MILLBROOK — With open studios and events at the Millbrook Library, the Village of Millbrook made a major contribution to keeping the arts alive with the annual Upstate Art Weekend, which ran from Friday, July 21, through Monday, July 24.
Studio 44 at 3788 Route 44, had an opening featuring the work of artists of New York City’s Grand Centra Atelier, which recently completed a local three-week residency with the work focused in the overall theme of the Hudson River School. In the fall, owner Claudia Munro Kerr will be offering classes; having acquired the studio about a year ago, she has held several openings and events there.
In the village, the studios of Sharon Bates and Paul Akira Miyamoto on Cullen Lane featured the distinctly different work of the couple. One wall exhibited the Denude Series 1-15, a series of paintings of trees that he encounters in walking his dog along Maple Avenue, of varied trees, colors and mediums.
June Glasson on Velletri Way exhibited an astounding number of works; she also uses several different mediums, including fabric, and her subjects are just as varied from portraits to almost abstracts.
Ann Ledy was also on Velletri Way, and in entering her studio the colors popped. She explained: “Over the past year, I discovered a new gestalt within the landscape along the coast of Cape Ann.”
She found the landscapes of Gloucester, Massachusetts, playful; they meander, she said. “This experience has inspired a new body of bold paintings in color on paper and canvas.” Saying that she is applying imagery like words in a poem, she added, “My intention is an invitation into this place of discovery and for me, pure joy.”
A pop-up studio on Velletri Way found Mari De Pedro with several pieces of her art—some landscapes, some portraits. De Pedro is a retired lawyer who intends to devote all of her time now to her art.
At the Millbrook Library, teen coordinator Risa Pomerselig and friends decorated the sidewalk outside with colored chalk. On the porch, they created textured paintings, while artist Kardash and young friends created puzzles on the lawn. Inside the library, Longreach Arts Collective was still in evidence with their exhibit in the Gallery.
The art of John Hersey could be seen at the Hersey Haiku House on Chestnut Ridge—some very distinctive art by the late artist who spent his last 37 years in Millbrook.
On Rodrigo Knolls, the photography of Dan Lenchner was on display for the weekend. Lenchner’s profile states that he does not pose his subjects, nor does he use artificial lighting; they are not cropped and he uses fiber-based paper.
Tour guides with maps were given out at several points, provided by the Millbrook Arts Group, which also sponsored the concert at the end of the day, featuring two local groups, The Hammerhead Horns and Long Steel Rail.
Mari De Pedro, left, a former lawyer and now an artist, shares some information with art lover Lynn Lombardi from Pleasant Valley, who visited the Village of Millbrook for Upstate Art Weekend’s open studios on Saturday, July 22. Photo by Judith O’Hara Balfe
Risa Pomerselig, left, teen coordinator at Millbrook Library, explains to artist Eileen Stodut about the textured painting crafts project she hosted for the children. Photo by Judith O’Hara Balfe
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
