Good Morning Gloucester

from Jackie Bennett

Taken for granite….

Twin Lights: Anne Rearick and Willie Alexander

 A Celebration of Life, Color, Beauty and Light

Location: The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA

Dates: July 1 to August 1, 2021

Hours: Thursday noon to 8PM; Friday through Sunday noon to 5 PM

Gloucester MA — The Rocky Neck Art Colony is proud to present Twin Lights: Anne Rearick and Willie Alexander at the Rocky Neck Cultural Center, 6 Wonson Street in Gloucester. The exhibition, described as “a celebration of life, color, beauty and light,” will include photographs by Rearick and paintings by Alexander inspired by their beloved home of Gloucester, Mass. The artist reception is on Saturday, July 10 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. 

Anne Rearick is the recipient of numerous grants, fellowships and awards. Her photographs are in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Centre national de l’audiovisuel in Luxembourg, and numerous others. 

“Willie and I have been making art of one form or another our whole lives,” says Rearick. “We support, challenge and inspire each other. My photographs from Gloucester span the past two decades. I am drawn to the particular beauty and character of this place and its inhabitants.”

Willie Alexander is a singer, songwriter and keyboardist with a long and legendary career, recognized locally, nationally and internationally. Known as the Godfather of Punk, he has been inducted into the Boston Music Hall of Fame. 

“Although I am known for my music, I have been making visual art since I was a kid,” says Alexander. “I try to be natural in my painting, letting the paint do the work and not thinking about it too much. I realize that the seagulls and fish in my paintings are unrecognizable, but trust me, they are there. I am inspired by the familiarity of the Gloucester streets that I have known and loved since I was a boy.”

Twin Lights: Anne Rearick and Willie Alexander has been generously sponsored by Mark and Livia Glovsky. The show is live at The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck and online at RNACexhibitions.com starting on July 1, 2021.

The Rocky Neck Art Colony (RNAC) was founded in the mid-19th century and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1973. With the creation of the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck in 2012, RNAC programs are reaching a wider demographic as the visual arts focus is expanding to include more diverse cultural and educational offerings. The Cultural Center is located at 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, MA 01930. For more information visit www.rockyneckartcolony.org.

Our trip out to Thacher Island was primarily to see the lighthouses up close, but there’s a whole lot more out there than just the twins. Here are some additional scenes from Thacher Island on a summer morning. Have you booked your trip yet? Thacher Island Association

Acouple of evenings ago Manuel Simoes posted this picture, asking what it was. Our ornithologist son-in-law reports: “That’s a domesticated Muscovy Duck. They are oftern released or escape and can sometimes survive for years or even breed in the wild.”

We wanted to share the following attachments with you after receiving a public records request from GDT, with our legal department helping to review the exact documents. Our administration values transparency, integrity and process – that is why we are sharing our narrative to go along with these previously requested documents so as to ensure we are addressing the concerns previously issued by members of the health department. We are following a legal process and as this is a public request resulting in public documents, we are sharing this to help offer the mayoral perspective which has yet to be heard.
To state again and as seen in the response: to put it simply, the pandemic was very hard on all of us. My single focus was on Gloucester and its citizens (and it always will be as your mayor). I am proud of what my administration has done. There was no handbook on the pandemic so, throughout, I remained committed to the citizens of Gloucester and I have fought every single day on their behalf and that is what I believe a mayor should do.
Thank you to Good Morning Gloucester to help finally share our narrative and let’s continue to move our city forward, together.

Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken

Click to access boh-concerns-response-062821-final.pdf

Photo: Jackie Bennett

Perfectly still….

  

Judy Robinson-Cox is a recognized Cape Ann photographer with a solo mixed media photomontage show at the Rockport Art Association & Museum from June 26 – July 15, 2021, in the Marguerite Pearson Gallery.  

Judy developed her technique about 15 years ago because she wanted to introduce physical texture into the photomontage images she was creating. Each image begins as two digital exposures that are blended into a single photograph to fully capture the essence of the subject. She usually combines an iconic Cape Ann object (e.g. a boat, building or tree) with a close-up view of the surrounding area or location, then collages the image onto a wood substrate and adds more layers, textures, and other elements, creating a one-of-a-kind mixed media piece.  

When Judy began the series, Rocky Neck’s Paint Factory had been abandoned and was a great source of inspiration. At that time, she was able to collect pieces of paint and rust that were sitting on the ground around the building and incorporated them into her artwork. The Paint Factory Door in this show includes some of her last remaining artifacts from that time. 

Come and experience Judy Robinson-Cox’s stunning mixed media photomontages in person June 26 – July 15, 2021. Concurrently his exhibit will also be available online at: https://www.rockportartassn.org/solo-shows where her works can be enjoyed and purchased. 

The Rockport Art Association & Museum is located at 12 Main Street, Rockport MA 01966, and is free and open to the public Thursday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. For more information please call: (978) 546-6604, email: infor@rockportartassn.org, or visit the Rockport Art Association & Museum website at: www.rockportartassn.org

Ken Ludwig’s “Baskerville” ~ A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

July 2 – 25 Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm – 10:00pm and Saturday and Sunday at 3:30pm – 6:00pm
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
From the award-winning mastermind of mayhem, Ken Ludwig, comes Baskerville, a fast-paced comedy about everyone’s favorite detective solving his most notorious case. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson must crack the mystery of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” before a family curse dooms its newest heir. The timeless duo investigate a dizzying web of clues along with three actors who deftly portray more than 40 characters. Does a wild hellhound prowl the moors of Devonshire? Can our heroes discover the truth in time? Join the fun and see how far from elementary the truth can be.
https://gloucesterstage.com/baskerville/

Valetango Company presents Trust Me. Trust Me Not

July 11 and July 12 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
Valeria has been featured in documentaries such as PBS’s Surrender Tango and Tango in Berlin, in films such as Dance the Gender and Venuz Boys and on TV programs internationally. She has danced for the promotion of Julio Iglesias and YoYo Ma’s tango CDs.
https://gloucesterstage.com/valeria/

Lift: Lifting Up Stories of Today’s Youth

July 18 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
An Apprentice Company Devised piece directed by Dee Dee Batteast.
https://gloucesterstage.com/lift/

THE SEARCH FOR MY IDENTITY

July 20 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
A one-woman show performed by Dee Dee Batteast, last seen at Gloucester Stage in No AIDS, No Maids.
https://gloucesterstage.com/lift/

The Queen of Fenway Court: Isabella Stewart Gardner

Sunday, August 15th & Tuesday, August 17th
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
Isabella Stewart Gardner possessed an energetic intellectual curiosity and a love of travel. A leading American art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts, she often spent summers in Gloucester. You know the legacy, now learn the story of her life as an eccentric female millionaire.
https://gloucesterstage.com/isabella-stewart/

Seared

August 6 – August 22 Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm – 9:30pm and Saturday and Sunday at 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
Brilliant, hot-headed chef Harry scores a mention in a food magazine with his signature scallops, and his business partner Mike finally sees profits within reach. The only problem, Harry refuses to recreate his masterpiece for the masses. Mix in a shrewd restaurant consultant and a waiter with dreams of his own and it all goes to hell in this hilarious and insightful new play that asks us to consider where art ends and commerce begins.
https://gloucesterstage.com/seared/

Reparations

September 3 – September 19 Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm – 10:00pm and Saturday and Sunday at 3:30pm – 6:00pm
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
Ginny, a successful book editor, invites a young, Black aspiring author, Reg, to her apartment after a boozy book party. She wakes up to find that a night of tenderness and passion is turning into a tumultuous morning-after when he threatens to reveal a dark secret from the past. As family friends join for an ill-timed paella feast, all four are soon embroiled in whether the young writer is due reparation. Personal revelations lead to laughs, tears, and coming to terms with racial injustice and personal betrayal in this poignant new play by James Sheldon.
https://gloucesterstage.com/reparations/

Laiona Michelle: A Night with Nina Simone

SEP 12 & 14 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
Following her critically acclaimed performance in American Hero, Laiona Michelle steps into the role of Nina Simone in a new musical. This exuberant show reveals a life in between the black and white keys—a passionate journey from classical piano child prodigy to the High Priestess of Soul, told through the words and music of American icon Nina Simone.
https://gloucesterstage.com/little-girl-blue/

Think of Me Tuesday

October 1 – October 17 Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00pm 
Windhover Performing Arts Center (257R Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966)
Most seasoned voters, wherever they cast their ballots, might recall a fabled local candidate who despite never winning, continues to run and run and run. Year after year, election after election, in the same tattered tweed jacket, Jim ‘Buddy’ Chum is undeterred by yet another embarrassing rejection. He’s the punchline for a running joke about a joker who keeps running…and losing. Buddy is Fishtown, Massachusetts’ forever Mayoral candidate on a quixotic campaign for his shot at the top office – he’s not against progress, he just doesn’t want to be around when it gets here.
https://gloucesterstage.com/think-tuesday/