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Dancing for Your Health

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 15, 2017| 2 Comments »

Photo: Sara Teresa
The rollout of a dance-based falls prevention programme in the UK by arts and health charity Aesop will see 1,000 older people benefit.

About 15 years ago, after breast cancer treatment, I joined a hospital-based class called “I Hope You’ll Dance.” I used to call it Cancer Dance Class because anyone who was being treated for cancer or had been treated could join. It happened to have only women during the time I was a participant although men were welcome.

The dance routines were very simple, but there was something pleasant about doing them with women you didn’t know but with whom you shared something as big as cancer. I also liked the music selections, which ranged from the playful “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” to numbers that were more moving, like “You Raise Me Up” and “I Pray You’ll Be All Right.”

I thought of the mysterious comfort that class provided when I read about a dance program for the elderly in England and Wales. Christy Romer described it at Arts Professional, a UK-based website.

“The rollout of a dance-based falls prevention programme by arts and health charity Aesop will see 1,000 older people benefit from a new £2.3m investment.

“The programme will run for two years from October 2017, during which time 63 interventions will take place across England in Wales. These will be delivered in collaboration with health and social care providers, and arts organisations including Yorkshire Dance and Birmingham Royal Ballet. …

“Previous Aesop research showed how the Dance to Health programmes could address a problem that costs the NHS £2.3bn a year, as the rates of completion for dance-based alternatives to NHS exercise courses are 55% higher.

“An evaluation of the Dance to Health pilot programme in February 2017 also concluded that dance artists could be trained to deliver classes which were an enjoyable artistic challenge, faithful to healthcare objectives, and would deliver measurable reductions in loneliness for participants. …

“The expanded programme will receive support from ‘Dialogue Partner’ organisations, including Age UK and NHS England, and collaborate with eight Arts Council England-funded dance organisations. …

“A formal evaluation of the programme will be conducted in 2019, ahead of an anticipated national rollout in the coming years.” More at Arts Professional, here.

Romer mentioned the effort to address loneliness through the dance classes, but I imagine that the way physical motion improves thought processes is a big piece of the health benefit. And what about improving balance? That’s a concern for me, and a reason I take both tai chi and Essentrics when I’m not on vacation.

But I’m on vacation. So I’ll sign off now and go practice standing on one foot.

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Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, Water Lily …

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 14, 2017| 4 Comments »

Yes this post’s title is toying with the name of the famous John Singer Sargent painting “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose,” which KerryCan told me she liked.

The roses in New Shoreham are so abundant this year, I couldn’t stop taking pictures. I admire these roses because they do their own thing. They need no attention from humans. If they feel like climbing up a tree or entwining themselves with acres of poison ivy, they will just do it.

I’m also posting a water-lily pond where I saw a rough-hewn guy in a beat-up car place a rescued turtle. Other photos include a typical New Shoreham dirt road, Suzanne’s daughter’s monkey enjoying a rare respite, a deer, and Stuga40’s breakfast idea (flax seeds and pumpkin kernels on cereal).

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Norway’s Most Famous Contemporary Author Sues

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 13, 2017| 4 Comments »


Photo: Balazs Koranyi/Reuters 
A sign warns residents of the arctic Svalbard islands in Norway of the danger from roaming polar bears. Norway is planning to expand its oil operations in the Arctic. 

Norway has a reputation for environmentalism. Unless you are talking about oil. Now some of the country’s leading lights are suing the government because of its plans to start drilling in the Arctic. A Norwegian whose writing I admire is one of them.

David Crouch reports at the Guardian, “Norway’s best-known author has lashed out at ‘the shortsightedness and stupidity’ of plans to expand oil exploration into the Arctic, as campaigners prepare to sue the government for placing future generations at risk from climate change.

“Karl Ove Knausgaard, whose bestselling memoir has been a global literary sensation, is fronting a campaign to mount a legal challenge against moves by Norway to open up the Arctic to oil companies.

“Oil and gas extraction in the Arctic has nothing to do with worthwhile goals such as alleviating poverty, Knausgaard said. ‘Norway is one of the richest countries in the world – it’s all about greed. … I never believed that my government actually would do such a thing. … It just makes me want to cry.’ …

“The campaign aims to make use of a recent change to the constitution which obligates the state to take action to ensure natural resources are managed ‘on the basis of comprehensive long-term considerations,’ including safeguarding the environment for future generations. …

“The campaign by Norwegian environmentalists aims to mirror similar legal challenges in the Netherlands and in the US, where lawsuits have attempted to hold governments to account over climate change. In April, the Dutch Urgenda foundation launched the first case in the world to use human rights and tort law to hold a government responsible for failing to reduce carbon emissions fast enough.

“ ‘Where do we draw the line if not in the Arctic?’ said Åsne Seierstad, the bestselling Norwegian author and another signatory to the petition. ‘No economic policy is more short-term than relying on profits from the very areas that are worst affected from climate change.’ ”

More here.

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Banksy’s Take on Brexit

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on July 12, 2017| 4 Comments »


Photo: Hannah Ellis-Petersen for the Guardian
This mural of a worker removing one star from the European Union logo appeared overnight in Dover, Kent. It’s Banksy’s reaction to the Brexit vote.

When I was at the magazine and collecting articles for the next issue, I was sometimes surprised to discover I had a whole issue — or almost a whole issue — on one topic. Suddenly several articles on prisoner issues came together, or maybe immigrant issues, or agriculture issues. It was not planned that way, it just happened.

Today I notice that another United Kingdom topic has popped up after yesterday’s entry on UK election artists. This post is about the street artist Banksy and his stealth reaction to the vote that authorized the UK to leave the European Union and expel many immigrants. Hannah Ellis-Petersen at the Guardian reported the story in May.

“A Brexit-inspired mural by Banksy showing a metalworker chipping away at a star on the EU flag has appeared in Dover. …

“The mural, which was confirmed by Banksy’s representatives to be a genuine work by the elusive artist, is his first comment on the Brexit vote last year.

“The stars of the flag ‘stand for the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe,’ according to the EU website. …

“The Dover artwork is across the Channel from Calais, where a Banksy mural appeared at the main refugee camp in 2015, showing the Apple founder, Steve Jobs, whose biological father was a Syrian immigrant,” reminding people that immigrants should be valued. More at the Guardian.

I have posted a few times about this street artist, and once I took a photo of what people said was his work. Check these links to a few of my Banksy posts: here, here, and here.

Banksy appears in Boston. Maybe.

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England’s Official Election Artists

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on July 11, 2017| 2 Comments »

Art: Simon Roberts
Simon Roberts was the “election artist” for the 2010 general election in the United Kingdom. He chose 24 images — one for each day of the campaign — to reflect the geographical breadth of the trail. Cornelia Parker is the election artist for 2017.

Not long ago, my husband pointed out a story about official “election artists” in England. That was a new idea for me.

An article in the Economist offers background.

“Many were bemused by the announcement on May 1st that Cornelia Parker was to be the official artist of the 2017 general election. Not as a comment on Ms Parker’s credentials — she is widely considered to be one of Britain’s most exciting contemporary artists — but to discover that such a post exists.”

Parker is the first woman chosen since the post was established in 2001 and the first conceptual artist.

“Jonathan Yeo, the inaugural artist, created a triptych oil painting of the main party leaders where the size of their portrait correlated to their portion of the vote. In 2005, David Godbold produced Hogarthian satirical illustrations on scraps of election ephemera such as manifestos, letters and flyers. In 2010 Simon Roberts photographed the quiet lanes and doorstep conversations of day-to-day campaigning …

“Ms Parker is using an Instagram account (@electionartist2017) to offer an eclectic commentary: so far she has posted pictures of road signs, homeless people and newspaper headlines. One image, captioned ‘The election contenders,’ shows a group of waving garden gnomes.

“Two further stipulations come with the role. First is that the artist must remain politically impartial. … The second is that they must produce a final work — one that can be put on display, or contain elements that can be displayed — which will eventually join the parliamentary art collection.”

I searched the web but couldn’t find Parker’s piece for the permanent collection. Maybe a reader will find it for me. It’s hard to envision what an artist known for “detonated sheds, cut-up shotguns and squashed instruments” would come up with, even if she is currently focused on instagram.

The Economist story is here, the Guardian‘s here and the New Yorker‘s here.

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Another Great Street Soccer Story

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on July 10, 2017| 1 Comment »

Photo: Lisa Wrightsman
When soccer player Shauntel Payton attended the Street Child World Cup in Brazil, she says, “A lot of people kinda didn’t know why I was there. Like, ‘How are you homeless? You’re from the United States.’ ”

I hope readers don’t mind that I keep revisiting favorite themes. Since there are always new followers, I have to assume not everyone is familiar with the topics near and dear to my heart.

One such topic, covered here in 2014, concerns the sense of freedom that street soccer can provide to people experiencing homelessness. The 2014 story took place in Chile. This one, by Martin Kessler at Only a Game, is from California.

“Seventeen-year-old Shauntel Payton is the second oldest of five children. … Growing up, Shauntel and her siblings lived with their grandparents. She says her mom was in and out.

“But around 2010, Shauntel’s mom moved into a transitional housing program outside Sacramento for adults who had been in homeless shelters or rehab centers. She was recovering from addiction. Shauntel and her siblings joined their mom. Shauntel liked living there — there were lots of other kids.

” ‘All the kids knew where I was coming from,’ she says. ‘We all came from somewhat of the same background, so we all kinda just connected.’

“Around the same time, another resident named Lisa Wrightsman was trying to start a soccer team.

“Wrightsman was a former college player. She was also recovering from addiction. When she moved into the transitional housing, she realized Sacramento had a Street Soccer team for men. But not for women. So she decided to start one.

“And if she wanted to recruit women, she was certain of one thing: Children had to be welcome at practices. … That’s how Shauntel and her siblings ended up at the very first practice for the Sacramento Lady Salamanders.

“The idea was that the kids would sit and watch while their moms practiced. But when the Payton kids started wrestling on the sideline, Wrightsman realized that plan wasn’t going to work. …

“So Wrightsman invited Shauntel and her siblings to scrimmage against their mom and the five other players. …

“Shauntel says those practices were important.

” ‘It was like a different vibe when we would go there,’ she explains. ‘We kind of connected better than we would’ve, I think, without having some type of outlet to come together and do something as a family.’ …

“As Shauntel’s siblings got older, they gravitated to other sports. But Shauntel stuck with soccer.

“When I step on the field I just feel like a brand new person,’ she says. ‘And when I shoot the goal, it’s like a feeling like I’ve never really felt before. It’s like freedom.’

“And that brings us to an event called the Street Child World Cup. Every four years, the World Cup host country holds a competition for children who have been homeless.

“In 2014, Wrightsman nominated Shauntel to join the U.S. team in Brazil. …

Shauntel had never left the country. But in Brazil, she met boys and girls from Zimbabwe, Burundi, the Philippines, and 15 other countries.

“Some of the kids were surprised to see Shauntel and her U.S. teammates.

” ‘A lot of people kind of didn’t know why I was there,’ she says. ‘Like, “How are you homeless? You’re from the United States?” I was really shocked. And I was like, “I don’t know.” ‘

“The kids shared their stories. One Indian boy told Shauntel how he spent his days working for pocket change to help his family. And how he saw his dad abuse his mom.

” ‘It made me kind of think back to my life and how much I took for granted,’ Shauntel says. …

“Shauntel says as soon as she got back to the U.S., she gave all her siblings big hugs and started crying.” She says the trip made her more hopeful.”

More here.

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Norway’s Handsome Energy Plant

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 9, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Pedro Alvarez for the Observer
Øvre Forsland hydroelectric station in northern Norway.

So while we’re on the subject of removing pollutants using artistic sculptures, how about an article on creating clean power in an artistic energy plant?

Stuart Dredge writes at the Guardian about “an unusually handsome hydroelectric plant” on the edge of a forest in northern Norway.

“Located in the Helgeland district in northern Norway, [Ovre Forsland is] a small hydroelectric power station capable of supplying 1,600 homes with power.

“Designed by Norwegian architecture firm Stein Hamre Arkitektkontor, it sits on a riverbed at the edge of a forest, with an exterior that aims to reflect the irregular shapes of the spruce trees forming its backdrop. …

“Says Torkil Nersund, production manager at the plant’s owner, energy company HelgelandsKraft … ‘This region is known for its spectacular nature, so we thought the building should try to live up to the surroundings.’ …

“ ‘Øvre Forsland does not only serve hydropower to people in the region. Its purpose is also to bring attention to hydropower, the history around it and the benefits,’ says Nersund. …

“Øvre Forsland is also angling for the attention of people who come to Helgeland for its hiking trails and beautiful scenery. Those visiting the power station can look through a tear in the building’s exterior that reveals its innards: the turbines. …

“The emphasis on this harmony, and on renewability in general, can be seen in the fabric of Øvre Forsland itself. The architects used Kebony wood, sustainable softwood that has been treated with a bio-based liquid to make it more like hardwood. …

” ‘We hope that the Government also sees that hydro power has a great future ahead and that they facilitate the development of Norwegian hydro,’ says Nersund.”

More here.

Hat tip: @VictoriaLynden on twitter.

 

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This Sculpture Fights Smog

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on July 8, 2017| 4 Comments »

Photo: Studio Roosegaarde/flickr
Dutch designer and architect Daan Roosegaarde’s 23 ft. high ‘Smog Free Tower’ removes pollution from the atmosphere.

I wrote recently about a googly-eyed contraption in Baltimore’s harbor that is removing litter — and about the controversy over the relative importance of cleaning up trash vs. stopping it at its source. (See “Mr. Trash Wheel,” here.)

Here is another take. Does creating a sculpture that removes smog from the air we breathe take too much focus away from eliminating smog in the first place? I continue to think that all efforts are important, both for what they accomplish and for the ability to reach more audiences.

Blouin News reports, “Dutch designer and architect Daan Roosegaarde has created a 23 ft. high ‘Smog Free Tower,’ which is the world’s first outdoor air purifier with the ability to suck up smog, filter out pollutant elements and release clean air.

“The tower, resembling a miniature chrome-latticed skyscraper, has been tested in Rotterdam and will soon be installed at public parks in Beijing, a city that suffers from catastrophic levels of smoggy air, writes The New York Times.

“The tower, which can clean up to 30,000 cubic meters of air in an hour, may not bring radical change to a highly polluted city like Beijing but its installation is a symbolic gesture, reminding the society of its responsibility to fight air pollution. The designer will be placing 25 such towers in Beijing’s public parks and plans to introduce the technology in India and Mexico as well, notes RealClear Life.” More here.

I am just realizing I already wrote about another aspect of this project: the smog waste will be turned into diamonds! Read this.

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Donations from Many Minorities

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 7, 2017| 2 Comments »

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Photo: Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe
Malika MacDonald is director of the Amal Women’s Center, which provides shelter for Muslim women and children in need of temporary housing.

When I was working at the central bank, we had a Hubert Humphrey Fellow visit us from Bahrain. One aspect of America she was studying was homelessness. She said there was no homelessness in her country. She said families would never let it happen; they would take people in.

Having no way to know whether that was true in every case, I was nevertheless intrigued. Was it something about the culture in a Muslim country?

One thing I do know is that in this country, alas, Muslim women and children like other women and children, sometimes find themselves in need of temporary housing. That was the impetus for a new center in Boston, the brainchild of an Egyptian-American college student.

Lisa Wangsness wrote about the initiative at the Boston Globe. Here is the part of the article that touched me the most.

“The project began six years ago, when Mona Salem, then a 20-year-old Egyptian-American college student, was trying to help a young Muslim friend who wanted to escape a foster home where she felt unsafe.

“Salem thought her friend would feel most comfortable in a Muslim-run shelter for women, but soon discovered none existed in Boston. So she began raising money to start one, and teamed up with [Malika MacDonald, the national director of the Islamic Circle of North America Relief USA’s Transitional Housing Network.] …

“Donations poured in from every direction. Dishes and pots and pans for the kitchen arrived from families affiliated with the Framingham and Wayland mosques. A man offered his Home Depot credit card to pay for lighting. Various groups and individuals sponsored each of the bedrooms, furnishing them with bright-colored bedding and art for the walls.

“Salem said she was near tears when she saw the finished house the other day.

“ ‘That place was a dump when we first got there, and now it’s beautiful — absolutely beautiful,’ she said. ‘That says a lot about . . . how strong we are as a community to help one another.’

“Help arrived from beyond the local Muslim community as well. An artist in Texas sent an Arabesque Moroccan ceiling medallion for the living room. A board member of the interfaith group Kids4Peace Boston donated a lacquered dining table and banquette. The founder of a planned shelter for transgender people in Indiana sent along bathroom towels, MacDonald said.”

I suspect many of those donors know what it’s like to feel different and look for comfort.

More at the Boston Globe, here.

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Teaching Teen Immigrants Their Rights

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 6, 2017| 6 Comments »

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Photo: Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Attorney Elizabeth Read led a session at “Know Your Rights Day” at Boston International Newcomers Academy, a high school.

The lawyer in the photo above is someone I met in April, when we were both volunteering in a Jewish Vocational Service class for Haitians learning English. I was surprised to see her picture the very next day in the Boston Globe, doing a related kind of volunteer work. She certainly has found multiple ways to serve.

Evan Allen wrote, “Attorney Elizabeth Read stood before the classroom full of teenage immigrants at Boston International Newcomers Academy [and] explained their rights if they are ever detained by an immigration official.

“ ‘You have the right to make a phone call,’ she told them Friday afternoon, as their teacher translated into Spanish.

If you are detained, they can take your cell. You must memorize phone numbers. It’s hard! But you must.’ …

“The talks were organized by the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project and conducted by volunteer lawyers. …

“The PAIR Project has trained more than 300 lawyers across the state, and delivered 250 presentations to 10,000 people in community centers, health centers, churches, and schools. …

“ ‘I feel sad,’ said 15-year-old Alvaro … ‘I’m with my dad here, and at any minute, immigration could come and there’s nothing we can do.’

“All the students were given red cards to hand to immigration authorities that outline their rights, including the right to remain silent and to refuse to allow authorities to enter their homes. Alvaro said feeling prepared was a relief. …

“[Headmaster Tony] King said he has tried to reassure students by explaining their rights, reminding them that politicians in Massachusetts support immigrants, and talking to Muslim girls who wear head scarves about what to do if someone becomes aggressive. He gave them numbers to call — including his own — if they need help. …

“Sowda Roble, a 16-year-old Somali refugee wearing a sparkling silver headscarf and a Red Sox shirt, said through a translator that America is a country where ‘every opportunity — education, everything — is available.’

“She arrived here from a refugee camp in February 2016 with her mother and two brothers; four other siblings and her father stayed behind. …

“ ‘I know what it feels like to be in a refugee camp, and wait for hope. It hurts. [All of a sudden,] you are told the hope dies.’ Sowda started to cry. She had walked for days through the desert to the refugee camp, people dying around her, she said.

“The Know Your Rights presentation from the attorney, she said, was helpful. And she still loves America. The people ‘have good hearts.’ ”

More at the Globe, here.

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Time to Share More Photos

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on July 5, 2017| 6 Comments »

I find that I prefer taking photos in sunlight — there’s a better chance of getting the shadows I love.

Does the sun shine more in summer? Perhaps I’m just outdoors more. In any case, there seem to be more photo ops in summer. Here are several recent pictures from my travels back and forth between Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Any favorites? I especially love the long, early-morning shadows behind the blue Lace-Cap Hydrangea. And I can never resist mysterious messages sent out onto the world as if by UFO.

That’s Suzanne’s son surveying the new section of the bike path as he learns to ride using training wheels first.

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Happy Fourth of July

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on July 4, 2017| 6 Comments »

What do you think makes America great? For me, it’s the Bill of Rights, especially the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Whether we walk in dark times or in times of hope, may we always hold on to what is good.

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Rhode Island Arts Incentives

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on July 3, 2017| 4 Comments »

Art: Neal Personeus
This humorous piece, exhibited in 2015 at the Block Island Airport, is called “Yeah … but the view.”

People know Rhode Island for its beaches, its cuisine — and, of course, its arts. Perhaps the cluster of arts activities started with the Rhode Island School of Design. Perhaps people who attended RISD stayed around after graduation. It’s hard to say.

But there is no doubt that the state saw what a treasure artists were and decided to create incentives to get them to stick around and contribute.

Dustin Waters has details in Charleston City Paper.

“Little Rhody has become a powerhouse when it comes to attracting artists and art lovers to its shores. And the method by which state leaders have leveraged Rhode Island’s tax code to benefit the creative community could serve as a model for other states looking to cultivate a stronger arts economy.

” ‘When artists populate an area, it tends to get energized,’ says Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts.

“Targeting specific neighborhoods in need of revitalization, Rhode Island’s General Assembly realized that an excellent way to breathe life into these areas was to foster the growth of arts in these communities. Establishing designated arts districts throughout the state in 1996 with the goal of attracting and keeping talented artists, state leaders offered two tax incentives for artists who were willing to live and work in these districts, according to Rosenbaum.

“First, all works of art created in these districts could be purchased exempt from state sales tax. This tax break extended to dealers, galleries, and shops within each district. …

“The second benefit proved to be a major boon. [Income] received by artists from work produced and sold in a designated arts district was exempt from personal state income tax. B…

“Finally, in 2013, the Rhode Island General Assembly extended the sales tax incentive throughout the entire state. This decision came after a meeting between artists, politicians, and businesspeople who saw the plan as a way to turn the state’s creative community into an economic driver. …

“In a 2015 report to the Rhode Island General Assembly prepared by the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts, participating artists were surveyed to find out how they felt about the first year of business under the state’s new guidelines. Not surprisingly, the general consensus among the artistic community was positive.

“Almost 58 percent of artists surveyed reported that their sales increased from the previous year before the sales-tax exemption was instituted. …

“While Rhode Island hopes to spread the news about the state’s arts incentives, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for more states to start taking better care of their artists — before all the local creatives start heading up to Providence.”

More here.

Hat Tip: ArtsJournal.

 

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Happy Moments for a Child with Cancer

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 2, 2017| 5 Comments »

Photo: Lucy’s Love Bus.
Transformation of an old VW bus into one bringing joy to seriously ill children.

July 1 was a sad day for friends of my former boss because despite some promising treatments, it turned out there really was no cure for the type of brain-stem cancer that his beautiful 8-year-old daughter mysteriously contracted.

But I want to tell you about two wonderful organizations that provided many happy moments for this little girl for more than a year. With the help of these nonprofits and the child’s friends and teachers, she was able to have normal, happy times as she became in 19 months — to use her mother’s words — “somehow, both more vulnerable and more amazing at the same time.”

Lucy’s Love Bus is described here. “Lucy Grogan founded Lucy’s Love Bus in 2006, from her hospital bed at Tufts Floating Hospital for Children in Boston. … Thanks to the financial support of folks in her hometown of Amesbury, MA, Lucy had consistent access to integrative therapies such as acupuncture, massage, horseback riding, art, and music therapy.

“Lucy learned that the integrative therapies that were so profoundly helpful to her during treatment were not covered by insurance, and therefore most children with cancer did not have access to them. She decided that when she was ‘done with cancer,’ she would make sure that all children had the same access to the helpful integrative therapies that she took advantage of during treatment.

“Lucy named her organization Lucy’s Love Bus, because she wanted to deliver love, comfort and quality of life to children with cancer. She felt that cure was very important, but recognized that no one was addressing the immediate suffering that she and her friends faced every day. Lucy’s primary concern was to deliver comfort … until a cure.” More.

The Hole in the Wall Gang is described here. “The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is dedicated to providing ‘a different kind of healing’ to seriously ill children and their families, free of charge. We are a community that celebrates the spirit of childhood, the sound of laughter and the feeling of endless possibility.

“The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp was founded in 1988 by Paul Newman to give every child – no matter their illness – the chance to ‘raise a little hell.’ Including our summer Camp in Ashford, Conn, we run 9 programs that serve more than 20,000 kids and family members throughout the Northeast each year.” More.

My former boss’s two wonderful daughters. So much love here.

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Woodland Art Ramble 2017

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 1, 2017| 4 Comments »

Thursday I went over to the Hapgood Wright Town Forest to check out the latest iteration of the Umbrella Community Arts Center’s Art Ramble.

The center’s website says, “In honor of Henry David Thoreau’s 200th birthday, this exhibit encourages artists to create work that slows the viewer’s experience of the natural world.”

I enjoyed finding the art tucked away here and there in the woods, and I also enjoyed the beauties of the forest: a Great Blue Heron standing patiently in the middle of a pond where I could hear a bullfrog croaking, a beautiful fallen log with wavy lines, Indian Pipe fungi hidden among dry leaves.

The first of the art pieces that I chose to photograph was Mary Baum’s “Point of Entry,” a construction of mirrors covering a rock. Baum says that, in general, “her work deals with themes of belief and mysticism; the connection between the natural and spiritual worlds; and the relationship between magic and miracle.”

The second work I photographed was called “Forest for the Tree” and features small jars holding bits of tree arranged around a trunk.

Self-taught conceptual artist Heather Kapplow says the work “plays with the movement of consciousness or attention between the big picture and the more granular one (with its emphasis resting on the consciousness or attention of one particular tree). It exists as a liminal object, one that touches two worlds and acts as the passageway between. It allows the viewer to consider that there is more to our existence than what meets the eye.” (If you take children, you may want to find a way to translate artistspeak here and elsewhere around the woods.)

My favorite work was an array of “knotholes” by clay sculptor Liz Fletcher, who creates environmental art because she is “concerned about human impacts on the land.”

The title of her contribution is “Lovers of Life,” and features portraits of people who walked gently on the land, such as Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, and Black Elk, a Oglala Lakota (Sioux), who lived from 1863 to 1950.

Fletcher says, ” ‘Lovers of Life’ is an outdoor portrait gallery. Embedded within knotholes are images of people from various eras and cultures who devoted their creative energies to studying and protecting the natural world, and encouraging people to live in harmony with it. Knotholes on trees show where branches once grew out from the trunk. Knotholes are fine frames for these naturalists and spiritual leaders whose ideas have branched out across the world.”

I wrote about last year’s Art Ramble here.

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