art

Artists and visitors gather for Millbrook’s Arts and Open Studios weekend

Artists and visitors gather for Millbrook’s Arts and Open Studios weekend

Paul Miyamoto explaining his artistic process at his home studio in Millbrook.

Photo by Gavin Marr

MILLBROOK — Millbrook held its third annual Millbrook Arts and Open Studios weekend on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21.
Millbrook’s festivities were part of the Upstate Art Weekend, an annual celebration of local artists in communities throughout the Hudson valley.

Artists opened their studios to the public, welcoming visitors into inconspicuous garages, loft apartments, revamped basements, and makeshift bedroom studios. Guests could see and learn about their creative processes and inspirations.

Paul Miyamoto uses his surroundings and life experiences as inspiration for his art. “You need to face the artwork square on to understand what it is you see and feel,” Miyamoto said. “As well as what the artist was thinking and trying to convey.” Explaining his creative process, he joked, “I just walk around and stare at things.” Currently, he is working on a series of paintings of trees that he has encountered around town on walks with his dog, Moxie. He intends to “reflect feelings and a sense of something familiar in his art.”

Miyamoto’s family is originally from Japan and he feels like he owes it to his ancestors to tell their stories through art. “Everyone has roots somewhere else,” Miyamoto said. “It’s a big world, and yet we’re all looking for the same thing.” Whether that be community or creative inspiration it is a good reminder that we are all human, especially during such divisive times.

Miyamoto and his wife, Sharon Bates, also a talented artist, have lived in Millbrook for eight years. They have helped cultivate the creative community in Millbrook and support local artists. Sharon curated the On the Map exhibition in the Thorne building as well as the Millbrook Library. Sharon has years of curating experience, acting as the former director of the art and culture program at Albany International Airport.

Mari DePedro explained how grateful she was for all of the resources in Millbrook, especially the library. The weekend allowed the Millbrook community to come together and appreciate the creativity of those who live among us. Whether you attended the open studios, exhibitions, concert, or public reception, the weekend was a great success and reflected the best of Millbrook.

The artists that participated in the weekend included Sharon Bates, Mari DePedro, Peggy Flaum, June Glasson, Cannon Hersey, Dan Lenchner, Paul Miyamoto, and David Tumblety. Each artist used different mediums and a unique style to create art. Art on display included paintings, photography, sculptures and ceramics.

art

Latest News

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.

Jeffery Serratt

In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.

Local playwrights Lonnie Carter and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”

Keep ReadingShow less
history

A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.

Photo by Kristy Barto, owner of The Nutmeg Fudge Company

Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.

The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

In the company of artists

In the company of artists

Curator Henry Klimowicz, left, with artists Brigitta Varadi and Amy Podmore at The Re Institute

Aida Laleian

For anyone who wants a deeper glimpse into how art comes about, an on-site artist talk is a rich experience worth the trip.On Saturday, June 14, Henry Klimowicz’s cavernous Re Institute — a vast, converted 1960’s barn north of Millerton — hosted Amy Podmore and Brigitta Varadi, who elucidated their process to a small but engaged crowd amid the installation of sculptures and two remarkable videos.

Though they were all there at different times, a common thread among Klimowicz, Podmore and Varadi is their experience of New Hampshire’s famed MacDowell Colony. The silence, the safety of being able to walk in the woods at night, and the camaraderie of other working artists are precious goads to hardworking creativity. For his part, for fifteen years, Klimowicz has promoted community among thousands of participating artists, in the hope that the pairs or groups he shows together will always be linked. “To be an artist,” he stressed, “is to be among other artists.”

Keep ReadingShow less
exhibit