DANCE - FINE ARTS - MUSIC - THEATER - WRITING

ARTBITS by Richard B. Harper


VOLUME 12 * * All Arts News On the Web * * October 2, 2008

STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

      ArtBits always features a calendar of the goings on of Franklin County artists. Check out these events around Franklin County. Each issue includes the entire text of our weekly newspaper column.


      Stop in for live music and more at the Fairfax Music Sessions at the Foothills Bakery in Fairfax most Saturday afternoons at 1 p.m., at various restaurants around Franklin County throughout the week, at the Bayside in St Albans Town most Sunday afternoons, and the Cambridge CoffeeHouses at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month.
     These gatherings bring new opportunities, gossip, "show-and-tell" and occasional workshops. The booked performances and acoustic Open Mike Nights feature music, readings, and more from the best new artists in Vermont.

      Find links to these events and more in our Spotlight!

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ART ON THE WALLS

ENOSBURG FALLS--The Artist In Residence Gallery features different artists each month. This month, the spotlight is on Vermont Handcrafter Jan Brosky, on the paintings of artists Bob Eldridge and Natalie LaRocque-Bouchard, and on the mixed media of Jaffa Paddon. The gallery will hold a reception for the artists this evening from 5-8 p.m.
      Ms. Brosky hand knits scarves, trendy ties, and scarflets designed to bring out the fun, whimsical, or bold side. Mr. Eldridge paints realistic landscapes and wildlife, some historical pieces, maritime art, and "some quirkier stuff." He works in acrylic on board and pencil drawings. Ms. LaRocque-Bouchard works in traditional art and computer generated art to create home and business murals, Trompe L'oeil murals, design custom logos in acrylics on canvas, airbrush, and more. Ms. Paddon's mixed media manipulates multiple layers of photography and clay.
      The Artist in Residence art cooperative features paintings, fiber arts, stained glass, sculpture, lamps, pottery, folk art boxes, scarves, hats and more by 45 Franklin County and surrounding area artists. It is owned and operated by the artists and sponsors. The Village Frame Shoppe is located within the coop as a resident framer. The Blue Crayon, a small private studio, is available there for individual or small group lessons. The gallery, located at 349 Main Street, is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

      Artist-In-Residence members will also display their work in the tent at Harvest Fest on Saturday in Lincoln Park.


ST ALBANS--The Northwestern Medical Center Gallery hosts St. Albans Art Club this month.
      The group, which meets in the Barlow Street School in St. Albans, is instructed by Kathleen Berry Bergeron of Jericho. The Art Club is exhibiting selection of watercolor paintings by Millie Boyd, Linda Clark, Nancy Choiniere, Rita Drinkwater, Gail Grismore, Diane Lareau, Marianne Marshall, Beverly Montiel, Linda Wirts, and Ms. Bergeron.
      The show continues through the end of November.


ON STAGE LIVE

SUMMER MUSIC AT GRACE--Hungrytown returns tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. to end the Summer Music at Grace season. The popular husband-wife duo Ken Hall and Rebecca Anderson have completed a tour of Virginia, Tennessee, and New York City in the Blue Meanie traveling bus/studio/camper.
      The Hungrytown compositions are rooted in folk tradition with the sound and feel of original transcripts. Ms. Anderson is an award-winning songwriter and folk classicist. Mr. Hall is a roots musician with the 60s folk harmonica, Appalachian fingerpicking, an oboe and more. Hungrytown has daily airplay on "The Village" on XM Radio and the CD appears on WUMB-Boston, WFUV-New York, and WXPN-Philadelphia.
      Grace Church is located at 215 Pleasant Street, Sheldon. Suggested admission at the door is $10 for adults and $5 for the quite young and quite old. Click here for more info about Hungrytown. Call 802.326.4603 or click here for more info about Summer Music at Grace.


ENOSBURG FALLS--The Enosburg Food Shelf has bands galore Foodstock at Enosburg Falls Middle School on Saturday as part of Harvest Fest on Saturday. Look for the instrumental prog-rock War Elephants, the trio Farm, and bluegrass favorites Big Spike live on stage starting at 6 p.m.
      Admission is $10 per adult, $5 for students, andfree for Enosburg Food Shelf volunteers. All proceeds benefit the food shelf. Bring cans of non-perishable food items.


BURLINGTON--Events for Tom presents Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday at 8 p.m.
      The Sparrow Quartet plays the folk and bluegrass traditional music of Appalachia, delves into jazz, spirituals, and gospel, and performs what they call Sino-American folk songs written in Mandarin by Ms. Washburn. The band includes by eight-time Grammy-winner Bela Fleck, banjo; bluegrass fiddler Casey Driessen; and eclectic singer-cellist Ben Sollee.
      The concert is part of the Flynn '08-09 season in association with Events for Tom. Admission is $40, $34, and $25. Children under 17 and students with ID can save $4 off top two ticket prices. Call 802.86.Flynn or click here for a video, clips, or ticket info.


ST ALBANS--St. Paul’s Methodist Church presents Elisabeth LeBlanc, clarinet, and Annemieke Spoelstra, piano, in at the church Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. They will play a program of Brahms sonatas and music by Schumann.
      Elisabeth LeBlanc is a graduate of the Vermont Youth Orchestra and an original member of the Heliand Trio. She holds degrees in music and orchestral training from The Juilliard School and McGill University. She grew up in Saint Albans and maintains a clarinet studio at the Elley-Long Music Center.
      Now living in South Burlington, Annemieke Spoelstra is a native of The Netherlands. She is a piano instructor at St. Michael’s, an active local performer, and maintains a private voice and instrumental studio. She is also a member of the Heliand Trio and the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble.
      Admission is free but donations are welcome.


ESSEX JUNCTION--The Lincoln Inn presents Summer Sounds favorite Jenni Johnson & Friends tonight in the WCLX Blues Night at 7 p.m. Bob Degree and Bluegrass Storm returns on Tuesday and the high-energy Celtic duo Trinity plays Wednesday, both at 7 p.m.
      Call 802.878.3309 or click here for more info.


CALL FOR A RIVER OF VIDEO

     The Northern Forest Canoe Trail covers lot of square miles and a lot of road miles. The NFCT staff logs about 20,000 miles a year by car just to work on the programs that maintain the Trail.
      NFCT commissioned public art along the trail including the Stone Canoe in Swanton.
      Tom's of Maine started the Rivers Awareness Partnership to discover community river heroes. Tom's is running a River Stories Contest to identify the "people whose commitment to improving water quality helps improve the quality of life in his or her town." The prize is a Toyota Prius hybrid. The contest requires an original, short video about contestants make a positive difference for local rivers. Submissions are due by October 15.
      How is NFCT making a difference for the river(s) in this community? That's the focus question for this contest.
      Here's the deal. Make a short digital video clip (around 30 seconds long) or a high resolution .JPEG image that answers the focus question. Upload it to the video page photos page on the NFCT site. NFCT may not be able to use all the submissions. Submitting your video clip or image grants your permission for them to use it in their video. Email for more info.


A PERSONAL NOTE

     Today is Anne Harper's birthday. It's not one of the major milestones but it is important as is she. Happy birthday, sweetie.


CLICK HERE: ART SITE OF THE WEEK

     Kasini House Books publishes trade and limited edition artist books, booklets, art catalogs and folios, and the Vermont Art Guide. Kasini House publishes Art Map Burlington and produces the First Friday Art Walk. They operate Artshop and house an art center with a rotating exhibition gallery; They are interested in (and looking for) contemporary art and literature. The site includes complete descriptions of their publication list as well as contact info and a newsletter.


FRANKLIN COUNTY BOOKSHELF

      ArtBits features a quick weekly peek at the bookshelf or night stand of the folks you know in and around Franklin County. That popular feature has a page of its own at the Franklin County Bookshelf here on the AAC site.


SUPPORT LIVE ARTS IN YOUR TOWN!


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      This article was originally published in the St Albans Messenger and other traditional print media. It is Copyright © 2008 by Richard B. Harper. All rights reserved. Archival material is provided as-is. Links are not necessarily maintained (if a link in this article fails, try Google.com or your favorite search engine).
      Thanks to recent misuse of copyright material on the Internet by individuals and archival firms alike, we emphasize that your rights to this article are limited to viewing it and printing it for personal use only. You must receive explicit permission from the All Arts Council and the author before reprinting or redistributing this article in any medium.