the artful mind artzine february 2019

FEBRUARY 2019

THE ARTFUL MIND PROMOTING THE ARTS IN THE BERKSHIRES SINCE 1994

THE FIVE WISE GUYS Photographed byEdward Acker

CAROLYN NEWBERGER Forest Revelations

Autumn Ferns and Red and Yellow Mushrooms

www.carolynnewberger.com

watercolor 5x16 inches

617-877-5672

2018

aMuse Gallery

THE ARTFUL MIND ARTZINE

presents

Through the Lens

LOVE IN ALL LANGUAGES = LOVE

a group exhibit of photography

JOHN LIPKOWITZ INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHER... 6 SAM BITTMAN THE THIRD ACT PROJECT / THE FIVE WISE GUYS PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD ACKER ... 16 OUR REMAINS OF THE DAY: THE SHUTDOWN CARL BERG AND JUDY BERG ... 26 BARBARA NEWMAN BERKSHIRE WRITING RETREATS IN THE BERKSHIRES ... 28 PHOTOGRAPH BY GERALD SELIGMAN

Opening Reception: Saturday, February 16, 4-7 PM

aMuse Gallery Gallery Hours: Thursday thru Saturday 11am-5pm, Sunday 12-4pm

7 Railroad Avenue - Chatham NY 518-392-1060

RICHARD BRITELL FALDONI PT 6. FICTION ...32 ART REVIEW BY KARL SALITER ...35 GRAMMA BECKY’S OLD WORLD RECIPES KICHLACH! LAURA PIAN ...39 Contributing Writers and Monthly Columnists Richard Britell, Carl and Judy Berg, Laura Pian, Carl Saliter Photographers February issue Edward Acker Publisher Harryet P. Candee Copy Editor

Marguerite Bride

Advertising and Graphic Design Harryet P. Candee

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413 854 4400 FYI: ©Copyright laws in effect throughout The Artful Mind for logo & all graphics including text material. Copyright laws for photographers and writers throughout The Artful Mind.

Permission to reprint is required in all instances. In any case the issue does not appear on the stands as planned due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, advertisers will be compensated on a one to one basis. All commentaries by writers are not necessarily the opinion of the publisher and take no responsibility for their facts and opinions.

2 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

JOHN LIPKOWITZ FARTHER REACHES MUSINGS ON A WILDLIFE PORTFOLIO February 1, 2019 to February 24, 2019

Artist’s Reception: Saturday February 2, 2019 • 3-6 PM.

510 WARREN STREET GALLERY Hudson New York Sunday 12 - 5 Friday and Saturday 12 - 6 & by Appointment

510WARRENSTREETGALLERY.COM

Symphony ON FIRE: A Story of Music and Spiritual Resistance During the Holocaust

Author SONIA PAULINE BEKER Max Beker, Fania Durmashkin and her sister, Henia, were accomplished musicians from notable musical families in pre-World War II Vilna. When the Holocaust destroyed their nurturing, loving families and came close to destroying them as well, music was their passport to survival and transcendence.They shared their life-affirming music with the inmates of the Vilna Ghetto, concentration, labor and Nazi POW camps, the St. Ottilien and Landsberg DP Camps, where they were conducted by Leonard Bernstein, and, finally, with the new families they created in America.

https://issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs/tam/s/31510 https://www.amazon.com/Symphony-Fire-Spiritual-Resistance.../dp/0974885754 https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/symphony-fire.../sonia-pauline-beker/ https://www.librarything.com/author/bekersoniapauline Available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 3

artfulmind@yahoo.com Calendar ART 510 WARREN STREET GALLERY 510 WARREN STREET, HUDSON, NY 518-822-0510 510warrenstreetgallery@gmail.com / 510warrenstreetgallery.com John Lipkowitz: February 1, 2019 through February 24, 2019 in a show entitled “Farther Reaches: Musings on a Wildlife Portfolio”. reception Feb 2. Friday & Saturday, 12 - 6, Sunday 12 - 5 or by app A.P.E LTD. GALLERY 126 MAIN ST, NORTHAMPTON, MA • WWW.APEARTS.COM starDUST to starDUST: Anne Laprade Seuthe, thru Feb 28, 2019 BARD COLLEGE AT SIMON’S ROCK 84 ALFORD RD, GT. BARRINGTON, MA She Said, He Said, ceramics-based exhibition by Boston artist Kathy King, Feb BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN 5 WEST STOCKBRIDGE RD., STOCKBRIDGE, MA BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN |413-298-3926 |HTTPS://WWW.BERKSHIREBOTANICAL.ORG/ | STOCKBRIDGE Plant Shadows: Plant Shadows explores print making through cyantotypes -- objects arranged on light-sensitive paper and exposed to UV light or sunshine, to produce images.Thru March 1, 2019 Hours: 11:00 - 3:00 pm BERKSHIRE MUSEUM 39 SOUTH ST., PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS BERKSHIRE MUSEUM |(413) 443-7171 |HTTP://WWW.BERKSHIREMUSEUM.ORG/ | PITTSFIELD BerkshireNow: Pat Hogan, Feb 1- April 28, 2019 CLARK ART INSTITUTE 225 SOUTH ST, WILLIAMSTOWN, MA WWW.CLARKART.EDU/ | WILLIAMSTOWN Thomas Gainsborough: Drawings, thru Mar 10, 2019 DEERFIELD ACADEMY HESS CENTER FOR THE ARTS VON AUERSPERG GALLERY 7 BOYDEN LANE, DEERFIELD, MA • 413 774 1480 Mark Guglielmo: Cuba In Transition: Narrative & Perspective; Photomosaics, Interviews and Field Recordings Thru March 1, 2019; Conversation with the Artist: Feb16. Free and open to the public. Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30-4, Sat & Sun by appointment only FRONT STREET GALLERY 129 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA • 413-274-6607 Kate Knapp oils and watercolors and classes open to all.

GOOD PURPOSE GALLERY 40 MAIN STREET, LEE, MASSACHUSETTS • 413-394-5045 / GOODPURPOSE.ORG/ | LEE "Making Waves" – A CATA Art Exhibit HUDSON HALL 327 WARREN ST, HUDSON, NY HELLO@HUDSONHALL.ORG Maryna Bilak: Care, till Mar 17 JOHN DAVIS GALLERY 362 1/2 WARREN STREET HUDSON, NEW YORK 518-828-5907 / art@johndavisgallery.com Homebody: Paintings by Rachel Rickert LISA VOLLMER PHOTOGRAPHY NEW STUDIO + GALLERY 4 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

325 STOCKBRIDGE ROAD, GT. BARRINGTON • 413-429-6511 / www.lisavollmer.com The Studio specializes in portrait, event, editorial and commercial photography : by appointment. The Gallery represents Sabine Vollmer von Falken, Thatcher Hullerman Cook, Carolina Palermo Schulze and Tom Zetterstrom. (Open daily from 11-4pm closed on Wednesdays) MASS MoCA 1040 MASSMOCA WAY, NORTH ADAMS, MA • 413-662-2111 Laurie Anderson, thru 2019; Louise Bourgeois, thru 2019 MARGUERITE BRIDE HOME STUDIO AT 46 GLORY DRIVE PITTSFIELD, MA • 413- 841-1659 or 413-442-7718 MARGEBRIDE-PAINTINGS.COM FB: MARGUERITE BRIDE WATERCOLORS NO. 6 DEPOT 6 DEPOT ST, WEST STOCKBRIDGE, MA Artist Kathline Carr: places in colour and shadow; mindfulness tea tasting, Mar 16, 4-5:30 NORMAN ROCKWELL 9 MASSACHUSETTS 183, STOCKBRIDGE, MA Frank E. Schoonover: American Visions, Thru May 27, 2019; Gregory Manchess: Above the Timberline thru February 24, 2019 SAMUEL DORSKY MUSEUM OF ART, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, NEW PALTZ 1 HAWK DRIVE, NEW PALTZ, NY • WWW.NEWPALTZ.EDU/MUSEUM Linda Mary Montano: The Art/Life Hospital. Curated by Anastasia James, thru April 14, 2019; Just My Type: Angela Dufresne. Curated by Anastasia James, Feb 9 - July 14, 2019 SCHANTZ GALLERIES 3 ELM ST, STOCKBRIDGE, MA • 413-298-3044 schantzgalleries.com Hours: Daily, 10:30 - 5 THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL 11 INTERLAKEN RD., LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT Lee Arnold: Metaphors, thru February 24, 2019 UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY 1400 WASHINGTON AVE, ALBANY, NY • MUSEUM@ALBANY.EDU Two solo exhibitions we are here. Nicole Cherubini and Carrie Schneider. Ongoing series of on-site projects, Louise Lawler: Birdcalls 1972/81 will be featured in the Museum’s entrance and lobby.

VAULT GALLERY 322 MAIN ST, GT. BARRINGTON, MA • 413-644-0221 Marilyn Kalish at work and process on view, beautiful gallery and wonderful collection of paintings

Events PETER FILKINS CHRONICLES THE REMARKABLE STORY OF H.G. ADLER IN UPCOMING BIOGRAPHY Feb 25, 4 pm.: “Book Launch & Lecture: H.G. Adler” Debut Reading and Lecture: McConnell Theater, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, MA., June 12, 4 p.m.: A Conversation with Peter Filkins on H.G.

Adler: A Life in Many Worlds, Edith Wharton’s The Mount, Lenox, MA.

WORKSHOPS DEB KOFFMAN’S ARTSPACE 137 FRONT ST, HOUSATONIC, MA • 413-274-1201 Sat: 10:30-12:45 class meets. No experience in drawing necessary, just a willingness to look deeply and watch your mind. This class is conducted in silence. Adult class. $10, please & call to register. First Tuesday of every month.

R&F HANDMADE PAINTS 84 TEN BROECK AVE, KINGSTON, NY rfpaints.com •1-800-206-8088 Layering Photo Based Imagery with Encaustic & Pigment Sticks.Instructor: Wayne Montecalvo Wednesday, 06 Mar 2019 - Friday, 08 Mar 2019 Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM $ 515.00

THEATRE GYPSY LANE CABARET & CO. HOTEL ON NORTH, PITTSFIELD, MA GYPSYLANE.COM Feb 22 / 23. Buy tix on line MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER CASTLE ST, GT. BARRINGTON, MA Pilobolus: Come to your senses, Sat Feb 9, 3pm

MUSIC BARD COLLEGE AT SIMON’S ROCK 84 ALFORD RD, GT. BARRINGTON, MA South Berkshire Concerts: Walden Chamber Players Sun., Feb. 17, 2019, 3:00 p.m., Daniel Arts Center Join us for an evening of chamber music for strings and piano, including works by Bach/Mozart, Schnittke, and Schubert’s Trout Quintet, with guest pianist Larry Wallach.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC THE MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, GT. BARRINGTON, MA • 413-528-0100 “Humor in the Works of Papa Haydn” will be presented

by Close Encounters with Music on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 6pm at Saint James Place in Great Barrington.

CLUB HELSINKI HUDSON 405 COLUMBIA ST., HUDSON, NY • 518-828-4800 heslinkihudson.com / info@helsinkihudson.com Sat, Feb 16: BeauSoleil; Wed, Feb27: Rachael & Vilray Sat, April 13 : The Suitcase Junket HUDSON HALL 327 WARREN ST, HUDSON, NY HELLO@HUDSONHALL.ORG Hudson Jazz Festival: Feb 15, 7pm: Bobby Sanabria & Quarteto Ache; Feb 16, 1 pm: Feb 16, 1pm: Piano Summit: Kirk Nurock, Lynne Arriale, Sullivan Fortner; 7pm: Fearless Masters: David Liebman, Jay Anderson, Jay Clayton, Armen Donelian; Feb 17: 3pm Workshop

ARTFULMIND@YAHOO.COM

JOHN LIPKOWITZ BRAIDS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

JOHN LIPKOWITZ Interview by Harryet Candee

“Farther Reaches, Musings on a Wildlife Portfolio” is the title of your exhibition of photography the month of February at 510 Warren Street. How long have you been focused on this particular subject matter?

John Lipkowitz: In 1997 when Nina and I still lived in Manhattan and she was a docent at The American Museum of Natural History we had an opportunity to travel with a group of Museum volunteers on safari to Kenya and Tanzania. In those days, I still had a Minolta automatic film camera which I bought in 1986 as soon as they were available in the US because visual issues made it difficult for me to focus accurately using a single lens reflex camera. The Minolta, which we had seen used by Japanese photographers while we were visiting China in 1985, seemed the answer to my often 6 • FEBRUARY 2019

THE ARTFUL MIND

out of focus images and I was still using it when we went to Africa. Exposure to the vast numbers and variety of free wildlife in East Africa (now reduced substantially by loss of habitat, poaching and human encroachment) was truly overwhelming. My telephoto mirror lens captured some amazing images, but left me looking towards even more serious equipment for the future.

What has captured your interest the most out of all your adventures, and connections you have made with the animal kingdom and that of your adventures travelling?

Lipkowitz: It’s really hard to pick a favorite, which often changes depending on where I am on any particular wildlife based trip. We have been fortunate that we have had the time,

money and health to do quite a bit of travel, often to wildlife destinations.

I think that the area which has most fascinated me and captured my heart is the Arctic, that area around the top of the world above 66 2/3 latitude. The Arctic covers many countries, but the majority falls within Canadian and Russian territory. The US has some in Alaska and Norway has some in the Svalbard archipelago and I have been to various parts ten or eleven times. For me, the triple draw is the combination of near twenty-four hour daylight in the summer, massive volumes of ice, now steadily receding, but still plentiful, and polar bears, the Arctic’s defining wildlife species.

Except for the light, the other elements continue receding these days. Nearly every day, we read more about sea ice melting causing shrink-

ing of bear habitat. There are few things more depressing than seeing polar bears stuck on small islands scrounging for seabird eggs and chicks rather than hunting out on the sea ice for fat rich seals.

How many eggs and chicks does it take to replace a seal? One can’t even imagine. In terms of actual connection with a particular species on a more personal level, I would have to say the day and a half Nina and I, and the group, were with Japanese macaques (snow monkeys) in the hot springs of Monkey Park in Nagano Prefecture in the mountains of Honshu in Japan, February 2005— a truly a magical experience.

You are on a tireless journey! How exactly would you describe your mission as a photographer?

Lipkowitz: I don’t have any particular mission except to enjoy myself, see as much as I can, and photograph whatever draws my interest at the time.

These days much of our travel is not wildlife based so I have to be an opportunist and go for anything that intrigues me. People, markets, doors, locks, anything – and there are trips where very little attracts me photographically. Then I just have to relax and enjoy the experience. When you do group travel, others are in charge of your itinerary so opportunism really is the key. If I’m on a beach, sand and water patterns, shell and debris compositions – these little landscapes or waterscapes draw me. The mission perhaps is “whatever” or nothing at all at that time in that place.

What were some of the trials and tribulations of going from a Leica Camera around your neck, to digital equipment?

Lipkowitz: That Leica which I got sometime around 1958, when I was fifteen, was my second 35mm camera, the first having been an Argus C-3.

The Leica, which I used for nearly thirty years was a great camera, and with my visual issues the fact that it was a split image rangefinder (you brought the top and bottom halves of an image together to focus) meant that I could get sharp images always – and Leica lenses were incredible even then, only thirteen years after the war ended. Over the years I bought a reflex housing for it and a 200mm lens to go with my original 50mm one and I thought I could reach anything with that outfit. I didn’t know about taking care of it so that camera was never cleaned and eventually the grommets which held the strap just wore through. In the early 1980’s Nina’s father died and I inherited his Pentax single lens reflex camera that came to China, where I saw those very first auto focus Minoltas.

Is digital as reliable as your experience with the Leica camera? How so?

Lipkowitz: The digital revolution really began in the very late 90s with enormously expensive small megapixel cameras. By 2000 a couple of manufacturers offered reasonably priced 3 megapixel ones Continued on next page...

JOHN LIPKOWITZ KING PENGUINS

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 7

JOHN LIPKOWITZ

8 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

CATTLE EGLET IN BREEDING PLUMAGE

JOHN LIPKOWITZ WATCH ME PLAY

to ordinary consumers. Nina and I had made a deal with our son, then twenty-five, that we would take him on an Antarctica trip with us if he paid half his way, and as a gift, I bought him one of those “amazing” digital point and shoot cameras, either a Sony or an Olympus, I think.

There were a number of professional photographers on this trip, still shooting film of course, and Daniel, our son, a computer savvy person, used Nina’s computer, that she brought to study her Museum learning materials, to link to his camera. Daniel managed to set up slide shows for some of the older people who had not made Zodiac landings at the penguin sites so they could view the day’s images. That wowed everyone, especially the pros, who literally knew nothing about the power and potential of digital. These images were pretty low resolution, but they were there, immediately, for all to see. This technology was certainly something

to think about, though no comparison to film at the time.

I was still into film and after that trip, when Canon started introducing its Image Stabilized lenses, I bought my final film camera, Canon’s very best, and a considerable collection of those lenses. That was the camera I used until a trip to Alaska in the summer of 2004 when I had bought my first Canon Rebel six megapixel camera in the fall of 2003, and had been using it along with my film camera, and both outfits went on that Alaska trip. Thirty rolls of film went to Alaska – three exposed rolls returned, together with thousands of digital images. I was hooked – but good. And that was it with film.

Do you print your photographs from your studio? It must give you a sense of freedom!

Modern technology can be amazing, do you agree?

Lipkowitz: Obviously, the digital versus film debate continues to rage, with ardent proponents on either side, but is not one in which I engage.

My first digital experience began with some early software, Picassa as I remember, and the best Nikon scanner I could buy at the time. I would scan my slides and negatives and work on them in Picassa and shortly in early versions of Photoshop, so I could print them rather small on an early Epson photo printer as I began the self teaching process. One simple course in Photoshop that Nina and I took together (she as an artist essentially inquiring about digital possibilities) helped a lot, but was geared towards photographers more advanced than I at the time, and I was pretty much lost. I had always been self taught so I just added photography software to the mix. I have a closet full of digital cameras evidencing my equipment evolution during Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 9

JOHN LIPKOWITZ HANGING OUT

these 15 years, and today I use Sony and Olympus mirrorless cameras and associated lenses because they are so much lighter. The Sony is a very high megapixel camera, the Olympus much less so, but they all allow me to print as large as I can on my 24 inch Canon printer. I love printing, so the entire process all the way through framing is under my control and this enables me to fully participate in our gallery at 510 Warren Street in Hudson, and to mount a substantial show as I have done this month.

What were your most memorable moments on safari and photographing wild animals?

Did you ever find yourself a tad too close for comfort?

Lipkowitz: I’ve been to Africa five times now and each has been notable in its own way, and there are still places there I wish to visit. I would suggest to any readers who may be con10 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

templating an African safari trip that they do it soon because things are changing rapidly.

Wildlife is disappearing and species we may be taking for granted could very well disappear under heavy pressure from habitat loss and poaching. When we first went to Africa in 1997 there were perhaps 100,000 lions in the wild, today best estimates are around 20,000. There may be only 5,000 cheetahs left, and their gene pool is so thin that they could be gone in twenty years. It is like that across a broad spectrum of species.

In terms of danger, it always amazes me that we can be traveling in open vehicles and come across a pride of lions lying in or near the road, or hunting right alongside us. The guide’s response is always that the animals see us as part of the vehicles rather than as prey and that we are safe as long as we remain there. Although it’s never happened to me, others have had chee-

tahs jump on their vehicles for a higher perspective on possible prey. However I have been in vehicles nearly surrounded by several elephants and charged by some as our driver furiously backed out of a stream. A couple of times drivers have been scared and then you know you are in serious trouble. It’s all part of the experience.

I see your photographs very alive and overwhelmingly beautiful. Do you prefer black and white, or color? How do you know which it will be?

Lipkowitz: I shoot in the RAW format which means that all digital data is captured in the image. While these images create large files (and for me require a number of external hard drives on which to store them in multiple copies) the fact that all data is preserved allows me to convert an image to black and white and work on that without destroying the original

image. I primarily use Lightroom which is a Photoshop derivative specifically for photographers (without all the graphic arts features) and which is available to photographers along with Photoshop on a monthly subscription basis. They are constantly updated by Adobe, their publisher. I never even think about conversion to black and white until I see an image on my computer, and for me, most won’t really work. But with some images, mostly intimate portraits, I just know a black and white image will be more powerful, eliminating distractions and directing one’s attention to the power of the subject itself. In these cases I generally prefer high contrast with abrupt shadows and highlights to really set the subject apart.

Do you see that all the time and activity involved over the years has given way to a great education in art? What are some insights can you share with us about being an artist and a photographer that you have learned over the years?

Lipkowitz: I do photography because I love it – but not in any particular academic way. As I said, I am self taught. I subscribe to magazines about photography (too many to adequately keep up with these days), which are primarily outdoor or wildlife based, but while I may pick up some technical help I am mainly looking for others’ experiences. In the end, I’m going to do it my way, and often, my way seems to work pretty well.

I’m certainly not an expert in any particular part of the process, but I seem to have a good eye, am making compositions in my mind and editing images there, and am a pretty good printer. Most importantly, I have fun. So, does anything in my photographic experience give me a great education in art? I don’t really know. I do know that Nina, to whom I will have been married for fifty years in March, has definitely helped me collect great art experiences over a half century. What I have learned and how I may have or have not applied it to my photography probably will never be revealed in any overt fashion. Perhaps composition wise and probably in teaching a fair amount about how I look at a subject and how I may wish to attempt to interpret it.

For sure, the more art one sees the more one is likely to absorb, and that must apply to me as well. In my mind, I do revisit particular images in terms of possibly reinterpreting them and often that leads me to revisit files from years ago. The show now at 510 Warren Street Gallery is a retrospective and many of the images are such reinterpretations and/or presented in a different fashion from those of earlier times. In this sense, there are growth opportunities everywhere.

JOHN LIPKOWITZ

GROOMIN’, STEAMIN’

After all you’re travelling, and you are home, at long last… Do you happen to enjoy the very uncomplicated moments and just want Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 11

JOHN LIPKOWITZ ON WATCH

JOHN LIPKOWITZ

12 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

MEERKATS ON LOOKOUT

JOHN LIPKOWITZ TOO CLOSE

to take a photograph of a coffee mug, your cat, a tree, anything like that? After all, you do live in the Berkshires, the most beautiful place on earth!

Lipkowitz: OMG – my plan is to keep traveling as long as I am physically and financially able, hopefully for many more years, although the physicality challenges me more these days. I may live in the Berkshires, but I don’t consider myself a Berkshire photographer. Almost all of my photography is done while traveling and I look forward to each new adventure. This doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy this area, but I have to admit that I don’t go hunting for local venues.

Presently I have enough to do and since newer is not always better, revisiting older images has a lot to offer. I do love the iPhone and for special projects or just for the hell of it, I use it quite a bit both while traveling and around and about.

But my cat or a coffee mug as subject, not very often.

What is coming up for you after the February show? Any plans for a new project?

Lipkowitz: Well, 510 Warren Street Gallery is

an artist owned gallery, and those of us who are full share members are hanging something every month. Sometimes the same images remain for an extra month or two, but often new or different ones are rotated in. During the summers of 2014 through 2016 I worked on an iPhone project at Hancock Shaker Village using apps which mimic antique photo processes. I had a hope of getting these images actually on exhibit at the Village and I still harbor that desire, but in the meantime many of them were displayed at The Berkshire School two winters ago and others were shown at the Stockbridge Library, Kinderhook Realty in Pittsfield and at No. Six Depot this past summer and fall. A number of them were up in 510 last month as well.

As far as future plans, our travel schedule remains active with trips to Portugal and Spain later in February, Alaska and the Russian Far East in June, and Ireland in October – I only hope I am up to it physically, but the challenge is part of the deal. We have also put a deposit down on our biggest trip yet, scheduled in December of 2020 and I’m going to have to get in better shape for that one. We’ll see how that

works out.

How can we get in touch with you for a studio visit or more in-depth chat on your sellable photographs you have in your archives?

Lipkowitz: I do have a website at JohnLipkowitzImaging.com which I really don’t keep current, and a couple of defunct ones that are probably no longer accessible. This site includes several hundred images in numerous galleries and is certainly worth looking at just to see some of the amazing places we have been, including many non-wildlife subjects.

My email is Jlipkowitz1@aol.com and I would certainly be interested in exploring any potential purchases. In the meantime I would like to advise readers that 510 Warren Street Gallery in Hudson is open Fridays and Saturdays from 126 and Sundays from 12-5. Perhaps I’ll see some of you there.

Thank you, John!

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 13

MARK MELLINGER BLACK RIVER NY, ACRYLIC AND COLLAGE 24"X 24"

MARK MELLENGER I live in two separate worlds. One verbal and one visual. What they have in common is an attitude of pushing into the unknown; of allowing unconscious elements to take form within consciousness. I couldn’t live without both.

Art came first, but after a while I began to feel selfindulgent and isolated. I wanted to address problems of mans’ impact on the environment. I went through careers in art, photography, carpentry, ecology and microbiology before landing in psychology at 30. 10 years ago, when we found a loft in Pittsfield, I returned to my first love, art. It’s not like riding a bicycle. I had to start from scratch. I feel I’m just now catching up to where I left off 50 years ago.

I’m not satisfied with a piece for a long time. I’ll put it away and work on something else. I’ll look at it upside down and in a mirror, trying to get a handle on what’s wrong. It’s a very solitary meditation. I might gesso over everything except some small bits that are working; then start over from those. The viewer completes the process. It’s a collaboration.

It’s a thrill when someone “gets” a piece, but I’m OK when they don’t. The connection with the viewer should be as rare and special as marriage.

Mark Mellinger can be reached at markmellinger680@gmail.com / markmellingerart.com / 914-260-7413

DESIGNS BY JENNIFER Recognized as a fabric guru with an eye for color, Jennifer has achieved accolades for her unique sense of style and vision. She has been featured on the cover of House to Home, Lifestyle Magazine of Fairfield County, featuring a home in Westport; East Coast Home Design Magazine; Shippan Designer Show House, (benefiting Stamford Museum and Nature Center); Weston Designer Show House benefiting Connecticut Humane Society.

They feature her definitive style of design, transforming spaces to uplifting, functional environments, “simple elegance” at its best!

A native of the West Midlands England, Jennifer grew up with a mother who was a passionate knitter and a talented seamstress, with a love to decorate and a relish for fabrics and yarns. This led to many inspiring visits with her to the fabric market.

Hence Jennifer’s passion!

Her client base extends to Fairfield County, CT, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and Berkshire County. Jennifer has a showroom and office based on Railroad Street in Great Barrington, MA. Jennifer is a member of IDS (Interior Design Society), with extensive training in interior design, IDPC (Interior Design Protection Council), member of Better Business Bureau, Metropolitan Museum, NYC, Museum of Natural History, NYC, Museum of Modern Art, NYC, member of Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, member of Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, and a member of A Women’s Creation Circle in Berkshire County.

Designs by Jennifer, LLC - 6 Railroad Street, STE 17, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Office: 413-528-5200; Cell: 203-253-3647; www.designsbyjenniferowen.com

14 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

MOTHER TREE, WATERCOLOR, CAROLYN NEWBERGER

CAROLYN NEWBERGER FOREST REVELATIONS PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS Early this summer I found a morel mushroom near our Berkshire home, bordering on the edge of a deep forest. About the same time, our little dog, Lily, a rescue, began running into the woods, leaping, snuffling in holes, racing with abandon across every obstacle.

We discovered the forest together, Lily and I, she in pursuit of rodents under logs, and I in pursuit of whatever other delectables were nestled on the forest floor or in the crevasses of its fallen trees.

Our senses were awakened to the forest’s myriad revelations, death as ever present in every stage of decay, and life seizing every opportunity to emerge from the stew of decomposition. I enter the forest in early morning, even in winter, pawed awake by Lily, eager to begin her new day, a bear bell tinkling on my hiking pole, and, when the weather allows, with folding stool, notebook and art supplies on my back.

Perched on my stool, I draw and paint and record in words the many insights the forest inspires. I am surprised every day by the forest’s astonishing variety, beauty, power and wisdom.

My work can be seen at Galatea Fine Art in Boston, the Artful Mind Gallery in Lenox in season, in juried shows throughout the year, and by appointment in my studio.www.carolynnewberger.com 617-877-5672

MARK MELLINGER

GERALD SELIGMAN / PHOTO

CONSTRUCTION WITH FOUND OBJECTS

CURRENTLY ON VIEW: URBAN STUDIO+UNBOUND 66 MAIN STREET #B, YONKERS, NY 914. 613. 4302

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Studio visits: ghettagh@aol.com THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 15

SAM BITTMAN THE THIRD ACT PROJECT

&

INTERVIEW BY HARRYET CANDEE

What is The Third Act Project?

Sam Bittman: The Third Act Project is an online community of older men (and women, too) from around the country who subscribe to the notion that as long as one can draw breath then life goes on -- productively, comically, often amid great loss. “Don’t Die Till You’re Dead” is the Project’s battle cry. We are the only online resource of its kind.

We inspire one another to become spirited protagonists in our own third acts, filling our lives with what you normally expect to see in the final act of a stage play: The climax of a story and its subplots… tensions brought to their most intense 16 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD ACKER

moment … and protagonists and other characters left with a deeper sense of who they are.

I curate material from the visual and performing arts designed to trigger conversation. I’m always on the hunt for the words of great writers that while they can often scare the shit out of you sometimes can also inspirit us. I believe that the Project library provides real-world proof that though we inhabit bodies that are getting older, our capacity for intellectual, spiritual, emotional and creative growth remains with us till the end.

Tell me about your TV series, The Five Wise Guys.

Sam: The Five Wise Guys is a show in which a group of older men ranging in age from 69 to 84 (and getting older by the minute!) gather regularly to shoot the breeze – often with great hilarity -- about what’s going on in our lives, our thoughts, our imaginations. We’re in our second season now, and all episodes can be seen on the Third Act Project website (www.thethirdactproject.com) and on CTSB (Community Television for the Southern Berkshires). The wise guys are well-known characters: Matt Tannenbaum, Daniel Klein, Bob Lohbauer, Jeff Kent and me – all of us actors, writers, gagsters, retailers and fires burning! We’ve shot episodes at the CTSB

studio and The Morgan House in Lee; at The Bookstore in Lenox; and at the Mixed Company stage in Great Barrington.

In the current season, beyond riotous gab, we’ve been performing short plays by Danny Klein that are great fun to do and are receiving kind reviews. Danny, by the way, is also a successful author of many books including the bestsellers Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, co-written with Thomas Cathcart, Travels With Epicurus, A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life; and his newly released book, also co-written with Cathcart, I Think, Therefore I Draw; Understanding Philosophy Through Cartoons.

I couldn’t possibly list all the dramatic roles that Jeff, Matt and Bob have played over their careers, but suffice it to say that these boys have earned their acting chops and I am so grateful to all of them for lending their talents to The Five Wise Guys – to say nothing of performing with them.

I’ve written a number of books myself, but they’re long out of print. Of course, I have boxes of them in the attic, so give a holler if you want

one of my gardening books or a thirty year old book on expectant fatherhood! Cheap.

What was the genesis of the Third Act Project?

Sam: From a ridiculously early age I was terrified by the idea of death. I don’t know how that fear got planted in me, although I hear that things like anxiety can actually pass along through the genes to the next generation. My father was somewhat preoccupied by the subject. We’d be watching an old movie on TV and he’d murmur aloud to himself that the actors and actresses were dead now. “All of them dead.” You think that might have helped?

From wherever it came I was just way too aware of the shortness of life so early in my own and it stayed with me. I became an insomniac. A darkened room was difficult for me. I slept with the light on. Sometimes I still do.

Fast-forward to my early 60s. I start reading everything anybody of substance had ever written about mortality, in search of a hook to pull me up out of the swamp, you know what I mean?

But if I’d hoped the wisdom of the ages would

reconcile me to the inevitability of my own decline, I had another guess coming. I was even more bedeviled by frightening thoughts of mortality than before. My sleep didn’t improve, I can tell you.

But you know how it is sometimes when things backfire on you like that and you can charm yourself into believing that what with all this emotional hullabaloo going on maybe you’re onto something. Maybe your demons are on the attack as their own best and maybe final defense. Keep going, man.

Right about then I was invited to group of guys more or less my age to talk about what it feels like to get older, and (uh-oh!) even the final curtain. I think: more sleepless nights ahead but what the hell. We agree that no topic is off the table. For instance, guys want to talk about the changes in their sexual image of themselves, the insistent and terrifying ticking of time, the looming incapacities of old age and, naturally, the Big D or “curtains” as we refer to it at the Project.

That was the deal.

And that first weekend in Woodstock was a Continued on next page...

“So a guy falls off a thirty-story building.

And as he passes the 15th floor he says, “So far, so good.” -- Matt

Photograph by Edward Acker THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 17

“It's simply keeping alive that inner spirit so capable still of wonder and tears of joy. It means don't let physical decay dictate mental decline.

There are so many songs still to be sung.”

-Bob Lohbauer Photograph by Edward Acker

revelation. Instead of kicking a hornet’s nest, it was like arriving in a safe house where I didn’t have to translate the language of my aging experience. Where nobody was slinging that “60 is the new 40” bullshit. My deflector shields came down. There was non-stop talk, non-stop laughing, steady food, and drink to lubricate the camaraderie and good will among seven men.

It was remarkable.

We met again a few times over that first year, each weekend full of schmooze, laughter and warm fellowship. On the drive home one time with the glow of the gathering still alive in me I wondered whether this same kind of invigorating engagement could be replicated in the ether, a website, a place where old guys could connect, exchange ideas about getting older, read stories of the famous and not-so-famous men who lived richly until the end of life. A place you could listen to the music of our earlier lives, formative music, look at great art and photography – literally, the art of aging. And that’s how the Third Act Project was born.

18 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

My partner in moving the Project from concept to reality was Bill Davis, a Harvard-trained psychologist and psychotherapist and member of that original men’s group (he calls us Oldies but Goodies). We talked through many approaches, created a mission of service -- to generate among our audience an inspiration to keep going, not to fall for outdated ideas about being older, and present it all in as entertaining a way as we could. I believe we accomplished that.

The content has grown tremendously since we went online three years ago. Now we’ve got the Five Wise Guys who actually set a model for how old guys can get together and yack.

We’ve got a music podcast, a regular poetry reading, and you can always find something interesting to watch or read or listen to when you visit.

By the way, the original group is still alive and kicking, all seven of us. We get together four times a year.

Sam, tell us who you are, what is your liveli-

hood, passion, family life like, even, tell us a little about your childhood.

Sam: I’m a writer by training (a playwriting degree from the University of Iowa) and profession. My ‘career’ such as it is has included the publication of several books, commercial copywriting, and now back at long last to my first love, writing plays. I’ve got a serial radio drama in the works now that I hope will go into production in the spring. I’ll keep you posted.

Over the last nine years I’ve also worked as a garden and landscape designer under the name of Bittman Boys Edible Gardens, started with my youngest son, Simeon, who is now a phenomenal chef (check out Folklore Foods!).

Using my body in this labor of love, being outdoors among plants and trees for eight months out of the year keeps me fit and sweetens my life immeasurably.

And naturally I’m up to my ears in the Project, which I’d definitely call a passion. I’ve started up a model for starting men’s groups within independent and assisted living resi-

SAM BITTMAN THE THIRD ACT PROJECT & THE FIVE WISE GUYS

Danny Klein says he thinks of himself as “more craftsman than artist, but my reason for being a member of the Five Wise Guys is simple: for solace and love."

Photograph by Edward Acker

dences. It’s a known fact that men don’t tend to hang out together for the purpose of riffing on how life’s been treating them. We’ve put together a program that launched recently at Kimball Farms in which male residents are invited to watch a screening of a few Five Wise Guys episodes and talk afterwards to the wise guys in person about our experience of speaking openly and honestly about almost anything going on in our lives, even the most intimate topics. This is definitely going to catch on around the county and Commonwealth. Men want and need to talk, I guarantee it!

For me, I’d say that being a wise guy has taught me to find more humor in life and aging than I ever thought was there. It’s funny, really.

The longer I live, the more I want to make myself and my pals laugh.

Sam, how did you all come up with the name, The Third Act Project?

Sam: Somewhere between 50 and 60 a person enters what is commonly called the third act of

life. Jeff Kent pleaded with me to think in terms of the Shakespearian five-act format so the third act would only mean middle age. Sorry, Jeffy!

It was my former acting teacher Patrick Bonavitacola who suggested calling it The Third Act Project. Through visual and performing art, through music, poetry and the brilliance of the written word, the Project means to inspire older men to be spirited protagonists in their own stories and leave it all on the field, as athletes say.

What would be the artist’s Statement/purpose for The Five Wise Guys, and The Third Act Project?

Sam: For me, I’d say that being a wise guy has taught me to find more humor in life and aging than I ever thought was there. It’s funny, really.

The longer I live, the more I want to make myself and my pals laugh.

Matt Tannenbaum offers this: “The Third Act Project affirms a joy I think I always knew I had in me; one that I could, and do share with my

children, the rest of my family, my closest friends.

“With them it’s a given, it’s where, once “How cool is that” became my go-to expression, I never had to explain myself ever again.

“But now, in the third act I find myself -- I don’t want to say ‘examining’ – more, identifying with the good luck in my life, the good fortune, really the whole shebang.

“I mean, I even get to enjoy my enjoying this!

(How cool is that!)

“I’ll tell you how I feel: I feel like Tom Sawyer watching from up there in the cheap seats his own funeral service, or Emily in the third act of Our Town who wonders aloud Do People Actually Know How Lovely This All Is? “We wise guys do!”

Jeff Kent, aka Mr. Wonderful, agrees: “Being a part of the Wise Guys has enriched and enlivened my life immeasurably. I am very fortuContinued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 19

nate to have these brothers in my life. It's no exaggeration to say these fellows help keep me on an even keel. We're living in a very mixed up world where a madman is our national leader. The last two years have been a nightmare where fresh horrors are dished up on a daily basis. Without the love of my family and the love and support of my four dear comrades, I would have lost whatever shred of sanity left to me a long time ago!”

What do the Wise Guys think about the Third Act Project’s motto?

Sam: Don’t Die Till You’re Dead! I asked each of the wise guys to take a crack at what they think “Don’t die till you’re dead” means to them. Here’s what they said.

Bob: It's simply keeping alive that inner spirit so capable still of wonder and tears of joy. It means don't let physical decay dictate mental decline. There are so many songs still to be sung.

Danny: Sinatra nailed it with: I'm gonna live till I die, I'm gonna laugh 'stead of cry.

I'm gonna take the town and turn it upside down I'm gonna live, live, live till I die!

(Curtis, Hoffman, and Kent, songwriters) On the other hand, as a student of the great pessimist, Giacomo Leopardi, my consciousness of my mortality doesn't make the Sinatra sentiment easy. As Leopardi wrote: “Death is not an evil, because it frees us from all evils, and while it takes away good things, it takes away also the desire for them. Old age is the supreme evil, because it deprives us of all pleasures, leaving us only the appetite for them, and it brings with it all sufferings. Nevertheless, we fear death, and we desire old age.”

Photograph by Edward Acker

“With them it’s a given, it’s where, once “How cool is that” became my go-to expression, I never had to explain myself ever again.”

-Matt Tannenbaum

Jeff: What that means to me is simple: As long as I remain physically and mentally capable (Never mind you guys!), I will strive to remain intellectually curious, emotionally open and empathetic to everyone. To quote Dylan Thomas, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night,/Old age should burn and rave at close of day;/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

With coffee in hand, I like to think and plan out my day before I officially rise n’ shine. What thoughts occupy your mind in the morning?

Sam: It depends on the time of year. In my landscaping and gardening season, I noodle about the weather. Did it rain during the night? How wet is the ground? Are the fruit trees getting too much moisture and humidity (I lost a ton of peaches to mold this past summer, and the apple crop kind of sucked as well.)

Will I make time to write today? As I mentioned earlier, I’m working on a radio-play for production in the spring (it’s going to involve the wise guys and other actors) so even before I’m out of bed, I’m wondering what my characters are

“Milk every drop of life that you can … and when you can’t do that anymore, it’s time to go.”-Sam 20 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

SAM BITTMAN THE THIRD ACT PROJECT & THE FIVE WISE GUYS

going to be up to today.

Age is just a number. Agree or disagree?

Sam: Yes and no. On the one hand, it has a lot of meaning for a ton of people who experience from time to time the sudden terrifying stab of recognition that, in third act terms, life is one scene closer to the end of the play. Uh-oh. On the other hand, it only signifies a period of time one has been alive; and the number attached to that – in my case 75 – is meaningless with respect to the intensity of how I live my life. Hell, Claude Monet could hardly see in the last years of his life and he still made great pictures.

Says Wise Guy Danny, “I don't agree at all. ‘To every thing there is a season.’ Ecclesiastes 3 expands and explains. Old age has a meaning of its own.”

Sam, where do you guys meet to hang out? And where for shooting episodes of The Third Act Project?

Sam: I know Matt Tannenbaum’s Bookstore, in Lenox, is an ideal place to meet! Now he is one busy dude. But then again you all are, right? We actually shot two episodes of the current season at The Bookstore, and we had a lot of fun doing it there.

Plus Matt supplies the wine from his Get Lit wine bar, and that always helps. We shot a couple episodes last season at the Morgan House in Lee, and people liked that. Of course we’ve shot a number of episodes at the studio of CTSB in Lee. And we had a ton of fun filming Danny’s “Five-Letter Word” at Mixed Company in G.B. When we meet for dinner just to catch up, not to shoot, we’re all over the place -- Brava, Frankie’s, Alta in Lenox and Prairie Whale and Koi in Great Barrington. We brought in dinner from Koi one night recently to spend time with Bob at the rehab center where he was recovering from surgery. That was a hilarious evening. We felt terrible that our din was keeping residents awake, but simply couldn’t help ourselves. Staff walked by and smiled benignly at us in our private dining room but never once shushed us. It was a riot. We should have been filming it.

Who in the group would you say is the funniest?

Sam: I am the least funny for sure. Each of the other guys is a riot. The speed with which comments are made, jabs returned, is staggering. Matt has an endless repertoire of jokes; he even keeps a notebook on his person at all times which contains punch lines to prompt his memory. But he doesn’t have to refer to them. His jokes are in his head. Hundred and hundreds of them. And Danny was a gag writer for famous comics back in the day. I imagine him in a room with other writers, trading set-ups and punch lines all day long. So he has that whip-smart skill plus a ton of stories. Jeff has literally had me on the floor with his speed. In one of the early shows we were talking about death. Bob said, “I’m not worried. I got it all figured out. The whole burial service, coffin and everything, twelve hundred bucks.” Jeff says without the slightest hesitation, “I’m sorry Bob. I just can’t afford that.” In one recent episode, Danny laughs admiringly: “Christ, Jeff! Everything’s a set-up line to you!”

Photograph by Edward Acker

Don’t Die Till You’re Dead!

“As long as I remain physically and mentally capable (Never mind you guys!), I will strive to remain intellectually curious, emotionally open and empathetic to everyone.”

-Jeff Kent

Are there no females this group?

Sam: We’re sexist pigs? Nah. Actually, it’s very much a subject on my mind. To be sure, we do have women members of the Project who comment on our posts in a by and large complimentary way. Although, Bob adds, “However liberated we may consider ourselves, we’re of a demographic that would be Continued on next page...

SAM BITTMAN THE THIRD ACT PROJECT & THE FIVE WISE GUYS THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 21

“It was my former acting teacher Patrick Bonavitacola who suggested calling it The Third Act Project.

Through visual and performing art, through music, poetry and the brilliance of the written word, the Project means to inspire older men to be spirited protagonists in their own stories and leave it all on the field, as athletes say.”

-Sam Bittman

Photograph by Edward Acker

somewhat less our true selves in the presence of women. Sorry, we’ve just never grown up. At least no more than we had to.”

That said, women do seem to be interested in how men think and feel about life in the third act, and so we hope they visit and comment on how older men connect by way of common male experience. I’m not a psychologist so my information comes from talking with old guys for years about what they’re up to, how they see life in the third act, so I’m familiar with male themes, not so much women’s. One of which, sadly, is to pull back from connecting with the world when things get bleak in their souls. It was scary to learn that the highest suicide rate in the U.S. is among white men aged 64-85.

That’s what I had in my mind when I decided to produce the TV series. The Five Wise Guys give audiences an opportunity to look in on older men carrying on and who over the course of 20 minutes share whatever comes to mind. It airs on CTSB (Community Television for Southern Berkshire) as well as on the Project’s website.

We also post episodes to our Facebook page. I love it. I laugh a hundred times at the same jokes 22 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

while I edit the video for release. And right next to me, my co-editor Michael Sinopoli is laughing harder than I am. He’s 65. It’s very affirming and spirit-lifting, this process. I think men are at much greater ease when they’re blabbing with men they like.

That aside, I want very much to attract women to the Project. The issues of late life for men and women are very much the same. It’s just that I know so much more about men so that gathering resources for our ‘library’ has been a more intuitive process for me because I’m thinking of old guys. But many women have told me they thoroughly enjoy the point of view we offer. A couple months back we began posting music and poetry podcasts to the Project and most of the women I know who’ve tuned in have given them a thumbs up. Why wouldn’t they? The material is brilliant and touches the soul of life in the third act, regardless of gender.

All the guys have had good lives and times, and you, too? What days do you feel have been riveting, rewarding and joyful?

Sam: These days are the best because I’m living

them now and what I’m doing now is what rivets me. But my joys have been many. My wife Maggie and I raised three beautiful boys who have beautiful children of their own, whom I’m in love with, and with whom I make a fool of myself. A circle of very dear friends keeps me warm and sane. Plus a lot more I can look back on. But it’s the present that focuses me and I feel like I’m having the time of my life right now. Did I mention we’ve got twin grandsons on the way?

Bob adds his notion of what’s still achievable at age 84: “Obviously all things are no longer possible. But, who can say where to draw the line?

Many of my body’s functions have been assaulted by time and impacted by incautious living. My jump-shot sucks and I can’t reach my socks. So, physically, I am diminished by time and usage. But mentally, I have never felt more open to new possibility. I said, “Yes” to the Five Wise Guys. What’s to risk? What’s to lose...NADA! What’s to gain? A chance to hang out with four fellow miscreants I love and respect dearly. And sometimes laugh until it hurts.

A no-brainer. I’m with Molly Bloom - just say, ‘Yes!’”

Has the group included stories from their lives? It must be so gratifying to see an excerpt from one’s life acted out.

Sam: We talk about our lives all the time – that’s what makes the show so personal and interesting. The plays we’ve been filming by Danny Klein are as autobiographical as any creative work. They’re not specifically about him but certainly are of him since they’re his words and his vision. And I know he’s totally delighted to see them produced so well, if I may be so bold. The characters happen to carry the actors’ real names, and the issues raised in these beautiful plays are the province not just of old guys but all folks facing loss.

Who are the poets?

Sam: Though we’ve published many poems by writers past and present, Buff Whitman-Bradley from northern California has been one of our stars. He recently offered to do a podcast for us called “Poems for the Third Act” which is posted every three weeks. He’s a fine reader and his first podcast just went live. (http://www.thethirdactproject.com/2018/11/05/poems-for-the-thirdact-episode-1/) Here’s a short excerpt from The Tricycle: Tricycle In a shoe box on the closet floor Among decades of family snap shots There is a photograph more than seventy years old Of me and my first tricycle, A wondrous vehicle I rode at breakneck velocity All over the sidewalks and alleyways Of the ramshackle little community of Carter Lake, On the banks of an oxbow lake left behind When the Missouri River decided to change course And leave a chunk of Iowa Stranded on the Nebraska side.

In the picture I am wearing a cowboy hat And cowboy boots As I sit on my three-wheeled speed machine Splendidly fancied up with streamers and balloons For the Fourth of July parade around town, Which is just about to begin.

I loved that tricycle surpassingly And as I approach my seventy-fifth birthday I’m thinking it might be just the right time For another one.

(Head to the TAP website to listen to/read the rest.)

Who directs?

Sam: When we hear action to begin our regular round-table shows, we just go. Occasionally, someone will have a particular idea to discuss that takes us bumping down the road, God knows where. The cameras keep on rolling until we hear cut.

As for the plays we’re doing now, I directed A Five-Letter Word Starting with W, and Bob Lohbauer directed Melancholy Baby. I direct a third play, Fidelity that is in rehearsal now.

Our director of photography, Michael Sinopoli and I co-edit every episode together. I know how I want a show to work, and Michael makes it happen. You think it would become boring to watch the same guy tell the same joke or story ten times while you’re editing a short segment, but as I said earlier -- not so! Michael and I laugh every time.

chatted up as they sat alongside the Riverway in Chicago’s Loop District. ‘Keep your mind full and your bowels empty.’ Makes sense to me.”

There was a wonderful piece in The Times a few weeks back by Linda Pipher that I think speaks to this issue of wisdom.

“By the time we are 70, we have all had more tragedy and more bliss in our lives than we could have foreseen. If we are wise, we realize that we are but one drop in the great river we call life and that it has been a miracle and a privilege to be alive.”

Sam, what do you need to continue to produce wise guys and broaden TAP content generally?

Sam: Last spring I ran a GoFundMe campaign that raised about $12,000, which I aimed way to divide equally between production/content development and marketing/promotion. But money goes quick and we need sponsors. And sponsors demand a lot of page-visits if they’re going to fork out money. So to achieve that I’ve brought on Katherine Casey who is helping to redesign the website and to develop a marketing strategy for expanding our audience nationally. I must also add that, from the get-go I’ve had indispensable assistance from Brittany Brouker whose value to the Project I couldn’t possibly overstate and Eric Brenner has been a master behind-thescenes guy who is coding the re-design.

By the way, we’re looking for local businesses and organizations to sponsor individual episodes of The Five Wise Guys. So anyone out there who’s interested, give me a holler. Hear me?

We’ll make you such a deal!

Do you defy the aging process?

Sam: I don’t defy getting older. I may deny it sometimes but I can’t defy it. As long as I stay playful with my friends, as long as I remain conscious of how easy it is sometimes to be rigid about my opinions, which is a way of saying “no” to new possibilities, as long as I stay open I’m happy. In the art of improvisational acting, the trick to keep things going on stage is to accept your partner’s premise by essentially saying “yes” and… For instance, your partner says, “I want you to take me to the ice cream parlor, now!” And you say, “Yeah, and when we get there, who knows what sort of wild things I’m going say to you!” “Really?” says your partner, “like what?” And you reply, “If I were you, I’d prepare to be kissed!” And on it goes. Life is improv. I used to think it was a sign of intellectual weakness and lack of discipline to make things up as you go along, fly by the seat of your pants as they used to say, but I love the freshness that it brings to my life and to my relationships.

Sam, getting older means getting wiser. As you look back, and look ahead, do you feel that your life experiences are enough to be a wise guy?

Sam: Age is not some magic elixir that presto! whammo! makes you wise. I think Lucretius or some other philosopher said “Once a schmuck, always a schmuck.”

On the more serious side, listening and observing are what help me find the most fruitful questions to ask of myself.

The essence of acting, which is to say, connecting with people, is listening and responding to the people that are on stage with you. It gets you asking questions, and maybe you come up with some new thoughts of your own. Is that what you mean by wise?

Well then, Sam, Wise is in the eye of the beholder, then! On the same subject, wise guy Bob Lohbauer says: “The older you get the more wrinkles you get (and, here and there, the occasional loss of a body part). There are sure a lot of dumb elderlies in this world. Many live in Washington, D.C. Buckminster Fuller once quoted a free spirited elderly street gent he often

Something you hope to become real that you tell the wise guys?

Sam: Yes, there is: Boys, I’ve been talking to an agent who wants to put us on tour! Nah. I draw no conclusions about life. And I expect to live forever.

Thank you Sam, Matt, Bob, Jeff and Danny. I know we will be seeing more of you.

Check out youtube.com: Third Act Project, you will find Five Wise Guys S2E6, I think Therefore I draw, Danny’s latest book hits the market.

When in Lenox, stop by The Book Store and chat with Matt on anything worldy, including of course - The Five Wise Guys.

Follow the Wise Guys and Third Act Project by going to www.thethirdactproject.com The latest Tweets from Third Act Project @ThirdActProject, Old Guys on the Art of Aging .... and much more! Don’t hestitate to search!

SAM BITTMAN THE THIRD ACT PROJECT & THE FIVE WISE GUYS

~xox~ THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 23

ELIXIR As many of you know, we run a 21 day restorative cleanse at ELIXIR every month. I could tell you that people are reporting back that they have lost 20 pounds, cut their cholesterol in half and lowered their blood pressure, sleeping through the night for the first time in years, have more clarity, more energy, among other things but, why not hear directly from some of our cleanse participants first hand…

What people say about Elixir’s 21 Day Restorative Cleanse: “Nancy's food has been a staple of my diet for the past 18 months and I've never felt better. Bringing me on the long journey from illness to wellness, and

24 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

further into wholeness, Nancy and her knowledge of medicinal foods, herbs and remedies is astonishing.

She truly is a Medicine Woman for the 21st Century.”

- Jan Seward, Therapist Great Barrington, MA. “A cleanse with NancyLee at Elixir is a completely holistic and nurturing experience. Other cleanses I’ve done stripped my body of everything, but Nancy’s program nourished, healed and rebuilt it.

My body felt so good! I felt clear, grounded and present. I was most surprised by how much emotional cleansing and empowerment came along with this process as well. While it was challenging to make the decision to invest in myself and my health at this level, I now feel it was one of the most important investments I could make. I realized that without caring for myself well, I’m not enabling myself to care for anyone or anything else well either! I highly recommend you make space in your life for this and see where it leads you!”

- Erika Allison,Engineer Great Barrington, MA. As a senior citizen who had never done a cleanse (or anything remotely like it), I was thrilled by the experience. I learned about Nancy and Elixir from one of my favorite fitness instructors. Nancy was very thorough and helpful in explaining the whole process to me. Frankly, it was a much bigger deal than I expected -- in terms of time and commitment, as well as cost -- but every minute and dollar was very well spent. Dining at Elixir for lunch with the other "cleansers" every day was really wonderful -- I looked forward to it. Nancy then sends you home with the most wonderful juices, infusions, smoothies, and a delicious soup for dinner.

You bring the empties back the next day, and leave with the next day's supply. This goes on for 21 days, in which I gave up coffee, cheese and any other dairy, and alcohol. I was very surprised that I didn't have any caffeine-withdrawal headaches and I really felt wonderful. I also experienced a very nice weight loss without ever feeling hungry or deprived. The mid-day meals are so delicious and inventive that you don't even miss what you used to think of as "real food."

Nancy introduced me to a whole new world of ingredients and cooking styles and explained the rationale behind every cooking and nutritional decision. And she provided me with a lot of helpful information about how I can continue many of these healthy food and cooking habits after the cleanse ended.

Now that the cleanse is over, I know I will miss Nancy's warm and wonderful greeting, her delicious food, and the whole delightful experience! But I feel I have done something really wonderful for myself.

-Mal Wasserman Great Barrington, MA For more information on ELIXIR’S CLEANSE visit our website www.elixirgb.com, email us at organictearoom@gmail.com / or call us at 413.644.8999 Visiting Elixir for our daily delicious, 100% organic fare with an international flair! Hours: Sunday 12- 4, Monday 12 - 4, Monday 12 - 4, Friday 12 - 4, Saturday 12 - 8. Reservations recommended!

RONCHAMP

“We should always remember that sensitiveness amd emotion constitute the real content of a work of art.” - Maurice Ravel LESLEE CARSEWELL SHEFFIELD MA 413.229.0155 OR 413.854 5757 CARSEWELLLESLEE@GMAIL.COM

JENNIFER PAZIENZA

FRONT ST. GALLERY

STILL LIFE KATE KNAPP

Painting classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1pm at the studio in Housatonic and Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field.

Also available for private critiques. Open to all. Please come paint with us!

@joycummings @jenniferpazienza

gallery hours: open by chance and by appointment anytime 413. 274. 6607 (gallery) 413. 429. 7141 (cell) 413. 528. 9546 (home)

Front Street, Housatonic, MA THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 25

Our Remains of the Day The Shutdown PHOTOGRAPHS BY CARL BERG Today marks Day 24 of a government shutdown, and the news is full of the testimony of anxious government workers trying to pay their bills and feed their families without a paycheck. We are told that they will recoup this loss in time, when the government is back in business. Contract workers for the government, not so lucky. Of course, the shutdown affects many government services and facilities: trash lies uncollected in the national parks that remain open; national museums remain closed; all kinds of monitoring facilities that protect our environment and health are not monitoring; US Department of Agriculture forecasts that farmers rely on are not forecasting; unpaid air traffic controllers are doing their best to keep planes in lane, while already poorly paid TSA workers try to focus on keeping us safe. Of course, the irony is that our security is more threatened by gaps in airport security than gaps on the southern border. Meanwhile, in Washington DC, the mouths in charge run at full capacity.

Up here, in this blessed space between the Berkshires and the Hudson River, I write bedeviled by the word “shutdown.” I don’t mean the machinery of government, per se. I mean our hearts and minds. I mean our capacity to think, and then to feel based on a rigorous round of thought. I listened this morning to a clinical psychologist, a tribe to which I belong, speak about what happens when people’s thought processes are manipulated and degraded. He spoke about fear, and how vulnerable we are to manipulation when we’re afraid, how we long for a mighty Oz-like figure who knows what needs to be done, and has the power and the will to do it. Mr. Trump, I presume? The fog of fear clouds our thought processes and we are easily misled. Who in this world, somewhere in26 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

WRITTEN BY JUDY BERG side, doesn’t feel at risk? With multiple mass shootings, wars upon wars, and not just future, but current effects of climate change, the only people on earth that may be immune to this generalized fear may be the tribal people of the Amazon, who still live unperturbed by our super-wired culture. And, the new President of Brazil has designs on them.

I once had a patient whose father was sent by his father from Nazi Germany to Scotland, as part of the kinder transport meant to save the lives of targeted Jewish children. My patient’s father, once a terrified child, would caution him to “remain calm at all times.” The determination to keep his head in his terrifying circumstance made it possible for a Jewish boy to eventually be reunited with his parents, and become a father himself. How about a shutdown of fear, and an opening up of determination and will, the will to address, not just lament, mass shootings through sensible gun rights policy, and more vigilance regarding the severely alienated among us. How about a realization, only born of keeping our heads, that all of the borders in the world are absolutely meaningless as long as we are under threat as a species by the effects of climate change. We need to muster the will and determination to fight for our lives, and a world that makes life worth living.

January 15 Will and determination root best in well nourished bodies. To that end, we take note of the red cabbage half that’s been lying on the bottom shelf of the fridge for better than a week, and a sweet potato hiding in a drawer. In winter,

the best foods are those with staying power. I summon the will and the determination to drive to the market for a piece of fresh fish, a couple of yellow and red sweet peppers to help that cabbage grow into an asian slaw, and a sweet potato since two are better than one. A bright toss of cilantro might just hint at summer.

When I look out my window, as far as I can see, the only walls are those built for shelter. Sure, I’ve heard people who grew up here complain about the city invaders who don’t understand the country way of life, and city people who complain about the prosaic spectacle of clothes drying on lines, smoke from wood fires, and the savagery of hunting deer for food. But, so far no walls, or at least, none that are visible. Walls come with a price, and not just the five plus billion of the one currently in dispute. Walls are lies. Desperate, hungry people will never give up trying to find safety and something to eat, so you will never be safe behind your wall. Fear clouds the mind, leaving it less able to think of real solutions to real problems.

Day 26 of the shutdown, and this morning I heard an author of a book about walls speaking on the radio about the effects that walls have on people’s perceptions of each other. He spoke of studies that show that people on either side of a wall who are alike in culture, language and customs, even family members, become estranged and perceive differences that don’t exist when a wall is erected. He spoke of a psychiatrist who treated patients in Berlin in the 1980’s, who lived near the wall and suffered a cluster of symptoms that he had dubbed “Wall Disease.” It seems that walls, the lying kind, can be harmful to your health. I wonder if there are any stats on the health effects of being lied to on a regular basis by those in whom you’ve placed your trust.

January 16 Full disclosure: we are people who come from the city, who own a gun, and hunt deer, for food. We are omnivores, willing to tolerate the moral ambiguity of killing an animal, for food. So, tonight we enjoy the best of the beast: chops grilled over wood. When you field dress a deer, you get to see what the animal you are about to eat, has recently eaten. This animal had bits of not yet digested berries, grasses and leaves in its stomach. The flesh of this animal is probably the purest animal protein that one can eat. We will bathe the chops in olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and rosemary. We will crown them with sauteed mushrooms, surround their highnesses with roasted potatoes, and serve a salad on the side. I wonder what the multitudes of federal workers who are not getting paid are eating tonight.

The cost of a wall. The information pours in, from the papers, the radio, TV, and the internet. Pick your poison. I heard that the five billion that Trump is holding the government hostage for is a fraction of what his bespoke wall would actually cost. And then, there is the human suffering, the damage to our health and safety, and our dignity. What sane society, institution, business, or family would tolerate this kind of behavior? And, those that have the power to stop this most unpatriotic of presidents who would debase the nation to elevate himself, do nothing. We are a wounded, endangered people. And the danger does not come from our southern border. It comes from our lack of the collective will to summon the determination to resist fear, and to arm ourselves with the knowledge we need to heal ourselves and our planetary home. The danger comes from us, and for that, walls are useless.

By the time you read this, the government shutdown will, hopefully, be over. Here’s to hope for a shutdown of ignorance, hatred, and lies. Let’s open up, woman up, and heal our wounds.

-Judy and Carl Berg

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 27

BARBARA NEWMAN & Berkshire Writing Retreats in the Berkshires Interview by Harryet Candee

Photo: Tanya Malott

Barbara, please tell us little about yourself?

Barbara Newman: I grew up in the suburbs of New York, in a home where art was appreciated, and books were plentiful. My dad painted here and there, tinkered on the piano, and sculpted with clay. He was a landscape architect. I remember hearing his electric pencil sharpener in the middle of the night, sometimes I could even smell the lead. His light was on in his home studio and he’d be sitting at his giant drafting board, designing gardens. He loved the natural world, and truly was a botanist. My Mom was an avid reader. She taught Shakespeare to middle school students, participated in community theater, and was always going to some kind of women’s consciousness raising groups. Ms. Magazine was on the coffee table. The Bhagavad Gita was on her nightstand. She was a seeker. That impacted me. And made me curious.

I think creative minds are inspired by curiosity.

You seem to be a brainstormer and possibly dislike boredom. How does this hold water?

28 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

Barbara: I love that moment, that spark, when a new idea is born. My former life in advertising taught me the art of brainstorming. You are astute to notice that’s something I somewhat crave. I like collaborating. I like the energy it creates. I love the “not knowing,” the surprise. One idea leads to another and another and isn’t that exciting! The idea of boredom doesn’t resonate—it only exists when we believe it is so. As long as one has their mind, boredom is not an option. While I meditate, I don’t like sitting still. And that doesn’t necessarily mean physical stillness. My mind moves around a lot. I fall in love with a lot of things, ideas, people, places. It’s invigorating. But also distracting, which isn’t always a good thing.

What is your personal, soulful relationship with the art of writing?

Barbara: Writing has saved me I don’t know how many times. I journal. I’ve been writing morning pages for years. Subconscious brain dump coming out of REM sleep. I remember the moment when

I thought that maybe I could be a writer. I was eight or nine. It was summer. I was walking home and saw a carton of spilled milk against the curb.

I began to write a story in my mind about that container, and the sourness of that milk. I can still see that carton. It was red and white. Something was ignited, I couldn’t wait to get home to the page.

I wrote a lot in high school, I had some inspiring English teachers who were also feminists. I studied journalism and film in college and had this vision of traveling the world—writing and producing documentary films, finding meaning in the human story. I ended up in advertising.

Do you think, then, opening your home up to a writers retreat, will inspire people to try a new art form, develop more, and possibly meet their hidden goals?

Barbara: My hope is that being at the Hart House will inspire creativity by giving people time and space to explore and connect with their work. I know that when I’ve left the demands of everyday

Panel discussion with Barbara Newman ( middle), Amy-Hale Auker, right, and editor Nancy Novack, left. Barbara produced a multi-media western experience at the Unicorn Theatre including music, photography, clips from her film, poetry and essay. Barbara invited Amy to perform her poetry for the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Sold out performance. Next day, Amy held a two hour writing workshop that was packed to the gills.

life behind, and escaped to a environment that nurtures my soul, it also nourishes my work. There is no pressure here. What comes, comes. I’ve seen beautiful things emerge.

You know, all we need is a room with a view. But your home has history!

Tell us about that, please. The inspiration for you and your husband, how has it in ways given you the gift of artful minds?

Barbara: The home certainly has a history, and a story, and grounds that have the most beautiful trees. We decided on this house because we fell in love with the trees. They are truly majestic. The house was built in 1791, by Soloman Hart, who was a Captain in the Continental Army. He and his wife had thirteen children here. It was a rest stop for the Redbird Express, a mail route via horse and buggy between Hartford and Albany. The floorboards are wide and wonderful, we’ve left the original hardware on the doors. Our library is lined with old leather bound books, from the collection of my husband’s late father. Our children loved growing up in this house. When we moved here, my husband ran it as a boutique inn. He left an intense industry, and at forty, pursued a dream and went to the Culinary Institute of America, and the French Culinary Institute for baking and pastry. He cooked. I wrote, we raised children, and I continued to freelance in the ad world and still do.

Over the years, we’ve had many interesting guests come through our red door, many fascinating conversations in the parlor with people from all over the world.

Can you give us a brief rundown appetite pleaser of workshops coming up, and how would someone give a workshop? Is it open to all forms of art?

Barbara: We’re launching with three exciting workshops by teachers who come from very different worlds. Jana Laiz is a beloved local author and teacher who will be focusing on dialogue, character and story. She’s written in just about every genre, from historical biography, to young adult fantasy to children’s literature. Amy-Hale Auker is also an award-winning author.

She’s also a cowboy—yes—a cowboy. She lives and works on an Arizona ranch. She’s a bold writer, courageous, actually. She writes “place,” like nobody’s business. Amy is passionate about creative process and how that inspires great work. Amber Chand, a local/global visionary and spiritual teacher will be taking us on a journey through The Seven Lanterns: Writing

Your Brave New Story. This isn’t a writing class at all—but a deep reflective dive into self-exploration through conversation and creative exercises that include journaling and creating personal mandalas, as an expression of self.

Since we launched just over a week ago, we’ve had huge interest are beginning to fill up. These are intimate workshops of 6-8 participants. We are inviting a small number of day commuters as well. I’ve also heard from three authors who are interested in teaching later in the year.

We also offer private retreats. I’m super excited about this. I’ve hosted a number of writing groups here—they love the atmosphere and wish they could stay for more than a few hours. So, we’re opening the Hart House up to writers, and there friends (minimum of 3 people) to come for a long weekend, a week, or even longer.

What have you come across lately that you think is highly cutting edge, savvy, and something that you really want to engage in? So, lets narrow this q down to: writing and the arts, who’s the Cats Meow in the literary world, music world, etcetera.

Barbara: I don’t like cookie cutter. Not in anything. There are so many strong expressive writers. The genres are crossing over, similar to the music world. There’s narrative essay, lyrical essay, slam poetry, cowboy poetry, short story. The young adult fantasy world fascinates me, and I’m working on a manuscript in that genre. But one or two writers, as the cat’s meow? I can’t choose. But I do have a favorite poet. Mary Oliver changed my life.

She left the planet last week and it feels like a very personal loss. I’m a new fan of a new literary darling called Catapult: it publishes award-winning fiction and nonfiction of the highest caliber, produces an award-winning daily online magazine and hosts an open online platform where writers can showcase their own writing, find resources, and get inspired. It’s edgy. And good.

Music moves me like no other artistic medium. It brings me into a mood—meditative, dark, sensual, uplifting. Pink always inspires. Leonard Cohen. Half Waif. Lin Manuel Miranda. And I love the song by Cosmo Sheldrake in the new Apple commercial. I love how technology allows artists to experiment in all kinds of ways. They can record and mix right off their laptop. There’s nothing like the sound of a real piano or guitar; there’s a beauty in its simplicity— but technology is lessening the barriers. And I think that’s a good thing.

Continued on next page...

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRAURY 2019 • 29

Barbara and Amy-Hale Auker during a film shoot for Barbara’s documentary film, Cowgirls Are Forever in Elko, Nevada.

Now to get to the question of art. I’ve fallen in love with work that was done by a fifth grader. Lately, I’m resonating with work that has a strong social message.

In writing, can you divulge in which is the best way for you to get inspired to write, and, what do you enjoy writing about the most?

Barbara: Nature inspires me. Stillness inspires me. Color inspires me. Stories inspire me. I write whatever moves me in that moment. Poetry, narrative essay, soul writing. I learned a great exercise from Amy Hale Auker, who will be teaching Ordinary Skin: Developing the Writer’s Life— March 14-19th. She taught me Say it in Six. Basically, you tell a story in six sentences. Every. Single. Word. Counts. You’d be surprised at what you can say in six. Powerful. And unintimidating.

In the advertising world, I must ask you - do you like creating brands, logos for people? It can be challenging, since you put yourself into it, and you must put the client in the equation....Your thoughts?

Barbara: I don’t create logos, that’s something a designer does. But as a Creative Director, I’m part of the design team. It’s more complex than one might think. There’s a lot to take into consideration. What’s the personality, the essence, the soul or DNA of your brand. What messaging differentiates you. How do you solve a problem.

What’s the brand promise. How do you make someone feel. I’ll even go as far as to ask about the vision of the company, what are their values/ideals.

With a new or emerging brand, you’re creating a blueprint. I’ve worked on global brands for Fortune 30 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

The Berkshires is the ultimate of great places to be. From your travels, your experiences elsewhere, what can you say keeps you and your husband here? Full time? Part time?

Barbara: We’ve been full time residents since 1999. We’ve both traveled extensively, for work and for pleasure. We love it here. Yes, there have been moments in the dead of winter, when the snow flies and the wind whips across the mountain, that I’ve asked myself— hmm—warmer climate? The thought doesn’t last long. I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.The beauty of nature, the artful culture, the thirst for spiritual connection and the people. The kind, smart, interesting, creative people who have become extended family.

Some people think, oh no, I can’t possibly ready be to go to an writers retreat! I’m just a newbie at all this!

But, Barbara, I bet this isn’t true.

What would you’re reply be?

Barbara: We were all newbies at one point. And to a large degree, I still am.

You have to start somewhere… and trust that what’s supposed to unfold will.

There’s no pressure here. The workshops we offer accept writers at every level. We give you a place to focus. We give you Perfect environment for writers retreat at the Hart House, prompts that spark thought. We give you Barbara’s home, New Marlborough, MA teachers that inspire; people who care about good work, and creative process.

500 companies, and small brands for start-ups. The We ask nothing of you that you wouldn’t ask of thinking is the same. How can we create an emoyourself.

Come.

I promise your words will tumble tional connection to the consumer, through words onto the page. and pictures and messaging that resonates, and builds on an authentic human insight. It’s the inwww.berkshirewritingretreats.com tersection between art, psychology, and commerce.

I loved doing it. Now my creative energy is being Thank you, Barbara! redirected toward developing a writer’s life.

JOHN LIPKOWITZ, BEAR, PHOTOGRAPH

JOHN LIPKOWITZ CELLIST, YEHUDA HANANI

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH MUSIC HUMOR IN THE STRING QUARTETS OF PAPA HAYDN Close Encounters With Music will present “Humor in the String Quartets of Papa Hayden on Saturday, February 23, 6pm at Saint James Place in Great Barrington. Performers are: Hagai Shaham and Xiao-Dong Wang violin: Dov Scheindlin, viola; Yehuda Hanani, cello.

What constitutes a musical—or any other kind of—joke? Humor explodes our expectations and takes us by surprise. Three Haydn string quartets, including his “Joke” Quartet, provide an evening of ambiguous beginnings and fake-out endings; mismatched dialogues between instruments, misunderstandings, musical pratfalls and pretend memory lapses and digressions. What about those embarrassing long pauses, that daring modulation, that unexpected excursion into strange tonalities….? It’s all intentional and part of the fun! From the composer of the “Surprise” Symphony who wrote a cat’s meow into another comes a slightly tipsy “high” as well as “low” program of subversive humor. The audiences of Haydn’s day loved the kinds of things he put into his music, and so will you. Artistic director Yehuda Hanani and colleagues will lead us through this night of musical comedy with their expert playing as well as comments. Call it a master class in musical humor.

Humor and Gastronomy permeate Close Encounters’ current season. Rossini named many works after foods among his hilarious onomatopoetic parodies (as demonstrated in the “Rossini Extravaganza” opening concert); Schubert created a mouthwatering feast for the ears with his “Trout” Quintet, enjoyed at our December 8 holiday concert; and Haydn could have been a stand-up comedian if he hadn’t been the musical genius he was, to be explored on February 23rd.

Audiences can savor the music and fun as well as the culinary connections with us at our thematic concerts and receptions this season!

Tickets, $38 general seating for our February concert and to inquire about pro-rated season subscriptions: www.cewm.org or 800-834-0778.

510 Warren Street Gallery is pleased to present a show of photography by John Lipkowitz. “Farther Reaches, Musings on a Wildlife Portfolio” will begin on February 1and continue until February 24 with an opening reception on Saturday, February 2 from 3 to 6 pm. All are welcome to this event where the artist will be present to discuss his work.

Lipkowitz, a retired New York City attorney now living in Great Barrington, MA, has been interested in photography since childhood, receiving his first camera at age 10 and graduating to a Leica by 15.

Nearly four decades past before his passion for wildlife photography was ignited by 6 a.m. excursions to Central Park’s Rowboat Pond, a 10 minute walk from home where he saw Great Blue, Black Crowned and Green Herons, Great Egrets and many other species of ducks throughout the year. His earliest avian subjects were a family of Mute Swans and their dozen or so downy cygnets.

The birds of Central Park remained an interest until 2006 as did the birds of Florida where Lipkowitz made many late April trips to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, a great habitat for wading birds which roost and breed in the trees growing from the swamp. A few eggs, chicks and sometimes adult birds fall to the gators, but, hundreds of chicks of many species of herons and egrets are raised successfully often just along the boardwalk where all one needs to do is stick a camera practically into a nest.

So far, Lipkowitz now has five African safaris behind him. Together with his wife Nina, (herself an artist), he has traveled aboard a Russian nuclearpowered icebreaker to the North Pole followed by the Antarctic, Japan in winter to photograph the snow monkeys and two trips to India. Having upgraded his photography gear from film to digital, from his early Leica to some of the latest gear for capturing life in the wild, Lipkowitz has developed an eye for creating images that move us to nurture our beautiful and fragile planet.

For this show, Lipkowitz muses on those observations he has made and chooses, from his extensive portfolio, the finest photographs that are closest to his own experiences with the natural world.

510 Warren Street Gallery - 510 Warren St., Hudson, New York; (518) 822-0510; Gallery Hours: Fri., Sat., 12-6, Sun. 12-5; 510warrenstgallery@gmail.com; 510warrenstreetgallery.com

ARTIST KATE KNAPP

FRONT ST. GALLERY Pastels, oils, acrylics and watercolors…abstract and representational…..landscapes, still lifes and portraits….a unique variety of painting technique and styles….you will be transported to another world and see things in a way you never have before…. join us and experience something different.

Painting classes continue on Monday and Wednesday mornings 10-1:30pm at the studio and Thursday mornings out in the field. These classes are open to all...come to one or come again if it works for you. All levels and materials welcome. Private critiques available.

Classes at Front Street are for those wishing to learn, those who just want to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art, and/or those who have some experience under their belt. Perfect if you are seeking fresh insight into watercolors, and other mediums. A teacher for many years, Kate Knapp has a keen sense of each student’s artistic needs to take a step beyond. Perfect setting for setting up still lifes; lighting and space are excellent. Peek in to see!

Front Street Gallery – Front Street, Housatonic, MA. Gallery open by appointment or chance anytime. 413-528-9546 at home or 413-429-7141 (cell).

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 31

Faldoni CHAPTER 6 Richard Britell

The beautiful things the friar said did not seem to have any effect on Faldoni.

It was one of those situations like when the rich give advice to the poor and it falls on deaf resentful ears.

The friar was indulging in sarcasm, but sarcasm, which is stating the opposite of what one actually thinks, is always lost on the simple man, who assumes that people mean what they say. But the friar was not about to give up, and so he turned to a more outlandish argument and said.

“They say the Archbishop of Turin has a silken robe with six hundred diamonds and rubies embroidered in the border of the hem, the cuffs, and the collar.

The robe of the Archbishop is, as I have been saying, proof positive that he is in possession of the word of God, otherwise how could he possess such a garment?"

This sarcasm was no so obvious that he felt sure Faldoni would understand what he was driving at, but the painter still just nodded his passive agreement.

Finally the friar said. “Are you listening to me Faldoni, do you understand what I have been saying to you?” “Yes,” answered Faldoni.

“Then tell me, what is it that I have been telling you, go on and repeat what I have said so that I can see that you are listening to me!” Faldoni stretched out his hand and pointed to his paintings on the wall of his cell and said, “The paintings I have painted prove that I am innocent.” So, apparently it seemed that Faldoni understood the exact opposite of what the friar was saying.

Once it became known in the monastery, that Faldoni was most likely to be burned at the stake, he became the talk of the institution. A question went round the dining hall and remained unanswered, the question was, “Does the Faldoni eat cantaloupe in his cell in the middle of the night.”

The "Cantaloupe question," had come about in this way. There was an old monk who always seemed a little odd to all the other monks. He was one of those sorts that often could be found talking to himself. He was about seventy, and although he often talked to himself, he was sufficiently aware of the norms of his society to know that it was looked upon askance.

But his malady was not static; it was a disability in the process of taking over his entire being bit by bit. The other monks became aware of the degeneration of his condition when at dinner he would exclaim, apropos of nothing, peculiar comments about things of no concern to anyone, in a loud voice yet 32 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

speaking to no one in particular.

He would put a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth, chew and swallow, but then suddenly exclaim, “The vicar is unqualified to put out fires in sundry places, he knows very well that it takes three vats of water to convert a pound of dirt to...”

Monastic institutions both then and now have a very high tolerance for the occasional character whose personality and actions over the years become erratic or even psychotic. The monastery in some ways is like a prison, and if in prison a man commits a crime what is to be done with him? He is already in prison.

But then the Archbishop of Turin came to the monastery to give an important presentation. He had with him a set of plans for the reconstruction of the chapel that was on the monastery’s grounds. This chapel had not been used since the roof had caved in years ago. It had been built in the Romanesque style, and the archbishop had with him drawings showing an enlarged chapel, which was going to incorporate the new pointed arches.

The archbishop began his presentation by belittling the existing chapel and criticizing its construction. He did not come out and say it, but he implied that it was the old-fashioned half circle arches of its doors and windows that were responsible for the collapse of the roof years ago. The archbishop was very proud of his presentation and especially with the drawings on parchment which explained, in a kind of schematic way, the shapes of the doors and windows in the new style.

In the middle of the silence occasioned by the unfolding of the drawings, while everyone was bending over a big oak table trying to get a better look, the old man started muttering to himself. This is what he said.

“When God created the sun and the moon and the earth He had them try cubes for their shapes at first, and when that didn’t work out he tried pyramids.

Only later did he hit on the spheres. This is why five has always been more than four, and less than six, there had to be a reason for that.”

All of this the old man said strictly to himself, and it would not have even been remembered and recorded except for the events that were to follow, which seemed to shed a light on the supposed meaning of what he was saying.

In the middle of the presentation of the ground plan the old monk stood up

and shouted out, “The Archbishop eats cantaloupe in his rooms in the middle of the night.”

The Archbishop could see in an instant the sort of situation he had to deal with, and the other monks expected this embarrassment to end as soon as it began but the old man did not sit back down, but repeated his foolish accusation over again even louder, and then a third time. Finally he had to be forcibly restrained and removed from the hall.

That evening the Archbishop did not return to Milan, he became violently ill with a stomach ailment. He went to bed in a feverish sweat and in the morning he had a high fever. The next afternoon he was in a coma, and he died in the evening.

Word came from Milan just as he was expiring, asking about the Archbishop, and warning that there was a food poisoning epidemic in Milan brought about because of some spoiled cantaloupe that was sold in the city some days before. Three priests had died of the ailment, and the message inquired about the health of the Archbishop.

This strange accident of fate had the kind of consequences you might expect.

Although the old monk who talked to himself had been making statements, comments, and even predictions for many years and none of his remarks had ever had any connection to anything in real life, now, suddenly, this incident having to do with his comment about cantaloupe turned the old man into a celebrity.

After the death of the Archbishop, everything the elder said was considered and examined for its significance. Everyone began to look for hidden meanings and symbolism in his remarks. His remark that God made the sun a cube, then a pyramid, and then a sphere seemed to mean that the pointed arch in architecture was a mistake and that architects should stick with the round arch because, obviously all the heavenly bodies were round.

The old man’s remark about the shape of the sun became an argument against the new gothic forms that were attacking Italy at that time. The Italians considered the new Gothic forms as a new barbarian invasion to be resisted, and so when the pointed arch was discussed in the dinning hall of the monastery at dinner you might hear someone exclaim.

“Pointed arched in cathedrals make as much sense as cubical orbits for the stars.

Do the stars stop and make right angle turns when the traverse the sky? No, God’s creations are all assembled from circles and the introduction of points and sharp angles is a form of disrespect of the heavens.”

The monks of that time were not even sure about the question of orbits. They could see that the sun came up in one place and set in another but where it went at night was anybody’s guess. It seems obvious that a big circle was probably involved, and that at night the sun was going underneath things and coming out again on the other side.

But there were others that felt that the sun and the stars died each night, were buried in the ocean, and then were reborn again in the morning. This death and rebirth of the sun and stars actually made more sense to most people than the other idea that the sun kept going round and round forever.

If one looks at God’s complex creation for a clue to this troubling question, everywhere the argument is presented to us that the sun is new every day. For example, since every snowflake is different, and every tear a person cries is completely unique and individual, so too it follows logically that the sun must be new every time it appears.

Consider apples, oranges, and lemons. You can sit in an orchard and look at the apples from morning till night and not find two that are even similar. You can stick to just the green apples, and all of them will be conspicuously different from each other.

It is easy to sympathize with anyone who would claim that the sun is unique every day, and the stars and constellations are recreated new each day. Besides, if the universe was being created new even from one instant to the next, how would we know the difference anyway.

This then was the origin of the question about cantaloupe, which was to have such a profound effect of the life of Faldoni.

RUTH KOLBERT

My Shelter - A London Memory 50 x 25”

Studio visits by appointment rkolbert4778@gmail.com 413. 229. 0380

Morgan Bulkeley

RICHARD BRITELL: FROM THE BLOG NO CURE FOR THE MEDIEVAL MIND SNAKE OIL SALES OIL/CANVAS 46 X 46” 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY TASJA KEETMAN

www.morganbulkeley.com THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 33

MARGUERITE BRIDE, HANCOCK BARN, WATERCOLOR

MARGUERITE BRIDE ORIGINAL WATERCOLORS

ROBERT AT THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY, 2018, LENOX, MA

ROBERT WILK Having moved a few years ago from his 20-year retirement in Venice, Italy, to Sarasota, Florida, Robert Wilk decided to re-invent himself, as he has done several times in his life. Having painted, designed and sculpted since his early youth, Robert found it a good time to focus on a professional sculpture career.

Robert considers his main medium to be COLOR. No matter the material - wood, aluminum or steel the art emerges from the COLOR. Wilk finds power in his minimalist approach and often provides a lively tension as well, through a feeling of movement or precariousness in the forms themselves.

Robert Wilk's work can currently be seen at L’Atelier Berkshires Gallery in Great Barrington, Massachusetts; Chestnut Lodge in Lee Massachusetts, the Home Resource showroom and the Urbanite Theatre, both in Sarasota, Florida.

Robert Wilk - robertvenice@gmail.com

Do you have special occasions in your future?

Anniversary? Wedding? Graduation? Retirement?

Selling a home and downsizing?

A custom painting of a home or other special location is a treasured gift.

Now is a great time to commission a house portrait or favorite scene you would like captured in a watercolor. Paintings (or even a personalized gift certificate, then I work directly with the recipient) make a cherished and personal gift for weddings, retirement, new home, old home, anniversaries…..any occasion is special. Commission work is always welcome. Be in touch directly with the artist…it is guaranteed to be a fun adventure!

Brides solo exhibit, “Winter in the Berkshires” at Hotel on North in Pittsfield has been extended through February. New paintings were added to the display in January. Also, “Jazz Visions”, 22 original watercolors, mostly on canvas are on “long-term” exhibit at 51 Park Tavern in Lee, Massachusetts.

Fine art reproductions and note cards of Berkshire images and others by the artist are available at the Red Lion Inn Gift Shop (Stockbridge), Lenox Print & Mercantile (Lenox), Good Purpose Gallery (Lee); and a variety of other fine gift shops, and also directly from the artist.

Marguerite Bride – Home Studio at 46 Glory Drive, Pittsfield, Massachusetts by appointment only.

Call 413-841-1659 or 413-442-7718; margebridepaintings.com; margebride@aol.com; Facebook: Marguerite Bride Watercolors

JOAN GRISWALD

WEBSITE USE

berkshire digital | collins editions Opening in 2005, we do fine art printing for artists, photographers and anyone needing our services.

These Giclée prints, can be made in many different sizes from 5”x7” to 42” x 80” on archival papers.

In addition to the printing services, we create accurate photo-reproductions of paintings and illustrations, and can have client’s film scanned into digital files, for use in books, magazines, brochures, cards and websites. We also offer restoration and repair of damaged or faded photographs. A complete overview of services offered, along with pricing, can be seen on the web at www.BerkshireDigital.com A newly added service, is photographic portraits of artists in their studios, or wherever they would like, for use in magazines, as the author’s picture in a book, websites or cards. See samples of artist portraits on the website at www.BerkshireDigital.com The owner, Fred Collins, has been a commercial and fine art photographer for over 30 years having had studios in Boston and Stamford. He offers over 25 years of experience with Photoshop™ enabling retouching, restoration and enhancement to prints and digital files. The studio is located in Mt Washington but drop-off and pick-up is available through Frames On Wheels, located at 84 Railroad Street in Great Barrington, MA (413) 528-0997.

Reach the Studio: (413) 644-9663, or go online to www.BerkshireDigital.com

“Life isn't about finding yourself.

Life is about creating yourself.”

– George Bernard Shaw

34 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

ART REVIEW BY KARL SALITER

TOM YOST

DUSK

OIL ON CANVAS

10 X 13"

LAKEVILLE CONNECTICUT

ARGAZZI ART MARIANNE KOLB

Argazzi Art at 22 Millerton Road in Lakeville, CT is a smart place to go see a show. Owner/ Curator Judith Singelis recently celebrated fifteen years of presenting shows in this same building.

The current show, “Holiday 2018,” reflects careful selections. Her front room walls are painted deep grey, which makes the stark white work of Lisa Breznak pop out at you. I asked Judith about the installation. “She came and her works were all crated like museum quality. She took two days to hang this show.” That level of attention is reflected in all of these pieces. The dark walls, hosting the very formal works, create an inverted and graphic feel. The white shapes, carefully cut on foam with archival paper, mix loud and soft in their approach.

Breznak is intentional in this, she goes to great length to craft singular works which embody both exactitude and whimsicality. Peter Woytuk’s sculpture is featured. Once called the greatest living animal sculptor, he continues to create pieces which

infuse shape and simplicity into the anatomies of various creatures. Peter gives us just enough in his lines to ignite the imagination. Seen in the gallery are kiwis, hens, and crows in both his signature bronze and in marble. These are easy, light pieces crafted with enormous technical skill. Something you would never see on one of Judith’s walls is a landscape. She just would never go there, until she found Tom Yost. Right now, six of his works are hanging in the upper room, and one look will tell you why. This painter has found something unique to him in his treatment of light and his capacity for detail. He takes the time to choose locations and conditions which contain their own dramatic power, and applies a singular skill level in painting them. Tom is a conservator, and Judith was in his studio on gallery business, when she happened to see his work. His mix of honed art professional’s skill and imagination have given rare life to these endeavors. These paintings of Litchfield County

EXPLORATIONS WITH RUST NUMBER 18

24X19”

Landscapes are extraordinary. There is something in his work, and in his enormous respect for place, which makes you grateful to be in this area. Three exciting pieces are coming to the gallery this week from Marianne Kolb. This artist creates haunting figurative work, impressionistic in style and entirely captivating. Her “Explorations With Rust Number 18” is 24 x 19 inches, and the commanding figure on a blue grey field is a perfect example of the idea that less is more. With very little extraneous information, Kolb coveys attitude and mood in the facial expression on this work. Her approach is humble and effective. She considers herself to be in an exploratory relationship with her subjects, and had no lessons to impart. After fifteen years, Singeles continues to surprise us with show after show of extraordinary quality. One hundred percent worth a visit.

—Karl Saliter THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 35

Your Musical Journey Begins with

JEFF LINK Grammy nomimated former Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music, touring Artist, currently teaching at MCLA and BCC is now offering music mentoring in performance, private lessons in bass, guitar, piano and song writing for all levels. I have helped many young musicians create successful careers in the music industry. contact me at:

jefflink1@mac.com 917-509-3508 please visit cdbaby.com/jefflink

Mary Carol Rudin

MATT CHINIAN

#1270 Boulevard @ Belle St. Hudson Falls, NY 8-11-18 11 x 12”

"PEARLS AND PEARLY WHITES" 18X18 ACRYLIC ON BOARD

mcrudin123@gmail.com www.mcrudin.com 36 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

MY WEBSITE/BLOG: HTTP://WWW.MATTCHINIAN.COM/ INSTAGRAM:

FACEBOOK:

@MATTCHINIAN MATT CHINIAN

Open Studios of Washington County July 19 - 21, 2019

Gourmet Organic Vegetarian Fare with an international flair

Our Schedule is: Zen Silent Meditation Porridge Monday & Friday 8am-8:45 Tea & Gratitude Writing Our Way Into The Day With Jana Laiz Fridays 9am-10:30am Luncheon Monday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday noon-2pm Afternoon Teatime: Monday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday 2pm-4pm Sunday Brunch 10am-2pm Sunday Afternoon Salons 21 Day Cleanse Retail Items • Bulk Loose Teas and Herbs 70 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA www.Elixirgb.com organictearoom@gmail.com 413.644.8999 Hours: Sunday 12- 4, Monday 12 - 4, Monday 12 - 4, Friday 12 - 4, Saturday 12 - 8. Reservations recommended!

Everything is always lovingly & consciously prepared with fresh organic ingredients!

Jaane Doe

BURNS LIKE FIRE

JAANE DOE MUSIC AND MORE VISIT WWW.JAANEDOE.COM www.facebook.com/JaaneDoeMusic, www.reverbnation.com/JaaneDoe, https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jaane https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/jaane-doe/214634239

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 37

MARY CAROL RUDIN aMUSE GALLERY

POPS PETERSON

THROUGH THE LENS

POSTERS

aMuse Gallery is celebrating the opening of its new winter show “Through the Lens” with an Opening Reception on Saturday February 16th. Please join us from 4pm - 7 pm for the artist reception. If you miss the opening, the show runs through March 31.

The exhibit features the work of noted regional artists exploring the world through photography and a wide range of styles. The images range from abstract to representational, in both color and black & white.

Participating artists are: Carl Berg, Stephanie Blumenthal, Jerry Freedner, Kathryn Kosto, Bruce Panock, Janice Patterson, Marcia Powdermaker, Gerald Seligman and Janet Zuckerman. aMuse Gallery, which opened its doors last June, is a modern eclectic gallery dedicated to showcasing artists from the Northeast and beyond. Featuring fine art, photography, assemblage, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry and more, aMuse Gallery offers a delightful blend of art and eccentricities. The gallery is located in a beautiful Greek Revival building at 7 Railroad Avenue, just across the tracks from the Clocktower in Chatham’s historic downtown community. aMuse Gallery- 7 Railroad Avenue- Chatham NY 12037; Gallery Hours: Thursday through Saturday 11am to 5pm, Sunday 12-4pm; For more information call 518-392-1060 or visitwww.amusechatham.com

POPS PETERSON’s reinvented versions of iconic Norman Rockwell masterpieces have long been lauded by the public, Berkshires print and broadcast media and The Norman Rockwell Museum. Having recently been featured in The New York Times and on CBS Sunday Morning, and as well as the touring exhibition, “Reimagining The Four Freedoms,” currently at (The Henry Ford Museum), his work has attained national prominence. Now, for the first time, Pops is releasing his new visions of “The Four Freedoms” as affordable posters.

Pops is pleased that his works will now be available to everybody, not just collectors who can afford gallery prices. These 16”x20” posters are printed on the finest high-gloss, 100lb paper that will last for generations.

Go to popspeterson.com to order “THE FOUR FREEDOMS” composite poster, as well as “FREEDOM FROM WHAT?,” Pop’s famous update to Rockwell’s ”Freedom from Fear.” Both are available now for the special price of $30, or signed by the artist for $50.

Seventy-five years ago, the concept of The Four Freedoms was introduced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt to uplift our country in the throes of WWII. These freedoms inspired Norman Rockwell to create his iconic images, which galvanized our country and helped win the war effort. Pops Peterson hopes to inspire our new generation to continue to fight for the freedoms that are the birthright of every citizen of our great land.

Please visit popspeterson.com or email pops@popspeterson.com with the subject line, “Poster.”

As a painter I love to take on the challenge of subjects and mediums.

My website, http://www.mcrudin.com/ shows the variety of themes and interpretations I have explored to date.

My journey continues as I try new combinations of material and interpretations both representational and abstract.

Sometimes a metaphor, a symbol, a phrase, or a quip provokes an image that I decide to want to express. I also like to create titles that I hope lead the viewer closer to what I had in mind when I was painting.

Travel also provides me with inspiration. I find the experience of colors, light, and culture endlessly interesting. Images and imagination are at work and thoughts of interpreting them in art run through my head. Recognizing that I will not recall all that I saw, I take many photographs that I can use as references when I return to my easel.

Some of my work can be displayed in any direction desired. I describe these works as “No Right Side Up” and to overcome the idea that a signature dictates the direction the painting should be hung, I only sign on the back.

I layout my ideas on paper and make studies in color before I commit to a final work. This allows me to work out the details and arrive at what feels like a successful composition. Often what seemed like a good idea has to be reworked and the final painting is quite different than the initial concept.

In Los Angeles I studied drawing and watercolor and pastel at Brentwood Art Center and UCLA Extension. I also studied with landscape painter John Strong, and abstract painter Ilana Bloch.

In New York City I have studied at the Art Students League and Chelsea Classical Studios.

My work has been sold through St. Francis Gallery in South Lee, Massachusetts and 510 Warren Street Gallery in Hudson, New York.

Please visit me at The Artful Mind Gallery in Lenox, and www.mcrudin.com http://www.facebook.com/marycarol.rudin mcrudin123@gmail.com

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

– Lao Tzu.

38 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

Linda Weisberg LW INTERIORS

617. 633. 1224 WWW.LWINTERIORS.COM LWINTERIORSNEWTON@GMAIL.COM

MICHAEL FABRIZIO

UPCOMING SHOWS:

Kimble Farm Exhibit with Ivor Parry Gemini, Acrylic 48” x 24” Photo Credit Lisa Goudey

January through February

Hotel on North July 1st through August Reception: July 5, 2019

fabrizioartwork.squarespace.com

kfabz9@gmail.com

THE ARTFUL MIND FEBRUARY 2019 • 39

Gramma Becky’s Old World Recipes Written and Shared with a Loving Spoonful by LAURA PIAN

Kichlach Kichlach; some call it Kichel, Bowknots, Chrchiki. In the end, these words come from the same root as Kuchen (which in Yiddish, means “cookie”). Kichlach is the plural of Kichel. Plain and simply, Jewish Bow Tie Cookies.

Grandma’s Kichlach were soft and crispy. They’d melt in your mouth before you even had a chance to chew them. They were coated with air bubbles that were fun to crunch away with my teeth. Grandma’s Kichlach were the closest thing to heaven that I ever ate.

As a child when Grandma Becky was making Kichlach, I knew a fun, and whimsical time was ahead of us in the kitchen. Grandma’s hands would work on auto-pilot while she and I sang the chorus for the Yiddish song “A Mentsh Zol Men Zayn” (Be a Decent Person). Yiddish words, with English transliteration below. Although I did not speak fluent Yiddish, I was able to sing the songs and understand the quick witted sayings. We spent lots of time laughing as we sang, while serious work was happening in our kitchen.

A Mentsh Zol Men Zayn (Yiddish): A kind iz tayer un oykh lib a tsirung iz es in der shtib. Dos shenste iz a kind nor af der velt si’z tayerer fun gelt! Far simkhe tanst di mamenyu fun nakhes kvelt der tatenyu. Dos greste glik far tate mama, a kind nor af der velt!

(English): A child is dear and beloved, a treasure in the home. A child is the most beautiful thing in the world, dearer than money! The mother dances in celebrations, the father beams with pride. The greatest happiness for the father and mother, a child in the world!

While Grandma and I were so deeply involved in what we were singing, we had created and baked the entire Kichlach recipe! I especially loved when Grandma Becky would tie one or two of these puffy bow ties to my hair or around my neck! I felt like the Kichel Princess!!

Here I share this old, traditional recipe with you. I’m sure you’ll find it absolutely Kichelicious!

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups sifted flour 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 3 large eggs, beaten 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Cinnamon (optional) Confectioner’s sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Add eggs and flavoring. Knead well (or use Mixmaster for 5 minutes).

Turn out on floured board and roll to approx. 1/4” thickness. Sprinkle with sugar (cinnamon optional).

Prick dough with fork. Cut into rectangles, diamonds, and rounds, twisting dough in center.

Bake on a lightly floured cookie sheet or use parchment paper in moderate oven of 350 degrees until lightly browned (approx 35 minutes). When cooled, you may sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

Enjoy and esn gezunt (eat in good 40 • FEBRUARY 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

health)!

EDWARD ACKER PHOTOGRAPHER

Time Flies D Get Pictures EdwardAckerPhotographer.com 413-446-8348