the artful mind artzine feb on issuu com

THE ARTFULMINDFEBRUARY 2015

POPS PETERSONPhotography by Jane Feldman

Monthly Berkshire Artzine Promoting the Arts Since 1994

NINALIPKOWITZ.COM

JOHNLIPKOWITZIMAGING.COM

Mumbai, iPad painting, Nina Lipkowitz

Still Life with Yellow and Blue Bowl, watercolor, Nina Lipkowitz

John LipkowitzImages from Hancock Shaker Village

John Lipkowitz Images from Great Barrington Reconstruction Project

510 WARREN STREET GALLERY510 warren street, hudson, new york

www.510warrenstreetgallery.com • 518. 822. 0510

HARRIETTE JOFFEShe Fell From A Star

Exhibiting: Palm Springs Fine Art FairValentine’s Day Weekend, February 12 - 15

Diptych, Oil on canvas, 72 x 116, 1984

Lawrence Fine Art, 37 Newtown Lane (in the passageway), East Hampton NY516. 547. 8965 www.lawrence-fine-arts.com [email protected]

2 • FebruarY 2015 the artFul Mind

Planet Waves for FEBRUARY 2015Eric Francis.....14

Marie Antoinette Eats CakeRichard Britell ... 18

Fiction Sampler from The Virgin of Hopeless CausesAmy Tanner ...19

Simply Sasha Recipe for JanuarySasha Seymour...19

Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Eunice Agar, Richard Britell, Eric Francis, Karen Lewis, Sasha Seymour, Amy Tanner

Photographers Edward Acker, Cassandra Sohn, Jane Feldman

Sabine Vollmer von Falken

Publisher Harryet Candee

Copy Editor Marguerite Bride

Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet Candee

Box 985, Great Barrington, MA [email protected]

413 854 4400ALL MATERIAL due the 10th of the

month prior to publicationFYI: ©Copyright laws in effect throughout The Artful Mind for logo & allgraphics including text material. Copyright laws for photographers and writ-ers throughout The Artful Mind. Permission to reprint is required in all in-stances. In any case the issue does not appear on the stands as planned dueto unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, advertisers will be com-pensated on a one to one basis. Disclaimer rights available upon request.Serving the Art community with the intention of enhancing communicationand sharing positive creativity in all aspects of our lives. We at The ArtfulMind are not responsible for any copyrights of the artists, we only interviewthemabout the art they create.

FEBRUARY 2015

THE ARTFUL MINDARTZINEHappy Valentine’s Day.

Enjoy this beautiful winterland!

Pops Petersonphotographs by Jane Feldman ...10

Artist Lee EverettHarryet Candee...6

THEMUSIC STORE

it warms the heart in winter to give the gift of music, to thoseyou love and to yourself. the Music store has begun its fifteenthyear in business in great barrington. helping the community,near and far, make music has been an enjoyable and productiveenterprise for us. and we look forward to continuing this mis-sion into the second half of our second decade.

some of the fun . . . • composite acoustic guitars (the forever guitar!) and their peer-less travel guitar, the cargo, made of carbon graphite and im-pervious to most changes of temperature and humidity. guildguitars - light, powerful, affordable.• ukuleles! 50+ different models: soprano, concert, tenor andbaritone, acoustic and acoustic/electric, six string, resonator andthe remarkable u-bass.• how about a cordoba cuatro?• or a west african djembe with a sMashing carry bag? • try takamine for a guitar to suit almost any budget (limitededitions and great sales, too)! and so many more brands andtypes from $150-$5000.• ever heard of dr. easy’s drunk bay cigar boxes?acoustic/electric cigar box guitars, exquisitely made, whichbring the past into the present with a delightful punch, acousti-cally and plugged in.• harmonicas, in (almost) every key (try a suzuki hammond‘Mouth organ’).• picks (exotic, too!), strings (!!), sticks and reeds.• Violins, Mandolins, dulcimers, banjos, even banjo ukes.• handmade and international percussion instruments.• dreamy native american and locally made bamboo andwooden flutes and walking stick flutes.

and there is more to delight the eyes, intrigue the ears andbring warm joy to the heart.

we remain your neighborhood music store, where advice andhelp are free and music is the universal language. working withlocal luthiers and repairmen we offer stringed and band instru-ment repair. and we just may have something you haven’t seenbefore (an acoustic/electric kalimba, perhaps?). we match (orbeat) most on-line prices for the merchandise that we sell, anddo so in person, for the most part cheerfully (though we reservethe right to glower a little when asked if we can ‘do better’ onthe price of a pick).

come and see us soon and help us celebrate our 15th year!!!Your patronage helps the community and makes it a more tune-ful and happy place.

The Music Store, located at 87 Railroad Street in Great Bar-rington, is open Wednesdays through Sundays and by appoint-ment. Call us at 413-528-2460, or visit us on line atwww.themusicstoreplus.com

LAUREN CLARK FINE ART

Japanese Flower arranging andlecture with local ikebanaMASTER BRIAN MIKESELL

not satisfied with merely appreciating flowers in a traditionalvase, Japanese people in the early 16th century endeavored togive deeper meaning to the thoughts accompanying the processof arranging flowers. in other words, they wished to arrangeflowers (tateru, to arrange stems in an upright or standing man-ner), rather than simply placing them in the vase. an early atti-tude of passive appreciation gradually developed into a moredeeply considered approach. this approach forms the basis ofwhat we call ikebana. we arrange plants cut and removed fromnature so that they are filled with new beauty when placed in anew environment. rather than simply re-create the shape a planthad in nature, we create with branches, leaves, and flowers a newform which holds our impression of a plant’s beauty as well asthe mark of our own spirit. ikebana should also suggest theforces of nature with which plants live in harmony-branches bentby winter winds, a partially unfurled petal, a leaf half-eaten byinsects…

brian Mikesell will be creating ikebana arrangements at thegallery from 1pm until 4pm, saturday, March 7. this will befollowed by a reception for the artist and informative lecture andquestion and answer segment. the arrangements will be on dis-play at the gallery until the flowers wilt.

save the date and sign up for a “freestyle” ikebana workshopwith brian at the gallery, sunday, March 22 from noon-3pm.

about the artist/instructor: brian Mikesell has achieved therank of kakan (assistant professor, 2nd degree) in the ikenoboschool of ikebana under the instruction of toshiko shindoalden (sokatoku rank) and Michiko baribeau (Junkatoku rank).he has taught ikebana workshops for adults at the new Yorktachibana chapter of ikenobo as well as lessons for high schoolstudents. as an artist, brian Mikesell works primarily in pho-tography, artist books, and ikebana. Much of his work is rootedin the landscape and natural world, with an emphasis on detailsthat may normally be overlooked. he is also interested in theways we experience the world as we travel through it and howwe each make an effort to represent our journeys. he believesfundamentally that, while much artwork makes a necessarily se-rious contribution to the world, there should be balance, and artshould equally endeavor to lighten and lift the viewer. he makeshis home in Mill river, Ma.

Lauren Clark Fine Art, 25 Railroad Street,Great Barrington,MA, 413.528.0432, [email protected] / www.laurenclarkFineart.com

“A tremendous amount of preparatory work and continuous training is necessary in order to turn your vaguewish into professional excellence, so that in the end you are not a talented dilettante but a true actor.”

-Aleksandr Tairov

THE ARTFULMIND FEBRUARY 2015 •3

museums & galleries510 WARREN STREET GALLERYhudson, nY • 518-822-0510“black and blue”, recent work by peggy reeves, Jan 30-Feb 22; reception Feb 7, 3-6pm

BARD COLLEGE AT SIMON’S ROCK great barrington, Mathe hillman-Jackson gallery at bard college at simon’srock will present claiming citizenship: african ameri-cans and new deal photography, a traveling photographyexhibition curated by historian rickie solinger, fromwednesday, January 28 through Friday, February 20.

CCCA209 warren street, hudson, nYon & off the wall: a 3-d Feast for the eyes!thru March 21, 2015

FRONT STREET GALLERY129 Front st., housatonic, Ma • 413-274-6607 / 413-528-9546, or cell at 413-429-7141housatonic gallery for students and artists. Featuring wa-tercolors by kate knapp (saturday and sunday 12-5pmor by appointment)

GOOD PURPOSE GALLERY40 Main st., lee, Manew works by pamela crimmons, opening Feb 20, 5-7pm.thru april 16.

LAUREN CLARK FINE ART25 railroad street, great barrington, Ma• 413-528-0432 / www.laurenclarkFineart.com; [email protected] Flower arranging and lecture with local ikebanaMaster, brian Mikesell. saturday, March 7, 1-4pm.“Freestyle” ikebana workshop with brian at the gallery,sun, Mar 22, noon-3pm.

LICHTENSTEIN CENTER FOR THE ARTSpittsfield, Maten spot, exhibit, Feb 6-28, wed-sat, 11am-4pm. re-ception Feb 12, 5-7pm. included in this show is Margueritebride.

MARGUERITE BRIDEnuarts studios, studio #9, 311 north st., pittsfield, Mamargebride-paintings.com • 413-841-1659original watercolors, house portraits, commissions, lessons

OBER GALLERY6 north Main st, kent, ct • [email protected] / www.obergallery.comrussian winter series

MORRISON GALLERY208 old barn road near the inters. rts 7 & 341 in kent, ct.• 860-927-4501 / [email protected] / www.morrisongallery.comVincent inconiglios, paintings from the donut series, Feb 7 -Mar 29.

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUMrte 183, stockbridge, Ma • 413-298-4100Mort künstler: the art of adventure: nov 8 - March 8, 2015.

SCHANTZ GALLERIES3 elm st, stockbridge, Ma • 413-298-3044 www.schantzgalleries.com a destination for those seeking premier artists working in glass.(11 - 5 daily)

music/theatreCLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSICthe Mahaiwe, gt. barrrington, Ma • 413-528-0100 www.mahaiwe.orgsergei rachmaninoff & russia orientalia, sat. Mar 21, 6pm

HISTORIC NORTHAMPTON48 bridge st., northampton, Mathe david ruggles center for early Florence history and un-derground railroad studies and historic northampton will co-sponsor a discussion with editors erika desimone and Fidellouis on their 2014 book, Voices beyond bondage: an anthol-ogy of Verse by african americans of the 19th c. the bookevent will take place on thurs, Feb 12, 2015, 7 pm

HUDSON OPERA HOUSEwww.hudsonoperahouse.org │ (518) 822-1438warren st, hudson, nYdan tepfer classical/Jazz pianosat, Feb 14, 7pm, $35, Valentine's day benefit concert, ticketincludes a post-performance reception with artist.

10TH ANNUAL 10X10 UPSTREET ARTS FESTIVALthroughout pittsfield, MaFeb 12 - 22

VENTFORT HALL lenox, ManYc cabaret singer & pianist ron ramsay and berkshire vo-calist samantha talora present “affairs of the heart” sunday,February 15th, 3:30pm

WAM THEATREemilie: la Marquise du chatelet defends her life tonight bylauren gunderson returns in Feb, 2015, as an enhanced stagedreading for three performances. williams college tues, Feby10, 7:3 pm, adams Memorial theatre in the ’62 center for the-atre and dance (1000 Main street, williamstown, Ma 01267)as part of the off-center series.http://62center.williams.edu/...at ualbany on thurs, Feb 12,2015, 7:30pm, performing arts center (1400 washington av-enue, albany, nY 12222) advance tickets $10, general public,$5 students, seniors and ualbany faculty-staff. day of showtickets $15 for general public, $10 students, seniors and ual-bany faculty-staff. box office (518) 442-3997 or visit the per-forming arts center website at http://www.albany.edu/pac ...theberkshire Museum (39 south st, pittsfield, Ma) on Fri, Feb 137:30 pm, Museum’s theatre part of pittsfield 10×10 upstreetarts Festival. adm. $10. 413-443-7171 x 10. http://www.dis-coverpittsfield.com/10x10/

workshopsBERKSHIRE FESTIVAL OF WOMEN WRITERSberkshirewomenwriters.org / [email protected] novelist and memoirist dani shapiro will open the2015 berkshire Festival of women writers with a keynote ad-dress entitled “the permission to write” on March 1 at 7 p.m.at bard college at simon’s rock in great barrington.

SABINE VOLLMER VON FALKENphotographic workshops • 413-298-4933 www.sabinephotoart.com, [email protected] one on one workshops, scheduled throughout thewinter months: behind the caMera - sabine’s eye for de-tail provides the students with everlasting creative tools. ex-plore the beauty of patterns, textures, layers, depth of detail inthe real. participants learn how natural light can create dramaticor lyrical images. designed for the serious learner who is inter-ested in improving her/his skills. the hope is to concentrate onthe artistic and critical eye. You are asked to bring a digital slrcamera. January 1, 2015 – May 31, 2015

Please send us your calendar listings no later than the 10th of the month prior to publication

Read our collection of 50 issues on-line atISSUU.COM Thank you for 21years of wonderfulcommunication in the arts!

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Things to do & People to see... February 2015e

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Yin Yong chun, black pluMs in a chinese bowl,2014, oil on linen, 20 x 16"

William Baczek Fine Arts, in Northampton, Mass. is pleased towelcome the new year with the 2015 Still Life Exhibition. Thegroup exhibition will be on display from Wednesday, February

4 through Saturday, March 17. There will be an opening reception with the artists on Saturday, February 7 from five toseven in the evening. This year eight artists will be presenting

recent work exploring the concept of the contemporary still life.www.wbfinearts.com. For more information about this or

upcoming exhibits please call the gallery at 413-587-9880 or e-mail at [email protected]. The gallery is located at 36

Main St. in downtown Northampton, Mass. and is open Tuesday and Wednesday 10 – 5, Thursday – Saturday, 10 - 8

and Sundays from 12 - 5.

ANN GETSINGERPaintings, drawings, and summer classes

www.anngetsinger.com

“With thanks and congratulations to The Artful Mindfor 21 years of helping artists and art lovers”

Ann Getsinger, Turban on Brick, detail


KATE KNAPP

Berkshire hills & Manhattan streets

January 12 - March 6, 2015the Gallery at Berkshire school

245 north underMountain road, sheffield, MaGallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 8 - 5pm, or by appt. 413 229-1265

Kate Knapp, Calder sculpture, NYC

THE ARTFULMIND FEBRUARY 2015 •5

Artist Margie Biener

front street Gallery

Painting Classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10 - 1pm at the Studio and

Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field. Open to all

413-274-6607 413-429-7141 (cell) 413-528-9546Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sunday 12-5 or by appointmentFRONT STREET, downtown HOUSATONIC, MA

Kate Knapp

“Lew Scheffey was a HUGE FAN of The Artful Mind.

He was there at the beginning.”

Congratulations!

-Joyce Scheffey

Lew Scheffey, Hay Bales

MARILYN KALISH

Vault Gallery 413. 854. 7744


Phot

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Harryet Candee: Lee, you’re multi-talented. Musician, commercial artist and photogra-pher, illustrator and of most recent, sculptor. Am I missing anything? Do you have atop list?Lee Everett: thank you! well there is also Video production. boy, i don’t know, i love themall, but if i had to choose one it would have to be pencil drawing. it was my first love.

What is your focus right now? Do you find working in two different mediums at the sametime?lee: i am all over the place. i guess i use all of those disciplines to some degree. i feel thatMultimedia is an appropriate description of what i do, because often i do more than one thingat a time. For example, i sing when i draw. if i had more time to specialize, i think i wouldlike to put more time into sculpture, carving wood and stone. right now, i probably do morephotography and graphic design than anything else.

Who influenced and inspired you, told you it was okay to be an artist?lee: My grandfather, my father and my first cousin all had a big influence on my early attentionto art. My grandfather was a printer who also carved wood, among other things. My fatherwas a photographer who was a very good at hand lettering. he was also an excellent draftsman,musician and singer. Finally, my cousin was a multi-faceted artist who was a painter, potter,knitter, weaver, puppet maker, sculptor, and more. i was quite impressed that she could do somany things well.

What were some of the ways you learned to draw?lee: the old masters captured my imagination with such life-like drawings, paintings and

sculpture at an early age. i poured through art books and loved visiting museums and art shows.some of my heroes are da Vinci, degas, Michelangelo, ingres, escher, dali and others.

Like most of our first loves we care to spend lengthy time developing and mastering fever-ishly, which art medium have you found to be the least and most challenging?lee: drawing came easily, but mastering drawing skills takes a lot of practice, just like playingthe piano. i draw all the time, and i'm still working on it. carving is the most challenging rightnow because it is my newest medium. i am dabbling in stone carving and that is really diffi-cult.

Interesting, why is it so difficult?lee: wood and especially stone carving are challenging both because they are time intensiveand force you to think in three dimensions. i am quite comfortable with giving the illusion of3d in 2d, but when you have to look at all angles and volumes on a pieces there is a lot moreto consider. they are also a little more physically demanding than drawing.

Do you run a business in art and also a music band that David Reed is in?lee: i do have a Multimedia studio in lenox in business since 1970. there i do photography,graphic design, Video production, advertising, Marketing, and website and social Mediacreation. i specialize in performance photography, Video and promotion. You can see exam-ples of all that on my commercial website at: www.finelinelenox.com and more of the artworki do at www.leeeverett.com.

i used to be in a band with david reed called tamboura. we put out a cd recorded live atthe lion's den where we were regulars for fourteen years and played around the region for

ARTiSTLEE EVERETT

Barbara, pencil rendering, Lee Everett

Wood-carving, Lee Everett

fifteen years. now david and a group of our friends just jam at my studio. it's a lot more funwithout having to schlep equipment around.

Living in the lovely Berkshires often is a strong influence on the art we make. The naturalbeauty that surrounds us can foster and generate ideas and inspire us to love music andart. How might this hold true for you?lee: the beauty of the berkshire landscape has always resonated with me from the first timei saw it. i do some landscape photography, but that isn’t my main focus. photographing liveperformance, which is such a large part of the berkshire environment, became my specialty.however, i think the things that reflect my love and appreciation of the berkshires the mosthave got to be some of the design work i’ve done that incorporates the peaceful landscape el-ements. one of my favorites is an illustration inspired by the music and the beauty of the Musicinn where i lived when i first arrived in the area. the illustration was later used as a logo forthe Music store in lenox and at the Music inn.

Thinking down the line, Lee, you might have some challenges and new avenues you planto explore / tackle within the next few years.Care to let us in on some of those ideas?i am hoping to get more proficient atsculpture. i also started to get backinto teaching art, which i lovedoing, and would like to getmore involved with mentor-ing young artists.

Lee, tell us a shortstory of something in-teresting you re-cently experienced.i recently got to pho-tograph and meet agifted young musi-cian named brandonniederauer. he is nowan eleven year old gui-tar prodigy and is ab-solutely amazing. whilehe is an unassuming, niceyoung man, he has alreadyplayed with some of thegreatest guitarist in the world.he is definitely someone to watch.if you google '10 year old guitarist onthe ellen show' you'll see what i mean.

then, there was my recent family reunion andvisit to california. after a wonderful family gathering in san diego where i met relatives inever even knew i had, i arranged another reunion of sorts. i was planning on visiting friendsin the la area who were all one time berkshire residents now living in ca. My good friendlauren suggested we gather at her house, a great artsy complex in topanga canyon. we allhad the best time with her and her husband tony dow who is a terrific sculptor and formertelevision star. everyone knows him from 'leave it to beaver', but he would rather peopledidn't refer to him as wally.

What is your motto for making things work in life?do what you love and love what you do!!

I know you love dogs. I do, too. “Fur Faces.” Got any good stories you’d like to share?How many canines do you and Lynn live with at this point?we have three right now. oh, i have a great story about our dear wally, who is now 16 yearsold. when he was younger, he loved to ride in the car and bark at the top of his lungs. hisvoice was so piercing that it hurt. My wife, lynne, got a citronella collar that was supposed tostop the barking habit. the sound activated a mist of citronella, which most dogs find un-pleasant, (but not harmful) and they stop barking. not wally, he loved it! Bark, Spray…Bark, Spray… Bark, Spray. lynne got so frustrated she ripped the collar off and threw it onthe dashboard. Bark, Spray…and she got it right in the face. i couldn’t stop laughing. wishedi had my video camera to record it.

~ G ~VV

the artFul Mind FebruarY 2015 • 7

Lee’s music note logo

Richard Reading, Lee Everett, pencil rendering

Wood carving, Buddha, Lee Everett

8• FebruarY 2015 the artFul Mind

FRONT STREET GALLERYkate knapp

pastels, oils, acrylics and watercolors…..abstract and repre-sentational…..landscapes, still lifes and portraits….a unique va-riety of painting technique and styles….you will be transportedto another world and see things in a way you never have be-fore…. join us and experience something different.

painting classes continue on Monday and wednesday morn-ings 10-1:30pm at the studio and thursday mornings out in thefield. these classes are open to all...come to one or come againif it works for you. all levels and materials welcome.

classes at Front street are for those wishing to learn, thosewho just want to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art,and/or those who have some experience under their belt.

a teacher for many years, kate knapp has a keen sense ofeach student’s artistic needs to take a step beyond. perfect set-ting for setting up still lifes; lighting and space are excellent.

kate knapp’s paintings are also on display at 510 warrenst. gallery in hudson, nY. please stop by to see all the manyworks of art by exceptional artists.

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

SABINE PHOTO ARTa published and collected fine art photographer, sabine has

a number of specialties. one of these is a focus on commercialand editorial portraiture, collaborating with professionals to pro-vide their publishers / labels with an image portfolio. her talentlies in both choosing the location and working with the sub-tleties of lighting. her eye for the “Yes Moment” results in time-less imagery. she has the talent to bring introspection to the artof life style photography. she is the interviewer, catalyst andimage-maker. her inside and out studio is located in stock-bridge, Ma.

signed books: “WOODLAND STYLE” and “ SHELL CHIC“, M. H. Marshall, published by Storey, all photography bySabine.

she is a member of asMp, the international center of pho-tography icp, and the wedding photojournalist association,wpJa.

photographic one on one workshops, scheduled throughoutthe winter months: behind the caMerasabine’s eye for detail provides the students with everlastingcreative tools. explore the beauty of patterns, textures, layers,depth of detail in the real. participants learn how natural lightcan create dramatic or lyrical images. designed for the seriouslearner who is interested in improving her/his skills. the hopeis to concentrate on the artistic and critical eye. You are askedto bring a digital slr camera. January 1, 2015 – May 31, 2015

For more detailed info please contact Sabine Vollmer vonFalken Photography at, [email protected] tel. 413-298-4933

COLLINS/EDITIONSformerly

BERKSHIRE DIGITALafter seven years of working for artists and photographers

as berkshire digital, we have changed our name tocollins|editions. we are a fine art reproduction service thatoffers the highest quality digital photography & reproduc-tion of paintings as well as giclée printing on archival pa-pers and canvas with sizes up to 42” x 90”. artists &photographers use us to create limited editions of their im-ages. private collectors and galleries use us to documenttheir collections. whether the reproduction needs are forarchiving, printing, books, magazines, postcards or internetuse, bd adheres to very strict color controls along with de-livering stunning detail by using either a large format camerawith a better light™ digital scanning back for making gi-clee prints as well as the best dslr cameras for publication& internet uses.

in addition to the photography and printing services,collins|editions also offers graphic design, enabling clients

to create show announcements, postcards and brochures. the website,www.collinseditions.com has a com-plete overview, lots of information andpricing.

the owner, Fred collins, has been acommercial photographer for over 30years having had studios in boston andstamford. he offers 20 years of expe-rience with photoshop™ enabling re-touching, restoration and enhancement.the studio is located in Mt washingtonbut dropoff and pu can be arranged atother locations.

Collins|editions studio, 220 East St,Mt Washington, Massachusetts; 413-644-9663, www.collinseditions.com

nina lipkowitz


413. 528. 5523

BERKSHIRE FESTIVAL OF WOMEN WRITERS

OPENS WITH KEYNOTE BY DANI SHAPIROacclaimed novelist and memoirist dani shapiro will open

the 2015 berkshire Festival of women writers with akeynote address entitled “the permission to write” onMarch 1 at 7 p.m. at bard college at simon’s rock in greatbarrington.

despite the fact that dani shapiro is the best-selling au-thor of many books, including the Festival March book clubpick Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a CreativeLife, she sometimes struggles with giving herself the per-mission to make writing her central focus, and she believesthis is true of many women writers.

“isabelle allende wrote multiple novels before she feltshe could list “writer” as her occupation on her tax returns,”shapiro says. “sylvia plath once wrote that she was ‘a wifeand mother of two small children’ when asked by a publisherto describe herself. it should come as no surprise that womenfind it difficult to give themselves permission to find a voice,and to sing it.”

in her Festival keynote, shapiro will share the story ofher own writing life, as well as offer inspiration and adviceto all women who are longing for the right to write.

shapiro’s keynote kicks off the month-long berkshireFestival of women writers, celebrating its Fifth anniversaryseason in March 2015 with more than 50 events at morethan 30 venues throughout berkshire county, showcasingand nourishing the creative talents of women of all ages andfrom many walks of life. there is at least one Festival eventevery day of the month of March, women’s history Month.

tickets for the dani shapiro keynote are $15 and areavailable for purchase online.

BERKSHIRE WOMEN WRITERS - For information onthis event and the full Festival schedule, visit www.berk-shirewomenwriters.org.

MARGUERITE BRIDEwatercolors

as one of 10 artists selected for pittsfield’s “ten spot” ex-hibit at the lichtenstein center for the arts, Marguerite bridewill be featuring some favorites from her lighthouse/seascapeseries in this invitational exhibit. one of her paintings will bedisplayed on a billboard in somewhere in berkshire countyleading up to the 10x10 exhibit. ten spot will be on displayFebruary 6-28, 2015. gallery hours are wed-sat. 11am-4pmwith an opening reception on thursday, February 12, 5-7 pm.

spearheaded by barrington stage company and the city ofpittsfield, the 4th annual 10×10 upstreet arts Festival is whichwill be held throughout the city’s upstreet cultural district fromFebruary 12-22, 2015. berkshire gas will be once again thelead sponsor of the 10×10 upstreet arts Festival.

bride will be one of four artists exhibiting at the st. Francisgallery in south lee, Ma March 14 – april 13. the exhibit,“travels with Missie – the artists’ View” features new workswith an irish theme, inspired by a magical trek along Missie’spath in ireland as documented in kevin o’hara’s book, “lastof the donkey pilgrims”. artist reception March 14, 2-6 pm,complete with irish music, refreshments and readings by kevinhimself.

Visit bride’s website “what’s new” page orher Facebook “Marguerite bride watercolors”for the latest exhibit and show schedules.

commissions for vacation and house portraitsare welcome at any time. it’s not too soon tothink about 2015 holiday gift giving…take pho-tos now if you want a winter scene in the berk-shires.

Visit bride’s studio by appointment. Marguerite Bride, NUarts Studios, Studio 9,

311 North Street, Pittsfield, by appointment. Call413-442-7718, or 413-841-1659 (cell); website:margebride-paintings.com / email: [email protected]

CLOSE ENCOUNTERSWITH MUSIC

rachManinoFF andrussian orientalia

saturday, March 21, 6pm at the Mahaiwe performing artscenter in great barrington, Ma. the mesmeric russian pianistVassily primakov joins distinguished cellist Yehuda hanani ina program that explores the many facets of this enigmatic andprodigious figure. the magnetic appeal of the mysterious eastattracted rachmaninoff’s artistic predecessors (rimsky-kor-sakov’s scheherazade became the best-known example of russ-ian musical orientalism), and he followed suit beginning withsome of his earliest compositions. the sumptuousness and ec-static expressivity of the sonata for piano and cello and theearly prelude and orientale organically entwine orientalismaround his thoroughly european palette. his Variations on atheme of corelli, miniature character pieces, is a pianistic tourde force, requiring the highest levels of piano performance.

Tickets, $45 (Orchestra and Mezzanine) and $25 (Balcony),are available at The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center box of-fice, 413.528.0100. Subscriptions are $150 ($130 for seniors)for the remaining 4 concerts in the series. Visit our website atwww.cewm.org.

Yehuda hanani

Marguerite bride, nantucket lightship, w/c


Harryet; Pops! Oh, I mean… Maurice… wait? Which is it? Pops: it was Maurice my whole life and i wanted finally to havea nickname. i took on pops so i would never be too old for it.grandma Moses made it big in her 80s, so pops peterson couldmake it big as an alte kaker, too. it came to be when a youngfriend said to me, “Maurice, i’ve never had an older man in mylife to look up to, and i want it to be you!” so i actually changedmy name for him. people are sometimes surprised i’d adopt suchan old persona when i still have moves like Jagger and a full headof black hair. i have to tell them i dye it.

What sign were you born under? What year were you born,if you don’t mind me asking?Pops: i’ve always heard that a gentleman who will tell you hisage will tell you anything. but since you asked, 1952, on February19th. i’m a pisces. this article in your February issue is the bestbirthday present ever!

Thank you, Pops. We went to the same high school in NewYork City, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music &Art! Do you feel privileged to have been accepted there?Funny, I still remember my art teachers like it was yesterday.Any fond memories stand out for you?Pops: My life began at Music & art. we called it “the castle,”and we understood we were among the lucky few students in thecountry, the whole world, whose inner selves were being nur-tured, trained and celebrated while everywhere else the innerselves of students were being suffocated. we didn’t have to worryabout gangs or drugs or school shootings. the castle was oursanctuary, our nirvana.

Have you run into other alumni these days? Pops: My class, ’69, is still close as family! we have a very activeFacebook group and in-person reunions several times a year! weeven had a group art exhibition and music fest just the year beforelast, in new York. it was called “artists evolved.” i went on to

columbia, which introduced me to the ivy league world. but mysoul first came alive in painting class, surrounded by color, thesmell of oils and turpentine., and most importantly we were sur-rounded by friends who all cherished beauty and believed in art.

Warming up here….let’s sort out your talents. Tell me aboutthe different venues you are involved with?Pops: too many, actually. i’ve been a playwright, reporter, screenwriter, director, tV host, videographer, web producer and de-signer, singer, songwriter, poet…. if i’d just stuck to painting imay have been a hit by 32, not 62. at this age, instead of just nowmaking a mark i could be all washed up!

Pops, what achievement so far is your biggest? And how areyou working with that at this time?Pops: corny, yeah, but my one biggest achievement is raising abeautiful, loving, intelligent and accomplished daughter, Monroe.she’s doing important work in this world and loves me like thesun. and i never spanked her, not even once! next to that i’mproud to be married to the man of my dreams, Mark Johnson.we‘ve been together 25 years and still counting. when we firstmet the idea of two men being married was beyond our wildestdreams, but we stayed together until the laws finally caught upwith reality, thank heavens. great as it is to have a solo exhibitionor see your name on the silver screen, nothing is more gratifyingthan family and love.

Visually speaking about your digital art…. It must feel goodto have been honored to grace the walls at Lauren Clark, andcoming up at Sohn Fine Art in Lenox. Tell me a little aboutwhat you will be showing this February at Cassandra Sohn,who focuses on photography?Pops: lauren clark was my angel! when i’d only done threecanvases she declared i was a pop artist and i should have myown show in her gallery! she waived her magic wand: poof!You’re an artist! i’m so grateful and humbled to have so muchsupport from lauren and so many others this amazing commu-nity. Jacqueline togut, who gave me my first two commissionsever. carole Murko and will regan who gave me the dream com-mission to make two pictures for each room in the hotel and officebuilding of the center for Motivation and change. to cassandrasohn and you, too, harryet. Thank you, Pops.

the new show is called “reinventing rockwell.” and my goalis to show how our community and the world have changed inthe 50 to 75 years since norman rockwell painted his iconicworks. the changes in clothing and hairstyles, new machines andgadgets. but beyond that, the differences in the types of peopleand the attitude in the air. and rockwell was outspoken in his po-litical works, the most moving paintings in his whole catalog. intwo works especially, i’ve updated some of the important politicalimages to address today’s headlines.

Can you reveal your technique for the digital art you create,Pops? How many people do you think are doing what you aredoing? I am sure there may me some variations on the sametheme.Pops: i guess ‘cause i told you my age now you think i’ll tell youmy secret creative techniques, too? okay then. each work beginsas a photo taken on my iphone 5s. i bring them into photoshopon my Mac to heighten the colors, edit out unwanted details, ad-just the lighting, crop, sometimes combine with pieces of otherimages, blend in filters for certain effects, and manually paintshapes, colors and lines using a stylus on a tracking pad. the tech-nical term for all this is called, “sprinkling fairy dust.”

there are thousands of other digital artists out there, and manyhave done their own takes on norman rockwell, which googlewill instantly prove. but i think i have a special sensitivity to nor-man rockwell’s world. For the past eight years i’ve spent mostof my waking hours at seVen salon.spa, the business Mark andi own right across the street from the house where he lived anddied. Most of his famous works were painted in his studio on thatproperty, just a few hundred feet away from my desk. each day idrive the same streets, see the same families, the same homes andmountains. the salon used to be a funeral home and when rock-well died, his body was brought into the room that is now ourstaff room. so i own and work in the building where normanrockwell was embalmed!

norman rockwell was the first artist i ever knew of as a kid.before picasso, before Matisse. every week i looked forward to

POPS PETERSONInterview by Harryet Candee

Photography of Pops by Jane Feldman


his covers on the Saturday Evening Post and wished i could bein the picture. this was the fabled all-american homeland iwished i lived in instead of Queens, where i grew up. when i firstcame to visit stockbridge, back in the ‘70s, the leaves were intheir richest red autumn hues, swirling around the streets likecharacters in one of his paintings. and it was so beautiful that iactually cried, feeling so grateful i ever got to experience such abeautiful world. now that world is my home, and i feel more apart of this land and community than i’ve ever felt anyplace elsemy whole long life long. so if there are other artists out there witha similar style or intention to continue his legacy, they certainlycouldn’t be any more authentic than i am.

Visiting the norman rockwell Museum i weep in the wake ofhis greatness. My goal is to keep the world focused on his vision.by “reinventing rockwell” i intend to revitalize interest in theoriginal rockwell images as well as my own updated interpreta-tions.

I wanted to ask you about your experience working for In-terview magazine. My mentor magazine, by the way! Tell meabout it, please.Pops: when i was studying at columbia in the seventies, andywarhol had just started interview. i went to film class with bobcolaciello, an editor, and glenn o’brien who was the editor-in-chief. they gave me assignments based on my articles in theschool paper, the Columbia Spectator, and Essence Magazine. iwas twenty when i wrote for them, profiles including, “at thedeli with liza Minnelli,” upon the release of liza’s oscar-win-ning role in “cabaret.” during the interview i went with liza andher then boyfriend, dezi arnaz Jr. to the deli around the cornerfrom her east side apartment. since i was with them, all the peo-ple thought i had to be famous too, with my huge afro. so isigned autographs as the guy from Mod squad, clarencewilliams iii. the paycheck for the interview was autographedpersonally by andy himself and i stared at it a long time wonder-ing if i should just hold onto it as an investment. that check wasfor about $200; i could get $20,000 for it today, no doubt. but ineeded the cash for food!

speaking of achievements, that interview is currently in thecollection of the andy warhol Museum, which i visited in pitts-burgh. what an eerie feeling to be inside a huge museum aboutsomeone who was actually a part of my life! and how strangethat my name and my work were in their archives! More than anyother goal right now, my personal wish is to be shown at the andywarhol Museum as a visual artist, as well as a writer.

I am wondering, and I know it may sound strange to you, butwe don’t always find what kind of person the artist is behindtheir canvas. We see the art, but do we at times, wonder whothe artist is that created a piece of art that is out there to beseen and thought about? Who is Pops, and who is Maurice?Pops: when i was in art school i discovered that every artist’swork resembled the artist who painted it. the big guy would usebroad brush strokes and lots of paint; the sad little girl drew

gloomy landscapes with small insignificant dark figures, etc. soevery picture is a self-portrait and i do see an image of myself ineach of my paintings. each image is a different facet, a differentmood, but each image is a vision that i’ve created from the lovein my heart. if you see enough of them, you’ll see my every moodand belief.

In your lifetime, so far, what experiences have you encoun-tered that may have caused an epiphany, or altering lifelonglesson? Can you let us in on at least one private learning ex-perience you have had?Pops: when i was ten years old i was lit on fire in an accidentand suffered third degree burns over a large percentage of mybody. i stayed ten weeks in the hospital, suffered multiple proce-dures and operations, saw my friends dying in the ward. but itdidn’t kill me. i feel i’ve had the guts to take big chances in mylife in large part due to this early tragedy. because it didn’t killme. what could happen that could possibly be worse than i’d al-ready been through? and i’m still here, still forging ahead andsmelling some roses, too.

I know you are also a graphic designer, those skills must havebeen the ladder towards creating art that is totally for your-self to be enjoyed – that is before it went public… What werethe stepping stones and ground work connection betweengraphic designing, web designing, and now, I am throwing inyour writing skills, as well. Sounds like it was a culminationof all of the above, but maybe, you were not aware that thisnew adventure needed these skills on board in order to createyour POP art, that…really pops.Pops: it’s misleading to say i was a graphic designer, actually.

after making it to hollywood as a tV and screenwriter (“home-work” starring Joan collins) then losing my agents at williamMorris, i struggled for years as an office temp to support my fam-ily and put my daughter through private school. so when the in-ternet was introduced and a lucrative new industry was born, itaught myself from books to program websites. i’d never evenheard of photoshop, which was then at version 3, but i got thatprogram for my pc and taught myself enough techniques to crop

Pops Peterson, “The Problem Persists” 1964-2014. Fifty years after Rockwell painted “The Problem We All Live With,” racial strifeis still with us. When Ferguson erupted, the media covered the shooting, the police and the looters, but paid scant attention to the hard-working citizens who lost jobs, business owners who lost everything and the innocent children who have to grow up in a war zone.

Pops Peterson, “Queen of the Dome” 2014.I photographed Beyoncé on stage inher “I Am… World Tour,” 2009, at theIzod Center in NJ. The background isthe ceiling of the Bellagio, shot in LasVegas, 2013.

Continued on next page....


and resize images, and make headers, banners andbuttons. i never took a class. i did a poster here andan ad there, plus all the marketing for our business,seVen salon.spa. but it wasn’t until June 17,2012, that i actually drew anything just as art sincemy 20’s. that was a cartoon for my humorous ad-vice blog, www.come-to-papa.com. the blog wassupposed to get me exposure as a writer, so i couldbuild an audience for my memoir, “hearts andscissors.” and my first drawing was just a stickfigure. but post after post, the writing took lesstime and the drawings took more. You can still visitthe blog and see how, week to week, i becamemore skilled and expressive as an artist. and withinonly eight short months, after my cartoon for theblog post called, “should i shave My Junk?,” i gotmy first commission, to make two large portraits!For real money! other commissions came imme-diately, then the solo exhibition was booked, i wasin our school’s group show in new York, and i gotthe hotel and office building commissions. it’sbeen like a rocket ride! i hadn’t done a painting inthirty five years, and in a year and a half i sold oversixty works! when i went back to painting, i guessit was just the right timing, finally.

Maybe for you growing up in the city was thereal ground work for becoming a successfulartist. Your thoughts? Pops: i owe my current successes in the salon andas an artist to living here in the berkshires, beingconnected in this great community. but i am a cre-ation of the city, a new Yorker through andthrough, and i thank the lord in heaven for thatblessing! new York gave me a wonderful educa-tion, from elementary school straight throughMusic & art high school and columbia u. butmore than that, new York gave me access to thefabulous. as a teenager, my twin brother, gregory,and i went to broadway shows and network tVtapings and took part in the show business worldthe rest of the country only dreamed about. bybeing in fan clubs and hanging around stage doorsi met Joan rivers, who took us under her wing atfourteen, giving us front and center seats at all her

performances. thanks to Joan i met ed sullivan, don rick-les, countless stars—and even got on tV myself! as a kid inhigh school, instead of being just an art student, this was myidentity, what made me special. What did you do yesterday,Maurice? Oh, I met Cher!

More importantly, i got to see behind the curtain and learnhow the strings pull all the puppets. Joan taught me that thefantasy world on television was a reality that you could ownif you worked for it, put yourself out there and if you weren’tafraid of falling on your face. next to my parents, Joan wasthe most influential person in my whole life. when she died,a piece of me went with her. with the passing of my parents,aunts and uncles, and now Joan, i’m the one who has no oneleft to look up to. i have to embrace the fact that i truly ampops. i brought my brother with me to Joan’s funeral and wewere inconsolable. this was the end. after forty-eight yearsof laughs, love and excitement, this was the very last timewe would ever go to see a Joan rivers show. i’m still heart-broken, but so blessed that she loved me!

Tell me what else you adore on this planet.Pops: potential. i adore the fact that every day is a chance tolearn, to make yourself better and other people happy, gladto be alive.

What do you steer far away from?Pops: greed. if nobody in the world were greedy, then planetearth would be planet paradise.

What attracts you? What is it that you cannot get enoughof?Pops: it think the most attractive thing in a person is disci-pline; training and self-control. what i can’t get enough of?exercise and learning. they keep you young.

What was the craziest thing you ever did in your life, andwhat goes through your mind, like a dream, that youwant to do, but may scare you?Pops: i’ve done a lot of things that were outlandish and risky.some might say that marrying a woman when we both knewi was gay could have been one of the riskiest. but crazy asmy actions may have seemed from the outside, i’ve alwayshad a plan and a rationale for my actions.

Pops Peterson, The Sexiest Man Alive, 2015. Rockwell painted various versions of a “First Haircut.”Owning a salon right across the street from his house, of course I needed a version of my own. With Col-lette Villetto, Miles Carpenter and William Caligari.

Pops Peterson, Stockbridge Fire Department to the Rescue, 2014 If Rockwell were painting today he may haveshown a female in uniform, or a boy who may not have been white. I found that switching genders changed the entirechemistry of the story of a runaway. With Heidi Teusche, Jim Finnerty and Benjamin Gross.

Pops Peterson, “Ode to the Pear Trees of Great Barrington - The PackageStore,” 2014. These magnificent pear tree blossoms will never again be seen in Great Barrington. They are currently being razed for a road renovation. Another from this collection is featured in my current exhibition, “Reinventing Rockwell,” at Sohn Fine Art.

POPS PETERSON


Pops, tell me what your parentswere like? I mean, paint me apicture of you growing up in theborough of Queens, NY. Pops: My brother and i had treesand a backyard, bikes and pets. atypical day began with a hot break-fast of eggs and bacon, maybesome grits or grapefruit preparedby my mother, who also made andpressed our clothes. we’d walk ortake the bus to school, the only twoink spots in our overwhelminglyJewish class where all of myfriends were Jewish, all of them.

after school there was dinnerwith Mom, the dishes, homework,a half-hour of piano practice andthen tV with Jello pudding or ahershey bar. My father owned abarber shop and came home lateeach night, usually with some bub-ble gum or other treat in his pocketfor us. it was a wonderful, warm,safe childhood and we lacked noth-ing. My mother, a public schoolteacher, taught me that hard workand education were the keys tosuccess and happiness. My mostvaluable lesson, ever.

If you were to ask yourself aquestion, what would that be? Pops: the only question i everneed to ask myself is, “are you happy?” right now my answeris a boldface “Yes!” but there have been times recently when thatanswer was just as boldfaced a “No.” and that was when i wasn’tmaking the effort to be who i am in my core, an artist. i was onlyworking, vacationing and watching tV. not respecting my bodywith enough exercise. not writing, singing or painting. i’m veryproud of my accomplishments as a small business owner, man-aging a thriving company for eight years and counting, enablingtwenty people to get their daily bread and shelter. as creative asit is to run a company, however, i have a calling to draw, paint,write, sing—whatever i can do to bring the love i feel inside tothe outside world.

What is it that you want people to know about you?Pops: i’d like them to know i can be commissioned to maketheir portraits in the style of norman rockwell. . and it’s stillaffordable! lol! so all they need to do is click on www.pop-speterson.com and get in touch.

Are you religious? Pops: don’t get me started! i was raised in the congregationalchurch, but by about fourteen i’d already decided the things theyexpect you to believe are either too farfetched, illogical or con-tradictory. so i’m not a follower of any particular denominationnow, although i am extremely spiritual. i believe in eternal life,alternate realities, reincarnation, destiny, karma and the power ofthe divine. i pray constantly to the god inside me, the god that’sinside everybody.

What is come-to-papa.com all about, please?Pops: as i mentioned, i started my blog to build a new audienceas a writer, eventually to promote my memoir, “hearts and scis-sors.” but the deeper reason was that i had just turned sixty andhad no artistic outlet. i decided to do the blog for one year andsee where it might lead. i envisioned myself as a new dan savageor Miss tiger. imagine surprise when the writing went nowherebut the drawings exploded! i continued for the full year, but hadto eventually let it go to make the paintings. but the blog is stillonline drawing readers worldwide. as of January i just have my100,000th visitor!

Do you think you are changing fast as an artist? Or slowingdown in your style, and what you desire and want to create?Is there a challenge you would like to meet within the next,say, five years?Pops: i’m changing so fast it really takes my breath away. From

blog articles to cartoons to portraits to landscapes and now to setpieces—what an adventure! in five years? let’s see… i’d like tohave a book deal for my art and my writing, and maybe a line ofgreeting cards or other products with my images on them. andmaybe get into some terrific international galleries and maybe amuseum? have a wikipedia page, and maybe a hair product notthe market. not much. but i think what would please me mostwould be a grandchild.

Are you a safe guy, or one that likes to take risks? Pops: Yes, i am a risk taker. it was risky to decide to be an artistwhen i could easily have just to be a lawyer or a shrink. it wasa risk to get married and raise a child. and risky to sell all my

property in new York to move some-place and open a business i’d neverworked in before where i didn’t knowa soul except the lady who sold me thebuilding. My whole life has been onebig crap shoot. and that’s why i hatethe casino, won’t play poker or anyother gambling game. For me, gam-bling is not a game and i still wonderwhat hand i’ll be left to play when thesun goes down.

I think the photography you do is sodifferent than the colorful digital art.Can you live with making both? Or isone set on the side for the time being?pops: Making photographic paintings inthe style of norman rockwell has cer-tainly tamed my color palette and i’m surewhen i move on that this experience willinfluence the future work. but i know i’llalways have to discover something new,explore some artistic turf no one’s evertouched before. that’s any artist’s goal.

If you could have three wishes, and Imean just three, what would they be?Pops: wish number one: to live in aworld with no greed. wish number two:to remain healthy and active until i diepeacefully in my sleep. wish numberthree: to invent “undrunk,” the pill thatlets you piss out all the alcohol in your

blood stream in five minutes so there’d never be another duideath or arrest—and i’d be a billionaire!

Thank you, and Happy Birthday, Pops!“REINVENTING ROCKWELL,” will be running at Sohn Fine Artfrom February 6 to March 15, 2015. All are invited to the artist’sreception Saturday, March 7, 4:00 to 6:20 PM.

Pops Peterson, Tree in the Ice, 2014, from the collection of 30 black and white landscapes created for the hotel of the Center for Motivation and Change, New Marlborough. The images were chosen for their meditative and healing properties.

Pops Peterson, “Sunset on the Surf” 2014 began as a snapshot on the beach of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico in 2005. I “popped”it in 2014 for my debut solo exhibition, “New Frontiers in Pop Art,” presented at Lauren Clark Fine Art.


Planet Waves Eric Francis February 2015 planetwaves.netARIES (March 20-April 19)Your mantra in these weeks can be "anything is possible," asevents conspire to open up new worlds of potential. whatcomes your way may not be what you were expecting, whatyou thought was likely or the thing you seem to want the most.even so, what transpires has the power to send your life inbold, new directions you never could have planned.

TAURUS (April 19-May 20)desire is your most trustworthy ally this month. set your pri-orities, start at the top of the list and work your way down.charm, elegance and cooperation will help you assert yourwill. though you may be tempted, an easygoing approach willwork better than competition or aggression. keep your mindas focused as a warrior, never forgetting your goals for a mo-ment.

GEMINI (May 20-June 21)Your solar chart is vibrating with genius, ideas and revela-tions. it's as if you can tap into all of your past lifetimes as aninventor and artist and remember everything you once knew.at least one idea will easily connect to a source of income,though i suggest you let everything other than money moti-vate you, for now anyway.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)You're feeling at your very boldest and brightest, and it won'tbe a coincidence if you're summoned into a leadership role.Yet you must handle any form of authority gently. be fair atevery turn. Move at a slower pace than you may be inclined.You have so much energy that people will need to work tokeep up with you. give them a chance.

LEO (July 22-Aug. 23)business travel is highly favored this month, and you're readyto burst free from your present surroundings. in any event

you're going somewhere, as Mars moves over the successangle of your chart, giving you a surge of faith in your talentsand abilities. the goals to pursue are your newest ones -- whatyou're excited about right now.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)Focus on one specific idea or objective and you are bound tosucceed -- that is, if you're willing to work with others whopush you. sometimes you are at your best when challengedby partners or collaborators. take all of your work or financialinvolvements as learning opportunities and you cannot gowrong. in so doing, the potential for profit is much greaterthan knowledge.

LIBRA (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)You may feel the invisible hand on your shoulder, guiding youquietly. still, be sure you make clear decisions rather than al-lowing others to make up your mind for you. You might notunderstand what seems like a complex situation, though thepicture will come into focus soon enough. listen carefullyand you'll hear people reveal their motives -- always usefulinformation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)events this month are drawing you directly into the action.do not hesitate to step up. there's plenty to get done, and youhave something to offer. For one thing, there are no limits onwhat you can get done. Yet in any work project situationyou're likely to be the one with the idea that solves the bigpuzzle.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)everything you touch turns to beauty, to something exciting,something of value. experiment with your most out-thereideas. give them life, give them a voice and a place wherethey can be seen. reveal your boldest, splashiest work. in

other words, don't hold back, especially for fear of being dif-ferent. You may be shocked how useful those ideas turn outto be.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)You may find yourself needing to reconcile your work-relatedresponsibilities with so much that's happening at home. thetruth is, your domestic life is more important, for the moment.though you won't read this in any stock definition of capri-corn, it's your foundation, both of your identity and your suc-cess. it's far more meaningful than you typically let on.remind yourself of that often.AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)

You have something to say, and whatever that is will benefitthe people around you. though you're not one to keep youropinions to yourself, i suggest you be especially generous thismonth -- especially with what you know from direct experi-ence. people look up to you as one with wisdom to offer, andas someone they trust dearly.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)You're still under the influence of a potent solar eclipse in yoursign, which has set you free from many old ideas about your-self. the real question is about where you're going and whatyou're becoming. You're being empowered to rise to yourhighest concept of yourself. For that to work, start now ac-tively visualizing your ideals, through imagination, clear de-scription or photography.

~ Read Eric Francis daily at PlanetWaves.net

Happy Anniversary Artful Mind!

You are 21 years old!


GOOD PURPOSE GALLERYpaMela criMMins

pamela crimmins will exhibit underwater photographs fromtwo bodies of work at good purpose gallery in February. oneimage, “tree dance,” is a painterly photograph shot up throughthe surface of water. “Jessica” and “Virginia,” are underwater por-traits commissioned through splash photography. both bodies ofwork exploit and embrace the properties of water and light as theyinteract with her subjects and her interests. the photographyshow will be displayed from February 16 until april 16, 2015;opening reception on February 20, 5-7 pm (wine and appetizerswill be served along short artist’s presentations).

pamela’s photographs have been featured in harper’s, newYork Magazine, the new Yorker, coastal living and other pub-lications. she has exhibited nationally and currently lives in newYork city.

Good Purpose Gallery, 40 Main Street in Lee, Massachusetts.The gallery is open 9am - 4pm, Sunday - Saturday. For more information, visit www.goodpurpose.org

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!! 16 • THE ARTFULMIND FEBRUARY 2015

Denise B ChandlerFine Art Photography

Denise B Chandler Fine Art Photography is representedby Sohn Fine Art Gallery

Dancing Poppy © 2013 Denise B Chandler

[email protected]

“Happy 21 Year Anniversary to The Artful Mind!”

I like to paint in oils and mixedmediums, medium sized, lyrical abstract portraits and landscapesinspired by real life and fantasy. I work with oil pastels,water

colors, pigments on canvas, wood,paper. I share my love of nature,music, poetry, literature with my audience through metaphor in color and form and light.

I reside in New Marlborough andNew York City and show here andinternationally. JWS in Great Barrington, Kit And Kaboodle,North Adams, and art fairs in the

Berkshires, Hamptons, NYC and Miami.

Amy Cohen

www.amycohenbanker.com

MICHAEL FILMUS

“Williamstown Orchard”, 24” x 36”, oil on canvas

MiCHAEL FiLMuS FiNE ARt

lauren clark fine artpresents

LAuREN CLARK FiNE ARt25 railroad street, Great Barrington, Ma

413. 528. 0432LaurenClarkFineArt.com

Japanese flower arranging

artist reception and lecture

with local ikebana Master Brian Mikesell

Join us anytimethroughout the day Saturday, March 7

Observe Flower Arrangingfrom 1-4pm

Reception and Lecturefrom 5:30-7pm

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! THE ARTFULMIND FEBRUARY 2015 • 17

part 3

the tutor picked out the perfect piece for Marie to learn, perhapsyou are familiar with: the first prelude of the first book of the“well-tempered clavier.” it is an unusual work, although it is verysimple to play, and almost anyone could master it in a week or two.still it is profound and moving.

after the first prelude, things get more and more complicatedin the “well-tempered clavier,” until you get to works so intricateand involved that the playing of them belongs only to those whoare willing to give their life to the task. but as great as those worksmay be, they are not as moving or as perfect as that first prelude.the first prelude is like a perfectly formed child who will latergrow up to be a Venus de Milo.

he played the first prelude slowly so that she could see thatthere was hardly a place where it is necessary to play two notes atthe same time. at the end, where there are all those repeated lownotes in the left hand he slowed down the tempo, and at the lastchord that ends the little piece he looked Marie right in the eye.Marie nodded her head to indicate she understood what was beingasked of her. it was a royal gesture, just like her mother.

angela began to attend the music lessons, and so it is necessaryto say something about this child, playmate and close friend to onewho would someday be the most famous and unfortunate queenin history. angela was also a child of a noble family, although herline of the family had long fallen into near destitution.

angela's father, because of his poverty, was reduced to teaching

the children of other noble families; his specialty was diction, de-portment. the only reason his wife was a lady in waiting at thecourt of the empress was because of her exceptional beauty. herdaughter angela was also blessed with the same beautiful face,and perfect deportment, learned from her father's instruction.

the attachment of angela for Marie antoinette, and Marie an-toinette for angela was very intense and had existed undisturbedsince they met when they were five years old. now they were tenand had spent some time together every day with almost no ex-ceptions.

once when they were seven they had an argument about a doll,and did not speak to each other for an entire day. on the followingday they made up and then spent a long time each trying to forcethe other to take the doll. this argument left a scar, and ever afterthe two of them referred to it as that “day of the doll.” a thing itwas hoped would never be repeated.

one of the reasons the two girls had such a perfect friendshiphad to do with some accidents of their birth. Marie antoinette wasthe superior child in that she was the daughter of the emperor andempress of austria, an archduchess already being considered forthe position of Queen of France, whereas angela was a nobody.

angela was the more beautiful child and also more intelligent.her character sparkled with charm, and at a young age she was ca-pable of spontaneous wit and droll humor. angela was really theone suited to be a future queen, and not Marie; they both knew thisand so, in their hearts each was intensely jealous of the other, thisflaw was the cement of their attachment to each other. actuallythey were rivals

since Marie antoinette and angela were both ten years old theyengaged in all the activities you would expect of children that age,they created tea parties for their dolls, had long conversations aboutwhat boys could be like, and read each other passages out of ro-mantic French novellas stolen from their parents libraries.

a child of ten was no different in 1750 as at any other time inhuman history. they had an easygoing indulgent music teacherand so, just like today, they set to work to torment, abuse andridicule him without him knowing it, all the while acting the partof complete innocents.

the first thing the music tutor had to do when the music lessonbegan was to tune the music room harpsichord. this was a veryfine instrument but the temperature it the huge room varied somuch that every day the instrument was completely out of tune.

even though a harpsichord must be tuned as many as three timesin a day, it does not take too long for a person as expert as themusic tutor and he could complete the task in about ten minutes.but while he concentrated on the task the girls would reach into

the instrument and touch various strings with a fingernail, therebythrowing everything off.

the tutor would begin over again, and finally give up in des-peration. he said to the girls, “this old instrument was one of thebest when it was made 50 years ago, but now the soundboard isold and cracked, the pins will no longer hold their tension, and youmust talk the empress into getting something new.”

the tutor would decide to teach using the flute, but some oliveoil would have accidentally gotten into the bore. he would be puz-zled to find that the guitar was strung up with only g-strings. as aresult the piano lesson would turn into a voice lesson.

the more the girls came to love their music tutor the more theytormented him, but it was not long before they went too far. notall the instruments the tutor used belonged to the court, he alwaysbrought his own viola, an old italian instrument of unknown originthat had belonged to his father.

while the music tutor had his head in the harpsichord, concen-trating on getting it in tune, angela opened his viola case andMarie took out the instrument. Very quickly and deftly they loos-ened a peg, put a tiny bit of lard on it, pressed the peg back in itshole and put the instrument back in its case.

they expected the music tutor, after he gave up on the harpsi-chord, would take out his viola and proceed to tune it up as he didevery morning. they expected to delight in his frustration sincethe greased pin would not be able to hold the tension of the string.

what happened next utterly amazed the girls. the tutor openedthe viola case and took one look at his instrument. in an instant heunderstood exactly what had happened. he said nothing at all butturned to Marie antoinette and gave her a penetrating look. in thatlook was his awareness that all his frustration with the instrumentswas her fault.

Marie knew that musicians were great masters of their instru-ments, she knew that they could do with effortless ease things thatothers could never do in a lifetime, but she never realized that amusician would know his instrument with such intimacy that theywould be aware in an instant if it had been tampered with.

From that day on the relationship of the girls to their tutorchanged fundamentally. they longed to be good students and toprove to him that they liked him, because they were certain hethought they despised him. Marie began to work feverishly on theprelude she had been given as an assignment, and angela beganto search for something she could do to please him.

the tutor was a bachelor and it was natural for him to feel to-wards angela and Marie antoinette as he would to his own chil-dren if he had had any. that being the situation sometimes themusic sessions were devoted to storytelling. he would tell them

some anecdote from his past in italy.after the incident with his viola hewas extremely tempted to punishthem, but that impulse combinedwith his affection for them resultedin his telling them a story from hischildhood.

MARIE ANTOINETTEEATS CAKE

From: No Cure For The Medieval MindRichard Britell

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY you are 21!!!!18 • the artFul Mind FebruarY 2015

“Let us proclaim that the sidewalk can climb up your

table, that your head can crossthe street, and that at thesame time your householdlamp can suspend betweenone house and another the

immense spiderweb of its dusty rays.”

-Umberto Boccioni

nina lipkowitz

-richard britell

H

The Hidden Caveclementine was the first to drop down into the cavern,

which was little more than a large hole beneath a vast, intricatewebbing of tree roots. she was soon joined in this antecham-ber by Yardley and pascal. the boy took her flashlight butdidn’t turn it on, and began leading the way. thrills of antic-ipation were teasing her. what were they going to see?

silently the three of them traversed a low, narrow passage-way, quickly immersed in total darkness. they traveled in aline, pascal leading, then clementine, then Yardley. the earthceiling above their heads grew closer and closer, finally forc-ing them down on all fours. invisible roots brushed clem’shair and skin, making her flinch as she continued crawling. itgrew cooler, the air staler. she felt the claws of claustrophobiabegin to pull and pick, testing her. it seemed they moved likethat for ages, her lungs full of dust, hands and bare kneesscraping against rocks and what were probably small animalbones, her neck and back aching. Just when she was about toask pascal how much further, a shift in the air quality an-

nounced a change, and the passageway opened up into whatseemed like a large chamber.

slowly, clementine and Yardley got to their feet, waveringdrunkenly in the emptiness. the air here tasted strange in theirmouths: a mixture of mineral and bone and firelight.

“le voila!” pascal whispered, and turned on the flashlight.For a moment all three blinked their eyes stupidly in the glare.then, her eyes adjusting, clementine’s mouth fell open as hermind burst wide, filled with such wonders...

pascal spun the beam slowly around the large chamber,which began to reveal its painted treasures. the light restedhere, where a great herd of stampeding horses poured downin a glorious flood over a wall; there, rivers of elk flowedaround a large hollow in the rock, ancient echoes of their thun-dering hooves reverberating in the stillness next, the beam il-luminated an enormous spiral of leaping, frolicking womenand men, who seemed to welcome this newest, fleeting ageof the world in their long dance. there were strange, exoticscenes: a woman with a lion’s head, a man with a stag’s head,locked in either mortal combat or the most intimate of em-braces. everything was rendered in rich, unrelenting shadesby hands that saw, that knew. and there, standing alone, a sta-lagmite rose from the cave floor, entirely covered with over-lapping handprints of varying sizes in yellow, red, brownochre as if to say, Yes. we lived this. we were here.

gratefully, Yardley accepted the light from pascal and ex-plored the cave in an exalted state, his fingertips nearly brush-ing the images but refraining at the last instant to stroke theair above them. he was dazzled by the way the geography ofthe place merged effortlessly with the painted visions, as ifeach artist had simply picked out with color what already laythere, pulsing, in the rock; amazed that such artistry, such ge-nius could lay here for so long, hidden under the ground. howhad the earth not vomited forth these emanations of the lifeforce sooner, like lava?

clementine found herself thrown into an ancient conflict,torn between the waves of ethereal beauty which flowed, andthe pulsing of primal ferocity which surged, through everypainting; the paradox overwhelmed her intellectual mind,leaving it stupefied and dumb. she was made tangibly,

achingly aware of the unbreakableconnection between herself and everyother thing in existence. those horses, theelk. the lion-woman and the stag-man. all wereher, and she was them. all of them emanations of aprimordial energy gleefully translating itself into ever-vary-ing vibrations of color and sound and density. tears stung hereyes. it was more than she could bear. turning in the near-darkness to see Yardley approaching her, she stifled a cry;aware, in that same instant, that every beat of her heart wasin time with his, the lines of light growing stronger betweenthem as he drew near when his mouth met hers, their kiss waslike breathing, so natural and inevitable it was. he enfoldedher in his arms, in that instant encompassing all the beautyand savagery of existence, and she was lost to anything else.

excerpted from The Virginof Hopeless Causes by AmyTanner, available in softcoverand electronic versions onamazon.com. Visit www.amytanner.net fornews and unfounded rumors.

Fiction sampler

Simply Sasha by Sasha Seymour


Love You Granola!

February is the month of Love, and i researched a ton of recipesgeared towards couples. then i got to thinking, shouldn't the person we love the most inthis world be ourselves? in that spirit, i chose to write this granola recipe. i love gra-nola, however store bought granola can be pricey, and many contain hidden processedsugars and fats that aren't necessary to the overall flavor of the product. My suggestionto you all fine humans, is this: love yourselves. Make this treat for you! it's so easy, soyummy and your kitchen will smell fantastic while it's baking! enjoy, my friends!

~ Preheat oven to 325~ 3 cups of oats~ 1 8oz bottle of cherry juice~ 1/4 cup of raisins~ 1/4 cup of pitted dates~ 1/2 cup of mixed nuts, seeds and/or dried fruit~ 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut~ 2 to 4 Tbsp honey (depending on how sweet you like it!)

(every ingredient should be organic!)

1. Mix everything in a big bowl, except for the honey2. spread mixture on a cookie sheet and drizzle with honey3.bake at 325 for 20 to 30 minutes, checking it every 5 minutes and tossing itwith a spoon4. it will continue to cook for a bit when it's out of the oven, so take it outearly. no one likes burnt granola! Have a Happy!

“The universe is real but you can’t see it. You have to imagine it. Once you imagine it,you can be realistic about reproducing it.”

-Alexander Calder

20 • THE ARTFULMIND FEBRUARY 2015

the artful mind artzine feb on issuu com

Documents

art community

lawrence fine art

eric francis

copyright laws

artful mindplanet waves

gift of music

forever guitar

travel guitar