan Benn’s photographs are keenly observed and evocative depictions of americana, revealing a side of culture and values during specific times and places not usually captured. newly represented russian photographer anton lyalin’s striking portraits of africa capture rare and emotional moments of animals in their grand, natural habitats.

Rurbanism, a group show featuring work

by John atchley, nathan Benn, John clarke, denise chandler, Martin Green, erik korenman, yvette lucas, cassandra Sohn, and Monika Sosnowski, begins august 22, and will run through november 2014, with a reception and book signing on Saturday, october 11, 4:00 - 7:00. nathan Benn will be signing his book, “kodachrome Memory: american pictures 1972 - 1990”.

Sohn fine art Gallery’s Stockbridge, Ma location (6 elm Street) will also remain open through august 30, with the exhibition, 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).

SOHN FINE ART GALLERY PRINTING, FRAMING & WORKSHOPS, 69 Church Street, Lenox, MA, 01240 and 6 Elm Street, PO Box 1392, Stockbridge, MA 01262.

413-551-7353, info@sohnfineart.com, www.sohnfineart.com

workS on paper SiX depot Gallery

an artists’ reception will be held on friday, august 8th 5:307:00pm . his exhibit, works on paper, runs august 3 through September 2 at no. Six depot Gallery in west Stockbridge.

Jim youngerman is a Stockbridge artist whose work has been exhibited throughout the u.S. and europe over the past four decades, to much critical acclaim. Jim makes his works on paper using a stream of consciousness approach to produce compositions with juxtapositions of people, places and objects—often existing within ambiguous timeframes. “i use simple lines in a lyrical, figurative, quasi cartoon style to paradoxically get at something a bit deeper—juxtaposing people and animals in perplexing situations. in doing so, i attempt to explore dualities and commonalities. i work in series, always on paper, and have always used medium to achieve my ends, not to try to find meaning within the medium. for me, it’s about using various techniques to reinforce and illuminate the narrative which i’m putting forth.” “…his caricature style of drawing reinforces the humor evoked and the sense of the presence of a strange imagination.” arts Magazine “youngerman’s work is true american surrealism in its influences- from comic strips to de chirico ”….art news 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. www.sixdepot.com

The Virgin of Hopeless Causes Book Release Party, will happen on Sunday, August 10. 3-6 pm (reading starts @ 3:30) at the Front Street Gallery, Housatonic, MA.

SOHN FINE ART

GreG GorMan, tony Bent oVer, la, 1988

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 drop-off 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

JIM YOUNGERMAN

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 11

full plate; you’ve likely heard others make that point, and you’re definitely an example of that phenomenon, harryet. i did, however, take time out from collaging (is that a word?) while writing the book, because my brain wasn’t able to switch back and forth easily from right brain to left brain activity. as for sweet baby, noah elan, now almost three and a half months old, i can’t keep my hands off of him; his smile warms my heart and makes me laugh. fortunately, Sarah, our daughter, and dan – who have adapted amazingly well to being new parents - live in Brooklyn and spend nearly every weekend with us.

Roselle, I am curious about your background. Where did you grow up? What kind of family loved you?

Roselle: i grew up in hudson, new york, where my grandfather, Samuel kline, started the first shoe store in 1900, and which my father took over in the 1940’s and sold in 1972. Sam got off the boat in new york city from hungary and in the 1890’s traveled up the hudson, because that’s where others from his village had migrated. My mother’s family had emigrated from poland to Brooklyn – Boro park to be precise – where i spent most of my vacations as a child, and where i got to eat plenty of my grandmother’s gefilte fish and also chinese food around the corner from her apartment. i didn’t tell my grandmother about that.

My mother taught for many years at Greenport elementary school in hudson and was active the Jewish community, which was made up of merchants, doctors and lawyers! not so different from the Great Barrington of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. there is no way i can express just how overjoyed i am about at how hudson’s downtown has come back to life, to the point where the new york times has called it, “the Brooklyn of upstate new york.” even as a child i had loved warren Street’s 19th century architecture, and so i’m thankful for the folks who opened the antique shops and galleries and other shops and so beautifully restored those buildings. i love driving into hudson and exploring every nook and cranny. every time i go in there’s something else i haven’t seen before. and i’m happy to see that the restoration is continuing, as with the hudson opera house, which was the police station when i was growing up. one of my favorite examples of a complete restoration – actually a total transformation is helsinki hudson, the restaurant and club that moved a few years ago from Great Barrington. thank goodness they’re not too far away.

Roselle Chartock Author & Artist

interview by Harryet Candee photography by Cassandra Sohn

Harryet Candee: Roselle, kindly ask Alan what the first questions should be, thank you….. kidding. You are nearly finished with a book that you have written with all the blood, sweat and tears you can muster. plus a ton of enjoyment. What is this book all about?

Roselle Chartock: the book is about windsor Mountain School and the Bondy family, founders of the school that was located in lenox from 1944-1975, and i’m happy to say the book is finished. the school was ahead of its time, co-ed and integrated before other boarding schools in the area. the Bondys were dedicated to the individuality of every student and to diversity, democracy and tolerance. i guess that’s why so many families with familiar names like the Belafontes, poitiers and campanellas were attracted to it, those humanistic values and also the beauty of the Berkshires. i trace the history of the school chronologically from its roots in 1920, in Germany, where the Bondys’ first school, Schule Marienau, was among the most respected progressive boarding schools. despite the fact that the Bondys - whose heritage was German-Jewish - had converted to luthernism, the nazis forced them to sell their school in 1936. they fled first to Switzerland, and then to windsor, Vermont, where they opened their first school in america in 1939. then in 1944 they relocated to lenox, Massachusetts.

12 • auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

i might add, the arts at windsor Mountain were on an equal footing with the academic offerings. they had every kind of studio there from sculpture to painting to dance and weaving, and the faculty were artists in their own right. the Bondys believed that art could empower young people and provide for them a path for expressing their individuality. that aspect of the curriculum was one of the many reasons i wanted to undertake research about the school’s humanistic philosophy, research which, by the way, i began as a sabbatical project during my last two years as professor of education at the Massachusetts college of liberal arts in north adams. the school closed in 1975, in part because of a severe economic downturn in the country in the 1970’s that also caused the demise of eight other Berkshire boarding schools.

By the way, the “ton of enjoyment” you referred to in your question came with my meeting and interviewing over 70 graduates and faculty of the school who still talk passionately about their school. the book should be out by october or november 2014, which also happens to be the 75th anniversary of windsor Mountain in america. there is much more to say, but the best thing to do is read the book when it appears.

When have you been able to fit all the time needed in to this book with all the other things you are doing, like your collage art, and your music… and your new grandchild!

Roselle: a good question, but an easy one to answer: for some strange reason i seem to accomplish much more when i have a

As far as schooling goes, where did you study? What were those days like? Can you paint us a picture? Bring us back in time.

Roselle: i love your questions, harryet! they bring me back to my youth. i just turned 70, so it’s fun to reflect now on my past.

So thanks! anyway, i graduated from hudson high School, which is now the middle school. it is one of the most stunning buildings in hudson, in my opinion, a massive brick structure with a cupola on top. from there i went to Skidmore college in Saratoga Springs, which at the time was for women only and located in the heart of the town. i loved that dozens of Victorian treasures built during the Gilded age were converted into dormitories; and the progressive education department there attracted me. for example, the curriculum for future elementary teachers consisted of four years of liberal arts – the John dewey approach to teacher preparation – along with a few ed courses and student teaching. from there i moved into new york city and started my first teaching job at Mamaroneck avenue School in westchester county, to which i commuted from my tiny studio apartment near Gramercy park. $125 a month! while teaching fulltime, i started a Master’s at hunter college in secondary social science with an eye towards teaching on another level someday. alan’s mother was an adjunct professor there, and i took one of her courses. My mother had also gone to hunter, and alan had done his undergraduate work there as well. with that degree in hand, i began teaching at the hommocks School in larchmont as part of an english-Social Studies interdisciplinary team, a concept ahead of its time in 1970, and sadly still not common in the public schools. alan and i married in September 1970 and moved to Great Barrington, actually we lived in lovely alford for our first 15 years in the Berkshires and i taught history at Monument Mountain regional high School. i was lucky: the social studies department was run by Jack Spencer, a progressive educator who understood the value of primary sources and literature in teaching social studies. i also incorporated art and music in teaching history, because such approaches bring the historical documents to

Roselle Chartock standing outside Windsor Mountain School Above: School logo from 1920

life and because art and music are often first-hand reflections of people’s feelings and reactions to the events they are experiencing or observing or are tools for arousing emotions. for example, when i taught students about the holocaust, i introduced the propaganda art of the nazis, intended to arouse hatred and anti-Semitism among the German people. while at the same time, there was the opposite effect of art, for example, the drawings by concentration camp inmates portraying their suffering gave them an emotional outlet and enabled them to express a form of passive resistance. and in my american history classes, we ended each week with “learning american history through folksong,” and students could relate several songs to the reading they had done. we’d sing the songs, and i’d accompany them on the guitar – just barely. i bump into former students every now then who will start to sing a line or two of one of those songs, maybe a civil war song, that remained stuck in their heads! thinking that someday i might like to teach on the college level, i applied to the doctoral program at uMass amherst in 1974 and began commuting two days a week to amherst to complete my course work. Berkshire hills regional blessed me with a year’s sabbatical so i could do my research, and i wrote my dissertation - on using an interdisciplinary approach to teach and learn about the holocaust –while teaching full time. By the way, both of our children were born during those busy years, Jonas in 1975 and Sarah in 1977. and, interestingly, both have followed in alan’s and my footsteps and undertake heavy loads within their respective professions, Sarah, as professor of political science at the college of new Jersey and Jonas as executive director of leading educators, inc. based in new orleans. needless to say, i am so proud of them and their families. when i completed my doctorate in 1979, i stayed on at the high school for six more years. then in 1986 i became a member of the education department at the Massachusetts college of liberal arts in north adams where i taught for 25 years and honestly even loved driving the length of this gorgeous county almost every day.

Was writing something you always did? What times in your life did you pick up and study art and music?

Roselle: now that i think about it, i was always writing and always drawing. i used to enter essay contests. i remember once when i was 12, i won honorable mention for my essay about “why the Quaker Meeting house in hudson deserves a new york State historical plaque,” or something like that. i was into historic preservation early one and still mourn the loss of the General worth hotel in hudson!

i wrote poetry for fun and spent many hours as a kid drawing, copying pictures on greeting cards and the work of famous artists; and i always did art projects to go along with my science and social studies reports. i never formally studied art until a few years ago when i took some collage courses at iS 183, because it occurred to me that retirement could be fun if i could create til my dying day! i tend to plan ahead as you can see. i continue to write, i think, for the same reason that i wrote that essay: i feel compelled to share information that i find interesting and that i think might benefit at least a certain number of people. those are the reasons why i wrote two education texts for pearson education, the first one a literary approach to understanding fundamental educational concepts and the second on culturally responsive teaching. non-fiction, all of them, though someday i’d like to try writing fiction. as for music, i took piano lessons as a kid but was never was very good. however, now i occasionally sit down at the piano

with my old books – i got up to the “fifth grade” in John thompson’s Modern course for the piano- and find that i can still enjoy playing some of the pieces by the composers that i love, Beethoven’s “Minuet” and Bach’s “Musette,” for example.

By the time i got to college in 1962, Joan Baez and dylan were never far from my ears, and i started to learn how to play some chords on a classmate’s guitar so i could sing “Barbara allen” and “hard rain’s a-Gonna fall.” you probably know that you can play an amazing number of songs with just three chords. and i was able to keep at it when, just before my junior year, a friend – a brilliant jazz pianist - bought me my first guitar. as you know, for the past 30+ years alan and i have enjoyed playing and singing for charity events – for example, the austerlitz historical Society’s Blueberry festival and the Berkshire Botanical Gardens harvest festival – with our Berkshire ramblers, made up of a few friends and some really good musicians

Continued on next page....

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 13

...Roselle Chartock

Roselle working on collage

who grace us with their talent. alan was a music counselor years ago at the same camp that you attended years later – Bronx house emanuel - as we have discussed, and we are still singing those same songs. alan always says that there’s no reason for us to learn any new songs, because our mission is to keep alive the songs of pete Seeger. hmmm, i wonder if that’s just his excuse not to have to learn new songs? well, anyway, we’ve got those songs down pat! the idea really is for folks to have fun, so – like pete – we ask everyone to sing along with us.

What was the oddest job you ever took on?

Roselle: hmmmm. i don’t know if it was odd or not, but during the summer months of 1966, between my graduation from college and the beginning of my first teaching job, i was a receptionist on wall Street for the law firm dewey Ballantine Bushby palmer and wood. i remember the name to this day because i had to recite it every time i answered the phone. a major partner in the firm, thomas dewey, ran for president against truman in 1948 and lost, which was such an unexpected outcome that the newspapers had already sold copies with the headline “dewey wins!” anyway, i got that job because my dad had been friends with one of the other law partners, Burdell Bixby, with whom he had gone to school in hudson. it was during that summer that i realized that alan – whom i’d already started seeing - was much more fascinating than any of the ivy league lawyers i had gotten to know. we ate lunch a lot that summer at Sloppy louie’s, the best seafood joint ever, but sadly it no longer exists.

The Berkshires came into your life and you fell in love. What were the earliest of times up here for you like? How different was it back then?

Roselle: My parents, especially my father, loved classical music and theater so we used to drive to the Berkshires on many weekends during the 1950’s to attend tanglewood concerts and picnic on the lawn and to watch performances at the Berkshire playhouse or go to Jacob’s pillow. we’d stay at inns that had seen better times, like Blantyre or wheatleigh, that are now among the most beautiful places to stay. Back then there were no popular artists’ concerts at tanglewood, but i’m happy to see how for many years now tanglewood has been open to all kinds of music. one other thing i recall with great affection was how happy i was when we would drive onto the very wide main street of Great Barrington which easily accommodated diagonal parking. we’d stop for hamburgers at one of the drug store counters like Bernie Green’s, not 14 • auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

enjoy fashion. the design of a dress or other clothing - and their textures and colors – present a palette, so putting together clothing and jewelry is like construction a collage. and the most fun is the serendipity of exploring second hand shops and tag sales and discovering a treasure that someone has cast aside. actually i cast aside some treasures from time to time, which you can find now at the emporium in GB.

What is a day like for you? Do you start it off drinking coffee in the sun room? Or are you hammering away at the break of dawn on your computer?

Roselle: i’m not a morning person, because for 45 years i had to get up at 6am, so now i love to lounge in bed for half an hour checking my messages, listening to waMc, and cuddling with Murray the westie, whom, by the way, you should interview someday. i love breakfast! it’s my favorite meal, and i often go to one of the many fantastic cafes or restaurants in town to read the paper. then i go to my studio on Main Street to work on a collage – or, as was the case these last 9 months – i sit at the dinig room table writing. i have the ability to sit in one place until my tush is numb. in other words i work intensely for long periods, but not every single day. i was an avid gardener, but now that for many years my perennial gardens return happily, i don’t spend as many hours in them as i used to. alan, on the other hand, has been bitten by this passion and is addicted to weeding, planting, feeding and mulching. we each tend to our own gardens and there’s one we both work in. My aesthetic is: crowd a variety of flowers together, alan’s is, leave space around each one. actually i like both arrangements. either way the explosion of color is gorgeous.

What were your summers like as a young woman?

Roselle: i started summer jobs early on to earn spendfar from where Subway is ing money and put away some now, or at friendly’s ice money for college. i was a councream, which was once loselor at the Jewish community cated to the left of where center day camp in hudson for cumberland farm is now. i a few summers, then was a fell in love with the Berkcounselor at the copake counshires then and that passion try club, where middle class continues. families would vacation for a week or two or for a long weekWho is your best friend? end. i worked as a waitress there Roselle: that’s simple: alan the summer after my freshman chartock! life would not be year in college – and the stories as exciting and meaningful i could tell! Suffice it to say that without him. he’s a wise that experience was equivalent man and i love him for so to other teens’ experiences at many reasons, his humor – sleep-away camp, which, by the that’s what first got to me way i hated. i spent two sumand his honesty and courage. mers in Becket at the Girl Scout But the funny thing is we are camp there when i was 9 and 10, so radically different. i love and, while i love nature, moths to travel, for example, and were not my friends as they vishe gets “dragged along” – ited the inside of the cabin every though he usually has a ternight! anyway, i waitressed at a rific time and returns with resort in Mahopac, then the lots of stories and, of course, summer before my senior year i writes an article or two. But was back in the heavenly Berkit works and has worked for shires waitressing at the curtis nearly 44 years. he is my hotel, which is now senior soulmate. housing. i served leopold roSelle chartock, petite nude, froM SerieS Stokowski and others who were I notice something about you every time I see you, Roselle, performing at tanglewood; got comp tickets from the car parkers you’re unique style of fashion and beautiful jewelry you wear. there and saw many amazing concerts, and spent free time listenIs self-adornment and fashion important to you in terms of ing to music in the lenox library listening room and at the inns making a statement about yourself? How do you describe around the area that had live music. idyllic, and the sweat of waityour fashion sense? ressing by that time was literally like water off my back; i only Roselle: i don’t recall exactly when i decided that vintage clothing remember the beauty of that summer.

– especially of the 1940’s variety– became a passion, but, yes, clothing - and textiles in general - give me great pleasure because Are you at all a feminist/activist on any issues? of their artistic qualities. i love the exhibits curated by the cosRoselle: of course i’m a feminist, though i am generally averse tume institute at the Metropolitan Museum of art that honors to labels. i believe passionately in equality not just of the sexes fashion as art and presents some of the most original and stunning but of all human kind, and my greatest sadness is seeing human examples of that art. and the museum does an excellent job of beings who are forced into living in inhumane conditions – amidst educating the public about how the fashion of a particular period war, poverty, racism. i used to tell my students that, while they reflects its history. So it’s both as an artist and an historian that i

may not be able to save the world or stop wars, they can use their voices to make a difference within their local areas, and of course, through voting for the people they believe will make the world a better place. i have marched in pro-choice, pro-civil/human rights and pro-preservation rallies and attended many anti-war (Vietnam and iraq) and anti-nuclear gatherings, and have spent my entire teaching career incorporating anti-prejudice curriculum wherever possible.

But while i believe we must do whatever we can about the chaos and suffering in the world, i am sad to say that i have serious doubts about the nature of human nature; that’s why i think teaching compassion must be taught along with everything else we teach. we must all try to be models of compassion for the young.

What has been your core motivating philosophy to keep you busy on many projects?

Roselle: My philosophy – what guides me in the way i live my life – is a humanistic one, with a tinge of hedonism. i loved teaching and getting to know every one of my students so i could address their individual needs and interests, which is a goal of humanistic education. and i love pursuing my own interests as well. the core belief of psychologists like erich fromm and particularly abraham Maslow – that we are better able to function and help others if our own needs are being met – is a pretty rational one. and i guess i’ve been lucky that i’ve been able to operate according to that philosophy. My greatest hope is that we can bring about a world where everyone’s needs are met. that way maybe peace will prevail and people can get along with one another despite their differences. i was talking to someone recently who said she didn’t think we needed to acknowledge our religious backgrounds, “that only divides us,” she said, but i disagreed. i love the fact that there are differences among us. the key is to learn to live with those differences and become better people because of them. the fact is that diversity brings beauty into many worlds, the worlds of nature, humanity and, of course, the arts. i think that maybe one of my motives for creating art is my wanting to contribute to that beauty, i’m not sure, but i’d like to think so.

Now that you can think back, do you find any regrets in your life? That you would change if you had the chance? What is one piece of advice you will give your grandchild on the facts of life?

Roselle: again, the advice i’d give my grandchild is implied in the answers i have given to the last few questions, but i’ll add to that advice about trying to be a compassionate person… excuse the clichés, but one thing i’d tell him is to roll with the punches. in other words, don’t let any obstacle or problem get in the way of continuing your enjoyment of life, of pursuing your goals and passions, or whatever; and i’d tell him to be who he is, not to think he has to conform, and to be proud of who he is no matter what others may say.

Do you have another book on the stove? Where did you get all your curiosity to be so factual? You may have missed the chance to a great detective! Well, in some ways, you are one now!

Roselle: you do know me! i have a few ideas for another book and am now having fun deciding which one to pursue. as for my interest in history and finding out about the past – my own and others’ – i’m not sure where that came from, maybe the fact that my father saved so many artifacts from his history, posters from world war ii, images from his travels, including nude figures he brought back from france in the 1930’s, faded issues of the Hudson Register Star and The New York Times from the ‘20’s to ‘60’s, old Life Magazines and so much more. But whatever the origin, i am happy that i developed a passion for history and was able to help others discover their world.

What are you a fanatic about, Roselle? And why this? uh-oh, there are too many things i’m a fanatic about. But i will tell you a few. My family and friends and anyone who sincerely does something to make a more just world are whoM i’m most fanatic about, but here are some of the whatS: canada geese, honking and flying above me, heavy rains beating on the roof as i lay in bed – with some thunder and lightning thrown for a sound and light show, the full moon low in the sky, breathtaking really, isn’t it? Music, music, music of all kinds, well, maybe not the radically atonal, alvin ailey’s choreography, the sounds of a cello, especially played by yo yo Ma, noosa yogurt, ice cream with streaks of marshmallow running through it so i can stripmine, the collages of richard hamilton….enough! you get the picture.

What do you dream of doing that you may not quite be able to get around to? More than a bucket list—I mean a completely fulfilling experience.

Roselle Chartock with Murray at home

Roselle: a trip around the world, or maybe living in one city or village in ireland or france for a year. the longest i ever spent living in one place abroad was when i worked on a kibbutz in israel for three months during the summer of 1968. But honestly, i am so in love with the Berkshires – its beauty and culture and just everything – that i feel at this very moment completely fulfilled.

What does your living space look like, and what have you done to it that specially caters to your lifestyle?

Roselle: our living space – what i call tasteful clutter - reflects my love of art and color. there’s comfortable furniture, lots of books, plants all over - some that are more than 20 years old – art on all the walls so that now there’s no more wall space, and lots of objects from travels with alan or with people who accompanied me on the study tours i organized – thirteen in all – to 13 different countries between 1990 and 2010. for example, i took a group of nine people to Ghana in 2005, because w.e.B. du Bois, native son of Great Barrington and pioneer of the civil rights movement, a focus of much of my research, is buried there in the capital, accra, next to his home which is now a museum. i brought with me gifts to the museum that reflected the growing local interest in preserving du Bois’ legacy and life here, including a wonderful book related to du Bois by randy weinstein and a play about du Bois written by students at Berkshire country day School in Stockbridge. i brought back with me some of the stunning crafts made by Ghanain artists, a hand-carved stool that i somehow got onto the plane and pieces of the colorfully patterned, handwoven kente cloth, some of which is draped over a basket in the dining room. So really what my living space is all about is comfort and being able – at any given moment – to look up and rest my eye on an object that makes me smile.

The school…you are in love with this building. Why? The shadows? The ghosts? The good times? The oldness?

Roselle: the mighty grey stone mansion, once the main building on the windsor Mountain campus is, indeed, stunning and filled with many stories, including those related to the scandalous behavior of the two daughters of Grenville winthrop, who made the headlines in the early part of the 20th century for eloping with a couple of the estate’s workmen. Groton place as it was called then was designed by some of the best architects in the country, and like many of the other Gilded age summer “cottages” in the area, had dozens of rooms and fireplaces and exquisite furniture and art. there are still signs of winthrop’s gardens and marble benches and sculpture. the Bondys lived in that manse and so did some of the students. the campus is still bustling, but now it’s with high school age musicians who are students in the Boston university tanglwood institute’s summer program. when i walk around the campus, i must admit i feel the presence of winthrop whom i briefly discuss in my book, and, of course, the Bondys, who, by the way, considered the aesthetics of a school’s building and campus to be as important as what was taught within them.

What can you come up with that you think is so utterly fascinating about the history you have dug up?

Roselle: as you know from our earlier discussion, i have researched and taught about the holocaust for many years. it was the subject of my first book and while at Monument Mountain, my colleagues and i in the social studies department created the first holocaust curriculum in the country for secondary students. So i thought i knew almost everything on the subject. But while doing the research on windsor Mountain and the Bondys i discovered information i had never read about or heard about. it turns out that Max Bondy’s brother, curt, was the director of one of the agricultural training camps in Germany established by Jewish organizations with permission of the nazis, who at first just wanted to find ways to get Jews to leave Germany. the farm schools would equip Jewish teenagers with skills that would enable them to emigrate to other countries. So as a result of this training, hundreds of young people were able to leave nazi Germany and thus avoid almost certain death. curt, as director of one of these schools, and someone who also found countries to accept his students, became a hero of the holocaust. i am still stunned by the fact that i had never came across any mention of these agricultural training camps until i started my research for the windsor Mountain book.

Your dog. I love him. We share dog-lover/ power. YAY. I can only ask you to share a funny story and endearing moment of you time with your best friend.

Roselle: there’s no question, Murray is my best bud. he adds to our quality of life every single day. i forgot to say that i’m a fanatic about dogs! he’s a playful pup, and after our morning walk and breakfast, Murray and i play throw-and-fetch-the squirrel (not real!). he literally bounces over to his favorite toy – which he alternately licks and chews - and insists that i play tug-of-war to get the squirrel back. alan says that if he could, Murray would attach himself to me, but the truth is, if alan has any food in his hand, Murray will turn his back and head in his direction - all allegiances put aside.

Roselle, if you had the chance to do anything else other than what you are doing, or did, what would that have been, and why?

Roselle: i can honestly say that there is nothing else i wish i had done or other direction i wish i had taken. however, if i’m reborn, look for me on the stage at Jacob’s pillow.

Ghg

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 15

SABINE PHOTO ART

Sabine’s assignments are tailored to meet her client’s needsa remembrance for a special occasion, 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 august: View liGht with a critical eye a master of the subtleties of lighting and the nuance of background, Sabine’s eye for detail provides students with creative tools. explore the beautiful light of the Berkshires by taking a weekend photography workshop. in this workshop participants learn how natural light can create drama with fine distinction. designed for serious learners who are interested in improving their artistic eye. all participants are asked to bring a digital Slr camera. the hope is to concentrate on art. dates: august 23, 24, 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.

Sabine is a member of the american Society of Media photographers asmp. the international center of photography icp and the wedding photojournalist association, wpJa. Vollmer von Falken Photography Studio www.sabinephotoart.com, info@sabinephotoart.com / 413298-493.

cleVe Gray 2, continuance #1, 1995 acrylic on canVaS, 60 X 80 incheS

THREE GENERATIONS aleXander liBerMan, cleVe Gray, luke Gray

three Generations, a new exhibition of works by alexander liberman, cleve Gray and his son luke Gray, opens august 2nd at the Morrison Gallery in kent. the show begins with a reception from 5 – 7 pM. the gallery will exhibit a grouping of steel sculpture made by liberman during the early 1970s, a selection of important paintings by cleve Gray, and new paintings by luke Gray. alexander liberman was a pioneer in the creation of colossally scaled abstract sculpture. his compositions are constructed from discarded tank drums, boiler heads, giant pipes, and steel beams that are cut and sliced to evoke baroque sculpture and architectural models, from grain silos to Greek temples and medieval cathedrals. liberman’s sculpture and paintings are included in the collections of some of the world’s most prestigious museums; Storm king art center, the most important contemporary sculpture park in america, has three monumental liberman sculptures in its collection. cleve Gray was born in new york in 1918. in 1940 he graduated summa cum laude from princeton with a degree in art and archaeology. he was widely admired for his large-scale, vividly colorful and lyrically gestural abstract compositions and achieved his greatest critical recognition in the late 1960’s and 70’s after working for many years in a comparatively conservative late-cubist style. luke Gray attended the university of pennsylvania, graduating in 1982 with a degree in fine arts and literature. luke has exhibited his work at numerous galleries including the Gary Snyder fine art Gallery in new york, as well as galleries in washington dc, Santa fe, new Mexico, and throughout Germany. the exhibition will include abstract paintings from luke Gray’s most recent series, entitled Multiplicity.

The Morrison Gallery is located at 8 Old Barn Road near the intersection of Routes 7 and 341.

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

For more information visit www.morrisongallery.com 860-927-4501 or email: wm@morrisongallery.com

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

-Francis Bacon

16 • the artful Mind auGuSt 2014

CELEBRATE NEW MARLBOROUGH ARTISTS nikki hayeS

MeetinG houSe Gallery

come celebrate the creativity of new Marlborough artists on friday, august 29, from 5-7 pm. at the new Marlborough Meeting house Gallery. this is the gala opening of the 17th annual new Marlborough artists Show which brings the community together to view works of art and to meet the people who created them. eight local residents will demonstrate their talent and creativity in drawing, oil and watercolor painting, photography and sculpture.

Mill river resident nikki hayes is a photographer who focuses primarily on landscape and architecture. She has no trouble finding scenic views and interesting buildings to photograph in and around the Berkshires. the light and the composition are initially what attracts her attention and draws her eye toward a specific view. when she finds an appealing subject, she begins taking a series of photos. when she gets home and looks at her work on the computer, she is often surprised by what she ended up with. it may not be what she thought she saw, but whatever it is, she does not manipulate it. nikki majored in art in college and has taken many classes in drawing and painting. Surprisingly, she has never had any formal training in photography. while living and working in new york city, she found the camera a handy tool for quick shots of urban life she might want to paint later. when she moved to the Berkshires in l989, however, she became interested in photography as an art form and began to devote less time to painting and drawing and more time to photography. She has had great success with her photographs and has shown locally. now, however, her love of drawing and painting seems to have been rekindled. She finds herself spending more time in her studio in the woods doing drawings of the plants and trees and the surrounding natural beauty. next, we go through the woods of Mill river and over the onelane bridge to Southfield to see cookie coyne's sculptures. cookie was first seduced by clay as an artistic medium when, as a child, she made mud pies. now an accomplished sculptor, she continues to incorporate the richness and diversity of forms of the earth's surface into the creation of sculptural forms. She is constantly experimenting with different molds and materials and combines a variety of minerals and metallic oxides in her glaze work to create exciting and unusual surfaces and colors. the natural beauty of the Berkshires provides the major inspiration for much of cookie's work. She makes small pottery imprints (stamps) of plants and objects found in the woods and uses these and other favorite patterns and symbols to enhance the look of her decorative non-function platters and containers. when cookie is not creating her own pottery, she is working to repair damaged or broken ceramics for institutions or individual collectors. while an art major at Skidmore college, cookie was required to do an internship at an art facility. She spent a semester in the restoration department of the Metropolitan Museum learning the skills and techniques of restoration. cookie retains a studio in Saratoga Springs where she has been instrumental in setting up and teaching adult pottery classes at Skidmore college's community education program. the six other artists participating in this show are lee Backer, eugene cleary, karina fasset, ann Getsinger, elizabeth lombardi and Gwen Melvin.

The Meeting House Gallery, sponsored by the New Marlborough Village Association, is located on Route 57 on the New Marlborough Village Green. The Gallery will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from August 30 through September 28 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

recent art workS By Michael McManMon; cip StudentS – katrina and ellen participate in "art on the Go" claSS at the Gallery

VIEW FROM INSIDE autiSM SpectruM

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

allen tiMMonS

Backyard heirlooms is just what the name implies...original, one of a kind, museum quality architectural replicas of clients homes, business or historical structures, that are primarily designed as center pieces for their gardens. although, most of the work never makes it outside, they are built for the elements and to withstand the test of time. “they are not models, but, true structures in every detail.”

Backyard heirlooms, also, designs and builds custom, one of a kind, birdhouses and bird feeder replicas, as well as treehouses and kidscapes for clients properties and estates. with over 50 years passionately invested into his craft, allen timmons has become one of the most refined artists in his medium anywhere in america. all his work is collectable, signed and dated. although allen began his craft at the age of 6, in 1964, it wasn’t until the birth of he and his wife, nancy’s daughter, emilie Jewel, in 1992, in no. conway, nh, that Backyard heirlooms was established. overflowing with inspiration and a new found purpose in life, allen set out to make a name for himself. in 1993 he became the first and only state juried member in his medium, in the league of nh craftsman’s 65 year history. he has been featured in the Boston Globe, country living and nh home Magazines, and the craft digest. his work has been shown at the nassau county Museum of art, the Boston and worcester flower Shows and the 2000 philadelphia flower Show. his work has appeared in several shops in new york city, Boston’s newbury St. as well as many high end galleries and shops throughout new england. after a 14 year hiatus from his work, allen has returned with a greater passion than ever. you can meet allen, in person, along with his wife, nancy and their lovely daughter, emilie Jewel, at Backyard heirlooms new gallery in Great Barrington.

Backyard Heirlooms - 525 So Main St, Great Barrington – open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 5 or by calling 413-528 3095 for an appointment.

"There is no must in art because art is free."

-WASSILY KANDINSKY

A most wonderful place to meet, eat and drink!

RTE 20, NEW LEBANON, NEW YORK

Photo: Jane Feldman

COLLINS/EDITIONS formerly BERKSHIRE DIGITAL

from august 1 - September 30 celebrate the artistry and selfexpression of individuals diagnosed with autism Spectrum disorder and other learning differences in an exhibit at the Good purpose Gallery. the opening artist reception is on thursday, august 14 from 5-7pM. this exhibit offers unique perspectives through the lens of those experiencing the world in a different way. all work is created by Michael McManmon and students from the college internship program (cip), a post-secondary program for 18-26 year olds with learning differences. the program’s goal is to prepare young men & women with life skills to succeed in independent living.

Michael p. McManmon, ed.d., cip founder, is an artist who was diagnosed with asperger’s Syndrome in 2001. “i feel that i am a poster boy for late diagnosis. it feels wonderful inside to know that all my “goofy sides” of my personality are my best ones.” his self-acceptance is reflected in his work through the interplay of color and strong lines. his works in pen and ink, watercolor, oil and other mediums articulate his perceptions of the natural world. McManmon also creates glass sculpture and other mixed medium pieces. the student work reflects a diversity of interests and medium ranging from animated characters to abstracts, acrylics to oil.

Some work has an elemental quality while other pieces reflect a more complex character. all of the work is their individual expression of their particular point of view. the cip program and the Good purpose Gallery are predicated on Michael McManmon’s belief that: “you were made for good purpose and are inherently valuable.” this art exhibit, with its diverse perspectives, articulates that vision; one artist and one art work at a time.

Good Purpose Gallery, 40 Main Street in Lee, Massachusetts.

Gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 9am-4pm, Friday and Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 9am-3pm. For more information, visit www.goodpurpose.org

BACKYARD HEIRLOOMS

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 17

Planet Waves

August is characterized by new developments in the sky -Jupiter in Leo for the first time since 2003, and Mars in Scorpio for the first time since late in the summer of 2012. Mars holds a long square to Jupiter well into the month, which may feel like people really wanting to push their point of view. The Leo New Moon conjunct Jupiter was July 26. The Aquarius Full Moon is Aug. 10. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the month is Mars conjunct Saturn on Aug. 25, which is (among other things) a push to break free from some of the emotional or sexual congestion that might be represented by Saturn in Scorpio. I suggest you start working that one out as early as you can -- get your energy flowing, keep in contact with your feelings, be honest with yourself and learn to say yes when you mean yes.

ARIES (March 20-April 19)

over the next few weeks you will experience the boundaries of a particular relationship agreement. the way it looks is as if you're discovering aspects of the commitment that you didn't know existed. you may be doing that by feeling emotions or desires you've never felt before, or that seem to contradict a commitment that you now have. it looks like you're going to try to contain yourself for a while, and try to hold yourself together and hope that nobody else figures out how you really feel inside. that will only work for so long. By the end of the month you may feel an insatiable desire to be known for who you are, the truth may emerge 'inadvertently' or you may make a parallel discovery about a partner. it would be altogether wise to devote yourself to living your personal truth right now, today.

TAURUS (April 19-May 20)

Some critical matter in an intimate relationship may come to a head this month. it's the thing that you've been dancing or arranging yourself around for a while. it's some fairly large, seemingly immovable structure that you've assumed as a fact of existence. in order to avoid a crisis (which is wholly optional), that thing needs to be addressed in its various contexts. Be mindful of how you feel, and of what changes you notice as the next days and weeks go by. whatever this scenario is, it has several ways over, through and around -- though of the three, through would be the best option. here is a clue: through is not like carving a tunnel in a mountain. it's not about blasting through a wall. through takes advantage of an existing passageway, though to find it, you need to shift your point of view somewhat. key concept: friends first, lovers last.

GEMINI (May 20-June 21)

Spend some time writing this month -- a lot of time if you can, a little more than you think you can. remember that thinking about writing is not writing. even if you're the star-spangled Gemini, writing may be difficult for you, because it involves discipline and commitment to what you have to say. Both of those remain true, though remember that nearly all of the best writing you've read has been the product of reworking, editing and revision. this is an ac-

18 • auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

Eric Francis

August 2014

tive thought process that you model on the page, so get used to the idea that through the writing process you will be figuring out what you think and to a real extent, who you are. you can simply journal, or you can select a project you've been wanting to do, or a story you've been wanting to tell. Get started -- the sooner the better.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

let yourself burn with desire, and be honest with yourself about that fact. Be real with yourself about the various nuances and details and remember that as you do this, you will likely encounter judgments that you will need to face consciously, re-adjudicate and let go of. we might ask why such a fantastic and absurd controversy surrounds the sexual reality of the human race. you might ask, but you won't be asking in theory -- you will be asking in the language of hormones, of longing and of a negotiation process that will with any grace at all lead you to some profound experiences you've never had before. i will tell you this: it's my assessment that everyone who judges sex, or who attempts to, is wrong. it's not about the facts; it's that sex and sexuality exist as biological reality, and as such they are beyond reproach.

LEO (July 22-Aug. 23)

the correct response to any insecurity or inner emotional conflict is vulnerability. it's not your feelings that would hurt you -- it's your response to them. you seem to be working through some titanic questions about yourself, and exploring emotional territory that seems at once entirely new and strangely familiar. a large portion of this scenario involves how you handle anger, which is an extension of the theme of how your parents and grandparents handled anger. remember as you do this that you are seeking a level of confidence and self-presence that they would have never dreamed of. remember if you have children that you are unraveling some serious karma before you pass it onto them. and remember that control is not an appropriate response to the fact of change -- the most appropriate response would be deciding what you want.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)

you have a way of telling yourself no, and it would be helpful if you could hear the other voices that may be speaking up with a more liberal point of view. the answer to some questions is yes, to others maybe and to still others no. however, there is a special problem with saying no when you mean yes. the pressure of desire and eventually of needing that thing starts to build, and it can build to the point of exploding. you want to let the pressure off way in advance of that. But more to the point, i suggest you ask on whose behalf you're saying no; whether you're trying to be loyal to someone; whether you are frightened of something; or whether you're trying to protect your image. with that information in hand, think again.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) how wide can you stretch your horizons before you lose sight of the ground? Jupiter in leo says you can see a great distance in all directions, though the most important direction you need to see is within yourself. your charts describe a global quest of some kind, the desire to open up your wings and fly, or to spread your angel wings and experience yourself in some kind of supernaturally brilliant form. even if you think this involves going to another place, or searching the world for the right place, those would only be tools to help you see and feel who you are. So, there is indeed a quest, and it may involve 'the world' in some way, though as i read your charts, the bottom line is that the world is your place to experiment with self-understanding.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)

central to one's growth is to be able to commit to a point of view, including in writing, in public, or where you can be held accountable, then to be strong enough to change your position if you want to. it is not moving a mountain and it's certainly not being hypocritical. you can always say, "i thought of something else," or "this fact came into my awareness," or "i now see this differently." the human experience is all about change. the experience of a human mind is all about taking in new information and new sensory data. the mind is not a fixed entity, but rather a mobile one. this goes along with identity being flexible, and gender, and one's political point of view. you may change your mind about something extremely important this month, specifically, yourself. So keep that mind open.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) what are the parameters of your self-concept? how far can you go in any direction, and still think of yourself as yourself? there seem to be two gates, facing one another. one describes a self-critical component of who you are, which may range from perfectionist to paralyzing. the other is about pleasing others, particularly your father, who you may feel you have let down in some way. fortunately, these boundaries are meaningless because there are about 10 other directions you can travel. you can walk around them. you can reinterpret them and put them to much better use. in other words, you are not constrained by them in any way, and if you explore in other directions you may discover that you are a much larger, more embracing, more self-tolerant person than you ever imagined. you will also have more fun.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

everything does not need to be an emotional crisis -- and everything is not about how you appear to others. Both of those themes show up strongly over the next few weeks and indeed into the foreseeable future. you have more emotional grounding than you may think. you can afford to let people, events and your own feelings move you. you can afford to let it out every now and then, and you would enjoy letting it out a little more often than that.

Meanwhile, how you appear to others is far less meaningful than it may seem. there are two reasons for that. one is that you don’t actually know how you appear to them, only how you think you do. the other is that people think of you far more benevolently than you might notice. why exactly should this be so shocking?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Mars in Scorpio and more significantly, the Mars-Saturn conjunction of aug. 25, make sexuality a core theme of this month -- for everyone. yours is the sign for whom sexuality is the most intimately related to your relationship to the universe, to God, to your higher self or however you choose to express that. in essence, sexuality is intimately involved with your true religion, and is profoundly influential in your worldview. yet religion itself has made it nearly impossible for anyone to express this with a clear conscience. i suggest you start there -- make sure that you have identified any presumed ethical or moral issues around sex, including what may have been installed into you by prior generations. what they may not have known, or told you, is that your sexuality is the most powerful tool for personal transformation, introspection and cosmic contact that you have. you are here to tell the rest of us.

LIBRA (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)

you may feel a growing, increasingly powerful need to assert yourself over the next few weeks, though i suggest you do it as gently as possible. part of that means starting early rather than waiting until there's some factor you cannot stand anymore, then you explode. keep people up to date on the news, and moreover, remember the ways in which you have the power of choice in your own life. this also involves your privilege of asserting yourself as a sexual being. hardly anyone likes to talk about this; men get blamed for desire and women usually send out a press release claiming not to have any, but this is obviously not working for you or for the world. remember that honest desire takes many forms that veiled or cloaked desire does not, so be open to some surprises.

~Read Eric Francis daily at PlanetWaves.net

Otis The Wolf part ii

By Richard Britell

the Boy and otis now seemed to be inseparable. this was not actually so, because otis was, after all a wolf and not a dog, and also otis was not allowed into the Boys house per order of his mother. the bond that can exist between a boy and a dog is more extreme than one existing between people. i do not think i have to give any far fetched lectures about it to convince you, if you have personal knowledge of that bond you know i am correct, but if not then you wouldn’t be able to imagine it. otis began to accompany the Boy on his daily rounds, delivering and picking up odd jobs for his father the blacksmith. this work took him out in the country along all the local roads from farm to farm. it was a great relief for the Boy to have such a formidable companion on these trips. he was out in the country alone during disordered times with only a sack of padlocks and horseshoes to defend himself with. otis understood the Boys anxiety, but because he had to act the part of a dog he made certain incorrect assumptions. otis, for example would never under any circumstances have traveled from place to place straight down the middle of a highway, such a practice struck him as simpleminded. a wolf forced to use a public way would never enter on it until he was certain there were no other living beings in smelling distance. once on the road, why walk down the side near the open fields instead of along by the edge of the woods where one could disappear in amongst the underbrush. otis had no fear of humans if he was by himself. people rode on horses as a rule, or mules or donkeys, and this habit of theirs meant that they announced their location to everyone for miles around. their obvious stupidity was the best explanation as to why they were always being waylaid and robbed.

But otis had a problem; it was the problem of migration. the countryside at that time was disrupted by the migrations of people coming from the east. what was creating these migrations the wolves did not know. they were people but they acted like wolves in that they rested in the day and traveled the roads at night. people in the villages knew nothing of them, but wolves knew all about them. otis’ fear was that it might be possible to come across these migrants in the early evening, especially as it was fall and it was getting dark early. otis did not think any harm would come to the Boy or himself regardless of any encounter. the migrants lived in fear of wolves. he had encountered them before and all he had to do was show them his wonderful dental work and they would flee.

But what would the Boy think of wolf dental work if he got to see it in action? no, if he had to exhibit the violence he was capable of, violence that could be inflicted in a flash so sudden that there was no defense against it, his identity as a wolf would be revealed.

So otis set to work to teach the Boy the basic rudiments of survival, but it was a hopeless task. “con-

sider the Boy’s nose,” thought otis to himself, “it seems that he is hardly aware of the most obvious odors, and i have never seen him sniff the air even once. then consider the fact that he has no ears on the top of his head. he does have dried apricots stuck to the sides of his cheeks but they can’t be of use for anything. no wonder he never has any idea what is going on in the woods fifty feet away.” these frustrating observations exasperated otis but strange to say, the Boy’s ineptitude and simplicity made otis like him the more. for otis it was not all right to start liking the Boy however, liking any persons was an invitation to disaster. otis only persisted in his dangerous ways by telling himself that the job the Boy had was the perfect foil for his examination of almost every farmstead in a wide area. if he happened to like the boy a little what did it really matter? But it was just a matter of time before some dangerous situation arose. when the evil day did arrive otis saw it coming a mile away. he didn’t actually see it coming, first he sensed it and then he caught its odor in the evening air. hidden in the evening mist was a group of transients. if he had been alone he would have simply disappeared. But as a dog he had to go along and act his part. thanks-be to the wolf’s immortal God’s that his spy status had not compelled him to give up his religious observances. So otis offered up this prayer to the immortal Gods. “dear immortals, you fields and streams, treetrunks and Mulberry bushes, if ever i have offered up to you my small libations then hear my prayer. yonder persons, i am sure you see them, please visit them with some affliction so that they will be unable to attempt to do us any violence, and it will not be necessary for me to un-sheath the weapons you granted to me at my birth.” and the immortal Gods heard otis’ prayer. there was a big boulder at the side of the road, carved on it was a number indicating a distance to some city that years ago had ceased to exist. otis had never once passed this mileage marker without offering it a small libation, and that stone in appreciation of otis’ attentions, now managed to bump itself into the rear wooden wheel of the cart approaching them, although it appeared that the cart had struck the stone. otis may have considered the Boy to be dumb, but that was not really a fair assessment. as you know, his father was a blacksmith and so was his grandfather. there was not a time he could remember that did not contain the roar of the hearth and the bellows, and the ring of the hammer on the steel. therefore he had a certain inbred awareness of all things pertaining to his family’s profession.

that Boy, only thirteen, already had all of the inbred habits and mannerisms of the accomplished mechanic. Seeing the cart in the distance he instantly noticed the damaged rear right wooden wheel, which was flopping slightly from side to side. he could see that it was an old wooden wheel of a type long out of use. in that characteristic way of anyone who is a true mechanic, the Boy was more interested in the damaged wheel that in the persons who owned the cart. the Boy held up his hand for them to stop, and immediately started an examination of the wheel. the men stood just behind him wondering what he was doing and otis lay down and took a nap with one eye open.

By a series of signs the Boy explained to the men that the wheel was damaged and would need to be repaired. he drew for them a map in the dirt of the road and to indicate his house and he took a horseshoe out of his sack and put it as the destination. in response one of the men drew from his pocket a money pouch and holding it up, shook it in order to demonstrate that it was empty. then the Boy made a sign to the men, which is no longer, used and would hardly be understood in this day and age. he put his hands in his armpits and waved his elbows up and down, indicating the motions of a big bird. this meant, at that time “free as a bird.” the cart was repaired in a way the four desperadoes did not comprehend. a greased steel collar was inserted as a bearing. as for the outer rim, although it had year’s worth of mortised repairs inset in it, nothing could be done to improve it so it was left alone. the men resumed their journey and otis went his way, in the opposite direction, but at this point several problematic situations arose all at once. it seems to be true that problems and difficulties arise in groups of three. either problems arise in triplicate, or it is a literary device so often resorted to by writers that people come eventually to think that triplicate disasters are somehow part of the fabric of human events. end part ii... next month part iii

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 19

ANN SCOTT

ann Scott, roMe #1, 8 X 10”, oil on paper

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.

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

20 • auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

A MAD TEA PARTY AMY TANNER

The Virgin of Hopeless Causes Book release party, will happen on Sunday, august 10. 3-6 pm (reading starts @ 3:30) at the front Street Gallery. you’re bored. you feel restless. what you need is...a party. a tea party. with tea. and cupcakes. and a book. come join me (amy tanner) and harryet candee, publisher of the artful Mind, as we celebrate the birth of the fabulist novel The Virgin of Hopeless Causes. it will be an afternoon to remember, with lots of lovely people milling around and eating cookies and drinking lemonade and listening to me (at least for a little while) read a selection or two from my book. there will be more milling around. there will be more nibbling. there won’t be a party tree, but there will be a raffle of a roasted pig. at least part of one. doesn’t that sound like fun? i thought so.

Bring your sweet tooth and your sweetheart, dust off your sense of humor and come prepared to mill. Mingle. Mix. Metamorphose. i’ll see you there.

Amy Tanner - www.amytanner.net ; Front Street Gallery, 129 Front Street, Housatonic, MA

FRONT STREET GALLERY kate knapp, nyc

KATE KNAPP

“MANHATTAN” oil and watercolors July through august Reception: August 9, 3 - 6pm 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).

ART ON MAIN

MIA LE COMTE

THE GALLERY AT BARNBROOK REALTY the paintings and cutout sculptures of Mia le comte are being exhibited this summer at one of Great Barrington’s alternate art spaces, Art On Main, the Gallery at Barnbrook realty. this artist may be familiar to many who have lived here since the 60s.

Mme. le comte was a socially engaging and generous teacher

this exhibit, we will see le comte’s deep connection to the universal longing for the “land that i heard of once in a lullaby,” in paintings such as “the flight,” and “the leaving” which recounts the Biblical exodus from egypt. we make the long psychic journey as Mia le comte did escaping to rome, nice, paris, lisbon and finally to “the blue skies” of america in a series of paintings with more idyllic subjects set in the “Garden of eden” and “Garden party” with friends in the Berkshires. after earning a Master’s degree in fine arts in 1929, le comte studied with two famed expressionists, karl hofer (1878-1955) in Berlin and oskar kokoschka, (1886-1980) in paris. hofer’s lighter, happier palette appears to be the greater influence. from hofer we see domestic scenes, families and gatherings of figures in stillness and tranquility while from kokoschka, le comte has absorbed the power and direction of the brushstroke and movement. the dream is always present as it filters through her subjects and appears on canvas in the forms, sometimes floating, of people and places from a rich imagination. one may feel the presence of chagall, of a Surrealism based on the deep connection to the immigrant consciousness, framed by the pogroms of the past and the holocaust about to happen.

Shortly after her exhibition at the Galerie rousseau in 1939, Mme. Le Comte, Garden of Eden

Norman Mailer by Mme. Le Comte

Floating Couple, Mme. Le Comte

whose struggles and achievements, dreams and memories are painted onto the canvas with a palette that corresponds to her life story.

Mia Munzer le comte, (1909-2003), lived and painted in the Berkshires from 1966 to 2003 at her home in alford. this exhibition of her paintings is made possible with the help of her son, douglas le comte who has been caring and keeping track of the collection and her collectors through the years. a tour through the home in alford, now a family retreat, traces the trajectory of his mother’s life, an account of her odyssey through her art.

Married to a writer, John Milton scholar, college professor, edward le comte for 60 years, Mia le comte was herself a writer.

Much of what we know about the life that gestated this art is from her memoir published in 1986 which is dedicated to her mother who perished in a concentration camp in poland. “i Still dream of prague” is the story of “the halcyon days in prague before world war i, the aftermath of that war, her marriages, her success as an artist, and the approach of world war ii.” hitler’s occupation of prague on her 30th birthday is the beginning of the story of her survival as she escapes the horrors of the war and her transformation from innocence to worldliness through the emigration experience. in

hitler occupied paris and Mme. le comte fled to the uS, arriving after a harrowing journey which took many months. She left 50 of her paintings in the custody of a friend, the writer andre Germain. when she returned to paris after the war, her friend had disappeared without a trace and the paintings have never been located. after seeing new york for the first time in January 1941, she set to work for an exhibition of modern czech artists which toured the uS and canada. the Berkshire Museum mounted two one-women shows in the 70s and her audience expanded here and abroad. the collective title of the 26 paintings exhibited at the Berkshire Museum “the family album,” was inspired by a visit to prague in 1965 which brought back memories to her of “all that is lost and gone.” She brought with her to the uS something of the trauma of her central european heritage but adversity is, very often, the breeding ground for humor. le comte farmed that wit with a series of plywood cutout figures of cultural icons of theater, politics, music and literature. Josephine Baker, Benny Goodman

and many others are in private collections but norman Mailer and ed koch will be attending this show. with representation at the tibor de nagy Gallery in new york and the shows at the Berkshire Museum, le comte’s work was very briskly collected in the 70s and then again shows at the Spencertown academy in the 90s propelled her work into the spotlight. her paintings are widely exhibited internationally and in many public and private collections in the Berkshires. an extensive list of galleries and private collectors is available at www.artonmain.blogspot.com.

Mia Munzer le comte: “Somewhere over the rainbow” June 28 – September 4, 2014 reception to honor the artist: Saturday, august 30, 2014 from 5-7 p.m.

Art On Main, The Gallery at Barnbrook Realty 271 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230 Contact Information: Peggy Reeves, Curator, (413) 528-2446 Open during regular business hours of Barnbrook Realty, 10 a.m.

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 21

22 • auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind

Simply Sasha

by Sasha Seymour

Presto!

It's Pesto!

Fresh pesto is so Awesome! It is so easy to make, and you probably have all the ingredients on hand in your kitchen. Make it a day ahead, and let the flavors blend together while it's chilling out in the fridge!

There is nothing like it! You can put it on steamed veges for a kick! Spread it on sandwiches or wraps! Dab some on your scrambled eggs! The possibilities are endless! p.s. I want to thank fellow foodie Emily Dunsay, for this fantastic recipe!

We will make pesto together soon!

Ingredients: 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil H2O, as needed (be careful! not too much!)

3 Bunches of basil 1 bunch of parsley 6 or more cloves of garlic 1/4 cup white miso 3 Tbsp pine nuts 1/2 cup of cashews

Place everything except the olive oil in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the oil, until it is the right consistency. Refrigerate. Done!

ENJOY!!

ST. FRANCIS GALLERY Artist’s name correction July issue of The Artful Mind:

Karen Dolmanisth, Untitled

Gail Downey, White Mountains

the artful Mind auGuSt 2014 • 23

WWW.ANNSCOTTPAINTING.COM

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

annmscott@roadrunner.com

24 • auGuSt 2014 the artful Mind