Up.St.Art Annapolis Spring 2015

ART+CULTURE+LIFE

ANNAPOLIS

SPRING 2015

Photos by Adam Elmakias

Jeff Kaplan, a familiar

face around Annapolis for more than 40 years, died tragically on January 7 in a doublevehicle accident. He was known to many in Naptown and respected as a loyal friend, mentor, and inspiration. Jeff was instrumental in promoting live music on a regular basis at popular Annapolis bars before becoming an audio engineer and pursuing a music career that would take him on the road and around the world. For more than 20 years, he was the sound guy to top-name artists and bands, mixing sound at large venues before thousands of fans. Between tours he would return to his hometown to rekindle family connections, see longtime friends, and mix sound at Rams Head On Stage and Rams Head Live. Jeff will be missed. Rest in peace, brother.

Jeff Kaplan was father to seven-year-old Vivien, who is also musical and has performed with The Colonial Players and in various local musical shows. To ensure her care, the Vivien Grace Kaplan Trust Fund has been established by her grandparents to receive donations. For information on how to donate, telephone (410) 897-0332.

above: Greg Harlin, Soldiers Gave Chase left: Roxie Munro, Arts & Letters below: Roxie Munro, Saratoga

THE ANNAPOLIS COLLECTION GALLERY 55 west street 21401 www.AnnapolisCollection.com 410-280-1414 on gallery row in historic annapolis

CONTENTS

Volume 2

CANVAS

14

Issue 1

Legalized

By Julia Gibb

WAVES

20

|

ART+CULTURE+LIFE

Hudson Street Sound

ANNAPOLIS

By Chris Kalman

SNAP

26

From the World Stage to Staging Families

By Desiree Smith-Daughety

CONCEPT

32

Pure Brilliance

By Tom Levine

SUP

38

Annapolis’ Living Room

S P RI N G 2015

By Zoë Nardo

INK

44

COVER Photo by Jamie Horton

Flame to Fame

By Chris Kalman

MOTION

50

Around the World & Back Again: A Celebrity Dancer Comes Home

MODE

56

Compelled by the Force of Modeling

By Desiree Smith-Daughety

EMOTE

62

Coming Up Roses

By Zoë Nardo

WUNDERKIND

8 | Spring 2015

68

CINE

By Emily Karcher

The Salad Days of Creation

By Patty Speakman Hamsher

74

Prologue to a Legacy: The Annapolis Film Festival

By Andrea Stuart

HOOD

78

Raising Small Voices

By Patty Speakman Hamsher

AGO

82

From the Eyes of Charles E. Emery

Photos Courtesy of Annapolis Collection Gallery

upstart-annapolis.com | 9

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ART+CULTURE+LIFE

ANNAPOLIS

Publisher & Creative Director Jimi Davies jimihaha@gmail.com Editorial Director Andrea Stuart andreastu@gmail.com Copy Editor Katrina Boldt Associate Editors Leah Weiss Leigh Glenn Katherine Matuszak Contributing Editors Julia Gibb Chris Kalman Emily Karcher Tom Levine Zoë Nardo Desiree Smith-Daughety Patty Speakman Hamsher

Contributing Photographers David Burroughs Alison Harbaugh Emily Karcher Joe Karr Larry Melton John Bildahl Glenn Miller Stan Barouh Advertising Jimi Davies Jimihaha@gmail.com Tom Levine Tomlevine3@gmail.com Corrin Magditch corrinmagditch@gmail.com Melanie Loughry melanie.loughry@gmail.com For distribution inquiries, contact Jimi Davies at jimihaha@gmail.com

Art Director Cory Deere cdeere@gmail.com

facebook.com/UpstartAnnapolis twitter.com/upstartnaptown instagram

UpstartAnnapolis

Mailing Address: Up.St.Art Annapolis P.O. Box 4162 Annapolis, MD 21403 410.212.4242 SUBMISSIONS: For article submissions, email proposal to andreastu@gmail.com. Up.St.Art Annapolis Magazine is published quarterly. Address: P.O. Box 4162, Annapolis, MD 21403. Subscription rate: $40, payable in advance. Single copies $4.99. Back issues, if available, $15 (includes shipping and handling). POSTMASTER send address changes to Up.St.Art Annapolis, P.O. Box 4162, Annapolis, MD 21403. Entire contents © 2015 by Up.St.Art Annapolis Magazine™ unless otherwise noted on specific articles. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited without Publisher permission.

12 | Spring 2015

get to

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CANVAS

14 | Spring 2015

By Julia Gibb

Photos by David Burroughs

Vermelho

CANVAS

A

nnapolis is joining a global movement toward embracing street art as a legitimate genre. Though the town is no stranger to public art, Roberta Pardo has ushered in a series of projects with a contemporary focus and a grand scale, bringing Brazilian street artists to Maryland to work in collaboration with local painters.

The results: a cultural exchange for artists and viewers alike, as well as colorful murals with a distinctly urban flavor popping up in Annapolis’s picturesque but staid landscape.

It’s easy to imagine Pardo as the world-class equestrian she once was. Willowy and graceful, she commands attention with her confidence and bold sense of style.

Her competitive horseback riding career once took center stage, compelling her to leave Brazil at 18 to train in Europe, but art has always been her other great passion. “In Brazil, we have so much art everywhere,” says Pardo, who grew up in São Paulo, where she studied industrial design at Fundaçao Armando Alvarez Penteado. Later, she would also study fine art and illustration at the prestigious Arts Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

upstart-annapolis.com | 15

Pardo was drawn to Davidsonville, Maryland to work for an Olympic judge, training horses and giving riding lessons. She met her husband, Michael, in downtown Annapolis; the two married in 2001. Following the birth of the couple’s first child, she turned her focus again to art, finding work in 2013 with the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. As the chair of exhibits, Pardo helps curate an ongoing series of shows at

BWI Airport, where a new theme is introduced every four months. A similar program will be starting soon at the Anne Arundel Medical Center.

An extensive art collection dominates the bottom two floors of Pardo’s Severna Park home. The work she acquires reflects her affinity for street art and for its creators. “I like artists. I like to help them. I know it’s a hard life,” she says.

Street art is a valued form of expression and community

Binho Ribeiro

CANVAS

Jeff Huntington 16 | Spring 2015

revitalization in Brazil, where it was decriminalized in 2009.

There is an honesty and vitality in these public works that Pardo finds compelling.

“I love street art because of its meaning,” she says, “it started—okay—as graffiti, as the [art of ] rebels. But it really started because it was a voice for the people.”

Last fall, Pardo brought internationally known Brazilian artists Branco, Gen Duarte, TIKKA, Vermelho, and Binho

Ribeiro to Annapolis.

The group attended the opening of LEGAL: Branco, Gen Duarte, TIKKA, Nick Alive, and Vermelho, a traveling exhibition that made appearances at George Washington University's Gallery 102 in Washington D.C. and Porter Contemporary in New York City. The five, along with local artists Jesse James, Jeff Huntington, and Charles Lawrance, executed a sweeping collaborative mural

“I love street art because of its meaning,” she says, “it started—okay—as graff iti, as the [art of ] rebels. But it really started because it was a voice for the people.”

Roberta Pardo community will see these installations as an invitation to slow down and join the visual conversations happening around us, locally and internationally: “We are all so busy, right? I have the three kids and the family, and then suddenly we run into a situation like this, where we have to stop and think, and realize that there is so much more out there than [what] we have in our everyday lives.” █

CANVAS

at Park Plaza, each painting a section of the 400-foot-long retaining wall with figurative, sometimes surrealistic, imagery.

Photographs of the work were featured in the winter issue of Up.St.Art magazine. The artists exchanged techniques and friendships as local musician Jonathan Stone provided a samba serenade. The project expanded into more murals: in Annapolis at Lemongrass on West Street, and at The Tattooery in College Park, Maryland. In addition, a workshop was held at ArtFarm, where young participants had an opportunity to meet the Brazilian artists, and to create their own street art-inspired work.

Though many have responded to the new murals with enthusiasm, some don’t know what to make of them. This in itself is part of what Pardo enjoys about presenting work out on the streets. “I think it’s fascinating, and I really like it,” she says, “I like to be a little bit of that ‘wild card’ in a good way, to surprise people.” Her affection for Annapolis is clear as she rhapsodizes about the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay, the historic nature of the town, and the many activities the area has to offer. At the same time, she sees an opportunity to introduce new ideas. “You have to be able to adapt to the times without forgetting the history.”

This year, Pardo plans on bringing local artists to Brazil and more Brazilian artists to Annapolis. She is also working on creating a permanent wall for temporary art, a concept modeled after New York City’s Bowery Mural, which, since 2008, has served as an outdoor exhibition space for multiple contemporary artists. She hopes that the

Gen Duarte upstart-annapolis.com | 17

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WAVES

20 | Spring 2015

Hudson Hudson S o u n d

stst

S o u n d

By Chris Kalman

Photos by John Bildahl

Born and bred Annapolitans, along with those entrenched in the local music scene, will likely connect the dots here.

The list of bands is a collection of just some of the talented artists that have made the trip to Annapolis to record with Noel White and Frank Marchand— the co-owners of Hudson Street Sound (HSS). To me, hearing about HSS brings back memories of learning about Jimi’s Chicken Shack’s humble origins back when “Do Right” was a hit single. In my mind, it comes as a bit of a surprise to hear how successful and widely sought out a recording studio from quaint old Annapolis can be. New York City, Nashville, Los Angeles—places like that.

That’s where the top artists must all record, right?

Apparently not. There may be more than coincidence to big names like Jimi’s Chicken Shack and Good Charlotte coming out of the general vicinity and the impressive success of HSS. As Frank tells me, he believes Annapolis “is the healthiest of the music communities in the Mid-Atlantic region.” That says a lot, considering vibrant scenes like Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. But which came first, the chicken (Shack) or the egg? Frank insists that when he and Noel opened HSS in the winter of 2013, big things were already underway in Naptown. Noel had a lot of projects going, and he was bringing them to the studio. Frank was working in Takoma Park, realizing that “working in a more corporate facility” was not ideal for him.

WAVES

“The National, St. Vincent, Foals, Portugal the Man, Bob Mould, The Lone Bellow, Robyn Hitchcock, Alt J, Birds Of Tokyo, Dawes, . . .” The list goes on. Chances are, if you haven’t been living under a rock for the last f ive years, you’ve heard of at least a few of these bands. I have spent most of the last f ive years living under one rock or another, and even I f ind myself nodding along knowingly as I fondly remember clean guitar licks, crisp lyrics, and delectable melodies that I’ve enjoyed over the years.

upstart-annapolis.com | 21

Noel White

Frankie Seuss

Noel White, Jennifer Van

ld

Meter-White and Bryan Ewa

WAVES Dean Rosenthal

22 | Spring 2015

Tobias Russell

Larry Melton

They both had roots in Annapolis, and the work and potential were there. “I was slowly dissolving my relationship with my old employer,” explains Frank. “Noel [was between tours, and] started to get in contact with real estate folks.”

It was a near miss. If the timing had not been perfect, HSS might never have come to fruition. “I was tempted to make the move to Nashville a few years back, but that was right about the time Frank and I first started talking about building a room together,” Noel tells me. “I also always had this feeling we could make something happen with [W ]RNR. I knew if I moved to Nashville, I’d never be able to pull something like that off, so we just went for it. We were probably a month from thinking

we’d open when Bob [from WRNR] called and asked if we’d record Ra Ra Riot for them. We said, ‘What the hell!?’ and opened up. Next thing you know, every hot band from SXSW was coming through. I think the first six weeks we were open, we recorded Ra Ra Riot, Dawes, Alt J, and The Lone Bellow. It was crazy.”

The rest is history. Today, HSS is well-known throughout the industry, as are Frank and Noel.

Noel works with world-class musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Sting, and Paul Simon (he’ll be touring with the latter two this year), while somehow also finding time to remain committed to local bands Jarflys and Van Meter. Frank, meanwhile, maintains a laundry list of projects that could fill an entire page, including “an amazing solo record with Michael Bakke from Grilled Lincolns that has some 25 musicians from the Annapolis area, including Mike McHenry, Julie from Sweet Leda, Higher Hands, Jordon Sokol, 86 the Effort, Jimi Haha, Viki Nova, Wax and Herbal

T, Joey from Pasadena, and Skribe, just to name a few.”

Together, Frank and Noel not only bring big names to Annapolis to record, but help up-and-coming musicians become big names.

In the end, the secret to their success is probably not to be found in good timing, quality equipment, or musical and technical expertise, though all those things are certainly to be found in HSS. Noel believes that what makes HSS so special is their commitment to finding the humanity and purpose in the music of every artist they record. “That’s what I feel Frank and I bring to our sessions.

When we are recording, we are there to pull for you. We try and find the honesty and root of what you’re trying to express. The main reason we have great gear is to make it disappear in the equation. Eighty percent of recording is creating an environment of trust and honesty. The gear becomes irrelevant because the magic comes from the harmonic conversation between musicians, not what mic you’re using.” That said, if the mic you’re using is found at HSS, chances are you’re already ahead of the game.

When I asked Frank and Noel who to keep an eye out for locally, they mentioned up-and-comers Pressing Strings, Pasadena, Bumping Uglies, Van Meter, Pompeii Graffitti, and Telesma. █

WAVES

Frank Marchand

To learn more about Hudson Street Sound, visit www.hudsonstreetsound.com.

upstart-annapolis.com | 23

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SNAP

26 | Spring 2015

the FROM WORLD STAGE to STAGING FAMILIES Family photography as an art form

By Desiree Smith-Daughety

Photos by Jamie Horton

Her photos capture the ethereal childhood moments that pass far too quickly, leaving families with the two-dimensional equivalent of capturing lightning in a bottle when it comes to children, notorious for mercurial emoting and shark-frenzied movement.

F

rom documentary photographer on the world stage to documentary family photographer in nurseries or outdoors with anxious parents trying to corral rambunctious kids, Jamie Horton has given the concept of reinvention a spin on its axis. She started in journalism and felt she was creating memorable work. Documenting life and capturing moments felt important for her and, she hoped, for the world. “My interests changed as my life changed. I became interested in family photography; meaningful work again, but not to the same people. What I’m trying to do

is create memorable, beautiful pieces of art.”

Jamie’s goal for each shoot is to create an image with an artistic edge that can be appreciated by a wider audience—someone other than the subject’s mother. She is inspired by Sally Mann, a renowned photographer she feels “captures that in a unique way.”

Her reinvention was launched following the birth of her first child. New parents know well that these rapturous days are fleeting. Jamie grabbed for her camera that first week, wanting to collect the moments before they were irretrievable. Her

upstart-annapolis.com | 27

SNAP

“It’s a big responsibility, capturing another family’s precious moments— creating photographs that are meant to be loved for a lifetime."

28 | Spring 2015

professional roots led her to at first just document “nothing artistic.” But she soon desired to move beyond snapshots—the kind with which all proud parents adorn their Facebook walls, filling friends’ and families’ feeds with that same desire to slow time.

Cutting her artistic teeth at home, she received positive feedback, and voilà—a redirection was born.

“It’s a big responsibility, capturing another family’s precious moments—creating photographs that are meant to be loved for a lifetime. I feel like it’s a real important trust they place in me.”

Jamie doesn’t have a studio; she shoots on location. Because she can’t control all the location’s aspects, it awards some element of surprise, spurring her to think on her feet. This is what keeps her excited.

As do the kids. Not only do they surprise, but Jamie soon realized they are the boss. She likes to do posed shots early on and then let them run wild.

Though she is trying to shoot a moving target, they’re having fun, less inhibited by the camera.

“They’re darting all over the place, and I’m trying to capture their faces.” Although parents may be

cringing in the background, fearful that the shoot will be a bomb, Jamie handles it with perfect aplomb. “It’s easier when it’s not your own kids. I find it cute and funny; it makes me laugh.” It’s actually that wild natural essence that she works to capture—what makes kids kids.

When capturing families, Jamie strives not only for the quintessential “perfect family” photo, but also candid, natural shots, avoiding traditional forced smiles and frozen poses.

She may start with a pose or tell them to come together naturally.

all the presents, another crying in the corner, another shoving cake. I took pictures to capture the insanity of it.”

Jaime's journalism training has served her well; she learned to anticipate a perfect moment.

You have to be fast; it can’t be recreated. This translates well to children. For her, it is gratifying when—in the midst of an image—she can feel everything coming together, a momentary grasp on elusive time to make something her clients will love as much as she does.

Jamie has an intuitive understanding of art: it is life, in all its messy yet sublime glory. █

SNAP

“I like to blend their natural emotion and want to see their connection; I don’t want them to be too stiff.”

And how about temper tantrums? Jamie loves the ethereal shots, but doesn’t want to capture only the perfect moments. She has been known to include a tantrum shot in a gallery because it will make everyone laugh someday. Her own kids aren’t immune; she likes to show her kids how they looked because they didn’t get a lollipop. Jamie also didn’t shy away from documenting a birthday party she threw for her son that she characterizes as a complete disaster. “Everyone was just crazy! One kid was ripping

upstart-annapolis.com | 29

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Creating Miles of Smiles!

Dr. Bevery Ann Jimenez, also known as “Dr. Sissy,” has been a pediatric dentist in the Annapolis area for more than 15 years. Dr. Sissy recently opened the doors to her own practice, Annapolis Pediatric Dentistry; a fun, colorful, and inspiring place for kids to receive dental care. Her philosophy is to make dentistry easy and comfortable, not “scary.” She takes a conservative approach, emphasizing prevention, diet and, healthy habits from an early age.

Her office walls are a gallery of homegrown artwork from a local artist, Glenn Shiring, who used all recycled materials to create his unique pieces.

Annapolis Pediatric Dentistry Dr. Beverly A. (Sissy) Jimenez

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CONCEPT

32 | Spring 2015

PURE K

By Tom Levine Photos by Larry Melton

och Baghdadlian found his calling early. He was 11 years old when he left school in Damascus, Syria to become an apprentice jeweler. His family is Armenian, part of the diaspora, displaced almost a century ago by the Armenian genocide. Driven from their homes by the Ottomans, the Baghdadlians and many other Armenians found their way to Damascus, where they kept their trades alive.

At 72, he seems unable to abide the idea of retirement.

He arrives at Le Belle Cezanne, his family-run jewelry store, every morning at precisely 8:45.

While this may just appear to be Baghdadlian’s comfort with a long-practiced routine, it seems more the result of a personality that strives for precision and perfection.

By the time he was 15, he was setting rose diamonds and thinking about the world beyond Syria. His skill and ambition led him first to Egypt—where he operated a jewelry factory— through Europe, and eventually to New York’s Diamond District in the 1970s. A decade later, he brought his family to Annapolis, and a few years later opened Le Belle Cezanne on Main Street.

When the business outgrew its original space, Baghdadlian seized the opportunity to create a shining showroom halfway up the street on the first two floors of a new building. The modern facade sports a pair of large bay windows set like facet-cut stones, much like the jewels inside. It’s very sharp and sophisticated and feels a little European. When you meet Baghdadlian in this urbane setting, you might expect him to

upstart-annapolis.com | 33

CONCEPT

be dressed in an impeccably tailored Armani suit, to be suave and smooth, and maybe a bit unctuous. But you’d be wrong. He’s a craftsman, and when you shake his hand you will feel the grit on his fingers.

His workroom brings to mind the kitchen of a fine restaurant where the chef hasn’t quite adopted the notion of being a public figure. There are windows that allow customers to look in at his bench and tools—a reminder that the creation of jewelry is still best done by hand. If the showroom is like an elegant dining room, a polished display of gleaming perfection, the workroom is the kitchen. There is noise, flame, and a sense of the human labor behind the wellcrafted presentation in the front of the house. Everything is well-used. A shelf sags on a wall while a set of hand tools, their handles smoothed and burnished from decades

34 | Spring 2015

of use, sits on a workbench.

A hand-cranked machine used to extrude metals into proper shapes is the sibling of the pasta machines in every trattoria and fine ristorante worth your attention.

Baghdadlian is busy with his pneumatic drill, using one of the dozens of tiny bits neatly aligned on a magnetized rack. He is working on a ring, resetting a diamond and meticulously nudging tiny gold prongs into place. The drill is one of the few things in this workshop that has received a technological advance in the past 60 years. It has replaced the hand-powered drills Baghdadlian used to learn his craft in Damascus, but it is still a long way from high tech. The only thing with a microchip in the room is the wall-mounted television tuned to The Price is Right, which is about as retro as you can get.

Out in the showroom, Baghdadlian’s son, John, really wants to show me his father’s work, the designs that make Le Belle Cezanne special. The style is crisp and beautiful, clean and pure. The beauty of the materials takes center stage—the designs showcase the attributes of the rare metals and precious stones. John has brought

out a half-dozen rings. I’m feeling too polite to ask the probing question that good journalism would require, but John, with the instincts of a first-rate merchant, saves me the embarrassment.

He leans in and discreetly mentions the price for one small number, an impossibly blue sapphire beauty reposed on a cozy bed of diamonds.

Ballpark number for this handful of baubles? Think college education for a child or two (Ivy League, no financial aid) or a sweet sports car (Italian, bright red, and very fast). The sapphire’s cousin is an astounding pavé set diamond ring. This one has 152 stones (four carats) in a space about the size of your thumbnail.

I ask the next obvious question: “You set each of these little diamonds by hand?” Baghdadlian answers, “Of course.”

This ring seems almost impossibly detailed, the diamonds so tightly set that I can barely distinguish the individual stones. They reflect a million points of light, and if you look closely enough, you’ll see the skills and aesthetic refinement of sixty years and three continents. The reflection is an ancient city where the need to create objects of great beauty first took seed, fueled by the passion of a young artisan and the souls of his ancestors.█

CONCEPT

By the time he was 15, he was setting rose diamonds and thinking about the world beyond Syria.

In February, a sapphire and diamond ring was stolen. If you have any information leading to its return, please contact the Annapolis Police Department (410) 268-9000.

upstart-annapolis.com | 35

METROPOLITANANNAPOLIS.COM

SUP

38 | Spring 2015

T

here was the downstairs bar of Rams Head Tavern with the top bar in progress, a little bistro where Tsunami is now, and a restaurant where El Toro Bravo currently dwells. That was it for West Street in 1995. Brian and Sarah Jun-Cahalan remember how the street lacked appreciation and deserved attention. As far as cafés, there was only one in Annapolis, and it required a minimum $10 purchase. There wasn’t anywhere that the community could go to simply study or relax, have some coffee or a glass of wine, and experience a free exchange of ideas.

So on December 27 of that year, they opened 49 West Coffeehouse and Wine Bar, introducing Annapolitans to a café scene unlike any other. “It was just us, that’s it. We really had to fight downtown and say, ‘People, come up here; you don’t have to be downtown,’” says Sarah.

The fight wasn’t easy in the beginning. They wanted to be able to serve alcohol until 2 a.m., but at the time, a coffeehouse wanting to serve alcohol as late as the bars was unheard of. “They had no

By Zoë Nardo concept,” Sarah says. “It wasn’t Photos by Alison Harbaugh available here in Annapolis.”

The process would take at least eight months, was pricey in legal fees, and the outcome wasn’t in their favor; regardless, Brian and Sarah combed through historic Annapolis by foot, obtaining signatures for their petition fighting the current ordinance. It worked, and they were granted the first 2 a.m. liquor license in fifteen years. For the first five or so years, Brian and Sarah would work up to 100 hours every week. They would keep their toothbrushes stuck in the nooks of the bar and shampoo in the dish room, just in case they were too exhausted to make the three-block walk to their home on King George Street.

ANNAPOLIS’S LIVING ROOM

upstart-annapolis.com | 39

Maria Pautsch ser

ving up the joe

SUP Jonathan Stone treating customers to bossa nova

40 | Spring 2015

They’re a couple that makes things happen. Brian describes their dynamic as a good right-hand/left-hand duo, and Sarah describes it as the perfect yin and yang. It’s the ideal balance. So, when they notice something awry, or an element missing somewhere, Brian constructs the idea and Sarah plans. 49 West was what they thought Annapolis was lacking. “I always say, ‘from blue hairs to millionaires,’” says Brian. “I wanted it to be for everybody. I wanted it to be a place where the community met.”

He and Sarah believe Annapolis lacked it then, but feel society still longs for community. Brian mentions the problems with televisions, cell phones,

and automatic garage door openers. “You used to at least have to say ‘hi’ to your neighbor if he was trimming the hedge and you had to pull up the garage door.”

It was simple. They wanted people to converse and educate each other.

At 49 West, you’ll find just that. It’s a combination of art and the smooth jazz wafting into the dining room from the back room that’s unattainable anywhere else in Annapolis. It’s the fact that, no matter what day of the week or time of day, there will be art on the walls.

They have made a tradition of changing the art and featuring different artists monthly. It’s been done for nineteen years, and they haven’t missed a month yet.

“I always say, ‘from blue hairs to millionaires,’” says Brian. “I wanted it to be for everybody.

I wanted it to be a place where the community met.”

The idea for switching the art monthly was inspired by 3rd Coast, Brian and Sarah’s favorite café in Chicago, where they met while attending Moody Bible Institute. Characteristics and components of 3rd Coast are scattered around 49 West today, including how they display art, but they can also be seen throughout the menu. The chicken salad and scone recipes are menu replicas, but over the years, their offerings have grown to feature items that they believe their customers want to see. “I don’t want to be trendy,” says Sarah, “I want to be fresh.

We actually didn’t know that we were going to do so much food or live music, but it just kind of evolved.”

It comes as no surprise that 49 West’s specialty is jazz. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, they host jazz nights. Sunday is an all-day affair.

Music can be heard from brunch until the end of dinner, from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. If there’s ever a chance to showcase another type of music, they don’t hesitate to book it. Sarah mentions they recently had a reggae band in the back room By stepping comfortably outside the box, Brian and Sarah constantly introduce new people to their café while also exposing their regulars to something that they may not have otherwise experienced.

All restaurants appreciate their regulars, but for Brian and Sarah, they are who create the “49 West vibe.” “If it wasn’t for our regulars and everyone supporting us all of the time, we wouldn’t be here,” says Sarah. “That’s my favorite, just seeing the people that we know every day. It’s like entertaining at your home all of the time.” This is what they yearned for in 1995, to create a living room for the Annapolis community like they enjoyed in Chicago. Nineteen years later, there are more than three attractions on West Street, and there is more than one café throughout Annapolis, but 49 West is unlike any other. █

SUP

Sarah Jun-Cahalan and Brian Cahalan

upstart-annapolis.com | 41

The

Whole Body

Connection

T

By Katherine Matuszak

he human body is more than the sum of its parts.

Those familiar with acupuncture or reflexology have heard countless times that many parts of your body are linked in ways other than “the toe bone’s connected to the foot bone.”

Your mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body and often acts as a reflection of your overall health. Beyond a beautiful smile for making first impressions, a healthy mouth is important for a healthy life. Gum disease (gingivitis) is tied to heart disease, diabetes and diabetes control, and low birth weights in infants. Some studies also point to possible connections between gum disease and rheumatoid arthritis, lung conditions, and obesity. Clearly, keeping your gums healthy is an important aspect of staying healthy. Unfortunately, trips to the dentist often bring about anxiety, which has its own set of detrimental effects on the body.

The best solution is to find a professional environment that can ease the anxiety. Denise Dental Studio, for example, is considered a “Dental Spa” because of the services it provides to its patients: lip balm, blankets, neck pillows, mouth rinse, bottled water, warm face towels, nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”), and relaxing music. The family-oriented atmosphere pairs a relaxing setting with caring staff who make the experience one of high quality and comfort. In a sense, creating comfort is an art form for the office.

Finding a dentist that makes you comfortable makes you more likely to keep your appointments, and if the experience is positive, it may help reduce the anxiety you feel before dental cleanings and exams.

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INK

44 | Spring 2015

Dan Kagan

Flame to Fame M

Photos by Joe Karr

y palms are sweaty, my mouth is dry, my legs can barely hold my weight. I start slowly, voice quaking, apologizing for what I’m about to do. Then, looking around the room, I remind myself to relax. After all, it’s just a poetry reading. People are here to have fun.

The Spiral Staircase poetry reading is an interesting iteration of an intimidating art form. As if poetry were not difficult enough. For millennia, poets have spilled their deepest, dearest thoughts upon the page. Those whose work wins accolades and prestige have those incredibly personal passages broadcast widely for anyone interested to see and read. The art is as intimate as it is intimidating—and that makes it a tough sell for many readers and writers alike. Now, combine all the challenging aspects of poetry with reading your work out loud in a cozy room packed to the gills full of eager listeners, and you have all the makings of a squirmfest that would make a spawning ball of newts blush.

Sitting down with Barrett Warner and Susan Sonde— two well-known poets who are the featured readers of this Sunday’s event—I find myself opening up to the slightly terrifying idea of reading a poem or two.

“You have to be completely unselfconscious about the questions you are asking of life,” Barrett reminds me as I confess my fear of poetry readings. “We’re all on this nude beach together.” While I understand the metaphor, I can’t help but think that it’s a heck of a lot easier coming from a guy like Barrett. If poetry is a nude beach, then Barrett and Susan are the French equivalent of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. It’s easy to stand nude in front of a crowd if you’ve got the goods to show for it.

INK

By Chris Kalman

upstart-annapolis.com | 45

he Sky alls from t F n io t a t p Tem arner W

by Barrett

coming If I see it or right dodge left I’m quick to rmed that has fo small crater e th s is m to ne lovely e of someo in the shap alone. helmed and and overw throw , not even to I don’t stop shadow the gaping coins into different. something to wish for maybe moving, and No, I keep ine to go iolae and w I’ll buy glad ers. ght of oyst -shelled ni with a half the faucet leaning over Here I am, as. s on the bi cutting stem g and wife, poppin Here is my — Both of us grape shots. e th g ing in ur po saying noth d shucker— an t it m h sailclot n something es once agai se e sh n he w p. aving a lum my head, le has bashed

INK 46 | Spring 2015

My own canned, unoriginal, and somewhat whiny poems leave me feeling a bit more like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons—the antithesis of voluptuousness and virility.

Of course, for all my selfdeprecation, I do decide to partake in the reading—mostly due to encouragement from Barrett, Susan, and Dan Kagan, the host and creator of Spiral Staircase —and I am not alone. Looking at the sign-up list, fifteen other intrepid souls—roughly half the room—are here to share three poems or read for five minutes, whichever comes first. “This is what Spiral Staircase is all about,” Dan says to me as people mill around, waiting for the reading to begin. “You’ve got twenty-eight people here, including several good amateur poets; a professor of writing at the local community college; a 15-year-old high school kid reading his work for the first time; an internationally recognized Shakespeare scholar and published poet; a best-selling novelist; a rising young poet with a new book about to be released; a commercial real estate deal-maker who also writes poetry and plays in a 50+ travelling rugby league; a writer for the Washington Post; and a working stage and film actor and playwright. And then you’ve got Barrett and Susan. It’s a great group!”

I’m impressed not just with the crowd, but with Dan’s familiarity with it. It’s obvious that this event has both a healthy smattering of regulars and first-timers. Once the reading gets fully underway, there’s standing room only in 49 West’s back room. When the Spiral Staircase reading began in January of 2013, at the foot of the spiral staircase leading down to the basement of the Annapolis Bookstore (hence the name), nobody anticipated how big or

quickly it would grow. At an earlier meeting, Dan regales me with the story of Spiral Staircase’s beginnings. He’s emphatic that the poetry reading was generated by the businesses in Annapolis that are active participants in the arts community.

“Janice Holmes and Mary Adams, who own the Annapolis Bookstore, are friends of mine.

They asked me to organize and host a monthly poetry reading there,” he says. “We had discussed it before, but it was their idea,” he says. “I’m a marketing guy, so I promoted the reading very aggressively. I had a lot of support and guidance from a friend who runs the other two monthly poetry readings in town, and I know people in the Baltimore poetry scene, which is large and very active, so I was able to book feature poets who would draw.

And the bookstore is well-loved in town. Everything came together for the launch.”

For the very first Spiral Staircase, they had a whopping forty-eight people turn out— almost unheard of for a poetry reading—and had to turn people away. After a few months, the bookstore just couldn’t continue to run the event; it was simply too big for their facility. “That’s when Brian and Sarah Cahalan, the owners of 49 West, approached me,” Dan explains. “49 West is a nucleus of the arts and music scene in town, and Brian and Sarah are always looking for ways that the café can add to it. So, we moved the reading to 49 West’s back room.”

The rest is history. Now, Spiral Staircase is a regular feature of the downtown Annapolis arts community, occurring on the third Sunday of every month at 4 p.m.

And while the size of the crowd fluctuates, there are always one or

Robert Ertman

Andrew Jarvis

Barrett Warner and Susan Sonde

Minnie Warburton

Megan Petrosky

Dylan Quetel

Michael Ratcliffe

JP Cashla

INK

two featured poets, at least a few open mic readers, and an audience to fuel the event. This is a good thing, because the whole idea behind Spiral Staircase is to get people out there reading, sharing poems, and shirking off whatever hoity-toity connotations have somehow become erroneously attached to this funny, raw, and raucous art form.

I eventually wallow through my shaky reading and finish up the second poem feeling almost courageous. My own two cents delivered, I kick back and enjoy the other readers. Barrett and Susan’s excellent work transports me—at least momentarily—into fascinating worlds of oystershucking love affairs and the secret lives of arsonists.

Listening to Susan’s poems about people who make fires, I find Dan’s words coming back to me with crystal clarity: “Poetry originated around the communal fire, with someone chanting the story of the hunt, a battle with a rival tribe, or some mysterious occurrence,” he tells me, “not in a library or a classroom. The whole point of the Spiral Staircase series is to promote poetry as a form of entertainment and cultural engagement. It doesn’t require academic parsing; it’s a participatory art that’s full of sex, laughs, and drama more than anything.” Dan says: “This is what the Spiral Staircase series is about—getting poetry back around the campfire.”

As poet after poet stands before the mic and speaks his or her verse, I realize that—at least today—Dan’s dream has been fulfilled. And while there is no soot, ash, or smoke to speak of, each poet’s inner flame combusts just brightly enough to light up the entire room. █

upstart-annapolis.com | 47

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MOTION

A CELEBRITY DANCER COMES HOME Around the World and Back Again

By Emily Karcher Photos by Emily Karcher"

J

amile McGee doesn’t stop moving much. Even sitting by the window of Einstein Bros Bagels on Ritchie Highway this rainy Saturday in January, he is working the crowd. A wool flat cap covers his shaved head, and he is tapping arms, snapping fingers, cracking jokes, and even teasing a group of adjacent women in their sixties.

One bumps into his upper arm, which today is covered by a fitted blue sweater. McGee asks if she was trying to “cop a feel.” The women giggle wildly before one responds, “If you’re charging for that, put us all on the list!”

50 | Spring 2015

McGee recalls that, even from a young age, he was “that show-off at school,” always moving, always dancing. His mother enrolled him in ballet and jazz at age four, but McGee despised being the only boy in a traditionally girls’ world (something he says that is different today, with some classes now catering entirely to boys). In high school, classmates would nudge him into

impromptu performances at assemblies. But surprisingly, movement didn’t always come easy for McGee.“To make a long story short, I was playing soccer at school one day,” McGee recalls. “I fell and hit my knee.

After that, I started getting really sick for some reason. Things just weren’t okay.”

At age nine, McGee was diagnosed with Systemic Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and during more than a year in the hospital,

MOTION

Baby-faced and gregarious, McGee knows a thing or two about working a crowd. That’s one reason the 30-year-old Maryland native ended up in Hollywood at 19, cast on the first season of the hit FOX television show, So You Think You Can Dance. McGee was a top finalist and was subsequently hired as a backup dancer to Hollywood’s biggest A-listers, dancing on concert tours internationally and in music videos.

Young dancers across the region today also flock to the classes he offers at local studios.

But the other reason for his success? McGee McGee can dance.

McGee describes his classic hip-hop dance movements as “popping and locking,” but if you really want to know what it looks like when he dances, imagine someone (proficiently) doing the Robot and then unhinging his torso from his legs. He is 6’1” and entirely muscular, and his dances— whether self-choreographed or learned— are breathless and jolty, but equally fluid.

McGee seamlessly strings each step—a combination of moonwalks, modified pushups, pantomime, and splits—all together into one long, polished motion before reaching his final pose and tipping his fedora.

upstart-annapolis.com | 51

his prognosis for ever walking again became grim. But out of nowhere, this self-professed “church boy” seemed to experience a miracle to the extent that his body completely recovered. In 2005, he was able to share his experience during the Silver Spring auditions for So You Think You Can Dance, and that, in combination with his phenomenal dancing, drew the producers to his backstory.

What kept him earning applause on the show was his consistent ability to perform nearly any genre of dance—something he learned through formal studies at both Wright State University and Anne Arundel Community College.

“After the show, I was working, working, working, working,” says McGee. “Beyoncé scooped me up. Wayne Brady. I was dancing for Chris Brown, dancing for Rihanna, Mary J. Blige.” For seven years, McGee made the rounds in Hollywood and internationally, sometimes auditioning alongside 500 other dancers in a hotel ballroom, all vying for a chance to

MOTION 52 | Spring 2015

dance in the spotlight.“Hollywood is an amazing place for the opportunity,” McGee says. “But if you’re not grounded and ready and driven, it’s really difficult.” Little by little, having to be “camera-ready all the time” started to wear McGee down. “I needed a break,” he admits. “I like Hollywood for the exposure, the opportunity, but I’m not Hollywood. I’m neighborhood.

I missed home.”

After riding the celebrity wave amid the constant hustle of Los Angeles, McGee is back east now— for a while, at least. “I’m actually in a good place with it. I’m not fighting myself with it anymore,” he adds.

Today he’s eating bagels late on this Saturday morning with his girlfriend, Brandee Stuart, also an accomplished local hip-hop dancer.

The two of them are talking about what it feels like to transition as a full-time dancer towards finding what’s next in an artist’s career.

For McGee, he is turning his efforts not only to more choreography work, but also

deejaying and producing electronic music, including house and dubstep. As McGee explains, creating an experience for an audience—either aurally through music or visually through dance— involves remarkable similarities.

“As a deejay, you’re a mood-setter,” McGee explains. “I can make you sit down. I can make you get up, depending on what I play. It’s as if I’m choreographing. It’s almost as if I’m going, ‘Five, six, seven, eight,’ but I’m doing it with buttons.”

Experience as a wheelchairbound nine-year-old still resonates with McGee, who now volunteers as a monthly deejay at The League in Baltimore, a brand-new nightclub experience offered solely for people with disabilities.

As for what’s next for McGee, he stresses a commitment to wanting to use his talents to help others. “I love to inspire,” he says, especially if he can encourage his students to take risks in order to pursue their professional dreams. On the East Coast, McGee says, there is an impressive pool of talented young

dancers. “People who want to go out to L.A., want to go to Cali,” McGee says, “I just tell them, ‘Keep training; keep practicing.’”

Looking back at the past decade, and having leapt into the limelight at a relatively young age, McGee chuckles: “I’ve done some work, man. I feel old, but I’m not old. I’m still young. I’ve still got a lot of work to do.” █

MOTION

“I needed a break,” he admits. “I like Hollywood for the exposure, the opportunity, but I’m not Hollywood.

I’m neighborhood. I missed home.”

upstart-annapolis.com | 53

MODE

56 | Spring 2015

Compelled by the Force of

By Desiree Smith-Daughety Photos by David Burroughs

I

t’s not all pretty pouts, gossamer gowns, and crinoline confections.

Amanda Kyriae has found herself outside, in snow, with few clothes on.

She maintains an ability to harness a laser-sharp focus to think about anything but the temperature, never questioning the creative process of a photographer.

“But I do get cold!” she says.

A full-time model and independent marketing consultant, she’s as likely to be found catwalking the length of a runway or in a fashion spread for Southern Living as she is engaging audiences and discussing product releases as a trade show spokesmodel at such venues as the Gaylord National, D.C., or Baltimore Convention Centers.

Her poise may come from her military family background. By age 10, she’d moved ten times before settling in Annapolis, where her mother originally hails from. “I love Annapolis.

There’s no place on earth like

it; it has its crazy moments, but it’s really relaxing and fun at the same time. I have some of the same friends from fifth grade.”

Though Amanda has chased other avenues, such as a psychology degree from UMBC, modeling has long enticed her. She was approached to model as a little girl, but it wasn’t until college that she pursued it. Urged by a close friend to participate in a photography major's shoot, she was told she possessed natural ability. “Modeling feels very natural to me, and it’s what I’m supposed to be doing.” Her dream gig is working with Louis Vuitton.

“It would be the crème de la crème.”

Amanda’s drive to succeed appears to be genetic; her mother is a former Hawaiian Tropic ® bikini model. “I definitely have the work ethic. I don’t know how to stop until I’m successful,” she says. This has required some tough decisions, such as turning down opportunities

upstart-annapolis.com | 57

MODE 58 | Spring 2015

MODE

or otherwise exhausting herself doing shoots for free. While she has never been in a physically uncomfortable situation, it’s important to emphasize it’s not all glam and glitter. For example, she has faced pressure on social media for turning down photo shoots.

Amanda is a multi-faceted woman; what you see isn’t all you get. She gives back as well, participating in charity shows such as Fashion for a Cause/Hospice of the Chesapeake at Porsche of Annapolis and Strut & Sip for Autism. “The funniest thing I heard was from a friend who went out with a guy from high school—he said I was a huge nerd.” She confesses to reading comic books and being a huge Star Wars fan. “I own a Lego® Princess Leia.” █

upstart-annapolis.com | 59

Spread the word May the third Alamo Joe rolls into town

Spread the word.

May the third.

Alamo Joe rolls into town.

EMOTE

Photos of Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot.

62 | Spring 2015

Roses C O M I N G U P

Photos by Stan Barouh

resonates deeply within them. “It’s the fact that what’s happening on stage is palpable and real, so much so that people don’t get up for intermission,” she says proudly. It’s happened multiple times before. “When the play is over, your audience stays in the theater because they want to talk about what they just saw. That’s what I’m trying to do. That’s what we strive for.”

It’s baffling how well Compass Rose adapts to the space: for example, they performed Cats in 2014, a musical that has been done in more than 250 cities since its London premier in 1981. So, what did Compass Rose do to such a wellknown musical in limited space that left their audience transfixed? They took the cast of twenty-four cats and divvied up the roles to only nine actors, utilizing the space on the stage in such a manner that the actors could slink around like agile felines. “You can talk to other people who have seen a show, and they will tell you it’s nothing like you’ve ever seen,” says Cindy. “It’s in-your-face intimate.”

EMOTE

A

t night, a purple glow emanates from the junction of Spa Road and West Street; it’s the sign for Compass Rose Theater. It illuminates the small parking lot in the front and lures you through the double doors, past photos of previous productions, and into the even smaller theater in the back.

Sure, it’s small, but the productions are out of this world. The music and talent come at you from all angles, as if you’re in an IMAX® theater made personally for you. There aren’t any 3-D glasses, but professional actors are sweeping across the stage and engaging with the audience almost as if they are props.

They are for whom the actors have been practicing. They don’t rehearse six days a week for a month or more for themselves; it’s for the people in the seats. It’s to create something evocative, powerful, and transformative. Cindy Merry-Browne, the founding artistic director, loves the moment when the production begins to hit the audience and

By Zoë Nardo

upstart-annapolis.com | 63

Photo by Glenn Miller

EMOTE 64 | Spring 2015

“It’s the fact that what’s happening on stage is palpable and real, so much so that people don’t get up for intermission,”

Casting plays with actors who share the same age as the characters in the plays or musicals is another testament to Cindy’s belief in the talent of her students.

Shakespeare’s Romeo was 17 and Juliet was 13, so Cindy cast actors of the same ages during Compass Rose’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet. The same went for Scout and Jem in their production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Cindy says that the mission at Compass Rose is to strive to become a better institution through education.

Over time, it has also grown to become the third professional theater in Annapolis, which is a city with primarily community theaters. Cindy brought the first professional theater to Annapolis when she co-founded Bay Theater back in 2001. While there, she initiated a petition to have Annapolis considered for the Helen Hayes Award, one of the United States’ most prestigious medals. An actress at Bay Theater went on to win the award in 2012, and Compass Rose was nominated for its production of A Raisin in the Sun. “It is the purpose and function of theater to build community,” explains Cindy. And her theater does just that. They educate young and old to bring in actors from all over the world and shine the limelight on the Annapolis acting community, all while being a nonprofit organization. Compass Rose is a triple threat to its competition, but for the City of Annapolis, it’s a critical component of the burgeoning art scene. █

EMOTE

The nine cats were meticulously chosen, just as is every cast in all of the theater’s productions.

Cindy holds auditions locally in Annapolis, and if she can’t find what she needs, she beelines it to New York City. Being that Compass Rose is a professional theater, the actors are paid and must be a perfect match. The cast of Cats consisted of eight Broadway actors, six of them from New York, and one 14-year-old girl, a student of Cindy’s, who blended in seamlessly.

After the curtain closes, Compass Rose doubles as an acting school for three-to-ninety-yearolds. That’s how the theater began in 2011. “I started Compass Rose for the educational program, and it grew into a theater,” says Cindy.

“The education comes first. We’re all here to learn, including me.

We’re all here to hone our skills.”

Twelve teachers throughout various schools in the Annapolis area teach visual and performing arts. Classes range from elementary to high school, and are usually held when school is out of session.

The theater jumps right in by holding creative dramatics classes for three-year-olds, who are taught to tell stories through masks. It’s not easy teaching for Compass Rose Theater because of the required qualifications. Teachers have a degree in theater from an accredited institution, work professionally in their field, and must have experience. “Adult actors spend most of their time shedding the baggage of being grown up and not doing make-believe anymore,” says Cindy. “But kids still have that alive in them.”

upstart-annapolis.com | 65

WUNDERKIND

68 | Spring 2015

THE

Salad Days OF CREATION

By Patty Speakman Hamsher

C

hildren ask questions, seek answers, and explore in an unfettered, uninhibited way that adults often sit back and marvel at.

What if we never stopped expressing ourselves the way we did as children; would we still become adults? Would the world be teeming with artists and smudgy, paint-streaked countertops?

Daphne, Georgia, and Reed Eckman are siblings and artists that float on the freedom that comes with having time to create. The three are engaged in and energized by different media. They’re happy to share what excites them most about tapping into their own creativity.

The eldest of the group, Daphne, is a 12-year-old watercolor artist. She’s in love with the simple strokes and splatters that lead to the layered and misty detail of the cards

Photos by Emily Karcher"

and magnets she paints. A young entrepreneur with her own online business, she was drawn to the unexpected nature of watercolor. She says watercolor forces her to let go and follow the flow of the paint and water.

Daphne takes art classes as often as they are offered at ArtFarm, an unassuming, somewhat tucked-away space right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of uptown Annapolis. ArtFarm is the vision of Stacey Turner and Alison Harbaugh, artists who have joined forces to change the artscape of Annapolis. They offer a variety of classes and visionary events, and feature a stellar gallery space where artists display their work.

One of Daphne’s favorite ArtFarm projects came after a study of artist Maxwell Gordon, whose acrylic paintings tell a hidden story. Daphne explains that the veiled narratives

STEEL A MELODY FOR ME upstart-annapolis.com | 69

Reed

70 | Spring 2015

Daphne

Georgia

set against a grey background are not at first obvious. “You have to look inside the painting and yourself to find the meaning that comes to you.” Following Gordon’s example, the young artists spent a whole class trying to create the perfect grey background using orange and blue; then they created a painting to represent an allegory of their own creation.

“Teachers are fortunate, because sometimes, if you are very passionate or lucky enough to have students like the Eckmans, you get to feel like your lessons, and therefore your thoughts, are going to be remembered and maybe become part of the puzzle that puts together the next great artistic breakthrough,” says Turner, who has instructed the Eckmans for several years, both at ArtFarm and at her former space, Already Artists Studio.

Bright-eyed and chatty, Georgia, the middle sister of the artistic trio, is a lover of clay. Georgia creates small polymer clay figures full of intricate details and bright colors with a skill that seems as beyond

her years as the hopeful surety with which she speaks. “Most of the time, I get my inspiration for art from things around me—things that have happened in the day or even things that people have said,” says Georgia.

With Turner, Georgia and Daphne did a project based on the works of modern artist Maira Kalman. “Her style is very wild, but inside the lines,” Georgia explains.

The students created portraits that Turner says were very successful. “I think the lesson taught them just what I wanted it to—that they can create works that are reaching for more without abandoning what they already have.”

The youngest Eckman, Reed, has been painting and creating alongside his sisters since he could manage it. He declares his favorite medium to be clay, but also enjoys the texture of yarn and hand knitting. He taught himself to knit

while his mom and older sisters participated in a yarn workshop. He is already wise to the creative process in an astounding way: “I get ideas from my head,” says the five-year-old. “I use clay or I paint and get my ideas out of my head and see them.”

Megan Eckman, who homeschools Daphne, Georgia, and Reed, enjoys how free her children feel to express themselves through their art. She encourages them to follow their interests, and seeks out experiences such as art classes as well as voice, guitar, and other lessons and workshops about town. She also recognizes the value in giving them the space to explore.

“Children are so naturally creative that I feel when they are given the opportunity (free time) and the tools, they’re well on their way,” she says.

For the Eckmans and many artists, a space like ArtFarm is valuable and rewarding, a gathering place to work on what they are driven to create and possibly meet up with like-minded people who support their endeavors. Just as corn grows more fruitfully when surrounded by other stalks, artists need their community. And sometimes it’s the smallest brush wielders that give the rest of us the most inspiration. █

upstart-annapolis.com | 71

Glenn A. Miller Photography 443-336-1085 glennamiller.com

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74 | Spring 2015

FILM FESTIVAL The Annapolis

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To preserve the integrity of such an plus Telly Awards, CINE Golden Eagle o the average moviegoer, the undertaking, Lee and Patti developed the Awards, and the coveted George Foster film industry might seem like an mission to encourage the development Peabody Award for Broadcast Journalism, industrialized commerce wrought of all aspects of the creative arts in and among others, Lee and Patti are principals with fast and furious production around Annapolis schedules, red through the cinema carpets decorated experience. The goal is by the crème de PROLOGUE TO A LEGACY: to inspire and entertain la crème of talent, diverse audiences on a and a marvel of multitude of subjects, aristocrats clinking crystal while promoting champagne flutes to the next Annapolis as a cultural box office success. While hub.

Tinseltown has perhaps “We’re looking for a established itself as the quality in movies that poster child of filmmaking the audience wouldn’t it is but one cog in the otherwise have access to. proverbial gear. In fact, it is And we accomplished the innumerable creators, that this year!” Patti’s technicians, artists, and voice rises to the other professionals who occasion as she explains have dedicated their lives how the Annapolis Film to the competitive and Festival is an extension often unforgiving world of all Annapolitans. of filmmaking, and work “We are an interesting, tirelessly to bridge the gap unique, historical, and between conception and diverse community, so creation artistically, we look to The sparkle and fade that reach audiences in areas comes with any recognition of interest that impact associated with an art form them or affect them.” is continuously at play.

The example she Artists need a tough outer provides is their shell to survive criticism, film selections and as well as an effervescing showcases. This year, sense of persistence to find one of their showcases inspiration in the face of is the African-American seemingly insurmountable

By Andrea Stuart Photos by Glenn Miller Experience Showcase, obstacles. That’s where which will demonstrate Lee Anderson and Patti the impact of film on White, co-founders of the civil rights. “Annapolis has quite the black of Filmsters, a television and film Annapolis Film Festival, now in its third production and development company, and history background, so we’re screening a year, come in. documentary on this subject and having embarked on the Film Festival journey Longtime Annapolitans, Lee and Patti a panel discussion after the film, LBJ/ after they spent 18 months traveling the have traveled the globe and worked in the circuit with their own documentary. “What JFK: A Time for Greatness, which will demanding world of film and television, be moderated by Kurt Schmoke, the I saw while working the circuit was that amassing an arsenal of experiences that president of University of Baltimore towns of all sizes do this. We thought the birthed the Annapolis Film Festival. and former mayor of Baltimore." Other Having collectively accrued several awards, effective ones were those with layouts and showcases focus on student filmmakers, villages like ours,” shares Lee. including three national Emmy Awards,

upstart-annapolis.com | 75

environmental issues, the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) perspectives, and the Jewish cultural experience. Selected films this year focus on military, sailing, and global issues, as well as four shorts programs. The films are literally from all over the world.

A highlight for Lee and Patti is the shorts program, featuring 90-minute blocks of eight to ten short films per seating. “The themes change each year because life reflects art and art reflects life,” adds Lee, expounding on the process of choosing films for the event. She and Patti handpick each film while working with an amazing team and staff (last year they had about 200 volunteers).

This is their third installation, marking quite a milestone for the fledgling festival. While the first two years required a bit of convincing for filmmakers to trust in the venue, this year, the submissions poured in without much imploring on the part of festival organizers. “In the beginning, we were not tangible, [filmmakers] had to believe in our vision. It was a monumental effort.

This year, we have two years behind us. We don’t have a big corporate sponsor in the sky, but we have grass roots and hospitality,” explains Lee.

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That Lee and Patti are artists enables them to understand what makes other artists tick. They believe that artists deserve respect and recognition for their efforts, as well as an appropriate venue to showcase their work. This is the impetus behind the reason artists choose the Annapolis Film Festival: they know they will be treated well by warm people who hold artists in high esteem. This unique attitude attracts great films and artists.

In just two years, the Annapolis Film Festival has created a reputation for outstanding courtesy, treating artists and their works with the respect they deserve. The quality of submissions this year has also made leaps and bounds, reaching a pinnacle of creative excellence for which Lee and Patti have been longing. But they say what’s really setting this year apart is that they’re spreading out into community venues.

Peppered throughout the downtown historic and arts districts, the walkable Annapolis Film Festival will feature screenings at five venues. A trolley will also provide rides. However, the authenticity of the event is embellished not just by the general locale but by the particular sites. While viewing movies in the theater setting has a

certain excitement, festivalgoers will also view screenings in an African American church built in the 1800s, a historical elementary school, the Maryland Hall for Performing Arts, as well as St. John’s College. “You’re not just going into movie theaters, you’re learning about the town,” explain Lee and Patti, in near unison.

“Anything on the Annapolis landscape becomes part of its legacy.

We are such an old community,” says Patti. "We try to shape our festival to understand the citizens of our town and respect and share the history.

We’re a legacy town and the festival has to be that if it’s going to make it.”

With that in mind, they’re hoping to fill seats with 10,000 people over the course of the festival. It’s an exciting concept for an event that drew 2,600 people in its first year and 7,500 in its sophomore year. Their biggest challenge so far?

Turning away a plethora of beautiful films due to a limited number of screenings.

So, what’s on the agenda? The movie Gabrial, starring Rory Culkin, is touted as a powerful movie about a young twenty-something who suffers from mental illness. The movie documents his return home after a lengthy hospitalization. Touched

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Peppered throughout the downtown historic and arts districts, the walkable Annapolis Film Festival will feature screenings at f ive venues.

by the premise, Lee and Patti explain how many families can relate to this in some way, which epitomizes the importance of the experience. Oasis: The Center for Mental Health is sponsoring the film, and representatives of the organization will speak afterwards.

Another movie in the lineup includes the mockumentary feature film, Adventures in Comedy, with Tom McKaffry, a stand-up comic from New York who both directed and acted in the movie. The film centers on the life of a stand-up comedian trying to make it.

In addition to movies and panel conversations, the festival will feature educational opportunities for filmmakers, live music, and so much more. It’s an exciting time for a festival due to changing technologies and distribution modalities. “So many films don’t get the exposure they deserve,” says Lee. “The festival gives films an opportunity to connect with an audience, providing people with a chance to learn and see things in the art and film world that they don’t normally.” They even get to engage in Q&As and speak with filmmakers.

While March might seem like an odd month to host a film festival in Maryland, the festival's creators see it as the ideal time.

It may be more difficult to get films released, but it’s a great time in the city, according to Lee and Patti. After all, this is the time of year when Annapolitans begin planting their gardens and setting their minds to spring sailing.

Whether it rains or snows, the festival is a reprieve from it all.

The festival is like a deep focus shot that elucidates the human experience. █

Lee Anderson & Patti White

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Raising Small Voices W

e’re all born with a voice.

Bawling or quiet, we come into the world with needs, and a mouth to express them. Sometimes our voices are too small to be heard, and at other times they are drowned out by negligent caregivers or a world that spins on without us.

Photos courtesy of KRR Photography In Anne Arundel County, there are nearly 230 children in foster care. Their world is often changing, their past is often haunting, and their future is uncertain. But last year, 145 of those children had an amazing opportunity to be heard.

They were partnered with a special advocate appointed by the local circuit court. CASA volunteers have one mission: to ensure that each child’s needs remain a priority in an overburdened child welfare system.

Anne Arundel's Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is one of 951 members of the national CASA organization started in the late 1970s by a Superior Court judge, Judge David W. Soukup, in Seattle, Washington. Judge Soukup, knowing that the decisions he made regarding each child often had a lasting

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By Patty Speakman Hamsher

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She also searched for information about his siblings. Jeremy was later adopted into the same family they had all joined. Today, he is growing and thriving in his supportive family unit.

Another success story involves a boy named Lucas's, who was assigned a CASA when he was a teen. Lucas’ mother had abandoned him as a toddler. He and his father had lived an itinerant life until his father was arrested and sent to jail.

Lucas was suffering the sting of rejection and dealing with his own feelings of rage, stemming from his circumstances. Peter, a CASA volunteer, worked hard to gain Lucas’s trust. With Peter’s support, encouragement, and advocacy, Lucas began to turn his life around. Last spring, he graduated from high school and is currently attending community college while living in an off-campus apartment.

When CASA first began in Anne Arundel County in 1997, it had 20 volunteers serving 28 children.

Last year, they had 103 volunteers serving 145 children—a laudable growth, but one that leaves room for improvement. With additional funds, Anne Arundel County’s CASA organization could grow its staff, expand the number of CASA volunteers, and reach the ultimate goal of serving every child in foster care.

Court-appointed special advocates are important members of the small village it takes to help a child navigate his or her way through foster care. Their collaboration with social workers, family members, teachers, doctors, and therapists often means the difference between a small voice being heard and cared for now rather than later. With a CASA by their side, children often spend less time lingering in foster care and more time embracing what life holds for them. █

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impact on his or her future, wanted to be sure he was getting enough information about each child’s unique circumstances. His idea to train community volunteers was well received and has since blossomed into an organization that has helped more than two million abused or neglected children.

CASA volunteers are daytime professionals with time to spare, retirees, or people happy to make a difference in someone else’s life.

After their initial training session, they spend time with their assigned child and gather information from people who are involved in his or her life: teachers, family members, doctors, and caregivers. With the full picture of how this child’s world is or is not working, a CASA makes recommendations to the court about his or her best interests.

“I absolutely love what we do,” explains Rebecca Tingle, executive director at Anne Arundel CASA. “Our only agenda is to represent the best interest of the child in each case. There’s a lot of freedom when that’s your only agenda, because you can really be the voice for that child."

There are heartbreaking stories of love and hope from the partnership of CASA volunteers and children in the Anne Arundel area. There is Jeremy, a baby born prematurely with a heart defect to parents who already couldn’t care for their other eight children. His infancy was spent hooked to machines and traveling between hospitals under the care of a constantly rotating nursing staff; he had no family by his side. When he entered the foster care system, following the path of his siblings, Natalie was assigned as his CASA. After visiting him weekly in his foster home, Natalie met regularly with his case worker and the attorneys involved in his case.

Keep an eye out for some of the many fundraising events that CASA of A.A.C.O. puts on throughout the year

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The Capital Restaurant sign on Main Street offers “Tables for Ladies," circa 1949

Three friends running in the rain up historic Pinkney Street, circa 1948

View up Newman Street toward St. Mary’s Church, circa 1948

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Charles E. Emery

It took three days in October 1955 to move Charles Carroll Barrister’s House up Main Street to its current location on St. John’s College campus.

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Sunday morning sculling in City Dock, circa 1950

Charles E. Emery (1898-1957), a veteran of World War I and World War II, settled in Annapolis with his family in 1945. They lived for a number of years on Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis’s historic district. He served as the first president of historic Annapolis in 1952 and 1953, and was a founding member of the Annapolis Camera Club.

Upon his death, the negatives that he had meticulously labeled and filed in metal file drawers were stored in a closet, where they remained, untouched, for 50 years. When his granddaughter, Dorothy Glendinning, discovered them, she found that only a few of her grandfather’s negatives had decayed with age. Most remained in excellent condition.

They date from the 1930s to the 1950s. The collection contains about one-thousand images.

Emery was a retired marine corps lieutenant colonel when he passed away in 1957 at the age of 59. His grave site is in Arlington National Cemetery. These photographs are courtesy of the Annapolis Collection Gallery.

Believe Become Behold