Category: Art

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Beeman School

Posted on by Manuel F. Simoes

Wizard of Oz at Beeman School April 11 and April 12

The Beeman Elementary School Chorus presents The Wizard of OzĀ on Wednesday, April 11 and Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 7:00PM at Beeman School, 138 Cherry Street, Gloucester. All tickets for the production are $5.00 each and will be sold at the door the night of the performance.
The Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy Gale from Kansas and her little dog Toto who is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard so he can help her return home. On her journey she meets three friends: the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion who travel to Oz with her. Each friend has their own special request of the Wizard. On her exciting journey Dorothy and her companions meet the Good Witch and the happy residents of Munchkin Land led by their Mayor as well as facing challenges from the Wicked Witch of the West, her army of soldiers and the flying monkeys. This endearing classic story celebrates friendship, inner strength, and the true meaning of home. The production features the classic songs: Follow The Yellow Brick Road, Ding Dong the Witch is Dead, If I Only Had a Brain, If I Were the King of the Forest and Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
The production features 25 fourth and fifth grade BeemanĀ students and is directed by BeemanĀ Music teacher Beth Goldberg and Gloucester Stage Youth Acting Workshop director and actress Heidi Dallin. Dallin was brought on board by the Gloucester Education Foundation initiative to support and enhance elementary school theatre by partnering teachers with theatre professionals.

April Vacation Workshops at Art Haven and Maritime Gloucester

Posted on by dawntheresa

Art Haven and Maritime Gloucester are collaborating on April Vacation programs! There are also opportunities to make a bowl for the Empty Bowl dinner, make Mother’s Day cards, paper flower bouquets or come to HARRY POTTER DAY!! Call 978.283.3888 or email arthaveninfo@gmail.com to sign up now.

April Vacation programs at Art Haven

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,Ā circaĀ 1930 Chester Walen/Ā©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 ā€“Ā a requirement in fall, winter, and spring, whenĀ 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.Ā Her crew is assembled on deck, preparing for docking, and probably quite glad to be home.Ā 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.Ā 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.  Clarkeā€™s residency will take place in The Rule of Four exhibition gallery where her verre Ć©glomisĆ© 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 Clarkeā€™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 ā€“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.

Ā 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. Ā 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. Ā It’s a pity they are in such poor condition. Ā 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. Ā I wonder exactly what view of Gloucester this is supposed to represent? Ā 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 VelĆ”zquez or El Greco. However, I met a cheerier version of this same face on Wednesday at the Cape Ann Museum. Ā It belongs to Leon Doucette, who was our docent for the regular 11AM guided tour. Ā 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.Ā  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. Ā My first thought when I saw his painting was, “why is this guy not 24/7 behind an easel?” Ā 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. Ā At least he has a job in an art museum! Ā 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? Ā 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… Ā They are the future of the art community here on Cape Ann. Ā I hope they get the support and recognition they deserve.

Fortunately, we have initiatives like theĀ The Cape Ann Painter and Photographer Group, which meets the second Monday of each month from 9:00 to 10:30 at the Annie. Ā 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. Ā 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 Ā 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:Ā The United States Board of Geographic Names (US BGN) defines the official names of everything geographic. Officially the name is Ā is Cressy Beach, with the variant of Cressys Beach. See my GMG post from last November:Ā https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/?s=us+bgn
Fred
Both photographs printed archivally from the original 5×7 inch glass negatives in my darkroom.Ā Image #Ā 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). Ā 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!