Author: Kimsmithdesigns

Documentary filmmaker, photographer, landscape designer, author, and illustrator. "Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly" currently airing on PBS. Current film projects include Piping Plovers, Gloucester's Feast of St. Joseph, and Saint Peter's Fiesta. Visit my websites for more information about film and design projects at kimsmithdesigns.com, monarchbutterflyfilm.com, and pipingploverproject.org. Author/illustrator "Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden."

High Street Ladies Art Show 2015

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The High Street Ladies will hold a show and sale of their artwork at the Hall-Haskell House, 36 South Main Street, Ipswich. An opening reception with light refreshments will be held on Friday, September 25 from 5-8PM.  Saturday and Sunday show hours are 12–4PM. 
High Street Ladies 2015.pdf
 
The High Street Ladies are Cara Connors, Marion Frost, and Sarah Winderlin, next-door neighbors and artists who together have shown their watercolors, photography and mixed-media art for the past 10 years. A sampling of their work is on the attached flyer. 
 
We hope to see you there!

 

THE SYMPHONIC SPECTACULAR Features Mussorgsky, Ravel & Gershwin CAS Players Take Centerstage

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CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

THE 64th SEASON: A SEASON TO REMEMBER

Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director

 The sultry concert program for the Symphonic Spectacular concert features passionate masterpieces including Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition,George Gershwin’s An American in Paris and Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. Members of the orchestra are featured in the classic works. Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is a tour de force as orchestrated by Bolero composer Maurice Ravel. Mussorgsky originally composed Pictures for piano only and wrote the piece in memory of his close friend and artist Victor Hartmann who died suddenly at the age of 39. An exhibition of more than 400 of Hartmann’s works was mounted in the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg which Mussorgsky attended. Pictures at an Exhibition evokes a person strolling through the exhibit and stopping along the way to contemplate the various paintings and drawings on view.

BethMunnGriffinPercussionist Beth Munn Griffin

RandyOKeefeLeadTrumpetCAS Lead Trumpet Player Randy O’Keefe

Continue reading “THE SYMPHONIC SPECTACULAR Features Mussorgsky, Ravel & Gershwin CAS Players Take Centerstage” →

MONARCH CATERPILLAR NONUPLETS

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Thank you so much to my friends Charles and George Ryan and Mom Catherine for helping with my Monarch film project. 

Charles and George Ryan Monarch caterpillars ©Kim Smith 2015

Nature’s Compass ~  My current group of nine Monarchs are synchronized, all lined up on a north-south axis and pupating within moments of each other.

Monarch caterpillars north south ©Kim Smith 2015JPG

From the moment a caterpillar emerges, internally it begins to form the adult parts of its body. Adult Monarchs have magnetic receptors along the inner margins of their thorax, which help guide them on their south to north, north to south migration. I wonder if the magnetic receptors are here at work in the caterpillars north-south pattern of pupating.

Monarch caterpillars J-shape, pupating ©Kim Smith 2015All nine hung in a J-shape on the north-south axis as well. Since I took this photo three more have also pupated on the north-south axis. In the above photo, you can see the center caterpillar and caterpillar to the far left are in the midst of changing from a caterpillar to a chrysalis (pupating).

 

 

 

 

Wearable Art Fashion and Runway Show

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Get your tickets now for Cape Ann’s Premiere Fashion Show
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ISRAEL HOROVITZ “GLOUCESTER BLUE” NOW PLAYING AT THE GLOUCESTER STAGE

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Israel Horovitz Gloucester Blue cast -1 ©Kim Smith 2015

Francisco Solorzano, Esme Allen, Israel Horovitz, Robert Walsh, and Lewis. D. Wheeler

A New England premiere of a new play by Israel Horovitz, the founding artistic director of Gloucester Stage, is always an event to celebrate. “Gloucester Blue, ” now playing through October 3rd, is no exception. This incisive and dark comic thriller is propelled by the secret desires that explode from its four characters. The story begins when trust fund babies Lexi and Bradford Ellis hire a housepainter named Stumpy to fix up their luxury Gloucester home. When Stumpy’s regular partner can’t do the job, Stumpy enlists a dubious character named Latham to help him, and that’s when the trouble begins. In no short order, smoldering passions are ignited that quickly turn to unexpected violence. The second act of this two-act play takes you on a roller-coaster ride of twists and turns that you’ll never expect.

The four-person cast brilliantly brings the characters to life. Working their craft on the imaginative set designed by Jenna McFarland Lord, Francisco Solorzano (Stumpy), Robert Walsh (Latham), Lewis D. Wheeler (Bradford Ellis) and Esme Allen (Lexi) create vivid characters that both provoke laughter and make your heart stop with their incendiary revelations. Their interplay is electric as they strive to reveal the darkest secrets of others while concealing their own.

For more information, visit gloucesterstage.com.

Israel Horovitz Gloucester Blue ©Kim Smith 2015

BUTTERFLY DREAM SERIES

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Pearl Crescent Butterflies ©Kim Smith 2015

Pearl Crescent Butterflies -2©Kim Smith 2015Pearl Crescent female left, male right ©Kim Smith 2015Pearl Crescent Butterflies, female left, male right

Pearl Crescent Butterflies -7 ©Kim Smith 2015Pearl Crescent Butterflies -4 ©Kim Smith 2015See More Photos Here Continue reading “BUTTERFLY DREAM SERIES” →

PASSPORTS COMMUNITY DINNER NIGHT TO BENEFIT LOCAL CHEF JIMMY BROWN

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THREE COURSE FABULOUS PASSPORTS DINNER FOR ONLY FIFTEEN DOLLARS!!!

Join us Tuesday night, September 22, for our community dinner night in support of local chef James “Jimmy” Brown who needs a kidney transplant.

  • 4 – 9 pm
  • 3 Course Dinner
  • $15.00
  • 10% of Proceeds Go To Your Organization
  • Reservations Suggested

The Open Door Autumn Breakfast

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Join us Thursday, October 22nd from 7:30am to 9:30am, for a morning of community celebration and thanksgiving as we gather to kick-off the Food Drive and Holiday Basket season. Breakfast is free. Reservations required. info@foodpantry.org

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ROCKPORT FARMER’S MARKET TODAY FROM 9AM TO 1AM

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Rockporters Nichole, James, or Sarah Kelly I would love to know who designed the Rockport Farmer’s Market logo? Is it the same person who does all your gorgeous event’s logos? I think they are all beautiful and especially love the design for the Farmer’s Market.1048077_621736324510649_184966018_o

Celebrate Wearable Art

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Hear from the artists featured in seARTS’ Wearable Art Show

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (September 18, 2015) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present highlights from seARTS’ 2015 Celebrate Wearable Art III show including an expert panel discussion on fashion and wearable art’s place on Cape Ann and beyond. This program will take place on Thursday, October 1 at 7:00p.m and is offered in collaboration with seARTS. Tickets are $10 Museum members/$15 nonmembers. Reservations are required. Please contact (978) 283-0455 x10 or info@capeannmuseum.org for tickets and reservations. Tickets can also be purchased online at Eventbrite.

http://www.capeannmuseum.org/media/eventbrite-logo.png

For information about the Celebrate Wearable Art III show on September 27, please contact seARTS directly at (978)281-1222.

Whether born, working or living on Cape Ann, the panelists of Celebrate Wearable Art have used their skills in varying ways. Hear from ceramicists, jewelry-makers, fashion designers and metal smiths at the beginning of their careers or some with over thirty years of experience.

 

The Celebrate Wearable Art expert panel discussion will be moderated by George Summers, fiber artist and retail shop manager for the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts and Gail McCarthy, Arts Editor for the Gloucester Daily Times. Panelists, including Diane K.W., Beth Williams and Jen Greeke will discuss their inspiration, techniques and process. On display will be the wearable art of panelists K.W. and Greeke, as well as Camilla MacFadyen, Richard Crangle and Donna Caselden.

 

Image: Designed by Gina Russo and Beth Genovese of Sage Floral Studio. Clark Linehan Photo.

 

THERE’S AL AT THE HELM OF THE GREEN DRAGON SCHOONER!

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HAPPY WARM DAYS OF LATE SUMMER EVERYONE! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Schooner Green Dragon Gloucester Schooner Festival Al Bezanson ©Kim Smith 2015Al Bezanson’s Green Dragon Schooner is in the foreground with the Schooners Mystic and Roseway in the background. Click to view larger. I’ve been too swamped and neglected to post Schooner Fest photos and will try to schedule this weekend although there have been so many gorgeous photos posted, more may be redundant.

Robin Young Key Note Speaker at the Women’s Fund of Essex County’s Grant Awards Luncheon

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Women’s Fund of Essex County’s Grant Awards Luncheon Featuring Robin Young, Emmy Award Winning Television Host

 

Essex County, MA, September, 2015- The Women’s Fund of Essex County will host its 13th Annual Grant Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 from 11:30 am until 2:00 pm at the DoubleTree by Hilton Boston North Shore, 50 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA. The Annual Luncheon will recognize and honor fifteen nonprofit agencies that provide outreach and life skills to women and girls in Essex County. It will celebrate the success of the grant award recipients and recognize their outstanding efforts to improve the lives of women and girls. In 2015, The Women’s Fund was proud to award $230,000 to local organizations.

Keynote Speaker of the Luncheon is Robin Young. Robin brings more than 25 years of broadcast experience to her current role as host of Here & Now. She is a Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker who has also reported for NBC, CBS, and ABC television and for several years and was a substitute host and correspondent for “The Today Show.”

Robin has received several Emmy Awards for her television work, as well as cable’s Ace award, the Religious Public Relations Council’s Wilbur Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Gold Award. She has also received radio’s regional Edward R. Murrow award. Perhaps most notably, Robin was one of the first hosts on the groundbreaking television show “Evening Magazine”.

Founded in 2003, The Women’s Fund of Essex County’s mission is to promote philanthropy and to raise and distribute funds to organizations that provide opportunities and promote solutions for women and girls in need throughout Essex County. Since 2003, The Women’s Fund has awarded over $1 million to over 80 non-profit programs. The Women’s Fund is a field of interest fund of the Essex County Community Foundation located in Danvers, MA.

To purchase tickets to the Luncheon and learn more about The Women’s Fund, please visit www.thewomensfundec.org.

For information regarding the Press Release, contact Susan Beckmann, (617) 733-6367, susan.beckmann@verison.net or Lynn Bryant, (617) 633-9175.

Bye Bye Little Cottage

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unnamed-2By Terry Weber
 
On September 15, the little cottage on Magnolia Beach (63 Raymond Street in Manchester) was knocked over. The property (house and .47 acres) sold in July for 1.2 million bucks. It was built in 1940 and had 2 bedrooms and one bath. 
 
Just wanted to say goodbye to the Little Cottage as small cottages on prime waterfront property are becoming extinct. I liked looking at it from the beach and I’m sure it provided a wealth of happy cozy memories in its time. 
coming downunnamed

before demolitionunnamed-1

Cape Ann Museum hosts Educators’ Open House

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Cape Ann Museum hosts Educators’ Open House

Bringing local art and history into the classroom.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (September 12, 2015) – The Cape Ann Museum warmly welcomes all curious and creative educators to an Open House onTuesday, September 29 from 4:00p.m. to 6:00p.m. Meet with local teachers while exploring the galleries and learn about the many ways in which the Museum’s collections are being used in the classroom today. For more information, please email Liza Browning atlizabrowning@capeannmuseum.org or call (978) 283-0455, x16.

cid:part4.00060309.09080301@capeannhistoricalmuseum.orgEarly in the evening, past and present local teachers will be on hand to share their experiences collaborating with the Museum and Museum Educator Liza Browning. Following tours of the galleries, Senior Researcher Melissa Trafton will guide educators through a demonstration of Fitz Henry Lane Online. This state-of-the-art web-based resource combines a free public catalog of world-renowned American marine artist Fitz Henry Lane’s paintings and drawings, with research into the history of the 19th-century coastal life he portrayed in his works. Former CAM Director of Education Courtney Richardson will join Trafton to model lesson plans that put to use the many facets of this online tool, including original documents pulled from the Museum’s archives – most rarely seen by the public – which offer a fuller understanding of the history of fishing, maritime activity and life along the New England coast. The evening concludes with a wine and cheese reception where teachers will have a chance to share ideas and discuss future collaborations. Educators from schools throughout the North Shore are welcome to attend free of charge. 

The Museum hosts field trips and offers classroom visits throughout the year. Museum Educator Liza Browning will be available for question regarding this resource.  

The Fitz Henry Lane Online project is generously funded by: Danversbank Charitable Foundation, John H. and H. Naomi Tomfohrde Foundation, Wyeth Foundation for American Art and National Endowment for the Arts.

 

 

Image: Fitz Henry Lane (1804–1865). Gloucester Harbor at Sunrise, c. 1850, oil on canvas. Cape Ann Museum. Gift of Judge Lawrence Brooks, 1970. [Acc. #2020]

 

BON VOYAGE BONNIE BONAPARTE’S

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Bonaparte's Gulls Gloucester ©Kim Smith 2015Perhaps the last batch of photo as I haven’t observed any Bonaparte’s Gulls for several days. What a treat to have these beautiful creatures grace our shores!Bonaparte's Gull diving Gloucester ©Kim Smith 2015

 

Bonaparte's Gulls Gloucester -2 ©Kim Smith 2015

Artist Talk with Copley Society of Art’s Abby Lammers at the Cape Ann Museum

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Join Abby Lammers, recipient of the 2015 Charles Family Cape Ann Residency.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (September 12, 2015) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present, in partnership with the Copley Society of Art (CoSo), an artist talk with this year’s artist-in-residence, Abby Lammers on Sunday, September 20 at 2:00p.m. in the auditorium. This program is free for CoSo and CAM members or with admission to the Museum. The residency was created by the Charles Family Foundation as a dedication to and promotion of the North Shore and Boston art communities. For more information email info@capeannmuseum.org or call (978) 283-0455 x10.

Lammers will discuss her development as an artist with a love of design. She will present her process and touch upon her influences in color and composition. Examples of finished works and sketchbooks will be on display.

http://www.abbylammers.com/uploads/1/3/5/1/13512065/674848.jpg“I try to portray a unique vision of my subjects, so that everyday life becomes a little less invisible.”

Abby Lammers, is a native of Missouri and works full time as an artist from her studios in East Falmouth, MA and Rochester, NY. Her work has been featured in numerous group and solo shows at museums, galleries and cultural centers throughout the United States.  In her seventeen year career her accomplishments include acceptance into over 196 national exhibitions and winning over 62 awards.

http://www.abbylammers.com/

DEAD SWAN UPDATE

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Male Swan Niles Pond September ©Kim Smith 2015A listless Mr. Swan this past Saturday

Mr. Swan is slowly coming back to life and has begun to move around to his other pond homes. He is very lonely still and cries his plaintive cry however, one of our dear readers writes that when he lost his first wife about six years ago, a cormorant came and sat with him everyday until “Little Girl Swan” showed up on the scene (his second wife). Hopefully history will repeat itself. Mr. Swan is thought to be about twenty years old, which is remarkable for a swan in the wild.

Male Female Swan January 2014 Niles Pond ©Kim Smith 2014

Mr. (right) and Mrs. (left) sharing pond vegetation with ducks, Niles Pond January 2014

Thank you to all who have written, sent photos, and reported sightings. We’re so blessed to be a part of this wonderfully caring community.

Female swan cygnet June 2015 ©Kim Smith 2015

Mrs. Swan and Cygnet June 2015

Mute swan male female cygnet cygnus olor ©Kim Smith 2015RIP Mrs. Swan and Cygnet

Katherine Howe at the Eastern Point Lit House open Mic

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Hi Kim!

Can you help spread the word on this? As we mentioned at the last book club, we’re having Katherine Howe return to the Lit House to celebrate the release of her new YA novel, The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen (read an excerpt via Entertainment Weekly here: http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/06/excerpt-appearance-annie-van-sinderen-katherine-howe ).
Thanks for sharing all the incredible butterfly photos! Too darn cute!
THANK YOU!
Chris

Don’t miss our first reading and open mic event of the Fall!  We are pleased to welcome Katherine Howe to The Lit House to celebrate the release of her new novel The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen. She also is the author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, which debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, was named one of USA Today’s top ten books of 2009, and which has been translated into over twenty languages. Her second novel, The House of Velvet and Glass, was a USA Today andNew York Times e-book bestseller, and her third novel, a young adult historical thriller called Conversion, follows a group of teenage girls who must uncover the real reason behind a mysterious outbreak at their high school. She also edited The Penguin Book of Witches for Penguin Classics in 2014.

Join us at 7 for our Open Mic where you can read your own work to our growing and very supportive audience. Katherine will start at 8 p.m.

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