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."

MMoAA on ROCKY NECK!

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Laurellin Kruse MMoAA Gloucester ©Kim Smith 2015 copyLaurelin with the 1968 Cardinal trailer that serves as the Mobile Museum of American Artifact’s home.

The Mobile Museum of American Artifacts curator Laurelin Kruse is looking for donations from Gloucester residents. She is most interested in objects of a personal nature that tell a story about the owner. Stop in tonight at the Lanesville Community where the museum will be open and Laurelin will be accepting donations.

Laeurelin writes, I’ll be at the Lanesville Community Center tonight during the Mayoral Debates and Thursday at the Cape Ann Farmer’s Market. Otherwise I can usually be found at the Rocky neck parking lot [on the causeway to Rocky Neck] or check my Instagram (name: theMMoAA ) for my whereabouts. 

On the 24th at 7pm I will have an on open studio in the Rocky Neck parking lot where I’ll show all the artifacts I’ve collected from Gloucester in a final exhibit inside the Mobile Museum and will discuss my process and experience here. 
Until then, I’m looking for objects from people in Gloucester with personal stories behind them. People can email me at museum@themmoaa.org to set up an appointment to donate their artifact. Or they can come find me during one of my scheduled outings. 
This is all thanks to the Goetemann Artist Residency at the Rocky Neck Art Colony. 
Thank you!!
MMoAA George Sibley Gloucester ©Kim Smith 2015

For more information about the Mobile Museum of American Artifacts, see E.J.’s previous post here: MMoAA.

and visit their website here: MMoAA

“The Mobile Museum of American Artifacts (MMoAA) is a touring museum of personal objects and their histories. Housed in a small vintage trailer, MMoAA travels from town to town, conducting an “archeology of the present” that uncovers objects of significant (and insignificant) connection to everyday American life. MMoAA’s presence in a city sparks a sense of local pride and inspires people to look into their communities for what gives them and their hometown a sense of place.

MMoAA is an exploration in the everyday, the local—the lives we live and the places we inhabit—and sees the present tense on its way to becoming a story, a thing regarded, the rough draft of memory.”

MMoAA surf board wax balls Gloucester ©Kim Smith 2015

Surfboard Wax Balls

MMoAA George Seine Field arrowheads ©Kim Smith 2015

Arrowheads from Seine Field

https://instagram.com/p/7qEgdnDyrL/

 

THE SYMPHONIC SPECTACULAR

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CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

THE 64th SEASON: A SEASON TO REMEMBER

Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director

THE SYMPHONIC SPECTACULAR

Launches Cape Ann Symphony’s 64th Seas

Cape Ann Symphony kicks off the orchestra’s 64th Concert Season on Saturday, September 26 at 8 pm with Symphonic Spectacular featuring a sultry program of timeless favorites from superstar composers Mussorgsky, Ravel and Gershwin at the CAS performance venue at Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Cape Ann Symphony concerts are held at the Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $40 for adults, $35 for senior citizens, $5 for Youth age 18 and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org.

 

The 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 BolĂ©ro. Conductor Yoichi Udagawa offers a sneak peek into the evening’s program, “Composed of three virtuoso showpieces for orchestra, the first concert of the Cape Ann Symphony’s 64th season is a symphonic triumph! These fascinating pieces really give the orchestra an opportunity to demonstrate their skill, musicianship and passion for music. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is a tour de force in particular for the brass and woodwind players, An American in Paris by legendary composer George Gershwin paints a musical portrait of a singular city in a sparking display of orchestral color and Maurice Ravel’s BolĂ©ro is one relentless, unstoppable, inescapable musical build up and massive explosion that always makes audiences go absolutely wild and crazy. It will be an exciting and thrilling way to open the orchestra’s 64th Season, and we can’t wait to present it to our wonderful audiences.” Composer Maurice Ravel provides a link to all three pieces in the program: he orchestrated Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition gave lessons to Gershwin in Paris, and he wrote Bolero.

The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra. Mr. Udagawa is on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory where he teaches conducting. Frequently invited to guest conduct, Mr. Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony.

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Yoichi Udagawa, Cape Ann Symphony Music Director and Conductor

Mr. Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Outreach programs to area schools.

Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Symphonic Spectacular is Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 8:00 pm at the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $40 for adults, $35 for senior citizens, $5 for Youth (18 years old and under). For information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

My Monarch Butterfly Film at the Leonardo Museum in Utah!

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As part of a revolving exhibit titled “Spark!,” the short film that I created for the Berkshire Museum, A Flight of Monarchs, will be playing continuously from now through November at the Leonardo in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am super excited about this–the exhibit sounds wonderful–

“What is “spark?” Is it that feeling you get when you know you’re on to something big? Is it that irresistible flow of an idea that’s just about to burst into reality? What happens when your creativity is ignited?  What becomes possible?

We get it– which is why we created this brand new (and really big) exhibition.

Imagine, explore and interact with over 700 pieces of original 2D and 3D art, live performances, original writings, and more.”  Read more about it here: SPARK!

Thank you for watching! More about Monarchs and the potential for a spike in this year’s southward migration tomorrow. 

FISH TALES ABOARD THE SCHOONER ADVENTURE!

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And what a great bunch of fish tale story tellers! You may recall Greg Bover’s invitation from last week where the Gloucester Writer’s Center, Schooner Adventure, and Maritime Gloucester joined forces to bring us Gloucester’s Fish Tales held not at the writing center but from Webster Pier, on board the beautiful and welcoming Schooner Adventure. Maureen Aylward organized a fantastic line up of story tellers. I unfortunately was only able to stay for the first several story tellers but had the pleasure of listening to GMG FOB Ron Gilson, Bing McGilvray, Jim Masciarelli, and Jimmy Tarantino. I believe Henry Ferrini was filming the event so hopefully it will be available to see soon.

Ron Gilson Schooner Adventure Gloucester MA ©Kim Smith 2015Ron Gilson holding a photo taken in 1951 when he was a young man aboard the Adventure during the time when it was still a working dory fishing schooner. 

Bing McGilvray Schooner Adventure ©Kim Smith 2015jpgBing McGilvray

Fish Tales Schhoner Adventure ©Kim Smith 2015Jim Masciarelli

Guided Walking Tours Offered by Cape Ann Museum

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Explore downtown Gloucester through the historic lens of maritime painter Fitz Henry Lane

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (September 11, 2015) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present Fitz Henry Lane’s Gloucester, a guided walking tour, on Saturday,  September 26 at 10:00 a.m. Explore downtown Gloucester and discover what it was like in the 19th century when Fitz Henry Lane roamed the streets and painted the views. Tours last about one and a half hours and are held rain or shine. Participants should be comfortable being on their feet for that amount of time. Cost is $10 for Cape Ann Museum members; $20 for nonmembers (includes Museum admission). Space is limited and reservations are required. Email info@capeannmuseum.org or call (978) 283-0455, x10 for more information or to reserve a space.

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Fitz Henry Lane was a Cape Ann artist, printmaker and world-renowned American marine painter. With his subtle use of gleaming light, Lane is generally regarded as one of the finest 19th century practitioners of the style known as luminism. The Cape Ann Museum’s unparalleled collection of works by Fitz Henry Lane – which includes paintings, drawings and lithographs – is on permanent display in the gorgeously renovated Lane Gallery, a space fully devoted to Lane’s life and work.

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

New Video from CATV Summer Intern Zack Even: Welcome to Ravenswood Park

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Lisa Smith writes, “It is hiking weather and how would you like to visit Ravenswood Park? Welcome to Ravenswood Park is a video that Zack Even, our talented summer intern made. It’s beautifully shot and edited. Zack is now finishing his senior year at  Manchester-Essex Regional High School. He was a pleasure to work with and totally amazed the staff at Cape Ann TV with his video skills! Henry Cooper was the CATV staff person who helped Zack with the filming- the editing was all Zack.”

MONARCH DAY! STARRING THE EAST GLOUCESTER NEIGHBORHOOD GANG

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Pilar Monarch Day ©Kim Smith 2015Pilar has started a new fashion trend, Monarchs as hair accessory.

Enchanted by Monarchs!  We had a fantastic day filmmaking, thanks to Emma, Pilar, Frieda, Annie Kate, Lotus, April, Elijah, Esme, Charlie, Atticus, and last but not least, Meadow. And an extra huge thank you to all the moms and dads for not minding the early morning wake up calls and texts to let the kids know the butterflies were emerging! I was tied up filming and so wish I’d taken more stills.

Annie kate, Emma, Pilar Monarch Day ©kim Smith 2015 copyAnnie Kate, Emma, and Pilar

Meadow Monarch Day ©Kim Smith 2015 copy

Meadow

SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE Continue reading “MONARCH DAY! STARRING THE EAST GLOUCESTER NEIGHBORHOOD GANG” →

SO SORRY TO REPORT THAT THE NILES POND MRS. SWAN IS DEAD

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Thank you to my friend Lyn for sharing this story. Lyn lives on Niles Pond and, as do several family’s around the pond, she keeps a watchful eye on the swans, ducks, and all the birds that make Nile Pond their home. Lyn thinks the last time the swans were seen together was Monday, Labor Day. Mr. Swan has taken to sitting in the middle of the pond, crying and wailing, lamenting the loss of his beautiful mate. Wednesday Lyn took me around the causeway to the spot where it looks as though the kill took place, with only her feathers remaining.

If anyone has additional information, please share. Thank you so much.

dead swan remains Nile Pond ©Kim Smith 2015

Trails and Sails at the Cape Ann Museum

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Hopper’s Houses – A Guided Walking Tour

A tour in downtown Gloucester to view houses immortalized by renowned American realist painter Edward Hopper.
image002The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present, in tandem with The Essex National Heritage Commission’s Trails & Sails Weekend of Walks and Water, a guided walking tour of select Gloucester houses made famous by American realist painter Edward Hopper on Saturday, September 19 at 10:00 a.m. Tours last about 1 ½ hours and are held rain or shine; participants should be comfortable being on their feet for that amount of time. The tour, along with Museum admission, is offered at no charge on a first come, first served basis. Space is limited, no reservations. For additional information please email info@capeannmuseum.org or call (978) 283-0455 x10 during Museum hours.

American realist painter Edward Hopper is known to have painted in Gloucester on five separate occasions during the summer months between 1912 and 1928. His earliest visit was made in the company of fellow artist Leon Kroll. During his second visit to Cape Ann in 1923, Hopper courted the young artist Josephine Nivison. He also began working in watercolor, capturing the local landscape and architecture in loosely rendered, light filled paintings. In 1924, Hopper and Nivison who were newly married returned to Gloucester on an extended honeymoon and continued to explore the area by foot and streetcar. During his final two visits to the area, in 1926 and 1928, Hopper produced some of his finest paintings. This special walking tour will explore the neighborhood surrounding the Museum, which includes many of the Gloucester houses immortalized by Hopper’s paintings.

Image credit: Edward Hopper, American, 1882-1967. Universalist Church, 1926. Watercolor over graphite on cream wove paper, 35.6 x 50.8 cm. (14 x 20 in.). Princeton University Art Museum. Laura P. Hall Memorial Collection, bequest of Professor Clifton R. Hall x1946-268. Photo: Bruce M. White.

FRED BODIN REMEMBRANCE FROM GORDON OSBORNE

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Hi Kim,

Fred Bodin was a very interesting photographer and I was shocked to hear of his sudden passing. Fred was a member of the Cape Ann Photographic Society and the RAA Photographic Group. Fred and I worked together at RAA to found this group as many artists were opposed to photographers although a few of them used cameras to record their scenes. Fred was one of the hardest workers in this effort. I became acquainted with Fred when he joined the CAPS club in 1982. Fred gave workshops with his new book Travel and Stock Photography. Could not get Fred to a portrait session as he most likely was in his darkroom. The only photo of Fred is in a 1986 Christmas annual group photo at the Moose Hall where the monthly meetings were held. CAPS was disbanded in 1989…

Gordon Osborne

Newport, VT

CAPS Annual Group Photo c1984Here is the photograph, c1984, I mentioned in the FB message. Fred is in the back row on right.

LIT HOUSE BOOK CLUB EVENT AT DUCKWORTH’S

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sept15_book_club_web

Myfanwy Collins is author of the new young adult novel The Book of Laney (March 2015), a novel, Echolocation, and a collection of short fiction, I Am Holding Your Hand. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son.

Cape Ann Symphony Welcomes New Singers

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Singers Invited to Join Chorus

The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus begins their rehearsals on Tuesday, September 15 for their upcoming performance with the Cape Ann Symphony in November. All singers are welcome.
Singers in all voice parts are invited to join ranks with the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Wendy Betts, for the Holiday Pops concerts on Thanksgiving weekend. Rehearsals are 7PM Tuesday evenings September 15 through November 17 in St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington Street, Gloucester. The singers rehearse with the orchestra are November 24 and 27.
The Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops Concert  featuring the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus is November 28 and November 29 at Manchester-Essex Regional High School. .
Singer dues are $25.00, payable to Cape Ann Symphony, at the first rehearsal. New singers are advised to contact Wendy 978-546-5220 for a brief vocal audition or more information.
WendyBetts2010DavidStotzerPhotoWendy Betts, Director of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus
Photo by David Stotzer

NEW FILM: PARADE OF SAIL

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Gloucester Schooner Festival 2015 Parade of Sail with time lapse ~

A perfect day for the Parade of Sail, the 31st annual Gloucester Schooner Festival was the most highly attended festival to date, with 23 schooners participating and thousands of spectators perched all around the beaches and boulevards surrounding the harbor.

You’ll see parading through the inner harbor the smallest rowboats to the grand three-masted 169-foot Schooner Mystic, with the Roderick McAllister chugging through the scene. Look for Gloucester schooners the Adventure at 2:10, the Thomas E. Lannon hoisting her sails at about 3:10, and the Ardelle at 3:30. GMG FOB Al Bezanson’s Green Dragon is seen at 4:51. Out by the Dogbar breakwater the 610-foot Navy’s USS Fort McHenry was positioned and surrounded by sailboats and schooners, you really get a sense of the size of this ship.

The parade time lapse footage was shot in real time and is one hour and 23 minutes long, compressed into roughly six minutes at 1000 percent.

Schooner identification provided by Green Dragon Captain Al Bezanson. Thank you Al!

1:22 COLUMBIA

2:05 ADVENTURE

2:40 SUGARBABE

3:10 THOMAS E. LANNON

3:31 ARDELLE

3:44 RENEGADE

3:54 LETTIE G HOWARD (w/o sails)

3:54 HINDU (hoisting)

4:51 GREEN DRAGON (into and out of Harbor Cove)

5:11 REDBIRD

5:15 NARWHAL

5:22 ADVENTURER

5:31 LIBERTY CLIPPER (inbound)

5:44 AMERICAN EAGLE

6:22 GREEN DRAGON

6:35 ELLEN MARIE

6:39 LIBERTY CLIPPER

6:55 MYSTIC

6:59 ROSEWAY

MANCHESTER SEASIDE GARDEN CLUB NEW FALL PROGRAMS BEGIN TONIGHT AT 7PM!

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Kate Willwerth sends us the following ~

The Seaside Garden Club kicks off their 46th Season on September 8th at the Manchester Community Center with Propagating Perennials Demonstration presented by Joan Butler and Cherry Fenton of Enchanted Gardens (http://www.enchantedgardensdesign.com/). Social time begins at 7:00 pm and program starts promptly at 7:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served.

Increase your perennial collection, replace mature plants, grow varieties that may not be offered for sale, and even produce new hybrids! Learn different propagation skills including growing from seed, cuttings, and divisions of a wide range of perennials in this combination lecture and demonstration.This is a perfect time of year to propagate your perennials and what better way to learn than to have experts show you how!

Joan Butler, lecturer, has been an enthusiastic gardener for over 30 years, and believes gardens should invite you to linger in the world outside your door. Her gardens have been included on several garden tours, and feature exciting plant combinations, dramatic horticultural specimens, and collections of hosta, heuchera and epimedium. Joan has worked as a horticulturalist at Weston Nurseries, and is the immediate past Chairman of the Massachusetts Landscape Design Council. She is also an accredited Flower Show Judge, and was Chairman of the floral design Division I competition at the Boston Flower and Garden Show 2014-2015.
Make sure to sign up for your 2015/2016 Seaside Garden Club Membership – still on $25 for the entire season!  Sign up by the September program in time to get your listing published in our beautiful yearbook created by our own graphic artist, Maureen Terrill.  Or send your check (made out to Seaside Garden Club) to Lisa Willwerth, 15 Fern Street, Beverly,MA 01915.
The Seaside Garden Club has some great programs on tap for this season!  Organic Lawn Care, Life Story of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly, a film by Kim Smith, Pressed Flower Card Workshop and The Art of Ikebana are just some of the exciting programs we have arranged for club members. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of the Month (September through June) and are always looking for new members.
Visit our blog https://seasidegardenclub.wordpress.com/about/ or find us on Facebook!
Dividing-Perennials

Joan_ButlerPropogating Perennials presented by Joan Butler and Cherry Fenton

Gloucester Stage Fall Youth Programs

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DSCN0657Acting in a YAW original play at the Cape Ann Farmers Market

Youth Acting Workshop Session Starts in September

Gloucester Stage Youth Acting Workshop is accepting students 6-18 for the Fall Session beginning on Friday, September 11 for Children 6-10 years old and beginning on Saturday, September 12 for Teens 11-18 years old. The six week Youth Acting Workshop Fall Session features expanded instruction time with a total of four class hours per week through Saturday, October 17. The Children’s Class meets Fridays: 4-6 pm and Saturdays: 11-1 pm. The Teen Class meets Saturdays: 9-1 pm. In addition to acting instruction, Fall Session students will receive instruction in scenic artistry and construction, dramaturgy, hip hop dance and stage makeup. Acting teacher and award winning actress Gloucester native Heidi Dallin will be joined by guest instructors: scenic artist Annika Rosenvinge, dramaturg and hip hop dance instructor Avery Daniels and stage makeup instructor Jenna Worden. Students will work on scene study for the 2015 YAW production of Holiday Delights directed by Ms. Dallin as well as build set pieces and learn makeup and mask techniques for the production. Gloucester Stage Youth Acting Workshops are designed to provide young people an outlet to nurture their creative potential through developing self-confidence, communication and teamwork skills to use in their daily life as well as introducing them to the skills necessary for professional theatre. All classes are held at Gloucester Stage, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester. Registration is open for the Fall 2015 Session. Class size is limited and registration is on a first come basis. For class times and schedules and to register, call 978-283-6688.

Youth Acting Workshop Photos by Heidi Dallin
Summer_2015_EditActing Exercise
YAW_Teen_Jenna_Makeup_Summer_2015_EditJenna Worden teaches Stage Makeup
YAW_Children_Summer_2015_EditChildren’s Class Waiting to make their entrance
Acting in a YAW original play at the Cape Ann Farmers Market

Happy Schooner Festival!

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Short film in progress. Could it have been a more perfect day? Happy Schooner Festival everyone!

Schooner Festival Parade of Sails Gloucester ©Kim Smith 2015Schooner Roseway, Schooner MysticSchooner Roseway and Schooner Mystic

https://instagram.com/p/7TKmS7Dyj3/