Category: Art

Video- Middle Street from Henry Ferrini

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

There is a "Middle Street" in the middle of most cities and towns in America. This Middle Street is in America’s oldest fishing port, Gloucester, Massachusetts. It’s crowded with churches, municipal buildings and funeral parlors. The street is a conduit into the life of the city. Traveling over wharves, through religious festivals and into the movies transmuting a personal story into a Gloucester story. Middle Street is a chowder of sounds, gestures, syllables, looks and fleeting moments, a nature walk through Gloucester, Massachusetts with Willie Alexander and Henry Ferrini.
Winner: Somerville Film Festival-Best of Festival, 1995.

Cole Herbst and other young artists showing at The Annie next Friday

Posted on by dawntheresa

Great show next Friday of some exciting young artists from Gloucester! If you haven’t seen any of Cole’s stuff before, look here and here. Jason Burroughs, Jamie Rynkowski, Jake Stafford and Justus Dunton will be showing work also – really fun new stuff from some young local artists!

 

Cole Herbst art show at The Annie

Homeward Bound ~ Gloucester

Posted on by Sharon
Homeward Bound ~ Gloucester, circa 1930 Chester Walen/©Fredrik D. Bodin
This dory fishing schooner is racing to market in Gloucester. She’s wearing her winter rig: Topmasts removed with no upper canvas to improve stability – a requirement in fall, winter, and spring, when gale force winds and mountainous waves in the North Atlantic are typical. The rig, along with distant patches of snow in Stage Fort Park, suggest to me that this is springtime. Her crew is assembled on deck, preparing for docking, and probably quite glad to be home. Off the schooner’s bow is the Fort. The two large buildings were fish processing plants, sitting on what are now empty lots.
Image printed archivally from the original 5×7 inch film negative in my darkroom. Image #A9157-420
Hope to see you at our Good Morning Gloucester/Bodin Historic Photo Spring Fling this Saturday. Starts at 6 pm!
Fred
Fredrik D. Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

FOB Deb Clarke Gallery Demonstration At Cape Ann Museum Saturday March 31st

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present a gallery demonstration with artist Debbie Clarke on Saturday, March 31 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 1 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Clarke’s residency will take place in The Rule of Four exhibition gallery where her verre églomisé fish are on display.

Also available for visitors will be a related self-guided tour throughout the Museum that highlights the artwork that has inspired and influenced Clarke’s own work. Families are invited to attend and to participate in related activities in the CAM activity center.  This is an ongoing drop-in program that is free with Museum admission.

Debbie Clarke, Merluccius Bilinearis –Whiting, 1995. Collection of the Cape Ann Museum.

Debbie Clarke 3

GMG Spring Fling this Saturday 6PM

Posted on by paultmorrison

The real kickoff to the entire season is upon us this Saturday, 6PM at Fred Bodin’s Historic Photo right here in our historic West End. All FOBs (friend of blog) and FORDs (friends of Rubber Duck) are invited.

RD has been thinking long and hard about what to bring. A bottle of Ryan & Wood Knockabout Gin (she loves the licorice accents) is a must but what else?

OK, to steal some photos from EJ, here is RD’s Vaseline Glass and Geiger Counter.RD will bring a piece of Vaseline Glass and demonstrate the radioactivity using her geiger counter. Perfectly harmless although maybe I wouldn’t microwave popcorn in it.

Also a contest. Pretty easy. Correctly guess where RD is in the next photo.

 All winners will be given the honor of showering Rubber Duck with gifts. As a good example RD will be wearing the necklace given to her by Beth Williams.  Beth could also bring a piece of her antique Vaseline glass she has in the window that I am betting pegs the geiger counter. If you have a piece of Vaseline glass just bring it to the hoedown at Fred’s and we’ll see if it’s hot.

But back to the gifts. Rubber Duck is a little bit bigger than you think so if you are going to make her a little Red Sox baseball cap her head is about the size of a lime. Hmm, limes also make great gifts as RD will never turn down a Gin and Tonic.

More fishing boats at St. Ann’s

Posted on by Matthew Green

A last photo of the murals in St. Ann’s.  It’s a pity they are in such poor condition.  However, we don’t have the money to do anything to preserve them right now…

Mural: The Blessing of the Fleet

Posted on by Matthew Green

What interests me most of this mural (in a stairwell at St. Ann’s Church) is not the currently-out-of-fashion but historically correct liturgical garb of the presiding prelate (although, as a priest, I find it interesting), but rather the skyline on the shore.  I wonder exactly what view of Gloucester this is supposed to represent?  It certainly doesn’t match the current skyline, but obviously things have changed over the decades. The other paintings show that the artist paid attention to detail, so I don’t think he just made it up.

Free Passes to the ICA at the Sawyer Free Library!!!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Thank you Sawyer Free for letting GMG know about the promo passes! The ICA is great fun for an afternoon and this is a terrific deal–especially when you total the cost of parking and meals after spending the day in Boston.

 

The art of Leon Doucette

Posted on by Matthew Green

This distinguished, brooding portrait almost seems to depict some Spanish caballero of the type painted by Velázquez or El Greco. However, I met a cheerier version of this same face on Wednesday at the Cape Ann Museum.  It belongs to Leon Doucette, who was our docent for the regular 11AM guided tour.  He grew up in Gloucester, moved away for a few years (including college), and then moved back recently and started working at the Cape Ann Museum.  His local knowledge and love of art was evident in the tour he gave us.

Besides being a really nice person, he is a very talented painter. When he said he is an artist, I looked him up right away on my iPhone and found his blog.  My first thought when I saw his painting was, “why is this guy not 24/7 behind an easel?”  I guess it’s hard for an artist – especially a young man who is relatively new on the scene – to get enough work painting to do that full-time.  At least he has a job in an art museum!  But honestly, his work is really good, worth checking out. Here’s another image from his website:

The artist's father
The artist's father

Great, isn’t it?  There is a lot more on his blog.

Sadly, he doesn’t have any work on display right now in Gloucester. I am going to follow his blog in the hopes he announces a local show sometime soon.

I wonder how many other talented young artists like Leon are hidden in our midst…  They are the future of the art community here on Cape Ann.  I hope they get the support and recognition they deserve.

Fortunately, we have initiatives like the The Cape Ann Painter and Photographer Group, which meets the second Monday of each month from 9:00 to 10:30 at the Annie.  In general, from what I’ve seen, the Cape Ann art community is very welcoming and encouraging for artists who are new to the area.

Fishing Boat mural in St. Ann’s Church

Posted on by Matthew Green
The Carole & Gary and the Sunlight

Continuing my series of posts of murals from the stairwells of St. Ann’s Church, here’s one of two fishing boats.  The names (updated thanks to a reader’s comment) are “Carole & Gary” and “Sunlight”. Anybody know to whom these vessels belonged?

Spring Outing at Cressys Beach, 1914

Posted on by Sharon
Cressys Beach, 1914 Alice M. Curtis/@Fredrik D. Bodin
Spring has arrived, and  spring photos are in order. In this photograph, a school outing is underway at Cressys Beach. Young boys in ties and girls in long dresses and bonnets bask in the sun, explore the rocks, and cautiously wade into the water. Only a few brave lads have ventured out to the rock. All the while, teachers keep watch on their flock. In the photo below, photographer Alice Curtis has moved her 5″x7″ (film size) view camera with heavy glass film and wooden tripod up the hill for an overall shot. On the left, players man the outfield for a baseball game. We’re fortunate to have Stage Fort Park, a public park owned by the City of Gloucester and located on the city’s first settlement site (1623). In addition to two beaches, the park offers athletic fields, picnicking, grilling, and exceptionally dramatic views.
Cressys Beach, 1914 Alice M. Curtis/@Fredrik D. Bodin

Note: The United States Board of Geographic Names (US BGN) defines the official names of everything geographic. Officially the name is  is Cressy Beach, with the variant of Cressys Beach. See my GMG post from last November: https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/?s=us+bgn
Fred
Both photographs printed archivally from the original 5×7 inch glass negatives in my darkroom. Image # A8457-086 (top) and A8657-087 (bottom).
Fredrik D. Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Mural: St. Ann’s Band from Gloucester in the Tournament of Roses

Posted on by Matthew Green

This is one of a series of murals that remain in the stairwells to the parish hall under St. Ann’s Church (Holy Family Parish).  I am told that there used to be more murals, but some have been removed (and maybe some painted over, I don’t know). The ones that remain are in lamentably poor condition, but they are still fascinating, as they portray historical events, people, and boats of Gloucester. I’ll post a few more photos of these murals over the next few days. If anyone can identify themselves or family members (or their boats) in these paintings, please speak out!

Jean jackets, shadow boxes, and picturing poetry!

Posted on by dawntheresa

A new session of classes starts at Art Haven today, including classes in jacket re-decorating, poetry illustration and undersea shadow boxes. There’s also youth open studio, family studio, pottery throwing, and other fun stuff. Click on Kerry Christman’s shadow box for the full schedule!

Underwater shadow box

Fish Is A Fighting Food Poster From The US Office Of War Information 1945

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Ann Kennedy submits-

Hi Joey.  I came across this cool poster online while doing some research for my blog.  Meat was scarce in NE in ’45 and as you know, the promotion of fish was widespread.  The poster was originally printed by the US Office of War Information.  (If you want to post the poster, no need to include my comment unless relevant.  The poster is available at www.artnectar.com.)  I just think it’s a great image.

world_war_II_fish_poster_1943

I know Joe Testaverde knows a little something about those take out baskets.  I’d like to have a nickel for every one I ever dumped on the culling table at the dock.  They had a long long life on the waterfront.  We also used the ones with the same types of frame but with net which would allow the ice to drop through.  Joe Testaverde, did they sell them with that canvas or with the net or once that duck canvas material wore away did they mend in the netting around the frame to keep use of them?  I can’t remember if they were sold with the net or if they were just repaired that way. I can’t be that old can I?

Whiting, cod, haddock, pollock they all got offloaded the same way.  They have a guy using that double pulley though and lifting it by hand.  In my day at least we got to use the winch.

Video- Coveted Yarn Yarn Crawl 2012

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Witness The Spectacle

These yarn people are bananas!

Yarnies and Fiber Fanatics Congregate To Take Advantage of Ridiculous Yarn Savings

Cape Ann Author and Artists Featured at The Cahoon Museum in Cotuit, MA

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Joseph M. Orlando writes-

Joe,

Thought you might be interested in this for Good Morning Gloucester…

The Cahoon Museum in Cotuit, MA, is doing a month long exhibit and celebration of Cape Ann artists, the Gruppe family. In addition, it has chosen to feature my book, The Fisherman’s Son, as part of its Cape Ann feature, in a book discussion on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the museum.

For more info, see the website–www.cahoonmuseum.org.

Thanks,

Joseph M. Orlando, Esq.

Orlando & Associates

A FAMILY OF ARTISTS: THE GRUPPÉ FAMILY

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Gruppé family contributed to the New England art scene by producing many artists including: Charles Paul Gruppé (1860-1940), his son Karl (1893-1982), his son Emile (1896-1978), his daughter Virginia (1907-1980) and his grandson Robert (b.1928). This exhibition will look at their colorful careers and how they influenced each other as artists.

The following talks and activities are in conjunction with the exhibition and are included in the price of admission:

  • Friday, March 16, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. – Public Opening Reception

  • Tuesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.
    Wine and Book Discussion of Joseph M. Orlando’s “The Fisherman’s Son”
    RSVP by March 19 at 508 428-7581
    THE AUTHOR WILL BE ATTENDING!

  • Tuesday, April 3, 11:00 a.m.
    Richard Waterhouse will talk about the legacy of the Gruppé family

  • Tuesday, April 17, 11:00 a.m.
    Tour of the exhibition.

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