MARK MELLINGER

Mark Mellinger : 914-260-7413

The Clock Tower Business Center, 3rd floor, 75 South Church St, Pittsfield, MA markmellinger680@gmail.com

Each image is part of a limited edition. There are several sizes available. Each piece is priced according to size. Images are unframed and printed on Hahnemuhle archival papers.

Bruce Panock: 917-287-8589 www.panockphotography.com bruce@panockphotography.com

Ruby Aver 413 854 7007 rdaver2@gmail.com

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PRIMAVERA

“... And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Lodiza LePorelodiza@comcast.net https://www.lodizalepore.com/

Mary Davidson has been painting regularly for the last 16 years. Davidson’s paintings are a twodimensional decorative visualization of line, color, design, shape, patterns, and stamping. As you begin to study the paintings, you will find that the foreground and background tend to merge with overlaid patterns. “I love the intense complexity and ambiguity of space and dimension.”. The effect can be startling: the longer you look at the piece, the more you see.

Davidson’s New Hat series consists of 70 paintings. “I start with a basic drawing, building with color and shape, coming to life with gesture and flow. As the title suggests, the hats are important, and the millinery designs emerge. There is much joy in their creation, and my passion for playful designs is reinforced by their bright colors, linear rhythms, and patterns leading our eyes around and through the painting. My newest series is even more abstract, with an even stronger emphasis on design. I do like to use stamping, along with painting, because I love the result. When I finish with a painting, I adhere the canvas with mat gel to gator board, creating a nice tight surface. My paintings are always framed.”

Mary Davidson - PO Box 697, South Egremont, Massachusetts; 413-528-6945 / 413-7172332; mdavidsongio@aol.com marydavidson83155@gmail.com www.davidsondesigncompany.net

The Magic Fluke Company designs and builds innovative musical instruments in the Berkshires. Dedicated to our community using locally sourced materials whenever possible, our agents are engineered with modern methods and materials for quality sound, playability, and legendary durability.

In addition to our renowned Fluke, Flea, and Firefly ukuleles and banjos, we offer four or fivestring acoustic/electric travel fiddle, mandolin, and five-string banjo. Customized top printing and laser engraving and repairs of most stringed instruments are available. We’ve recently added experienced violinist Nora Carvalho for violin setups, repairs, and lessons. Local jazz guitarist Michael Junkins is also on staff for all expert guitar setups and repair.

The Magic Fluke - 413-229-8536 - Factory and showroom on Rt. 7, Sheffield. Hours: M-F, 9 to 4:30, or call for an appointment.

You are magick!

Creative Sorceress Mollie Kellogg conjures a magical world through fine art, film, music, and dance. Her award-winning Incognito Witch Project celebrates hidden magick.

Mollie’s art has sold internationally, and she’s presented her “inner magick” message at events in New York, California, and Arizona. Kellogg’s music videos, with characters inspired by her paintings, have screened at festivals in U.S. and abroad.

Mollie’s studio is in her home in Dalton, MA. She has recently participated in the WOW “Wild Ornery Women” invitational in Ware, MA, and has shown in various venues in Pittsfield and West Stockbridge.

See Mollie’s work at Art on Main Gallery, 38 Main St, West Stockbridge, MA, July 14 - 24, 2023. A reception will be on Saturday, July 15. Mollie Kellogg - www.molliekellogg.com artist@molliekellogg.com facebook.com/Artwork.MollieKellogg

My initial memory of awakening to the creative impulse was hearing the first chord of the Beatle’s, Hard Day’s Night when I was six years old. At that moment I knew something big was happening and I had to get on board! I began studying at the Guitar Workshop, the first guitar school in America. I’ve performed music most of my life and currently play jazz fusion with my band Redshift.

My interest in photography blossomed as an electron-microscopist publishing neuro- and molecular- biological research out of UMASS/Amherst and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx in my early 20s.

As a life-long meditator, martial artist, musician, and photographer everything I engage with comes from the same unified intention toward engendering the true, the good, and the beautiful. In my landscape and nature photography I endeavor to capture the light that seeps through everything.

Lonny Jarrett -

Community: Nourishingdestiny.com

Books: Spiritpathpress.com

Art: Berkshirescenicphotography.com

Teaching: Lonnyjarrett.com

“On many summer evenings you will find me, sketchbook on lap and pen in hand, in the front row of a darkened theater at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. As the performance unfolds, my hand flies across the paper, tracing the arch of a dancer’s back, the tension and release of a pas de deux, or the collective energy of an ensemble. My husband Eli sits beside me, taking notes. Together we turn these images and observations into dance reviews in The Berkshire Edge, a publication of news, arts and ideas in Western Massachusetts.”

Dance is a sampling of these drawings, impelled and inspired by the passion and artistry of some of the best dancers, choreographers, and musicians in the world today.

Watercolor painting, mixed media and collage, and a practice of drawing from life form the body of Carolyn Newberger’s work, with an emphasis on human connections and experience.

An avid and award-winning artist in her youth, Carolyn returned to art after an academic career in psychology at Harvard Medical School. Her work has received numerous awards, including from the Danforth Museum of Art, the Cambridge Art Association, Watercolor Magazine, and the New England Watercolor Society, of which she is a signature member. She is represented by Galatea Fine Art in Boston, and in the Berkshires by the Artful Mind and FutureLab(s) galleries.

A resident of Lenox, Massachusetts, many of Carolyn’s performance drawings and plein air paintings accompany reviews and essays in “The Berkshire Edge”.

See the exhibit, DANCE, at the Galatea Fine Art at 460B Harrison Ave., Boston, April 7-30. A First Friday Reception will be on April 7, 6-8 pm. Carolyn Newberger - 617-877-5672 www.carolynnewberger.com cnewberger@me.com

Is there a special occasion in your future? A family wedding perhaps? A special anniversary?

A commissioned painting of the wedding venue is a treasured gift. Here in the Berkshires we have so many stunning sites for weddings, from rustic farm settings to glorious mansions and everything in between. This is a gift that will last a lifetime. Here is an unusual guest book idea…some people have the painting done ahead of time and have guests sign the mat at the reception. Visit the page on my website (under “Commissions”) to see many examples. I love painting cherished memories. A custom watercolor painting of a wedding venue, a home or other special location is always a treasured gift for any occasion.

After not doing so for over 2 years due to covid, I’m welcoming students back into my funky basement studio, teaching the tricks of the trade. I teach three types of classes to very small groups of adults (4 at a time). Typically each “session” meets once a week for about 2 hours for 6 weeks. The types of sessions include:

Absolute Beginner – for those who are brand new to watercolors. This is the class where it is ok if you have never picked up a wc brush before.

Beginner – for those who are “somewhat” comfortable with watercolor painting, have done so a little in the past and know some basic techniques listed above, but need more direction to gain confidence. Students who have completed Absolute Beginner classes go right into this one.

Advanced Beginner/Intermediate – I continue to demo techniques as needed/requested and work with each of you individually in applying various techniques to your own projects.

I am starting to schedule summer classes. Check out the Lessons page on my website. Be in touch with me soon and I will send you all the details (email is best). These classes fill up very quickly.

Marguerite Bride – Home Studio in Pittsfield, Massachusetts by appointment only. Call 413841-1659 or 413-442-7718; margebride-paintings.com margebride@aol.com

Facebook: Marguerite Bride Watercolors

April 2023

Deanna Musgrave

Last month, I wrote about how Saturn’s journey in and out of Pisces would start on March 7-8th for about three years and that this would bring a serious tone and restriction within some areas of the arts, drugs, and spirituality. As a quick recap: the planet Saturn is associated with teachers/mentors, creating structures, karmic lessons, restriction, saying “no,” getting serious, and growing up, whereas Pisces (symbolized by two fish in a cosmic sea) is a fluid and dreamy sign associated with the arts, fantasy, spirituality, the transcendental, drugs, alcohol, visions, the sea, and the cosmos. With Saturn coming into the sign of Pisces, it will bring that energy of getting serious and restricting certain Pisces elements of life. I wish to revisit Saturn in Pisces again by speaking about how to use it to your advantage as a creator but also put readers’ minds at ease that Saturn isn’t going to take the lovable parts of Pisces away. While some fear the effects of Saturn, many seasoned astrologers love how this planet creates quality, validity, and legitimacy through its discernment of harder lessons.

A concerning response I saw online to Saturn in Pisces was some artists expressing anxiety that there would be a loss of creative flow with Pisces energy for three years, and I would like to ease these artists’ concerns. For one thing, creative flow isn’t only ruled by Pisces. We have also already been in Saturn in Pisces’ pre-shadow period for quite some time, which means we would already be seeing and feeling its influence. Just because Saturn is coming into Pisces doesn’t mean you won’t be able to access its uniquely magical, dreamy, and creative energy. So, if you see your art as being an expression of Pisces energy, I want you to take a deep sigh of relief right now as you read this and know it isn’t going to vanish. Don’t worry; you don’t have to change unless you feel guided under Saturn’s influence.

One of the greatest misunderstandings about astrology is that it dictates fate or controls people’s behavior. It can compel people into certain behaviors, just as the rain moves people to use umbrellas. In my opinion, it can become controlling to people who are unaware that they are being influenced by the planets, just as people are unaware that most television advertising is a hypnotic suggestion. We don’t like to think that we can be programmed in a way that robots or computers are, but it can be quite similar. It is awareness and connectedness to our consciousness that gives us back our free will to transcend hypnotic suggestions in the media or the influences of planetary energies. When reflecting on the degree of control that the planets have in our lives, I come back to a quote by the 20th-century philosopher and spiritual teacher George Ivanovich Gurdjieff:

“Everything living on the Earth, people, animal’s plants, is food for the moon…All movements, actions, and manifestations of people, animals, and plants depend upon the moon and are controlled by the moon…The mechanical part of our life depends upon the moon and is subject to the moon. If we develop in ourselves consciousness and will and subject our mechanical life and all our mechanical manifestations to them, we shall escape from the power of the moon.”

One of the reasons I like to be hyperaware of astrology is that I can consciously choose if I want to be “food for the moon” and if I want to go on certain planetary rides. I also like to consider how to use planetary energies to my advantage. It also allows me to be aware of how other (often unconscious) people are being influenced by planetary energy and to have compassion for how they are behaving. There have been times in my life when I felt overwhelmingly pulled towards a particular choice/behavior, but I knew the planets were influencing this desire. I said “no” to it day after day until the planetary aspect passed. (The planets can test us!) Knowing astrology helps me to see what could be influencing my desires, and if it is trying to pull me somewhere that is not in alignment, I know the length of time that the compulsion might last. That said, my personal philosophy is to work with the flow of the planets as if I am directing my kayak down a river by riding with the current for better speed and ease. While I like to think that humans can transcend the illusionary matrix of this reality and, as an example, walk with ease against the planetary current of that river, I spoke of; I suspect that this level of consciousness takes many lifetimes to nurture and, in the meantime, it is simply easier to work with the elements of this dimension (the planetary energies being one of those).

I see Saturn in Pisces playing out in the art world. There will be an energetic focus on artwork that integrates the opposites of Saturn (restrictions, boundaries, or getting serious) around what Pisces is (fantastical, dreamy, fluid, or spiritual). In my last column, I used the example of Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” as a piece that touched on the Satur- nian seriousness of the devastation of war within fantastical abstraction. This doesn’t mean that Saturn in Pisces-flavoured artwork will be the only work out there being exhibited, but there might be more frequency and attention toward works of that nature. If I was a curator, I might be considering these elements in my selections of artworks for the next three years, keeping in mind that there is a lot of creative flexibility with Saturn in Pisces themes. As a curator or artist, I might even try to push the boundaries of what concepts like “restriction” or “fluid” means.

This transit could be an invitation to integrate Saturn into Pisces within your practice (the key word here being invitation!) This is the theoretical position I place myself in when thinking of astrology: as an invitation to get to know myself more profoundly and bring balance into my experience. Saturn in Pisces could invite you to consider how “restriction” and “getting serious” could assist your creativity. This seems like a paradox, given that Saturn is all about building structure and setting limits while Pisces is fluid and diffused, but this is one of the best creative opportunities! Artists are problem solvers, and Saturn in Pisces is one of the best riddles!

What would your creative work be like if you were to restrict an element such as colors or detail? Try a monochromatic artwork and see what it reveals about your process. This same concept can be applied to music, writing, or dance by restricting the elements of those art forms.

—Explore the word “restriction” as a concept. What does that word evoke for you? How could you create an image, music, poem, or dance that pushes the viewer to reconsider what that word means or to see it in a new light?

—If you don’t want to let go of the dreamy, spiritual, and fluid aspects of your work that align with Pisces or Neptune, consider how you might add some structure (Saturn).

—What does it mean for you to “get serious” or “grow up” in your creative practice?

—What “serious” topics call to your heart that you could communicate in your art form?

—Do you have a Saturnian figure in your life, such as a teacher or mentor, that could assist you in your creative practice right now?

As a concluding remark, I want to remind creatives how powerful you are in solving puzzles, riddles, and problems. I am confident that you can use Saturn in Pisces energy to use it to your advantage to open your creativity.

Deanna Musgrave is an artist, energy worker, channel, astrologer, and hypnotherapist. You can contact her through her websites at: www.deannamusgrave.com www.artisthehealer.com

The Queen had a little dog named Rex. Rex was usually a good dog, and he had only a few rules he had to obey. One rule was that he was not allowed off the 12x12 red carpet that was under the Queen’s throne. Sometimes, however, Rex became interested in something elsewhere, perhaps a butterfly outside the window, or a bug on the hall floor. If this happened, he would run off the carpet, presumably towards whatever it was that had interested him. At this point the Queen would make a clicking sound with her tongue, and Rex, hearing the click sound, would run right back to the throne and sit quietly.

The Queen loved to go and visit her art museum. It was her own museum, she picked out the pictures, and her soldiers guarded it. The museum had lots of different paintings by many different artists, but she couldn’t help but favor the dog portraits painted by T. Slocum Benderschmidt, who was famous for dog portraits.

And so Rex loved the Queen, the Queen loved Rex, and that little dog was never scolded or shouted at, and he was friendly with everyone. Rex loved to go with the Queen to the art museum, the room of the dog paintings was his favorite room, but he was not that interested in the flower paintings, or the portraits of the famous men. He was patient when the Queen examined, for the thousandth time, the miniatures of insects and butterflies, some painted so perfectly that visitors thought they were the real things.

Then there was the room full of paintings of lions and tigers. Rex did not like the room with the lions, and you could not get him to go in there except on a leash, and even then you would have had to drag him in, his four legs perfectly stiff, even dragging the rug along with him. If Rex was not on the leash, then he would run in the opposite direction, going into the naked ladies room, the room with the suits of armor, and even the room of the modern sculpture.

On this particular day Rex became lost in the Egyptian mummy department, and could not find his way back to the room the Queen was in. Being lost in the museum did not upset little Rex, because he had been lost there many times before, and after a while one of the guards, or even one of the visitors would always find him and bring him back to the Queen. Usually the Queen would just click her tongue when Rex was missing, and he would come running, but this time, he was too far away.

Everyone was anxious to return Rex to the Queen because they would be awarded with a gold coin for their trouble. As a matter of fact, often dogs that were similar in appearance to Rex were brought to the queen by accident, in anticipation of the reward of the gold coin, but it was easy to spot the difference because one of his back paws was a curious dark brown color. People bringing wrong dogs to the Queen were often rewarded with a silver coin for their trouble.

This day was different however, because no one happened to find him, so he simply decided to go home by himself to the Palace. It was a hot day, and the museum doors were wide open, nobody noticed him exit the museum and head toward the palace. Or what he thought was the palace… Now it must be mentioned that there is something very odd about this museum. The architect who designed it decided to make it perfectly square. It was probably the only symmetrical building anywhere, excluding the pyramids. Since it was symmetrical, each side had an entrance in the center, and all the entrances were exactly identical. The Queen had suggested to the architect that he put some ornament over each entrance, but the architect refused the Queen’s request, even daring to raise his voice and throw his pencil down on the drafting table in consternation, but the Queen did not call him a blockhead or anything like that, she just shook her head and said something under her breath that nobody heard.

It is a curious fact that architects, artists, and composers of music can argue with a Queen, and even sometimes say something rude. They are the only ones afforded this privilege, along with idiots, fools, and simpletons.

Anyway, little Rex, when he went out of the entrance and headed home, thought he was going out the front entrance, when in fact he was going out the back entrance. There was no way for poor little Rex to tell the difference, so he trotted to the sidewalk none the wiser. Once he was out on the sidewalk, he turned left when he should have turned right. He had no idea he was going the wrong direction! Both the castle and the museum were in the expensive part of the city, and so all the houses looked similar, even so, like most dogs Rex was nearsighted, and so the various houses looked all the same to him. If he noticed something strange about the trees, mailboxes, and bushes, he was unable to put his paw on it. Eventually he came to a bridge over a river, of course he knew he had to cross a bridge on the way home, however he was confused when he stopped to examine the bridge railing, because it was black, instead of dark green as he remembered. Why was it a different color, did the painters come and paint it while I was in the museum, he wondered? Then suddenly he realized something didn’t smell right. As a matter of fact, everything all along the way did not smell as it was meant to, so he came to the only conclusion possible; he must be dreaming.

He could remember other times he had strange dreams. Once he had a dream that he was a horse, and another time he dreamed he was the Queen, and the Queen was a little dog. In that dream, he woke up suddenly, because the queen had turned from a dog into a cat, and that was obviously impossible. Like in his previous dreams, he knew what to do. He walked off the bridge, found a tree, curled up in the shade, and fell asleep, certain that when he woke up he would be back home again and ready for breakfast.

Rex woke up in the morning because his alarm went off. He had a clock in his head and the clock had 3 settings, breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was also an alarm that went off at half past each of those settings. So, he woke up at half past breakfast, and was very surprised to find that he was still in the middle of the same dream, but being a highly educated dog, he soon realized he was not in a dream after all, but was lost, as lost as a dog belonging to royalty could be.

Even so, he was not the least bit scared because by now the Queen’s entire army would be out searching for him, not to mention the townspeople who knew that there was a reward for his return. All he had to do was wait.

Far away, back in the Palace, the queen, worried about Rex, kept making her clicking sound, and out in the town the various people were walking around also making the sound just like a bunch of chickens, but Rex could not be found.

It just so happened that the entire day went by and Rex came across no people, and no people came across him. He got further and further away from the town, out into the part of the countryside where all the farms were. The only time he had been out in the country was in the Queen’s carriage, and he would poke his nose out the window and examine all the interesting smells in the air. Having traveled in the countryside before, he expected he would be able to find some lunch very easily and he was quite correct.

The first person he came across was a young girl working in a vegetable garden in the front of her house. Her name, I happen to know, was Sarah, but I do not know how old she was. She did know how to add and subtract, but she did not know how to divide. Also, she could do multiplication to 4 times 4 but could not yet do 5 times 5, so you can figure out her age for yourself.

She was a blond child whose mother had put her hair up in pigtails. She was dressed in overalls. Rex went up to her and poked his nose into her forehead, because she was kneeling in the garden planting radishes. She felt a very cold spot in the middle of her head, and looked up suddenly.

Rex took two steps back and then two steps forward, then he took another two steps forward and back. If you are familiar with dog language then you know that this is translated into English as “I want to play.” The child who knew addition, but did not know dog language, guessed the meaning, and so she knocked Rex over into the dirt of the garden. Rex jumped up anxious to be knocked over again; he also ran around in three circles and then licked Sarah’s face all over. In this way the two became friends. When Sarah went into the house for lunch Rex went along with her. And so it came to pass, the Rex, who was the Queen's beloved dog, became the property of a farm girl for a period of time.

—Richard Britell