DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 2 NUMBER 6 * * All Arts News On the Web * * JUNE, 1998

ARTS & EATS

      Hamlen's Garden Center and the AAC present the third annual Arts and Eats Festival on June 13 at Hamlen's . The Festival includes fine art by Franklin County artists displayed in a lovely garden, delicious foods presented by local restauranteurs, surrounded by the floral and landscaping wizardry of Hamlen's.
      The Arts and Eats Festival has an exhibit of fine art in all media and will introduce a competition for floral paintings, sculptures, and arrangements in any media. The competition offers a first prize contributed by Franklin Lamoille Bank and Vermont National Bank. Second prize was donated by Dr. Frank Zsoldos and WWSR. The AAC, Drinkwaters Jewelers and Hickok Associates Real Estate contributed the remaining prizes.


SUMMER SOUNDS:
FRANKLIN COUNTY GOES LIVE ALL SUMMER

      Summer Sounds '98 will produce 16 live free concerts every Sunday evening all summer long. The regular Sunday concerts alternate between the Highgate Municipal Park and Taylor Park in St Albans. The special Bonus Summer Sounds series adds concerts in Enosburg, Franklin, and Richford.
      The opening concert is the Enosburg Town Band, June 28 in Highgate Municipal Park.
      Each summer concert is free. Settle in on your own blanket or lawn chair and enjoy outdoor family music. The lineup includes a medley of bluegrass, classical, country, pop, and classic rock-n-roll. Bring your own bug spray.
      Although each concert begins at 7 p.m., you will want to arrive earlier because our outdoor concerts usually include a social. Local community groups will host each concert with special activities, family fun, and food. Look for delicious delectables starting around 6 p.m. each Sunday.
      Summer Sounds concerts are always in a Town park, always on Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m., and always free. The rain site is the Highgate Arena, the Congregational Church in St Albans, the Town Hall in Franklin, and sites tba in Enosburg and Richford.
      Check out the AAC AAC calendar and read more about Summer Sounds.


CALLS FOR ARTISTS

      The AAC summer workshop schedule begins with a hands on Workshop for Matting and Displaying Two Dimensional Art, Thursday June 4 at the Collins Perley Sports Complex. Natalie and Corliss will coordinate the workshop. To reserve your spot e-mail the All Arts Council with the dimensions of your artwork. There will be a small fee to cover the cost of materials.


      I get fairly regular calls for jugglers, magicians, mimes and other artists with similar skills. If you have an act that's "ready for prime time," e-mail the All Arts Council


      Don't forget the Arts and Eats Festival at Hamlen's Garden Center is coming June 13. There are two divisions this year: display and competition. Fine art by Franklin County artists will be displayed in a lovely garden, surrounded by delicious foods. Pieces may be entered in a competition for floral paintings, sculptures, and arrangements in any media and will be judged by professional artists. (If you are competing for the prizes, the entry fee for the floral motif show is $5.00 per piece and $2.50 for each additional piece). e-mail the All Arts Council for information.


      We need information about you for the free AAC registry of Franklin County artists in all media (dance, fine arts, music, theater, and writing). Does your band have an album ready to release? Are you a sculptor wrking in bronze? A poet? Do you teach dance or violin?
      Our goal is to improve access to the performing and literary arts throughout Franklin County and to increase the opportunities for local artists. The register will publish your name and contact information for touring, shows, discussion groups, and Arts in Education residencies. Call me (868-3351) or e-mail the All Arts Council to register or to get more information.


MEETING

      The All Arts Council will hold a monthly meeting in the Collins-Perley Sports Center in St Albans, Thursday June 4 at 7 p.m. In addition to networking and fun time, AAC teams will run a summer Workshop for Matting and Displaying Two Dimensional Art, plan a big PARTY for July, and lay out summer gallery exhibits.


MEETING NOTES FROM MAY, 1998

      Local artist Delano Bransfield brought pen-and-ink, pencil sketches, and photos to show. Del is now a fulltime artist.
      Amy Reinhardt of the Family Center and Vermont Youth Development Corps volunteer Christine Bourque discussed their upcoming projects, including the Community Coffee House, first Friday of each month, Teen Community Dinners, Project Phoenix, and mural projects in Fairfax and St Albans. They would appreciate any and all volunteers we can give them. For information call Amy (524-6574).
      We need "goodies" for our reception for the Claire Hungerford recital at St. Lukes Church Sunday. If you can bake, call Melissa Ewell (524- 5755).
      The All Arts Gallery at the Gift Gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 58 North Main Street, St Albans. We will have an evening reception as part of the month long grand opening later this month.
      AAC still needs a Treasurer! If you can add and know what a Form 990 is,e-mail the All Arts Council .


ALL ARTS/WLFE FEATURED ALBUMS

      Franklin County musicians have released a number of albums recently. In the coming weeks, we'll introduce several of them here and on the new AAC/WLFE Feature Artist Showcase on radio WLFE.

THE BLUES RIFFS OF NOBBY REED
      Guitar on my Back made the top ten in Blues Review and the top 20 in Seven Days last year. It's an album with all the expected guitar flash from the best blues guitarist in Vermont.
      Read more about Nobby Reed, then use your browser's back button to return here.

JESSE METCALF: WATER'S IN
      Jesse Metcalf and Good Knight Moon headlined our Ice Jam benefit earlier this year. Don't let the box of rocks on the album cover fool you (Jesse's the one on the left in the photo). They have a comfortable, contemplative folk- rock sound led by Jesse's vocals.
      Read more about Jesse Metcalf and Good Night Moon, then use your browser's back button to return here.

NOCTURNAL EMISSION
      Alternative rock band Nocturnal Emission has a foot in two countries. They were a crowd pleaser last year at Floodstock and their music lives on in an album titled Eve.
      Read more about Nocturnal Emission , then use your browser's back button to return here.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
      Vermont's most widely traveled rock band, 8084 toured the United States in the national Coors Tour and has played extensively in Europe where their album sales and fan letters number in the thousands.
      Read more about Satisfaction Guaranteed, then use your browser's back button to return here.


      The AAC/WLFE Feature Artist Showcase is broadcast every Thursday at 4:10 p.m. on George Paul's show on WLFE-102.3 FM.


ART SITES OF THE MONTH

      Ruth Fuller White organized The Beside Myself Gallery more than 15 years ago to offer talented contemporary artists an exhibition center. Each artist has his or her own space in a renovated horse barn with five separate viewing areas (three in box stalls, one in the tackshop, and a large room in the back). The website includes a small sample of the artwork that has been exhibited at the gallery.


      In this week between the federal observance of Memorial Day and the traditional date, we have the opportunity to remember the men and women who worked, fought, and died for us. Art is often the language we use to keep those memories alive.
      Classic Aviation Art buys, sells, and trades collectable aviation art. They specialize in the works of Robert Taylor, Nicolas Trudgian, and William Phillips.
The site has two pages of the images of Bill Phillips, many pulled from his book, The Glory of Flight. In addition to images such as America on the Move, Phantoms & the Wizard, and Thunder in the Canyon, look for lighthouses, carriers, and the welcoming front porch of home in Phillips' work. See page 1 and page 2


      There are a lot of questions out there which, until now, have been left unanswered. To find the answer to any question, regardless of the subject, Ask Room 820. They will answer, free of charge, questions about art, life, love, computers, politics, law, philosophy, and any other subject you can name.


      The Eye of the Low Countries is a comprehensive website of photojournalists and press photographers from The Netherlands and Belgium. Lots of pictures, free photo software, articles, documentation, a photo game, and more, in a fast-loading, easy to navigate format. I looked at Dutch photojournalist Michel Szulc-Krzyzanowski
      Szulc-Krzyzanowski is internationally renowned for social-documentary photography. His exhibit In The Eye includes four pictures from his Henny-project, over twenty years of photographs from the life a working-class girl. He also shows works from his Sequences, exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Beaubourg in Paris, the Ludwig Museum in Cologne and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts.


FINDING ART ON THE INTERNET

      You can find personal galleries, expensive professional sites, copyright information, and online magazines and events on the world wide web just by knowing where to look.
      Two tremendously useful tools are search sites (which catalog millions of pages) and links which allow you to jump from one site to another.
      Here are four free search engines I have bookmarked:       In any search site, you can type phrases and/or keywords into a box; the site then serves up a list of pages which match your query. This week you might search for "military art" + "memorial day". Many sites also have "channels" with such areas of interest as the arts, automobiles, business resources, careers, entertainment, family issues, real estate, and more.
      The All Arts Council Art Links page contains links to Franklin County activities and artists, provides links to professional resources for dance, fine and visual arts, movies, music, photography, theater, and, of course, writing in the "real" world. Feel free to grab the links you need from this site and add them to your own bookmarks (or save the entire page to a local directory).


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      Customs broker David Iwaskiewicz (pronounced "I wash your socks") lives in St Albans where he owns a sideline business called Cold Hollow Roofing and Painting. This is busy time of year for him in both businesses.

CURRENTLY READING: "A Study Guide on Passing the U.S. Customs Broker Exam" produced by Boskage Commerce Publications. "I like to read Annie Rice, but I'm not reading any right now because the broker exam is taking up all my time." Only about 20% of the test takers pass this professional licensing test the first time.

RE-READ: "I'd start from the beginning of 'Interview with a Vampire' [by Annie Rice] to look for things I didn't pick up in reading and then look for differences between the movie and the book."

FAVORITE KIDS' BOOKS: He has his daughter Ashley every other weekend. Their favorites are Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr Seuss and The Pink Elephant with Golden Spots, the story of a gaily colored baby elephant born into an ordinary gray family by Philippe and RŠjane Fix.


      Kristin Lukens-Rose is the coordinator of the Abuse and Rape Crisis program. She writes grants, supervises the staff, and works collaboratively with law enforcement, the states attorney, and other community groups that work toward solutions to domestic violence.
      The program had a fund raiser in May. A run-walk starts from Taylor Park at 10 a.m.; the Spring Gala at the Knights of Columbus offers music, dancing, a silent auction, and fun for the whole family from 4 p.m. on.

CURRENTLY READING: "I go back and forth between two books," Kristin said. "'Girlfriends: Invisible Bonds, Enduring Ties' [by Carmen Renee Berry and Tamara Traeder] was given to me by close friends in Michigan. I read excerpts to make me feel better on a bad day. I'm finishing 'The Partner' by John Grisham. I mostly read fiction because it's such a great escape from the day to day grind."

RECOMMEND: "I think it helps to read stories by other people going through the same problems such as 'Getting Free: You Can End Abuse and Take Back Your Life' by Ginny Nicarthy. It helps people realize they are not totally alone."

FAVORITE KIDS' BOOK: TheVery Hungry Caterpillar and other titles by Eric Carle "They are neat books because they have the sounds of the animals" and other wonderful interactive moments.


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!

Dick Harper, Co-Chair

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All Arts Council of Franklin County
P.O. Box 1
Highgate Springs, VT 05460
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