"A Prairie Refrain" at Carole Peck's Good News Cafe

Contemporary realist painter, Karl Hartman, will exhibit his new show titled "A Prairie Refrain" through January 27, 2015 at Carole Peck's Good News Cafe and Gallery, 694 Main Street South, Woodbury CT.

Hartman's paintings focuses on his memories of the prairie landscapes that he grew to love and his evolvement with these landscapes as a geologist in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Hartman describes this part of the United States as spare, quiet and infinitely dynamic, beautiful and terrifying all at the same time. In contrast to his painting of the plains, he is also working on drawings of Bergen County, New Jersey that reflect the tightly packed, crowded suburban local domestic world of this area as well as its occupants and their imprint on it."

Karl Hartman was born in Billings Montana and grew up mostly in the plains states of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. He received his BS from the University of Oklahoma majoring in geology and minoring in art. He received his MFA in painting from the School of Visual Arts in New York where he studied with Sam Cady, Ursula von Rydingsvard and John Lees. He lives with his family in New Jersey and travels back to Oklahoma to see family, take photographs and sketch.

Karl shows at the Mary Ann Doran gallery in Tulsa, OK and the New Arts Gallery in Litchfield, CT. He has exhibited at the Kansas Museum of Fine Art in Wichita, KA, The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, OH, The Charles A. Wustum Museum, Racine, WI. He has also shown at The Grand Central Galleries, The Adam Baumgold Gallery, and the National Academy of Design in New York as well as the Yoyogi School of fine art in Tokyo Japan.

His most recent award was the New Jersey State Council for the Arts Fellowship for painting. For area information visit http://www.litchfieldhills.com.  For New Year or dinner reservations, contact Good News Cafe at http://www.good-news-cafe.com/

Holiday Lights at Lake Compounce

Lake Compounce, located on Lake Ave. in Bristol is proud to announce their third annual "Lake Compounce Holiday Lights", a seasonal holiday themed family event taking place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings beginning December 5-7, 12-14, and 19-21. The park gates will open at 5:00 P.M. on Fridays, and at 4:00 P.M. on Saturdays and Sundays.

'Holiday Lights' will provide full family entertainment for all ages, and include festive activities such as a spectacular light show every half hour at the main gate, which will feature tens of thousands of dancing lights set to holiday music. Kiddieland rides and family themed rides will be in operation. The Train will be transformed into the North Pole Railway, operated by a very special, uniformed train conductor with a magical holiday story to tell.

There will be indoor activities such as cookie decorating and gingerbread house making. Children will be given the opportunity to customize their very own letter to Santa, and will then receive a personalized letter sent directly to them, from Santa, just a few days later. On the Kiddieland stage children can enjoy Story Time with Mrs. Clause. There will be carolers strolling throughout the park, an ice carver creating unique, frozen sculptures, and lots more festive entertainment including clowns making balloon animals and lots of holiday characters greeting guests. The childhood favorite; photos with Santa is not to be missed in the Winter Wonderland Starlight Theatre. The park's gift shops will also be loaded with holiday themed merchandise for sale, so guests can get their holiday shopping done, too.

Admission is $14.99 plus tax per adult, $10.99 plus tax for children 4 thru 10, and free for children 3 and under. Platinum Season Pass holders may enter for free with their 2014 or 2015 pass. Tickets may be purchased online now, or at the park gate once the event begins. Nominal fees will be charged for select activities. 2015 Platinum Passes are being offered at the park at a
special sale price of $74.99 plus tax. For more information https://www.lakecompounce.com

For area information and more holiday events www.litchifeldhills.com

Can you smell the gingerbread in Kent Connecticut?

The sweet scents will tease your sense of smell as you enter the quaint village of Kent CT. The rolling pins are spinning and creative minds of all ages are working hard to create over 40 Gingerbread Houses. Ovens are filled to capacity and working overtime to get ready for the 3rd ANNUAL KENT GINGERBREAD FESTIVAL through Jan. 5, 2015.

Gingerbread Houses of all shapes and sizes will be on display in over 40 beautifully decorated shop windows until the first week in January. As you approach Kent you will find yourself in what looks like a movie set of the perfect little New England town, twinkling lights will guide you through the unique one of a kind shops. What an enjoyable way to do your holiday shopping. Add to that, a little Naughty Gingerbread Man named FREDDIE and you have the recipe for the most exciting Holiday Destination in Connecticut.

FREDDIE and his crew of ten Gingerbread Bad Boys will be hiding out in the shop windows amongst the Gingerbread Houses. So bring the family and friends and put on your detective hats and gumshoes. Vote for your favorite Window Display and House and you can also enter for free to win a great prize. Download a Gingerbread Manhunt Walking Map to find FREDDIE and his girlfriend GINGER, the cute, hot & spicy Gingerbread Girl he rescued from the bakery. Even though FREDDIE has been NAUGHTY, while you are in Kent, you can complete your NICE shopping list, away from the crowded malls & parking lots. Here you will find smiling faces, and even get your gifts wrapped for free in most shops.

Should you be hungry after your Gingerbread Manhunt Walk there are many temptations that will lure you, from a chocolate shop and baked goods to delicious culinary delights in one of Kent's twelve restaurants & cafés. Join in the "Find Freddie Fun" and make Kent CT your Annual Holiday Destination.

For more holiday information and the latest on Freddie visit www.kentct.com

Celebrate the Season at the P.T. Barnum Museum

The PT Barnum Museum located on 820 Main Street in Bridgeport is hosting two holiday events that detail traditions that began in the Victorian times and are still celebrated today. 

On December 10 at 12:15 for example, guests will get a sneak peek at the Barnum Museum.  This free event is open to the public and will explore the fact that Christmas as we know it today is really a  wonderful creation dating back to the Victorian times. The tradition of the Christmas tree, gift-giving and joyous celebrations with family and friends began in America in the mid 19th-century. Join the museum staff as they showcase some holiday costumes and finery that speak to the opulence of the holiday season!

On December 14 at 2 p.m. the musuem is celebrating the season with journey back in time.  Escape the hustle and bustle of the holiday season for an hour or so while listening to the lecture by Museum Director Kathy Maher.  She will present the evolution of the tales and traditions of the Victorian Age Christmas. There is no registration but a $5 donation is suggested. The museum is free for kids under 12.

For more information about the P.T. Barnum Museum visit http://www.barnum-museum.org.

‘Let’s Play Shakespeare’ free in Rowayton Dec. 12

 Shakespeare on the Sound reaches down through the centuries to introduce the enduring and timeless themes of The Bard in premiering the 2015 version of "Let's Play Shakespeare" Dec. 12 (Friday) at 3:30 p.m. in the Moose Room of the Rowayton Community Center on 33 Highland Avenue.

The 50-minute production—to be followed by a question-and-answer opportunity—is an original and interactive theatrical work designed to give children from kindergarten to grade five an insight into Shakespeare-- but appealing to all ages. Admission is free, donations optional.

The sweep of Shakespeare's lyrical scythe from comedy to tragedy unfolds onstage as the actors argue over which passages they should perform—and who gets the biggest part-- from a palate that shuffles iconic scenes from "Macbeth," "Henry V," "Much Ado About Nothing," "As You Like It" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The performers work with props extracted from a trunk they bring onstage with them. All three are New York-based professionals who have all appeared in previous outdoor productions of Shakespeare on the Sound in Rowayton's Pinkney Park. They are Katie Wieland, Matthew Lynch and Daniel Levitt.

The playwrights, Kelly and Bryan, created an innovative format where youngsters from the audience are invited on-stage to warm up with the actors and to act in the performance, becoming, for example, part of Henry V's army. The play with its interactive dimension is also portable and available for presentation in schools and libraries.

For more information visit http://www.shakespareonthesound.org   For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Holiday Stroll and Fun at Litchfield History Museum

The Litchfield History Museum is offering a special Holiday Stroll on Sunday, November 30 from 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.  This festive event will include a holiday stroll of this historic town as well as materials to make your own holiday ornaments!  

In addition to the festivities, this will be the last day to view this year's excellent exhibition, "Join the Brave Throng: Poster Art of WWI and the other exhibits at the Litchfield History Museum and the Tapping Reeve House & Law School.

Although the museums will be closed after November 30, the Litchfield History Museum has several interesting programs planned for the month of December that includes a lecture on December 7 of the hidden history of Litchfield County at 1 p.m.  This lecture traces the past of the area that is hidden in plain sight.  Among the all-but-forgotten stories is the 1886 fire that roared down West Street in Litchfield causing hotel guests to flee their rooms at the Mansion House. In Bantam, the Art Deco chairs offered by the Warren McArthur Corporation caught the attention of the War Department who asked the company to make seats for bombers in World War II. With these and other hidden tales author Peter C. Vermilyea explores the little-known history of Litchfield Hills.

On December 10 at 7 p.m. there will be an archives workshop that will review the best ways to store cherished heirlooms.  Basic storage techniques ranging from museum-quality archival practices to simple and affordable solutions, tips on displaying your fabric treasures, and just some good old-fashioned do's and don'ts will be reviewed to help you store your treasures for generations. Free for members, $10 for non-members.

On December 17, the Leather Apron Book Club will hold a meeting from 3:30- 5 p.m.  The group will be reading Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen.  This is the story of  13-year-old Samuel who must help to save his family, taken prisoner by the British during the Revolutionary War. Following a discussion of the book, we'll play a game or make a craft related to the story. Register by December 12 and get a copy of the book!  This is best for kids 8 and up.  The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. 

For more information visit http://litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

Beauty and Ruin: Broken Landscapes, Lost Symbols at the Silvermine Art Center

Beauty and Ruin:  Broken Landscapes, Lost Symbols is the name of the show at the Silvermine Art Center located on 1037 Silvermine Road in New Cannan that runs through December 23.  The focus of the show is the work of three artists that explore three themes in photography, sculpture, and a site-dependent work that includes video as a primary element.

 “The Hand of Man,” J Henry Fair - J Henry Fair’s stunning abstract compositions are full of organic forms and graphic patterns:  plumes, branches, rivulets, as well as grids and softened geometric forms.  But in Fair’s large-scale photographs, beauty and horror coexist.  Fair’s subject in “The Hand of Man” is a damaged environment: de-forested landscapes, polluted waterways, hydraulic fracturing sites, and waste from refinery operations and other industrial practices.  His goal is to “produce beautiful images that stimulate an aesthetic response, then curiosity, then personal involvement.”

 “Flying over these sites is the only way to see things,” Fair has said.  “The aerial perspective is inherently intriguing to land-based animals.”  It is the aerial view that is his particular angle of vision—the distant view, not of the peaceful blue planet, but of the compromised landscape of a world that even in the digital era is still predominantly industrial.

 J Henry Fair’s photography has been the subject of solo exhibitions throughout the U.S. and in Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands.  His work has been featured or reviewed in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian Magazine, New York Magazine, Harper’s, and National Geographic.  He has served as an artist-in-residence at Swarthmore, Dartmouth, Colorado College, and the Cooper Union, and his work is in a number of permanent collections including the Cooper Union and Dartmouth’s Hood Museum. Fair has been a member of the SIlvermine Guild of Artists since 2011.

J Henry Fair       Plume of foam in bauxite waste from aluminum refinery       Darrow, Louisiana

 “Neo-Archaism,” Carlos Davila- Carlos Davila creates a visual landscape that abstracts the symbols and forms of ancient cultures and combines them with those of advanced technology and modern industry.  He explores the relationship between the modern, highly mechanized age that we live in and a totemic, stylized symbolism of a variety of ancient cultures from Egypt, South America, and Africa. 

Davila abstracts line, form, and color to create sculptures, three-dimensional wall pieces, and large-scale diptychs and triptychs.  His mechanical and industrial elements coalesce into a layered, three-dimensional geometry that is textural and drenched in brilliant color. His is a figurative landscape at once familiar and alien.

After earning his MFA, Davila participated in the reconstruction of the ancient city of Chan Chan, Peru.  His work at this Pre-Columbian archaeological dig led to a fascination with ancient and lost cultures, and the experience profoundly affected the course of his work.

Carlos Davila’s art has been the subject of solo exhibitions from Lima, Santiago, and Bogota to New York, Boston, and Miami.  He has work in the permanent collections of Yale University’s Richard Brown Baker Collection, the National Arts Club in New York City, the Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, and dozens of international corporations. 

Born and educated in Lima, Peru, he lived for many years in New York City.  He currently lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and maintains a studio in a loft in Bridgeport.  He has been a member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists since 2012.

 “What’s Left,” June Ahrens- In her recent work, June Ahrens has explored repurposed and broken glass as material and metaphor.  “What’s Left” is a new turn for Ahrens—a unified environment made up of a video surrounded by blue walls that are layered with a combination of dried pigment mixed with salt.  This site-dependent piece, created for the Hays Gallery at the Silvermine Arts Center, evokes loss and fragility while channeling light through a landscape of broken glass.

The video serves as the primary element in the composition and contains many of the materials used in her environment. The integration of materials and images (including images of a human face and hands) invites the viewer to explore and embrace the residue of lives.  Salt and glass enhance the imperfections of the walls, which become a metaphor for the imperfections in each of us.  The surface partially hides some of the scarring but salt and pigment reveal it in a new way.  Repurposed broken glass (clear or blue) is also part of the installation—random patterns of fallen shards will pool and reflect danger, pain, and vulnerability.

June Ahrens’s work has been exhibited at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City; at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland; in “Strong Women Artists,” a group exhibit in Matera, Italy; and in many other exhibitions throughout the U.S.  She was nominated for a 2012 Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant and was a recipient of a grant from the NEA.  She was honored by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism as a Distinguished Advocate for the Arts and as an Individual Artist.  She lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, and has been a member of the Silvermine Guild since 1993.

Still from Video by Ahren

Silvermine Arts Center is one of the oldest artist communities in the United States. Its five-­ acre campus in New Canaan, Connecticut, consists of a nationally renowned artist guild, an award-­winning school of art offering classes for all ages, an arts and fine crafts shop, and a gallery offering over twenty contemporary and historic exhibitions annually. Silvermine is a non-­profit organization that also offers an educational outreach program, Art Partners, and hosts lectures, performances, film screenings, and special events.

Gallery Hours: Silvermine Galleries are open Wednesday through Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (203) 966-­9700 ext. 20 or visit the website: www.silvermineart.org.

Clare Romano & John Ross: 70 Years of Printmaking at Center for Contemporary Printmaking

The fall exhibition, featuring a sampling from the extensive collection of original prints by Clare Romano and John Ross,  at The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP), 299 West Ave., in Mathews Park, Norwalk, runs through Sunday, December 14, 2014.

Clare Romano, "Silver Canyon"

Gallery visitors have the opportunity to view original prints made by these preeminent printmaking artists, educators, and authors—husband and wife, each with their own acclaimed individual careers—who have made the fine art of printmaking, with a particular emphasis on the art of the collagraph, their life's work.

Clare Romano and John Ross had a major influence on the art printmaking and printmaking students. For many, their text, "The Complete Printmaker", represented the next wave in printmaking. The exhibition showcases landscapes and cityscapes, lithographs, etchings, silkscreens, woodcuts, letterpress and, of course, collagraphs. Visitors will discover novel and innovative images using silk aquatint, asymmetrically cut plates, and the combination of intaglio and relief on the same plate.

John Ross, "Duomo

The Center has scheduled an Artists Talk and Book Signing with John and Tim Ross for December 10 from 7 to 8:30 pm.  Clare Romano and John Ross wrote and illustrated a number of books together, the first entitled Manhattan Island (1957) and the most important publication, The Complete Printmaker, originally published in 1972 is now in its second edition with Artist/Printmaker and Educator Tim Ross joining his parents as co-author. The Complete Printmaker is still used as a printmaking text in college classrooms today. 

Normal hours are Tuesday through Sunday 9 am to 5 pm. The gallery is closed on Columbus Day, Veterans Day, and over the Thanksgiving Day weekend. Admission is free, and the gallery is handicapped accessible. For more information visit http://www.contemprints.org.

For information on Fairfield County visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum Explores Mark Twain’s Victorian Holiday Traditions

On Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 11 a.m. at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Avenue in Norwalk, CT, Curator Patricia Philippon will give a talk entitled, A Clemens Christmas, which will highlight the Christmas celebrations that took place in the Hartford home of Mark Twain.

This lecture will discuss Victorian holiday traditions, as well as provide a virtual walk-through of the Clemens 19- room, Tiffany-decorated mansion decked out for the family's holiday celebrations, from 1874 to 1891, when the author, his wife, and three daughters lived in the house. 

This lecture will lead the audience throughout the house, starting with a "kissing ball" of mistletoe and the home's massive staircase wreathed in garlands and ribbons. Along with the holiday decorations Ms. Philippon will discuss Clemens’ own holiday sentiments and introduce lecture goers to Mark Twain’s storytelling side, his humor, and his endearing thoughts on this cherished family tradition.

Patricia Philippon is the Executive Director of the American Clock & Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut and was the chief curator of The Mark Twain House & Museum from 2007 to 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Providence College, RI and a Masters in Art History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.          

This will be the sixth in a series of lectures entitled, Lockwood-Mathews Mansion: Seventy-Four Years of Culture - Art, Life, and Love, 1864-1938 by curators and experts in the field of Victorian era material life. The lectures are $25 for members, $30 for non-members per session. Please RSVP by Friday, November 7, 2014. The price includes lecture, lunch and a first floor Mansion tour.  Lunch is courtesy of Michael Gilmartin's Outdoor Cookers.  The chair of the Lecture Committee is Mimi Findlay of New Canaan. Please contact info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com or 203-838-9799, ext. 4 to purchase tickets.

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is a National Historic Landmark.  For more information on schedules and programs please visit: www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.

Holidays with Bridgeport Symphony

The Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra has an exciting holiday season planned and tickets are selling fast. Once again this year, the orchestra is returning to Saturday night concerts beginning at 8 p.m. with a special optional 7:00 PM pre-concert open to all ticket buyers. Pre-concert attendees will hear the stories and letters that have inspired the repertoire for each concert by invited narrators. Pre-concert events also allow participants closer interactions with conductors, soloists and other musicians as well as the visuals that enhance each live performance. 

On November 15 at 8 p.m. the concert called Dream of Dances will feature György Ligeti - Old Hungarian Dances, Igor Stravinsky - Suite from Pulcinella, Ludwig Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Opus 92.  The conductor, Jacomo Rafael Bairos has been described as "expressive and passionate" [Malaysian Straits Times], and lauded by the Leipziger Volkszeitung as an "impressive conductor... who is elegantly demanding", Mr. Bairos enjoys an emerging career as an imaginative and inclusive conductor, dedicated collaborator and educator, and ardent champion of living American composers.

On December 6 the orchestra has planned a special holiday concert that will also begin at 8 p.m. whose theme is A Folk Christmas.  This concert will feature the work of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky - Serenade, opus 48; Antonio Vivaldi - from The Four Seasons; Carols and folk songs and the conductor is Eric Jacobsen.   This promises to be a night of holiday cheer!

In addition, the holiday concert will highlight a performance by the Fairfield County Children's Choir conducted by Jon Noyes, Musical Director.  The Fairfield County Children's Choir (FCCC) is a community-based choral program made up of 300 children in grades four through twelve from communities in and around Fairfield County, Connecticut. The FCCC was founded in 1995 to provide children the opportunity to participate in a musical experience which is challenging, rewarding and enjoyable. The FCCC has performed throughout New England as well as in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Maryland, New Orleans, San Francisco, Oakland, Hawaii, Canada, England, Ireland, Austria and the Czech Republic. The group has shared the stage with such artists as Renee Fleming, Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz, Lawrence Gilgore, Sam Waterston, Christopher Plummer, Nick Page, Ivan Rutherford, Michelle Mallardi, Henry Leck, Bob Chilcott, Jean Ashworth Bartle, Tom Chapin and Rob Hugh. We welcome FCCC back to perform a 2nd time with GBS!

There will also be a performance by Sara Watkins who plays the fiddle and has spent nearly two decades, as singer and fiddle player for the Grammy Award–winning, bluegrass-folk hybrid Nickel Creek, a trio she'd started performing in when she was a mere eight years old. As a solo artist as the BBC put it, "Watkins' time in the spotlight is a triumph with her agile playing and the kind of voice that gives your goose bumps the shivers."

The final performer is Aoife O'Donovon, best known as the founder and frontwoman of the string band Crooked Still. She is also one-third of the female trio Sometymes Why, and has appeared on the Prairie Home Companion radio program. She has collaborated with artists as varied as jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas, Yo-Yo Ma's Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile's Goat Rodeo Sessions band, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and Olabelle, to name just a few.

All performances are at the Klein Memorial Auditorium on 910 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport. For ticket information call 203-576-0263 or visit http://www.gbs.org.

Bruce Museum Store to Host Special Holiday Shopping Night

The Bruce Museum will hold a special holiday shopping night at their Museum store next Thursday, November 13 from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Admission to the Museum is not required to visit the Museum shop.

People like to shop at the Bruce Museum Store because they carry unique things in many different categories. Chances are you’ll find something for everyone on your list somewhere in the shop.  The special holiday shopping night at the Museum on Thursday, November 13 will include  complimentary wine and cheese in addition to a rare evening shopping opportunity at the Museum.

The Museum has extended its regular store hours to facilitate holiday shopping throughout the season.
From now until Christmas, the store will be open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (December 22, 10
a.m. to noon) and Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Bruce Museum Store is located in the lobby of the Museum at One Museum Drive in Greenwich.  For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at https://brucemuseum.org.

For area information visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

November Naturally at White Memorial Foundation

White Memorial Foundation located just off Rte. 202 on Whites Wood Road in Litchfield has planned a fun filled November for nature lovers. 

On November 5 take a brisk walk with Gerri Griswold  then relax with a super healthy meal.  The objective is to share recipes, learn how to use herbs and spices to create wonderfully delicious meals that will keep you focused on your goal and to use this beautiful property to help you become the very best you can be. As for the featured dish of the night it is a Hearty Vegetarian Chili, Mesclun Greens with Oranges, Avocado, and Toasted Almonds, and Fresh Fruit. Make sure you dress for the weather and pack a flashlight!  And, don't forget to bring your own place setting! This event starts at 6:00 P.M., at the  A.B. Ceder Room, Members: $15.00 Non-members: $25.00. Limited to 20 people! Pre-registration and prepayment are required.

On November 8, stop by Point Folly on the grounds of the Foundation anytime between 9 am and 12 pm to do some birdwatching with the new Education Director Carrie Szwed and don't forget your binoculars to spot winter migrants and arrivals at this free event.  

On November 15, get your paintbrush ready for a class with world renowned botanical artist Betsy Rogers-Knox!  This is a great opportunity to learn techniques of botanical illustration from a pro. The class is for all levels of experience. All supplies are included. Ages 12 and up. 1:30 P.M. – 4:00 P.M., A. B. Ceder Room, Members: $35.00 Non-members: $45.00, Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.

If you give a "Hoot" then the felting workshop with Robin McCahill should be on your calendar for November 22 from 10 am - 4 pm. This is a perfect opportunity to create a handmade gift for a loved one (or to keep yourself!). Using soft wool and a special barbed felting needle, sculpt a night time owl of your choice. This one day workshop will enable you to finish your bird in time to adorn your home for the holidays. Learn some of the nocturnal habits of the famed owls while you work. All materials included!   Members: $55.00, Non-members: $65.00, Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.

On November 23, there will be an afternoon Green Man Concert with with Michael McDermott and Friends Benefit Concert Supporting The White Memorial Conservation Center. he Green Man is a mysterious, eerie figure depicted mainly in medieval European stonework, believed to represent an ancient vegetation deity. It is nearly always depicted as a "foliate head," that is, a face made of leaves and vines. Sometimes it appears as a human face peering out from leaves, other times with animal features. This joyful afternoon with ridiculously talented purveyor of joy, Michael McDermott and his band "Cead Mile Failte" Gaelic for "A Hundred Thousand Welcomes", will include music by Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Irish singer / songwriter Luka Bloom, and many more. What a splendid way to spend the Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving! 100% of the proceeds from this concert benefit the Conservation Center. 2:00 P.M., Carriage House, Members: $15.00 Non-members: $20.00, Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.

To finish the month, on November 29, take a walk with Gerri Griswold along the Cranberry Pond Trail and cap off the walk with a cup of hot coffee and a thick wedge of Crimson Pie swimming in a pool of thick ginger crème anglaise! Meet in the Museum. 2:00 P.M., We'll drive over to the trail head together. FREE...Donations will be accepted to help defray the Conservation Center's programming expenses.

For more information about White Memorial Foundation visit http://www.whitememorialcc.org.  For information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com

Delightful, Delicious, Disgusting: Paintings by Mia Brownell 2003-2013 at the Housatonic Museum of Art

Twenty-eight of Mia Brownell's paintings will be on display at the Housatonic Museum of Art in the Burt Chernow Galleries from through November 17, 2014. Luscious and sensuous, Mia Brownell's paintings invite us to indulge in "earthly delights" and are themselves ripe with sexual innuendo.

What Brownell asks us to contemplate is the brevity of life. "We begin in the madness of carnal desire and the transport of voluptuousness," wrote the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, "we end in the dissolution of all our parts and the musty stench of corpses." Seventeenth century Dutch still life paintings of tables laden with gastronomic delights served to remind viewers that all things perish but Brownell's fruits invite us to relish the sweetness of now.

Although Mia Brownell's paintings "may recall classical Vanitas paintings, her food-based compositions also invoke contemporary food politics. A critic of the food industrial complex, Brownell creates a juxtaposition between the natural and artificial, modeling her opulent still-lifes after molecular structures. Her depictions of shiny apples, bead-like caviar and juicy grapes look almost too good to be edible, hence the title of her upcoming traveling solo show, Delightful, Delicious, Disgusting.

The exhibition, which premiered at J. Cacciola Gallery in New York, is a ten-year survey of Brownell's paintings (2003-2013) travelled to the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey, Juniata College Museum of Art in Pennsylvania and the final stop at Housatonic Museum of Art in Connecticut."

Gallery hours: Monday- Friday from 8:30am until 5:30pm, Thursdays until 7pm, Saturday from 9am until 3pm and Sunday Noon until 4pm.  Please note that the Gallery will be CLOSED Monday. October 13th.  For more information visit http://www.housatonic.edu/artmuseum/index.asp

Explore your inner artist with a pro at Karen Rossi Studios

Karen Rossi Studios is sure to bring out the inner artist in you no matter what your artistic ability is.  Karen is a highly regarded artist well known for her original metal sculptures.  Rossi also licenses and imports her whimsical characters of hobbies and professions, known as Fanciful Flights™. A growing brand, Rossi Studios is constantly introducing many programs. The newest additions include Aviv Judaica, and puzzles by Ceaco, Stave and Ravensburger.

In Litchfield Hills at Rossi’s newly opened studio in Torrington located on 27 East Main Street in the historic Allen Building she has organized a series of classes for the month of November that are sure to delight young and old.

On November 1 Rossi is offering a Mermaid Fanciful Flights workshop. Participants will make their very own mermaid by painting the beauty first, and then attaching charms to tell the story of your sea creature. Materials are included, but you're invited to bring old broken jewelry, sea glass& shells. $30.00 (Regular $40.00 per person).

Magic Mosaic Boxes are the highlight of the class on November 6 where participants will create a very special box for all their tiny keepsakes.   In addition to mosaics, there are lots of mixed media in the studio to help make your piece unique. All materials supplied, but you're invited to bring your old China plates to smash up! Making mosaics is a great way to let out stress and relax. $25.00 (Regular $40.00 per person).

Shelf Sitters that sit on a table, shelf or desktop replete with dangling legs and shoes will be made on Nov. 8. This workshop is $50 (regular $40).  

Sure to be favorites, on November 15 participants will make Christmas Dogs and Cats ($25/$40) and will personalize each one for a one of a kind keepsake.  On November 22 participants will Make their own Menorah  ($35/$55) and will be able to choose from one of Karen’s lasercut designs.  You'll be given a white menorah to fill with color, add beads and candle cups and you'll be ready for Chanukah.

For more information and to sign up for one of these fun and affordable classes visit http://www.karenrossi.com.  For information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com