Connecticut Travel

In this small town just one hour from New York City, some of the finest artists in the country have called Weston, Connecticut home. In celebration of this heritage of cultivating fine art for more than a hundred years, WestonArts is proud to announce their Fall Open Studios Art Tour on Saturday, October 8th, 2016 from 11am to 5pm.

The tour begins at 11am at Weston Town Hall where participants can check in, purchase tickets $10 per person (children under 12 are free) and receive their map and catalogue with addresses for the open studios of nine of Weston’s fine artists. Visitors are invited to drive at their own pace to the studios where each artist will be on hand to discuss their techniques and their art. In addition to meeting these nationally recognized artists, visitors will have the opportunity to purchase art directly from the studios.

Art is an important part of who we are in Weston. During the tour participants will have a chance to meet widely known artists, like Frances Palmer, whose collectible ceramics and pottery are available in many fine stores as well as Hans Wilhelm at his illustration table where he has crafted more than 40 children’s books.

Tickets will be on sale throughout the day (rain/shine) at Town Hall on October 8th until 3:30PM. Online ticket sales will begin on September 7th at purchase tickets. For more area information and to sign up for our monthly newsletter www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Flanders Nature Center located in Woodbury on 5 Church Hill Road is holding a photography contest from October 14 through November 7 with prizes for the best submissions based on composition, image quality, originality and the story the image tells.

The photo contest is an invitation to capture the spirit and beauty of autumn with images that might include foliage or any activity that best depicts the season. The photos do not need to be taken on a Flanders’ property but instead can be taken anywhere that provides the photographer inspiration.

Contestants may submit up to 5 entries. All entries must be in digital formats of 6MB or less in size. Submissions should be emailed to Flanders offices by October 14. Along with an entry blank identifying the photographer of the photo for each submitted photo. The cost for one submission is $5.00, 2/$7.00, 3/ $10.00, 4/$13 and 5/$15. All proceeds to benefit Flanders programming.

Entry blanks as well as details on the contest can be found on their website at http://www.flandersnaturecenter.org or call Flanders at (203) 263-3711; Ext 10. All the submitted images will be judged by Flanders staff and experienced photography associates and shared in a special gallery on the Flanders web site after the winners have been announced on November 15, 2016.

For more area information and to sign up for a monthly newsletter on Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.litchfieldhills.com.

On Saturday, October 1, 2016 the Danbury Museum welcomes author John H. “Jack” Stetson to the museum for the launch of his newly-authored book, The Life & Times of the Great Danbury State Fair, published by Emerald Lake Books.

The book itself is presented in two part, the first having been written by Gladys Stetson Leahy in the 1950s and the second penned by her grandson, John H. Stetson. “I decided to complete the history my grandmother had started and I added my firsthand experiences of growing up in and around the fair,” shared Stetson.

Festivities will begin at 4:00 p.m. in Huntington Hall, located on the museum campus at 43 Main Street, Danbury and the event is free and open to the public. Mr. Stetson will chat briefly, at 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., about his impetus and inspiration for writing the book and sign copies for attendees.

“The Danbury Fair is an iconic and well-loved symbol of the history of our city. We were thrilled to have assisted Mr. Stetson with archival research and photos and we’re pleased that he chose the museum as the location for the launch and sale of his publication,” stated Brigid Guertin, Executive Director of The Danbury Museum & Historical Society.

Books may be purchased at the museum beginning October 1 in the gift shop. A portion of all sales at the launch and signing event date are being donated to the museum by Mr. Stetson.

Books can be pre-ordered online for pick up at the event at www.emeraldlakebooks.com

About
The Danbury Museum & Historical Society was formed in 1947 to acquire, preserve, exhibit and interpret New England’s past; focusing particularly on the heritage of Danbury. Situated in downtown Danbury, the museum preserves the John and Mary Rider House (c.1785), the Dodd Hat Shop (c. 1790), the Marian Anderson Studio and the Charles Ives Birthplace. Huntington Hall, a modern exhibit building houses the museum offices, research library and gift shop.

This exhibit presents the watercolor and oil/acrylic paintings of a group of nine artists who first met while attending classes with Marija McCarthy at the Washington Art Association. When Marija relocated, they decided to continue to paint together and keep enjoying the enthusiasm and constructive criticism they give each other. They meet all through the year either en plein air or at the Litchfield Community Center in winter. They call themselves “The Oil and Water,” as they paint in both mediums (sometimes pastels), proving they really do mix!

Roz Benedett has been painting for over thirty years. She began painting with a dear friend’s encouragement using oil paints. Presently, she belongs to the Washington Art Association, Kent Art Association and New Hartford Art League where she often presents her work in exhibitions. She won First Place at the New Milford Railroad Exhibit. She has studied with renowed artists Edward Spaulding DeVoe, Trey Friedmen, and Marija McCarthy; and recently exhibited at the The Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury for a show of Fifty Years of Marija McCarthy’s students.

Sandy Dolinsky studied graphic art in school and has always been interested in art. With friend and fellow artist Hitchy Rahilly, she founded March 7 Designs, where they designed stencils for walls and floors around Litchfield County for fifteen years. Now that her children are grown, she has returned to oil painting.

Maryellen Furse holds a degree in fine arts and paints mostly landscapes in oil. Over the past few years she has exhibited her paintings locally, including: Familiar Places, a two-person show at the Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury (2014); The Art of Painting, curated by

William Bailey at the Washington Art Association (2015); and the Member’s Exhibition at the Washington Art Association (2016). At the Member’s Exhibit, she was awarded first prize in painting juried by Hugh O’Donnell.

Jan Grody earned her B.A. in Fine Arts from Wells College in New York. She has spent much of her life in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts and now lives in Connecticut. Both settings surrounded her with beautiful and inspirational scenery. She enjoys plein air painting because it brings her out-of-doors, away from distractions and into the natural places she appreciates and cherishes. She has exhibited at the Washington Art Association, Gunn Memorial Library, and the Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury.

Carole O’Toole interest in the visual arts developed out of many years as a ballerina and then modern dance performer. The physicality and rhythmic patterns in her paintings reflect that background and her belief that “life is movement and movement is life.” Her landscape art is inspired by the glorious en plein air settings of New England, Mexico and the Caribbean. She has exhibited and taught art courses at the Washington Art Association, as well as in St. Croix and San Miguel, Mexico.

Nancy Rainsford Pistone enjoys capturing and preserving moments from her travels and local surroundings in drawings, watercolors and pastels. Her work has been included in shows at Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury, the Washington Art Association, and Mark Twain Library in Redding, CT. She has also donated art to various organizations, including Flanders Nature Center and the Roxbury Land Trust to use for fundraising events.

Hitchy Rahilly is an interior designer and has been a lapsed oil painter since her college days when she studied at the American Ecole des Beaux Arts in Fontainebleu, France. For 15 years while raising her family, she had a business designing and stenciling walls and floors with Sandy Dolinsky. Three years ago she began painting again in Marija McCarthy’s class. Now with lots of encouragement from the painting group she is back painting and loving it.

Kit Sagendorf has worked in various art departments in the publishing world; Cosmopolitan, Saturday Review, and Ladies Home Journal among others. In addition, she is a cartoonist and garden illustrator for several gardens that are on the Smithsonian Register. Kit is currently trying to master watercolors. She lives in Roxbury with her husband, Marty, and two very silly dachshunds.

Diana Swoyer has taken up painting seriously in the last few years after a 30-year career producing TV Commercials. She was introduced to the glories of painting by studying with Marija McCarthy at Washington Art Association. She has been in a number of group shows and was honored with a Washington Art Association Ferguson-Sherr-Rea Awards First Prize Works on Paper in 2015. She also has a thriving business painting pet portraits. Visit MyPetByDS.com.

In the Jamie Gagarin Community Room and Gallery: September 1- October 29. Reception- Thursday, September 1, from 5:00- 7:00 p.m. at the Oliver Wolcott Library, 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. 06759. 860-567-8030. http://www.owlibrary.org.

The members of the Merwinsville Hotel Restoration will host their 29th Annual Arts and Fine Crafts Show on Columbus Day Weekend at the Merwinsville Hotel located on 1 Brown’s Forge Rd. in Gaylordsville Connecticut. Gaylordsville. This iconic and historic railroad hotel is located in the northwest corner of New Milford and is conveniently located 15 minutes from Kent, Sherman, New Milford and the Harlem Valley/Wingdale Railroad Station.

This event will kick off with a gala preview “Meet the Artists” reception on Friday, October 7th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. In addition to a sneak peek at all the goodies for sale, there will be passed hors d’oeuvres prepared by the Community Culinary School of Northwestern CT, beverages, dessert and live music provided by Danny D. Tickets to the gala event are $25 at the door or $20 if you prepay using paypal.

The arts and crafts show opens to the public on Saturday, October 8 and runs through October 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a $2 donation at the door that will go toward the restoration of this historic gem. There will be more than 75 quality arts and crafts vendors at the Merwinsville Hotel on all three days showcasing items such as: artwork, photography, jewelry, and fine artisan crafts.

For further information, please call 860-350-4443 or visit www.merwinsvillehotel.org. To sign up for our monthly newsletter and for more area events www.litchfieldhills.com

The Barnum Museum begins its line-up of Fall programs on Sunday, October 9th at 2 pm with an illustrated talk, From the Ends of the Earth: Yale’s Peabody Museum and 150 Years of Exploration, Discovery, and Education. The program will be presented by Dr. Richard Kissel, Director of Public Programs at Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut. That museum’s current exhibition celebrates the 150th anniversary of the institution. “Treasures of the Peabody: 150 Years of Exploration & Discovery” features 150 artifacts and specimens from the museum’s collections along with stories about the scientists and researchers who have shaped people’s understanding of life on Earth. More than mere curios, these objects represent key cornerstones in our understanding of the natural world. Dr. Kissel will bring these fascinating stories to life as he talks about the parade of personalities that have been part of the Peabody’s history–including Buffalo Bill and our own P.T. Barnum!

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear the amazing stories behind the acquisition of key artifacts such as the dog-sized dinosaur fossil found in Connecticut; a specimen collected by Charles Darwin on the voyage of the HMS Beagle; the first T. rex fossil ever discovered; Gargantua the gorilla; and much more. Dr. Kissel will also discuss the connection between O. C. Marsh, a nineteenth-century American paleontologist whose enormous collection was given to Yale in 1889, and P. T. Barnum, who was an avid collector of natural history specimens for his own museums.

Dr. Kissel is a paleontologist, science educator, and author with more than 20 years of experience within the museum field. He is also a featured scientist online at NOVA’s scienceNOW and the National Park Service’s National Fossil Day site, and a faculty member for the online Museum Studies Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins University.

The program will begin at 2 pm. It is free to members, and there is a suggested donation of $5 per person for others. The talk will be held in the People’s United Bank Gallery, located behind the historic Barnum Museum building at 820 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT. On-street parking is free on Sundays. Visit www.barnum-museum.org for more information or call (203) 331-1104 during business hours Monday through Friday.

To sign up for our monthly newsletter and for more area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com