Scenes from last evening’s night at the auction. Great fun and success!
Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Library annual art auction takes place every October. Pictures from the 2017 preview installation. The Art Advisory Committee and a big team of volunteers does a fantastic job fostering community, boosting artists and fundraising. The artists are generous. It’s a great month to join or renew your Sawyer Free membership. They’re currently ‘friend’raising. Sign up and join here. Oct. 15-21, 2017 is the 12th annual National Friends of Libraries Week
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It’s great to see the beautiful Matz Gallery at Sawyer Free featuring local artists again. There’s always room for the traveling exhibitions on walls and rooms elsewhere in the building, but I think the Matz gallery and Sawyer Free library sings most when it devotes its main exhibition space to local artists.
Save the date for the LIVE event! OCTOBER 4, 2017
The annual benefit exhibition is hung salon style in advance of an exciting annual live auction reception. Stop by to preview the art or leave a silent bid. Minimum opening bids range from $40-$400. On October 4th, bring your family, friends and co-workers. There’s always a great buzz in the room. Bid alone or ‘group-on’ with friends–and generously! You’ll help the artist and the art community in general as well as the library.
Sawyer Free Library deserves the community’s support. Here’s a list of all the 2017 participating magnanimous artists (many are repeat donors). Enjoy some photos from the exhibit to draw your attention to the art.
Jerry Ackerman, Deborah F. Aldrich, Cynthia Asaro, Anita Beloff, Baraka Robin Berger, Coco Berkman, Sheila Farren Billings, Bob Blue, Carmel Bourneuf, Isabelle K. Brown, Pamela Burke, Ann G. Campbell, Nancy Caplan, Katherine Coakley, Ray Crane, Mary Crowningshield, Mary Curcio, Susan W. Daly, Terry Del Percio-Piedmonte, Nancy Davis, Patricia Doran, Phyllis Feld, Susie Field, Karen Fitzgerald, James Formichella, Paul George, Dina Gomery, Don Gorvett, Noreen Hale, Marion Hall, Joy Halsted, Jeanne Havran, Olga Hayes, Sandra Herdman, Deanie Johnson, Phyllis J. Kaplan, Fred Kepler, Barbara Kremer, Mary Jane Lane, Carole Loiacono, Judy Magee, Florence Martin, Mary McCarl, Roy McCauley, Perry McIntosh, Jeannie McIntyre, Danny Mears, Judith Menicocci, KT Morse, Kate Nordstrom, Christine Pitman, Mary Rhinelander, Charlotte Roberts, Sandra L Sperry, Marilyn Swift, Bonnie Sylvester, Peter Tysver, Juni Van Dyke, Jeff Weaver, Alyce Wherren, Bernica Wilcox, Curtis Wilcox, Marnie Williams, Jane Wolf, Theresa Wonson, Heidi Caswell Zander
#26 Jeff Weaver Loading Dock
#2 Dina Gomery Strong Sea Breeze
#4 Nancy Davis Path to Marsh
#8 Peter Tysver Passing Ten Pound Island
#15 Mary McCarl White Flowers
#19 Carole Loiacono Morning Harbor
#20 Marilyn Swift View of Annisquam Light
#23 Bob Blue Gloucester
#31 Susan W Daly Annisquam Light
#32 Cynthia J Asaro Backshore Gloucester
#36 Curtis Wilcox Block Party
#40 Marion Hall Crane Beach Dune
#42 Roy McCauley Quiet Moment
#43 Don Gorvett Winter Layover Woodbury Studio
#39 Ray Crane Offshore Fogbanks Thatcher Island
#46 Heidi Caswell Zander Marsh Sparkle
#50 Juni Van Dyke “Bill and Hilary Step Out”
#52 Paul George Setting Sail
#53 Mary Rhinelander Bird Beacon Twin Lights
#56 Joy Halsted Polaroid Paradise
#59 Mary Curcio His Majesty
#62 Bonnie Sylvester The Clammer
Sawyer Free 2017 Annual Art Auction Installation shot
Sawyer Free 2017 Annual Art Auction Installation shot
Sawyer Free 2017 Annual Art Auction Installation shot
Sawyer Free 2017 Annual Art Auction Installation shot
Sawyer Free 2017 Annual Art Auction Installation shot
From Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library
Date: July 13, 2017
Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library Wait-listed for Library Construction Grant
NEEDHAM – July 13, 2017 – The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) voted to place the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library on a wait-list for a Provisional Construction Grant. The grant is part of the state-funded Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) which helps libraries across the state meet the growing demand for library services with expanded and improved library facilities. Attendance at public library programs has increased 49% since 2006 and every 5.5 seconds a Massachusetts resident accesses the Internet through a public library.
Thirty-three libraries completed the grant round process. Through a rigorous review, nine libraries were identified to receive grants and twenty-four were placed on a wait-list. Wait-listed libraries will receive construction grants as the funding becomes available either through the existing bond bill or a future bond authorization.
“This is a very good result for us,” said Katherine Prum, Vice-President of the Board of Trustees. “It gives us the gift of time, a number of years in which to build community support, raise funds, conduct a strategic planning process, answer the questions regarding renovation vs new construction, and address concerns about the historic buildings, amphitheater, and gardens.”
“Our residents support the library and are using it more than ever. Obviously we would have preferred to be one of the nine initial recipients, but it was a highly competitive grant round. We’re proud to have completed the process and we’ll be ready when the funding becomes available for our library,” said John Brennan, President of the Board of Trustees.
The proposed project would centralize all the library facilities in a single building, and reassert the library’s role at the center of the city’s culture and learning.
Funding for the MPLCP is authorized by the governor and the legislature. Funding for this grant round is part of the general governmental needs bond bill filed in March, 2013 which included $150 million for the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program. This funding was also used to award construction grants to 11 communities that had been on a wait-list for several years and will be used to support a future Planning and Design grant round.
The MPLCP was first funded in 1987. Since then, the program has assisted hundreds of communities in building new libraries or in renovating and expanding existing libraries. For more information about the program, please visit the MBLC’s website.http://mblc.state.ma.us/
Central Grammar, City Hall, Library
New temporary shelving in children’s
John Ronan and Chrisy Russo leading Poetry Without Paper awards and reading ceremony
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Sawyer spacious and beautiful then and now. “What is the future we want?”
ANNUAL MEETING: tonight, June 12, 7pm,from SFL board letter: “…As we step back from our original plan for a new building, we need to make crucial decisions about the library’s future…”
from the tourist guide description 1885
“SAWYER FREE LIBRARY
At the corner of Dale avenue and Middle street, a few yards from the City Hall, is the spacious and beautiful “Sawyer Free Library” building. These attractive grounds were purchased by Samuel E. Sawyer, Esq., for the purpose of establishing a permanent home for the library, in February of last year. of Mr. William A. Pew, for the sum of $20,000. The grounds of this noble mansion are extensive and well laid out, and Mr. Sawyer has spent large sums of money in fitting up the place for the purposes of what it is now used. The large rooms and stately halls are carpeted and elegantly furnished.
The walls are adorned with over one hundred and fifty rare and valuable paintings and pictures, collected during Mr. Sawyer’s visits to foreign cities and in this country.
The generous donor has done everything that could be done to make the home of the library that bears his name convenient and beautiful. When the library was dedicated in July, 1884, a large assembly of our best citizens were present, together with several persons from abroad. Mr. Sawyer then presented to the trustees the deed of the entire property, comprising nearly 30,000 square feet of land, and thereby made it a perpetual gift to the citizens of Gloucester. The building was erected in 1764, and is consequently over 120 years old, though during that time it has been somewhat altered and improved by several owners. Mr. Pew built the fine tower upon it and the verandas around the first story, and also the “porte cochere.” He laid out the grounds with considerable taste, and protected them with the fine walls of dressed granite and iron gateways. Mr. Sawyer’s improvements have embellished this valuable estate in many respects, and to-day it is one of the finest sites within our city. The rooms are open daily, afternoon and evening (except Tuesdays), from 2-5 and 7-9- Thursdays, in evening only.
The library owns about 65,000 volumes.”
-from In and Around Cape Ann: A Handbook of Gloucester, Mass., and Its Immediate Vicinity. For the Wheelman Tourist and the Summer Visitor by John S. Webber, Jr with eleven illustrations. Gloucester, Mass: Printed at the Cape Ann Advertiser Office, 1885. in the collection of the Library of Congress
“Brook Bank” Sawyer’s summer home and Sawyer’s Hill (heading to Magnolia)
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“…As we step back from our original plan for a new building, we need to make crucial decisions about the library’s future.
“How and where will we provide the services Gloucester deserves and the space to deliver them?”
“How can we provide a truly excellent 21st century facility available to the diverse sectors of the community, with first rate digital capacities, flexible spaces for educational and community gatherings, maker spaces and co-working areas?
“How can we best ensure the comfort, safety, and health of library users…”
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photo: SFL parking lot foreground and City Hall- ADA compliance work to be completed inside and construction in the parking lot
Information about the closure week from the library:
“The Library will be CLOSED the week of Monday, June 5 through Saturday, June 10 for renovations associated with ADA compliance. Materials may be returned during this time, however, we encourage you to return them when we reopen as the parking lot will also be under construction and there will be minimal staffing. Due dates and fines will be adjusted and waived for materials during this time period. Items may also be returned and checked in at other libraries within the NOBLE system. Please plan to pickup any holds or museum passes before we close on Saturday, June 3 at 1pm.”
Save the dates
June 12 Annual meeting proposed building changes
June 15 Poetry without Paper annual awards ceremony and poetry reading
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Heidi Wakeman teaches Spanish at O’Maley. Selma Bell was Heidi’s first grade teacher, and Barbara Kelley was her high school Spanish teacher. Were they yours?
Have you had a chance to thank the special teacher(s) that made a difference in your life? It’s beautiful when it happens!
Heidi and Selma (this photo from Heidi)
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Cramer read quotes from her book that also inspired Janet Essley’s art; Quateman, Essley and works by Michael DiGiorgio and George Textor were exhibited at the Matz Gallery in the Library. Martin Ray’s sculpture seen to the right and behind Deborah during her talk is part of the library’s art collection.
“Unbeknownst to most people horseshoe crab blood safeguards human health.”
Heidi Wakeman, a Gloucester O’Maley teacher, was excited to visit with her first grade teacher, and Barbara Kelley who we learned accompanied Cramer on a research trip for The Narrow Edge.
Don’t miss Deborah Cramer tonight at the Sawyer Free at 7pm. Her book is beautiful, and beautifully written. Deborah’s photos accompanying the presentation create an added depth of understanding to the plight of this most vulnerable of species.
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Fresh from a National Academies of Sciences talk and before taking flight to the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival (hyperlinked because I know you’re going to want to Google it), multi award-winning author Deborah Cramerwill give a lecture about the making of the Narrow Edge on Thursday May 4th from 7-8:30PM at Sawyer Free Library, 2 Dale Avenue, in her hometown, Gloucester, MA. The talk is sponsored by the library, Eastern Point Lit House, Kestrel, and The Gloucester Writers Center.
SPECIAL EXHIBITION
Red knots and horseshoe crabs–and Deborah Cramer— inspired artists Susan Quateman, Michael DiGiorgio, Janet Essley, Patty Hanlon, and George Textor. Their art is featured in a special group exhibit in Sawyer Free’s Matz Gallery alongside photographs from Cramer’s journey. As far as architecture, identity and culture go, a gallery threshold for a library in Gloucester is pretty perfect.
Susan Quateman writes about her “silk paintings, horseshoe crabs and red knots: Lee Steele, Susan’s 91 year young silk painter friend and former Folly Cove Designer, gave her horseshoe crab shells she’d found on Folly Cove 25 years ago. They’re no longer found there. Susan used them as models to interpret with Jacquard dyes on silk, and painted the red knots from photographs.” Quateman’s Narrow Edge series premiered at Cedar Tree Gallery in Essex.
National Academies of Sciences, April 30th Sawyer Free Library, May 4th
Indiana Dunes Birding Festival, May 6th
Northeast Migration Monitoring, May 17th
Salem Literary Festival, June 25th
Thoreau Society, July 12th
The City of Gloucester’s Committee for the Arts announces the release of the 2017 Call for Applications for the four year position of Gloucester Poet Laureate.
The position of Gloucester Poet Laureate is dedicated to building community through poetry and encouraging a love of poetry among people of all ages. The position was most recently held by the late Peter Todd, appointed in 2014. During Peter’s time as Poet Laureate, he generously shared his talents with his beloved City of Gloucester.
Under City Ordinance, the process to select the Poet Laureate is administered by the Committee for the Arts and will involve a Selection Panel including representatives from the local literary community thanks to Eastern Point Lit House and The Gloucester Writers Center. A recommendation from the Selection Panel will be forwarded to the Committee for the Arts for review and then forwarded on to the Mayor for nomination, subject to confirmation by the City Council.
The Call for Applications is available for download at the Committee for the Arts page on the City website: http://gloucester-ma.gov/index.aspx?nid=102. Copies also are available at the Sawyer Free Library, the City of Gloucester Mayor’s Office, Eastern Point Lit House, the Gloucester Writer’s Center, and other locales. Applications must be submitted by 12 pm on Friday, June 9th , 2017. Contact Judith Hoglander, Committee for the Arts with any questions.
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Well deserved. See wonderful story by Ray Lamont in today’s Gloucester Daily Times: GHS Engineering program wins national award, Photo by Mike Springer shows Kurt with students Austin Monnell and Conor Williamson.
NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION
TEACHER EXCELLENCE AWARD
It’s close to Kurt’s 20th anniversary at Gloucester High School. Here’s a throwback photo I took in February 2012 at East Gloucester Elementary. Kurt brought the high school students in to the elementary school to lead science and robotic stations for all the kids. He told me then about his approach:
“For too long; students who could memorize facts were considered highly intelligent. In my classes students must learn to apply the knowledge and prove that they learned the topics. This is a different kind of intelligence (kinesthetic – hands on intelligence) that for so long has gone unappreciated and unrecognized. Mixing the two types of intelligences (multi level) in a class just makes common sense and great products (student work).”-Kurt Lichtenwald
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John Ronan presents Taking the Train of Singularity South From Midtown on Saturday, April 8, 2:00-3:00pm in the Friend Room. It’s Sponsored by the Gloucester Lyceum and Friends of the Sawyer Free Library.
John Ronana poet, playwright, journalist and a National Endowment for the
Arts Fellow in Literature has done so much in Gloucester! Here’s a throwback article from 1978 about the Gloucester Broadside, a monthly 10 cent one sheet of quality poetry.
Ronan developed the website resource dedicated to Gloucester poets, Gloucester Poet Laureate, also for Salt and Light: An Anthology of Gloucester Poetry, published spring 2010. He is the host of the Cape Ann TV program, The Writer’s Block. He was pivotal in establishing the library’s annual Poetry without Paper Contest and poetry columns in the Gloucester Daily Times.
April 27 2017 | POEM IN POCKET DAY: It’s free and simple to participate. Carry a Poem. Share a Poem. For more information, search for Poem in Your Pocket Day (PIYP Day) Academy of American Poets (www.poets.org) or New York City’s excellent web site, http://www.NYC.gov/poem. PIYP Day started in NYC in 2002 inspired by the Favorite Poem Project established in 1997 (first events April 1998) by Robert Pinsky, former 3x Poet Laureate of the United States. East Gloucester Elementary School initiated Poem in Pocket Day in 2011 (PTO enrichment).
Abbott Public Library, Marblehead, MA, June 18, 2017
POET LAUREATE: In Gloucester, MA, the Poet Laureate is dedicated to building community through poetry and encouraging a love of poetry among people of all ages. The honorary post for the City of Gloucester was created in 1998. There have been 4 Poet Laureates: Vincent Ferrini was the City’s first, then John Ronan served from 2008-10, Ruthanne Collinson served 2010-14, and Peter Todd served 2014-15. The Committee for the Arts helps to select a new Poet Laureate.
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Tomorrow, Monday, I’ll be giving my Pollinator Garden program in Osterville. Cape Cod friends please let me know if you would like to attend (kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com). Tuesday I’ll be at the Nahant Country Club but I am most excited about giving the program at the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday evening. I hope to see you there!
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SAVE THE DATE
Good Morning Gloucester 