"Mystery"—by Anthony Marrone

We are excited to present the work of 47 artists in many media this weekend at our annual Art Show & Sale. Click on the underlined names in the list below to preview work by artists young, old, and everywhere in between—some familiar to us, some new to the art show this year—or scroll down to read more about them. Artists include: Candace T. Abbott, Mary Beth Bliss, Jane Carlson, Alicia Childers, Michael Di Nucci, Jan Eskedall, Bill Fein, Jessica L. Fligg, Bill Fullam, Kate Gartrell, Robert Gordon, Myles Grinstead, John Harris, Victoria Mares Hershey, Harriet P. Hofheinz, Lisbeth Hussey, Peggy Johnson, Marge Kendrick, Wendy Ketchum, Anthony Marrone, Nancy Marsen, Jack Mauch, Robin McDowell, Ann McGarity, Peggy Merritt, Lucy Thompson Merrow, Stephen Oliver, Carl Owen, Theodora Page, Janet Palmer, Elizabeth Pease, Carol Emery Phenix, Lianne Prentice, Bill Rich, Dorothy Rogers, Shelley Saylor, Peg Scully, Ramona Stafford, Laura Thomson, Ilona Train, Gail Troseth, Amy Anderson Troyansky, James M. Tully, Jr., Peter VanderLaan, Rachel Ward, John B. Watkins and Gina Wilson.

"Self Portrait in Pink Skirt"—Kate Gartrell

Candace T. Abbott attended Central Connecticut State University for her Masters in Art Education. She enjoys plein-air painting and has exhibited in several shows.  Contact her at Studio 4B, Farmington Valley Art Center, 860-523-7291.

Mary Beth Bliss, a third generation Chocorua resident, has worked with glass for over thirty-five years in Santa Fe, NM. She returned to New Hampshire in 2006 and has resumed her intricate design work in her Washington Hill studio. Her glass characteristically uses color and subtle transparency to achieve a sense that you can almost touch the color, even when it is well embedded in the solidity of a mass of brilliant lead crystal. When she is not working with glass, she is gardening, building something, or chasing her animals down the road.

Jane Carlson has worked as a medical technologist for 23 years. Ten years ago she got the urge to pick up a paintbrush and has been intrigued with watercolor painting ever since.  She enjoys all sorts of outdoor sports and activities. Her love of the outdoors is a strong influence in her work. Jane can be reached at www.janecarlson.com

Alicia Childers works with digital photography and mixed media.

Michael Di Nucci is the son of noted watercolor artist Tony Di Nucci. He was introduced to art as a child in his father’s studio. He received his Masters of Science in Art Education from Long Island University. He has earned a variety of awards and scholarships and is a member of many professional associations. Michael has studied at the Art Student’s League and is currently studying at the New York Academy of Fine Art and the Long Island Academy Atelier under the noted artist Robert Armetta. Currently he divides his time between his home on Long Island and his home and studio in Maine’s Saco River Valley. www.michaeldinuccifineart.com

Jan Eskedall has been a practicing artist and designer for over forty-five years. She spent 35 years as a high school art teacher before retiring to her home and studio in Silver Lake, She holds multiple art degrees: a BA in painting, an MA in art history, and a CAGS in studio art.  She has studied with many well-known artists.  She is the president of the Mt. Washington Valley Arts Association and is very involved with their activities. She has recently taught an acrylic painting technique class for them.  She also creates decoupage pins, which she sells locally. She has been in many shows and won awards for her work. Her subjects are usually drawn from the beauty of nature; she prefers landscapes and florals. 603-367-8758 or jee125@aol.com

Bill Fein is an artist who enjoys oil painting on location throughout New England. Traveling through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in all seasons, he finds a great variety of scenes to paint. His paintings depict scenes from the mountains and farms of VT and NH to the coast of ME with its lighthouses, pounding surf and many lobster boats. Bill grew up in Milton, MA and is a 1963 graduate of Vesper George School of Art in Boston. He now resides in Conway, NH in the middle of the White Mountains where he has a studio and, as he puts it, “You don’t have to go too far to paint something good!”

Jessica L. Fligg has always enjoyed creating things. As a child, she would draw with her grandmother. Her parents always allowed her to express herself, even on the basement walls. She attended New Hampshire Institute of Art for three semesters. Since then she continues to create. “I mainly paint landscapes. I stand in awe of God’s creation that surrounds us. God is the only true and perfect artist; we can only try our feeble attempts at creating masterpieces. I feel blessed to be able to share this talent with you.”

Bill Fullam of Chocorua is a retired educator from Long Island, NY. For 38 years Bill worked as an English teacher, elementary school teacher, elementary school principal, and college adjunct. Bill now spends his time gardening, hiking, kayaking, or skiing, and always has his camera for those “Nikon Moments.” Photography, long a hobby, has become his sideline, particularly with the retirement gift of a Canon i9900 color printer so that he can print as well as edit his work. The beauty of New Hampshire, season by season, provides him an abundance of photographic opportunities.

Kate Gartrell received a BA in religion from Vassar College (2004) and an MFA in painting from American University (2009). She grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, but has longstanding ties to the Madison-Tamworth area through her grandparents, Kay and Richard Hocking. Kate also studied art at Brandeis University and at the Marchutz School for Drawing and Painting in France. Her work has been shown at several galleries. She currently lives in Portsmouth and teaches art students at UNH and the NH Institute of Art. www.kategartrell.com

Robert Gordon is a New England artist who works in oils and watercolors. His chosen subjects range from the intimacy of gardens and still lifes to the wild grandeur of landscape and seascape. He paints the mountains and rivers of New Hampshire, the villages and farms of Vermont and the coastline and harbors of Maine and Massachusetts. He studied at Montserrat School of Art in Beverly, MA and at Southern VT Art Center in Manchester, VT. Bob is a member of the North Shore Arts Association, the International Society of Marine Painters, the Newburyport Art Association and the Mount Washington Valley Art Association. Bob has won over 40 awards and has exhibited in solo and national group shows all over the country. In 1992 he was featured in “Palette Talk.” He teaches both beginning and advanced students in his gallery on the Kancamagus Highway in Conway.

Myles Grinstead is artist and potter at Chocorua Village Pottery. She makes pots because she loves food! Her work ranges from beautiful functional work to decorative garden art and detailed carved tile. Her paintings of Mt. Chocorua welcome people traveling on Rt. 16 to the village. Stop in and see what’s spinning at the pottery. chocoruapotter@yahoo.com

John Harris began carving about 30 years ago making working decoys.  Each “Wing Creations” carving is an original one-of-a-kind piece made from tupelo wood. Texturing with diamond bits and burning pen is used to create a realistic detailed effect. Painting is done with light washes using acrylics. Found driftwood pieces that have “character” are used as a setting for his carvings. johngail@myfairpoint.net

Victoria Mares Hershey makes work inspired by her environment especially around her studio in Bridgton, ME. Her medium of choice was watercolor until she was introduced to the materials and process of felting. She uses wet felting materials and the process to express textures, colors, light, seasons and moods in the environment as she did with watercolor. “I am fascinated by the fleeting moments we experience in nature, as the sun is setting and we can only catch a glimmer of its colors through a thick wedge of trees or a line of forest along a brook. It is there for everyone to share…as it has been shared by others passing through the seasons and many aromas of the woods or sitting by a pond, if only for a second in life.”

Harriet P. Hofheinz has been a part-time potter for many years.  She started her training in Japan in the 1960s and continued at her own studio in the ‘70s and ‘80s.  She has retired, but continues her passion at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA. She has been a longtime summer resident of Chocorua.

Lisbeth Hussey With natural landscapes and floral still life as her primary subject matter, Lisbeth Hussey is an avid watercolorist. Based in Hong Kong, she teaches English and Creative Writing. She returns every summer to Lake Ossipee, her childhood playground. She finds inspiration in traditional western watercolorists such as John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer and Childe Hassam, in addition to the spontaneous Chinese style watercolorists of Japan and China. She has exhibited and sold her work in both Hong Kong and New England. View more of her paintings at www.Lisbeth-paintings.blogspot.com and contact her at lisbethhussey@gmail.com.

Peggy Johnson studied at RISD in the ’60s, and graduated from NHCTC (the Tech) in 2004. She concentrated on book design and printing technology. She is a writer, painter, organist, accompanist, and President of Yeoman‟s Fund for the Arts. She runs Wonalancet Press, which publishes poetry chapbooks, calendars and short-run artists’ books, and in the summers welcomes painters and writers to work in tranquility at Artists’ Retreat Tamworth (ART) in Wonalancet. She can be reached at wonalancetpress@ttlc.net or retreat@ttlc.net.

Marge Kendrick won her first scholarship to Boston Museum of Fine Arts School when she was only 12 years old. Her paintings have been acquired by international collectors and have garnered many prestigious awards. Her exceptional gift allows scenes to be captured, stories told, and memories preserved in a strong, spontaneous style. A versatile impressionist, she is comfortable with watercolor, oil, and pastel. Her work is of brilliant color and luminosity, yet expresses the true complexities of nature and her own intense feelings of the subject. Marge lives and works in Tamworth, NH.

Wendy Ketchum is a painter and printmaker currently working and residing in Tamworth. She has a BA in Art from Brown University (1975). She continues her education at RISD and at other workshops with master printers in New England. She was a full-time member of the cooperative DeBlois Gallery in Newport, RI and is currently a member of the Monotype Guild of New England and Zea Mays Printmaking Studio. She has won numerous awards for her exhibited work.  wendyket@gmail.com

Anthony Marrone was born in Mount Washington Valley. As a Tamworth native he has always had a love of the arts, primarily exploring photography, where he took advantage of the beautiful environment he grew up in. After high school, Anthony was accepted into Colby Sawyer College with scholarships for academic excellence, in order to pursue a BFA in Studio art.  While at Colby Sawyer, Anthony discovered a new passion for ceramics that has encompassed his life ever since. This past May, Anthony graduated from school and is currently back in Tamworth, working part time as a pottery instructor in Concord, NH at Kimball Jenkins Estate. Contact him at www.anthonymarrone.com

Nancy Marsden moved to Tamworth in 1978. Nancy studied with many nationally known artists. Her early pen and ink drawings have been featured in many publications. Her studies introduced her to loose flowing watercolors in which she worked for several years. She enjoys working in oil. Painting plein-air landscapes where light becomes such an important factor is now her favorite form of artistic expression. “With so much natural beauty surrounding me, there is always another view waiting for my interpretation.” Her work has been exhibited in several local shows and libraries.

Jack Mauch grew up in Tamworth, NH. He received his BFA from the Maine College of Art in 2006, where he studied ceramics and furniture design. He spent the last several years in Cambridge, MA, working as an exhibition designer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, but has recently moved back to Tamworth because he likes it here so much.

Robin McDowell is celebrating her one-year anniversary of Tamworth, NH residency. She holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently hoarding wood type in all of her closets. 251-510-4220 robinboeun@gmail.com  http://robinboeun.com

Ann McGarity was born and raised in Lancashire, England, educated in local schools and at Westminster Teachers’ College in Oxford. She taught in schools in Oxford, London, and Denmark, before coming to the United States in 1968.  She was a press and information officer for British Information Services in New York for several years before moving to Tamworth in the ‘80s with her husband Don and their family. Ann has always enjoyed all forms of creative expression including painting and poetry, and has taken painting classes with Michael Doyle under the sponsorship of the Yeoman’s Fund. Ann writes the weekly Tamworth column for the Conway Daily Sun.

Margaret (Peggy) Merritt is a hand papermaker and printmaker. “’Images in paper’ describes all of my artwork: sheets of handmade paper; papers to which I add imagery by dyeing, staining, or printing; and artist’s books. I began hand papermaking at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1988 and intaglio printmaking at the Kalamazoo, Michigan Art Center in the 1970s. Retired from college chemistry teaching, I now make paper and prints in my studio in Sandwich where views of the NH landscape inspire my designs.

I am a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen and the NH Art Association. My work can be seen locally at the Sandwich Artisan’s Guild or by appointment. Contact me at 603-284-6321 or peggymerritt@gmail.com.”

Lucy Thompson Merrow is a member of the Mount Washington Valley Art Association. Her works have been on display at various businesses in the Valley.  Other places her original art may be seen are the Laconia Savings Bank in Center Ossipee and the Law Offices of Helme, Cole & Smith. Her original of the Old Man of the Mountain has been on display at the visitor center at the State House in Concord. While majoring in zoology at UNH, Mrs. Merrow was able to take art classes with artist John Hatch. Since graduating she has taken many adult education art classes. An ongoing art class keeps adding to her knowledge of oil painting. Contact Lucy at 603-539-2109 or at ltmer-row@myfairpoint.net.

Stephen Oliver In recent years Stephen has developed unique graphics that promote peace. “My definition of art is broad. I believe beauty can be made manifest not only visually, but spiritually, socially and even politically through art. My version of the peace symbol is the basis of a campaign to encourage people to re-visit the notion of peace.“  Stephen’s background is in architecture, furniture design and arts administration. Currently, He is developing an artists’ retreat called Affinity Arts in Bridgton, ME.  www.affinityarts.info

Carl Owen is a resident of Madison  He paints mostly landscapes and wildlife especially enjoying the coasts of Maine and Cape Cod, to which he makes frequent visits.

Theodora Page started painting furniture in 1990, using color and abstract pattern. The designs she uses are her own, influenced by the two years she spent in the Peace Corps in West Africa where the colors were vibrant, the light intense, and the geometric patterns arresting. She is fascinated by patterns and designs from around the world and uses them in her painting. She has taught classes at RISD, Snow Farm, and East Side Arts Center in Providence. She sells her work in selected galleries and does commission work.

Janet Palmer has always been a photo enthusiast. She has been taking photos all her life. As she gets older she finds that she gets even more enjoyment out of taking photos. Janet enjoys walking, camera in tow, looking for the perfect shot. Janet’s works and note cards can be found in many local shops.

Elizabeth Pease enjoys drawing and silk screening, but the mystery and challenge of color and the richness of the medium draws her to oil painting. Her background includes undergraduate courses at UNH and the MFA in Boston. She has recently been taking courses at Plymouth State. Her work has been displayed at the Gordon Nash library, the Chocorua Library, the Cook Library, Pottery by Meredith Bay and the Surroundings Gallery in Sandwich. Her work has been exhibited in several local art shows and in Vermont and Massachusetts. Elizabeth is a member of the Mt. Washington Valley Art Association, the Sandwich Business Group, the Boston MFA, and has been a  member of the Newburyport Art Association. She lives in North Sandwich where she has her studio and gallery.

Carol Emery Phenix is a native of southern New Hampshire but for the past 29 years has been happy to call the White Mountains her home. Carol is a landscape, figure and portrait painter, but from earliest youth her primary artistic interest has been the illustration of imaginative fiction. She has been published in two HarperCollins JRR Tolkien tribute books and several derivative works including the 1998 Tolkien Calendar. Additionally, she has painted a number of covers for books of young adult fiction. Carol has a BFA in Illustration from the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH. She lives in Chocorua, within sight of the mountain and earshot of the loons.

Lianne Prentice has sketched since childhood. Working with oils is a new venture for her. She especially enjoys the textural elements made possible by using a palette knife. “I’ve been painting that which is literally in front of me when I look out my windows, chickens, fields, a stream , or what I see in the mirror. I’d like to tackle the human body, infinitely more interesting than chickens…”

Bill Rich worked with IBM for thirty years. After retiring, the Riches sold their home in Connecticut and started splitting each year between New Hampshire and Florida. During this time Bill unsuccessfully tried to prove he was an above average salt-water fly fisherman and watercolor painter. The Riches currently live in Tamworth during the summer and fall. Bill enjoys his ministerial work in multiple parishes and his involvement with the Tamworth Foundation. He feels incredibly blessed by his 49 years of marriage and his wonderful family and friends.

Dorothy Rogers has exhibited her work at local banks, libraries and art shows in Maine and New Hampshire. In 2009 Dorothy won the Grand Prize at the Memorial Hospital Open Golf Tournament’s 30th Anniversary Art Contest with her painting, “The Eternal Optimist.” She was also a first prize winner at the Conservation Commission’s 1st Annual Art Show in Madison, NH. Currently she has paintings at he underground Gallery at the Office Market in Conway.

Shelley Saylor lives in Charlestown, New Hampshire and has spent most of her life experimenting with a multitude of mediums. Working with clay, wood, stone, glass, copper or paint is both experiential and expressive to her as she explores how nature can easily become art.  “My inspiration definitely comes from nature and the southwest in particular. I love the color palette of the southwest and the petroglyphs absolutely fascinate me. You can see this southwestern influence in most of my works.”  email: shelley@muddyhandspottery.net  www.muddyhandspottery.net

Peg Scully lives in Freedom where she has a studio and gallery. She studied oil painting at the Ridgewood Art Institute in New Jersey as well as at other universities and institutes. An accomplished portrait painter, Peg also enjoys plein-air painting, striving to achieve an effect of light and atmosphere in all her work through her choice of values and color. She has taught many classes and workshops and has exhibited her work in many juried shows and won numerous prizes and awards most recently at the MWVAA Winter Show in 2008. Peg’s work can be seen at her studio in Freedom Village next to the Post Office, at Surroundings Gallery in Center Sandwich, and on her website, www.pegscully.com.

Ramona Stafford attended the School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and Scripts Institute of Art in Lajolla, CA. She owned and operated Stafford’s in the Field for several years doing catering and live theater. Ramona paints in oils choosing mostly portraits and landscapes as subject matter.

Laura Thomson is a resident of Freedom and former student at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She has participated in workshops in the Wolfeboro and Tamworth area for several years. She’s been artist of the month in Chocorua and Wolfeboro, as well as a participant in many local exhibitions. Her work is in private collections across the USA, and can be seen at the Freedom Village Store or at her home studio. In April 2010 she studied privately with an artist in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Ilona Train “My interest in art started in high school when I had a chance to experience Saturday art classes at the Boston Museum School of Art and Mass. College of Art exploring many different mediums. After a career in the dental field, I attended an interior design school and did window displays, but hadn’t done much painting until retirement when moving to New Hampshire. I started painting in oils, and acrylics, but after attending a pastel workshop, found pastels to be very rewarding. I continue to experiment with this medium.

Gail Troseth lives and works in Chocorua, NH. She enjoys music, art, dance, and traveling with her husband. Gail applies her artistic bent to making hand-painted silk scarves and to photographing local sights, scenes from her travels, and flowers in her garden. Her prints, cards, photos, magnets and bookmarks are available at a number of local shops, the Tamworth Farmers’ Market and directly from her. gtroseth@hotmail.com

Amy Anderson Troyansky  “As a native New Englander displaced for the last thirty years (in West Texas, the Limousin region of France and Brooklyn, NY), I regard my sister’s Tamworth home as a haven. So I am especially pleased for this opportunity to exhibit. Three years ago I began studying Sumi-e under Koho Yamamoto, who at 88 still wields a spirited brush. This ancient art form, in which ink must be ground fresh at each sitting, is the perfect means for conjuring the landscapes I so love: mountains and lakes, forests and streams, and clear reflections and enveloping mist.

James M. Tully, Jr. resides in Ossipee, NH and is a member of the Ossipee oil painting class. Since retiring he has been painting in oil medium. In the past he has also painted in acrylics. His work was shown in the Ossipee Art Shows of 2005-2009, and at the ACT Shows of 2006-2009. He was in business in manufacturing a craft line in both retail and wholesale for over 20 years.

Peter VanderLaan has worked with hot glass for 40 years, mostly in Santa Fe, NM. His work is in the permanent collection of the Corning Museum of Glass, which he considers to be his greatest achievement. VanderLaan works with his partner Mary Beth to trap patterns and imagery in molten blown forms, which are ground and brilliantly polished when cooled. His color work is one of his greatest strengths, and he makes all of his glass bodies from raw materials to meet his own demands.

Rachel Ward is a retired teacher of both high school and elementary curricula. She took up oil painting as a diversion in her senior years. She has an AB degree from Colby College in Waterville, ME, and diverse credentials in math, science, and education. In 2000 she spent a month In Italy under the tutelage of a docent program from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  A recreation program in art instruction taught by the capable hands of Patricia Jones has fueled a desire to paint in oils.

John B. Watkins is a lifelong inhabitant of the Chocorua Basin and the White Mountains. He has spent the last 15-20 years exploring the art and craft of photography to better capture the mystery and beauty of the region. He has studied color and silver photography as well as alternative photographic processes using vintage view cameras in Saint Louis and Boston. His photographs have been selected for inclusion in numerous juried group shows of the Newburyport Art Association, Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, ME, and the New England School of Photography in Boston. He has also had solo exhibits in Boston, Friendship, ME and St. Louis, MO. He lives with his wife Mary in Boston and is Professor of Pediatrics, specializing in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. He is currently at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School.

Gina Wilson came to the White Mountains to live in 1990 and joined the Mt. Washington Valley Art Association in 1993. She had previously studied oil and portrait painting under the French artist, Jules Beaumont, for six years in Buffalo, NY. Here in the Valley she began attending workshops in watercolor and has been active in the Friday Painters Group, Art Around Town and various art shows. 603-356-2408

]]> http://artstamworth.org/2010/07/a-wonderful-group-of-artists-will-be-showing-work-in-diverse-media-this-weekend/feed/ 0 http://artstamworth.org/2010/07/arts-council-of-tamworths-annual-summer-art-show-sale-in-chocorua-july-23-25/ http://artstamworth.org/2010/07/arts-council-of-tamworths-annual-summer-art-show-sale-in-chocorua-july-23-25/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:23:57 +0000 juno http://artstamworth.org/?p=4793

2009 Art Show & Sale

Arts Council of Tamworth is once again hosting its annual summer Art Show & Sale, a longstanding tradition in the area, from Friday, July 23 to Sunday, July 25 at Runnells Hall in Chocorua, NH, and, new this year, Art in the Park—an outdoor sale of smaller artwork such as note cards and matted prints by Art Show exhibiting artists—from 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturday.

The art show, held the last weekend of July to coincide with Chocorua Community Day and the Chocorua Library’s Book & Bake Sale on Saturday, will contain the work of over 40 artists who live in or are connected to the area—including many favorites from shows past and some who have never shown their work in Chocorua before. Artists are eligible to show work in any media, from paintings and photography to ceramics and woodworking, so the show is always diverse and exciting. Many of the pieces are available for purchase, a wonderful opportunity both for collectors and for those simply looking to purchase art for their own homes. Admission is free.

The public is invited to the Artists’ Reception & Opening on Friday evening, July 23, from 7:00 to 9:00. Come meet the artists, get an early chance to purchase a work you love, enjoy music and refreshments, and mingle with friends and neighbors.

The show continues on Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM both days, and on Saturday your visit to look at art can be combined with all the other activities taking place in Chocorua, and nourished by delicious food available for sale.

Photos of last year’s Art Show here and here.

"Diving Cap"—Anthone Marrone

Arts Council of Tamworth’s primary summer activity is its Annual Art Show & Sale at Runnells Hall in Chocorua the last full weekend of July, and, new this year, Art in the Park, an outdoor sale on Chocorua Day, July 24, of smaller works of art such as note cards and matted prints.

ACT invites local and visiting artists, both professional and amateur, to share their work with the community. The art show is a great opportunity for collectors wanting to discover new artists and for those simply looking to purchase art for their own homes. It allows emerging artists a chance to go public, and for professional artists can be an opportunity to share work that is different in some way from the work they show in galleries: experiments in some new medium, for example. The Art Show is a delight every year, with so much diversity of style and media—wonderful to see what our friends and neighbors have been doing all winter. Each artist can submit up to three pieces in any media, at least one of which must be offered for sale.

Art in the Park is open to any artist who is registered to exhibit in the Art Show. For an additional $10 registration fee, artists will have access to a 4’ by 6’ space on the (closed) street outside Runnells Hall. Artists bring their own table and are responsible for setting up and manning their booth. The sale will be advertised in advance, and will benefit from the festive atmosphere surrounding Chocorua Day, an always well-attended event. Other booths will be selling food and white elephant items, the Art Show will be open to the public all day, the Chocorua Library will host its annual Book & Bake Sale, and additional activities are planned, as well.

Interested artists can download an Art Show & Sale registration form with all show details here, and an Art in the Park registration form with details here, or call Myles Grinstead at 323-7182 for more information. The deadline for registering is July 8 and work must be dropped off on Thursday, July 22, between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. The public is invited to meet the artists at the Artists’ Reception and Opening on Friday, July 23, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The show will be open on Saturday, July 24, and Sunday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Art in the Park runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 24.

See pictures of last year’s beautiful show here and here.

ACT board president and fearless leader Annie Riecken will be appearing this evening on Drive Time, just after five, on our favorite radio station just up the road, 93.5 WMWV. (Have you checked out their great new site yet? You can hear Jonathan Edwards singing “Sunshine” in the studio the other day…) Listen in and hear about highlights from our upcoming season, our summer Art Show & Sale, and more.

Artists, writers, musicians, actors, dancers, performers, arts educators and employees and board members of local arts organizations are invited to the third Arts After Hours (AAH) on Sunday, May 23, from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, at The Community School in South Tamworth, NH, sponsored by Arts Council of Tamworth (ACT) and hosted by ACT! for Kids partner, the Rey Foundation.

Arts After Hours is a potluck supper; participants are requested to bring a potluck dish to share and, if you wish, additional beverages or dessert. Beer, wine, coffee and tea will be provided. After supper Rey Foundation President Nat Scrimshaw will give a chalk talk entitled “The Journey that Saved Curious George,” about Margaret and H. A. Rey’s escape from Paris on bicycles hours before the Nazis invaded.

Arts Council of Tamworth is excited to bring—all the way east from Texas—the talented eclectic musical geniuses known as the Austin Lounge Lizards to the stage of The Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, NH, on Saturday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. If you liked the Two Man Gentleman Band, if you liked the White Mountain Boys, you’ll love this veteran band from the big west.

“Like Zappa meeting bluegrass,” says Vintage Guitar Magazine. “Hilarious, endearing and literary,” raves Billboard. Based in Austin, as their name suggests, since 1976, the Lizards have honed their music into a wicked-funny art form. They’ve delighted audiences from Texas to Trafalgar Square with their inventive style of satirical folk, country and bluegrass. Trademarks of a Lizards song are highly literate, sharply pointed lyrics that poke fun at politics, love, religion and the culture in general. Combined with superb musicianship that features precise four- and five-part vocal harmonies and instrumental mastery, the band’s songs are as melodically infectious as they are lyrically prescient.

Given their free-ranging eclecticism and natural irreverence, it’s no surprise that the group counts among its influences Frank Zappa, George Jones, Spike Jones, Flatt & Scruggs, Tom Lehrer and Steve Goodman. Album and song titles like Creatures from the Black Lagoon, “Shallow End of the Gene Pool,” “Teenage Immigrant Welfare Mothers On Drugs,” “Jesus Loves Me (But He Can’t Stand You)” and Never an Adult Moment all point to the Lizards’ love of wordplay and topical relevance. They’re not just clever, though, they can play anything, moving in and out of diverse musical sounds with ease and flair.

The Austin Lounge Lizards are five-time award winners at the prestigious Austin Music Awards, and their version of the Irving Berlin’s “C-U-B-A” was used in the Michael Moore film Sicko. The band has been featured by NPR’s “Morning Edition” and on the radio programs “Mountain Stage” and “E-Town.” The Drugs I Need (released in 2006) is the Lizards’ 10th album and their second on the Houston-based Blue Corn Music label.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $14 for students 13 to 18 and college students with a valid ID. Kids 12 & under are free, but require a ticket reservation to guarantee a seat. Tickets are available at here, at The Other Store in Tamworth Village, or by calling 603-323-8104. More info about online ticket purchasing here will be available at the door tonight after 6:00.

This concert is made possible through the generous support of Sponsors BEAM Construction, The Brass Heart Inn, and Settlers’ Green Outlet Village, Co-sponsors Bayswater Book Co., First Allied, Highland House B & B, and Independent Color Press, Media Sponsor 93.5 WMWV | Magic 104FM, and Press Partners The Conway Daily Sun and The Mountain Ear.

Arts Council of Tamworth invites you to its first ever Benefit Cabaret on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at The Brass Heart Inn in Chocorua, NH. Come spend an evening with friends and neighbors supporting the arts and enjoying a variety of them—at the same time! MC extraordinaire George Cleveland will use his well-known wit and whimsy to guide us through an evening of delightfully diverse entertainments while we shake loose some dosh from our pockets to bid on silent auction items ranging from Red Sox tickets to half a spring lamb (yum) to exquisite Earth & Fire handiworks. The evening’s fare will include torch songs, comedy and drama, poems and interpretations, the Wizard of Oz in five minutes, Tom Dean of Devon Square and Cormac McCarthy, and more. Cash bar and yummy treats available.

All proceeds from this event go to support the work of ACT in this community, as ACT’s program committee busily plans next year’s performance season (Miss Tess & The Bon Ton Parade, Camerata New England, a wild dance party with DJ Karen Williams, the Frank Vignola Trio and more), as the art show committee starts planning for this summer’s Art Show & Sale in Chocorua, and as the youth committee works to bring artists-in-residence and performances to the local school.

All tickets are $25. Tickets will be available at the door after 6:30; cash bar will open then, too. are available below or here, at The Other Store in Tamworth Village, or by calling 603-323-8104. ACT thanks Media Sponsor 93.5 WMWV | Magic 104FM and Press Partners The Conway Daily Sun and The Mountain Ear for their support.

]]> http://artstamworth.org/2010/03/come-to-the-act-benefit-cabaret-on-saturday-april-10/feed/ 0 http://artstamworth.org/2010/03/simon-brooks-returns-to-tamworth-on-april-fools-day/ http://artstamworth.org/2010/03/simon-brooks-returns-to-tamworth-on-april-fools-day/#comments Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:00:38 +0000 juno http://artstamworth.org/?p=4029

ACT! for Kids is excited to bring storyteller Simon Brooks back to Tamworth. Brooks received rave reviews from folks of all ages after his visit last spring, and so ACT! for Kids is bringing him back on April Fools’ Day to enthrall both young and old once more. Brooks will be telling stories for K-4^th graders at the K. A. Brett School in Tamworth at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 1. Homeschoolers are welcome—please call the school at 603-323-7271 to let them know you’re coming. At 7:00 on Thursday evening, at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, Brooks will tell stories for kids ages 8 and up, grownups, and mature younger listeners.

Brooks, who lives in Orford, NH, has been spinning yarns and telling tales for nearly two decades, first in his native England and more recently throughout New England. Combining his passion for children’s literature—he is also a children’s librarian, as well as a photographer, writer and poet—and folklore, Brooks creates programs to suit all ages. His repertoire comes mainly from European folk and fairy tales, but also includes stories from South American, Africa, China and Japan as well as many other countries and cultures. “I find tales that are not often told, or when they are, I put my own stamp on them,” Brooks says. “I only tell tales that I love, whose voice comes to me, becoming alive in my mind, and that helps bring the story to life in the minds of those who listen.”

Brooks performs tales with energy and wit. Telling folktales, myths and legends from all over the world, he brings vividly to life characters like Ananzi the Spider, the trickster Raven, Merlin and Dionysus. From this world of stories Brooks captivates his audience with unique voices to animate characters and with expressive body language that brings the stories to life. Watch Brooks tell the story “One Wish,” below, or scroll down to hear the story “The Lonely Boatman.”

ACT! for Kids is made possible by the Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work at reyfoundation.org.

On Saturday, March 27, ACT! for Kids is excited to offer a workshop in Chicken Art with artists and chicken aficionados Lianne Prentice and Nicole Maher-Whiteside, for kids ages 8 & up. The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at The Community School in South Tamworth, NH. Participants will create feathers and other decoration in a variety of media for a giant chicken sculpture to be displayed at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, and depending on age and interest may also work on chicken block prints, paintings and more.

Lianne Prentice is a teacher of middle and high school English, history and science for 22 years, who currently teaches at The Community School. She grew up in Sandwich, but married a Tamworth boy and moved across the town line. She’s been oil painting for a mere 16 months and loving it; her chicken painting was a hot item at last summer’s ACT Art Show, and may one day be known as representational of the early days of the Chicken Art Movement in Tamworth. She is the proud parent not only of two children, but also of ten gorgeous hens: Butter, Sasha, Queenie, Hawk, Betty, Little Red, Nut Brown, Orlanda, Tom and Biddy.

Nicole Maher-Whiteside got her first chicken in 1970, a Rhode Island Red named Irma. Irma spent many hours perched on Nicole’s shoulder hiking along the Bearcamp River in South Tamworth. Irma was a wonderful companion, who generously gave Nicole an egg a day. Nicole’s admiration for chickens has continued to grow since those long ago years, and she has shared her life with many chickens since Irma. Currently she is working on a series of chicken paintings in which she is trying to capture the generous spirit of chickenhood, and she looks forward to a day of chicken art with other chickenistas.

The cost for this workshop is $3. To register, send an email to act@artstamworth.org or call 603-323-8104.

ACT! for Kids is made possible by The Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work here. Upcoming ACT! for Kids programs include storyteller Simon Brooks, back by popular demand on April 1, and Draw the Constellations to Learn Them (as H. A. Rey did to teach them), with Nat Scrimshaw in June.

Arts Council of Tamworth is going a little crazy with cabin fever, just like the rest of y’all. That’s why we’re giving you not one but TWO chances to get out of your house this month, on the same weekend. On Friday, March 19, come hear sublime vocalist and songwriter Linda Waterfall, dubbed “Seattle’s Top Singer/Songwriter” by the Seattle Times, in a concert featuring songs from her latest album Welcome to the Dark at the Tamworth Congregational Church at 7:30 p.m. And on Saturday, March 20 at 7:30 kick up your heels and shake off the mud season blues with Jonathan Sarty & his White Mountain Boys at The Brass Heart Inn in Chocorua, NH.

Waterfall, who has been recording and performing since 1977, has received wide acclaim for her innovative songwriting, unique guitar style, and lyrical resonant vocals. Folk Alliance Newsletter calls her “one of the finest fingerpicking guitar players alive on planet Earth today.” Tom Surowicz of the Twin Cities Reader says she’s “an extraordinary folk musician… [who] plays bristling, driving guitar and rolling, enveloping piano. If all that weren’t enough, Ms. Waterfall is a moving, terrific singer, blessed with star-of-the-choir pipes.” As a special treat, we get to see her play accompanied by some of this area’s own stars of the choir, Peg Loughran, Lisa Ferguson, Peggy Johnson, Belle Stafford, Seth Austen and Beverly Woods. Listen to more of Waterfall’s music on MySpace (“Fishing for Kisses”—ah, so sweet…).

Jonathan Sarty and his White Mountain Boys have built a wildly devoted audience from here to Nashville and back. The band plays both classic American music—from old-time country and honky-tonk to soul, gospel and rhythm & blues—and original tunes with such energy and virtuosity that you won’t be able to stop yourboot from tapping or your hands from clapping. Come dance the night away, in the beautiful Brass Heart Inn barn, to Jonathan’s great vocals and purposeful lyrics, and the full country sound of this beloved five-piece band, featuring slide guitar, rhythm guitars, stand-up bass, vocals and harmonica. Cash bar available. Hear a great bunch of Sarty and his WMB’s songs on MySpace (I love “I’m a White Mountain Boy”—and “I’ve Got A Home,” so romantic…)

Tickets for Jon Sarty & his White Mountain Boys both these performances are available below. at the door tonight after 6:30. Tickets are also available at The Other Store in Tamworth Village [through lunchtime on Saturday, March 20], or by calling 603-323-8104. Tickets for Linda Waterfall are $15 for adults and $8 for students 13 to 18 and college students with a valid ID. Kids 12 & under are free, but require a ticket reservation to guarantee a seat. Tickets for the White Mountain Boys are $20 for adults and $10 for students 13 & up, free for kids, as above. Want to join in the madness with us? Buy tickets to both shows and save $5 off the combined price, or scroll down to purchase tickets to each show individually.

Jonathan Sarty & his White Mountain Boys is made possible through the generous support of Sponsors The Brass Heart Inn, P. C. Hoag & Co., and Settlers’ Green Outlet Village, Co-sponsors Paul L. King Surveying, Northway Bank, Ossipee Insurance, and Yankee Smokehouse, Media Sponsor 93.5 WMWV | Magic 104FM and Press Partners The Conway Daily Sun and The Mountain Ear.