Event Types: Arts & Culture

Sept 3 – Oct 9, 2022
Reception: Saturday September 3rd @ 4pm – 6pm public invited
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm, and Sunday from 12pm – 4pm

The connotation of home is emotionally charged, the very word “home “makes us pause. Tenderness for our home and garden has rooted more deeply in the past few years. The ten artists in this exhibition make work that is distinctly individual, what unites them is that their work conveys taking care, cultivating growth, and the being the custodian of memories.

The artists in the exhibition work in various media including ornately decorated hand-colored and cut prints, pattern paintings who’s digital and collage elements add meaning and contemporary context, as well as several painters working in the more traditional medium of paint. The show includes two photographers whose flower photographs are elegant elegies to single specimens and an artist whose work is a hybrid of photography and painting.

KMR Arts is proud to announce Lucas Reiner: Figure/Ground. The exhibition will be at the gallery through October 29, 2022.

Figure/Ground is an evolution of work that began in his native Los Angeles as portraits of trees. After relocating to Litchfield County, CT during the wildfires of 2020, Reiner found himself inspired by two trees on the banks of a lake where he was living. Photographing and sketching them from different angles, Reiner was struck by the space between the trees, as much as the trees themselves. The distance and relationship between forms became the focus. Reiner returned to the two trees repeatedly, making a series of small tempera paintings on muslin and wood. The initial approach was reductive: two verticals (the trunks of the trees) and two horizontal elements (the crown and horizon line). Muslin, new to Reiner’s work, has traditionally been used as a background material, whether for theatrical backdrops or pattern making by dressmakers and tailors. In Reiner’s Los Angeles Trees Series the tree, a background element for the urban environment, is foregrounded to become the subject for a kind of portrait. In Lucas Reiner: Figure/Ground, the paintings made in Litchfield County, CT, the material qualities of the muslin and wood, cut and collaged, present a contest between figure and ground, image and object. Invoking traditional Icon painting in their use of materials, the Figure/Ground paintings suggest a view of nature as sacred.

Over time background space must also somehow become foreground, and on and on. In the Figure/Ground tree paintings, the eradication of the hierarchy of figure and ground, and the interchangeability of the two, allows for the possibility of marriage, that in which foreground and background merge and are seen simultaneously. When I first saw these paintings, Reiner spoke about the notion of the relationship between these two trees as a marriage, as a balance of power, with a constant push/pull quality. For me, these works are atmospheric and poetic, replete with ghostly presences, and what is not there is of equal importance to what the artist chooses to render in each gem of a painting. The negative space becomes as palpable as the physical object of the painting.

“Painting is a covering and uncovering of a surface. If there is an ethic in my work, it is one that has occupied the thoughts of painters from the caves until the present. Namely, what is the relationship between the figure and the ground? For me, each painting is an exploration of a new way to address this paradox. ” – Lucas Reiner

Lucas Reiner has exhibited internationally and his work is in the following public collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Staatlichen Graphischen Sammlung (Munich, Germany), Diözesan Museum (Freising, Germany), Colecciòn Jumex (Mexico City, Mexico), among others.

Gallery hours are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from 11-5 and by appointment. We would love to see you and show you this exquisite exhibition!

Join us for Lucas Reiner’s “15 Stations” Exhibit, presented by KMR Arts at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, on display from September 24th through October 23rd. The show will highlight Reiner’s tree series, an evolution of work that began in his native Los Angeles. After relocating to Litchfield after the wildfires of 2020, Reiner found himself inspired by two trees on on the banks of a lake where he was.

Lucas Reiner has widely exhibited internationally and his work is represented in public and private collections. Over a prolific career spanning three decades, Reiner has produced several notable series of chromatically variegated paintings reflecting the artist’s perennial inspirations (contemporary urban trees, pyrotechnic explosions, traditional spiritual themes) and worked in a range of media (including oil, acrylic, tempera, watercolor, drypoint etching, monoprint, and photography).

The Fall – the season, as well as the biblical story –  is where Lucas Reiner’s trees belong. Lucas Reiner was originally commissioned to realize the stations of the Cross for Saint Augustine Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Artists throughout history have contemplated and depicted the miracle of the dead tree of the cross becoming the tree of life, the life-giving tree. The stations paintings illuminate the human paradox that Reiner had been exploring for many years.

“These paintings connect with the withering of fall and the ascent of summer, the death of winter and the rebirth of spring, the hidden roots deep in the soil and the branches soaring high in the sky and, above all, the longing and the struggle for life in a hostile and often brutal environment.” – Rev. Paul Anel

“Painting is a covering and uncovering of a surface. If there is an ethic in my work, it is one that has occupied the thoughts of painters from the caves until the present. Namely, what is the relationship between the figure and the ground? For me, each painting is an exploration of a new way to address this paradox.” – Lucas Reiner

Lucas Reiner’s work is in the following public collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Staatlichen Graphischen Sammlung (Munich, Germany), Diözesan Museum (Freising, Germany), Colecciòn Jumex (Mexico City, Mexico), among others.

Wednesday, September 28th @ 7:00pm
September Title: No Parole Today by Laura Tohe

Looking to expand your reading list and discuss a variety of issues and topics important to Native people? Please join our virtual book club, As They Speak: Native Voices in Today’s Literature. Based on a variety of topics and featuring a range of genres, all of the books we will be reading have been written by contemporary authors. This month, we will be reading and discussing No Parole Today by Laura Tohe (Diné/Navajo). This memoir is a collection of poetry and prose from a Navajo teacher and poet who describes attending a government school for Indigenous children and the challenges it presented to her socially, culturally and expressively. Join the virtual conversation hosted by IAIS staff on Zoom.

Please note: Due to the history of residential schools in indigenous communities, the content of this book and topics of this discussion might trigger strong emotions for some audience members.

Register here

Alicia Mordenti & Erika Larskaya’s latest works will be on display from August 27th through October 1st, 2022.

Byrde + the b is pleased to announce the exhibit of recent landscape paintings of Alicia Mordenti and abstract paintings by Erika Larskaya.

Alicia is a Litchfield County resident who has absorbed the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape and distilled her reflections on oils on canvas. Her views are intimate and on a human scale. Alicia has honed her artistic style across years of experimentation with color, pigment, materials and structure. She is an American naturalist.

Erika Larskaya uses acrylic paint to construct unplanned works which she surrenders to the act and flow of painting, allowing the process to dictate the direction of each work up to its completion. Erika is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. She seeks to express things that are not seen, but rather felt.

Please join us on Saturday, August 27th from 5-6:30pm for an artist’s reception.

For additional information please contact The Byrde the b 10 Titus Rd Washington CT or by email at [email protected].

The Byrde the b
10 Titus Rd Washington, CT
860-619-0422
Hours: Tues-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
www.byrdeandtheb.com

Sept 3 – Oct 9, 2022
Reception: Saturday September 3rd @ 4pm – 6pm public invited
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm, and Sunday from 12pm – 4pm

The connotation of home is emotionally charged, the very word “home “makes us pause. Tenderness for our home and garden has rooted more deeply in the past few years. The ten artists in this exhibition make work that is distinctly individual, what unites them is that their work conveys taking care, cultivating growth, and the being the custodian of memories.

The artists in the exhibition work in various media including ornately decorated hand-colored and cut prints, pattern paintings who’s digital and collage elements add meaning and contemporary context, as well as several painters working in the more traditional medium of paint. The show includes two photographers whose flower photographs are elegant elegies to single specimens and an artist whose work is a hybrid of photography and painting.

KMR Arts is proud to announce Lucas Reiner: Figure/Ground. The exhibition will be at the gallery through October 29, 2022.

Figure/Ground is an evolution of work that began in his native Los Angeles as portraits of trees. After relocating to Litchfield County, CT during the wildfires of 2020, Reiner found himself inspired by two trees on the banks of a lake where he was living. Photographing and sketching them from different angles, Reiner was struck by the space between the trees, as much as the trees themselves. The distance and relationship between forms became the focus. Reiner returned to the two trees repeatedly, making a series of small tempera paintings on muslin and wood. The initial approach was reductive: two verticals (the trunks of the trees) and two horizontal elements (the crown and horizon line). Muslin, new to Reiner’s work, has traditionally been used as a background material, whether for theatrical backdrops or pattern making by dressmakers and tailors. In Reiner’s Los Angeles Trees Series the tree, a background element for the urban environment, is foregrounded to become the subject for a kind of portrait. In Lucas Reiner: Figure/Ground, the paintings made in Litchfield County, CT, the material qualities of the muslin and wood, cut and collaged, present a contest between figure and ground, image and object. Invoking traditional Icon painting in their use of materials, the Figure/Ground paintings suggest a view of nature as sacred.

Over time background space must also somehow become foreground, and on and on. In the Figure/Ground tree paintings, the eradication of the hierarchy of figure and ground, and the interchangeability of the two, allows for the possibility of marriage, that in which foreground and background merge and are seen simultaneously. When I first saw these paintings, Reiner spoke about the notion of the relationship between these two trees as a marriage, as a balance of power, with a constant push/pull quality. For me, these works are atmospheric and poetic, replete with ghostly presences, and what is not there is of equal importance to what the artist chooses to render in each gem of a painting. The negative space becomes as palpable as the physical object of the painting.

“Painting is a covering and uncovering of a surface. If there is an ethic in my work, it is one that has occupied the thoughts of painters from the caves until the present. Namely, what is the relationship between the figure and the ground? For me, each painting is an exploration of a new way to address this paradox. ” – Lucas Reiner

Lucas Reiner has exhibited internationally and his work is in the following public collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Staatlichen Graphischen Sammlung (Munich, Germany), Diözesan Museum (Freising, Germany), Colecciòn Jumex (Mexico City, Mexico), among others.

Gallery hours are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from 11-5 and by appointment. We would love to see you and show you this exquisite exhibition!

Join us for Lucas Reiner’s “15 Stations” Exhibit, presented by KMR Arts at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, on display from September 24th through October 23rd. The show will highlight Reiner’s tree series, an evolution of work that began in his native Los Angeles. After relocating to Litchfield after the wildfires of 2020, Reiner found himself inspired by two trees on on the banks of a lake where he was.

Lucas Reiner has widely exhibited internationally and his work is represented in public and private collections. Over a prolific career spanning three decades, Reiner has produced several notable series of chromatically variegated paintings reflecting the artist’s perennial inspirations (contemporary urban trees, pyrotechnic explosions, traditional spiritual themes) and worked in a range of media (including oil, acrylic, tempera, watercolor, drypoint etching, monoprint, and photography).

The Fall – the season, as well as the biblical story –  is where Lucas Reiner’s trees belong. Lucas Reiner was originally commissioned to realize the stations of the Cross for Saint Augustine Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Artists throughout history have contemplated and depicted the miracle of the dead tree of the cross becoming the tree of life, the life-giving tree. The stations paintings illuminate the human paradox that Reiner had been exploring for many years.

“These paintings connect with the withering of fall and the ascent of summer, the death of winter and the rebirth of spring, the hidden roots deep in the soil and the branches soaring high in the sky and, above all, the longing and the struggle for life in a hostile and often brutal environment.” – Rev. Paul Anel

“Painting is a covering and uncovering of a surface. If there is an ethic in my work, it is one that has occupied the thoughts of painters from the caves until the present. Namely, what is the relationship between the figure and the ground? For me, each painting is an exploration of a new way to address this paradox.” – Lucas Reiner

Lucas Reiner’s work is in the following public collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Staatlichen Graphischen Sammlung (Munich, Germany), Diözesan Museum (Freising, Germany), Colecciòn Jumex (Mexico City, Mexico), among others.

Alicia Mordenti & Erika Larskaya’s latest works will be on display from August 27th through October 1st, 2022.

Byrde + the b is pleased to announce the exhibit of recent landscape paintings of Alicia Mordenti and abstract paintings by Erika Larskaya.

Alicia is a Litchfield County resident who has absorbed the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape and distilled her reflections on oils on canvas. Her views are intimate and on a human scale. Alicia has honed her artistic style across years of experimentation with color, pigment, materials and structure. She is an American naturalist.

Erika Larskaya uses acrylic paint to construct unplanned works which she surrenders to the act and flow of painting, allowing the process to dictate the direction of each work up to its completion. Erika is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. She seeks to express things that are not seen, but rather felt.

Please join us on Saturday, August 27th from 5-6:30pm for an artist’s reception.

For additional information please contact The Byrde the b 10 Titus Rd Washington CT or by email at [email protected].

The Byrde the b
10 Titus Rd Washington, CT
860-619-0422
Hours: Tues-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
www.byrdeandtheb.com

Enjoy house wines for sale by the glass or bottle and a selection of snacks in Spring Hill Vineyards’ unique setting with site-specific artworks including the immersive Bee Brook Grotto. All ages!

Wine tastings take place on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 5pm – Memorial Day through Columbus Day.

Join us for some fun Fall activities!

Celebrate the fun of Autumn! We’ll have activities like find the missing scarecrow, corn hole, pin the tail on the turkey, and other fun fall games to play. We’ll also have several stations set up for arts and crafts, like apple stamping and dried corn mosaics, to help you get your home ready for the season!

Register here

Grab a glass of wine and enjoy live music on weekends at Hopkins Vineyard every Saturday and Sunday! Music will be indoors until weather permits for outdoor enjoyment. There is no admission or cover charge. Please note we do not allow outside food brought inside the winery. Cheese platters, various snacks, and charcuterie options are available for purchase.

Live music is held on Saturdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 2-5 pm.

View more on Hopkins Vineyard website

Although race and identity always have shaped U.S. politics, they reemerged five years ago in what was supposed to be Obama’s post-racial America with new intensity, a political pivot and the unapologetic driver of Donald Trump’s unexpected victory.

But the reenergized racial forces that propelled Trump to the White House did not spring out of a vacuum. The crowd-pleasing candidate merely marshaled spirits unleashed half a century ago in what was a culmination of the so-called “Southern strategy,” the Republicans’ to push race and identity to the political forefront. In its seventh show of the season, a panel of nationally known voices will discuss the role of race in American politics and how identity issues are shaping our daily lives.

Join us Monday, October 3rd @ 1:00pm for a showing of “Where the Crawdads Sing”

Where the Crawdads Sing- Abandoned by her family, Kya Clark, otherwise known to the townspeople of Barkley Cove as the Marsh Girl, is mysterious and wild. “Where the Crawdads Sing” is a coming-of-age story of a young girl raised by the marshlands of the south in the 1950s. When the town hotshot is found dead, and inexplicably linked to Kya, the Marsh Girl is the prime suspect in his murder case. PG-13 2h 5m.

Register here

Historian and Educator Mallory Mortillaro presents her discovery of a forgotten marble bust of Napoleon.

While cataloging the artwork housed inside of the Hartley Dodge Memorial town hall building in New Jersey, historian and educator Mallory Mortillaro uncovered a masterpiece that had been lost to the art world since the 1930’s. After a year of research, a marble bust of Napoleon was authenticated as an official work by renowned French sculptor, Auguste Rodin. Mallory will share with the audience at Gunn Memorial Library the story of how a simple art cataloging project evolved into a search for a mysterious piece’s provenance, and became one of the biggest art finds in recent history.

In this virtual presentation, Mallory recounts the story of being hired straight out of college for a part time art cataloging project and how it morphed into a search for this mysterious piece’s provenance, eventually culminating in its authentication by the world’s leading Rodin expert. Along the way she also shares the story of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, the woman who gifted this artwork, along with an entire town hall building, all in the name of her one and only lost son. Her lecture is fully illustrated with engaging present day and historic photographs.

This program will be held virtually via Zoom. Registration is requested. You will receive a Zoom link upon registration.

Mallory Mortillaro is an art historian and educator. She has ten years of teaching experience, and has worked on various art research projects for museums and organizations in the metropolitan area. She studied at Drew University. Mallory resides in New Jersey with her husband.

Register here

Online Screening: September 30 – October 7
Virtual Discussion: October 7th @ 7:00pm on Zoom

“Kill the Indian in him, and save the man” was the founding principle of the U.S. government-run Indian boarding school program starting in the late 19th Century. The program removed tens of thousands of Native American children from their tribal homelands, and through brutal assimilation tactics, stripped them of their languages, traditions and culture. From Vision Maker Media and Caldera Productions, the documentary Home From School: The Children of Carlisle dives into history of the flagship federal boarding school, Carlisle Indian Industrial School, and follows the modern day journey of the Northern Arapaho tribe as they seek to bring home the remains of three children who died at Carlisle over 100 years ago. On October 7th, join film Director Jordan Dresser and Deputy Director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office Crystal C’Bearing (both Northern Arapaho), along with IAIS Staff, for a discussion about their respective roles in this effort. Sign up for this discussion on October 7th and view the documentary online at your convenience during the week preceding.

Please note: Due to the history of residential schools in indigenous communities, the content of this documentary and topics of the discussion might trigger strong emotions for some audience members.

Register here

Byrde the b is pleased to announce the exhibit of photography by Jeff Kellner. Please join us Saturday, October 8th from 5-6:30pm for an artist’s reception. This exhibition will run through January 21st, 2023.

Throughout his 35 years as a commercial photographer, Kellner roamed the streets of New York City photographing its people, places and things. His preference now, as it was then, is using classic film cameras of varying formats. Kellner loves the different personalities each of these cameras and lenses impart to the image. They are not as refined as the lenses of today, so each renders the view quite differently in sharpness, contrast and illumination. This beautifully complements his street photography vision.

His photography is receiving much attention these days. His latest accolades come from the curators of The Department of Photography of the Museum of Modern Art and Yale University Photography Gallery.

The Byrde the b
10 Titus Rd Washington, CT
860-619-0422
Hours Tues-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
www.byrdeandtheb.com

Students in grades 4-7 are invited to join henna artist Elyse Sadtler for a hands-on, cross-disciplinary lesson in the ancient form of body art called henna. Participants will learn all about the rich history and origins of this plant-based art used by cultures across India, northern Africa and the Middle East, all while mixing their very own henna paste. They will practice traditional designs while uncovering the science behind how this special plant-based art works on our skin. Henna students will leave with the skills to draw beautiful designs on themselves, family and friends while telling the tale of this fascinating art form.

Elizabeth Snow Rowe discusses finding and publishing a collection of stories found in an attic of her ancestors circa 1883.

GML & the Hickory Stick Bookshop present:

For several generations, inside one of several dusty boxes residing in an attic, Elizabeth Snow Rowe discovered the stories of her great grandparents’ life as Episcopal ministers in Washington, Connecticut and eastern New York dating back to 1883. Despite the century separating us from them, the parallels of their joys in family life and challenges with housing, health-care, child rearing, and transportation are striking. Elizabeth Snow Rowe will discuss the collection of stories she edited of her ancestors. These Chronicles are a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the event courtesy of the Hickory Stick Book Shop. Cash or check only.

“Chronicles of a Parson’s Wife provides delightful insight into 19th century clergy life on the Connecticut frontier. Would that all of our great-grandparents and grandparents provide such wonderful details of their everyday lives and struggles! The family members come alive in ways that such everyday people do not in other history books. A must read.” — The Reverend Dr. Geoffrey Hahneman, D.Phil (Oxon) Priest-in-Charge, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Washington, CT

Register here

SMITHY HARVEST FEST

October 8th 2022, 12-5PM

LIVE MUSIC BY:

The Bentley Lewis Band

12pm-2pm

Mad Cats

2:30pm – 5pm

Live Music – Tastings – Specials – Art – Raffles – Pumpkin Patch

The Smithy Market

The Smithy Cafe at 9 Main

9 & 10 Main St. New Preston, CT 06777

Enjoy house wines for sale by the glass or bottle and a selection of snacks in Spring Hill Vineyards’ unique setting with site-specific artworks including the immersive Bee Brook Grotto. All ages!

Wine tastings take place on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 5pm – Memorial Day through Columbus Day.

Join us in welcoming Matin Malikzada to Privet House. A seventh-generation Afghan master potter, Matin is internationally recognized for his technical skill and elegant designs. A native of Istalif, Afghanistan, Matin was forced to flee following the Taliban takeover. Matin and his family have resettled in Northwest Connecticut, and despite the challenges of refugee status, Matin is proud to continue the artisanal legacy of his native village, and is energized by the opportunities that lie ahead. This will be our first gathering in two years. We’re excited for you to join us for some Prosecco and refreshments as we celebrate this very special event.

Grab a glass of wine and enjoy live music on weekends at Hopkins Vineyard every Saturday and Sunday! Music will be indoors until weather permits for outdoor enjoyment. There is no admission or cover charge. Please note we do not allow outside food brought inside the winery. Cheese platters, various snacks, and charcuterie options are available for purchase.

Live music is held on Saturdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 2-5 pm.

View more on Hopkins Vineyard website

Join us on Saturday, October 8th at 3:00 pm for a book signing of Dr. Rebekah Diamond’s “Parent Like A Pediatrician.”

Rebekah Diamond, M.D. , the pediatrician, working mom, and parent advocate trusted by Parents magazine and NBC for her adept advice, expertly guides you through the noise to share her fresh, inclusive, sensible, no-nonsense take on making the right choices when it comes the first 12 months of your child’s life.

Becoming a new parent in the age of online advice can be a minefield of confusion, worries, and fears amplified by myths, misinformation, and too much information. As an experienced pediatrician, Rebekah Diamond is deeply grounded in a fact-based understanding of child healthcare. As a mother, she also understands that the accepted rules aren’t always the solution to the challenges of nurturing a healthy new baby. But neither is the overload of relatable but often dangerously misleading information bombarding parents. So how do you trust yourself to make the best decisions for your child?

With authoritative up-to-date research and real-world advice on the myriad obstacles facing moms, dads, and caregivers, Dr. Diamond unpacks the whys behind the facts to empower your best parental instincts. From safe-sleep guidelines, breast feeding, and binky addiction to sensory developmental activities, baby products, and the final—and 100% evidence-based—word on the vaccination debate, Dr. Diamond helps parents cultivate the clarity and sound decisions you need to lessen the anxiety (for parent and baby) around what should be the joyful, connecting early months of life.

Byrde the b is pleased to announce the exhibit of photography by Jeff Kellner. Please join us Saturday, October 8th from 5-6:30pm for an artist’s reception. This exhibition will run through January 21st, 2023.

Throughout his 35 years as a commercial photographer, Kellner roamed the streets of New York City photographing its people, places and things. His preference now, as it was then, is using classic film cameras of varying formats. Kellner loves the different personalities each of these cameras and lenses impart to the image. They are not as refined as the lenses of today, so each renders the view quite differently in sharpness, contrast and illumination. This beautifully complements his street photography vision.

His photography is receiving much attention these days. His latest accolades come from the curators of The Department of Photography of the Museum of Modern Art and Yale University Photography Gallery.

The Byrde the b
10 Titus Rd Washington, CT
860-619-0422
Hours Tues-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
www.byrdeandtheb.com

Sept 3 – Oct 9, 2022
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm, and Sunday from 12pm – 4pm

The connotation of home is emotionally charged, the very word “home “makes us pause. Tenderness for our home and garden has rooted more deeply in the past few years. The ten artists in this exhibition make work that is distinctly individual, what unites them is that their work conveys taking care, cultivating growth, and the being the custodian of memories.

The artists in the exhibition work in various media including ornately decorated hand-colored and cut prints, pattern paintings who’s digital and collage elements add meaning and contemporary context, as well as several painters working in the more traditional medium of paint. The show includes two photographers whose flower photographs are elegant elegies to single specimens and an artist whose work is a hybrid of photography and painting.

Join us at our annual Washington Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 9th, 2022! Admission is FREE.

Kids will enjoy fire truck rides, train rides, face painting, arts & crafts, pumpkin carving, games, and “Where’s Waldo” Scarecrow Hunt.

For adults: Craft beer mobile pub, wine tastings by Hopkins Vineyard & Spring Hill Vineyards, Bourbon tasting by Litchfield Distillery, local food trucks, antique tractor display, and live music.

And don’t miss the Scarecrow Contest. Event details below.

Organized by Washington Business Association and Washington Parks and Recreation.

This month we will be reading two short stories by Roddy Doyle.

Register here

Solo guitarist Peter Biedermann performs at Gunn Memorial Library.

Peter Biedermann is a solo fingerstyle instrumental guitarist based in Green Valley, AZ that has performed in several different contexts since the mid 70’s. While his music doesn’t settle into any particular genre, it is a hybrid, contemporary style that melds elements of American, European and other world influences into a jambalaya of sound enhanced by subtle electronics and live looping on various guitars in unique tunings. PB began focusing on performing original music starting in the mid 80’s.

The focus of the concert program will be on pieces from his catalog of recordings beginning with ‘Sound & Spirit’ (2000) through the latest live release ‘Say What?’ (2020). The program also encourages questions from the audience and will include some of the history and evolution of original fingerstyle guitar playing. CD’s will be for sale after the concert. Please go to www.biedermannmusic.com to learn more about Peter.

Register here

A tour of the great clay studios in western Connecticut and beyond

Join us for a self-guided tour of pottery studios in Washington and other western CT towns and beyond. Nine studios will be open, each will have one or two guest artists also so you’ll be able to see 20 artists work. Learn more at clayway.net.

Grab a glass of wine and enjoy live music on weekends at Hopkins Vineyard every Saturday and Sunday! Music will be indoors until weather permits for outdoor enjoyment. There is no admission or cover charge. Please note we do not allow outside food brought inside the winery. Cheese platters, various snacks, and charcuterie options are available for purchase.

Live music is held on Saturdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 2-5 pm.

View more on Hopkins Vineyard website

Join us for a Presentation and Book Signing with local Author Dani Shapiro. Dani will be talking about her new book at Community Table Restaurant in Washington, CT. A cash bar will be available.

In local author Dani Shapiro’s first work of fiction in fifteen years, she returns to the form that launched her career, with a riveting, deeply felt novel that examines the ties that bind families together – and the secrets that can break them apart. “Signal Fires” is a work of haunting beauty by a masterly storyteller.

Click here to pre-order

“A most anticipated book” – LA Times, Time Magazine, LitHub, BookPage, Library Journal, The Millions, She Reads

“Signal Fires is an urgent and compassionate meditation on memory, time, and space. Shapiro has created a world that’s as wrenching as it is wondrous.” – Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being

“Signal Fires is a haunting, moving, and propulsive exploration of family secrets.” – Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female

Join us Monday, October 17th @ 1:00pm for a showing of “Elvis”

Follows the story of infamous rock ‘n’ roll star Elvis Presley seen through the eyes of his controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker. The film explores Elvis Presley’s highs and lows and the many challenges and controversies he received throughout his career. PG-13 2h 39m.

Register here

Author and Architect Noushin Ehsan discusses her recently published memoir.

It is often stated that we are the sum of our experiences; that each moment of self-discovery, big or small, adds up to who we are as a whole person. Author and Architect Noushin Ehsan reflects that sentiment in her recently published memoir, Noushin: The Making of a Woman Architect. Noushin is an Iranian-born American architect who has studied her craft in many places around the world and seeks to bring the Spirit of Space into her work as an architect.

Ehsan will discuss her memoir, her design work, and her unique experiences from around the world. Her story is a testament to perseverance, to starting over early and often and to believing that you are never too far in to make a change.

Copies of Ehsan’s memoir will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Noushin Ehsan is an award-winning Iranian-born American Architect who studied at the Decorative School of Fine arts and School of Architecture at Tehran University, Beaux-Arts in Paris and UCLA Architecture and Planning. She has held numerous faculty positions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Architectural Association School of Architecture, and London Polytechnic Institute. Ehsan co-founded and served as the managing director of BEB Consultants with offices in New York, London, Paris and Tehran.

Register here

Bring your own pumpkin and paint with us!

Children can paint and decorate their own plump, holiday pumpkin using stickers, paint, yarn, glitter and more. All paints and decorative supplies provided. Dress for mess! Registration is required and each participant will need to register on our website to attend the program.

Register here

Grab a glass of wine and enjoy live music on weekends at Hopkins Vineyard every Saturday and Sunday! Music will be indoors until weather permits for outdoor enjoyment. There is no admission or cover charge. Please note we do not allow outside food brought inside the winery. Cheese platters, various snacks, and charcuterie options are available for purchase.

Live music is held on Saturdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 2-5 pm.

View more on Hopkins Vineyard website

Join us for Lucas Reiner’s “15 Stations” Exhibit, presented by KMR Arts at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, on display from September 24th through October 23rd. The show will highlight Reiner’s tree series, an evolution of work that began in his native Los Angeles. After relocating to Litchfield after the wildfires of 2020, Reiner found himself inspired by two trees on on the banks of a lake where he was.

Lucas Reiner has widely exhibited internationally and his work is represented in public and private collections. Over a prolific career spanning three decades, Reiner has produced several notable series of chromatically variegated paintings reflecting the artist’s perennial inspirations (contemporary urban trees, pyrotechnic explosions, traditional spiritual themes) and worked in a range of media (including oil, acrylic, tempera, watercolor, drypoint etching, monoprint, and photography).

The Fall – the season, as well as the biblical story –  is where Lucas Reiner’s trees belong. Lucas Reiner was originally commissioned to realize the stations of the Cross for Saint Augustine Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Artists throughout history have contemplated and depicted the miracle of the dead tree of the cross becoming the tree of life, the life-giving tree. The stations paintings illuminate the human paradox that Reiner had been exploring for many years.

“These paintings connect with the withering of fall and the ascent of summer, the death of winter and the rebirth of spring, the hidden roots deep in the soil and the branches soaring high in the sky and, above all, the longing and the struggle for life in a hostile and often brutal environment.” – Rev. Paul Anel

“Painting is a covering and uncovering of a surface. If there is an ethic in my work, it is one that has occupied the thoughts of painters from the caves until the present. Namely, what is the relationship between the figure and the ground? For me, each painting is an exploration of a new way to address this paradox.” – Lucas Reiner

Lucas Reiner’s work is in the following public collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Staatlichen Graphischen Sammlung (Munich, Germany), Diözesan Museum (Freising, Germany), Colecciòn Jumex (Mexico City, Mexico), among others.

Join local author Susan Katz on Sunday, October 23rd at 2:00pm who will be reading passages from her latest book “Dreaming Missouri”.

Susan’s poems explore the nooks and crannies of a life; each moment filled with indelible, occasionally startling, events. Sometimes they happen to us. Sometimes they happen to others. This raw and throbbing collection of poems will draw you in and remind you that we are all vulnerable and susceptible to the hazards of living.

Click here to order “Dreaming Missouri”

Join us Monday, October 24th @ 1:00pm for a showing of “The Forgiven”

Explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of both the local Muslims, and Western visitors to a house party at a grand villa in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco over a single weekend. Starring Matt Smith, Jessica Chastain, and Ralph Fiennes. R 1h 57m.

Register here

The Washington Cemetery Tour our annual event that showcases the rich history of Washington, CT through costumed actors who portray residents from the past. The tour is the largest history event produced by the Gunn Museum each year with support from local theater luminaries, Doug and Martha Winkel, of the Washington Dramalites.

Actors, tour guides, setup helpers, cleanup helpers, make-up artists, servers, monitors, and others are needed to help with the tour on Friday, October 28. Students can earn community service hours by volunteering for the Cemetery Tour. Call the Museum at 860-868-7756 or email [email protected] if you’d like to participate.

Tickets for the 15th Annual Washington Cemetery Tour go on sale October 1st! Learn more

KMR Arts is proud to announce Lucas Reiner: Figure/Ground. The exhibition will be at the gallery through October 29, 2022.

Figure/Ground is an evolution of work that began in his native Los Angeles as portraits of trees. After relocating to Litchfield County, CT during the wildfires of 2020, Reiner found himself inspired by two trees on the banks of a lake where he was living. Photographing and sketching them from different angles, Reiner was struck by the space between the trees, as much as the trees themselves. The distance and relationship between forms became the focus. Reiner returned to the two trees repeatedly, making a series of small tempera paintings on muslin and wood. The initial approach was reductive: two verticals (the trunks of the trees) and two horizontal elements (the crown and horizon line). Muslin, new to Reiner’s work, has traditionally been used as a background material, whether for theatrical backdrops or pattern making by dressmakers and tailors. In Reiner’s Los Angeles Trees Series the tree, a background element for the urban environment, is foregrounded to become the subject for a kind of portrait. In Lucas Reiner: Figure/Ground, the paintings made in Litchfield County, CT, the material qualities of the muslin and wood, cut and collaged, present a contest between figure and ground, image and object. Invoking traditional Icon painting in their use of materials, the Figure/Ground paintings suggest a view of nature as sacred.

Over time background space must also somehow become foreground, and on and on. In the Figure/Ground tree paintings, the eradication of the hierarchy of figure and ground, and the interchangeability of the two, allows for the possibility of marriage, that in which foreground and background merge and are seen simultaneously. When I first saw these paintings, Reiner spoke about the notion of the relationship between these two trees as a marriage, as a balance of power, with a constant push/pull quality. For me, these works are atmospheric and poetic, replete with ghostly presences, and what is not there is of equal importance to what the artist chooses to render in each gem of a painting. The negative space becomes as palpable as the physical object of the painting.

“Painting is a covering and uncovering of a surface. If there is an ethic in my work, it is one that has occupied the thoughts of painters from the caves until the present. Namely, what is the relationship between the figure and the ground? For me, each painting is an exploration of a new way to address this paradox. ” – Lucas Reiner

Lucas Reiner has exhibited internationally and his work is in the following public collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Staatlichen Graphischen Sammlung (Munich, Germany), Diözesan Museum (Freising, Germany), Colecciòn Jumex (Mexico City, Mexico), among others.

Gallery hours are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from 11-5 and by appointment. We would love to see you and show you this exquisite exhibition!

Join us for a spooktacular time trick-or treating throughout the library! Play ghostly games and make chilling crafts too. Registration is required and each participant will need to register on our website to attend the program. Children, parents and caregivers are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes!

Register here

Grab a glass of wine and enjoy live music on weekends at Hopkins Vineyard every Saturday and Sunday! Music will be indoors until weather permits for outdoor enjoyment. There is no admission or cover charge. Please note we do not allow outside food brought inside the winery. Cheese platters, various snacks, and charcuterie options are available for purchase.

Live music is held on Saturdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 2-5 pm.

View more on Hopkins Vineyard website

Join us Monday, October 30th @ 1:00pm for a showing of “Little Shop of Horrors”

Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik’s, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey Fulquard, and is berated by Mr. Mushnik daily. One day as Seymour is seeking a new mysterious plant, he finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he calls Audrey II. The plant seems to have a craving for blood and soon begins to sing for his supper. Soon enough, Seymour feeds Audrey’s sadistic dentist boyfriend to the plant and later, Mushnik for witnessing the death of Audrey’s ex. Will Audrey II take over the world or will Seymour and Audrey defeat it? PG13- 1h 34m.

Register here

WAA is passionate about arts education. Whether you are an experienced artist or a novice, WAA offers a range of opportunities for creative exploration. We provide a nurturing place for people of all ages to develop their skills and explore new artistic directions with classes in painting, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and more.

Find the current offerings here

In an immersive forest setting with no locks, keys or clocks, Wigwam Escape’s thematic puzzles challenge game players to hunt, find water and prepare food similar to how Native people did for thousands of years prior to European contact. The Institute for American Indian Studies, proudly presents a new way to interact with history, a themed escape room, Wigwam Escape.

Our museum’s mission is to “preserve and educate through discovery and creativity the diverse traditions, vitality and knowledge of Native American cultures”. We chose an escape room setting as an interactive and captivating way to educate the public about how pre-contact Native peoples lived within their environment over 500 years ago. This hand-on experience of history is demonstrated through a series of custom puzzles and hand crafted set, complete with a full sized traditionally sourced wigwam.

The full experience is 90 minutes in the museum’s Research Center. This includes a pre-game orientation, the one hour escape room centerpiece, and post-game popcorn snack and discussion when your team returns to the 21st Century. The game is set for 3 to 7 players and the cost is $25 per person, or $20 for our museum members or students.

More than just a game, Wigwam Escape is built to teach through experience and foster dialogue in a game that’s dynamic, challenging and entertaining. Visit Wigwam Escape for this must-do team building experience for friends, families and co-workers.

For more information or to book your escape room, go to: wigwamescape.org.

Byrde the b is pleased to announce the exhibit of photography by Jeff Kellner. Please join us Saturday, October 8th from 5-6:30pm for an artist’s reception. This exhibition will run through January 21st, 2023.

Throughout his 35 years as a commercial photographer, Kellner roamed the streets of New York City photographing its people, places and things. His preference now, as it was then, is using classic film cameras of varying formats. Kellner loves the different personalities each of these cameras and lenses impart to the image. They are not as refined as the lenses of today, so each renders the view quite differently in sharpness, contrast and illumination. This beautifully complements his street photography vision.

His photography is receiving much attention these days. His latest accolades come from the curators of The Department of Photography of the Museum of Modern Art and Yale University Photography Gallery.

The Byrde the b
10 Titus Rd Washington, CT
860-619-0422
Hours Tues-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
www.byrdeandtheb.com

WAA is passionate about arts education. Whether you are an experienced artist or a novice, WAA offers a range of opportunities for creative exploration. We provide a nurturing place for people of all ages to develop their skills and explore new artistic directions with classes in painting, ceramics, sculpture, drawing, and more.

Find the current offerings here

Gunn Memorial Library and the Hickory Stick Bookshop are pleased to welcome author Soon Wiley to the library for a conversation on Wiley’s debut novel, When We Fell Apart. Copies of Wiley’s novel will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of the Hickory Stick Bookshop.

Wiley’s novel is a profoundly moving and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties that bind families together—or break them apart—as a young Korean American man’s search for answers about his girlfriend’s mysterious death becomes a soul-searching journey into his own bi-cultural identity.

When the Seoul police inform Min that his girlfriend Yu-jin has committed suicide, he’s sure it can’t be true. She was successful, ambitious, happy, just on the cusp of graduating from university and claiming the future she’d always dreamed of. Min, on the other hand, born to an American father and Korean mother, has never felt quite the same certainty as Yu-jin about his life’s path. After growing up in California, where he always felt “too Korean” to fit in, he’s moved to Seoul in the hope that exploring his Korean heritage will help him find a sense of purpose. And when he meets Yu-jin, little does he know that their carefree relationship will set off a chain of events with tragic consequences for them both.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration required.

Register here

About the Author: Soon Wiley is A native of Nyack, New York and received his BA in English & Philosophy from Connecticut College. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Wichita State University. His writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and earned him fellowships in Wyoming and France. He resides in Connecticut with his wife and their two cats.

Grab a glass of wine and enjoy live music on weekends at Hopkins Vineyard every Saturday and Sunday! Music will be indoors until weather permits for outdoor enjoyment. There is no admission or cover charge. Please note we do not allow outside food brought inside the winery. Cheese platters, various snacks, and charcuterie options are available for purchase.

Live music is held on Saturdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 2-5 pm.

View more on Hopkins Vineyard website

Please join us on Zoom on Monday, November 7, 2022 at 6:30 pm for our presentation “Ehrick Rossiter, Architect for a Golden Age in Washington and the Nation” with author and curator, Ann Y. Smith. Washington’s favorite architect was Ehrick Rossiter, who designed dozens of showcase homes and community buildings in Washington at the turn of the last century. Rossiter’s impact extends beyond Washington, however: over his 40-year career, he designed hundreds of homes and commercial and community projects across the nation from his Manhattan-based architectural practice. Registration is required to attend this free virtual program.

Register here

Ann Y. Smith, author of the definitive book on Rossiter, will introduce the architect’s accomplishments with period illustrations of his impressive projects in Washington and throughout the northeast. Her book, Ehrick K Rossiter Designs for Modern Living 1880-1930, a 200-page hardcover book with nearly 200 period illustrations, is available at The Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot.

About the Lecturer: Ann Y. Smith is a museum consultant, author, educator, and curator. She has written numerous articles and essays on furniture, architecture, art, and social history in Connecticut. She has served as adjunct faculty of art history and architectural history at the University of Connecticut, Waterbury; chairman of the Connecticut Humanities Council; and as a board member of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Connecticut Commission on the Arts.

Create a “gift from the heart” with this simple woodland watercolor scene. Just in time for gift-giving or a holiday card! All skill levels welcome in this workshop filled with step-by-step demonstrations of a variety of fun watercolor techniques and plenty of individual instruction.

The watercolor workshops at Hollister House Garden are taught by Betsy Rogers-Knox. Betsy received a Certificate in Botanical Illustration from NYBG in 2006. Her work has been widely exhibited in the United States and at the Royal Horticultural Botanical Art Show in London where she was awarded the Silver Gilt Award.

Open to all skill levels. Materials List.

Hollister House Garden Members $95

Non-Members $120

Register here

Byrde the b is pleased to announce the exhibit of photography by Jeff Kellner. Please join us Saturday, October 8th from 5-6:30pm for an artist’s reception. This exhibition will run through January 21st, 2023.

Throughout his 35 years as a commercial photographer, Kellner roamed the streets of New York City photographing its people, places and things. His preference now, as it was then, is using classic film cameras of varying formats. Kellner loves the different personalities each of these cameras and lenses impart to the image. They are not as refined as the lenses of today, so each renders the view quite differently in sharpness, contrast and illumination. This beautifully complements his street photography vision.

His photography is receiving much attention these days. His latest accolades come from the curators of The Department of Photography of the Museum of Modern Art and Yale University Photography Gallery.

The Byrde the b
10 Titus Rd Washington, CT
860-619-0422
Hours Tues-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm
www.byrdeandtheb.com