My View of Life on the Dock
I was standing so still while filming yesterday morning that I don’t think the female mallard was at first aware of my presence. What a wonderful treat to see she and the ducklings emerge from the reeds growing along the water’s edge. They are amazingly fast and adeptly darted through the water and across the beach, as though they had been born months earlier. I was getting a tremendous cramp and had to stand quickly, which was mama mallard’s cue to chide the ducklings back into the tall grass.
Photographs by Robert Lerch
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (May 26, 2015) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present Peggy’s House, a Cape Ann Cottage, a photographic series by Robert Lerch. The one-day exhibit will take place at the White-Ellery House onSaturday, June 6 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The White-Ellery House is located at 245 Washington Street in Gloucester at the Route 128 Grant Circle Rotary. This program is free and open to the public.
Peggy’s House is a collection of photos, primarily interiors, all taken in one particular house in Annisquam. Built in 1761, “Peggy’s House” is one of only 65 or so known surviving Cape Ann cottages. Typically referred to as a story and a half with a gambrel roof, it was the vernacular house of the time. During the Colonial period, approximately 350 Cape Ann cottages dotted the coastline around the island, and were home to the many families who made their livelihood fishing and farming.
Robert Lerch said of working on this project, “I am fortunate and grateful that I was given the opportunity to photograph inside a very special Cape Ann Cottage, within the current owner’s daily living space.”
Robert Lerch is a contemporary fine art photographer who has owned and operated a gallery on Bearskin Neck in Rockport for 35 years. His work is sensitive, soulful, and full of substance. He uses all found material and works only with natural light.
The White-Ellery House, located at 245 Washington Street in Gloucester at the Route 128 Grant Circle Rotary, was built in 1710 and is one of just a handful of First Period houses in Eastern Massachusetts that survives to this day. Unlike other structures of this period, the largely unfurnished house has had very few interior alterations over the years. Stepping inside today, visitors enter much the same house they would have 300 years ago. The historic home will be open this year on the first Saturday of June, August, September and October as part of Escapes North 17th Century Saturdays. Parking is available off Poplar Street in the field behind the house.
Karen Skolfield’s book Frost in the Low Areas won the 2014 PEN New England Award in poetry and the First Book Award from Zone 3 Press, and is a Massachusetts “Must Read” selection. She is the winner of the 2015 Robert H. Winner award from the Poetry Society of America and the 2015 Arts & Humanities Award from New England Public Radio. Skolfield is an Army veteran and teaches writing to engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts.
Just Beautiful, and what a beautiful community turnout for today’s unveiling of the Neighborhood Quilt Project’s 13th panel, the “Downtown Quilt.” Congratulations to the amazing Juni Van Dyke and her talented troupe of Gloucester senior quilting artists. It was especially appropriate that the unveiling was conducted by our Mayor Romeo Thekan as growing up on Middle Street, her childhood neighborhood centered around many of the buildings depicted in the quilt. Our deepest thanks of appreciation to Juni and the artists for splendidly illustrating Gloucester’s history, with merely scraps.
Scraps of Beauty
Not only is GMG’s Craig Kimberley a superb videographer, editor, and cameraman, in case you haven’t noticed on these pages, he’s also the most amazing master of the grill. Yesterday we were treated to his superlative steak tips, barbeque ribs, and pulled pork. Thank you Joan, Hannah, and Craig for the wonderful gifts of friendship, fun, and fantastic food. Happy Summer Yet to Come!
Joan, Hannah, and Craig Kimberley
Craig, Barry, Joey, and James
Juni Van Dyke writes, “Hi Kim, The stunning “Downtown Quilt” is finished and on Tuesday May 26th at 11:00am Mayor Sefatia will unveil the quilt at City Hall (second floor). Come cheer on the creativity of our amazing seniors!
Snapshots of Previously Completed Works in the Extraordinary Neighborhoods Quilt Project ~
Maggie Rosa’s Detail of Beauport
The Amazing Juni Van Dyke and Her Son Sean at the Matz Gallery
Kate and Her Dad Bill
Wonderful friends, fun, and food–with Joey expertly grilling! Happy Birthday Kate!
See More Photos Here Continue reading “Super Fun at Super K’s Birthday Party!”
Terry Weber writes that Max the cat has returned. He showed up on his deck, safe and sound, after a couple of days vacation. Thank you Terry for letting us know!
Professor Ethan Berry leads a discussion about Martin’s influence as a founding member of the school.
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (May 20, 2015) – In conjunction with the special exhibition Bill of Lading: The Art & Poetry of Roger Martin, the Cape Ann Museum presents a conversation with Montserrat College of Art professor Ethan Berry on Saturday, May 30, 2:00 p.m. This program is free for Museum members, Montserrat students and faculty, or with Museum admission.
Bill of Lading explores the art and poetry of Rockport native, Roger Martin (1925-2015). A founder of Montserrat College of Art and a long-time member of its faculty, the town of Rockport’s first Poet Laureate and compiler of three books celebrating the people and poetry of his hometown, and a highly respected graphic artist, illustrator and painter, Roger Martin has long been one of Cape Ann’s most distinguished and creative individuals. Professor Berry will be joined by some of Martin’s former students for this program.
Ethan Berry is a teacher in the printmaking department at Montserrat, as well as Senior Seminar, and has been teaching at the school since 1977. A producer and designer for film, video, and performance events, he is past president of the Board of Directors of the Boston Film/Video Foundation, which was founded in 1976 to provide artists with an organizational support system for the creation of independent film and video. He is also a co-partner in ART ON DEMAND, a consulting group that provides arts programming and design consulting services. His work has been shown at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA; the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; the University of Massachusetts; the Provincetown Young Artists’ Exhibition; and the Drawing Show at the Mills Gallery in Boston.
Photo credit: Roger Martin, 2012. Photo by Al Mallette. Print res images available on request.
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The Cape Ann Museum tells multiple stories, all relating to Cape Ann. Founded in 1873, the Museum’s collections represent the history of Cape Ann, its people, its industries, its art and culture. For a detailed media fact sheet please visit www.capeannmuseum.org/press.
The Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday throughSaturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $10.00 adults, $8.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. For more information please call: (978)283-0455 x10. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org.
Today driving along Route 1A I passed the fabulous and fantastic Patrick Dougherty enormous two-story tall birdhouses in the midst of downtown Salem. I did a double take and turned around. They are simply extraordinary. Although a work in progress, it must have been lunch break because the site was empty of people. I would have loved to have met the artist and see the volunteers at work but it was a magical experience to walk through and around the birdhouses with no one present. Especially captivating was peering out from the round windows towards the passersby from inside the structures–evoking the feel of being a bird in its nest. GO SEE!!!!
Looking up through the skylight.
“Stickwork” by Patrick Dougherty is under construction, with the help of local volunteers, through May 23rd. The finished structures will remain on the grounds of the Crowninshield-Bentley House for one year. The Crowninshield-Bentley House is located at the corner of Essex and Washington Streets and is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum. “Stickwork” is the first environmental art installation under the museum’s Present Tense Initiative. For more information visit pem.org/stickwork.
The birdhouses are made of saplings from unwanted wood such as Norway maple and buckthorn.
SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE Continue reading “Inside a Birdhouse ~ Patrick Dougherty’s Stickwork!”
Tony Sapienza writes, “This little lost boy — our very friendly house cat, Max — wandered away from our place in Magnolia Wednesday afternoon (5/20). For those of you in the area, please keep an eye out. If anyone has any ideas, we’re all ears — we contacted the police, animal control and the area vets, as well as the Cape Ann Lost Pets FB page. Fingers crossed!”
Carol Thistle, Senior Project Manager for the Tourism Commission, reports that fully one third of revenue collected from the hotel and motel tax will go toward promoting tourism. Carol broke the news at the joint spring meeting of Gloucester’s Harbortown and Rocky Neck Cultural Districts held Tuesday night at the North Shore Art Association.
GMG FOB Lyn submits photo of coyote on her wall. Thank you Lyn for sharing!
Joey Honored at the Community Builder Awards in 2012
Our most heartfelt congratulations to Joey for being named Gloucester’s Business Person of the Year by the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce for Good Morning Gloucester. This is a tremendous honor and we are so proud of him. Good Morning Gloucester, created by Joey in the summer of 2007, has from its inception been an incredibly powerful force for Gloucester. The blog promotes every type of Cape Ann industry, not only brick and mortar businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and shops, but every kind of creative industry and nonprofit organization as well. In his inimitable style, Joey uses all aspects of media to communicate about and to promote the city and community for which he so deeply cares. With a daily viewership in the tens of thousands, GMG is read worldwide, shining a positive spotlight on Gloucester and her citizens.
We at Good Morning Gloucester wish to congratulate all the honorees: Mike Storella of Central Street Gallery in Manchester, Karin and Ken Porter of Roy Moore Lobster Company and Roy Moore’s Fish Shack in Rockport, and Tim and Vickie Kennefick of the Windward Grille in Essex.
The GMG Team Assembled for the 100th Podcast
Message form the Chamber ~
The Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the 2015 Cape Ann Small Business Persons of the Year, all of whom will be recognized during Cape Ann Small Business Week, June 1- 5. This year’s honorees are Mike Storella of Central Street Gallery in Manchester, Joey Ciaramitaro of Good Morning Gloucester in Gloucester, Karin and Ken Porter of Roy Moore Lobster Company and Roy Moore’s Fish Shack in Rockport and Tim and Vickie Kennefick of the Windward Grille in Essex. All will be saluted at the Chamber’s 35th Annual Small Business Week Luncheon on Friday, June 5, beginning at 11:30 a.m., at the Sea Glass Restaurant at the Castle Manor Inn, 141 Essex Avenue, Gloucester.
The program is designed to highlight the extraordinary contributions of Cape Ann’s small business community for exemplary entrepreneurial achievement as well as notable civic and community involvement. This year’s Small Business Award winners will also be honored individually at complimentary receptions in their respective communities during Cape Ann Small Business Week, thanks to the generous support of presenting sponsor Institution for Savings. Please visit capeannchamber.com for a complete schedule of these receptions.
Friends, family members, and colleagues of all small business honorees are invited and encouraged to attend the receptions and the luncheon. Tickets for the luncheon are available to all for $30. To register online, please visit http://www.capeannchamber.com.
For more information, please contact Kerry McKenna at kerry@capeannchamber.com or call the Chamber at 978-283-1601.
Joey and Mom Pat at the Community Builder Awards
Ukelele Podcast with John Hicks
Captain Joe and Sons
What makes Martin Del Vecchio’s drone footage particularly poignant is that Basking Sharks are reportedly on the edge of extinction. I wonder how often we’ll have witness to the world’s second largest fish feeding along the shores of Cape Ann. Truly an incredibly awesome capture.
The following is an interesting article written by David Suzuki about why these gentle giants have been driven to near extinction:
“The basking shark is huge—often bigger than a bus. As fish go, it’s second in size only to the whale shark. It has been roaming the world’s oceans for at least 30 million years. Mariners throughout history have mistaken it for a mythical sea serpent or the legendary cadborosaurus. Despite its massive size, it feeds mostly on tiny zooplankton.
These are some of the things we know about this gentle giant. But our understanding is limited; we don’t really know much more about them than we did in the early 1800s. One thing we do know is that they used to be plentiful in the waters off the coast of B.C., in Queen Charlotte Sound, Clayoquot Sound, Barkley Sound, and even the Strait of Georgia. Only half a century ago, people taking a ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island may have spotted half a dozen lazily swimming by. But now, reported sightings are down to less than one a year off the B.C. coast. All indications are that this magnificent animal is on the edge of extinction. It makes my blood boil!
Over the past two centuries, people have been killing them for sport, for food, for the oil from their half-tonne livers, and to get them out of the way of commercial fishing operations. Many were also killed accidentally by fishing gear.
In their 2006 book Basking Sharks: The Slaughter of B.C.’s Gentle Giants, marine biologist (and David Suzuki Foundation sustainable fisheries analyst) Scott Wallace and maritime historian Brian Gisborne note that the “pest control” methods used in the 1950s and ’60s were particularly gruesome. Basking sharks are so named because they appear to bask as they feed on plankton on the water’s surface. And even though they don’t eat salmon and other fish, they sometimes get tangled in gillnets, hindering commercial fishing operations. So fisheries patrol boats with large knives attached to their bows would slice the animals in half as they “basked” on the surface.”
Read the full article here: Exit Stage Right
See the NBC piece on Martin and watch his basking shark drone video here.
Good Morning Gloucester 