Community Calendar

Global artists have shared their floral images, film, music and poetry.

for our online art show "Plant Life"

“Plant Life” art show launches online on Friday, May 3rd.

Exciting News!

“Plant Life: NYC – Global” is an exhibition and digital event at Prime Produce, 424 West 54th St, New York City, May 17-19 featuring selections from the online show!

Personaland - our online global arts village.

https://www.personaland.com

Personaland is an artist-driven global village, transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge geographical and cultural boundaries. This uniquely positions Personaland to create accessible opportunities for artists and audiences to connect and participate. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Personaland takes the form of a virtual entertainment park, where visitors can visit art shows and exhibitions, play art games, watch movies, visit dancing flowers and a wishing well. Since our launch in 2018, Personaland has showcased over 650 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians and poets from 61 countries in 25 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions.

For more info:

Stewart Wilson

personaman@snet.net

This year’s Climate Challenge will run from Earth Day (April 22) through May 31st, and it is part of the State’s effort to meet its emission targets to help prevent further worsening of adverse climate impacts. 2024 Climate Challenge - CTrides

You are invited to visit....

A Showing of Liz Rosiello's Floral Watercolor Paintings

Roxbury Senior Center - 7 South St. Roxbury CT

April 1 - May 31

Artist Reception: Saturday May 4th - 2pm to 5pm

Mr. Stuart’s painting career spans forty eight years. His work has been widely exhibited including at the Highlands Museum of the Arts (solo show), the National Park Academy of the Arts, Punta Gorda National Art Exhibition Visual Arts Center, Connecticut Academy of Fine Art, Hudson Valley Art Association, Stamford Museum and Nature Center, Hammond Museum, American Watercolor Society, National Society of Casein and Acrylic Painting , Adirondack National Watercolor Society, North East Watercolor Society and Connecticut Watercolor Society. His college education include the Ringling School of Art, School of Visual Arts and Paier School of Art and he is a Signature Member North East Watercolor Society. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Kimberly Clark Corporation, Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center, and the Florence Griswold Museum. Mr. Stuart’s work will be on display during regular library hours.

“Atmospheric Abstractions”

Presented by: Edward Muszala

Edward Muszala will be sharing his extraordinary collection of oil paintings. His work will be on display from Saturday, March 23rd -  Saturday, May 18th 2024. 

 

Pilot and artist, Edward Muszala, finds inspiration in the sky. “As a pilot I was aware of the constantly changing play of air and light in the atmosphere, the warmth of the sun, the speed of the wind, the water in the clouds” he says. Through the lens of a seasoned aviator, he captures the ever-shifting tapestry of light, color, and temperature in the atmosphere, translating this awe-inspiring spectacle onto canvas with his mastery of oil and encaustic techniques bringing these atmospheric scenes to life, evoking feelings of calm and awe in every brushstroke.

https://www.gunnlibrary.org/stairwell-gallery/

**[The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens](https://judyblackpark.org)** is pleased to welcome an art exhibit featuring works by **[Anastasya Peña](https://www.anastasya-pena.com)**. The exhibit, “Spillover,” will be on view beginning Friday, May 3. The show highlights Peña’s layered abstract paintings. A reception with the artist is being planned. Check our website and social media for updates. Peña is an abstract, color–based painter born and raised in New York City. She received her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2019 with a concentration in Literary Arts and Studies. While at the Rhode Island School of Design, she participated in the European Honors Program in Rome, Italy. “I explore how paint responds to different surfaces,” says Peña of her painting approach. “I am receptive, driven by the discovery of what paint can do," she says of her process.  Check our website and social media for weekly open hours.

The Tremaine Art Gallery at The Hotchkiss School at 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville CT is pleased to present Dialogue: Art in Conversation, featuring works by Valerie Hammond and Nathaniel (Tate) Klacsmann, from April 2 through June 2, 2024, with an opening reception on Saturday, April 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. This exhibition explores the creative processes of two artists whose work reverberates around questions of social inequity, magic, myth, and the environment. Together, their pieces begin a conversation filled with reflective echoes, offering opportunity for intersection around creativity and process. Curated by Joan Baldwin and Terri Moore, Dialogue also includes video and photography by Colleen Macmillan, Ann Villano, and Hotchkiss film students. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Color Me Creative is back!! 

Ages 2 1/2 - 5 years old

This very popular preschool arts and crafts program uses every imaginable medium to stir the creative impulse in your child. Parents and children will have fun finger painting, gluing and creating together! Each week your child will bring home several themed-based projects. Children should wear an old shirt or art smock. 

Parents, please bring a bag or box to transport projects home. 

Instructor: Michele Gasiewski

Residents $85.00, Non-residents $105.00

Two Sessions

Class 1 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM

Class 2 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM

Location: Library Picture Book Room (Upper Level) Join us for interactive stories, rhymes, fables and songs. For ages 2-4.

Kids of all ages are welcome to join us for Bilingual Story Time on Thursdays at 10:30! This program includes stories in Spanish and English, songs, a craft and a snack.

iInvitamos a los niños de todas las edades a unirnos por Hora de Cuentos Bilingües los jueves a 10:30! Esta programa incluye los cuentos en español y ingles, canciones, un proyecto de manualidades y un tentempié.

Whittemore Gallery

January 21, 2024 – May 19, 2024

(Re)Work It! Women Artists on Women’s Labor explores the many types of labor that women are often expected to manage – from caring for one’s family to participating in the labor force, from negotiating beauty standards to handling emotional labor, and more. A reprisal of a smaller exhibition from 2022, this new show delves more deeply into the topic by incorporating a wider range of voices and perspectives. Including artwork from approximately 30 contemporary female-identifying artists, (Re)Work It! broadens our definition and understanding of women's labor in 21st century America.

Free with Admission

On View: March 10, 2024 – May 12, 2024

With large-scale and mysterious photographs, screenwriter and film producer Carolyn Marks Blackwood invites the viewer to participate in the creation of meaning. By associating brief caption lines with images of deserted streets, isolated forests, and houses lit from within, visitors are encouraged to supply their own narrative inspired by their unique experiences. Both haunting and profound, The Story Series provides an opportunity for creative engagement and deep reflection.

Kenise Barnes Fine Art is pleased to announce the representation and first solo show of accomplished mid-career artist KK Kozik.

 

“As to me," wrote Walt Whitman in 1881, "I know of nothing else but miracles.” Whitman goes on to list some very ordinary phenomena as miracles, from “stars shining quiet and bright,” to standing under trees in the woods, to observing birds in flight. The vein of American mysticism links the natural world with the spiritual and has found form in artists as disparate as Rockwell Kent and Agnes Pelton and KK Kozik: all artists who process what they see, what they experience and what they imagine into a painted image.

 

Kozik’s minor miracles mostly surface from the rhythms of her day. Prosaic encounters of beauty during hikes, strolls and swims simmer on the back burner of her mind until stirred up and warmed they knock on her door, demanding to be painted. Ideas and images never come out quite the way they went into the pot. Kozik is not a realist, slavishly painting a tree branch by branch, but rather a transcendental hunter-gatherer, a sly burglar of ideas and colors. An island of trees in a lake is what was seen, but Miracle Island is what she painted. The artist releases beauty from the prosaic, her work meeting in the center of the everyday world and the way imagination processes memory and the way her hand executes it.

 

KK Kozik’s work has been exhibited widely in the United States, Greece, Netherlands, and Germany. She has been honored with William and Susan Picotte Award, Albany Institute of History and Art, Connecticut Artist Fellowship in Painting, Commission, “Flights of Imagination,” Fitchburg Art Museum and Fitchburg State University, Commission, MTA Arts & Design, Rockaway Park Beach 116th St subway station, Weir Farm Trust Visiting Artist Fellowship, Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Grant, to name a few. The artist’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Village Voice, New York Magazine, and Art in America among others. KK Kozik earned an MA from Syracuse University, a BA from University of Virginia, and attended Edinburgh University. She lives and works in CT.

 

Please contact Lani Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

_"From Stars to Stars”_ is a contemplative study of light at night's darkest time and is inspired by “The Dream Keeper” by Langston Hughes. Cedric Gairard's series of photographs is part of the gallery's permanent collection and will be on display until May 31, 2024.

Join us for a weekly dose of inspiration with Rebbetzin Mina as she delves into the weekly Torah portion. Take a break from your busy schedule every Thursday from 11:30-12:30 at Chabad on the Green located at 69 West Litchfield, CT 06759.Come prepared to gain new insights and connect with a community of like-minded individuals. Let Rebbetzin guide you on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth. Don't miss out on this opportunity to nourish your soul and elevate your week. We can't wait to see you there!

"Tangled in Color": an exhibition of works in oil and acrylic by Kathleen L'Hommedieu.

Kathleen L'Hommedieu, born and raised in Connecticut, finds inspiration through light and color in the landscape and sky. Many years of traveling for business and rowing competitions through Europe are also a major influence.

"We are immersed in light, color and energy from all that surrounds us no matter where we find ourselves."

Layering is nothing new for Kathleen. It is a technique that comes naturally as she builds a canvas and is guided through its evolution. Using a series of tools - from brush to palette knife - she lets the layers deepen, a process that can take years while perfecting a canvas. "The background tells me where to go," is how she explains the method, "and I add color or texture." Recently, the layers have led to new revelations of shadow and light as the colors intermingle and intertwine, creating interrelationships within a work of art informed by past canvases. Her abstracts are often memories of moments she has experienced - inspired by a foggy window after a storm by the sea, the turbulence of winter by the ocean, a still-life in its vivid interplay of color and form, or a grove of young saplings lit by the sun.

This show is a series of explorations in interwoven color to share the journey of an artist's growing perception, but expressing a universal message. Kathleen's quest leads the viewer to experience a deepening vision of fleeting color play and brilliant moments in our surroundings. "Art teaches you to see," she says, "and I strive to capture that energy."

From April 13 through May 18, The Cornwall Library is presenting Live It Up!, a selection of bold, vivid landscape and abstract works by artist Joelle Sander (1942–2023) that fully justify the name of the show. The opening reception on April 13 from 5 to 7 pm, with registration requested at https://cornwalllibrary.org/events/.

Sander was already an award-winning author in her late 40s when she began painting seriously. She pursued painting with characteristic zeal, putting it on equal footing with writing, and attending studio classes in New York until the week before her passing. Early on, she took to heart a comment by artist Wolf Kahn, who noticed in one of her pastels an unusual color choice. "Ah ha," he said, "You see, you are a colorist!"

Steve Ninteman, a fellow artist and friend, says “Color is what Joelle celebrated the most in all her work. She also pursued themes of movement, fire, scale, trees and light. What is inspiring is that she took whatever idea she was interested in and brought it directly to a large canvas. Joelle did lovely personal drawings around her Connecticut home, in museums and Central Park, but she didn't do many preparatory sketches for paintings. Instead she would make a few simple outlines with her brush and dive in. Her color choices appeared quickly in assured passages…Looking at her surroundings with love and attention, Joelle transformed them with her personal form making, then gave them a life of their own with color choices that only she could imagine. ”

Sander was inspired by painters as diverse as turn-of-the-20th-century Canadian landscapist Tom Thomson and American abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell.

She lived in New York City and West Cornwall, Connecticut. Live it Up! will offer oil paintings for sale, with proceeds benefiting art and poetry programs at The Cornwall Library.

Bring your lunch, listen to stories, and enjoy a fun craft. Individual craft kits will be available. All are welcome, this program is intended for preschool-aged children. This event will be offered in person in the Junior Room of the Library. Registration is appreciated but not required.

Are you a writer needing to carve out some creative time?

A non-writer who has always wanted to write?

An artist who wants to venture into a new medium?

This workshop is for you!

Once a week, for six weeks, we’ll pause from our personal and professional obligations to play with words, with a promise that we’ll repeat it as a habit. Each class, I’ll present an inspirational reading, image, or activity and we’ll discuss. We’ll let that prompt us to write for about 30 of uninterrupted time to see what bits of ourselves escape onto paper. Then we’ll reconvene and chat. We won’t critique each other’s work. Instead, we’ll offer encouragement and gratefulness for any bit of our voices and stories we’re willing to share.

No pressure, no judgment, and no homework. The practice of writing is just that—practice. Prompts lead to the discovery of ideas, emotions, characters, and other special bits. My hope is that you will find a comfortable, safe, and brave space that meets you where you are on your own unique journey as a writer.

This month’s selection is: The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly. Books are available to borrow. Join us!

Meets on the 2nd Thursday of the Month; Live, In-Person - Drop ins welcome! **Non-Fiction Book Group: Meets at 2:00 PM** Featured Book: **_Caste: The Origin of our Discontents _by Isabel Wilkerson** Beyond race or class, a powerful caste system influences people’s lives and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, the author explores what underlies caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, and stigma. Using riveting stories about people, she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. **Fiction Book Group: Meets at 3:30 PM** Featured Book: **_Joan Is Okay _by Weike Wang** Joan is a thirty-something ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. Her parents were originally from China. She is intensely devoted to her work and happily solitary, but family, neighbors and co-workers try to shape her life according to their cultural and social expectations._ _ _Books are available to borrow at the library._

\* Pre-registration required for reception

All are welcome to join us for relaxing and reflective music to close the day.

Wendy Kerner, Harpist

Performances are followed by a reception with refreshments.

Series is made possible by the Litchfield Community Center Music Fund at NW CT Community Foundation

Upcoming:

6/13: Mad River Quartet

We appreciate all teachers. They are committed to the education of those that are most important to us - our children. They are dedicated, extremely hard working, and do not get the appreciation they deserve. So to show our gratitude we are offering all teachers twenty percent off their orders from Monday, May 6, 2024 through Friday, May 10.

Mini golf and mingle with us for an evening of food, drinks, and games to help support our family and child services in Waterbury!

18-hole indoor mini golf

Putting competition

Dinner

Open bar

50/50 raffle

Can't make it to the event, but want to donate to CMHA? Please choose "donation" at check out.

CMHA's 2nd Annual Mini Golf Classic Tickets, Thu, May 9, 2024 at 5:30 PM | Eventbrite

Join authors Courtney Maum and Emma Hudelson at the Norfolk Library as they discuss their equestrian memoirs and the rise of the hybrid memoir. Hudelson’s new book, “Sky Watch: Chasing an American Saddlebred Story,” focuses on the decline of the American Saddlebred Horse in America and Hudelson’s quest to better understand herself as a female rider in the Saddlebred world. Maum’s memoir, “The Year of the Horses,” follows Maum’s return to horseback riding as a last-ditch effort to pull herself from the brink of depression. As she finds her way, once again, through the world of contemporary horseback riding—Courtney becomes reacquainted with herself not only as a rider but as a mother, wife, daughter, writer, and woman. Please register here.

The David M. Hunt Library's fiber arts group, Stitching in the Stacks, meets the second Thursday of every month at 6 pm. No instruction is offered. This group is a friendly place for fiber artists of all kinds to get together and work on projects.

Join the Gunn Memorial Library and Museum on Thursday May 9 at 6:00pm for our program Cooking Through Time Cookbook Club. For May, we will explore the history of American Tea Rooms and their menus. 

This bimonthly cookbook club will highlight recipes and cookbooks from yesteryear. The program combines history and food as we discuss the history behind the recipes and food fads. 

Registration is required for this program.  Participants will receive recipes upon registering. Please feel free to bring your creations to our meeting for fellow participants to taste. Participants do not need to cook. Please visit our website to register https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/cooking-through-time-cookbook-club-2/

Location: Library Auditorium (Lower Level) Come relax with a weekly board game night. Bring a friend or make new friends!

# Lighted Sea Glass Trees Let the beauty of the sea inspire you all year long with a Sea Glass Tree made by You! Join us for a fun workshop creating your own sea glass tree! Our instructor will guide you step-by-step to create your own version! Your $60 ticket includes ALL materials, including sea glass, to make one sea glass tree and instruction! (if you have your own sea glass, shells, or other sea theme embellishments, you are welcome to bring them along)  **REGISTRATION CLOSES ON MAY 6th** _Only 16 Seats are available for this session. _ This class is open to ages 13 and up! $60 per person BYOB welcome for over 21 refreshments welcome **Register at:**

Join us for an informal gathering. Mix and mingle with a community of like- minded local entrepreneurs while engaging in valuable discussion led by Meryl Simmons, business coach and local community member. WHO SHOULD ATTEND? All are welcome! This session is intended for growth minded business owners with 10-300 employees who want to get more from their business. WHY ATTEND? Streamline your operations. Hire and attract the right people. Stay competitive. Boost productivity. Drive sustainable growth. Position your business for a strong exit plan.

Thursday, May 9th, at 6:30 PM, 2nd Home is excited to have the Frank Gordon Trio back. The Trio features Frank Gordon on bass, Jerrod Cattey on drums and Sean Simmons on guitar. They play a mix of jazz standards as well as original compositions. Come down and make them feel welcome! See our complete event list - [https://2ndhomelounge.com/events/](https://2ndhomelounge.com/events) Google Street View 2nd Home Lounge 524 Main Street, Winsted 2ndhomelounge.com Join our mailing list - [https://2ndhomelounge.com/email-sign-up/](https://2ndhomelounge.com/email-sign-up)

Join us for an unforgettable experience that's packed with fun, knowledge, and surprises. Don't miss out on our next event! Winning team receives a **$30** Little Red Barn Brewers gift card. $20 gift card for second place and a **$10** gift card for third place. Join us this Thursday for some real trivia fun!

Indulge your creative side at our upcoming floral themed event celebrating May flowers & Mother’s Day! choose from three beautiful projects to make for yourself or as a thoughtful gift. Join us for a relaxed evening of crafting, chatting & creativity while MBS guides you and takes care of all the supplies. Feel free to bring your favorite drink or snacks. Click [here](http://www.mommysboardsilly.com) to register

Dan Watkins, Owner and operator  Dan is a New England native and has spent his whole life gardening, landscaping and working in nature. After learning about the struggling honeybee population, and the many benefits honey bees have on vegetable, fruit and vegetation productivity.  Dan decided to start learning about beekeeping and discovered the importance of helping the honeybee population for the benefit of his garden and for the ecosystem around him. This event will take place at Town Hall on May 9th at 7PM. You can also join on Zoom. Meeting ID: 858 3552 1215 Passcode: 310655

Global artists have shared their floral images, film, music and poetry.

for our online art show "Plant Life"

“Plant Life” art show launches online on Friday, May 3rd.

Exciting News!

“Plant Life: NYC – Global” is an exhibition and digital event at Prime Produce, 424 West 54th St, New York City, May 17-19 featuring selections from the online show!

Personaland - our online global arts village.

https://www.personaland.com

Personaland is an artist-driven global village, transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge geographical and cultural boundaries. This uniquely positions Personaland to create accessible opportunities for artists and audiences to connect and participate. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Personaland takes the form of a virtual entertainment park, where visitors can visit art shows and exhibitions, play art games, watch movies, visit dancing flowers and a wishing well. Since our launch in 2018, Personaland has showcased over 650 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians and poets from 61 countries in 25 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions.

For more info:

Stewart Wilson

personaman@snet.net

This year’s Climate Challenge will run from Earth Day (April 22) through May 31st, and it is part of the State’s effort to meet its emission targets to help prevent further worsening of adverse climate impacts. 2024 Climate Challenge - CTrides

You are invited to visit....

A Showing of Liz Rosiello's Floral Watercolor Paintings

Roxbury Senior Center - 7 South St. Roxbury CT

April 1 - May 31

Artist Reception: Saturday May 4th - 2pm to 5pm

Mr. Stuart’s painting career spans forty eight years. His work has been widely exhibited including at the Highlands Museum of the Arts (solo show), the National Park Academy of the Arts, Punta Gorda National Art Exhibition Visual Arts Center, Connecticut Academy of Fine Art, Hudson Valley Art Association, Stamford Museum and Nature Center, Hammond Museum, American Watercolor Society, National Society of Casein and Acrylic Painting , Adirondack National Watercolor Society, North East Watercolor Society and Connecticut Watercolor Society. His college education include the Ringling School of Art, School of Visual Arts and Paier School of Art and he is a Signature Member North East Watercolor Society. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Kimberly Clark Corporation, Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center, and the Florence Griswold Museum. Mr. Stuart’s work will be on display during regular library hours.

“Atmospheric Abstractions”

Presented by: Edward Muszala

Edward Muszala will be sharing his extraordinary collection of oil paintings. His work will be on display from Saturday, March 23rd -  Saturday, May 18th 2024. 

 

Pilot and artist, Edward Muszala, finds inspiration in the sky. “As a pilot I was aware of the constantly changing play of air and light in the atmosphere, the warmth of the sun, the speed of the wind, the water in the clouds” he says. Through the lens of a seasoned aviator, he captures the ever-shifting tapestry of light, color, and temperature in the atmosphere, translating this awe-inspiring spectacle onto canvas with his mastery of oil and encaustic techniques bringing these atmospheric scenes to life, evoking feelings of calm and awe in every brushstroke.

https://www.gunnlibrary.org/stairwell-gallery/

**[The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens](https://judyblackpark.org)** is pleased to welcome an art exhibit featuring works by **[Anastasya Peña](https://www.anastasya-pena.com)**. The exhibit, “Spillover,” will be on view beginning Friday, May 3. The show highlights Peña’s layered abstract paintings. A reception with the artist is being planned. Check our website and social media for updates. Peña is an abstract, color–based painter born and raised in New York City. She received her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2019 with a concentration in Literary Arts and Studies. While at the Rhode Island School of Design, she participated in the European Honors Program in Rome, Italy. “I explore how paint responds to different surfaces,” says Peña of her painting approach. “I am receptive, driven by the discovery of what paint can do," she says of her process.  Check our website and social media for weekly open hours.

The Tremaine Art Gallery at The Hotchkiss School at 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville CT is pleased to present Dialogue: Art in Conversation, featuring works by Valerie Hammond and Nathaniel (Tate) Klacsmann, from April 2 through June 2, 2024, with an opening reception on Saturday, April 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. This exhibition explores the creative processes of two artists whose work reverberates around questions of social inequity, magic, myth, and the environment. Together, their pieces begin a conversation filled with reflective echoes, offering opportunity for intersection around creativity and process. Curated by Joan Baldwin and Terri Moore, Dialogue also includes video and photography by Colleen Macmillan, Ann Villano, and Hotchkiss film students. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

"Tangled in Color": an exhibition of works in oil and acrylic by Kathleen L'Hommedieu.

Kathleen L'Hommedieu, born and raised in Connecticut, finds inspiration through light and color in the landscape and sky. Many years of traveling for business and rowing competitions through Europe are also a major influence.

"We are immersed in light, color and energy from all that surrounds us no matter where we find ourselves."

Layering is nothing new for Kathleen. It is a technique that comes naturally as she builds a canvas and is guided through its evolution. Using a series of tools - from brush to palette knife - she lets the layers deepen, a process that can take years while perfecting a canvas. "The background tells me where to go," is how she explains the method, "and I add color or texture." Recently, the layers have led to new revelations of shadow and light as the colors intermingle and intertwine, creating interrelationships within a work of art informed by past canvases. Her abstracts are often memories of moments she has experienced - inspired by a foggy window after a storm by the sea, the turbulence of winter by the ocean, a still-life in its vivid interplay of color and form, or a grove of young saplings lit by the sun.

This show is a series of explorations in interwoven color to share the journey of an artist's growing perception, but expressing a universal message. Kathleen's quest leads the viewer to experience a deepening vision of fleeting color play and brilliant moments in our surroundings. "Art teaches you to see," she says, "and I strive to capture that energy."

Friday morning story hour for children 10:30am

Story, snack, craft

Preschool to 6 yrs

Douglas Library

108 Main St

N. Canaan, CT 06018

860-824-7863

douglaslibrary@comcast.net

Live, In-Person & on Zoom:

There’s nothing like a Faulkner novel: breath-taking yet suffocating, untamed yet structured. The prose is haunting; the diction, erudite yet home-spun. And the plots strike at the heart of the tragedy and comedy that is our U. S. project. Then there’s the man: an uneducated alcoholic, ill-prepared to be a Nobel laureate. The mere mention of Faulkner strikes fear into undergrads! But skip the jitters and join us to explore one of the greatest American authors. In six weeks, we’ll cover three masterworks written within a ten-year span. We’ll discuss the art, history, and culture surrounding the novels. We’ll also get a too-close-for-comfort glimpse at U. S. rancor, Southern defeat, and the happy ending Faulkner believed was the sum of human existence. (Note that the first novel should be read in its entirety for the first session.)

• Reading Schedule:
• 4/05/2024 -  The Wild Palms (If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem 1939)
• 4/12/2024 -  The Wild Palms (If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem 1939)
• 4/19/2024 -  Light in August (1932), chapters 1 – 11
• 4/26/2024 -  Light in August (1932), chapters 12 – 21
• 5/03/2024 - The Sound and the Fury (1929), first two chapters 
• 5/10/2024 - The Sound and the Fury (1929), completed 

Mark Scarbrough is a former English Professor and author who teaches seminars on Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner and Toni Morrison. He also hosts three literary podcasts. To learn more about Mark, visit his website at markscarbrough.com.

Books are available at OWL to borrow plus instant e-book and e-audio copies are available as well.

Registration & Zoom link are at https://www.owlibrary.org/adult-events.aspx

Whittemore Gallery

January 21, 2024 – May 19, 2024

(Re)Work It! Women Artists on Women’s Labor explores the many types of labor that women are often expected to manage – from caring for one’s family to participating in the labor force, from negotiating beauty standards to handling emotional labor, and more. A reprisal of a smaller exhibition from 2022, this new show delves more deeply into the topic by incorporating a wider range of voices and perspectives. Including artwork from approximately 30 contemporary female-identifying artists, (Re)Work It! broadens our definition and understanding of women's labor in 21st century America.

Free with Admission

On View: March 10, 2024 – May 12, 2024

With large-scale and mysterious photographs, screenwriter and film producer Carolyn Marks Blackwood invites the viewer to participate in the creation of meaning. By associating brief caption lines with images of deserted streets, isolated forests, and houses lit from within, visitors are encouraged to supply their own narrative inspired by their unique experiences. Both haunting and profound, The Story Series provides an opportunity for creative engagement and deep reflection.

Kenise Barnes Fine Art is pleased to announce the representation and first solo show of accomplished mid-career artist KK Kozik.

 

“As to me," wrote Walt Whitman in 1881, "I know of nothing else but miracles.” Whitman goes on to list some very ordinary phenomena as miracles, from “stars shining quiet and bright,” to standing under trees in the woods, to observing birds in flight. The vein of American mysticism links the natural world with the spiritual and has found form in artists as disparate as Rockwell Kent and Agnes Pelton and KK Kozik: all artists who process what they see, what they experience and what they imagine into a painted image.

 

Kozik’s minor miracles mostly surface from the rhythms of her day. Prosaic encounters of beauty during hikes, strolls and swims simmer on the back burner of her mind until stirred up and warmed they knock on her door, demanding to be painted. Ideas and images never come out quite the way they went into the pot. Kozik is not a realist, slavishly painting a tree branch by branch, but rather a transcendental hunter-gatherer, a sly burglar of ideas and colors. An island of trees in a lake is what was seen, but Miracle Island is what she painted. The artist releases beauty from the prosaic, her work meeting in the center of the everyday world and the way imagination processes memory and the way her hand executes it.

 

KK Kozik’s work has been exhibited widely in the United States, Greece, Netherlands, and Germany. She has been honored with William and Susan Picotte Award, Albany Institute of History and Art, Connecticut Artist Fellowship in Painting, Commission, “Flights of Imagination,” Fitchburg Art Museum and Fitchburg State University, Commission, MTA Arts & Design, Rockaway Park Beach 116th St subway station, Weir Farm Trust Visiting Artist Fellowship, Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Grant, to name a few. The artist’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Village Voice, New York Magazine, and Art in America among others. KK Kozik earned an MA from Syracuse University, a BA from University of Virginia, and attended Edinburgh University. She lives and works in CT.

 

Please contact Lani Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

Children and caregivers are welcome to join Miss Linda on Friday mornings for various engaging activities including stories, songs, games, crafts, and playtime. The sessions revolve around seasonal themes and provide a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere for moms, caregivers, and preschoolers to socialize. Feel free to bring a friend along or make new ones during the session!

Registration required at www.gunnlibrary.org/junior-library/

_"From Stars to Stars”_ is a contemplative study of light at night's darkest time and is inspired by “The Dream Keeper” by Langston Hughes. Cedric Gairard's series of photographs is part of the gallery's permanent collection and will be on display until May 31, 2024.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG AND GALLERY 25 INVITES YOU TO ITS MEMBERS’ SPRING ART SHOW!

The increasingly balmy weather is ushering in Spring 2024, and with it, the Gallery 25 Member’s Annual Spring Show which will run from April 12 to June 9.

Terry Tougas, G25 Director, notes, “The public is invited to view and enjoy some of our member artists’ best work in a wide variety of mediums including paintings, pottery, collages, assemblages, mixed media, photography, wood work, wearable art jewelry and more not-to-be-missed works”.

Our opening reception is on Saturday, April 13 from 4-6 pm and everyone is welcome to attend! Light refreshments and wine will be served. We are holding our reception later in the day so come on by for our wonderful art show and then stop by one of downtown New Milford's delicious restaurants for dinner and dessert.

Get excited for our April Workshops! Adele Moros will be hosting one of her popular Sip & Paint artist classes in which participants will be creating a spring bouquet. This class will be held on April 12 at 6pm. And Bobbi Soares’ “Sound at the Station” will demonstrate an exciting sound bath on April 21 from 11am-12pm. To reserve your place at these workshops and for a full list of our upcoming workshops, visit gallery25ct.com.

New Milford is an exciting destination, offering many enjoyable activities, among them well-reviewed restaurants, pubs and unique shops, as well as an Art Deco movie theater, an innovative playhouse, Theaterworks, and a historical New England green. Plan a fun weekend in our fine town!

Gallery 25 and Creative Arts Studio

New Milford Commission on the Arts

11 Railroad St., New Milford, CT 06776

860-355-6009 \* gallery25ct.com

G25 is open Friday and Saturday 12-6 and Sunday 10-4.

G25 wishes to thank the town of New Milford and the New Milford Commission on the Arts for their continued generous support.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @Gallery25 and Creative Arts Studio.

From April 13 through May 18, The Cornwall Library is presenting Live It Up!, a selection of bold, vivid landscape and abstract works by artist Joelle Sander (1942–2023) that fully justify the name of the show. The opening reception on April 13 from 5 to 7 pm, with registration requested at https://cornwalllibrary.org/events/.

Sander was already an award-winning author in her late 40s when she began painting seriously. She pursued painting with characteristic zeal, putting it on equal footing with writing, and attending studio classes in New York until the week before her passing. Early on, she took to heart a comment by artist Wolf Kahn, who noticed in one of her pastels an unusual color choice. "Ah ha," he said, "You see, you are a colorist!"

Steve Ninteman, a fellow artist and friend, says “Color is what Joelle celebrated the most in all her work. She also pursued themes of movement, fire, scale, trees and light. What is inspiring is that she took whatever idea she was interested in and brought it directly to a large canvas. Joelle did lovely personal drawings around her Connecticut home, in museums and Central Park, but she didn't do many preparatory sketches for paintings. Instead she would make a few simple outlines with her brush and dive in. Her color choices appeared quickly in assured passages…Looking at her surroundings with love and attention, Joelle transformed them with her personal form making, then gave them a life of their own with color choices that only she could imagine. ”

Sander was inspired by painters as diverse as turn-of-the-20th-century Canadian landscapist Tom Thomson and American abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell.

She lived in New York City and West Cornwall, Connecticut. Live it Up! will offer oil paintings for sale, with proceeds benefiting art and poetry programs at The Cornwall Library.

Up for our Friday book discussion in May is The Island of Missing Trees, by Elif Shafak.

Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot, and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers, and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.

Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited--- her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.

A moving, beautifully written, and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak’s best work yet.

Registration is required: www.gunnlibrary.org/programs/ 

An Invitational and Juried Show of tactile art featuring works in fabrics and fibers

Live, In-Person:

Want to dress with style? Have fun with vintage? Get some new tips and inspiration? Have you ever wondered what it's like to shop at a consignment store?

Join us as we answer those questions and highlight some fabulous outfits from Rachel's Quality Consignment Shop. Learn how to navigate the racks and spot true treasure to discover a variety of stylish brand items for a fraction of their original costs. A few of our picks will be modeled for you! 

Registration is at https://www.owlibrary.org/adult-events.aspx#anchor\_fashion

Creative Writing Jr.

Friday's - 10 week sessions

4:00-5:30 PM

Ages 8-11 

Our newest teacher Miss Brittney of Muse Squad will inspire your children to express themselves and write short stories, novels, or stand alone pieces. She will bring their writing to the next level. 

Under the guidance of the amazing Miss Brittney, you'll unleash your imagination with fun prompts, building up your confidence as you go.

After class concludes there will be a final reading and a reception open to family and friends. $350.

Call (860) 354-4318 for more info.

Registration and payment due before class.

(No Class March 9th, April 5th, or April 19th)

We appreciate all teachers. They are committed to the education of those that are most important to us - our children. They are dedicated, extremely hard working, and do not get the appreciation they deserve. So to show our gratitude we are offering all teachers twenty percent off their orders from Monday, May 6, 2024 through Friday, May 10.

Join Regina Olson & Patti Kitson for Tarot Readings in the bank vault!

Fridays 5-7 PM

Easy online booking or drop in!

Starting at 15 mins $39

www.tarotinthyme.com

Bring a game or play one of ours! All are welcome to come play free of charge. No obligation to buy anything, but full menu is available until 9pm.

Please join us at the Opening Reception for the Litchfield Hills Camera Club’s photography exhibition. Their work will be on display in our Activity Room and Online Gallery during May and June. The Camera Club meets twice a month in our Library and welcomes new members. Come meet some of their talented members, learn more about their group, and enjoy some light refreshments while you view the show. All are welcome.

at the Maxx, 94 Railroad Street, New Milford Friday, May 10th from 5 pm to 8 pm Registration is required - myyouthagency.com Questions or concerns: 860-210-2030 $20 Adults - $10 Kids

Paintings and sculpture by dazzling new artist, Tanaquil Taubes.

Back by popular demand, the Chocolate Decadence Tour is a partnership between the Railroad Museum of New England, Fascia's Chocolates, and local wineries and distilleries. Trains depart from the historic Thomaston Station for a scenic journey that includes a stop at the spectacular Thomaston Dam on its way to Fascia's Chocolates, where passengers will make their own chocolate creations. Each passenger also receives multiple tastings from local wineries or distilleries, chocolate samples, a souvenir glass, and a light boxed charcuterie with three options. In order to better serve our customers, we have eliminated our regular coach seating for 2024. There is limited availability this year due to scheduled track and bridge maintenance. Tickets are $85 for Premium Coach and $100 for Naugatuck Coach and Governor's Lounge.

Spring Fling Flashback: 80's Dance Party 18+

Cost: $15.00

\* First 50 tickets purchased in advance gets an entry for a rad Door Prize!

Doors Open at 6:30PM

BYOB & Snacks

80's attire encouraged!

Costume Contest

18+ Only

Break out the mullets and reeboks! Come join us as Mischief makes it's debut performance in Litchfield for this 80's Themed Dance Party!

Jazz Meets the Great Brazilian Songbook – Sam Martinelli, drums, Ken

Peplowski, clarinet/sax, Ehud Asherie, piano, Martin Wind, bass, Carina

Calistro, vocals

POLI CLUB, May 10, 2024, 7 & 9PM

The creator of this exciting project, Sam Martinelli, is one of the most

talented young Brazilian musicians to make New York his home in recent

years. A drummer, composer, and educator Martinelli, has worked in the

band of legendary trumpeter Claudio Roditi, and with Hendrik Meurkens,

Marcus McLaurine, Jay Leonhart, Itaiguara Brandão, Tomoko Ohno, Dr Andre

Thomas, and others.

Sam and Ken Peplowski recently joined forces to produce a recording

entitled Jazz Meets the Great Brazilian Songbook, and, out of the gate, it

earned a FOUR STAR DownBeat Review. This collection of sambas, choros,

bossa novas and classics represents the great Brazilian tunesmiths Antonio

Carlos Jobim, Ivan Lins, Joao Gilberto and others.

The record and this Poli Club program include Jobim’s Correntaza (The

Stream). According to DownBeat reviewer Larry Appelbaum, it features “a

delightful piano chorus by Ehud Asherie that could have continued

indefinitely.” But, “most moving” he said was Martinelli’s own contribution

Serenade to a Friend (for Claudio Roditi), the closing track. Claudio, who died

in 2020, was a long-time faculty member at Litchfield Jazz Camp where Sam

Martinelli, his protégé, joined him there as a young teaching assistant.

Ken Peplowski is one of the preeminent clarinetist/saxophonists in jazz today.

He began playing with polka bands while he was still in elementary school,

joined the Dorsey Orchestra in his teens and was hired by Benny Goodman in

1984. Ken has played on soundtracks for Woody Allen films and has

collaborated with artists like Mel Torme, Leon Redbone, Peggy lee, Madonna,

Rosemary Clooney. He can be heard on over 450 records.

Ehud Asherie has worked with Cecile McLorin Salvant, Wycliffe Gordon,

Catherine Russell, John Piazzarelli and others. His playing can be heard on

the 2020 Grammy-winning soundtrack for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. He has

appeared twice with Ken Peplowski on the Litchfield Jazz Festival and with

his own trio there in last summer. This is his second appearance for Litchfield

Jazz Presents @ The Poli Club.

Martin Wind is a member of the trios of Bill Mays, Dena DeRose, Bill Cunliffe,

Ann Hampton Callaway, Ted Rosenthal, as well as the quartets of Matt

Wilson and Ken Peplowski and tours with Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine.

He has recorded and/or performed with Mstislav Rostopowitch, Lalo Schifrin,

Monty Alexander, Pat Metheny, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Toots

Thielemans, Anat Cohen, Benny Green and many others. He teaches at New

York and Hofstra Universities.

Sam Martinelli is one of the most talented musicians to come out of Brazil in recent times. His taste playing the drums is impeccable, either playing Brazilian music or American Jazz.

Brazilian music and Jazz have a long history of music integration, especially after the Bossa Nova movement that took place in Rio in the late 50s and spread throughout the world after the Carnegie Hall concert in 1962, where Tom Jobim, Joao Gilberto, and many others were presented to the world.

Jazz and Brazilian musicians always had respect and appreciation for one another, and this performance is part of a series of interviews and concerts that Mr. Martinelli is developing with the goal of keeping this beautiful cultural exchange between these two music cultures — Jazz, a truly American art, and Samba, a truly Brazilian art.

Presented in collaboration with New England Arts & Entertainment.

Please join us for Dinner & Music on Friday May 10th at 7pm as we welcome Don Lowe and special guest band New Middle Class (Barbara & Mike Borok)

Don Lowe has been featured in venues of all types across the eastern corridor (NY/CT/NJ/Mass) and has opened for national acts such as Tom Rush, The Little River Band, Livingston Taylor, Steve Forbert, Kenny White, Toby Walker, Tim Grimm, Danielle Miraglia, David Jacobs-Strain, Johnny A, and the Dana Fuchs Band among many others. In 2023, Don was awarded second place by Litchfield Magazine in the “area’s most popular musician” category. 

 His brand of Americana music explores life with songs that are in turns witty, arcane, sad, and sometimes, downright silly. Don's repertoire also includes a wide-range of Americana covers through the decades. He enjoys friendly and humorous interaction with the audience – when appropriate – and all 500-plus songs are from memory allowing for optimum performance awareness. 

 He was open mic host for the venerable Towne Crier Café for 8 years, and for 3 fun years, he and friend Steve Kirkman hosted a weekly radio program called Local Heroes that featured area local singer/songwriters. Don’s second CD, Out Here, was released in September 2014 and his first release, Dogs, Clowns, and Belles came out in 2011. His third CD is set for release in January, 2024. Don is originally from McHenry, North Dakota and currently lives in Sherman, CT where he is the town’s First Selectman (Mayor).

 New Middle Class is Barbara Borok (lead vocal) and Mike Borok (guitar/vocal).     Their award-winning original songs walk a thin line between the funny and the serious, with distinctive vocals, harmonies and delightfully unexpected lyrical twists and turns. The songs span an eclectic range of styles, often speaking with the voices of different characters.

In the late ‘70’s, Mike led a Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks influenced band called Light Horse Harry. Barbara happened to be in the room at an audition to replace the band’s departing bassist and, upon discovering that this hot chick was neither the wife nor the girlfriend of the new bassist, Mike asked her out. Before long, Barbara’s love of singing inspired her to join the band and she went from girlfriend to backing singer to featured vocalist. Mike’s songwriting became more prolific – it must have been love. Light Horse Harry played the NYC college scene; their shows were loose, lots of fun, and hot swing/bluegrass fiddler Marty Laster would always bring the house down. 

Their songs won awards in major songwriting contests, were played on over 50 radio stations worldwide, and they performed in events nationwide, including the Northeastern and Southwestern Folk Alliance conferences, Chicago and Florida festivals, and won Grand Prize at the Music To Life song contest at the prestigious Kerrville (TX) Folk Festival. Their songs also appear on The Folk Next Door IV Local Color, Fast Folk Undercurrents, and on three compilation albums by the Funny Music Project (The FuMP).

Their new album, House of Love, was also recorded at home, as well as two live-action music videos. For one of them, “Quark”, their fans contributed short video clips of this imaginary dance, which were incorporated into the video. And the video for “It Ain’t What It Ain’t” was featured by the national grassroots political organization Braver Angels.

Playfully serious, heartfelt and slightly bent middle-class pop/rock

On Friday, May 10th, at 7:00 PM, Bobby Pirotta returns to 2nd Home. Come down and make him feel at home, enjoy some great music, food, drinks, and have fun. See our complete event list - [https://2ndhomelounge.com/events/](https://2ndhomelounge.com/events) Google Street View: 2nd Home Lounge 524 Main Street, Winsted 2ndhomelounge.com Join our mailing list - [https://2ndhomelounge.com/email-sign-up/](https://2ndhomelounge.com/email-sign-up)

TUMBLE OUTTA' BED AND STUMBLE TO GOSHEN PLAYERS FOR A RIP-ROARING MUSICAL COMEDY!

Based on the 1980 hit movie, with a score by the queen of country music Dolly Parton, 9 to 5 The Musical is an outrageously funny tale of friendship and revenge. Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with their despicable boss, and in a hilarious turn of events live out their wildest fantasies. Will their plan to turn the tables on their boss succeed or will it unravel when the CEO pays an unexpected visit? Join Goshen Players as they present this high-energy smash-hit – it’s the most fun you’ll have at the theater all year!

Global artists have shared their floral images, film, music and poetry.

for our online art show "Plant Life"

“Plant Life” art show launches online on Friday, May 3rd.

Exciting News!

“Plant Life: NYC – Global” is an exhibition and digital event at Prime Produce, 424 West 54th St, New York City, May 17-19 featuring selections from the online show!

Personaland - our online global arts village.

https://www.personaland.com

Personaland is an artist-driven global village, transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge geographical and cultural boundaries. This uniquely positions Personaland to create accessible opportunities for artists and audiences to connect and participate. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Personaland takes the form of a virtual entertainment park, where visitors can visit art shows and exhibitions, play art games, watch movies, visit dancing flowers and a wishing well. Since our launch in 2018, Personaland has showcased over 650 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians and poets from 61 countries in 25 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions.

For more info:

Stewart Wilson

personaman@snet.net

This year’s Climate Challenge will run from Earth Day (April 22) through May 31st, and it is part of the State’s effort to meet its emission targets to help prevent further worsening of adverse climate impacts. 2024 Climate Challenge - CTrides

Salisbury Handmade will have its Spring Artisan Market on Saturday, May 11, 2024 from 10 am- 5 pm on The White Hart lawn in Salisbury, CT. Over 20 Artisans will be selling their goods, ranging from fine jewelry, ceramics, photography, fiber arts, woodwork, and much more! This event is free and open to the public. Rain Date is Sunday, May 12, 2024. Visit artisansale.org for more information.

Goshen children grades K-5 [goshenrec.com](https://goshenct.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=29830)

We invite you to sign up for the next New Milford CERT basic training class staring April 29. During this FREE 20-hour course you will learn:

•CERT organization

•Disaster preparedness

•Fire safety

•Basic first aid

•Light search and rescue 

•Hazards and their impact

•Care for self, family, friends, community

Contact us for more information: info.newmilfordCERT@gmail.com

You are invited to visit....

A Showing of Liz Rosiello's Floral Watercolor Paintings

Roxbury Senior Center - 7 South St. Roxbury CT

April 1 - May 31

Artist Reception: Saturday May 4th - 2pm to 5pm

Come spend the day learning new crafts, trying new art mediums, and just come and find your creative side with 18 resident and guest artist/crafters at Whiting Mills. Doors open at 9am to register in person for 24 different creative opportunities presented as classes, workshops, make & takes, and demonstrations that will be happening throughout the mill starting at 10am and going to 5pm.

 

Creative Day is a FULL day of FREE classes, workshops, and demonstrations geared toward adults and teens over the age of 16. Attendees will be able to register in person for up to two classes/workshops and attend unlimited open demonstrations and make & take art sessions. 

Basket weaving, jewelry metalsmithing, mixed media paper collage, alcohol ink painting, encaustic painting, make a spell jar, sewing machine quilting, felted soap making, re-upholstery, painting, Suminagashi paper marbling, printing, and make a tasty Bliss Ball will all be offered.

Coffee, drinks, and snacks available during registration and lunch break. Bring your own lunch or grab a bite from one of our local eateries.

The Second Annual Creative Day is supported in part by a grant from The CT Department of Economic Development- Office of the Arts, Northwest CT Arts Council, Northwest Community Bank, Torrington Saving Bank and WriteWay Signs.

 

For more information click this link to find class descriptions and schedule information, and be sure to sign up for email notifications about the event.

https://www.sunlightartistry.com/creative-day

Mr. Stuart’s painting career spans forty eight years. His work has been widely exhibited including at the Highlands Museum of the Arts (solo show), the National Park Academy of the Arts, Punta Gorda National Art Exhibition Visual Arts Center, Connecticut Academy of Fine Art, Hudson Valley Art Association, Stamford Museum and Nature Center, Hammond Museum, American Watercolor Society, National Society of Casein and Acrylic Painting , Adirondack National Watercolor Society, North East Watercolor Society and Connecticut Watercolor Society. His college education include the Ringling School of Art, School of Visual Arts and Paier School of Art and he is a Signature Member North East Watercolor Society. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Kimberly Clark Corporation, Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center, and the Florence Griswold Museum. Mr. Stuart’s work will be on display during regular library hours.

**Join the Housatonic Valley Association for a riverside walk along the Appalachian Trail!** Duration is about 2 hrs, 30 minutes) Join this walk (approximately 6 miles) from Sharon to Kent along River Road and the Appalachian Trail! **Wear hiking shoes, breathable fabrics or light clothing, and bring sunscreen and water.** Please register [here](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/riverside-walk-in-sharonkent-tickets-873427363757?aff=oddtdtcreator) \*\*\*Participants will receive an email before the event with all logistics and details.

Looking for an intimate meaningful Prayer experience... At Chabad we don't pray with labels or levels. Every one talks to G‑d on their level and in their language and pace. The service are led in the beautiful traditional manner but are tailored to the individual's needs. 

Followed always by a scrumptious Kiddush.

_ All are Welcome

_ NO Membership

_ Spirited, song-filled prayers

_ Warm, Friendly Community

_ User-Friendly Services

_ Relaxed, non-judgemental atmoshpere

\* Hebrew/English Prayer-Books

“Atmospheric Abstractions”

Presented by: Edward Muszala

Edward Muszala will be sharing his extraordinary collection of oil paintings. His work will be on display from Saturday, March 23rd -  Saturday, May 18th 2024. 

 

Pilot and artist, Edward Muszala, finds inspiration in the sky. “As a pilot I was aware of the constantly changing play of air and light in the atmosphere, the warmth of the sun, the speed of the wind, the water in the clouds” he says. Through the lens of a seasoned aviator, he captures the ever-shifting tapestry of light, color, and temperature in the atmosphere, translating this awe-inspiring spectacle onto canvas with his mastery of oil and encaustic techniques bringing these atmospheric scenes to life, evoking feelings of calm and awe in every brushstroke.

https://www.gunnlibrary.org/stairwell-gallery/

On Saturday, May 11, I will be offering a creative writing workshop based on the poetry of EE Cummings, a leader of Modernism is America.  During the morning session, I will lead a lively & interactive discussion on Cummings’ poetry & spirituality as well as his life & times.  Also, I will present a craft talk on poetic techniques related to Cubism.  During the afternoon session, we will practice using new tools in a generative workshop, creating poems, stories, memoirs, etc.  Participants are strongly encouraged to stay for the full-day, but half-day options are also available.  Either way, lunch & fellowship will be provided.  Please register directly at Wisdom House.  

# Dooms of Love: Poetry of E.E. Cummings **Presented by Robert Piazza** Rekindle your creative fire! Poets of all levels, from beginner to advanced, come together to read, write, and recite. Avant-garde painter & poet EE Cummings boldly experimented with language to create imaginative and original works of art. A tireless innovator, he celebrates love and spring in his poetry. Join us for a generative workshop in which we think outside the box, drafting new material inspired by a deep dive into the poetry of EE Cummings. Bring your own pencils & notebooks. Poems will be provided. Enjoy opportunities to nurture your inner Muse!  Two Choices for workshop  **COST | $40 for HALF day, lunch included (until 1:00 PM)** [REGISTER](https://wh.retreatportal.com/events/f?p=EVENTS%3A13%3A%3A%3A%3A%3AP0_EMBED%2CP13_PROGRAM_ID%3A0%2C6403) **COST | $60 for FULL day, lunch included (until 3:00 PM)**

**[The Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens](https://judyblackpark.org)** is pleased to welcome an art exhibit featuring works by **[Anastasya Peña](https://www.anastasya-pena.com)**. The exhibit, “Spillover,” will be on view beginning Friday, May 3. The show highlights Peña’s layered abstract paintings. A reception with the artist is being planned. Check our website and social media for updates. Peña is an abstract, color–based painter born and raised in New York City. She received her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2019 with a concentration in Literary Arts and Studies. While at the Rhode Island School of Design, she participated in the European Honors Program in Rome, Italy. “I explore how paint responds to different surfaces,” says Peña of her painting approach. “I am receptive, driven by the discovery of what paint can do," she says of her process.  Check our website and social media for weekly open hours.

The Kent Quilters will have a working/sewing meeting in Town Hall on Saturday, May 11. We invite the public to come “see us sew” from 9:30am to 11am. This year, the Kent Quilters are raising money for the Kent Volunteer Fire Department. People interested in learning more about quilting and meeting others with a heart for giving are invited to come “see us sew” (and press, and pin, and talk, and laugh) at our May meeting. You will be able to see a sneak preview of the large group quilt we are making. You can learn more about the Kent Quilters [here](https://kentgtd.org/kent-quilters-are-an-integral-piece-of-community-fabric).

Artists looking for ways to expand on their creative practices in artmaking, career building, and exhibiting work are invited to join instructor 

Richard Pasquarelli in a series of monthly meetings to address ways in 

which artmakers can navigate the artworld. Artists looking to start their own business can gain valuable marketing advice and networking skills.

There is something for everyone!

https://fivepointsarts.org/workshops/

The Tremaine Art Gallery at The Hotchkiss School at 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville CT is pleased to present Dialogue: Art in Conversation, featuring works by Valerie Hammond and Nathaniel (Tate) Klacsmann, from April 2 through June 2, 2024, with an opening reception on Saturday, April 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. This exhibition explores the creative processes of two artists whose work reverberates around questions of social inequity, magic, myth, and the environment. Together, their pieces begin a conversation filled with reflective echoes, offering opportunity for intersection around creativity and process. Curated by Joan Baldwin and Terri Moore, Dialogue also includes video and photography by Colleen Macmillan, Ann Villano, and Hotchkiss film students. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

"Tangled in Color": an exhibition of works in oil and acrylic by Kathleen L'Hommedieu.

Kathleen L'Hommedieu, born and raised in Connecticut, finds inspiration through light and color in the landscape and sky. Many years of traveling for business and rowing competitions through Europe are also a major influence.

"We are immersed in light, color and energy from all that surrounds us no matter where we find ourselves."

Layering is nothing new for Kathleen. It is a technique that comes naturally as she builds a canvas and is guided through its evolution. Using a series of tools - from brush to palette knife - she lets the layers deepen, a process that can take years while perfecting a canvas. "The background tells me where to go," is how she explains the method, "and I add color or texture." Recently, the layers have led to new revelations of shadow and light as the colors intermingle and intertwine, creating interrelationships within a work of art informed by past canvases. Her abstracts are often memories of moments she has experienced - inspired by a foggy window after a storm by the sea, the turbulence of winter by the ocean, a still-life in its vivid interplay of color and form, or a grove of young saplings lit by the sun.

This show is a series of explorations in interwoven color to share the journey of an artist's growing perception, but expressing a universal message. Kathleen's quest leads the viewer to experience a deepening vision of fleeting color play and brilliant moments in our surroundings. "Art teaches you to see," she says, "and I strive to capture that energy."

From April 13 through May 18, The Cornwall Library is presenting Live It Up!, a selection of bold, vivid landscape and abstract works by artist Joelle Sander (1942–2023) that fully justify the name of the show. The opening reception on April 13 from 5 to 7 pm, with registration requested at https://cornwalllibrary.org/events/.

Sander was already an award-winning author in her late 40s when she began painting seriously. She pursued painting with characteristic zeal, putting it on equal footing with writing, and attending studio classes in New York until the week before her passing. Early on, she took to heart a comment by artist Wolf Kahn, who noticed in one of her pastels an unusual color choice. "Ah ha," he said, "You see, you are a colorist!"

Steve Ninteman, a fellow artist and friend, says “Color is what Joelle celebrated the most in all her work. She also pursued themes of movement, fire, scale, trees and light. What is inspiring is that she took whatever idea she was interested in and brought it directly to a large canvas. Joelle did lovely personal drawings around her Connecticut home, in museums and Central Park, but she didn't do many preparatory sketches for paintings. Instead she would make a few simple outlines with her brush and dive in. Her color choices appeared quickly in assured passages…Looking at her surroundings with love and attention, Joelle transformed them with her personal form making, then gave them a life of their own with color choices that only she could imagine. ”

Sander was inspired by painters as diverse as turn-of-the-20th-century Canadian landscapist Tom Thomson and American abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell.

She lived in New York City and West Cornwall, Connecticut. Live it Up! will offer oil paintings for sale, with proceeds benefiting art and poetry programs at The Cornwall Library.

Join us for a morning of family fun, fishing, and prizes. Please bring your fishing pole, bait, and bucket. And don't forget your camera to capture the catch before it's released.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Only youth (15 years and under) are eligible for derby prizes.

$5.00 per entry.

Pre registration is required. Click here

Please note: rain date is May 18th

Ink, flood, print, repeat! Explore the technical process and endless possibilities of screenprinting in this introductory workshop. Participants will design an image in Photoshop or by hand and learn how to print an edition of single-layer screenprints. As you begin working with the materials, you will gain an understanding of how light and emulsion are used to burn images into a screen. Instructor, Brooke Toczylowski, will guide you through the process and demonstrate printing techniques that will result in a clean, registered, and consistant edition of prints. 

https://fivepointsarts.org/workshops/

Join the David M. Hunt Library and local artist Erika Crofut for a two part Book Bird Book Art workshop on May 11th and 18th from 10 am to noon. Erika will guide participants in different book art techniques using recycled books, folding, feather, paint and fun! We will work from an interesting pile of culled books along with some pre-cut patterns, templates, paints and more. Each artist will be able to choose their own book and using cutting folding fur, feathers and paint we will make an aviary! This program is designed for focused artists ages eight and up under elementary ages are welcome to participate with an adult.

There is a limit on attendees, please register by calling (860) 824-7424 or emailing the library dmhuntlibrary@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Date: Saturday, May 11th

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location: The Litchfield History Museum

Cost: Free for Members, $10 for non-Members

Registration Requested

Explore Litchfield’s town center through the words, sketches, paintings, and photographs of artists. See how they saw Litchfield and expressed it through their artistic work.

The walk will begin at the Litchfield Historical Society and lasts approximately 1 hour. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water.

Walking Tours are sponsored by Berkshire Alarm

A Call to Change and Action- For God’s People Weary of Gun Violence What: Growing Hope, Forging Peace- ft. Shane Claiborne Where: 190 Kenyon Road          Lakeside, CT 06758 When: May 11th, 2024 from 10am-2pm EST Details: FREE ADMISSION   “All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe.” ― Shane Claiborne   JOIN US FOR A DAY OF TESTIMONY, REFLECTION, EXPERIENCE, AND ACTION!   We will gather around the forges as we transform guns into gardening tools and art. Offering songs of praise and prayer, and hearing words shared by victims and survivors of gun violence. Shane Claiborne- our keynote speaker will offer words of change and a call to action. We will work on art projects and gather in thoughtful conversations around mental health, safe gun storage and suicide prevention. We will offer our hurts, hopes and dreams to God in song and worship, and end our day with a picnic lunch.   Register here:  THIS DAY IS OPEN TO ALL GOD’S PEOPLE, OF ALL BELIEFS AND AGES.   **Shane Claiborne, Keynote Speaker** Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. Grace fuels his passion. He was recently awarded The King Center’s Beloved Community Social Justice Award. His book, Beating Guns, acts as a guide for how we can be part of the solution towards ending gun violence. Inspired by the prophetic image of beating swords into plows, Beating Guns offers a clarion call to change our hearts regarding one of the most significant moral issues of our time. His newest book, Rethinking Life was released February 2023.

A hands-on foraging and crafting session for children ages 4 to 12. ** ** Meet at the far corner of the parking lot facing the Chase Cottage.  **Free**

Introducing Teen Art Studio @AMP, a new monthly program for ages 13 to 18 that fosters teens’ creative pursuits in a supportive, social setting. Young artists will have opportunities to explore major artworks, expand their knowledge of the visual arts, and try their hand at varied mediums (e.g., drawing, painting, sculpture, fashion, photography). It’s a special time and space just for teen artists where they can steadily build their portfolios and embark on a collective artistic journey in a relaxed, sociable studio environment, with the guidance of teaching artist Shana Bazelmans. Second Saturday of the month, 10:30am–12:30pm • March 9 • April 13 • May 11 • June 8 Free with admission or an AMP student pass. For more information, email [michelle@americanmuralproject.org](http://americanmuralproject.org). _This program is made possible in part by Renee Chatelain and Kevin Lyle._

Join us for a special local author debut! Let's celebrate Gabriele Davis's new picture book, Peaches!

In Peaches, a hopeful multigenerational story of love and healing from author Gabriele Davis and illustrator Kim Holt, a girl holds her mother’s memory close while carrying on an important family tradition: making peach cobbler together.

Summer Sundays begin with picking.

Rosy-ripe peaches dipping low to the ground,

Sun-warmed and soft like Grandma’s lap.

Side by side with Daddy and Grandma, a young girl is determined to take part in her family’s tradition of baking the perfect peach cobbler—just like her mama used to. From picking fruit to stirring and mixing to kneading the dough, it’s a little bit messy. But with sure hands to guide the girl step-by-step—and her mother’s memory hanging sweet in the air—she has the recipe for making Mama proud.

This warmhearted and ultimately hopeful picture book shows that with a house full of love, everything can feel peach-perfect.

Gabriele Davis loves peach cobbler, just like her father before her. In summer, she favors the sweet, zingy taste of ginger peach cobbler. In winter, only soul-soothing, nutmeg-y peach cobbler will do. Gabriele lives, writes, and bakes in the northwest corner of Connecticut. She enjoys creating works that inspire children to laugh, love, and discover their inner strength. Peaches is her debut picture book. Kim Holt has had a passion for art and drawing from an early age and found great inspiration growing up directly across from the Brooklyn Museum. She strives to capture special moments of joy, a positive outlook, wonder, and even quiet struggles in her artwork. Whether young or old, she wants people to see themselves. Kim lives and makes art in the Washington, DC, metro area with her husband and two dogs, Sugar and Spice.

Preorder the book at https://curiouscatbookshop.com/book/9781419757372 (or call us/stop in anytime we're open!).

Whittemore Gallery

January 21, 2024 – May 19, 2024

(Re)Work It! Women Artists on Women’s Labor explores the many types of labor that women are often expected to manage – from caring for one’s family to participating in the labor force, from negotiating beauty standards to handling emotional labor, and more. A reprisal of a smaller exhibition from 2022, this new show delves more deeply into the topic by incorporating a wider range of voices and perspectives. Including artwork from approximately 30 contemporary female-identifying artists, (Re)Work It! broadens our definition and understanding of women's labor in 21st century America.

Free with Admission

On View: March 10, 2024 – May 12, 2024

With large-scale and mysterious photographs, screenwriter and film producer Carolyn Marks Blackwood invites the viewer to participate in the creation of meaning. By associating brief caption lines with images of deserted streets, isolated forests, and houses lit from within, visitors are encouraged to supply their own narrative inspired by their unique experiences. Both haunting and profound, The Story Series provides an opportunity for creative engagement and deep reflection.

Free admission sponsored by Art Bridges’ Access For All Initiative.

Come to the Activity Shed between 11 am and 2 pm. Choose something from our eclectic collection of goodies and leave a donation in the jar! No haggling as if you are in a Marrakesh souk! Why not become a member during your visit or buy a super snazzy bit of White Memorial swag from the gift shop! Early birds will be dispatched in the nicest way possible! Rain or shine! If you would like to donate nature themed items in good condition to the tag sale, please email: gerri@whitememorialcc.org None of your college text books, please! Thank you!

Kenise Barnes Fine Art is pleased to announce the representation and first solo show of accomplished mid-career artist KK Kozik.

 

“As to me," wrote Walt Whitman in 1881, "I know of nothing else but miracles.” Whitman goes on to list some very ordinary phenomena as miracles, from “stars shining quiet and bright,” to standing under trees in the woods, to observing birds in flight. The vein of American mysticism links the natural world with the spiritual and has found form in artists as disparate as Rockwell Kent and Agnes Pelton and KK Kozik: all artists who process what they see, what they experience and what they imagine into a painted image.

 

Kozik’s minor miracles mostly surface from the rhythms of her day. Prosaic encounters of beauty during hikes, strolls and swims simmer on the back burner of her mind until stirred up and warmed they knock on her door, demanding to be painted. Ideas and images never come out quite the way they went into the pot. Kozik is not a realist, slavishly painting a tree branch by branch, but rather a transcendental hunter-gatherer, a sly burglar of ideas and colors. An island of trees in a lake is what was seen, but Miracle Island is what she painted. The artist releases beauty from the prosaic, her work meeting in the center of the everyday world and the way imagination processes memory and the way her hand executes it.

 

KK Kozik’s work has been exhibited widely in the United States, Greece, Netherlands, and Germany. She has been honored with William and Susan Picotte Award, Albany Institute of History and Art, Connecticut Artist Fellowship in Painting, Commission, “Flights of Imagination,” Fitchburg Art Museum and Fitchburg State University, Commission, MTA Arts & Design, Rockaway Park Beach 116th St subway station, Weir Farm Trust Visiting Artist Fellowship, Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Grant, to name a few. The artist’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Village Voice, New York Magazine, and Art in America among others. KK Kozik earned an MA from Syracuse University, a BA from University of Virginia, and attended Edinburgh University. She lives and works in CT.

 

Please contact Lani Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.