Connecticut Travel

Fifteen internationally acclaimed local artists will show selections from their works in “Thinking Visually: The Art of Connecticut Illustrators,” an exhibition celebrating the rich diversity of illustration as an art form that will run through Sunday, Dec. 3, in the Visual and Performing Arts Center Art Gallery at Western Connecticut State University.The exhibition will be open for public viewing during gallery hours from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission for gallery viewing is free and open to the public.

The exhibition will provide a sweeping presentation of works encompassing a broad spectrum from popular children’s book illustrations, magazine covers, cardboard constructions and stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service to evocative graphic images for cartoons, albums, advertising, video games, films and television series. Each of the participating illustrators resides in Connecticut and has attained critical recognition nationally and abroad through unique contributions to the art of illustration.

Artists who will be featured in the show include: Guy Billout, Leslie Cober-Gentry, Robert Crawford, Bruce Degen, Randy Enos, Robert Giusti, James Grashow, Gerard Huerta, Roger Huyssen, Christine Kornacki, Ross MacDonald, Wendell Minor, Jon Sideriadis, Bill Thomson and David Wenzel.

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To honor the men and women who have served – and are serving – our country, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is offering free admission to veterans and current active-duty military during the month of November.

The Maritime Aquarium offers a $10 admission discount to veterans year-round. But, throughout the month in which we mark Veterans Day, we are happy to expand our offer to veterans for completely free admission. Admission is always free to those currently serving in any branch of the military, not just in November.

Maritime Aquarium admission is $22.95 for adults, $20.95 for youths (13-17) and seniors (65+), and $15.95 for children (3-12). Admission includes a 40-minute IMAX® movie.

ID/proof of service is required at the door to receive the veterans’ and active-duty discounts. (The offer is not available with advance online purchases.)

Also thoughout the month of November, Aquarium guests will be encouraged to fill out thank-you notes, which will be forwarded by Operation Gratitude to those currently serving in our Armed Forces.

As a bonus during Veterans Day Weekend, on Sat., Nov. 11 and Sun., Nov. 12, three military vehicles will be onhand for exploration and photos during “Military Touch-A-Truck.” Sit inside a World War II Jeep, a 1950 M38 Jeep and a 1987 Humvee (HMMWV) during the special visits. You can even pop a helmet on for a photo!

In addition, on Sat., Nov. 11, who better to join in on the Aquarium’s three daily seal-training demonstrations than a decorated former U.S. Navy SEAL? Capt. Peter Wikul retired in 2009 after a 39-year Navy career with the honorific title of “Bullfrog 13” as the longest-serving active-duty SEAL. His roles included deputy commander of Special Operations Command South and commanding officer of the Kennedy Irregular Warfare Center at the Office of Navy Intelligence.

Wikul will participate in the seal trainings on Nov. 11 at 11:45 a.m. and 1:45 & 3:45 p.m. He actually will be the second Navy veteran in the Aquarium’s seal exhibit: in the 1980s, Rasal the harbor seal was trained by the Navy to retrieve objects from the sea floor.

Between the demonstrations on Nov. 11, Wikul will be onhand to talk with Aquarium guests about the Navy and his experiences as a SEAL.

Plus, on Nov. 11th, 12th & 13th, veterans are free to come aboard The Maritime Aquarium’s special “Scenic Coastal Cruises,” departing each day at 1 p.m. (Tickets for non-veterans are $29.95, or $24.95 for Aquarium members.) Space aboard the R/V Spirit of the Sound™ is limited, so advance registration is strongly suggested for these 2-hour cruises, which will follow the beautiful Connecticut coastline as Aquarium educators point out historic lighthouses, gorgeous waterfront homes and other sights. Advance registration is by phone only: (203) 852-0700, ext. 2206. Tickets will be sold at the dock, space permitting. ID/proof of service is required at the dock prior to boarding.

Get details about all of the Aquarium’s current exhibits, programs, IMAX® movies and more this fall at www.maritimeaquarium.org.

The Victorian Tea is being held this year at the Lockwood Mathews Mansion on November 12 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. A highlight of this event is the formal traditional English tea for tea lovers, history buffs, and anyone looking to escape everyday life surrounded by the timeless splendor of this iconic National Historic Landmark. Tickets are $35 for members and $45 for non-members and are available online.

In addition to the formal tea, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will feature a talk and book signing by Esther Crain, author of The Gilded Age in New York, 1870-1910. Published in 2016, this fascinating account of the Gilded Age in New York City takes a broad look at the political and social changes during one of the most transformative eras in the city’s history.

Ms. Crain is also the founder and editor of the very popular and well-reviewed website, Ephemeral New York, which chronicles the city’s past. Ephemeral New York has been featured in numerous publications including the New York Times, New York Daily News, and New York Post. Ms. Crain regularly works with historical groups and non-profit organizations to give talks and walking tours that explore the hidden remains and forgotten pockets of New York City.

The Discovery Museum and Planetarium in Bridgeport is pleased to present the saturated colors and vivid patterning of New York-based artist Gloria Garfinkel, showing in the Center Gallery, through November, 2017. Garfinkel’s works embed bright and colorful arrays into an animated geometry inspired by origami paper folding objects and techniques.

In Garfinkel’s paintings, colorful patterns are energized by mounting them on aluminum panels constructed so that they are able to be manipulated by the viewer. In addition to these panels, Garfinkel presents a number of maquettes of proposals for flamboyant triumphant gateways, influenced by Japanese forms, for public art.

In the range of work presented in this exhibition, Garfinkel continues her fascination with the wide variety of patterns to be found in traditional Japanese fabrics. She takes these patterns and juxtaposes them with others, creating fields of conflicting color that act on the eye in lively ways.

The most distinctive body of work presented in this exhibition consists of striped wall panels, fabricated in aluminum, with inset sections that rotate when manipulated by the viewer. Garfinkel has accommodated patterning to the optical potential of moving discs by processing patterns through mathematics, the basis of most of her pattern work. If one wishes to see a wilder arrangement, the viewer is free to rotate the disk of stripes until, either diagonally or horizontally, the stripes prod the horizontal with a different energy level.

Garfinkel’s introduction of viewer manipulation is novel: it is also derived from Japanese influence, where careful arrangement of forms in very particular ways is part of the aesthetic experience. In this synthesis, Garfinkel has devised a uniquely approachable and participatory form of wall art.

In Garfinkel’s Flip pieces, squares, diamonds and tondos are divided in half into planes of soft color again derived from Japanese prototypes. An inconspicuous hinge running down the center of the panel reveals an overlaid panel that can be moved on the hinge to cover over either half of the circle and re-present the overall circle with a new arrangement of colors. Garfinkel, in her painting, combines a keen sense of the energy emitted by colors arranged vis-à-vis other colors, with a grounded drive to realize physical-sculptural ideas in finely fabricated devices.

The Festival of Crafts Holiday Craft show, sponsored by the Brookfield Historical Society, will be held on Saturday, November 4, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Whisconier Middle School gymnasiums located on West Whisconier Road off of Route 25 in Brookfield.This event draws more than forty juried vendors that will have items on sale during the highly-anticipated event.

A large selection handmade crafts will provide festival goers with a unique opportunity to purchase, truly, one of a kind gifts, at reasonable prices.

The Festival of Crafts has grown to be one of the largest and most successful pre-holiday sales events of its kind throughout the northwest region of the state. Among the many item for sale this year are jewelry, decorative pieces, folk art, personal grooming articles, soaps, soft sculptures, clothing, baskets, handbags, candles, assorted holiday treasures, edible delicacies, wood crafts, pet items and a host of diverse choices that can be bought as gifts or for home use.

Admission for adults is $5 or $4 with a coupon that appears on the Brookfield Historical Society Web Page. Children 12 and under enter free. For more information and admission discount coupons, visitors are encouraged log onto www.brookfieldcthistory.org

In addition to touring this magnificent mansion the Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum on 295 West Ave. in Norwalk in collaboration with the Rowayton Arts Center, will present Gilded Age Redux, a juried group exhibition through Jan. 7, 2018, 12-4 p.m.

This exhibit of original artwork is focused on today’s interpretation of the 19th century Gilded Age. Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum invited RAC artists to interpret this turbulent yet seminal period of recent American history and draw parallels with today’s social, political, and economic environment. The resulting works selected for this exhibit span the spectrum, from traditional-style still life paintings, to posed photographic references, to purely abstract gestural images, demonstrating the rich vein of material that the Gilded Age contains.

Juried and curated by Trustees Julyen Norman and Gail Ingis, the exhibition will feature artists: Sandra Farley Aldrich, Bridget Cusack, Dawn Dahl, Jo Ann Davidson, Katherine Draper, Laure Dunne, Sawyer Hanlon, Judy Katz, Emily Kelting, Dana Laird, Heidi Lewis Coleman, Judy Noel, Pamela Tucker, and Richard Ventre.

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark. The exhibit will be on view as part of LMMM’s tours. For more information on schedules and programs please visit: www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.