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February 3, 2023

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Arts Arts Portal Lead Arts Arts Top Story

Artists at Home Collaborate on a Painting to Raise Money for Those in Need

May 2, 2020 by Spy Desk

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Nancy Tankersley’s Wednesday Clinic at the Easton Studio has created a group project that hopes to raise money for people in our area most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The group, all serious painters, has been meeting weekly at Nancy’s studio on Dover Street weekly. Each artist works on projects of their own choosing and Nancy is available for guidance.

Although members come and go as their personal schedules allow, many have bonded as friends as well as fellow artists. When the clinic had to close due to the quarantine, artist Rhonda Ford suggested an idea that might keep them all working with a common purpose. Nancy loved the idea and also saw a teaching opportunity.

The idea was to assign each artist a portion of a scene of Nancy’s choosing and their job was to duplicate what they saw to the best of their ability, closely matching shapes, colors and values. “Artists tend to paint things, but when presented with a project like this they are forced to paint more abstractly since most had no idea what they were painting.

Painting without a preconceived notion of how something is supposed to look usually results in better painting”, explains Tankersley. It is how the small shapes and colors work together that results in a realistic image. Interestingly, this idea of images collectively assembled is known as an “Exquisite Corpse” and started in the 1920’s as a game for artists and writers. Since then it has often been employed by teachers of painting as a learning exercise.

The challenge was to come up with an image that might have common appeal and show appreciation for people most affected by the virus. Nancy chose a picture of the interior of the kitchen at the Bartlett Pear Inn taken a few years ago. In classroom settings, the artists are given pieces of an image that has been cut up into smaller pieces.

In this case, Tankersley had to digitally divide the image into sections that could be emailed to the artists. After the sections were painted by each artist, they were mailed or delivered to Rhonda Ford who carefully glued the images onto a hard surface. The result is an arresting and interesting image and pays homage to the countless workers in the restaurant industry who are so important to our town, but have suffered during this time.

The small differences in style, color choice and scale make the painting appear fractured, giving it a contemporary look. The size is 30 x 30 inches, making it a nice sized addition to a home or a business. The framed painting will go to the highest bidder and ALL proceeds will go to organizations such as The Neighborhood Service Center.

The participating artists were Joy Smith, Adam Kernan-Schloss, Jane Anderson, Mary Clark Confalone, Marianne Kost, Lori Yates, Kathie Rodgers, Rhonda Ford, Kathy Kopec, Patti Hopkins, Joanie Hart, Mignonne La Chapelle, Laura Kapolchok, Stephanie Handy, Diane Tinney, Abby Ober, Mary Ellen Mabe, Arlene Zachman, Diana Dardis, and Nancy Tankersley.

Filed Under: Arts Portal Lead, Arts Top Story Tagged With: art

The Artists’ Gallery to Feature Sally Clark, Linda King Hall and Jeanne Saulsbury

February 27, 2020 by Spy Desk

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On First Friday, March 6th, Sally Clark, Linda King Hall and Jeanne Saulsbury will be the featured artists at The Artists’ Gallery in Chestertown. The public is invited to visit the gallery for a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Works by Clark, Hall and Saulsbury will be prominently displayed throughout the month of March.

“Eastern Shore Image,” watercolor by Sally Clark

Sally Clark is currently an exhibitor with The Artists’ Gallery and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee along with an Art Education degree from the University of Memphis. In addition, she earned a certificate of studies from the Institute of American Studies in Aix-En-Provence, France. After retiring from a career of teaching art, she has enjoyed painting murals and whimsical images on furniture and recently illustrated a children’s book, “Ella, the Somewhat True Story of a Moroccan Dromedary Camel.” Watercolors are her true passion, and her subjects range from flower gardens to house portraits and pets. Along with exhibiting her work at The Artists’ Gallery, Sally is also a member of Working Artists Forum in Easton, the Kent Island Federation of Art, and the Queen Anne’s County Arts Council.

“Evening Reflections,” watercolor by Linda Hall

Linda King Hall grew up in Ohio and holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts in graphic design along with a minor in art education from Ohio University. Based in Betterton, Linda Hall’s work in watercolor is well known on the Eastern Shore and beyond. She has participated in numerous juried art shows, both nationally and internationally, winning over fifty awards. Linda is a signature member of the Baltimore Watercolor Society, Pennsylvania Watercolor Society and the Northeast Watercolor Society. Along with exhibiting her work with The Artists’ Gallery, she is a member of Chestertown River Arts and the Working Artists’ Forum in Easton. Linda’s work for this show will include both new and older Amish paintings she has done which she calls “Parallel Lives Revisited.”

“Markos Brand, Rock Hall Clam & Oyster Co.” oil by Jeanne Saulsbury

Jeanne Saulsbury was born in Nassawaddox, Virginia and is a true native of the Eastern Shore. As a child, Jeanne studied with Nance Hall Asher in her Denton studio. After attending college, she returned to the Eastern Shore and studied under prominent area artists at the Academy of the Arts in Easton and worked for 25 years in watercolor before switching to oil. Since then, Saulsbury has studied with Sarah Poly of Arlington, Virginia, and the Plein-Air Painters of America, and Camille Przewodek. Jeanne is an exhibitor with The Artists’ Gallery and a past president of Working Artists Forum, a committee chair for the Easton Plein-Air Festival and a member of the Caroline County Arts Council. Jeanne’s work in this show will be a continuation of “From the Land of Pleasant Living” with images of oysters and antique store finds on the Eastern Shore.

For more information, please contact The Artists’ Gallery at 410-778-2425 or www.theartistsgalleryctown.com. The gallery is located at 239 High Street in Chestertown and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30-4:30 p.m.

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: art

Spy and AAM Present Lecture by Visionary Art Museum Friday

February 19, 2020 by Spy Desk

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Rebecca Alban Hoffberger is the founder, director and principal curator of the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). The Baltimore-based museum is a Congressionally-designated national museum and education center devoted to the primary role intuitive intelligence plays in creative invention of all sorts – be it within art, science, medicine or in the realm of social justice.

Celebrating this Thanksgiving 2020 it’s 25th Anniversary, AVAM is the sole Maryland attraction to be listed to represent Maryland on all seven state-by-state national top destination listings – from Oprah’s O Magazine to US News & World Report. AVAM’s current exhibition entitled, The Secret Life of Earth: Alive! Awake! (and Possibly Really Angry!) is the largest art and science Earth-centric and climate change exhibition anywhere – one described by Hoffberger as, “one part visual earth love-fest, and two parts environmental crash course on the interdependent wonders and fragility of life.” Hoffberger will share her founding vision of the muse-based philosophical DNA that underpins the humor and passion behind AVAM’s success.

Presented by the Academy Art Museum and The Talbot Spy
Speaker: Rebecca Alban Hoffberger Founder American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
Friday, February 21, 2020, 6pm

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: AAM, art, Hofffberger

Cats: the Poems, the Musical, and Now the Movie – A Review

January 7, 2020 by Peter Heck

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Chestertown Spy’s movie reviews are meant not so much as critical verdicts on the films, but to give movie fans an idea of what’s playing and whether they might want to see it – or give it a miss! Or to suggest a movie not your usual fare but which you might enjoy. If you decide to try a movie we review, just tell ‘em the Spy sent you!

Cats opened in theaters on Dec 20, just in time for the Christmas movie season. It’s playing at the  Chesapeake Movies through Thursday Jan 9. 

Directed by Tom Hooper–famous for such films as Les Misérables and The King’s Speech–the movie boasts a star-studded cast including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, and Taylor Swift. It’s all-singing, all-dancing, with some of the most celebrated talents in the entertainment world–pop-stars, rappers, professional dancers, classically trained Shakespearean actors, young and old.  Yet the film opened to very mixed reviews So what’s the deal? 

Cats has a long, illustrious history. The original poems are by T.S. Eliot, a leading figure in 20th century poetry.  First published in 1939, the book, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” brought together fourteen whimsical poems originally written for Eliot’s godchildren. It was an instant hit, the sort of children’s classic that is beloved by kids and adults. 

Then famous British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber teamed up with choreographer Gillian Lynne to create the musical stage version called simply Cats. Lloyd Webber already had several highly successful musical productions–Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968), Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), and Evita (1978).

 Cats the musical opened in London in 1981 and in New York the next year. It garnered seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The London production ran 21 years, while the Broadway version ran 18, both setting box office records along the way. It is widely considered the prototype of the modern blockbuster “mega-musical,” using spectacle and special effects. 

In the story, the Jellicles are a gang of street cats who once a year hold a ball and talent show. The winner gets to fly away and be reincarnated in a new cat life.

 As the movie opens, a young cat, Victoria, is abandoned on the Jellicles’ turf. Meanwhile, the Jellicles’ archenemy, Macavity the Mystery Cat, plots to thwart their ceremony.  He wants the prize.

The movie makes extensive use of CGI – Computer Generated Imagery. The actors have no costumes. They were filmed wearing special motion-capture bodysuits.  Then using CGI, cat features – skin, hair, coloration, ears, tails—were added. The tails had to be carefully synchronized with the choreography! All special effects require time and coordination, leading to many mistakes.  Just days after opening, Universal sent a “patch” to fix problems like no fur on Judi Dench’s CGI “paw,” leaving her human hand–complete with wedding ring–visible. 

The characters have human faces.  This combination of CGI and human was controversial for many critics.  At first, I found the combination a little unsettling but I soon got used to it.  

Interestingly, the viewing public is more enthusiastic about the film than the critics. On Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cats_2019), critics gave it only 20% positive rating while audiences ranked it 53%. I thought the movie did a better job than the play of tying the songs together into a coherent story. But the plot is a bit thin.  It’s a feline variety/talent show. And although it doesn’t come together perfectly, there are some really wonderful scenes. My favorite was the tap dance on railroad tracks. I’d watch that again. However, I found the marching cockroaches – all with human faces – to be a slightly queasy combination of boring yet mesmerizing.

Apparently many people went expecting typical holiday fare, fun-for-the-whole-family Disney-or-Hallmark-type movie  It’s definitely not that. It’s an operetta. In fact, it’s probably best described as an art film – focused on dancing and singing. Both are excellent.

Francesca Hayward, who plays the abandoned kitten Victoria, is a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet. The other dancers are also professionals. Children taking dance lessons will likely be inspired. 

There are strong performances by Judi Dench (Old Deuteronomy) and Ian McClellan (Gus, theater cat).  Grammy-winning singer Taylor Swift has a cameo, descending from the sky on a crescent moon and dispensing catnip from a soda can. Jennifer Hudson (Grizabella) does a wonderful job singing “Memory,” the show’s hit tune. However, her rendition is marred by closeups showing the cat’s character crying and dripping snot as she sings.  It puts a damper on what is otherwise a beautiful song, beautifully sung.

And that’s what the movie Cats does.  It swings from beautiful and mesmerizing to bewildering or mildly off-putting. One moment there is beautiful dancing and singing that pulls you in; then something in the action or scenery or a plot twist is awkward, leaving you unsatisfied or even angry until a moment later, a cats does something adorable, licking paw and washing ear just like a real cat. Or a dancer with her tail flying leaps unbelievably high against an absolutely gorgeous city nightscape.  And you are pulled back into the magic.

If you can turn off your inner-critic and just go with the flow, there is much to enjoy.  The dancing is excellent. All the singers have good voices. Sometimes images are odd, some sequences are too long or too dark.  Overall, at 1 hour 42 minutes, the film is too long. With some judicious cutting it could have been 10 to 15 minutes shorter. 

To get a feel for the characters, sets, the dancing and the music–and most of all, the CGI effects– check out some of the short clips online.  The official trailer https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cats_2019. You can read some of the original poetry from The Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats at the website Famous Poets and Poems. “Macavity the Mystery Cat” is at http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/t__s__eliot/poems/15127 

If you’re one of the millions who loved Cats on Broadway, or if you’re a lover of dance, you should take a look at director Hooper’s vision.  There’s a lot to like although quality is not even. Cats may turn out to be one of those cult movies, like Rocky Horror, with fierce critics and even fiercer fans. I’m glad I saw it.

Cats is currently playing in regional theaters including Chesapeake Movies at Washington Square in Chestertown, the mall with Redner’s and MacDonald’s.   Cats runs through Thursday, Jan 9, with three shows Mon-Wed, 1:00 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6:35 pm. Thursday, Jan. 9, there are only two shows – 1:00 and 3:30 pm. Check for other movies and times at Chesapeake Movies (https://www.chesapeakemovies5.com/location/5007/Chesapeake-Movies-Showtimes).  Telephone: 410-778-0361.

Photo credit for Cats publicity pictures Universal Pictures 2019

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Filed Under: Archives, Arts, Arts Top Story Tagged With: art, Theatre

RiverArts Minute: Curator Rob Manaraze on Annual Members Show

January 7, 2020 by RiverArts

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The annual RiverArts Members’ Show highlights the quality and diversity of our arts community.  This popular exhibit was open to all media, and includes photography, painting and pastels, drawings, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture and fiber arts.

This video is approximately minutes in length.

Curator Rob Manaraze Gallery & Artists’ Talk
Thursday, January 9.  5:30PM
Chestertown RiverArts
315 High Street, Suite 108
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-6300

Filed Under: Arts Portal Lead Tagged With: art, Chestertown, Chestertown Spy, RiverArts

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