Author: James Eves

Cape Ann Artisans Leap Forward in 2021 Welcoming new Artisans, fresh work, new ideas, & a colorful video online!

The Cape Ann Artisans will once again be opening their studios to the public for the 38^th Annual Spring Tour Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6.  The tour is self-guided and includes 14 unique studios and 15 Artisans covering a wide range of media including ceramic arts, painting, jewelry, mixed media, quilting, mosaics, weaving, and more!    To get a taste of the tour, art lovers are encouraged to watch the newly produced video that features one-minute cameos with each of the artisans.   It can be found on the website, Facebook page, and YouTube.

In 2021, the Artisans welcome new artisan Sallie Strand, an abstract painter located on historic Rocky Neck.   In 2020, Chloe Leigh, a jeweler with a studio in downtown Gloucester also joined the group, but this will be her first year participating.  Sallie Strand’s newly completed, welcoming studio on Rocky Neck will be home to her collection of acrylic abstract expressionist works.   Sallie’s  collection also includes oil paintings available for viewing separately in another location.  Her creative talents are many and include a former life as a pastry chef!  Chloe Leigh has enhanced her handcrafted, eco-friendly fine jewelry collection with new works –   hand carved, custom statement and engagement rings.  2021 will surely be a boomerang year for nuptials.   

The Artisans are already feeling the rush of the return to experiencing the arts in person.  

Cynthia Curtis reports that people are coming out of the woodwork to take a class or do Independent Study with open studio time.  Cynthia has also added the Sabi Line of “imperfect” pottery to her collection.  Sabi, the art of imperfection reflects the imperfect time we all felt in 2020.

Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco, Sea Glass Wearable Art,  has recently completed two successful live events – the Line in the Sand Exhibit in Gloucester and a Sea Glass Expo in New Hampshire.   Her new collection features sea glass and leather pendants and she has done a video series on “how to wear your hair” as long hair returned over the past year.

Outside the tour itself, artisans are continually pursuing ways to enhance their skills and expand their creative footprint.   Pam Stratton, Mosaic Artist was recently accepted into NOWA National Association of Women in the Arts and has just completed a show in Marblehead. Pam has continued to beautify her garden with her mosaic art.  She has transformed a tree that had been nearly destroyed in a lightning storm while adding Koi fish to her pond and abstract sculpture atop a new granite pillar in the yard. Rob Diebboll has been creating new beach scenes with his signature figures, dogs, and birds and planning an exhibit in Newport this August.  Deb Schradieck was recently a featured artist in an exhibit at the Beauport Hotel and has been commissioned to paint a portrait of the hotel.   Marcie Rae has been focused on the technique of “chasing” to enhance her jewelry designs.  In chasing, a design is created on metal by hammering small punches into the metal and creating an indentation – or outline.  Details on all these pursuits and more can be found on the “From the Studio” blog on the Cape Ann Artisans website.

The tour is “self-guided” with 14 individual stops to visit with 15 artisans.   Visitors are encouraged to pick up a Cape Ann Chamber Map and align it with the Cape Ann Artisans brochure to follow the tour route.  The Artisans are listed in an order that follows the geography of Gloucester and Rockport.   

1. Jacqueline Ganim DeFalco – Sea Glass Jeweler
2. Deb Gonet – Painting – Mixed Media
3. David Archibald – Ceramic Arts – Porcelain & Stoneware
4. Linda Hogan – Quilter
5. Sara Wright – Fiber Arts- Handwoven & Knit Accessories
6. Cynthia Curtis – Ceramic Arts – Stoneware
7. Pam Stratton – Mosaics
8. Twin Lights Studio| Scott Place and Erin O’Sullivan – Ceramic Arts
9. Deb Schradieck – Painting–Oil & Watercolor
10. Rob Diebboll – Painting – Oil & Watercolors
11. Sallie Strand – Painting- Abstract
12. Sinikka Nogelo – Painting & Sculpture– Experimental Arts
13. Chloe Leigh – Fine Jeweler
14. Marcie Rae – Fine Jeweler

As of mid-May, the 2021 Brochure will become available at all the major tourism outlets including the Cape Ann Chamber and North of Boston CVB locations.  The Artisans will also continue their partnership with Discover Gloucester.  In an effort to become more sustainable, the Artisans have decreased the size of the brochure by 50% and have eliminated the paper map in favor of a collaboration with the Cape Ann Chamber.  The Artisans have been assigned a number on the Chamber’s Cape Ann Tourism Map where the tour can be followed according to the numbers in the brochure and you will also find many other key points of interest around Cape Ann.   Please seek out the Chamber map when picking up the CAA brochure as they will be used in concert.   An electronic map of just the CAA Tour is also downloadable from Cape Ann Artisans.

The 2020 Feedback survey gave the Cape Ann Artisans high marks in terms of Covid safety and we will continue to ask visitors to comply with State of Massachusetts regulations:  wearing of masks indoors, practicing of social distancing, and use of hand sanitizer which will be available at each studio.

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What:  The 38^th Annual Cape Ann Artisans Open Studios

Where: Gloucester and Rockport, MA.

When:   Spring Tour: Sat & Sun, June 5-6 and October 9-10^th  10AM-5PM Daily

Special Event: Mini-Tour*– Sat August 14^th  Mini-Tour Artists to be announced in the Spring.

Contact: info@capeannartisans.com or leave a message with Cynthia Curtis 978-546-6186

BIG NEWS! Windhover’s OUTDOOR SPACE is where the performing arts will thrive this summer. Live performance is back! Windhover has purchased a large, brand new, expansive outdoor stage which will hold music, theater and a large selection of live dance productions all summer long.

The Gloucester Stage Company is partnering with Windhover and is launching their summer season of four plays at Windhover from June through September. With six shows a week and running a total of 13 weeks, Gloucester Stage is launching over 75 productions on Windhover’s outdoor stage, set in the back garden. In addition to that, there is a series of experimental dance, theater and opera events on Sunday and Tuesday nights at 7:30pm titled “Never Dark Series.”

And when Gloucester Stage is not performing, Windhover is presenting a series of professional dance companies from New York which features everything from contemporary tango, to ballet and modern dance, highlighting works by Paul Taylor and Martha Graham as well as cutting edge choreographers. Michael Trusnovec, formerly a soloist with Paul Taylor Dance Co, will perform several solos including one from Taylor’s choreography titled “Spindrift”, with music by Arnold Schoenberg. Martha Graham’s works will be celebrated by performers Lloyd Knight and Xin Ying who will dance the duet “Conversation of Lovers” from the larger work titled “Acts of Light”, with music by Carl Nielsen. These two dancers were featured in the New York Times last Friday, April 30, 2021 in a glowing article titled:  ”Breathing New Life Into Dances”.    Click here to read it: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/arts/dance/martha-graham    Annmaria Mazzini will add a contemporary flair to the evening by performing works of her own sizzling choreography. All of this culminates in two stellar outdoor performances on August 27-28,2021 at 7:30pm.

Windhover will also feature local dance companies including the Rockport Dance Academy, the North Reading School of Ballet and BoSoma Dance Company, with BoSoma’s three performances featuring both their Youth Company as well as their Professional Company.

All performances will be outside in Windhover’s back garden this summer, and Covid-19 safe regulations will be in place. Tickets will be sold with seats spaced sufficiently apart, and the details of the regulations can be found on both the Windhover and Gloucester Stage websites.

Windhover’s website has been refreshed and will be continually updated with information about new performances, outdoor Master classes, open rehearsals and special events. Please check out:www.windhover.org for details. 

For the second year, Windhover is partnering with “Dykes with Drills” for a Volunteer Work Weekend on Saturday, May 29 and Sunday, May 30^th from 9:00-4:30pm. We are looking for more volunteers for painting, shingling, carpentry and gardening. You can sign up on the Windhover website for either or both days and stay for any amount of time. Refreshments will be served and tools will be provided.

Dance residencies will also be a part of our summer fabric, with several companies from New York including Cornfield Dance, Continuum Contemporary Ballet Company and Valetango Company rehearsing new pieces. Dušan Týnek Dance Theatre will be in residence at Windhover in mid-August,  preparing for the filming of Quarry Dance X at private Cape Ann quarries. Following the success of last summer’s Quarry Dance lX, this year’s quarry dance will be filmed on location for a week, followed by editing and then an online premiere of the 30-minute site-specific dance. The entire company will participate this summer, allowing for more group dance movements and intricate partnering.

Master dance classes and open rehearsals will be sprinkled into the summer calendar for the public’s enjoyment. Closing the Windhover season at the end of September into early October will be a music concert with details to be announced soon. 

Please come and enjoy live performances outdoors this summer at Windhover’s large, expansive and safe space. These events provide uplifting news for arts loving devotees of the performing arts. DANCE, MUSIC and THEATER will be celebrated and experienced after a long, challenging year! Tickets and information can be found on our website. (www.windhover.org)

I welcome everyone to these outstanding performances all summer long. Please come and enjoy.

Warm wishes,

Lisa Hahn, Executive Director                                  windhover@verizon.net

Windhover Performing Arts Center, 257 Rear Granite St. Rockport, MA. 01966  phone: 978-546-3611

40 Under 40

New exhibition showcases emerging artists from Boston’s North Shore

Dates: May 14 through June 30, 2021

Location: The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, Mass. 

The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC) reopens to the public with 40 Under 40, its first in-person exhibition since closing due to the pandemic in March 2020. The exhibit will be on view at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson St., Gloucester, from May 14 to June 30, 2021. The Center will be open Thursday through Sunday to restricted numbers of visitors admitted on a timed basis in compliance with Covid safety protocols (visit rockyneckartcolony.org for more information); the exhibit can also be viewed online at RNACExhibitions.com. 

Works for 40 Under 40 were selected by Lydia Gordon, Associate Curator for Exhibitions and Research at the Peabody Essex Museum, from a call to North Shore artists under the age of 40. 

RNAC is thrilled to present this compelling array of works by 30 artists reflecting a diversity of mediums and subject matter. Melding traditional modes of artmaking with experimental techniques and unconventional materials, these emerging artists suggest productive ways of making sense from chaos and for venturing into the unknown. Collectively, the works in the exhibition offer a vision for the future infused with continuity, expansiveness, and hope.

Committed to nurturing excellence in the arts, RNAC embraces the opportunity to amplify the voices of up-and-coming artists through exposure, encouragement, and fellowship. Related programs including artist talks, performances, and professional development workshops, made possible through a generous grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, will accompany the exhibition. Check rockyneckartcolony.org for more information.

At a time when many of the traditional means of support for artists are faltering, Rocky Neck Art

Colony has strengthened its resolve to support and celebrate the arts and to secure the organization’s legacy in order to benefit artists into the future.

Exhibiting artists: Leif Akerley, Jaime Asaro, Isabel Bacon, Natasha Baumgaertel, Melissa

Cooper, Leon Doucette, Siobhan Duncan, Morgan Dyer, Amanda Hawkins, Catherine Headrick, Belle Hornblower, Michael Lamarche, Aron Leaman, Elissa Lincoln, Nicholas Mancini, Brett Mason, Ryan Mason, Vanessa Michalak, Anthony Ohman, Cory OLeary, Sarah Osgood, Morgan Petitpas, Allison Phillips, Mallie Pratt, Lyla Roth, Alexandra Stroup Erin Survilas, William Weygint, Marika Whitaker, and Chloe Wilwerding. 

40 Under 40 has been made possible through the generous support of Mass Cultural

Council; an anonymous RNAC member and Scott Smith, Realtor.

The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC) was founded in the mid-19th century and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1973. With the creation of the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck in 2012, RNAC programs are reaching a wider demographic as the visual arts focus is expanding to include more diverse cultural and educational offerings. The Cultural Center is located at 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA 01930. For more information visit www.rockyneckartcolony.org.

Gloucester artist Vanessa Michalak gives free talk May 3

GLOUCESTER, Mass. — The Goetemann Artist Residency (GAR), part of The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC), welcomes local artist Vanessa Michalak as its 2021 Gloucester Invitational Resident. Michalak will present a free talk via Zoom, on Monday May 3 at 7 PM. The program is open to the public. For more information and a link, visit rockyneckartcolony.org/event/vanessa-michalak-opening-talk/.

Vanessa Michalak has an MFA in painting from Tufts University and School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  She also has a BSN in Nursing from the University of Maine, Orono. She was scheduled to participate in the GAR program in May 2020 but due to Covid-19 the residency was postponed to 2021. During that time Michalak continued to explore her surroundings in Gloucester, spending many days plein air painting within Dogtown, while also continuing to visually advocate for the nursing profession.

Michalak refers to her painting as “the vehicle through which I can best experience this world.” According to her artist statement, “painting helps me understand who I am, where I am and what calls my attention and expression. It is not necessarily about subject matter, although as I make my way through life there are certain themes that I have repeatedly chosen to paint: my love of the outdoors and my relationship with the profession of nursing.”

Michalak’s “The Nurse Project,” is an ongoing portrait series that honors the spirit, courage and the heart of nurses during this difficult time.

Michalak begins her residency with her talk on May 3, and wraps up her residency with a talk on Thursday, May 27. She observes, “as I continue to paint, I simultaneously proceed with both grit and surrender and in so doing, explore the world and myself.” Her stay on Rocky Neck will give her the time and space to continue this exploration. 

The Goetemann Artist Residency at Rocky Neck Art Colony celebrates diversity and creativity and seeks a range of the art of our time. It provides each of five visual artists and one teacher with a four-week stay in a two-level, live-work studio with access to the rich cultural community of Gloucester. Selected artists demonstrate a high caliber of work, originality and seriousness of purpose. Celebrating its 17th year in 2021, the Goetemann Artist Residency was founded by Gloucester painter and teacher, Gordon Goetemann (pronounced GET-a-min) in 2004 and renamed in his honor in 2010.

The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC) was founded in the mid-19th century and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1973. With the creation of the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck in 2012, RNAC programs are reaching a wider demographic as the visual arts focus is expanding to include more diverse cultural and educational offerings. The Cultural Center is located at 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA 01930. For more information visit www.rockyneckartcolony.org.

Featuring Masterworks by Historic Cape Ann Artists Offered in Rockport Art Association & Museum’s 36th Annual Art Auction on Saturday, May 1st, 2:00 PM (EST). 

Live Online Only Auction via LiveAuctioneers:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/200181_rockport-art-association-and-museum-art-auction/

Auction Preview Exhibition in the Hibbard and Maddocks Galleries of the RAA&M: 
Saturday, April 17th – Saturday, May 1st. 
Auction Preview Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Saturday, May 1st, 10:00 AM – Noon).

Bidding is available live online via LiveAuctioneers (with advanced registration) or by submitting an absentee bid with the RAA&M in advance. Auction Sneak Peek video episodes with noted Cape Ann historian and author Judith A. Curtis are featured on our website.

More information and an online photo catalog of all auction lots is posted on the RAA&M’s website: www.rockportartassn.org/auction

Over the years, the Annual Art Auction, a major fundraiser for the Rockport Art Association & Museum (RAA&M), has become a highly anticipated event. As a prestigious art auction, it attracts serious collectors throughout the country, as well as those just starting an art collection.

Live online from the RAA&M’s Hibbard Gallery, this year’s auction features works by master Cape Ann artists of the past including Harry A. Vincent, Emile Gruppé, W. Lester Stevens, Aldro T. Hibbard, Anthony Thieme, Antonio Cirino, Charles Kaelin, William Meyerowitz, Charles Paul Gruppé, Paul Strisik, Charles Vickery, Don Stone, Charles Movalli, Bernard Corey, Al Czerepak and Otis Cook, among many others. The auction specializes in Cape Ann art, but is not limited to this region and also includes works by numerous other prominent historic American artists.

The auction, now in its 36th year, began with a bequest by founding RAA&M member Antonio Cirino (1888-1983). Cirino left his artwork to the Association with the stipulation that the art be auctioned to help support the organization. The auction quickly evolved to include other historic Cape Ann artists, and has been the Association’s major annual fundraising event ever since.

“The Pivot and the Hustle” with Boston artist, Lisa Goren

May 20, 2021, 7:00pm – On ZOOM (contact Nella Lush, Experimental Group, Chair, via email experimentalgroupraa@gmail.com  for invite)

Rockport Art Association & Museum’s Experimental Group, 12 Main Street, Rockport, MA 01966   www.experimentalartgroup.com

The Experimental Group of Rockport’s Art Association & Museum is happy to host a zoom presentation with award winning artist, Lisa Goren. Learn how Goren has moved forward with her art during these difficult times. Listening, creating, and accepting that a change was needed and then taking that change to the public, as a part of her artist persona.

Artist Bio:

Lisa Goren was raised in NYC and has been working in Boston, Massachusetts for the past 25 years. She is the current Vice-President of the National Association of Women Artists (Mass. Chapter). During the Pandemic, she has been working on smaller paintings of ‘Animals Taking Over during the Quarantine’ as well as portraits of health care workers (chosen to be in The Best Art Created by Washington Post Readers During the Pandemic by Washington Post).  Lisa has also been published in the New York Times, http://nyti.ms/1PAO5mr. 

Don’t miss Lisa’s current show featuring over one hundred works at the Cotuit Center for the Arts thru May 1, 2021.

The Experimental Group is a creative forum, its main mission is to increase public awareness and to foster self-expression by bringing artists together to explore and share ideas that cultivate creative freedom. The EG is encouraged and supported by the Rockport Art Association & Museum.  

If you would like a zoom invite to the event, please contact: Nella Lush, Experimental Group, Chair, via email experimentalgroupraa@gmail.com  The Rockport Art Association & Museum (RAA&M) is one of the oldest and most active art organizations in the country. The Association has a long and distinguished history that has spanned 100 years.

Local Colors Artists’ Cooperative on Main Street in Gloucester is calling all Artists, Makers and Designers to become members. Please check out or website at local-colors.org for more information and how to apply.

Artists Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco and Leslie Heffron are pleased to announce a month-long exhibit hosted by the Jane Deering Gallery in downtown Gloucester, MA.   The exhibit is poignantly titled, A Line in the Sand.   As working artists on Cape Ann, Ganim-DeFalco and Heffron have drawn their own lines in the sand through keen observation and commitment.   The exhibition presents interpretations of the seaside through Heffron’s paintings and Ganim-DeFalco’s Wearable Art.

Along the water’s edge at the incoming tide a line is drawn. On one side of that elusive line is the ever-changing, unpredictable ocean. On the other side, among the sand’s crystals, treasures are revealed – a luminescent piece of sea glass or a piece of a lobsterman’s line peeking out.

“While seeking these treasures, we observe both the beauty and banality of the world, interpreting what we see and feel in new and meaningful ways, and create timely works of art that tell the story,” express the combined sentiments of both artists.

Over the past year, Heffron — from her perch on Pigeon Cove — observed the daily work of local lobstermen, capturing the essence of their toil and expressing their experience in acrylic paintings of both abstract and realistic renderings.  Consider these paintings portraits of a working life at the sea.

Ganim-DeFlaco has created a new line of jewelry for this themed event — dramatic pieces of sea glass outlined in leather which break a design barrier in their wake. The artist will also showcase her collection of one-of-a-kind hair accessories and jewelry that are the foundation of Cape Ann Designs.  

Join these artists at the Jane Deering Gallery for the month of April to share this experience and take home your piece of Cape Ann’s natural beauty.

Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco is a member of the Cape Ann Artisans and a founding member of the seARTS Wearable Art Group. Most recently, her work was included in Rocky Neck’s winter show, Exuberance.  The artist’s work is featured in the book Passion for Sea Glass. Since 2002, she has maintained a studio on Cape Ann. 

Leslie Heffron is a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She considers herself a large-scale colorist and is particularly interested in how colors interact with each other on a surface.  Her work has been exhibited at the White House, Washington DC; the Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania; and in numerous galleries throughout the U.S. 

Jane Deering Gallery presents contemporary art by established and emerging artists, both national and international.  The gallery has a strong interest in artists living and working on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, an area rich in artistic heritage.  The gallery first opened in 2002 on Cape Ann.  The gallery also has a focus on contemporary California artists and shows a selection of international artists represented by Purdy Hicks Gallery of London UK.

A Line in the Sand| An Exhibition hosted by the Jane Deering Gallery

19 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

JaneDeeringGallery.com

Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco – Sea Glass Wearable Art & Leslie Heffron Painter 

April 3-30^th Thursdays-Saturdays 1-6PM

April 2^nd: Preview by invitation only.

Appointments encouraged during or outside of hours.  Gallery maximum 3 persons at a time| 

COVID Compliant  

Contact:

jackie@capeanndesigns.com 978-283-8333 (LL)  CapeAnnDesigns.com

leslie@leslieheffron.com– 484-201-0026 (M) LeslieHeffron.com

Our Valentine card fundraiser at Local Colors Artists’ Cooperative at 121 Main Street, Gloucester began Friday, January 15th. The event is called “Don’t Lose Heart.” We are excited to offer handmade cards where 100% of the proceeds go to The Open Door to provide food to residents of Cape Ann. A few of our artists have designed a card which also includes a small gift such as a carved heart in a beach stone by Ann Schlecht, a ceramic heart pin made by Peter Black, a matted card photograph by Jim Sousa ready for framing or a semi precious gemstone heart by Kathy Bucholska. 

Other members have created unique Valentine cards with special designs and messages that you won’t find anywhere else. Our current hours are Friday and Sunday 12 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 6. Stop by and purchase a card for a special person while supporting your local community.

The Cape Ann Artisan’s tour continues to be a delightful and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Thanks to all the artisans for their gracious reception.     [2020 Visitor]

The Cape Ann Artisans are pleased to announce the 38^th Annual Spring and Fall Open Studios, plus a special summer Mini-Tour in 2021 based on the response of the community in the summer of 2020.    The Spring Tour is June 5-6, the Fall Tour is October 9-10, and the Mini-Tour, with a smaller group of the artisans, is planned for one day only, Saturday, August 14^th.   

For locals and visitors alike, the diversity of the artisans’ work combined with the unique setting of the studios creates a memorable day or weekend outing around Cape Ann.  The group changes slightly from year to year due to artists who choose to take a leave or new members who are juried in. In 2021, the Artisans welcome new artisan Sallie Strand, an abstract painter located on historic Rocky Neck.   In 2020, Chloe Leigh, a fine jeweler, located in downtown Gloucester also joined the group, but this will be her first year participating.

The tour is “self-guided” with 14 individual stops to visit with 15 artisans.   The full group is listed below along with their medium:

1. David Archibald – Ceramic Arts – Porcelain & Stoneware
2. Cynthia Curtis – Ceramic Arts – Stoneware
3. Rob Diebboll – Painting – Oil & Watercolors
4. Jacqueline Ganim DeFalco – Sea Glass Jeweler
5. Deb Gonet – Painting – Mixed Media
6. Linda Hogan – Quilter
7. Chloe Leigh – Fine Jeweler
8. Sinikka Nogelo – Painting & Sculpture– Experimental Arts
9. Scott Place and Erin O’Sullivan – Ceramic Arts
10. Marcie Rae – Fine Jeweler
11. Deb Schradieck – Painting–Oil & Watercolor
12. Sallie Strand – Painting- Abstract
13. Pam Stratton – Mosaics
14. Sara Wright – Fiber Arts- Handwoven & Knit Accessories

As the tourist season unfolds, the 2021 Brochure will become available at all the major tourism outlets including the Cape Ann Chamber and North of Boston CVB locations.  The Artisans will also continue their partnership with Discover Gloucester.   One significant change is that the tour locations will be noted on the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce Visitor printed map and will be downloadable from Cape Ann Artisans website, but will not be printed inside the Artisan brochure as in years past.   

The Cape Ann Artisans welcome the support of the community and the opportunity to be a partner and be listed on both the printed and online  promotional material is available until February 1.   Annually, the Artisans print and distribute over 10,000 brochures which are distributed throughout the region.   The Artisans connect with thousands of visitors and act as ambassadors to all things local – especially lodging, restaurants, and services.  If you would like to secure a partnership, please contact Pam Stratton directly at this email: pamstratton63@gmail.com.

The 2020 Feedback survey gave the Cape Ann Artisans high marks in terms of Covid safety and we will continue to ask visitors to comply with State of Massachusetts regulations:  wearing of  facial coverings, practice of social distancing, and use of  hand sanitizer which will be available at each studio.

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What:  The 38^th Annual Cape Ann Artisans Open Studios

Where: Gloucester and Rockport, MA.

When:   Spring Tour: Sat & Sun, June 5-6 and October 9-10^th  10AM-5PM Daily

Special Event: Mini-Tour* – Sat August 14^th  Mini-Tour Artists to be announced in the Spring.

Contact: info@capeannartisans.com or leave a message with Cynthia Curtis 978-546-6186

QUARRY DANCE lX is featured on Cape Ann’s community cable television station, 1623 Studios, every night at 7:00PM from now through January 2^nd, 2021 on channel 67. Anyone on Cape Ann who subscribes to X Finity Comcast can watch it.

The 33 minute film is followed by a question and answer session moderated by Maureen Aylward and includes the Quarry Dance lX team of dancers, the musician, videographer, choreographer and producer. Tune in to see it on your TV screen.

For those not on Cape Ann, the film is now available on YouTube, as well as on the Windhover website here at www.windhover.org

If you enjoy watching the Quarry Dance lX film and are able to donate any amount to Windhover which is a 501©3 non-profit organization, please use the DONATE button on the www.windhover.orgwebsite. Any amount is appreciated in order to support and sustain programs for the performing arts like this one. Checks made payable to Windhover are also acceptable. The arts matter more now than ever! Thank you for caring.

During this unprecedented time in our lives, when the arts were curtailed due to the pandemic, Windhover emerged as a refuge for performing artists. Choreographers and their dancers needed space to work, and a select number of companies came to Windhover this summer to reside, to rehearse new work, to hold open rehearsals and for some companies, they were engaged in making films of their dances. Aside from all of that, Windhover was able to produce for the first time, a 33 minute new film titled: Quarry Dance lX. It was the result of a bold decision by choreographer Dušan Týnek who brought his dancers to reside at Windhover for a week, two at a time, in order to film a newly created dance performed live for the video camera, at three private Cape Ann quarries.

Our gift to the public is this 33 minute film which can now be accessed on YouTube, as well as on the Windhover.org website. The local Cape Ann community cable station at 1623 Studios plans to show it on a regular schedule starting soon. (channel 12 here on Cape Ann)  The film elicited praise from two acclaimed dance critics; Marcia Siegel, as well as New York based critic Deborah Jowitt. The links are attached here:  Dancing on Stone and in Water – Deborah Jowitt and the second review is  Reclaiming Space – Marcia Siegel

Through your financial support, Windhover has been able to remain open this past summer, sustain its dance residencies and was able to produce the Quarry Dance lX film. We could not have achieved this without your support. Every friend and donor counts, especially during these most challenging times. Please consider making a year-end gift of any amount to our non-profit 501©3 organization. Donations are fully tax deductible. Just click on the DONATE button on the www.windhover.org website, which links to paypal. Alternatively, old fashioned checks are still acceptable as well. You can make the check payable to Windhover and send to P.O Box 2249, Rockport, Ma. 01966

As we embark on our year-end campaign, we want you to know that exciting plans are in the works for  2021, with many more outdoor live performances next summer. With ample space to spread out, Windhover is able to welcome audiences in its back garden where its outdoor stage will be utilized for live performances, seen here in a photo taken this week in December during a recent winter snowstorm. We hope you can help sustain Windhover to ensure its continued success and growth. 

With warm wishes,

Lisa

To our Windhover friends and supporters:

We invite you to watch the uplifting QUARRY DANCE lX Film on the Windhover website starting today at: www.windhover.org

Your donation (of any amount) on GIVING TUESDAY enables us to present performances for the public to enjoy. During these challenging times, the arts matter more than ever, and with your support, we can continue to serve the community and present more works of art like this one. Please help Windhover by making a tax deductible contribution to us today. And please enjoy Quarry Dance lX which brings the memories of summer back into our thoughts with the beauty of the water, the birds and the quarries of Cape Ann. Thank you…

Leslie considers herself a large scale colorist and her acrylic paintings and colored pencil drawings reflect her love for bold colors and shapes. She paints area favorites; a Good Harbor beach lifeguard chair, a Twin Lights soda bottle, Willow Rest, and, in particular, Pigeon Cove Harbor imagery. 

Since COVID slowed everything down, the artist has spent a good deal of time close to home in Pigeon Cove where she takes daily walks to the harbor in her neighborhood. There she observes the activity on both the wharf and water, takes photos, and uses the images to create paintings, drawings, and videos back in her studio. “Pigeon Cove Harbor is a magical place with beautiful light and color… truly a painter’s paradise,” said Ms. Heffron.  The Matz Gallery show includes several pieces which resulted from her observations of the cove, including a life-size portrait of one of the lobstermen.

The artist holds a diploma in studio art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and both a teaching certificate and Master’s Degree in Art Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.  Ms. Heffron is a member of the Rocky Neck Art Colony, the Rockport Art Association Experimental Group, and an associate member of the North Shore Art Association. She has exhibited her work at the White House, Allentown Art Museum, Kutztown University, Muhlenberg College, and galleries throughout the United States. 

Visit the artist’s website: www.leslieheffron.com to view more of her work and watch her interview with Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco on 1623 Studios’ Cape Ann ARTWaves at:

In the spirit of the holidays, every year the Rockport Art Association and Museum presents the Annual Live Christmas Pageant to the Rockport–and Cape Ann–communities at large.  This year, the pageant was to be held Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 5PM  

Yet with Covid-19, the wellbeing of our community coming first, and strict safety protocol in place town wide, this year the Pageant takes on a new and exciting presentation.  Together with Willoughby’s on Main street, the Rockport Art Association and Museum has created for you a still life of the stable scene and the birth of Jesus along with a display of the magnificent costumes of the Three Kings.  (Pease see photos attached to this email.) This Willoughby’s window scene will be available for you, your family, friends, and the entire Cape Ann community to enjoy through the month of December.  We sincerely hope you enjoy, and look forward to joining you in a return to a live Christmas Pageant in 2021! 

For more information regarding the Rockport Art Association and Museum’s Annual Live Christmas Pageant, we invite you consult the Overview of the Pageant included below, and to check out our website at: www.rockportartassn.org 

A brief Overview of the RAA&M Christmas Pageant: 

The Beginning 

It all began back in 1945 with artist Jackie Hibbard, wife to famed artist Aldro Hibbard.  It was she who first suggested that the Rockport Art Association & Museum produce a Christmas pageant.  Unlike anything ever seen on Cape Ann before, this pageant would not take place on a theatre stage with actors but rather, would be a living, breathing procession composed of local neighbors and friends moving through the streets of downtown Rockport as they reenacted the story of Mary, Joseph and the birth of the Baby Jesus. 

The Procession  

Each year hundreds of spectators gather to watch this live re-enactment of the Nativity.  The pageant begins in the Rockport Art Association & Museum’s Hibbard and Maddocks galleries, where a cast of 100 people of all ages playing various roles of Roman soldiers, townspeople of Bethlehem, shepherds, and more gather to don costumes and makeup.  Then, with torches in hand, they file out of the Art Association and head down Stone Barn Lane to Dock Square, where the pageant begins in earnest.   

From Dock Square Torch Bearers and three Roman Soldiers escort Mary and Joseph along Main Street, followed by dozens of townspeople dressed as Ladies of Bethlehem, Children of Bethlehem and Shepherds.  (Customarily, a donkey follows to assist Mary on her journey.)  Desperate for shelter, Mary and Joseph stop at the Inn (played—fittingly enough—by the Rockport Art Association & Museum) only to be informed by the Innkeeper and his daughter that there is no room at the Inn and turned away.  

Yet good fortune smiles down upon the Holy Family when the Innkeeper’s daughter takes pity on the couple in the cold winter night and suggests they stay in the stable where the sheep and goats rest.  Before the couple leaves, the Innkeeper offers Mary and Joseph a drink of water from their well.  Then the Innkeeper’s daughter escorts Mary and Joseph up to the stable (situated on the lawn of the First Congregational Church) where Mary proceeds to give birth to her son, Jesus of Nazareth.  

After the birth, the Three Kings proceed to offer homage with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh while children, too, offer gifts, including two white doves.  The celebration concludes with a moving rendition of “Silent Night” sung by all in attendance. 

Featured Role: Mary 

Determining who shall play the coveted role of Mary requires a selection process that is a tradition in itself.  Choosing Mary is always a difficult task for the pageant director.  The decision must meet a number of criteria:  Historically candidates are between the ages of 17-20.  The chosen Mary must have participated in the pageant for a number of years. (Many girls have been in the pageant for six or seven years.)  The person who plays the role of Mary changes every year.  

The identity of the person portraying Mary is kept secret until she appears the night of the pageant.   

Baby Jesus 

Given the seasonably-cold temperatures that come with holding a live outdoor pageant in December, the role of the Baby Jesus understandably calls for a stand-in.  The Baby Jesus is a newborn doll larger-than-average, specifically so the crowd can see him.  Especially the children.  

Costumes 

From Mary, Joseph, the Three Kings, and Roman Soldiers, to Torch Bearers, Shepherds, Ladies’ of Bethlehem, Children of Bethlehem, Innkeeper, Innkeeper’s Daughter, Children at the Well, and Dove Children, the Rockport Art Association & Museum literally has hundreds of costumes for every role and in every size for everyone who wishes to participate.  Generations of families who participated as children now bring their own children and continue to participate themselves. 

“Virtual” Opening Reception on Facebook: Saturday, December 5, 2020 2P.M. 

Exhibit closes: Thursday, December 31, 2020 

Following the exceptional success of last year’s inaugural exhibition, this December the Rockport Art Association & Museum will again be holding an exhibition of national scope and proportions!  The RAA&M National 2020 is an open invitational for artists across the United States to exhibit artwork crafted in a diverse number of media (drawing, mixed media, collage, photography, painting, digital art and sculpture) here at the Rockport Art Association & Museum.  It is an opportunity to show artwork that reveals the diversity of the Creative Community around us here on Cape Ann, and an occasion to introduce new artistic influences from beyond this region to artists and the public alike. 

With the extremely generous and selfless support of public institutions and private individuals over $5,000 in prize money is to be awarded for superlative works in the categories of drawing, mixed media, collage, photography, painting, digital art and sculpture.  The Institution for Savings is sponsoring the show itself, while several private individuals and public institutions likeBankGloucester have elected to sponsor prizes.

Our two judges are the nationally-recognized and Cindy House (www.cindyhouse.com) for the category of traditional art, and the holder of Gordon College’s Lothlórien Distinguished Chair in the art department, Professor Bruce Herman in the category of contemporary art (www.bruceherman.com.)  Through a juried selection process the artwork is judged, with winning pieces being awarded monetary prizes ranging from $250. to $1,000. apiece.   

For more information regarding the RAA&M National, we invite you to check out our website at:. https://www.rockportartassn.org/raam-national-2020.