Millerton ends Earth Day week with film and talk on pervasive plastics

From left, Deborah Maier, moderator, Megan Wolff, Nicole Clanahan and Olivia Skeen.
Photo by John Coston
From left, Deborah Maier, moderator, Megan Wolff, Nicole Clanahan and Olivia Skeen.
MILLERTON — The Climate Smart Task Force celebrated the end of Earth Day week on Sunday, April 27, with a free showing of “Plastic People,” a documentary about humanity’s relationship with plastic, cosponsored by The Moviehouse.
The award-winning film portrays a pervasive role plastic plays in our lives and explores its effect on human health, especially as microplastics.
Microplastics have found their way into human organs and even into the placentas of new mothers. The film is a call to action by science journalist Ziya Tong, who talks with scientists and undertakes self experimentation to prove her points.
Following the showing, attended by approximately 50 people, Deborah Maier, a member of Millerton’s Climate Smart Task Force, hosted a panel on stage at The Moviehouse, leading a half-hour discussion on topics that ranged from examples of plastic present in food and cosmetics to ways to reduce plastic use.
One panelist, Megan Wolff, executive director of P-SNAP, a physician and scientist network, appealed to the audience to reach out to New York state legislators to urge them to support a Packaging Reduction and Recylcing Infrastructure Act in Albany. Wolff also is a professor at Bennington College.
“Right now you have the most power on the planet to change this,” Wolff said, refering to the Albany legislation. “It (the bill) caps the production of plastic. It pulls out some of the most toxic chemicals. And it creates a producer-pays principle,” she said.
Wolff urged the audience to write and call their representatives, and to go to Albany on May 7, which is lobby day.
Wolff said that a lot of chemicals in food are known neurotoxins. The same is true, she said, of the presence of chemicals in cosmetics.
Composting
Olivia Skeen, a manager at McEnroe Organic Farm in Millerton, described the farm’s state-of-the-art composting operation that composts from a wide variety of sources, including households and bulk food waste from the Northeast region and New York City.
Skeen explained that compostable plastic can takes about 140 days to break down, compared to 40 to 60 days with food waste.
One particularly troublesome problem are produce stickers on food, which are made of a heavier plastic that is difficult to sort in the process.
Skeen noted that McEnroe’s offers three composting bins for drop-off at its former farm market and eatery on Route 22.
Reusing
Nicole Clanahan, who runs Rural Center Refillery in Pine Plains, spoke about ways to change habits around products used every day. Those products include not only food goods, but cleaning products as well.
“Once they’re in the store,” she said, “it’s an opportunity for us to show them something that’s so easy to do.”
Rural Center Refillery last summer began a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with local farms.
“We have about 60 members right now,” she said. Members pay a monthly fee to get a portion of goods.
Maier closed the discussion with an optimistic note: “We still can do something about it.”
The members of the Climate Smart Task Force are Chris Kennan, Town of North East Supervisor; Matthew Hartzog, Village of Millerton Trustee; Kathy Chow, Task Force Coordinator; Deborah Maier, Kathleen Spahn, Rich Stalzer, Andrew Stayman, Chris Virtuoso and Steve Fahmie.
Waterlily (8”x12”) made by Marilyn Hock
It takes a lot of courage to share your art for the first time and Marilyn Hock is taking that leap with her debut exhibition at Sharon Town Hall on Sept. 12. A realist painter with a deep love for wildlife, florals, and landscapes, Hock has spent the past few years immersed in watercolor, teaching herself, failing forward, and returning again and again to the page. This 18-piece collection is a testament to courage, practice and a genuine love for the craft.
“I always start with the eyes,” said Hock of her animal portraits. “That’s where the soul lives.” This attentiveness runs through her work, each piece rendered with care, clarity, and a respect for the subtle variations of color and light in the natural world.
After painting in oils earlier in life, Hock returned to art when she retired from working as a paralegal with a goal: to learn watercolor. It wasn’t easy.
“Oils and watercolor are opposites,” she explained. “With oils, you build your darks first. In watercolor, if you do that, you’re in trouble.” She studied online, finding instructors whose approach clicked, and adapted to the delicacy of the medium.
“When I’m working, everything else falls away,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on in life. While I’m painting, time disappears.”
Her studio, formerly a home office, is now her sanctuary and the pieces in this exhibition are the result of three years of that devoted studio work. While this is her first full public show, Hock previously tested the waters at a small fundraiser at Noble Horizons, where one of her pieces sold. That experience — and the consistent encouragement from her family, especially her husband — pushed her to pursue a full exhibition. With gentle encouragement from her husband and family, Hock reached out to the Town Hall’s curator, Zelina Blagden. “My husband kept saying, ‘You’re as good as all those other people out there, why not show your work?’” And so, here it is.
All paintings in the show are for sale, though Hock admits a few are priced high — not because of their size or complexity — but because she’s not quite ready to let them go. “There are a couple I’ve priced high because I’m not sure I want to part with them. But we’ll see,” she laughed. “It would be nice to support the habit a little bit.”
As for aspiring artists or anyone hesitating to begin something creative, Hock’s advice is simple: “Go for it. If it fails, toss it in the basket and start over.”
The exhibit will be on view at Sharon Town Hall through Oct. 31 with an opening reception on Sept. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Carissa Unite, general manager of Oblong Books in Millerton.
Carissa Unite of Millerton, began working at Oblong Books 16 years ago as a high schooler. She recently celebrated her eight-year anniversary as the general manager.
Unite’s journey at Oblong began even before she applied for her first position.An avid reader from a young age, she was a frequent customer at the store. During those years, Unite bonded with a former employee who encouraged her to apply for a position after connecting over their shared love of reading.
As a teenager, Unite enjoyed reading Ellen Hopkins, John Green and Ann Brashares. With the busyness of adulthood, she now favors the convenience of audio books. In the past year, however, she has made it a point to read more physical books.
With a preference for contemporary fiction, she raved about “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The story, set in the 1980s, follows two women who become astronauts at a time when women were not widely accepted in the field. A beautiful love story emerges between the two characters. Unite described the writing as sensational and commended Reid’s ability to tackle complex themes without them being muddied.
Unite has developed a deep appreciated for classic literature. Her two favorites are “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. She was amazed by the philosophical nature of both words and the way their dialogue challenged her perspective.
In an effort to read beyond her preferred genre, she recommends the following:
“Some Desperate Glory,” by Emily Tesh, “Midnight Rooms,” by Donyae Coles and “Clear” by Carys Davies.
For Unite, the beauty of reading lies in its power to develop perspective, empathy, and compassion. Through books, readers learn that everyone is fighting different battles and no two stories are the same. She encourages people to choose kindness because you never know what someone else is facing.
Above all, reading brings Unite peace. If offers transcendence to another world, a pause from outside noise, and for Unite, it is where she feels most at home.
For anyone hesitant to being reading, Unite suggests: just do it! Read 10 pages a day and find the book that speaks to you. Any Oblong staff member would be happy to offer recommendations.
Oblong is located at 26 Main St., in Millerton and 6422 Montgomery St. in Rhinebeck.
Photographer Sarah Blodgett displayed her prints on canvas at the Souterrain Gallery of The Wish House during the Open Studio Tour in Cornwall.
The weather was perfect on Saturday, Aug. 30, for the 19th annual Artists’ Studio Tour in Cornwall, held each Labor Day weekend.
Organizer David Colbert said, “It has become quite a tradition.”
Colbert’s studio was one of 10 on this year’s tour.His large geometric works line a sculpture walk near the studio, which those on the tour were welcome to enjoy.
Another stop was at Tim Prentice’s barn and studio. Prentice is famous for his kinetic sculptures, which were on display in the barn and surrounding fields.Now in his 90s, Prentice held court in his nearby studio.With his eyesight failing due to macular degeneration, he has turned to drawing.
Prentice recently completed “a series of trees before the leaves come out and obscure the structure.I do them from memory.” Drawings on display in his barn were being snapped up by tourgoers, with profits going to help fight macular degeneration.
At the Souterrain Gallery of the Wish House, first-time tour participant and basket maker Tina Puckett sat outside demonstrating her art. Inside the gallery, her unique baskets were on display. “I think the studio tour is great for the public and for us,” she said.
Also, at Souterrain, another first-timer, photographer Sarah Blodgett, showed her work. Photographs printed on canvas were vibrant with colors.She said she works on these in the winter when she can’t be outside doing wildlife photography which, is “near and dear to my heart.”There were samples of that as well.
Other artists on the tour included shoemaker Lauren Brinker, photographer Stephan Sagmiller, potter Sanah Peterson, painters Magaly Ohika, Emily Waters, and Debby Jones, photographer Nick Jacobs, and poet/artist Sally Van Doren.
The tour is a unique opportunity to chat with artists, view and purchase their work, and see their studios.
For more information go to: https://cornwallct.org/event/cornwall-open-studio-2025/