Author: Janet

Over the years, the Bruce Museum has acquired a noteworthy collection of Native American pottery. This collection encompasses pottery shards from functional vessels made in the Northeast to the large, almost sculptural pieces from Native Americans of the Southwest. By exploring the process of creating pottery, visitors to the exhibition will learn about the mineralogical composition of pottery, technique, design, and history and come to appreciate their artistic beauty. This exhibition will be on display through March 29, 2015.

A highlight of this show will be the stunning black-on-black pottery created by the famed Maria Martinez, her husband Julian, and other Martinez family members from the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico. The Martinez family’s careful work demonstrates how creating pottery has been a sacred process throughout time in Southwest Native American culture. Beginning with the gathering of clay from the earth, to forming the pot with the coil-and-scrape method, to removing the pot from the fire, the materials and techniques used by Pueblo potters have remained constant. The pieces from the Bruce’s collection will be supplemented with examples of pre-contact and contemporary Southwest pottery from other museums.

The Gallery is open Tuesday – Sunday 10 am – 5 pm, doors close 1/2 hour before closing, and the last admission is at 4:30 pm. The Bruce Museum is located on One Museum Drive in Greenwich. For more information http://brucemuseum.org.

For information on Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Instead of hectic shopping, why not have fun learning to make your own original gifts this year. No experience is necessary for the holiday workshops coming up led by talented artisans in the Litchfield Hills of Western Connecticut. With these top professionals as teachers, it is surprisingly easy to create gifts such as hand-blown glass, small metal sculptures or a fanciful gingerbread house. Many of the workshops are ideal family activities.

Glass flowers, Paperweights, Ornaments

Noted glass artist Peter Greenwood, whose work has been shown in over 20 museums, welcomes students to his studio in a picturesque 1829 stone church in Riverton to learn the art of glass blowing. Greenwood’s students have ranged from age 8 to 85.

People are amazed, Greenwood says, to see how quickly they can learn to blow into a pipe and see the glass expand into a Christmas ornament. It takes only five minutes to create one of these very personal ornaments.

For an even more impressive gift, Greenwood offers students a hands-on experience learning to twist and pull molten glass and sculpt it into a lovely glass flower or a swirled paperweight.

Classes are offered at various times Tuesday through Saturday and all materials are provided. For more information, see www.petergreenwood.com.

Fanciful Metal Sculptures

Artist/designer Karen Rossi is well known for her whimsical original small metal sculptures known as Fanciful Flights. Karen shares her creativity with students in workshops at her studio on Main Street in Torrington. In December, her Saturday workshops have holiday themes.

Santa Claus Fanciful Flights on December 6 will feature Santa figures as well as fancy presents, snowflakes and toys, ideal decorations for a tree or a window. December 13 brings Wine Angel Lights, decorating festive bottles using some of Karen’s delightful laser-cut shapes plus bead, paints, sparkles and confetti. Students on December 20 will create an original mosaic tray, a welcome gift for any hostess. For more details see www.karenrossi.com

Gingerbread Creations

At The Silo, the award-winning cooking school at Hunt Hill Farm in New Milford, workshops to create take-home gingerbread houses are a favorite holiday tradition. Teams of two or three people learn to decorate wonderful houses using over 85 kinds of candy. Teams can include children age five and up, Traditional workshops start the baking from scratch. Those with less time or with younger children can choose sessions with houses already assembled and ready to decorate.

Classes are scheduled for December 7 and 13. They are limited in size and they fill fast so early reservations are advised. See www.hunthillfarmtrust.org for more information.

An even more unusual workshop assembling and decorating a nativity scene with gingerbread, and candies will take place on December 13 from 10 a.m. to noon as part of the Christmas Festival Weekend at the Lourdes in Litchfield Shrine. Spaces are limited so phone for reservations: 860-567-1041. More details can be found at www.shrinect.org

For more information about holiday activities and a free copy of Unwind, a full-color, 152-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine in the Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County in Western Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at http://www.visitwesternct.com

The Institute for American Indian Studies traditionally believes that autumn is the season for telling stories that begins with the first frost. The Institute has planned a very special story session on November 29 at 12:30 p.m.

It is a time of great excitement as the Storyteller travels from village to village, from home to home. It is a time when everyone gathers around to share in this wonderful time, to hear what it was like when the world was new. Storytelling was and still is an integral part of the Native American tradition.

Stories were an important method of teaching the young; of passing down culture from one generation to the next. They hold many lessons and teach us the values of our cultures and show us how to live in our worlds. They often describe unacceptable behavior and express, enhance and enforce the morals and norms of tribal society.

Visitors are invited to join and enjoy this the time honored tradition of Native American Stories that teach, intrigue and entertain people of all ages. During this special time of year, gather with storyteller Janis “Four Hearts Whispering” Us, Mohawk/Shinnecock descent to enjoy her delightful and heartwarming traditional Native American stories.

“We tell our stories to entertain, but they do much more than that. They teach life’s important lessons — to young and old alike. Stories can explain the natural world around us and connect us to our past” (Janis “Four Hearts Whispering”Us) Please call for reservations. $8 Adults; $10 Children.