The artful mind oct nov 2017 issuu com

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

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017

CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

Photography by Lee Everett

EDWARD ACKER PHOTOGRAPHER

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

Kris Galli

Blue Harbor (Sail)

krisgallifineart.com

Oil on Canvas, 24x36

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 • 1

FRONT ST. GALLERY

THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 THE HAPPY BUDDHA SINGS TO YOU KATHLINE CARR Writer /Artist Interview...Harryet ...8

CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO Cover and inside story by Lee Everett Interview...Harryet ...16

Kate Knapp

STACY SILKEY SCHULTZE Interview...Harryet ...28

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

Also available for private critiques.

Open to all. Please come paint with us!

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

Front Street, Housatonic, MA

JOYCE SILVER Talking Political Art...33 FICTION: A History of Doors and Windows Richard Britell ..37 Grandma Becky’s Recipes Laura Pian ...39

Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Richard Britell, Laura Pian, Joyce Silver Photographers Edward Acker, Lee Everett, Jane Feldman Sabine von Falken, Alison Wedd Publisher Harryet Puritzman Intern Sydney Keyes

Copy Editor

Marguerite Bride

Editorial Proofreading Kris Galli Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet Puritzman

artfulmind@yahoo.com

413 854 4400 ALL MATERIAL due the 5th of the month prior to publication

2 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

FYI: ©Copyright laws in effect throughout The Artful Mind for logo & all graphics including text material. Copyright laws for photographers and writers throughout The Artful Mind. Permission to reprint is required in all instances. In any case the issue does not appear on the stands as planned due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, advertisers will be compensated on a one to one basis.

All commentaries by writers are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher and take no responsibility for their facts and opinions.

JD LOGAN, BEND

GOOD PURPOSE GALLERY DOROTHY SABEAN

REAL AND SURREAL

Good Purpose Gallery is thrilled to present Real and Surreal – an exciting juxtaposition of two artists whose painting styles are exceptionally different. JD Logan’s paintings invoke a feeling of stillness and solitude, inviting the viewer to explore the quiet landscape. Dorothy (Dee) Sabean’s vibrant and flamboyant paintings are reminiscent of large scale street art pieces and tend to speak from the heart. The exhibition runs from Wednesday, October 4 through Monday, November 13. Join us in the gallery on Friday, October 13 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm for a much-anticipated opening reception and an opportunity to mingle with Dee and JD and hear about their art processes and passions.

Self-taught artist JD Logan lives in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. He first began painting in 1998.

Teaching himself the basics, he took his first paintings to the Birdhouse Gallery in Great Barrington, MA hoping for advice. Instead, he was offered the chance to have a solo exhibition of his work later that same year.

Dorothy (Dee) Sabean is a visual artist living and working in Dalton, MA. With no formal art training, she began her first public artworks as a street painter in the Sarasota Street Painting Festival in Sarasota, FL. From there, she continued to perform large works for museums, corporations and festivals throughout the South while she pursued painting on canvas and took her first formal instruction in 2005.

Good Purpose Gallery - 40 Main Street, Lee, Massachusetts. 413-394-5045; gallery@cipberkshire.org. Gallery hours: 10am – 4pm daily. For more information on the Gallery, visit our website: Goodpurpose.org or follow us on Facebook and Instagram or email us at gallery@cipberkshire.org for more information.

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 3

AUTUMN SEASON CALENDAR

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

ART

510 WARREN STREET GALLERY 510 WARREN STREET, HUDSON, NY 518-822-0510 510warrenstreetgallery@gmail.com / 510warrenstreetgallery.com New Photography by John Lipkowitz, Not Just Flowers, thru Oct 29. Karen Roth: "Influences and Next Steps"Plus works by gallery members Nov. 3 - Nov. 26 Opening Reception: Sat., Nov. 4, 3-6pm Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 5 or by app BERKSHIRE MUSEUM Berkshire Museum, 39 South St., Pittsfield, MA • 413-443-7171 Morgan Bulkeley: Nature Culture Clash, thru Feb 4.

CLAIRE TEAGUE SENIOR CENTER 917 SOUTH MAIN ST., GT. BARRINGTON, MA 413-528-l881 See the newly rehung permanent collection.

Eunice Agar paintings. Regular Hours: MondayFriday, 8:00 AM - 3:30pm CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO PHOTOGRAPHY 9 Seekonk Rd, Gt Barrington, MA • 413-717-1534 cdalessandro26@gmail.com "Rightful Places," will take place from Noon to 5pm on December 9

DEB KOFFMAN’S ARTSPACE 137 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA • 413-274-1201 Sat: 10:30-12:45 class meets. No experience in drawing necessary, just a willingness to look deeply and watch your mind. This class is conducted in silence. Adult class. $10, please & call to register.

DENISE B CHANDLER FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTO ART 413-637-2344 or 413-281-8461 (leave message) *Lenox home studio & gallery appointments available. *Exhibiting and represented by Sohn Fine Art, Lenox, MA.

DIANA FELBER GALLERY 6 HARRIS ST., WEST STOCKBRIDGE, MA 413-854-7002dianafelbergallery.com Robert U. Tayler thru Nov 12. Open 11-6pm, closed Tues.

FRONT STREET GALLERY 129 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA • 413-274-6607 Kate Knapp oils and watercolors and classes open to all.

GOOD PURPOSE GALLERY 40 MAIN STREET, LEE, MA • 413-394-5045

Real and Surreal: JD and Logan Dorothy (Dee) Sabean, thru Nov 13.

KAREN LESAGE TREE PAINTINGS 5938 NORTH ELM AVENUE, MILLERTON, NY THE ART WALL AT NORTH ELM HOME www.karenlesage.com 518-789-3848 October 6 - November 5, 2017.

RECEPTION: Saturday, October 7 5 - 8 pm (10% off art purchases anytime before 8 pm on 10/7) Hours: Tue.- Sat.10 - 6, Sun.11 - 5 LAUREN CLARK FINE ART 325 STOCKBRIDGE RD, GT. BARRINGTON MA 413-528-0432 Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com www.LaurenClarkFineArt.com Ongoing exhibitis and framing services

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

• 510-469-5468 natalie.tyler@atelierberks.com Capturing Light: Stained Glass by Debora Coombs and Iva Kalikow. On Exhibition Septem ber 15th-October 31st. Special Event Sunday October 29, 5pm-9pm, DINNER FOR SINNERS, a culinary arts dinner in honor of Halloween. Art Salon and Drinks at 5pm, artist Debora Coombs will talk about her stained glass artwork. 6-9pm dinner and live music. Costumes encouraged!

LISA VOLLMER PHOTOGRAPHY NEW STUDIO + GALLERY 325 STOCKBRIDGE ROAD, GT. BARRINGTON • 413-429-6511 / www.lisavollmer.com The Studio specializes in portrait, event, editorial and commercial photography : by appointment.

The Gallery represents Sabine Vollmer von Falken, Thatcher Hullerman Cook, Carolina Palermo Schulze and Tom Zetterstrom. (Open daily from 11-4pm closed on Wednesdays)

MASS MoCA 1040 MASSMOCA WAY, NORTH ADAMS, MA • 413-662-2111 Chris Domenick: 50 Days. On view now.

MARGUERITE BRIDE HOME STUDIO AT 46 GLORY DRIVE PITTSFIELD, MA • 413- 841-1659 or 413-442-7718 MARGEBRIDE-PAINTINGS.COM FB: MARGUERITE BRIDE WATERCOLORS Marguerite Bride will be exhibiting at the Handmade Holiday Festival sponsored by Alchemy Initiative at the Stationary Factory in Dalton the first weekend in December. Also see her Jazz Visions paintings at District Kitchen + Bar in Pittsfield all winter. Original watercolors, house portraits, commissions, fine art reproductions.

Seasonal scenes always on exhibit at Crowne Plaza, Pittsfield; Studio visits by appt.

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2017

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM 9 GLENDALE RD, STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-298-4100 Reinventing America: Rockwell and Warhol, thru Oct 29 ROBERT FORTE

WWW.ROBERTFORTE.COM

Atlantic Gallery 548 West 28th St., NYC October 17 through November 4.

SAINT FRANCIS GALLERY SOUTH LEE, MA Ongoing exhibit of art

SCHANTZ GALLERIES 3 ELM ST, STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-298-3044 schantzgalleries.com Autumn hours: Daily, 10:30 - 5.

This October, Schantz Galleries will feature works by artists whose work is Cast, Cut and Cold, including: Mark Abildgaard, Michael Behrens, Alex Bernstein. Latchezar Boyadjiev, Peter Bremers, William Carlson, Daniel Clayman, Fiaz Elson, Robin Grebe, Eric Hilton, David Huchthausen, Sidney Hutter, Vladimira Klumpar, K. William LeQuier, Pavel Novak, Karsten Oaks, Christopher Ries, Martin Rosol, Thomas Scoon, Winnie Teschmacher, Bertil Vallien, and Steven Weinberg. The gallery is open daily 10:30-5 during the Autumn months. A destination for those seeking premier artists working in glass VAULT GALLERY 322 MAIN ST, GT. BARRINGTON, MA • 413-644-0221 Marilyn Kalish at work and process on view, beautiful gallery and wonderful collection of paintings

THEATRE

BERKSHIRE THEATRE GROUP THE GARAGE 11 SOUTH ST, PITTSFIELD, MA Berkshire Theatre Group announces a brand new series, the $10 Music Garage. This series is devoted to presenting emerging musicians and regional talent.

THE GHENT PLAYHOUSE 6 TOWN HALL PLACE, GHENT, NY • 518-392-6264 Box Office: 1-800-838-3006 The Little Mermaid – Beyond the Sea: Written by The Pantoloons & directed by Cathy Lee-Visscher, The Little Mermaid runs from November 24 to December 10. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 pm and Sunday matinees are at 2 pm. Tickets are $22 each, $17 for Members of the Playhouse and $10 for Students with ID. Tickets may be reserved by calling

MUSIC

ADAMS FREE LIBRARY 92 PARK ST., ADAMS, MA Saturday, October 21 Samantha Talora and Ron Ramsay: An evening of song, to beneift friends of the Adams free library

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC MAHAIWE THEATRE, CASTLE ST, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA • 413-528-0100 The Titans: Schumann & Brahms Piano Quintets, Saturday, October 21, 6 PM;Souvenir de Florence--An Italian Holiday Celebration, Saturday, December 9, 6 PM

BARBARA DONCASTER

CLUB HELSINKI HUDSON 405 COLUMBIA ST., HUDSON, NY Club Helsinki Hudson • 518-828-4800 Willy Watson, Oct 27, 6pm.

HUDSON HALL 327 WARREN ST, HUDSON, NY

LEN PRINCE REMEMBERING MARVIN HAMLISCH: THE PEOPLE’S COMPOSER October 7 – November 26; THE MOTHER OF US ALL | STAGE DIRECTION BY R. B. SCHLATHER | NOVEMBER 11, 12, 15, 18 & 19 ANNUAL MESSIAH SING: GWEN GOULD, conductor: Sunday, December 17th at 4 pm

VENTFORT HALL MANSION AND GILDED AGE MUSEUM The Ambulance Drivers:Award-winning author James McGrath Morris will introduce his audience to his latest book titled The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos and Friendship Made and Lost in War. The Tea & Talk will take place Saturday, 3:30pm, October 28, 2017; $26 by reservation, $32 day of event

CALL TO ARTISTS: 7TH ANNUAL SMALL WORKS SHOW AT HOPE & FEATHERS FRAMING AND GALLERY IN AMHERST CONTACT: Bronwen Hodgkinson // bronwen@hopeandfeathersframing.com // 413-835-0197 VENUE: Hope & Feathers Framing and Gallery ADDRESS: 319 Main Street, Amherst, MA 01002 WEBSITE: www.hopeandfeathersframing.com TITLE: Call to Artists: 7th Annual Small Works Show AMHERST, MA — Hope & Feathers Framing and Gallery announces a call to artists for their 7th Annual Small Works Show.

It's your chance to be a part of Hope & Feathers 7th Annual Small Works Show! This year we're making it easy: all artists receive a 6x6" birch panel ready for you to create your masterpiece. A variety of custom frames will be available for you to choose from when you drop off your entry along with glass if needed (frames are firstcome, first-serve). A $20 fee for entry is requested to cover the cost of materials. Panels are available October 2nd to November 1st.

Submissions due between October 9th to November 21st. Show runs November 30th to January 13th. Opening & Holiday Pie Party: December 7th, 5-8pm.

Submission form and full details on website.

artfulmind@yahoo.com ISSUU.COM 413 854 4400

WATERMEDIA Studio/Gallery “a working studio”

by Chance or Appointment (cell) 561-632-2017 413-528-2120

345 State Road Great Barrington, Massachusetts

www.barbaradoncaster.com

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 5

SCHANTZ GALLERIES

WILLIAM CARLSON, VITRA MORALES, 33 X 36 X 18”

Glass is an amazing medium. Whether in front of a furnace or a grinding wheel, the nature of the glass allows it to be formed by who holds it and the only limit to its potential is the imagination, and of course the technical acumen of the maker. It must be the only medium from which so any different artistic techniques can be used, and so many uses are yet to be discovered. Out of necessity and the inherent nature of the medium, working with hot glass is a quicker process than when it is cast or cold worked; as a result, much of the available glass is hot glass. Because it is not quite as mesmerizing as glass blowing, and it is so time consuming to make, many people do not realize that cold working can take months for one piece. Realistic, abstract, simple, or complex sculptures may be realized through these process’. This October, Schantz Galleries will feature works by artists whose work is Cast, Cut and Cold, including: Mark Abildgaard, Michael Behrens, Alex Bernstein. Latchezar Boyadjiev, Peter Bremers, William Carlson, Daniel Clayman, Fiaz Elson, Robin Grebe, Eric Hilton, David Huchthausen, Sidney Hutter, Vladimira Klumpar, K. William LeQuier, Pavel Novak, Karsten Oaks, Christopher Ries, Martin Rosol, Thomas Scoon, Winnie Teschmacher, Bertil Vallien, and Steven Weinberg. The gallery is open daily 10:30-5 during the Autumn months.

Schantz Galleries is open Daily, Autumn hours are 10:30-5; 3 Elm Street, Stockbridge, MA 413-298-3044, www.schantzgalleries.com

Dance is of all things the most concentrated expression of happiness and everyone needs to find happiness, to search for an ideal escape.

MORGAN BULKELEY, BEAK MORPHOLOGY, 2000, OIL ON 64” X 56”, COLLECTION OF BERKSHIRE MUSEUM

MORGAN BULKELEY

CANVAS,

NATURE CULTURE CLASH

Morgan Bulkeley: Nature Culture Clash, a solo exhibition by Berkshire-based artist Morgan Bulkeley, will be on view at the Berkshire Museum from September 29, 2017, through February 4, 2018. Humorous and ominous at the same time, Bulkeley’s vivid images offer compelling scenarios where humans are pitted against nature, with nature holding the advantage.

Morgan Bulkeley: Nature Culture Clash is a significant career retrospective covering five decades of work, from drawings created in 1967 to a recent series of paintings depicting a vibrant array of birds. The exhibition encompasses carved and painted wood masks and panels, paintings, sculpture, and a sitespecific installation. Geoffrey Young, of the Geoffrey Young Gallery in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is the guest curator.

Morgan Bulkeley, born in the Berkshires in 1944, was raised in Mount Washington, where his parents, both naturalists, cared for many wild animals. He graduated from Yale University in 1966 with a B.A. in English literature. After a stint in the Coast Guard, he spent a year in Newark, New Jersey, and then 14 years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, painting and sculpting. In 1985 he returned to his childhood home where he lives with his wife, environmentalist Eleanor Tillinghast.

Bulkeley has had solo shows at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, Mass., the Bachelier-Cardonsky Gallery in Kent, Conn., the Carone Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the deCordova Museum in Lincoln, Mass., among others. Bulkeley has had eleven solo shows with the Howard Yezerski Gallery in Boston, Mass.

Berkshire Museum, 39 South St., Pittsfield, Massachusetts. For more information, visit berkshiremuseum.org or call 413-443-7171.

-Violette Verdy

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Portrait of principal dancer for the Martha Graham Dance Company, Abdiel Jacobsen by photographer Christopher Jones for an upcoming show in New York City at 2 Rivington Street from Feb. 27 through March 5. Print size: 32” x 40”

collins | editions

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

In addition to the printing services, collins | editions also offers accurate digital photo-reproduction of paintings and illustrations for use in books, magazines, brochures, cards and websites. See a complete overview of services offered, along with pricing at www.collinseditions.com The owner, Fred Collins, has been a commercial and fine art photographer for over 30 years having had studios in Boston and Stamford. He offers over 20 years of experience with Photoshop™ enabling retouching, restoration and enhancement to prints and digital files. The studio is located in Mt Washington but drop-off and PU is also available through Frames On Wheels, located at 84 Railroad Street in Great Barrington, MA (413) 528-0997. collins | editions studio is located at 220 East St, Mt Washington, MA 413-644-9663 www.CollinsEditions.com or email me, fred@collinseditions.com

SOYEON KATE LEE, PIANO

SOUVENIR DE FLORENCE-AN ITALIAN HOLIDAY CELEBRATION SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 6 PM AT THE MAHAIWE

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC

Embarking on its 26th year of presenting outstanding chamber music with lively commentary, the Berkshires’ premier chamber music organization Close Encounters With Music moves into its second quarter-century with a new season of commemorations and discoveries, world-renowned musicians and extraordinary new faces, and continued expansion of original programming of classical, contemporary and cutting-edge music.

THE TITANS: Schumann & Brahms Piano Quintets: The season opens with two works that take us to the pinnacle of chamber music in a pairing of Brahms's Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 with that of his champion, the new genre, Robert Schumann's breakthrough Piano Quintet. Combining the piano and the string quartet had never been tried, but in the space of only a few weeks in 1842, Schumann wrote the legendary piece that influenced countless followers. Both quintets are on the short list of masterwork symphonic in scale, potent, flashy, and bursting with harmonic and melodic opulence and rhythmic variety. Other common denominators: A sense of inspiration is embedded in each, as is a sense of the ever-present Clara, to whom Schumann's work is dedicated. These genre-bending works alternate between quasi-symphonic and more properly chamber-like elements to keep you captivated from start to finish...as will the all-star cast of performers.

Soyeon Kate Lee, piano, Irina Muresanu and Peter Zazofsky, violin Michael Strauss, viola Yehuda Hanani, cello SOUVENIR DE FLORENCE--An Italian Holiday Celebration.

Saturday, December 9, 6 PM AT THE MAHAIWE: An Italian fixation runs deep in the collective artistic psyche. It was de rigueur for 19th century painters, musicians and literary types--Byron, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn--to make the Grand Tour to Rome and Florence, imbibe the classicism, passion, bel canto, and expressivity that are hallmarks of Italian art, and bring them home to their studios where memories of the sunshine sustained them in chilly northern Europe. The centerpiece of the program is Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence, written as he recovered from a disastrous marriage and developed an infatuation with the city that spawned the Renaissance. Florence worked its magic on Tchaikovsky, and the result is one of the most delightful and charming pieces in the repertory, for string sextet.

This Italian showcase includes Chrysanthemums, the only chamber music Puccini ever wrote; works by the Venetian Vivaldi; Hugo Wolf's Italian Serenade, and a Verdi string quartet.

Visit website for program listings.

Close Encounters With Music - Post Office Box 34, Great Barrington, MA 01230. 800-843-0778, Web: www.cewm.org, Email: cewmusic@aol.com. Mahaiwe Box Office: 413-528-0100.

KATHLINE CARR WRITER h ARTIST

Interview by Harryet

What is it within you that leads you to one or the other outlet: writing or the visual arts? Are there periods of time when you possibly will merge both, art and writing?

Can you give us an example? And, do you feel double triumphant at its completion?

Kathline Carr: I love language, and constructing texts, but I am also frustrated by language—how it sometimes fails—then there is non-verbal language, the language of images. I tend to work in separate bodies of writing and visual work at the same time, and then see how they might fit together. Merging art and writing—it doesn’t always work for me, the way I want it to, but I continue to search. I’ve been working with and studying hybridity and text-image art for many

Photographs courtesy of Artist

years—hybrid poetics was central to my BFA studies in creative writing and my MFA concentration of visual poetics. I am attracted to and inspired by artists and writers who work with text/image ideas (writers like Anne Waldman, Jill Magi, Shira Dentz), or write alongside their visual work, such as Louise Bourgeois, Annette Messager, Kiki Smith— or artists whose visual work deals with language, nonverbally, like Amy Sillman, and Charline von Heyl, Marlene Dumas.

My new book Miraculum Monstrum succeeds as a text-image work, for me, because the art is not illustrative, but rather exists alongside the text, partially defining the character’s struggle and existence, while also providing a framework for the story—a fictional

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exhibit catalog. As an artist reading art history or teaching and wanting to show students work by different artists, you are often looking at and reading exhibit catalogs. I think they are very rich texts--meant to be looked at, not just read. That’s a goal for me, as I work, for sure—writing alongside visual art.

Why have I gotten a feeling of existentialism plopping into my lap after reading the synopsis of your new book, “Miraculum Monstrum”?

Kathline: It is a story that deals with existential situations and problems. The physical transformation of Tristia is quite marked and complete, but her character changes from someone docile, quiet, someone who avoids

relationships and crowds, to essentially an animal, combative, frustrated by her pain and degenerating physical condition, her speech limitations. The supportive characters also undergo radical personal transformations as they care for Tristia—as her caregivers and new “family”, they develop new skills and are ultimately the historians that provide the primary documents to which the curator character owes much of her research.

I need to know, Kathline, what does the title of your book mean in general, and what is the specific meaning it holds for you, and what would you want it to mean for readers?

Kathline: The title is two Latin words, Miraculum meaning thing of wonder, or prodigy (alt., miracle) and the other, Monstrum, a supernatural event or portent, aside from its alternative meaning as “monster”.

Aside from the reference to Tristia herself, the cult that co-opts her as their prophesied deity calls the text of their religion Miraculum/Monstrum. The curator who puts all this together to accompany her posthumous art retrospective names the exhibit Miraculum Monstrum also. The title itself is a hybrid phrase, which should alert the reader (along with “hybrid narrative” that the book is an experimental text, not a conventional narrative, not a series of poems, not an art catalog, but a hybrid of these, working toward the expression of fiction, of a contemporary myth.

Now, please give us a short synopsis in your words what your book is about, and what it explores. What gratification have you gotten out of completing this piece?

Kathline: Miraculum Monstrum is a narrative, told in fragments by a curator who is piecing together a retrospective of work by a woman artist who’s affliction of wings changes and mutates her artistic practice, and her life. The subsequent creation of a mythology around this occurrence ultimately destroys the artist; simultaneously and coincidentally an ecological upheaval is coming to a head that changes the breathability of the earth’s atmosphere. It borrows from the epic verse form, but also contains curatorial notes—which at times break into the text itself—and scriptural writings from the cult’s codex, Miraclum/Monstrum. The most satisfying part of having completed the book and to witness its publication is that it has left the realm of the personal and has taken on its own life. People have read it and can connect with it, relate to it. Not everyone will. But I hope some people will love it, embrace the form, and be inspired to see hybrid literature in a different way.

Do you happen to be thankful that you are also a visual artist? Maybe, in some ways, it has helped you to write clearer, or help you get in tune with the deeper, more mysterious part of yourself while you journeyed down the road in search of Miraculum Monstrum?

Kathline: Sure, I’m happy to be a visual artist—it gives me great pleasure to make things, especially when it is effortless and I’m in a meditative place and the product doesn’t matter, or when it approaches my intention or aesthetic the way I’d imagined— this is not always the case naturally—sometimes it’s really frustrating

and distressing too. But any great love is that way.

What strikes a chord in your self that would promote you the need to express a thought through art?

Kathline: I’ve always wanted to be a visual artist or a writer, since I was very young. The only exception being theatre--I’ve done some of that too—but then, theatre is a very textimage based medium. Because I’ve never wanted to do anything else, that’s where all my expertise and experience lies, and work is really about practice—not inspiration so much, but daily practice. I don’t get blocked, Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 9

FIG IV

KATHLINE CARR

I just move on to another medium until I can go back to whatever I was working on previously. There are always many more projects that I can really finish, so being disciplined and working toward completion is important too. Having multiple practices means you could potentially never finish anything—so that has to be guarded against. Sort of.

What is the meaning behind your statement, “ I render abstractions of real and imagined space”? Can you can site a specific piece of art, and explain.

Kathline: That is from one of my artist statements from a while ago, must be on my website somewhere? But I think it is still accurate for some of the visual work I make. I work with abstraction, often landscape-based, definitely process-oriented, exploring space and

physical trajectories, such as from driving or walking. I’m interested in Psychogeography as a factor in creating visual work, hunting for a particular feeling derived from a space, whether it’s in the woods or in an urban setting. I’m fascinated by surfaces of all kinds, dereliction, and the intersection of lines, the tensions between the manmade and the natural. I have a painting called Varial for instance, named for a skateboard move, and modeled after the motion that might be derived from a varial kick-flip.

Were you surprised at receiving the Clarissa Dalloway Book Prize for Miraculum Monstrum? When and how did you find out the great news?

Kathline: Yes, very and happily surprised! I wasn’t sure I understood the initial email—I

10 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

had to read it over and over for it to sink in— then as I began to accept it as reality, it still didn’t feel “real” exactly, until I found myself bizarrely holding the book in my hand last week. I spent a year writing it, then four years submitting to various places, and I received the award two years ago, so it’s been a long process. But I’ve always believed in the text; you have to be your own advocate and believe in what you’re doing totally in order to see it through to completion, I believe.

What do you think about the book that they really thought was the finest reason for awarding you this prize? (what was the prize?!)

Kathline: The selection committee of A Room of Her Own Foundation, headed by Kate Gale, founder and managing editor of

VARIAL CAFE

1A

KATHLINE CARR

Red Hen Press, were looking for something for the Clarissa Dalloway “Everything But Poetry” Book Prize that perhaps embraced some formal aspects of poetry, prose, art but also bucked the traditions and parameters of those respective media to morph into something else, another kind of narrative. I think it was probably a plus that Miraculum Monstrum is concerned with climate abuses and disrupting status quo power structures, and that Tristia fights for and wins her freedom from personal oppression from the Raptus Cult, even though it means her own destruction—but you know, I’m only guessing why they chose it. These things are subjective and based on the aesthetic of individuals so it’s impossible to really say for sure! But I’m very glad of it—as an artist and writer, I am constantly rejected for things of all kinds so

it is a thrill to win this—especially when part of the prize is publication.

From a writer’s point of view, how do you make use of this award? I know it looks great in a bio, what else would it be used for?

Kathline: I’ve had a long standing desire to teach hybrid poetics, and hybridity as a literary form that includes visual art or visual constructions, so I hope that the book can generate interest in the form, that I might find a community to work with students who are interested in hybridity. When I was looking at graduate schools, I knew and was advised that it would be in my best interest to earn an MFA in writing rather than in art—but I ultimately chose a visual MFA program for the very reason that I thought I would have more

opportunity to write in a visual program, than to work as a visual artist in a writing program—and the two forms are pretty inseparable to me. This is not necessarily evident in bodies of work, but in my thinking, and process. And I hope someday to work with students who are looking to work in hybrid forms that bridge theoretical writing, art making and poetics.

Can you tell me, what in your life’s experiences led you to write this book?

Kathline: One of the major contributing factors to this story is my mother’s early onset dementia. She was degenerating quite rapidly (as is typical of Lewy Body Disease) while I was writing and she died before it was finished. I was devastated by the whole Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 11

bigger room—you might have to go back to thinking how you got started in the little room! So, elemental pieces of drawings and sewn fabric are very restorative for me.

The artwork on paper, the 3d sculpture, and your writing. It looks like a transition from paper to 3d, then to writing as if it was born, then grew up, and walked off the page into peoples’ mind! Is the sculptural art a mid point?

Kathline: Sculpture was my first love—when I was a young artist in New Haven and had my first studio, I wanted to make sculptural objects—I had little interest in painting. But I soon had a storage problem. In different stages in my life, my process has undergone stages based on the space I have available. I started writing seriously in the mid 90s because my kids were little and I was a single mother and a pencil and paper was what I could afford and manage at the end of the day—besides the Papier-mâché, puppets and assorted drawings my kids and I would work on together of course! But what I burrowed into on my own time was reading and writing.

I am fascinated by your “Rejection of Technical Skill” venue. Tell us about this process please. Why does it exist for you?

Kathline: “Rejection of Technical Skill” is an artist book on my website—it is a handmade accordion book in a book sleeve based on critical theory/art history notes from grad school.

BAY TOWARDS THE END

KATHLINE CARR

process—the bewildering condition for starters, her lack of diagnosis and differing opinions of different doctors, one of whom was completely disdainful of my suggestion of Lewy Body, which I had researched pretty extensively and thought was a tremendously close fit. Her psychiatrist mocked me, “oh, so you’re a doctor now?”—you have to really be strong if you’re going to pit yourself against medical professionals—this same doctor obtained a court order to continue giving her Electro Shock Therapy when I refused. So all of that frustration and sadness and grief I channeled into the text, and the visual art I was making alongside the writing, and I think it’s evident in the story.

Exploring the visual arts: from all the mediums in the world to work with, you chose what you chose to create a portfolio of sub-conscious sub text, abstractions using charcoals, pencils, and fabrics. How does the medium of your choice work in your favor?

Kathline: I have always loved drawing, it is a very primal medium for me. I paint, I make prints—monotype, silkscreens—I work directly on photographs, work in water based media and with fabric—and as a processbased artist, I sometimes have to go back to drawing—like Jack White sings in “Little Room,” (and I’m paraphrasing): you’re working on something good, and you need a

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When do you think an artist knows they have reached a pivotal point in their art creating? Do you think it has to do with layers of knowledge and study?

Kathline: That’s a hard question to answer and I think there are as many different answers as there are artists. I love to hear and read about discoveries artists make about themselves through their work, but it’s a totally personal process. Study is part of the process for me, and total immersion. I‘ll find my work changing significantly the deeper I dig, and daily time in the studio is a must (for me) to make those discoveries.

How does the word Cerebral relate to your works on paper, your words on paper? Or, do you follow your heart the majority of the time?

Kathline: Since I work abstractly, both visually and verbally, much of the time, I try to balance the cerebral and the intuitive. There’s a give and take, and sometimes one is dominant over the other, it’s not an exact science.

Please take a small section out of your

book and explain how it would directly relate to a real life experience you have been through?

Kathline: There’s a part in the section I (Exornatio) where Tristia is sick with the initial wing eruption which is presenting as a tumor-like growth. She doesn’t know what’s happening to her, and she goes to the emergency room, where she is questioned and inundated with forms. The resulting prose piece uses different fonts, phrases and pieces of existing medical forms to convey a feeling of overwhelm and disorientation. This was happening frequently when I was caring for my mother, arranging care, or bringing her to increasingly distressing procedures (like ECT), and that section was directly influenced by those experiences.

What is it you wish readers to know about you?

Kathline: Whatever medium I work in, I’m a very committed artist. I thrive in communities and situations where I have the support and freedom to work creatively. My husband and I piece together a living so we have the time to work (he is a figurative painter) but it requires sacrifice; it’s not the most secure existence, financially. It’s so important, though, to have a supportive mate, one who prioritizes studio time and understands the nature of creative work. I know wherever we live, we’ll have studios first, and if there’s room for a couch, fine. Our work habits and lifestyle sometimes make us seem antisocial, only because there is so little time—not enough time at all—to work in one’s studio, and make a living, and raise kids—(we have a 14-year old at home, and seven kids between us, mostly grown, we are used to being stretched thin)—making studio time a priority is paramount.

ELEANOR LORD

ELEANORLORD.COM

Where, when and how we can be directed to your book readings (place, location, time), website, buying the book, etc…?

Kathline: More information can be found on my website www.kathlinecarr.com, and there is a category for Miraculum Monstrum that lists information about the book, such as readings and reviews. I’ll be having a book signing event at The Bookstore in Lenox December 14th and will have a reading there in Spring, 2018.

The Bookstore in Lenox and the Bookloft (Great Barrington) will have copies locally, as will the Williams College Bookstore in Williamstown, where I’ll be reading October 5th. Miraculum Monstrum is available for pre-order on Indiebound.org and other online book sources. I’ll also be giving a talk at the North Adams Public Library November 9th, and I’m adding times and locations all the time on the website so keep an eye on that. I am represented by Fountain Street Gallery in Boston, MA. Thank you, Kathline!

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 13

ROBERT TAYLOR AN EXHIBITION OF THEATRE SCENIC ART

This autumn, from an opening on Sept 23 through November 12, the Diana Felber Gallery in West Stockbridge is featuring a group of examples of Theatre Scenic Art by Robert U. Taylor. These are the paintings presented to the Director for final approval for Theatre sets, before they are turned into technical drawings so that they may be built and painted. Also included in this exhibition are costume drawings and paintings, to accomplish the same approval by the Director before being constructed. It also happens that designs may be presented at a director’s desires for a certain look that he has conceived, and the Theatre may not be able to afford them, so different ideas get devised.

Some of Taylor's designs included here are from such episodes, where he liked the original ideas first, and so exhibits them. Also, a director may request concept drawings, defining a proposed look to a set or costume, or even what might be called “mood” or “affective” art that expresses an emotion or event, however abstract, to help carve out a final expression of a drama's meaning.

There are both original works, framed on the walls, and giclees, matted and backed, of other works, available.

Taylor approaches all theatrical works from this “affective” direction - what is the underlying concept or utterance that the playwright is holding up to a verbal light…what is the deep diapason of emotion or need that drives the story arc. If this can be somehow ex-

pressed in the environment of the theatrical set, the world in which the actors must express this story and emotional arc, it can influence an audience’s perception and assist, however subtly, their understanding and empathy with what is going on before them. This is true of all set design - theatrical, film, opera, rock concert; any situation where a tale is told to a group of people and where their mental and emotional participation can be guided and sometimes, one hopes, cheered. Keep in mind that the Theatre is a group art form - it is the actors who bear the heaviest burden of relating the tale - but all parts should add their support and focus, for the most powerful expression of the drama to be achieved.

Robert U. Taylor was born in Virginia, studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University, where he took post-graduate work in Scenic Design. He went on to professionally design over 100 productions on and off Broadway, (where he has had three shows running on Broadway at once) and repertory and regional theaters. His works can be seen in various books on set design over the past 20 years, and have been on exhibition at the Smithsonian, the International Theater Institute, and at the San Antonio McNay museum's permanent collection of art. He won two Drama Desk Awards, the Maharam Award, and two Obie Awards; "Raisin", which he designed, won four Tonys.

He then moved into the film industry, designed over 700 commercials, many of which won Clios. He continued into the VFX film world, where he designed the Omnimax “Back to the Future” ridefilm for Doug Trum-

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bull at Universal Theme Park in Orlando. He went on to design a three ridefilm format extravaganza including the entire entertainment floor at Luxor Las Vegas; many feature film effects (the enormous dystopian model sets for “Judge Dredd”, space ships for “Event Horizon” and “Starship Troopers”, the painted living landscapes in “What Dreams May Come”, and shot layouts for “The Matrix”. He has designed architecture extensively in the Berkshires, and a variety of ridefilms, 3Dfilms, and architecture for theme parks – from Santa Claus Village in Vermont to Dreamworks at Motiongate Dubai, Dubai Parks & Resorts, several Theme Parks in Singapore, and for the Dalian Wanda Group in China. He designed again for Doug Trumbull on a pilot project involving 3D 4K 120fps imagery, called U.F.O.T.O.G. He contributed designs for the Hollywood Margaritaville Hotel, "Latitudes" - a luxury small housing complex in Daytona, and a huge 40 acre park-hotel-restaurant-condominium complex "The Margaritaville Resort" in Orlando Florida.

He lived in New York City for 25 years, moving to the Berkshires 22 years ago. He has had ten one man shows of his paintings, watercolor and oil, on the east coast and Texas. He has been on the faculty at Princeton University, Hunter College in New York, and taught graduate classes in CGI film VFX Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. He also has been a Lecturer on CGI film at Yale University.

Diana Felber Gallery - 6 Harris St., West Stockbridge, Massachusetts; 413-232-7007.

Gallery hours: open daily except Tuesdays, 11am - 6 pm.

Conflue C fl ence off L Love and d Learn ning i

by Rita Blittt b o the campus of on Washburn Univ U ersity To opeka, Kan nsas

Ne ew Home of the Rita Blit B t Galler y and Sculpture Garden of the Mulvane Artt Museum m at Wash hburn University Opening O i C Celebration l b tion · No N vember 3, 2017 · 5:30 p.m. ritablitt.com THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 15

CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO PHOTOGRAPHY

Interview by Harryet Everyone knows you for being involved in music. Your mother, who was an opera singer, may have handed her talents down to you. You owned and operated The Music Store, the supplier of in-demand instruments and music-related items, here in Great Barrington. How did you come upon the idea of a visualinterpretation of beauty?

Claudia d’Alessandro: I had The Music Store here in Great Barrington for 17 years, so I believe that a great many people met me in that context. Before that, I was the Executive Director of the Berkshire Opera Company. And I met my life partner and fiancé, David, through music. So yes, I suppose that music

Photography by Lee Everett

IS a defining theme in my life.

My father, Eugene Cook, was a photojournalist and Arts and Entertainment Editor at Life Magazine in the 50s. He met my mother by assigning himself a feature story on her just as her singing career was taking off. Once when Dad was asked what religion he embraced, he looked right at the questioner and simply said, “Music.” My mother, Phyllis Curtin, was a singer, a soprano whose international performance career in opera, recital and later as a professor of music and a master teacher, supported us. So as a child I was surrounded by photography and music.

But my mother didn’t just contribute music to my early life. I had the example of ‘seeing’

16 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

not only through my father’s lens, but also through my mother’s eyes. She especially adored nature, the natural art of form, colors, shapes and light. She shared that love with me. To her dying day at 94 she could be rapt and spellbound watching the birds and squirrels who visited her courtyard, the light dancing on leaves and flowers, or the patterns and forms etched in the bark of a tree. “David,” she would say, drawing him close and pointing out the window, “Just look at that greengold light on the treetops…” or “Can't you just see those mallows smiling at us!”

Claudia, I am curious and wish to get a better picture of what your childhood was

FIRE IN ICE CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

like, living with such a renowned talent such as your mom. Tell us about her and your what your family was/is like please.

Claudia: Some people ask what it was like growing up with a famous mother, and traveling to ‘all those places.’ What it was like is that I had smart, interesting and talented parents who most importantly loved and supported me. The where and the when just seemed normal to me then, though I realize now how extraordinary it really was. For instance, I was able to be backstage in some of the biggest opera houses of the world. I recall being FASCINATED by the fabric fish used in an English staging of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. There were some things that were hard, though. I remember my frustration that whenever I caught cold as a child I had to avoid contact with my mother so she wouldn't catch it and have to miss a performance. That was difficult!

My mom was a humble, kind, intelligent and gentle mother who absolutely adored what she was doing for the nature of it, not for the fame or recognition of it. When Tanglewood honored her 90th birthday at Tanglewood on Parade with a premiere work

featuring sixteen of her ‘star’ former students, she couldn’t understand why all the fuss was being made. She loved living until she couldn’t live any more. And her lesson of loving life was not wasted on me. My dad was a funny, devoted and loving father who taught me to love custard—he made GREAT custard!—Italian food, Matzoh Ball soup… my Italian dad had eclectic tastes—celery and cameras! And he took me along on photo shoots. I really loved his work with the Yale Rep Theater.

I was also incredibly lucky to have been able to get to know my maternal grandmother, who came to live with us when I was fourteen. She had an incredible inner strength. She was bright, wickedly funny and strong, right up until she died at age 96. I know that with families so spread out today, not many people are lucky enough to really get to know old people. But I was especially fortunate as I had two capable and vibrant old ladies in my life—my grandmother when I was a girl, and my mom who just died last year at 94! Each gave me many years of their wonderful example of how to live fully.

The most important thing about my child-

hood family wasn’t that they were famous or talented; I certainly never thought of them in that way, per se. It was that I happened to have two creative parents who loved each other, and me. And the older I get, the more I am grateful for this. I was beyond fortunate.

I still am. And I have a wonderful family now, too. Though my parents are dead, I have three terrific children: Sam, Will and Gena.

Intelligent, strong, compassionate and capable people, all. I have loving friendships that are as strong as family. And I have found the love of my life in David.

Did you grow up here in the Berkshires? I know you’ve lived here for a long time.

Claudia: I grew up between Manhattan and our house here in Great Barrington. I absolutely fell in love with Scotland and New Zealand. I learned to ride horses in Scotland and England, and kept that up here in Great Barrington at the old Whip ’n Willow Stables. My first job was teaching there in the 70s. That led to my first equestrian ‘career’ here in the Berkshires; as a teenager and young adult I competed in combined training Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 17

AUTUMN MISTS

CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

(three day eventing) and taught riding for many years.

I did marry and live for 13 years in Newton, outside of Boston; my children were born there. And in 1993, after my divorce, my children and I came home to live here. Actually, I had my first published photograph then, in the Berkshire Courier, I think. When I was with Berkshire Opera, the paper published a shot I took of a rehearsal for the opera Cinderella that we produced that summer.

Claudia, what was the most enriching growth experience you ever had? What was it all about and how did you get through it?

Claudia: I really don’t think that there is one particular event or thing. But I am certain that I have learned most from the things that hurt me the most—from failure and abject disappointment. And from grief. And from surviving both. I think that understanding my part in my failures has been particularly instructive—and painful. I have learned that people sometimes fail, that I sometimes fail. I have learned that not all people are sane, good, or even decent, that there is terrible evil and cruelty in our world alongside love and generosity, and that almost anyone, given awful circumstances, can behave shamefully. I wish I could forgive more easily; that is hard for me. And I suppose I have learned that almost everyone can hope and aspire to be better

18 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

than they are as human beings. Ultimately, I continue to feel that I am a work in process.

What is your favorite part of your mom’s house, and how has it inspired you to photograph it?

Claudia: I so love that old 18th century house, especially the library and the music room. But I find it isn’t so much the house itself that inspires me as it is the beautiful grounds. David has cleared three more acres of the almost twelve-acre property, so that we can now enjoy it all. Ancient trees, farm fields and the Alford Brook babbling away.

Birds singing—the light changes and dances here. We can see both dawn and sunset panoramic skies on this land. The trees will-

ingly toss their shadows on summer lawns and, in the winter, onto the crisp snow. On full-moon nights in winter, it is really easy to understand the mythology surrounding tree spirits! The skies are so clear and the neighborhood so dark that layers upon layers of stars twinkle and glimmer. It is a magical place.

How does your photography help you to get through challenging days? Would you give us an example?

Claudia: Most of us can relate to feelings of grief, anguish and sadness. In my darkest days, I often felt compelled to walk in nature.

I can almost always be distracted by sights out of doors in nature—the serrated edge of some tiny yellow mushroom or the spectrum of light through a raindrop glistening on a leaf, or a gnarly, ethereal tree in pea-soup fog, or mystical shapes in the languid brook. In taking pictures I always search for some wonder: in a beautiful dawn, the replicative patterns in hoar frost or in the sworls of muddy water on our dirt road.

Looking back on some of these shots, I always remember where I was, and often what I was feeling at the time. And over and over again I am reminded that even in the darkest of times, light, beauty and wonder still shine somewhere, with the promise of better things.

In a quick snap, I can freeze that moment in time. And this helps ground me, gives me a sense of place. The name of my first formal exhibit, Rightful Places, is inspired by this. I think the poet Alice Meynell says it quite well: “Spirit of place! It is for this we travel, to surprise its subtlety; and where it is a strong and dominant angel, that place, seen once, abides entire in the memory with all its own accidents, its habits, its breath, its name."

Technically speaking, what kind of camera do you use, and where do you develop your film, or should I say, how do you develop your film?

Claudia: Aaaahhh film! So much of my childhood with my dad’s photography involved processing labs with their acrid chemicals and the cropping of contact sheets with a red crayon pen.

I firmly believe in supporting local business, so when I came back to Great Barrington after my first divorce I visited The Snap Shop. The owner, Tony Carlotto, helped me choose a really nice Nikon—my first really good camera. And he did all my processing.

But the age of digital photography developed (ouch—poor pun!) a firm hold on me and as soon as I could, I was back at The Snap Shop getting help buying my first DSLR, a Nikon D40. I continue to be wowed by the fact that

LET THE SUNSHINE CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

I can shoot hundreds of shots for free without wasting film—or smelling chemicals! And that I can see my shots before having them developed! It still seems a little like witchcraft!

I’m a little embarrassed to say I’ve never gone back to film. Sorry, Dad. In the hands of a technically more proficient photographer or developer, I have no doubt that some

things could be done with film that I can’t do using digital photography. But the ease and flexibility that the digital format affords is hard to abandon.

For developing prints, I have always used The Snap Shop, I think they are great! However, to make the super large ones that I print Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 19

AUTUMN MISTS CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

on canvas or aluminum, I simply send digital files to a company who specializes in this medium. As to photo editing, I am a bit of a techno-dinosaur. I don’t use Photoshop to edit any of my shots—I am actually a little afraid of it! I simply use the editing tools that came with my Mac.

Going back and forth from photography to music, when are you in both zones at the same time, if ever?

Claudia: I grew up listening to music. Because of the music in my childhood, I think I learned to listen—to really listen—to my environment. And listening leads to looking.

There is music all around us—in the murmuring of trees, chittering birdsong and the harrumphing of frogs, the whispering wind, the whishing water. In winter I love the sound of falling snow, so delicate and soft. And I, who am not a professional musician, love to listen to music at home: David is often practicing, and we usually have instrumental classical music playing at home in the evenings (although not at the same time), when I am apt to be photo editing. In the end, it all filters through, the images and the music, to feed my psyche. Soul food!

Both art forms, music and photography, bring different kinds of satisfaction to your life. Do you agree that this is true, and can you elaborate on this?

Claudia: It is so true! I love both. And yes,

they are satisfying in different ways, mostly in that I enjoy the music that others make, while I use photography to express and indulge myself. One is mostly passive while the other is quite active. I love taking the pictures, editing them and printing them in the same way, perhaps, that David or my mother enjoyed singing or playing music. One might say it’s like food: Some people love to prepare, cook and serve food, and some prefer to consume it! Both are enjoyable, but somebody still has to do the dishes!

I have always enjoyed making music, and listening to it. I love taking the pictures and looking at them. But also I can enjoy viewing the photographs that I didn’t take. In all, I think I prefer the doing, rather than the showing, best. I certainly believe that I have learned to appreciate the beauty of all photography more because I, too, use it to express myself. Every art is a bit of a window into another artist’s world. A bit of a voyeur, perhaps, I do love looking through those windows.

So where is it that you want to go with your photography? What are your plans?

Goals?

Claudia: I hope to be able to continue to take photos as long as I can walk, hold a camera and see! It is a large part of who I am and it provides a meaningful way for me to enjoy life. I know that I see things through my lens that my eyes alone don’t see: wonderful,

20 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

whimsical, beautiful and remarkable things that pop up unexpectedly when I look at my shots on the computer. And I am often aware, especially in shooting dew, raindrops, snow or frost that I have managed to freeze time and mark an instant that will never happen again in exactly the same way. This is an excitement and a deep joy that I can’t quite describe, and one that is just as important to me in and of itself as any ‘goal’ that I can imagine. I hope to become better at seeing, better at doing for as long as I possibly can. Of course, a sale or two now and then would be most welcome!

Are you as disciplined with your photography work as you have been with studying music?

Claudia: In truth, I am not particularly disciplined with my photography at all. It is more of an inspired endeavor. Discipline is very different, or at least it is is for me. When I played or sang, I practiced… often the same things many times over and over again until I could do it easily, proficiently. But I was recreating, playing or singing things created originally by other people. Since I am not a portrait or event photographer, and I shoot in environments that I don’t control, I never know what I will see or find. I don't believe one can re-create that! It's like, “Wait, do that sunset over again for me will you?” Won't happen. Might come across another good one, or even better one, down the line, but not

COWS IN FIELD CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

the same one, the one that moved me in that moment. For me, anyway, it is a more inspired act, and much less disciplined.

Claudia, what other ways do you celebrate life? Tell us all about the love in your life.

Claudia: Wow! In every possible way, I hope. I am so fortunate now. And not a day goes by that I’m not glad and grateful to be alive, to be able to work and live. I suppose it is a kind of deep and profound joy… just in living, every day. And I hope that I celebrate that life with everything I do. I know that my children were really the first miracles that I recognized. They are all healthy, fine young people whom I love and admire. And that’s pretty incredible, every single day.

I celebrate the world I live in with my pictures, I think, or at least I try to. I see, and try to catch with my camera, the beauty in patterns that are repeated again and again in color, shape and form—in air, water and matter, and I absolutely love that! And I try to honor the life that has been given to me in appreciation of, and in kindness and compas-

sion for those I share it with. I am so very grateful for my life.

As for the love of my life, I am blessed with David. I met David Reed almost twenty years ago, and gradually over the years, we became friends. When we started working together at The Music Store, a caring and loving friendship evolved over the years. I should point out that I similarly ‘adopted’ Fred Schane, who recently died, and Sam Crawford, both of whom worked for me for years. I thought of Fred as a younger brother and Sam as one of my kids.

Both David and I were in committed relationships with others, so romance between the two of us was never even a consideration.

We saw each other day after day at work, without trying to impress each other or put on a ‘good face’ as one does when one is trying to attract or impress a love interest. We supported each other in successes and failures as good friends do. And we got to really know each other, warts and all, so to speak. When my marriage and David’s relationship ended, we supported and commiserated with each

other through the process. And only then, at some point afterwards, did the thought begin to dawn on us that maybe, just maybe, we should be together. When we giddily told our friends, they rolled their eyes. Apparently we were the last to figure this out! I guess we were pretty thick about the whole thing! We were so astonished, and our friends… well, there was a lot of face-palming. The best part, though, is that David and I had this great friendship to build on; we had already done the ‘hard’ work of getting to know each other, so the transition was almost effortless. It has been wonderful.

How do you share an artistic life together?

Claudia: By sharing every aspect of our lives, I guess. Fortunately I love David’s music, and his own creativity as an artist. He loves to make things, and repurposes old cigar boxes, and hardware including plumbing parts and license plates—even a dog’s water dish!—by making them into musical instruments which he performs with. As his friend, I enjoyed Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 21

SUNSET FIRE AND LEAD CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

helping him find some special guitars which he also performs with. And I still love to hear him play and sing. And I love being a roadie and quasi-agent for him!

For his part, he has encouraged me in everything creative that I do, encouraging me to print and display my photographs… to do what I want to do. He pushes me, too, when I need a good push. And he steadies me, as I’d like to think I do for him. I guess that mostly we each truly enjoy what the other does. Each of us wants the other to be happy, and to grow. And so as best we can, we each try to support the growth of the other. I think that we both take almost as much pleasure in what the other is loving doing as we do in our own work. It is a great environment in which to live!

What do you think makes a lasting relationship?

Claudia: I feel a little like Edison, who said about inventing the light bulb, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” I’m happy to say I don’t think that

that either of us has found quite that many ways that relationships don't work. But speaking for myself, I think that when both partners feel for the other the kind of love that shares and delights in the other’s growth— that draws happiness and satisfaction from the other's success and happiness—with respect, trust, understanding and without envy, or insecurity, it forms a love that lasts. I saw in it my parents. And for the first time in my life, I have found it for myself.

Are there any photographers that have mentored and inspired you?

Claudia: Wow. YES! Every photographer sees in unique ways, all inherently different from the way that we see. And we, as observers of their photography, are able share their vision.

My father’s shots still amaze me. He was able to find and portray the essence of his subject—remember, he mostly shot people.

One of his most famous photographs was for Life Magazine, the picture of Patty Duke playing Helen Keller in the movie The Mira-

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cle Worker. This hangs in our house. And there were his wonderful, iconic shots of the nubile, young Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Kim Novak, too. Presently, two pictures of a very young and dynamic Harry Belafonte hang in my music room. Day-oh!

I am absolutely awed by the majesty of Ansel Adams' black and white landscapes and the detail found in Albert Stieglitz. Early on I was fascinated by the powerful war photography of Robert Capa. I also admire the work of some of my local contemporaries, too. Lee Everett takes pictures of people—especially performers—that seem just as vital and alive as the people themselves. You can almost hear them! Rich Hommel takes absolutely beautiful pictures of local flora and landscapes. And my friend Stephanie Blythe, the Metropolitan Opera star and a former student of my mom’s uses a macro lens so sharp that I swear we can see every hair on a bee's knee! Certainly we fellow photographers tend share thoughts on gear and so forth when our paths cross. But mostly, as is true with music, the more we share experiences, both in the

WINTER TREE COLORS CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

our actual shooting and in looking at what others do with their shots, the more interesting and wiser we become. So it seems to me.

What was your earliest experience of art appreciation?

Claudia: Oh boy, I do remember! I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, probably six years old, and with my dad. He had taken me to a Hieronymus Bosch exhibit—at least I think that was it. The exhibit hall was quiet, as people moved silently, thoughtfully, from work to work. I was a curious little squirt. And I trusted my Dad to explain stuff to me. So, in that kind of little kid voice that could travel miles in a wind storm, I piped up, “Daddy, why does that lady have a penis?” That cavernous, resonant room, well, simply froze in stunned silence! No one moved except to turn their heads and stare at my dad, every eye fixed on him. To his credit, he didn’t strangle me or whisk me away, but started to explain in a calm and reasonable voice, “Well, Honey, Mr. Bosch had some pretty wild ideas about people and art.” For-

tunately, dad's response was hardly exciting or titillating and they, and I, quickly lost interest. But neither he nor I ever forgot!

Have you travelled to far off places?

Where? What did you learn, and what still lingers on for you?

Claudia: I did. My first passport was issued when I was two weeks old. I had red hair and grey eyes. In another few months, airport officials were looking at this brown haired, brown-eyed kid with deep suspicion! My

mother’s tour schedule took her all around the world, so as a child I went with my parents to England, Finland, Israel, Scotland, Venezuela and France while she sang in performances there. I think the first and most important realization was, when I was very little, that people spoke other languages and didn’t understand me! I promptly invented my own language. They still didn’t understand me. Oh well. I've been accused of doing the same thing to this day…

Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 23

SKY CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO

Tell us about your musical talents. What did you love, and what do you still love to play or listen to?

Claudia: I love to sing. And I particularly love to sing with others. I sang in choruses and did musical theater as a kid all through school. My children and I love to sing together—rounds, Christmas carols, show tunes and the like. And I can’t really describe how happy that makes me. I played violin for years, and played with a youth orchestra in New York many years ago. I dabble with guitar and ukulele occasionally. But I never was interested enough in playing to want to perform, per se, or to make a career in music.

The limelight has never called my name.

As for listening, I love almost all kinds of music, though rap and hiphop—and I suppose heavy metal—kind of leaves me cold.

Still, I have been surprised and interested from time to time in hearing those styles, albeit in small doses! I have BIG trouble with music played or sung out of tune, though, or really repetitive, redundant stuff. And I’m not wild about super loud music, either. Also, I really enjoy silence.

What attributes and characteristics do you

think a person needs to be able to intuitively see and capture images through the lens? Do you have them?

Claudia: Maybe the most important thing is to be an active observer, to want to look at the world around us, at the details. Also curiosity and imagination are essential—and the wish to share what we discover. Let's not forget patience! I want to catch something that I find amazing, or beautiful, or meaningful. Or awful, I suppose. Rule: Never be without a camera ready. Some of the best shots I have ever taken are of things that are gone in seconds: beautiful dawns, dew on a flower, frost on a window pane. In the moment that I might have had to go and get my camera, the shot will have disappeared. I am almost never without a camera close at hand. At least that’s what I feel, think and do. I hope I do it well, at least sometimes.

Not everything one creates in art should be pretty, or cute, or happy, or safe… much of real life is dark, and sad. Do you ever ponder things that are considerably gutwrenching, and do you have a desire to creatively express through the lens your responses to darker topics?

24 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

Claudia: I really believe that we need the dark and sad to illuminate the light and joy. I find beauty and meaning in things that are not perfect… a battered leaf, a wilted, dying flower, a wind-ravaged web or a decaying stump. And I try to show that beauty, that… relevance. My daughter used to say that my mother’s hands, crippled and deformed by over 50 years of rheumatoid arthritis, were beautiful. That meant a lot to me. But back to the gratitude part. I am profoundly grateful that where I live, and the circumstances in which I live, are not what so many in this world have to endure. The island that has been a second home to David, St. John in the USVI, was decimated by this fall’s hurricanes, leaving him sorely grieving. The scenes from there are heartbreaking. I am glad to not have the opportunity to capture images of heartbreak and pain. That having been said, the creative expression of the ugliness of life is important, too. Everything has meaning. I see it. But I choose not to focus upon it.

Thank you, Claudia!

"Set in an apocalyptic near future, the book catalogues the transformation of Tristia Vogel from a woman to a 'latter hybrid,' a harpy-like creature both fragile and primal, able to survive an imminent ecological tragedy. The hybrid narrative uses art, poetry, narration, museum curating, and apocryphal texts to examine the constraint and construction of women...[Tristia] emerges as a messianic figure for outcasts."

Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers, Foreword Reviews

Author Kathline Carr

"Miraculum Monstrum's architecture, in its interplay of word and image, post-apocalyptic Ovidian myth, documentary fiction, feminist magical realism, taxonomy, and sensuousness, is a tour de force of hybrid poetics." ~ Shira Dentz, author of door of thin skins

Kathline Carr’s book can be purchased/ordered at: Local bookstores: The Book Store, Lenox Book Loft, Great Barrington

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=miraculum+Monstrum

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Miraculum-Monstrum-KathlineCarr/dp/1597096075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506023437&sr=8-1&keywords=miraculum+monstrum

robert wilk

‘WE ARE NOT ALONE’ balancing rock sculptures - JEFF BYNACK

30” H

red/precarious

urbanite theatre, sarasota, fl

h - 6 ' X l - 10 '

rwsculpture.com

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 • 25

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANE FELDMAN

www.janefeldman.com JANEFELDMANPHOTO@GMAIL.COM 917-710-5546

26 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

FINE LINE MULTIMEDIA

STING PHOTOGRAPH BY LEE EVERETT

LIVE PERFORMANCE PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO

Fine Line Multimedia provides single or multi-camera video of music, dance and theater performances. Services include: scripting and storyboard art, videography with professional high definition cameras, high quality audio recording, sensitive lighting design and creative editing with the latest non-linear editing system.

For the past 45 years Fine Line Multimedia has provided audio/video performance production for The Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, Berkshire Performing Arts Center, National Music Foundation, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, United Way of the Berkshires, Arlo Guthrie, Rising Son Records, Bobby Sweet, World Moja, Phil Woods, Grace Kelly, Heather Fisch, Opera Nouveau, Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company and many more.

Fine Line was established in 1970 by Lee Everett in Lenox, Massachusetts. Everett came to the Berkshires after studying Advertising Design and Visual Communications at Pratt Institute and working for years as an Art Director in New York. He taught Art in local schools and began a full-service multimedia studio in Lenox specializing in the Performing and Visual Arts and other business and industry.

With Photography, Graphic Design, Advertising, Marketing, Audio/Video Production, Website, Social Network Creation and Administration together under one roof, Fine Line can satisfy the artistic communications and promotional needs of a wide range of clients.

Please look at some examples from our portfolios of work on our website and use the contact information on the site to get further information, to see more samples, photographs or video reels, for professional and client references or for a free project consultation.

Fine Line Multimedia - 66 Church Street, Lenox, MA; www.finelinelenox.com Contact: Lee Everett, 413-637-2020, everett@berkshire.rr.com

HOWARD STREET HOME, WATERCOLOR MARGUERITE BRIDE

MARGUERITE BRIDE CUSTOM HOUSE PORTRAITS

Finished your holiday shopping??? No???

Have you started it yet???

You can be the holiday hero of your family.

Join forces with your siblings and commission a house portrait for the folks. It’s really easier than you think. Marguerite Bride, well known for her “Local Color” watercolors of the Berkshires and New England as well as her custom house portraits, is taking commissions until November 16 for GUARANTEED HOLIDAY DELIVERY. There is still time, but just barely.

But…maybe you think it’s a great idea but are not comfortable with choosing the view or season. Here’s an easy solution…give a gift certificate and then the folks will become part of this very fun process. Like two gifts in one.

You will receive a delightful packet filled with all the info they need and a lovely custom designed gift certificate.

Be your family’s holiday hero…but don’t delay!

Fine art reproductions and note cards of Berkshire images and others by the artist are available at Good Purpose Gallery in Lee, the Red Lion Inn Gift Shop (Stockbridge), Lenox Print & Mercantile (Lenox); and a variety of other fine gift shops, and are always directly available from the artist.

Seasonal scenes are always on display in the public areas of the Crowne Plaza in Pittsfield.

Marguerite Bride will be exhibiting at the Handmade Holiday Festival sponsored by Alchemy Initiative at the Stationary Factory in Dalton the first weekend in December. Also see her Jazz Visions paintings at District Kitchen + Bar in Pittsfield all winter.

Marguerite Bride – Home Studio at 46 Glory Drive, Pittsfield, Massachusetts by appointment only. Call 413-841-1659 or 413-442-7718; margebridepaintings.com; margebride@aol.com; Facebook: Marguerite Bride Watercolors.

FRONT ST. GALLERY KATE KNAPP

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

Painting classes continue on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1:30pm at the studio and Thursday mornings out in the field.

These classes are open to all...come to one or come again if it works for you. All levels and materials welcome. Private critiques available.

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

Peek in to see!

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

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 27

ICHTHYS AND MOAI STACY SILKEY SCHULTZE

STACEY SILKEY SCHULTZE VISUAL ARTIST

Interview by Harryet

Stacey, I read your bio and your educational background, and I think you have quite a bit of great knowledge under your belt, as well as having lived and studied in many locales, from the Berkshires and the north shore to Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. So I’d like to ask you, how have your education and travels affected your art-making and your thought process?

Anything relevant to what you are presently creating? Would you not be creating such abstract, subconscious work if you had less formalized education?

Stacey Silkey Schultze: I believe environment plays a key role in art-making. Sometimes it is inadvertent; other times it is an overt influence. For instance, in Massachusetts I prefer to work inside my studio, while in North Car-

photographs courtesy of Artist

olina I often work outside on my porch or in my backyard. My education has helped me articulate my practice and encouraged me to see intuitively driven art as a legitimate subject and undertaking.

What influences have crossed your path, in particular, that have made a huge dent in the way you look at and think about art in general?

Stacey: Manet and Matisse were foundational influences, but I have an obvious affinity toward abstract expressionism. Each of my professors has helped shape the way I look at art and at my surroundings. I took a class at Montserrat College in Beverly, MA called Plasticity and Space, which really opened my eyes to seeing objects and the volume around

28 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

forms. It was the first time a class was less concerned with representational documentation and more focused on what the artist is noticing about the interaction of objects and the forces these objects intimate in their surroundings. It pointed to the fact that there is much more to life than what lies on the surface, and this concept intrigued me. Lived experience accounts for these nuances and I am challenged to direct attention to these intricacies in my work.

What is it, mainly, that you see around you or think about that stirs the split-second stimulation that gets you to paint?

Stacey: Well, it is complicatedly simple. Inspiration wells up inside of me at sometimes the most inopportune times. This used to frus-

MORE THAN A DAYDREAM SIDE A STACY SILKEY SCHULTZE

trate me when my children were little, because I felt torn between meeting their needs and following my artistic vision. Now that I have dedicated time to paint, I have struck a balance between inspiration and productivity. I find that when I am demanding inspiration to hit me, it is much like watching a pot of water and waiting for it to boil—it doesn’t happen. I have learned that I must be patient with myself and allow the ebb and flow of creativity to take its course. It is often in the quiet times, when I least expect it, that I begin new projects. I do have somewhat of a rhythm that I follow: first I make hurried and incomplete sketches of passages of moving images (whatever catches my eye in the moment) using a No. 2 pencil and a ream of copy paper. Next, I use these sketches as loose references for paintings, further abstracting them. I do not remember the impetus for the sketches… sometimes they come from movies, photographic slideshows, or even GIFs. Currently, I am working on a new collaborative series with a colleague, based on his photographs bridging his Ukrainian and American experiences.

What makes abstract painting such a great adventure for you?

Stacey: For me, abstract painting is like a complicated algebraic equation that I am working to reduce and balance. It is a cerebral challenge that manifests visually.

What mediums do you prefer to work with?

Stacey: I have gravitated toward water-based media such as acrylic and latex paint because they are easy to clean up, dry fairly quickly, and are less toxic than other mediums. I also continue to return to charcoal, which I fell in love with in high school.

Are there mediums you used to work with but no longer do? Why? Stacey: In undergrad I was trained in oil painting, but have set that aside because the solvents are toxic and I am a bit impatient (oils have long drying times).

I’m wondering if you’ve ever worked with encaustics. If you never experienced it, would you like to one day? I know changing mediums can alter an artist’s vision…

Thoughts?

Stacey: I welcome the chance to encounter new mediums, and encaustic painting has been on my ‘to-do’ list for quite some time. I think it would be a natural extension of my current practice because of the layering and transparent nature of the medium.

Stacey, how concerned are you about what people think of your work? What sort of feedback would you take note of seriously (other than “Beautiful,” or whatever…)?

Stacey: I used to be more concerned with what others thought of my work, and it held me back from exploring my artistic voice. This sort of thinking feeds perfectionism which, for

me, is the enemy of creativity. My work acts as a prompt for others to connect personal experiences to the memories I paint. For instance, at a recent opening for Memory Map at Gallery EDIT in Richmond, VA, an attendant expressed to me that my painting Put it There brought back memories of her grandmother’s home. Seeing her linger with the work, as if she were spending time with a loved one, is the type of connection and success I am after.

Is there a person that you totally trust with your artistic vulnerability and ego? What is it about this person that allows you to respect their thinking?

Stacey: Because I hope my work is interpreted as open and inclusive, I seek the council of a range of friends that traverse from my children, who offer guttural and honest feedback, to my dear friend Michele Kenney, who first taught me to oil paint, to my graduate professors. I had the pleasure of working with artists Peter Rostovsky, Jim Peters, Martha Clippinger, Deborah Davidson and Jered Sprecher, to name a few. Each of these mentors has invested in my artistic practice in ways that molded my thinking and process. Their encouragement and expertise is invaluable to me.

What is the most honest, most connected body of work you have created, and is it Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 29

expression. Highlighting and sharing student success brings me great joy.

How would you explain your art for the layperson, who may not know what he or she is looking at when viewing it?

Stacey: I often describe the pastime of cloudwatching in conjunction with interpreting my work. One person looking at a cloud may see a certain shape, and another person looking at the same cloud may insist they see something different. Abstract painting can yield a myriad of interpretations. For this reason, I relinquish the authorship of a painting’s meaning to the audience. A person’s experiences influence how my work is seen. I do not want to limit the way others connect with my paintings.

We are all obsessed with something or have great passion for something, and some express it through means of art-creating.

What are some of yours?

Stacey: I intentionally try not to insert an agenda into my work; instead, I allow my subconscious to dictate the order of each painting.

Because I see my work as a form of worship, one might say my passion is serving God through painting intuitive memories.

The exploration into our art is like the exploration into our souls. Would you please expand on this statement?

Stacey: Painting is meditative for me. The act of placing color and directing brush focuses my mind in a calming way. It is at this point that I feel closest to God.

What motivates you to keep creating art?

Stacey: I continue to create because it balances me and is a means to direct my attention to an unearthly presence in my life.

INSTALLATION MFA THESIS 7 RAINS ONE ROCK STACY SILKEY SCHULTZE PHOTO CREDIT: MARK TEIWES

something you have referred to in presentations you have given?

Stacey: All my work is honest, but some pieces may be more effective than others. In my thesis presentation, which can be viewed on my Facebook page Silkey Art, I reference a shift from narrative expression to abstract or intuitive thinking and painting. The work completed in the past two years is most representative of this transformation.

Giving presentations and facing a live audience may give people the jitters. How are you with facing an audience, and what would you say is the most important thing for the audience to know about you?

Stacey: I am still new at presenting or speak-

ing in front of larger audiences, so I am consciously fighting nervousness. I try to remember that I am simply having a conversation about my art. With practice and experience, I am becoming more comfortable in larger settings, and I welcome the opportunity to share my work and the research that feeds my practice with audiences.

Do you find you enjoy being an art instructor? What has been your favorite experience, and why?

Stacey: I enjoy teaching for two reasons: young artists have so much passion and energy, and I learn from teaching others. For me, the best part about being an instructor is to witness students’ skills matching their creative

30 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

How does anyone know when they are no longer an emerging artist? You know, I personally don’t like characterizing people’s level of art making—it narrows one’s thinking of what is being expressed by the artist.

Thoughts?

Stacey: I am not really into labels. I value work that I connect with, regardless of socially derived worth.

How does history play a role in your art?

Stacey: I believe there is much to be learned from those who have lived before us. Unlike previous periods in art history, I believe we live in a unique time where ‘isms’ are not undoing prior ‘isms’ and where all artistic styles are valid options for executing work. There are no rules that universally apply to art of our time. For this reason, there is great freedom allotted to artists to pick and choose the techniques presented by past artists and combine them to make unique, remixed styles.

Can you tell us about the fabric painting series you have completed and displayed?

Stacey: My shift from painting on board to transparent fabric was intended to evoke the feeling of fading memories which interact and form new or shifting connections. Each fabric painting is multi-layered and bi-frontal. This simulates validity in multiple viewpoints which add to the truth or more complete view of the painting. The transparency of the fabric layers allows the environment where the painting is displayed to become part of the work and therefore the meaning. In addition to the three locations where these paintings have been displayed, next summer I hope to photograph them (as well as four new pieces) across the Midwest in various locations, corn fields and prairies, to name a few.

Your studio is your playground for creating art. Is there anything that you have given to this space that satisfies a specific need in order to create just what you want? Where was your first studio?

Stacey: The freedom to be messy is the number one requirement for my studio space. A close second is good, natural lighting. My first studio was my bedroom, where I set up a hand-me-down drafting table. There I would play records and draw or paint for hours on end.

What famous quote do you love to repeat, and why?

Stacey: Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “The poet’s eye, in fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to Earth, from Earth to heaven.

And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name.”

I translate ‘poet’ in a more general sense to mean ‘artist.’ This quote insinuates that poets and artists can make sense of things unseen and give them the familiarity needed to make them approachable.

Do you think it is important to have a sense of humor in today’s art market?

Stacey: A sense of humor is necessary for walking out your door nowadays, but yes, maintaining a healthy perspective and managing expectations is important for artists in particular.

EVENLY CROOKED STACY SILKEY SCHULTZE

How does a representational artist move over into the abstract mode? What kinetics do you think are involved in the move from one to the other?

Stacey: Learning the skill of looking is applicable to both representational and abstract work. I was taught that if an artist can draw and paint the figure, they can use these skills to draw and paint anything. If an artist can draw a torso, arm and fingers convincingly, then he or she can draw a tree trunk, limb, and branches too. Throughout the process of learning to draw the figure, an artist adds to his or her mark-making vocabulary. Pulling from this bank, the artist can transition to abstraction. Giving oneself permission to explore and experiment allows an artist to develop a personal voice that meshes skill, experience and

intent.

Any wild or crazy goals you see yourself taking on over the next few years? Realistic goals?

Stacey: Next month I will be exhibiting my paintings internationally for the first time. I hope it is the beginning of many opportunities to travel with my art. In addition to expanding the geographic scope of my work, I hope to invest in the local community by working with the art students at Monument Mountain Regional High School to exhibit their work in the form of an outdoor projection show. If all goes as planned, it will be shown in each of the towns represented at the regional school.

Thank you!!

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 31

Eunice Agar Sketches from Tanglewood Lenox MA

euniceagar@gmail.com

32 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

Joyce Silver

Talking Political ART

L'Atelier of the Berkshires

I decided to devote this month's column to Political Protest Art. It is not a new genre. Protest Art started with the Gutenberg printing press in 1457. Who do we associate with political art today? In 1937, Picasso painted Guernica, the iconic anti-war canvas that hung in the MOMA for years before being returned to Spain. Ironically, when Colin Powell made the case for the invasion of Iraq at the UN, a tapestry of Guernica hanging in the UN security council, commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller, was draped in Blue.

We are all familiar with Picasso's art. I've used Chagall's art to illustrate a blog post of mine, which expresses Chagall's innermost feelings and his sheer terror of the impending Nazi onslaught. He depicted in vivid reds, Jesus on the cross, covered by a Tallis. Extremely powerful!

Contemporary political art may evoke feelings in us as we view the very personal art that comes from within the Artist himself. The work is an expression of his or her deep emotional state as a reaction to our

current political climate. In the Berkshires, L'Atelier of the Berkshires exhibits political art, and I have provided one of the images here for your review.

ROBERT FORTE is a political artist whose feelings and emotions strongly influence his art. He does not begin to paint with a "preconceived plan", Forte tells me. He lets the "ideas and imagery flow as the painting progresses." I have attached his painting of Trump, entitled "The Trump Doctrine". It is very powerful. According to the Artist, "It is not my painting of Trump that dominates the canvas and everything else, rather it is my depiction of his monstrous ego."

Bob Forte's work can be seen at the Atlantic Gallery in NYC. Enjoy the complexity. I'm not new to oils and I think the canvas lends itself to political protest and expression.

True to Isaiah #58, the more visually creative amongst us cry out and bear witness to what they believe is injustice! Albert Einstein warned humanity that "The world is a dangerous place to live, not be-

cause of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." What do you think, have these Artists captured the moment? Have they reflected the political mood of most of the country? Remember, this is their personal truth that needs expression.

I do hope you enjoy these representatives of contemporary political art.

Your comments are appreciated. XXX

ROBERT FORTE

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 33

CLAUDIA D’ALESSANDRO PHOTOGRAPHY

All of us need to have a sense of belonging in a PLACE. The contours of this home 'place' change according to the geography of our environs. And I find mine in nature, which affords me a sense of that grounded 'place' that many of us seek: in the world, in our thoughts and in our imagination.

My photography captures some of these places, and even some faces which look back at us, from the abstract to the sublime.

On prints, canvases and aluminum, I love to share these glimpses into the places, faces and whims of nature, in a variety of shapes, sizes and situations, in all seasons, weather and times of day.

The upcoming show, Rightful Places, is inspired by the words of poet Alice Meynell, who says it quite well: “Spirit of place! It is for this we travel, to surprise its subtlety; and where it is a strong and dominant angel, that place, seen once, abides entire in the memory with all its own accidents, its habits, its breath, its name."

The show, "Rightful Places," will take place from Noon to 5pm on December 9, and will be located at The Downs, 9 Seekonk Road in Great Barrington - a long time haven for the making of music - where we will celebrate these places and faces, frozen in time for all to share, and the delightfully rich world that the Arts provide.

Prints in a wide variety of sizes and mediums will be available, along with live music, delicious bites and sips of food and drink, a wonderful opportunity for Holiday shopping, or simply to delight in the many natural places all around.

Feel free to contact us ahead of time for more information. And please mark your calendars NOW, and do join us on December 9.

Claudia d’Alessandro | Photography - 9 Seekonk Road, Great Barrington, Massachusetts; 413-717-1534, cdalessandro26@gmail.com.

L’ATELIER

BERKSHIRES GALLERY CAPTURING LIGHT

L’Atelier Berkshires Gallery is proud to present Capturing Light, an exhibition of glass artists who use medieval age techniques to create contemporary stained glass artworks. Debora Coombs, originally from England, now lives and works in Vermont. She paints on hand-blown glass, and then fires it several times in the kiln to create her narrative stained glass pieces. Her glass work can be seen at Mass MOCA, in churches and public buildings. “I make stained glass windows from a mosaic of mouth-blown colored glass. Each individual piece is hand-painted and kiln-fired several times to fuse the imagery permanently into the glass. Painted pieces are fitted between lead channels, soldered and puttied. I use brushes, tools and materials largely unchanged since Medieval times”. Discover timeless original artworks by contemporary artists in a historic Great Barrington building.

Iva Kalikow lives and works in Becket, MA and Florida. She creates stained glass pieces inspired by artworks of the masters.

Capturing Light Exhibition will be on view from September 15 - October 31.

Special Event Sunday October 29, 5pm-9pm, DINNER FOR SINNERS, a culinary arts dinner in honor of Halloween. Art Salon and Drinks at 5pm, artist Debora Coombs will talk about her stained glass artwork. 6-9pm dinner and live music. Ticket information available at www.atelierberks.com or call 510-469-5468 to reserve you spot. Costumes encouraged!

L’Atelier Berkshires - 597 Main Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. For more information contact: Natalie Tyler, 510-469-5468, natalie.tyler@atelierberks.com, www.atelierberks.com.

34 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND

ELIXIR

ORGANIC TEA ROOM

Chilly nights, bright blue sunny days, geese flying overhead!

Autumn is as sweet as spring with its variety of scents and colors.

Soon enough the days will seem shorter as the daylight hours lessen and we will be reminded by nature to go inward.

One of the surest ways to go through the seasonal changes gracefully is to nourish and nurture ourselves.

To help others find their way to balance through nutritional and lifestyle changes, ELIXIR offers, not only delicious nutritionally balanced meals in a calm environment, but also nutritional/lifestyle consultations, cooking classes, herbal classes, and a series of cleanses.

It is important to us that we provide a haven/oasis for people to visit often to gather themselves in our space and by eating our food, but it is equally important that we help others to gain the knowledge and skills they need to care properly for their own health and well-being.

If you are feeling a little sluggish as the season changes and want to step up your health and become more vibrant, call to schedule a consultation.

We actually really care about you and your health!

We are helping people find health and well-being one meal at a time!

Our “Moveable Feast” fridge is filled with a variety of sweets, juices, soups and prepared foods to go, when time does not allow a more leisurely visit here.

Our Thursday Evening Salon Series is starting up its second season! Join us for a light dinner followed by an inspirational speaker from our community. If you have a gift you would like to inspire others with, please contact us to be the guest speaker. We welcome musicians, poets, authors, coaches, health practitioners and the like. These evenings inspire and build community.

See our calendar for upcoming dates for these salon evenings.

We look forward to seeing you here at ELIXIR soon.

ELIXIR – NancyLee, chef/owner; organictearoom@gmail.com, 413-644-8999. FB: elixir, Instagram: elixirllc, www.elixirgb.com.

GOURMET ORGANIC VEGETARIAN FARE WITH AN INTERNATIONAL FLAIR! New Fall Hours~

Thursday 10am-4pm Friday 10am-4pm Saturday 10am-8pm (dinner by reservation) Sunday 10am-4pm Monday 10am-4pm closed Tuesday & Wednesday (sometimes open by chance!)

Everything is always lovingly and consciously prepared with fresh organic ingredients

70 railroad street great barrington, ma www.elixirgb.com organictearoom@gmail.com 413. 644. 8999

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 35

J E N N I F E R PA Z I E N Z A

jennpazienza@gmail.com

http://jenniferpazienza.com

A HISTORY OF DOORS AND WINDOWS FROM THE BLOG “IMAGE PLUS TEXT” Richard Britell

The buildings across from my studio windows often are the subject of my drawings and paintings. The view consists of a row of downtown main street buildings build between 1880 and 1920. In this respect they are very much the same as all the downtown buildings of cities in the Northeast, cities, which took their form after the civil war. They are all masonry buildings, built of either brick or stone.

With large stone buildings the openings for the doors and windows presents an interesting problem. You can’t leave a hole for a door or window in the stonework, there has to be some kind of arrangement of stonework above the opening so that the building won’t cave in at these weak points.

The basic shapes of the brick and stonework above windows and doors in masonry buildings remained unchanged in most respects for thousands of years. An arch of bricks above a window, or the appearance of a big single stone over a door or window opening is much the same in buildings built in 1880 as in buildings built in Roman times. At the end of the Nineteenth Century however builders introduced iron and steel into the construction of buildings, and from that point on tall buildings were supported by a steel structure, and the brick and stone facing became partly decorative, and partly a protection from the elements.

Window and door openings no longer needed keystone arches or single lintel stones, because the steel was all the structure that was necessary. At that point however the brick and stonework remained the same stylistically, probably from the force of habit, for about twenty years. As the modern era began, the structural stonework, which had become only

ornamental, slowly began to disappear.

In this drawing the building on the far left was built as the styles were changing, the forms are basically like an old stone building, but if you look carefully you will see that the brick work above the windows is different.

The bricks are set in vertically all in a row, with no arch or keystone. Setting the bricks on edge was lip service to the old decorative brick work, but when you see bricks above a window all set in a row like that, it means that they rest on a steel I beam, if they didn’t rest on an I beam then the section over the windows would collapse. The two buildings in the middle were built in the fifties so we will pass

over them in silence. Behind those two middle buildings there is the cement wall of a concrete and steel building built in the Seventies.

That building in the background has a perfect surface for graffiti. Fortunately the building on the right casts its shadow over the graffiti so that it is not too bothersome.

You may want to ask, “How did the graffiti artists manage to paint so high up on the wall?” The answer is that there is a ladder lying on the roof, you can see it there in the drawing. And what is that big masonry arch doing in the sidewall of the building built in the fifties that I was going to pass over in silence? It is the remaining wall of a building that burned down in 1950, which had stood on that spot since 1895, and was incorporated into the building built in the fifties. You can still see the marks in the cement work on the side of the building on the left where the old building once met the wall of the outer building.

The building on the far right is the oldest building in this drawing, it was built in 1868.

You can tell that it was built in 1868 because it says so in the arch over the second floor. The same group of Italian stonemasons built the 1868 building, and the building that burned down, you can tell by the style of a big single arch over three arched windows that was one of their trademarks. ~ Richard Britell

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Grandma Becky’s

Authentic Old WOrld Recipes

by Laura Pian

Kichlach

Kichlach; some call it Kichel, Bowknots, Chrchiki.

In the end, these words come from the same root as Kuchen (which in Yiddish, means “cookie”). Kichlach is the plural of Kichel. Plain and simply, Jewish Bow Tie Cookies.

Grandma’s Kichlach were soft and crispy. They’d melt in your mouth before you even had a chance to chew them. They were coated with air bubbles that were fun to crunch away with my teeth. Grandma’s Kichlach were the closest thing to heaven that I ever ate.

As a child when Grandma Becky was making Kichlach, I knew a fun, and whimsical time was ahead of us in the kitchen. Grandma’s hands would work on autopilot while she and I sang the chorus for the Yiddish song “A Mentsh Zol Men Zayn” (Be a Decent Person). Yiddish words, with English transliteration below. Although I did not speak fluent Yiddish, I was able to sing the songs and understand the quick witted sayings. We spent lots of time laughing as we sang, while serious work was happening in our kitchen.

A Mentsh Zol Men Zayn (Yiddish): A kind iz tayer un oykh lib a tsirung iz es in der shtib. Dos shenste iz a kind nor af der velt si’z tayerer fun gelt! Far simkhe tanst di mamenyu fun nakhes kvelt der tatenyu. Dos greste glik far tate mama, a kind nor af der velt!

(English): A child is dear and beloved, a treasure in the home. A child is the most beautiful thing in the world, dearer than money! The mother dances in celebrations, the father beams with pride. The greatest happiness for the father and mother, a child in the world!

While Grandma and I were so deeply involved in what we were singing, we had created and baked the entire Kichlach recipe! I especially loved when Grandma Becky would tie one or two of these puffy bow ties to my hair or around my neck! I felt like the Kichel Princess!!

Here I share this old, traditional recipe with you. I’m sure you’ll find it absolutely Kichelicious!

INGREDIENTS: 1 3/4 cups sifted flour 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 3 large eggs, beaten 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Cinnamon (optional) Confectioner’s sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Add eggs and flavoring. Knead well (or use Mixmaster for 5 minutes). Turn out on floured board and roll to approx. 1/4” thickness. Sprinkle with sugar (cinnamon optional). Prick dough with fork. Cut into rectangles, diamonds, and rounds, twisting dough in center. Bake on a lightly floured cookie sheet or use parchment paper in moderate oven of 350 degrees until lightly browned (approx 35 minutes). When cooled, you may sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

Enjoy and esn gezunt (eat in good health)!

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THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2017 • 39

Mary Carol Rudin

Sunset

Signed, limited edition, Giclée prints available View Mary Carol’s website for paintings on people, still life, landscapes, skyscapes, abstract and more...

www.mcrudin.com mcrudin123@gmail.com

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