Category: Connecticut Travel

Twenty new paintings by Connecticut artist Jan Dilenschneider will be featured at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in an exhibition entitled, Eco Visions, that runs through October 5, 2017, with a reception on Sept. 28, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The exhibition will be curated by Gail Ingis. Ms. Dilenschneider’s works have been successfully featured for the last four years at the prestigious Galerie Pierre-Alain Challier in the historic Le Marais district in Paris. Ms. Dilenschneider is the only living American artist to have her work on display at the Grand Palais in Paris. In the past year her exhibitions have been featured at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts Sill House Gallery and at the Bellarmine Museum in Fairfield, Conn, where she broke attendance records. Each of these exhibitions were solo shows.

The prestigious French newspaper Le Figaro reviewed the 2015 exhibition, Nature at its Most Melodically Colorful and said, “Dilenschneider expresses her artistic sensibility unhampered by the trends and tyrannies of the art market. She wields her brush with wild passion and tremulous elation, bringing trees, flowers, grass and reeds to calm majestic life.”

“I love to highlight the beauty of nature through my paintings of vegetation, clear waters and their beautiful colors” said Dilenschneider. “Through my paintings, I encourage the viewer to fall in love with nature all over again and consider ecology at all times.”

About Dilenschneider’s Work

Dilenschneider received her training at The Ohio State University, The National Academy of Design in New York, the North Shore Art League in Illinois, and the Silvermine Arts Center in Connecticut.

“One of the most exciting moments of my life was when I was entering a painting in a juried show and Roy Lichtenstein helped me put the hooks and wire on the back,” said Dilenschneider. “He was the juror and gave me first prize for The Mourners. I was 17 years old.”

Dilenschneider has painted all her life but she is relatively new to the art scene, when it comes to its marketing aspect, as she began selling her work in the spring of 2013. “My everyday surroundings in Connecticut by the sea are a vast a resource of inspiration,” says Dilenschneider. “I am continually influenced by shore grasses bending in the breeze, blue skies reflected in the cool water, and extraordinary trees silhouetted against green lawns.”

Although the French magazine LUX, among others, called her work “the new Impressionism,” Jan considers herself an Expressionist who loves the Impressionists’ palette. Dilenschneider’s most recent work combines landscapes and abstract images. One can see in them her gradual merging of the abstract into the landscape canvases.

The French Magazine, LE MAG, wrote of Dilenschneider’s work, “Dilenschneider avoids figuration and abstraction, instead painting highly charged landscapes with strong lines and bold sometimes clashing colors. But the result is so harmonious that viewers want nothing more than to lose themselves in the contemplation of the glorious nature before them, and to make sure that it remains as stunning for generations.”

Entrance Details
The exhibition will be part of the tours’ general admission and schedule: Wed. through Sun., 12-4 p.m. 45 minute tour: $10 Adults, $ 8 seniors, $6 children 8-18 years old; 90 minute tour: $20 adults, $18 seniors, $16 children 8-18 years old. Tours and reception tickets will be available online, through the Museum’s website, or by calling 203-838-9799 ext. 4. Walk-ins will be welcomed, subject to availability. The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on schedules and programs please visit http://www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.

The Sharon Historical Society located on 18 Main Street in the historic village of Sharon has organized an exhibition and sale of art by members of the Sharon Woman’s Club through September 8, 2017.

The Sharon Woman’s Club was organized in 1910 with the purpose to stimulate and encourage all efforts toward intellectual and social betterment in the home and in the community. The organization’s motto is “In Good Things, Unity; In Small Things, Liberty; In All Things, Charity.” The Club has consistently responded to the needs in our community throughout its history, compiling an impressive and enviable catalog of civic, educational and cultural contributions and accomplishments.

There is a wide range of subject matter in a variety of media created over the past two years by the talented members of this organization. Artworks will be available for purchase. All purchases support the Sharon Historical Society & Museum’s mission.

The Gallery @the SHS is located in the Sharon Historical Society & Museum at 18 Main Street in Sharon, CT. Museum hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from noon to 4:00 PM, Saturday from 10:00AM to 2:00PM and by appointment. For more information and directions to The Gallery @the SHS, call (860) 364-5688.

Time is running out to see flamingos in their only Connecticut location this summer: The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. The Aquarium’s exclusive summer exhibit of the popular birds ends on Labor Day (Sept. 4). The flamingos have been standing – often, on one leg – in the aviary on the Aquarium’s riverfront courtyard since Memorial Day weekend. The exhibit is free with Aquarium admission.

Displayed at The Maritime Aquarium are six Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis), a larger species – 4 to 5 feet tall – native to southern South America. They’re distinguished from other flamingo species by their paler plumage, by the downward half of their bills being black, and by their greyish legs with notably pink “knees.” (Although, technically, what looks like their knees are really their “ankles.”)

Chilean flamingos are considered to be “Near Threatened,” with humans representing their main threat because of hunting, egg harvesting and by the loss of – and changes to – their natural habitats. After Labor Day, the Aquarium’s birds will return to a zoo in Louisiana.

Get details about all of the Aquarium’s summer offerings – including cruises onto Long Island Sound, a new expanded jellyfish area, and the IMAX movie “Amazon Adventure” – at www.maritimeaquarium.org.

As the summer season begins to come to an end, the country fair and festival season is just beginning. Once again, this year, the bucolic village of Colebrook located in the far northwest corner of the Litchfield Hills is hosting their annual Labor Day Weekend Festival on Sat. Sept. 2 from 9 am to 4 pm. Colebrook is an architectural gem; the heart of this village located at the crossroads of Rtes. 182A and 183 is a perfectly preserved reminder of Connecticut’s architectural past.

The Colebrook Fair began as an event of the school children at the old Center School, a two-room schoolhouse once located at the foot of Schoolhouse Road. The year was 1943, and the country was embroiled in the sad events and worries of World War II. Ruth Bushnell, the teacher of the 5th through 8th grades, came up with the idea of a children’s fair to instill a sense of happiness when happiness was in short supply and, 73 years later, the Colebrook Fair is still providing family fun with lots of smiles.

This year, fair goers will enjoy unique crafters, a variety of vendors, great food, raffles, a flea market and more. Kids can compete in pie eating or frog jumping contests, a pet show or the “make-your-own” Cardboard Boat Regatta.

The frog jumping contest dates back to the first fair held in Colebrook and kids have fun competing in several categories in this time-honored tradition. To round out the fun, kids will enjoy, face painting, a petting zoo, pony rides, games, the Fire Department’s “touch-a-truck” and smokehouse.

The 5th Annual Car Show will feature an incredible array of antique and classic vehicles. There are several awards categories and cars run the gamut from antiques, muscle and classics to imports, trucks and, new and cool!

For additional information visit the website of the fair.

There is nothing as delicious as a summer peach and the Oxford Historical Society has organized a festival to celebrate this delicious fruit on Saturday, August 26 from 4-7 pm at the Great Hill United Methodist Church, located beside the Route 188 rotary at 225 Great Hill Road in Seymour.

Thi star of this event is scrumptious homemade peach shortcake with fresh Market 32 peaches and Rich Farm handmade peach ice cream plus a choice of beverages. Admission to the festival is $1.

Each year the Peach Festival has a theme and this year’s is “Oxford 100 Years Ago”. Highlights of this theme showcase life in this small New England farming town from 1915 -1920, as residents served abroad in World War I and worked at home to support the troops. One soldier who enlisted and was wounded in France was Clarence Roberts from Quaker Farms. His letters, uniform, and a number of artifacts from his years of service will be on display.

The festival also features displays on the Hale-Coleman Peach Farm, once located on Great Hill and Peach Farm Roads. Raising peaches was once a major enterprise in Seymour and Oxford.

This summer in Salisbury every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the beautifully manicured lawn of the Scoville Memorial Library (38 Main Street) there will be a farmers market. The lawn bordered by towering maple trees is the perfect backdrop for the market that will feature a large variety of vegetables, meats, cheeses, eggs, rustic breads and more. There is plenty of on and off the street free parking making visiting this market a pleasure. The market was organized by the library to further its community mission beyond the borrowing of books and movies.

Among participants, Crooked Oak farm from Lakeville and Mountain Falls Farm from Sheffield will be bringing an large variety of vegetables. Meats including chicken, beef, pork and sausage will be provided by Skipp Hobbs of Mountain Falls in Sheffield, MA and the Cockerlines from Whipporwill Farm in Lakeville. Savory baked goods are featured by Carol Bonci including breads, focaccia, sesame salt rolls, savory turnovers, plus vegetarian pate.

Jams and jellies will be provided by Adamah Farm from Falls Village and Averill Farm of Washington Depot, who will also feature apple butter, apple cider syrup, and honey in addition to apples and pears in season. The Adamah will offer their wonderful pickles and a variety of cheeses will available from Sprout Creek Farm from Poughkeepsie and vinegars from Brother Victor.

Additionally there will be maple syrup, eggs, seedlings and eventually cut flowers and other plants. On occasion there will be special guests and chef demonstrations.