Community Calendar

"Talismans" – is an online art show of the objects, people or ideas which guide us. 

Visual artist, video, music ands poetry.

Launches January 10

Personaland is an artist-driven global village transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge time zones and cultural boundaries. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Since its 2018 launch, Personaland, in its global reach, has showcased over 750 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and poets from 66 countries in 30 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions, many with videos of artist profiles

https://www.personaland.com

“Full Spectrum” Open Juried Show

January 17 Friday – February 2, Sunday 2025

Opening Reception Saturday January 18, 2-4PM, with light refreshments and wine.

All are welcome to attend!

Gallery 25 and Creative Arts Studio

New Milford Commission on the Arts

11 Railroad St., New Milford, CT 06776

860-355-6009 * gallery25ct.com

Open Friday & Saturday 12 noon -6pm and Sunday 10am-4pm

 Gallery 25 Announces “Full Spectrum” Open Call For Artists

Gallery 25 and Creative Arts Studio are issuing an Open Call for artists who wish to take part in “Full Spectrum”, an open juried art show that will run from January 17 to February 2, 2025. Artists are invited to prepare up to 4 images. Entry fee is $20 per artwork and each artist must have a W-9 form. Visit Gallery25ct.com and enter your submissions. Artwork delivery date is Sunday January 12th. All work must be for sale and there is a 30% commission.

Terry Tougas, G25 Director, says, “Our annual open juried is always an exciting event. We receive artworks in varied genres and it’s exhilarating to walk through the gallery and enjoy them”.

The public is invited to attend the reception for “Full Spectrum” on January 18 (snow date: January 19th Sunday) from 2-4pm and awards will be announced at 3pm. Wine and light refreshments will be served along with stunning artworks.

Artists with any questions about the submission process can email Gallery25newmilfordct@gmail.com.

New Milford is an exciting destination, offering many enjoyable activities, among them well-reviewed restaurants, pubs and unique shops, as well as an Art Deco movie theater, an innovative playhouse, Theaterworks, and a historical New England green. So plan an interesting weekend in our fine town!

G25 is a high-quality art gallery that boasts 21 members who exhibit work of all genres. G25 is open Friday and Saturday 12-6 and Sunday 10-4.

G25 wishes to thank the town of New Milford and the New Milford Commission on the Arts for their continued generous support.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @Gallery25 and Creative Arts Studio.

🎨 Full Spectrum Community Art Show 🌈

We're thrilled to announce Full Spectrum, an exciting open juried art show featuring incredible works by artists from across Connecticut and parts of New York! From stunning pastels and digital paintings to vibrant watercolors, fiber art, acrylic pours, and oil paintings, this exhibition celebrates the diversity and creativity of our artistic community.

🗓 Show Dates:

Friday, Jan 17 - Sunday, Feb 2

📍 Location: Gallery 25 & Creative Arts Studio, 11 Railroad St., New Milford, CT

🎉 Opening Reception:

Saturday, January 18 from 2-4pm

(With a snow date on January 19)

✨ Awards Announcement: 3:30pm

Join us for an afternoon of art, wine, light refreshments, and the chance to meet the talented artists behind the stunning pieces! This is a free event open to the public, and we can't wait to see you there. 🥂

⏰ Gallery Hours:

Friday & Saturday: 12-6pm

Sunday: 10-4pm

📞 Contact Info: 860-355-6009

💻 Visit us online at: gallery25ct.com

Follow us on Facebook & Instagram for updates and sneak peeks!

We look forward to celebrating art and creativity with you all! 🌟

History Gallery

June 23, 2024 – January 19, 2025

Ted Williams: The Splendid Splinter in Waterbury explores the remarkable life and impact of Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Presented through the Frederic "Flyhawk" Koch collection of Williams' art and memorabilia, generously donated in honor of his father, the exhibition encapsulates the legendary player's career and enduring legacy.

August 15, 2024 – August 17, 2025

Celebrating the year-long loan of three Georgia O’Keeffe paintings, this exhibition unites the Mattatuck Museum’s collection with O’Keeffe’s life and work through common themes.

 These unique spotlight exhibitions celebrate the year-long loan of three Georgia O’Keeffe paintings and will unite the Mattatuck Museum’s collection with O’Keeffe’s life and work through common themes, creating a unique dialogue between her work and other celebrated artists. Each unique pairing will be curated and narrated by a different member of the Museum’s curatorial department and offer a distinctive perspective on the Mattatuck Collection in relation to the works and story of Georgia O’Keeffe.

Paintings by Amanda Acker, Sally Maca, and Melanie Parke

To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose

A time to rain, a time of sow

A time for love, a time for hate

A time for peace, I swear it's not too late      - The Byrds (excerpt)

It is December and we have moved inside for the winter. The birds have picked the garden clean of seeds, leaves have been raked, and firewood stacked against the promise of cold nights. We move inside to welcome quietude and time for reflection, planning for new growth and regeneration.

Amanda Acker moves through her daily environment with affection towards her surroundings. In her words, “I see a scene and I think, oh I see you. I feel some sort of attraction, understanding, or curiosity. Sometimes I make a sound... Oooooo, ahhhhh, hello. It is really that simple. I choose to make paintings because it is the way I acknowledge, process, learn, and move around the place where I live”.

Technically, Acker is trying to make the thing look like the thing. Not so much in a photographic sense, but in the way it is seen and evoked. “Oooooo ahhhhh.” How do you make the chair, but in paint? How do you paint the water falling from the hose? How does the tree interact with the neighboring tree? That is when the artists really start to notice things, and more things, and how she falls in love with the world.

Amanda Acker is a self-taught artist whose work has been widely exhibited (in sold out shows) in Michigan and in CT. She lives and works in Michigan.

Pastoral and bucolic still life settings emerge from Melanie Parke’s life. The tenderness of each painting evokes the artist’s fondness for domestic setting and mementos of friendship. Melanie Parke reconstructs familiar interiors and filters them through the ideology of memory. Her subjects often center on flowers, birds, decorative objects, gardens, and intimate interior settings with an intent in creating safe places for pleasure. Sentiment crafts a domestic locus and seeks visual lushness by alternating tonal moods and vivid ornamentation.

Painting is a pleasure-seeking process for Parke and abstraction a vehicle with which to think and begin. The artist sets up the space intuitively in broad and textured gestures, then pieces together arrangements to compose a homespun narrative. Specific interiors and landscapes are implied. Shifting the emphasis to pattern, texture and tone, Parke works to destabilize notions of exacting representation. This is an effort to build on a sensation of memory which conjures both comfort and longing. 

The artist’s work is exhibited widely and is in collections throughout the United States. She has been a visiting artist at The American Academy in Rome three times, and an artist in residence at Borgo Finocchieto Invitational Residency, Tuscany, Italy, Heliker - LaHotan Foundation, Cranberry Isles, ME, Acadia National Park, ME, Yosemite National Park, CA, and Dorland Mountain Colony, CA. Parke earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL and studied at Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN. Parke lives and works in a contemporary studio in rural Michigan surrounded by orchards, meadows, and birds.

Sally Maca explores the daily changes in atmosphere and light and their transformational effect on familiar streetscapes and landscapes. The artist is dedicated to capturing the moment when the mundane becomes transcendent, a transition often created by the heaviness of a passing storm, the glow of a streetlamp, or an otherworldly sunset.

Maca’s subjects mostly hyperlocal landscapes, inspiration gleaned from daily walks or a glance out her front door. The artist explores the soft geometry in the angles of tree branches, or the horizon line and the hard-edged, manmade lines of roads and utility wires; these disparate elements are woven into lyrical compositions. Maca is not focused on a specific representation of a neighborhood or landscape, but in isolating the elements of a location to bring a universality to the painting, enough so that a viewer realizes that they too have experienced that same feeling, somewhere else, at another time.

The small scale of the paintings is central to the work; not only does the size invite close inspection but it evokes an intimacy with the painting.

Please contact Lani Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

Munger Gallery

November 12, 2024 – February 9, 2025'At First Light: American Tonalism' showcases a critical era of late 19th and early 20th century landscape painting. Responding to the trauma of the Civil War and taking aesthetic inspiration from the French Barbizon and American Hudson River Schools, artists began to depict the landscape using loose brushstrokes and subdued colors. These techniques gave the movement its name and created hazy and dreamlike compositions that captured the qualities of light at dawn and dusk. Featuring the work of 17 artists alongside historic objects and archival material from the period, this exhibition explores how artists painting in the Tonalist style uniquely perceived and depicted the American landscape.

Reflections on Gordon Parks showcases the creative responses of middle and high school students at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Waterbury inspired by the powerful photography and storytelling of Gordon Parks. Through their own photography and writings, students reflect on the themes of identity, resilience, and belonging explored in Parks’ work. This collaborative exhibition invites the community to engage with the students’ perspectives while honoring Parks’ legacy of capturing the human experience.

Sponsored by Art Bridges Foundation

Gordon Parks: Homeward to the Prairie I Come

Opening Celebration January 19

January 19, 2025 – March 30, 2025Homeward to the Prairie I Come showcases the work of Gordon Parks (1912-2006), a pioneering photographer, poet, filmmaker, musician, and composer. After becoming LIFE Magazine’s first Black staff photographer in 1948, Parks captured diverse images of life in the 20th century. Paired with his lesser-known works of poetry, this exhibition positions Parks within the history of art and provides a catalogue of his wide-ranging interests beyond documentary photography.

MIXMASTER is a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to uncovering and celebrating the diverse talents of its artist members who are based in New England and the Tri-State region.

Homeward to the Prairie I Come, an exceptional exhibition celebrating the extraordinary life and legacy of Gordon Parks (1912–2006), one of America’s most influential photographers, filmmakers, poets, and composers. This exhibition will showcase Parks’ diverse and groundbreaking contributions to art and culture, offering a deeper understanding of his vast creative range beyond his celebrated work in documentary photography. This major exhibition, organized with the generous support of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and the Art Bridges Foundation, highlights the profound impact of Parks’ work. Visitors will experience a wide range of his powerful photographic images, many of which became iconic during his tenure as the first Black staff photographer for Life magazine. Parks’ work, known for its persistent exploration of racial injustice, poverty, and urban life, is paired with lesser-known poetic writings that reveal the full depth of his creativity and ability to articulate the human experience in both visual and literary forms. On view through March 30, 2025.

The Mattatuck Museum’s annual MIXMASTER is an exhibition that seeks to discover and recognize the talents of the Museum’s artists members working in New England and the Tri-state region. Initiated to support and recognize contemporary art, MIXMASTER provides an opportunity for established and emerging artists to debut their most recent work, done in the last three years. Through this exhibition, artists gain the visibility and recognition they deserve, while art enthusiasts have the chance to experience a wide array of fresh, innovative pieces. The exhibition not only highlights the vibrant art scene in these regions but also fosters a sense of community and appreciation for contemporary artistic expressions. MIXMASTER is open to all Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont resident artists 18 years and over. A record-breaking 153 artists applied to be part of the Mixmaster 2025 Juried Member Exhibition and 353 pieces were submitted in total. Submissions closed on Monday, November 18, 2024. The exhibition will be open to the public between January 12, 2025 and February 6, 2025. Submissions will be judged this year by Kalia Brooks, Ph.D., Director of Programs and Exhibitions at NXTHVN.

The reception and opening celebration for our new exhibitions will take place on Sunday, January 19, 2025. Opening remarks will take place at 1 pm

The museum is offering a reduced admission of $5 for the day.

The Cornwall Library is excited to begin its 2025 art shows with Hotspot, Kit White’s dramatic and innovative paintings prompted by recent California wildfires. As White worked on the paintings, his daughter in San Francisco was sending home vivid images of the lurid, smoke-filled air outside her taped-up windows. The paintings were his response to her apocalyptic scenario.

The show runs from January 11 until February 22 except Mondays, when the library is closed. The Artists Reception from 5 to 7 pm on January 11. Registration on the library website for the reception is requested.

Though at first the paintings can seem wholly abstract, close inspection reveals a black and white photograph of a wildfire embedded in each, creating a layered space that reveals itself slowly. The result is a startlingly eloquent reaction to the fire, and by extension to climate change.

The embedded image results from a unique process developed by the Eastman Company in Rochester. It begins with a digital photograph White manipulates and then transfers via inkjet printer onto a giant sheet of mylar. After White puts down a base layer of oil paint, he treats his canvas with a solution that lifts the photograph from the mylar onto the painted canvas. He then overlays the “ghost” image embedded in the painting with more oil paint. The effect is more akin to an 1860s-era glass plate photograph, with its imperfections, than to a crisp contemporary image, suggesting the porousness and mutability of memory.

White says “This particular method of working, with a spectral photo embedded in the painting, began with the Iran-Iraq war, when I started thinking that most people get their sense of the world from photographs, not direct experience. It seemed, then, that if I wanted to address the physical world, I had to acknowledge the role of photography in creating our sense of a place.”

Kit White is a New York-based artist and writer who studied Fine Arts at Harvard and was professor of Painting at the Pratt Institute for 21 years. He has had many solo exhibitions and his work is in the collections of museums including The Guggenheim Museum, The M, The Weisman Art Museum, The Johnson Art Museum, the Luther Brady Collection, (formerly, The Corcoran Museum), and others. In 1979, he received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for painting. He is the author of 101 Things to Learn in Art School and his work is the subject of a monograph, Kit White, Line Into Form, by critic Carter Ratcliff.

Join us for Morris Senior Center's fifth annual BUNCO PARTY!

A fundraiser for the Morris Senior Center Commission.

Come solo or bring all of your friends - we guarantee a good time!

Who knew you could have so much fun with a set of die!

ALL Bunco supplies will be provided - just bring your smile and willingness to have a great time with us!

Raffles! BUNCO prizes!

Beverages, nibbles and dessert are available!

Sunday, January 19, 2025

(snow date: Sunday, January 26)

Doors open at 12:30 pm

Games start at 1:00 pm

$20.00 entrance donation

PRE-registration is greatly appreciated.

Exhibition featuring Matthew J. Best, Mark Buku, Stanwyck Cromwell, Vincent Dion, Lois Goglia, Mark Guglielmo, Sam Posey, John Simboli, Laura J. Stein, Lydia Viscardi

https://fivepointsarts.org/2025/01/06/pushing-the-envelope/

MOMIX to perform ALICE on January 18 at 8 p.m. & January 19 at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, CT

Seamlessly blending illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy, MOMIX sends audiences Flying down the rabbit hole in Moses Pendelton's newest creation, ALICE, inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland. 

Join this dazzling company on a mind-bending adventure as Alice encounters time-honored characters including the undulating Caterpillar, a Lobster Quadrille, frenzied White Rabbits, a mad Queen of Hearts, and a variety of other surprises. Filled with visual splendor and startling creative movement, ALICE reveals that nothing in MOMIX's world is as it seems.

ALICE has toured extensively throughout France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Israel, Brazil, Uruguay, China, and the United States.

Love-Art-Play.com is a New Milford, CT based non-profit 503-C arts organization which will be presenting Kimberly Wilson in her original one-woman show, “A Journey.” This touring production has been performed nationally since 2012. In 2016 she was awarded the Best Playwright Award at the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival for her one-woman show.

“A Journey" brings to life seven historical Black women, from seven pivotal generations, who present to you their stories through song, movement and dialogue and how ultimately their faith, hope and calling helped shape the American we know today. Joyful celebrations and painful reflections are rendered artistically to tell a story of persistence, courage and how Black Women’s history, not alway woven into the tapestry of American history, is an integral part of the thread that holds together the fabric of American life.

Included in this journey are reflections from an African Queen, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks and more.

After each performance Ms. Wilson invites the audience to remain for a talk-back which extends the wealth of this theatrical experience. Audience members have the opportunity to share their feedback and stories as well.

AS we celebrate these historical Black women’s stories and their journeys as a tribute to honor Black History month. let us also celebrate our journeys. We must live, love and treasure each other, for this is also our journey as well.

"Talismans" – is an online art show of the objects, people or ideas which guide us. 

Visual artist, video, music ands poetry.

Launches January 10

Personaland is an artist-driven global village transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge time zones and cultural boundaries. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Since its 2018 launch, Personaland, in its global reach, has showcased over 750 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and poets from 66 countries in 30 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions, many with videos of artist profiles

https://www.personaland.com

The Gunn Memorial Library Stairwell Gallery is pleased to present "Light, Color, and Mood," a solo show by Sergio Villaschi on display from November 30 through January 27.

In Light, Color, and Mood, Sergio Villaschi takes an artistic approach to photography, using light, color, and texture to create compelling still life and landscape images. Inspired by the mosaics and frescoes of his native Rome, Sergio's work blurs the line between traditional photography and fine art, giving each piece a distinct atmosphere and depth. His still life compositions are vibrant and layered, while his landscapes capture a quiet, serene quality.

Through techniques like "light painting" and Intentional Camera Movement, Sergio enhances his images with unique textures and moods. He invites viewers to see familiar subjects in a new way, with each photo offering a refined and thoughtful perspective.

David Zinni is a longtime Southbury resident who began painting in 2018 after retiring from a career as a mechanical engineer. Always interested in painting, the opportunity to pursue the art came with his retirement. With no formal art education and a little studio training from local artists, Dave began working with acrylics and later oils. Dave’s technical background and love of nature led him to create realistic paintings with great detail. He finds his inspiration from the beauty of local landscapes, seascapes and wildlife. His works are based his own photography while hiking the local parks and land preserves. The exhibit is a collection of local landscapes and birds based on his many hikes and walks through scenic Southbury, Woodbury and Middlebury. His art has been featured in Southbury Makers Spotlight, at Southbury Library, Naugatuck’s Whitmore library and several charity auctions.

Instagram: @dajzinni_painting

Show your support for our small local business by joining in the fun! Each day has a theme; participate for your chance to win a $50 BD Provisions gift card! Check our posts on social media (Facebook/Instagram) for more information!

Live on Zoom:

Monday Scholars combines the best of online learning and engaging discussion!

Join us for the full 9-weeks or drop in to explore your favorite topics. Each week, we will watch two lectures together and then engage in lively conversation afterwards. The conversation will be facilitated by OWL's Caroline Ugurlu. 

From its inception, the United States has been a maritime nation. Ever since the first use of sea power during the American Revolution, the growth, the trajectory, and the international standing of the United States has been deeply tied to its maritime role and its naval forces.

The story of the United States Navy offers essential perspectives on how the United States came to be, the unfolding of its history, the experiment of American democracy, and the nation’s transformation into a global superpower. Beyond all of this, the history of the US Navy is a spellbinding and deeply poignant human story—a chronicle of extraordinary commitment, ingenuity, valor, sacrifice, and patriotism, spanning the 250 years of its existence.

Your guide is Professor Craig L. Symonds of the US Naval Academy, a celebrated maritime historian who brings to the table astonishingly detailed and far-reaching knowledge of US naval history, coupled with a flair for engrossing storytelling.

11/18: British Origins & American Revolution

11/25: Early Navalists & War of 1812

12/09: Pirates of the Caribbean & Navy Expeditions

12/16: Civil War

12/23: Civil War continued & Spanish American War

12/30: Battleship Age, WW1, and WWII

01/06: WWII continued

01/13: WWII continued

01/20: Hyman Rickover and the Nuclear Navy &The Gulf of Tonkin and War in Vietnam

01/27: How the Navy Reformed After Vietnam & Projecting Naval Power in the Middle East

02/03: America's 21st-Century Missions at Sea & China's Threats to US Naval Supremacy

More about the Professor: Craig L. Symonds is a Professor Emeritus of History at the US Naval Academy and a former Ernest J. King Distinguished Professor of Maritime History at the US Naval War College. He earned a PhD in History from the University of Florida and is the author or editor of more than two dozen books. His book Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Prize in Naval History. He also wrote Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War, which won several awards.

Frank Tosto creates local and NYC scenes using graphite and colored pencil. Don't miss this wonderful, innovative art show.

"Talismans" – is an online art show of the objects, people or ideas which guide us. 

Visual artist, video, music ands poetry.

Launches January 10

Personaland is an artist-driven global village transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge time zones and cultural boundaries. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Since its 2018 launch, Personaland, in its global reach, has showcased over 750 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and poets from 66 countries in 30 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions, many with videos of artist profiles

https://www.personaland.com

The Gunn Memorial Library Stairwell Gallery is pleased to present "Light, Color, and Mood," a solo show by Sergio Villaschi on display from November 30 through January 27.

In Light, Color, and Mood, Sergio Villaschi takes an artistic approach to photography, using light, color, and texture to create compelling still life and landscape images. Inspired by the mosaics and frescoes of his native Rome, Sergio's work blurs the line between traditional photography and fine art, giving each piece a distinct atmosphere and depth. His still life compositions are vibrant and layered, while his landscapes capture a quiet, serene quality.

Through techniques like "light painting" and Intentional Camera Movement, Sergio enhances his images with unique textures and moods. He invites viewers to see familiar subjects in a new way, with each photo offering a refined and thoughtful perspective.

David Zinni is a longtime Southbury resident who began painting in 2018 after retiring from a career as a mechanical engineer. Always interested in painting, the opportunity to pursue the art came with his retirement. With no formal art education and a little studio training from local artists, Dave began working with acrylics and later oils. Dave’s technical background and love of nature led him to create realistic paintings with great detail. He finds his inspiration from the beauty of local landscapes, seascapes and wildlife. His works are based his own photography while hiking the local parks and land preserves. The exhibit is a collection of local landscapes and birds based on his many hikes and walks through scenic Southbury, Woodbury and Middlebury. His art has been featured in Southbury Makers Spotlight, at Southbury Library, Naugatuck’s Whitmore library and several charity auctions.

Instagram: @dajzinni_painting

“Cozy Up with a Good Book” Winter Reading Program, all ages, January 2 – March 20, 2025.

Stay warm this winter and Cozy Up with a Good Book in the Morris Public Library’s Winter Reading Program for all ages (January 2 – March 20, 2025). We explore various reading activities, new authors and genres in our reading journey this year.

Cross off the appropriate blocks in your Reading Card for each book you have read or listened to. One book may qualify for up to three categories (blocks). Return/e-mail your completed card by March 20 to qualify to win the Grand Cozy Prize. Reading Cards are available at the library or via morrispubliclibrary.net (starting January 2).

Have had an extra-cozy reading spree and completed several cards this winter? Enter more than one card into the drawing!

All reading levels have their own Reading Card and the Grand Cozy Prize!

Information: https://morrispubliclibrary.net or 860-567-7440.

Connect with fellow clay enthusiasts in this handbuilding workshop custom designed to address all levels of experience. Practice essential techniques in coil building, pinch pots, slab construction, and surface decoration to develop your own unique style.

Instructor: Alice Pulliam 

Tuesdays, January 14, 21, 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25 & March 4, 2025

10 AM - 1 PM

Ages: 18+

Members: $360

Non-Members: $400

MORE INFO & REGISTER

The Cornwall Library is excited to begin its 2025 art shows with Hotspot, Kit White’s dramatic and innovative paintings prompted by recent California wildfires. As White worked on the paintings, his daughter in San Francisco was sending home vivid images of the lurid, smoke-filled air outside her taped-up windows. The paintings were his response to her apocalyptic scenario.

The show runs from January 11 until February 22 during normal library hours, except Mondays when the library is closed. The Artists Reception from 5 to 7 pm on January 11. Registration on the library website for the reception is requested.

Though at first the paintings can seem wholly abstract, close inspection reveals a black and white photograph of a wildfire embedded in each, creating a layered space that reveals itself slowly. The result is a startlingly eloquent reaction to the fire, and by extension to climate change.

The embedded image results from a unique process developed by the Eastman Company in Rochester. It begins with a digital photograph White manipulates and then transfers via inkjet printer onto a giant sheet of mylar. After White puts down a base layer of oil paint, he treats his canvas with a solution that lifts the photograph from the mylar onto the painted canvas. He then overlays the “ghost” image embedded in the painting with more oil paint. The effect is more akin to an 1860s-era glass plate photograph, with its imperfections, than to a crisp contemporary image, suggesting the porousness and mutability of memory.

White says “This particular method of working, with a spectral photo embedded in the painting, began with the Iran-Iraq war, when I started thinking that most people get their sense of the world from photographs, not direct experience. It seemed, then, that if I wanted to address the physical world, I had to acknowledge the role of photography in creating our sense of a place.”

Kit White is a New York-based artist and writer who studied Fine Arts at Harvard and was professor of Painting at the Pratt Institute for 21 years. He has had many solo exhibitions and his work is in the collections of museums including The Guggenheim Museum, The M, The Weisman Art Museum, The Johnson Art Museum, the Luther Brady Collection, (formerly, The Corcoran Museum), and others. In 1979, he received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for painting. He is the author of 101 Things to Learn in Art School and his work is the subject of a monograph, Kit White, Line Into Form, by critic Carter Ratcliff.

The Morris Public Library offers Story and Music Time for participants ages 9 mo. - 5 y.o every Tuesday at 10 am.

Please call to ask if a spot is available: 860-567-7440.

Sing songs, read a story, do a craft!

Show your support for our small local business by joining in the fun! Each day has a theme; participate for your chance to win a $50 BD Provisions gift card! Check our posts on social media (Facebook/Instagram) for more information!

Join us for a unique Martin Luther King Jr. family storytime. Miss Linda will read Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s book “I Have a Dream”. Then, children will learn about a real American hero and why we celebrate him in the USA. Following storytime, children will create handprint crafts to take home.

Space is limited, and registration is required, so be sure to sign up on our website - https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/martin-luther-king-jr-family-storytime-craft/

Community members are invited to stop by the library between 11 am and noon each Tuesday for a cup of coffee and a chat with their neighbors.

MIXMASTER is a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to uncovering and celebrating the diverse talents of its artist members who are based in New England and the Tri-State region.

Gordon Parks: Homeward to the Prairie I Come

Opening Celebration January 19

January 19, 2025 – March 30, 2025Homeward to the Prairie I Come showcases the work of Gordon Parks (1912-2006), a pioneering photographer, poet, filmmaker, musician, and composer. After becoming LIFE Magazine’s first Black staff photographer in 1948, Parks captured diverse images of life in the 20th century. Paired with his lesser-known works of poetry, this exhibition positions Parks within the history of art and provides a catalogue of his wide-ranging interests beyond documentary photography.

Visit the Makerspace for a chill winter crafternoon! Relax, listen to music, and hang out with your friends as you make a project inspired by the season. We’ll have supplies for a few projects available, or you can use the materials from the art wall to create your own! Grades 6-12.

Registration is required.

Visit us at: https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/winter-crafts-for-teens/

Every other Tuesday

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: The Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street)

FREE

Registration not required

Join us for a bi-weekly knitting social meetup at the Litchfield Historical Society, where you can meet other knitters, get your questions answered about tricky patterns, and expand your knowledge. No experience is necessary, just a desire to learn to knit! Bring a project to work on and enjoy the company of your fellow crafters. It's a great place to roundtable your ideas and workshop any hiccups you might be encountering in your project.

Hosted by Alexandra Herst, a local knitting & crafting enthusiast, is a deep believer in the capability of anyone to master the complexities of knitting, she takes the approach of empowering beginners through education to further their skills and encourage their creativity!  

Frank Tosto creates local and NYC scenes using graphite and colored pencil. Don't miss this wonderful, innovative art show.

Children will explore with paint, oil pastels, clay and other medium to create their own masterpieces. They will complete and take home a different art project each week!

Requirements:

Clothes that you don't mind getting paint on!

Coordinator:

Roberta Baker

Live, In-Person & on Zoom:

Film Director Jake Gorst has been producing documentaries about 20th century modern architecture for the past two decades. Hear “behind the scenes” accounts – from his first project discussing Long Island’s famed Leisurama houses in Montauk, to the 2-part biography on California’s Albert Frey, as well as his most recent New England historical perspective “New England Modernism”, and everything in-between.

Jake Gorst has spent the past two decades researching and documenting mid-century modern architecture, including the work of his grandfather, architectural designer Andrew Geller, in print and film. Gorst is an Emmy(R) award winning documentary filmmaker and the director of Mainspring Pictures Ltd. Recent films directed by Gorst include Modern Tide: Midcentury Architecture on Long Island (2012, Design Onscreen), William Krisel, Architect (2010, Design Onscreen), Journeyman Architect: The Life and Work of Donald Wexler (2009, Design Onscreen) and Desert Utopia: Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs (2006, Design Onscreen). His films Farmboy (2006, Jonamac Productions), and Leisurama (2005, Jonamac Productions), have been in national U.S. public television distribution. Gorst has also a contributing writer to VOX Hamptons, HOME Miami and Modernism magazines.

"Talismans" – is an online art show of the objects, people or ideas which guide us. 

Visual artist, video, music ands poetry.

Launches January 10

Personaland is an artist-driven global village transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge time zones and cultural boundaries. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Since its 2018 launch, Personaland, in its global reach, has showcased over 750 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and poets from 66 countries in 30 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions, many with videos of artist profiles

https://www.personaland.com

Thomaston Restaurant Week is almost here and it’s your opportunity to try as many restaurants as your schedule allows for one incredibly low fixed price. Ever wonder about that restaurant you’ve heard about or driven by all those times? Thomaston Restaurant Week 2025 is your chance to give it a try at a reduced cost. This inaugural event is proudly organized by the 150th Anniversary Committee in partnership with Litchfield.co.

David Zinni is a longtime Southbury resident who began painting in 2018 after retiring from a career as a mechanical engineer. Always interested in painting, the opportunity to pursue the art came with his retirement. With no formal art education and a little studio training from local artists, Dave began working with acrylics and later oils. Dave’s technical background and love of nature led him to create realistic paintings with great detail. He finds his inspiration from the beauty of local landscapes, seascapes and wildlife. His works are based his own photography while hiking the local parks and land preserves. The exhibit is a collection of local landscapes and birds based on his many hikes and walks through scenic Southbury, Woodbury and Middlebury. His art has been featured in Southbury Makers Spotlight, at Southbury Library, Naugatuck’s Whitmore library and several charity auctions.

Instagram: @dajzinni_painting

“Cozy Up with a Good Book” Winter Reading Program, all ages, January 2 – March 20, 2025.

Stay warm this winter and Cozy Up with a Good Book in the Morris Public Library’s Winter Reading Program for all ages (January 2 – March 20, 2025). We explore various reading activities, new authors and genres in our reading journey this year.

Cross off the appropriate blocks in your Reading Card for each book you have read or listened to. One book may qualify for up to three categories (blocks). Return/e-mail your completed card by March 20 to qualify to win the Grand Cozy Prize. Reading Cards are available at the library or via morrispubliclibrary.net (starting January 2).

Have had an extra-cozy reading spree and completed several cards this winter? Enter more than one card into the drawing!

All reading levels have their own Reading Card and the Grand Cozy Prize!

Information: https://morrispubliclibrary.net or 860-567-7440.

"Art4All": an exhibit of artworks on display that have been created by artists with special needs. This is a rare opportunity for them to share expressions of their imaginations and the world around them. The show presents a diverse collection of unique, beautiful pieces, ranging from works on paper to 3-D sculptures.

Artist George Manesoitis says, "Art helps me express my feelings and thoughts and relaxes my mind and body."

Nicolas Yurgaitis, another artist whose work will be exhibited says, "I enjoy trying new things, and i find that creating art in any form is very regulating for my neurodivergence and fun."

Artist Owen Haldin says, "I have stories in my head and i need to draw them."

Show your support for our small local business by joining in the fun! Each day has a theme; participate for your chance to win a $50 BD Provisions gift card! Check our posts on social media (Facebook/Instagram) for more information!

Wednesdays at 10:30am : January 8,15, 22, 29

Perfect for up to 36 months, but fun for everyone!

Lots of rhymes, a sprinkling of songs, and one or two shared board books round out this library program that is perfect for little ones who need to get those wiggles out. Stay to play! After the rhymes, stay for some unstructured play time with other kiddos. 

Gordon Parks: Homeward to the Prairie I Come

Opening Celebration January 19

January 19, 2025 – March 30, 2025Homeward to the Prairie I Come showcases the work of Gordon Parks (1912-2006), a pioneering photographer, poet, filmmaker, musician, and composer. After becoming LIFE Magazine’s first Black staff photographer in 1948, Parks captured diverse images of life in the 20th century. Paired with his lesser-known works of poetry, this exhibition positions Parks within the history of art and provides a catalogue of his wide-ranging interests beyond documentary photography.

MIXMASTER is a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to uncovering and celebrating the diverse talents of its artist members who are based in New England and the Tri-State region.

The Cornwall Library is excited to begin its 2025 art shows with Hotspot, Kit White’s dramatic and innovative paintings prompted by recent California wildfires. As White worked on the paintings, his daughter in San Francisco was sending home vivid images of the lurid, smoke-filled air outside her taped-up windows. The paintings were his response to her apocalyptic scenario.

The show runs from January 11 until February 22 during normal library hours, except Mondays when the library is closed. The Artists Reception from 5 to 7 pm on January 11. Registration on the library website for the reception is requested.

Though at first the paintings can seem wholly abstract, close inspection reveals a black and white photograph of a wildfire embedded in each, creating a layered space that reveals itself slowly. The result is a startlingly eloquent reaction to the fire, and by extension to climate change.

The embedded image results from a unique process developed by the Eastman Company in Rochester. It begins with a digital photograph White manipulates and then transfers via inkjet printer onto a giant sheet of mylar. After White puts down a base layer of oil paint, he treats his canvas with a solution that lifts the photograph from the mylar onto the painted canvas. He then overlays the “ghost” image embedded in the painting with more oil paint. The effect is more akin to an 1860s-era glass plate photograph, with its imperfections, than to a crisp contemporary image, suggesting the porousness and mutability of memory.

White says “This particular method of working, with a spectral photo embedded in the painting, began with the Iran-Iraq war, when I started thinking that most people get their sense of the world from photographs, not direct experience. It seemed, then, that if I wanted to address the physical world, I had to acknowledge the role of photography in creating our sense of a place.”

Kit White is a New York-based artist and writer who studied Fine Arts at Harvard and was professor of Painting at the Pratt Institute for 21 years. He has had many solo exhibitions and his work is in the collections of museums including The Guggenheim Museum, The M, The Weisman Art Museum, The Johnson Art Museum, the Luther Brady Collection, (formerly, The Corcoran Museum), and others. In 1979, he received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for painting. He is the author of 101 Things to Learn in Art School and his work is the subject of a monograph, Kit White, Line Into Form, by critic Carter Ratcliff.

Come see what our Homeaway from Homeschool Program is all about! This free event is an opportunity for homeschool families to meet the museum, socialize, and of course, make some art.

Exhibition featuring : Matthew J. Best, Mark Buku, Stanwyck Cromwell, Vincent Dion, Lois Goglia, Mark Guglielmo, Sam Posey, John Simboli, Laura J. Stern and Lydia Viscardi.

Exhibition runs from January 10 - February 22, 2025.

Opening reception Friday, January 10 and Artist talk Friday February 7.

$5 Per Person, Waterbury public school, magnet school, and charter school students get in FREE

Hang out with your friends, try a relaxing craft, get creative with graphic design, or chill on a beanbag! All teens aged 13-18 are welcome, with supplies and snacks provided.

To pre-register please call (203) 753-0381, extension 130

Register Here

 Support provided by United Way of Greater Waterbury and Elisha Leavenworth Foundation. .

Join us at Howard's Bookstore for a weekly poetry group. Come through and share poems, just listen, or spend time writing.

Every Wednesday 6PM-7PM

Beginner Crocheting Class

- Come learn in a class designed just for you…a beginner!! You will learn the 6 basic crochet stitches, how to start a project and end a project, how to read a yarn label so you can buy yarn on your own after classes end, how to read a crochet pattern, and more!

- 6 weekly classes, 1.5 hours each

- All materials and supplies will be provided at the 1st class

- Requirements: None

Instructor: Andrea Dener

Instructor Bio: My name is Andrea Dener and I call myself The Yarn Farmer because I love knitting and crocheting fun items inspired by the farm and food...like carrot scarves, pumpkin hats, and chicken coasters!

I've been knitting and crocheting since I was 10 years old and love both crafts but LOVE TEACHING THEM EVEN MORE so I became certified to teach both by the Craft Yarn Council of America!

I look forward to bringing out the 'inner knitter' and 'inner crocheter' in you!

Your long-awaited local open mic at Howard's is here!

Kicks off after Poetry Group

Weekly, Wednesdays 7pm - ???

CALLING ALL SINGERS AND SONGWRITERS!

Saddle up and come to town with your original music to share with lovers and listeners.

Acoustic acts are encouraged, but all instruments and genres are welcome.

If you have any questions about gear, etc, dm us here or reach out to John ( 860-560-3688 )

Kick back and feel welcome to bring or order in grub from around town.

Support small business while supporting small artists in “nobody’s cafe!”

No cover - free event.

No drugs or drinking please. Thank ya!

"Talismans" – is an online art show of the objects, people or ideas which guide us. 

Visual artist, video, music ands poetry.

Launches January 10

Personaland is an artist-driven global village transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge time zones and cultural boundaries. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Since its 2018 launch, Personaland, in its global reach, has showcased over 750 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and poets from 66 countries in 30 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions, many with videos of artist profiles

https://www.personaland.com

Thomaston Restaurant Week is almost here and it’s your opportunity to try as many restaurants as your schedule allows for one incredibly low fixed price. Ever wonder about that restaurant you’ve heard about or driven by all those times? Thomaston Restaurant Week 2025 is your chance to give it a try at a reduced cost. This inaugural event is proudly organized by the 150th Anniversary Committee in partnership with Litchfield.co.

The Gunn Memorial Library Stairwell Gallery is pleased to present "Light, Color, and Mood," a solo show by Sergio Villaschi on display from November 30 through January 27.

In Light, Color, and Mood, Sergio Villaschi takes an artistic approach to photography, using light, color, and texture to create compelling still life and landscape images. Inspired by the mosaics and frescoes of his native Rome, Sergio's work blurs the line between traditional photography and fine art, giving each piece a distinct atmosphere and depth. His still life compositions are vibrant and layered, while his landscapes capture a quiet, serene quality.

Through techniques like "light painting" and Intentional Camera Movement, Sergio enhances his images with unique textures and moods. He invites viewers to see familiar subjects in a new way, with each photo offering a refined and thoughtful perspective.

David Zinni is a longtime Southbury resident who began painting in 2018 after retiring from a career as a mechanical engineer. Always interested in painting, the opportunity to pursue the art came with his retirement. With no formal art education and a little studio training from local artists, Dave began working with acrylics and later oils. Dave’s technical background and love of nature led him to create realistic paintings with great detail. He finds his inspiration from the beauty of local landscapes, seascapes and wildlife. His works are based his own photography while hiking the local parks and land preserves. The exhibit is a collection of local landscapes and birds based on his many hikes and walks through scenic Southbury, Woodbury and Middlebury. His art has been featured in Southbury Makers Spotlight, at Southbury Library, Naugatuck’s Whitmore library and several charity auctions.

Instagram: @dajzinni_painting

“Cozy Up with a Good Book” Winter Reading Program, all ages, January 2 – March 20, 2025.

Stay warm this winter and Cozy Up with a Good Book in the Morris Public Library’s Winter Reading Program for all ages (January 2 – March 20, 2025). We explore various reading activities, new authors and genres in our reading journey this year.

Cross off the appropriate blocks in your Reading Card for each book you have read or listened to. One book may qualify for up to three categories (blocks). Return/e-mail your completed card by March 20 to qualify to win the Grand Cozy Prize. Reading Cards are available at the library or via morrispubliclibrary.net (starting January 2).

Have had an extra-cozy reading spree and completed several cards this winter? Enter more than one card into the drawing!

All reading levels have their own Reading Card and the Grand Cozy Prize!

Information: https://morrispubliclibrary.net or 860-567-7440.

Bring your little ones to Bouncing Babies at the Gunn Memorial Library for a developmentally stimulating and emotionally rewarding program with Miss Denise. It is perfect for children from birth to two years old, and their caregivers and siblings of all ages are welcome to join in the fun!

Spend 30 minutes with us, singing songs, sharing stories, and learning together. Our engaging activities will introduce and reinforce essential skills like name recognition, sign language, counting, and more! Stick around afterward for unstructured playtime, where kids and caregivers can socialize.

Don't miss this joyful gathering designed to support early learning and play!

Please register @ https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/category/jrlib/2025-01/

Show your support for our small local business by joining in the fun! Each day has a theme; participate for your chance to win a $50 BD Provisions gift card! Check our posts on social media (Facebook/Instagram) for more information!

Join us for Story Time on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 for new books, free play, and fun crafts!

Thursdays at 10:30 am: 1/2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Perfect for 3-5 year olds, but fun for everyone!

Join Mrs. Tricia for a classic library storytime--books, songs, bubbles, and more! Come for early literacy skills, social connections, and fun! We will focus on one special picture book author each week.

Paintings by Amanda Acker, Sally Maca, and Melanie Parke

To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose

A time to rain, a time of sow

A time for love, a time for hate

A time for peace, I swear it's not too late      - The Byrds (excerpt)

It is December and we have moved inside for the winter. The birds have picked the garden clean of seeds, leaves have been raked, and firewood stacked against the promise of cold nights. We move inside to welcome quietude and time for reflection, planning for new growth and regeneration.

Amanda Acker moves through her daily environment with affection towards her surroundings. In her words, “I see a scene and I think, oh I see you. I feel some sort of attraction, understanding, or curiosity. Sometimes I make a sound... Oooooo, ahhhhh, hello. It is really that simple. I choose to make paintings because it is the way I acknowledge, process, learn, and move around the place where I live”.

Technically, Acker is trying to make the thing look like the thing. Not so much in a photographic sense, but in the way it is seen and evoked. “Oooooo ahhhhh.” How do you make the chair, but in paint? How do you paint the water falling from the hose? How does the tree interact with the neighboring tree? That is when the artists really start to notice things, and more things, and how she falls in love with the world.

Amanda Acker is a self-taught artist whose work has been widely exhibited (in sold out shows) in Michigan and in CT. She lives and works in Michigan.

Pastoral and bucolic still life settings emerge from Melanie Parke’s life. The tenderness of each painting evokes the artist’s fondness for domestic setting and mementos of friendship. Melanie Parke reconstructs familiar interiors and filters them through the ideology of memory. Her subjects often center on flowers, birds, decorative objects, gardens, and intimate interior settings with an intent in creating safe places for pleasure. Sentiment crafts a domestic locus and seeks visual lushness by alternating tonal moods and vivid ornamentation.

Painting is a pleasure-seeking process for Parke and abstraction a vehicle with which to think and begin. The artist sets up the space intuitively in broad and textured gestures, then pieces together arrangements to compose a homespun narrative. Specific interiors and landscapes are implied. Shifting the emphasis to pattern, texture and tone, Parke works to destabilize notions of exacting representation. This is an effort to build on a sensation of memory which conjures both comfort and longing. 

The artist’s work is exhibited widely and is in collections throughout the United States. She has been a visiting artist at The American Academy in Rome three times, and an artist in residence at Borgo Finocchieto Invitational Residency, Tuscany, Italy, Heliker - LaHotan Foundation, Cranberry Isles, ME, Acadia National Park, ME, Yosemite National Park, CA, and Dorland Mountain Colony, CA. Parke earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL and studied at Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN. Parke lives and works in a contemporary studio in rural Michigan surrounded by orchards, meadows, and birds.

Sally Maca explores the daily changes in atmosphere and light and their transformational effect on familiar streetscapes and landscapes. The artist is dedicated to capturing the moment when the mundane becomes transcendent, a transition often created by the heaviness of a passing storm, the glow of a streetlamp, or an otherworldly sunset.

Maca’s subjects mostly hyperlocal landscapes, inspiration gleaned from daily walks or a glance out her front door. The artist explores the soft geometry in the angles of tree branches, or the horizon line and the hard-edged, manmade lines of roads and utility wires; these disparate elements are woven into lyrical compositions. Maca is not focused on a specific representation of a neighborhood or landscape, but in isolating the elements of a location to bring a universality to the painting, enough so that a viewer realizes that they too have experienced that same feeling, somewhere else, at another time.

The small scale of the paintings is central to the work; not only does the size invite close inspection but it evokes an intimacy with the painting.

Please contact Lani Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

MIXMASTER is a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to uncovering and celebrating the diverse talents of its artist members who are based in New England and the Tri-State region.

Gordon Parks: Homeward to the Prairie I Come

Opening Celebration January 19

January 19, 2025 – March 30, 2025Homeward to the Prairie I Come showcases the work of Gordon Parks (1912-2006), a pioneering photographer, poet, filmmaker, musician, and composer. After becoming LIFE Magazine’s first Black staff photographer in 1948, Parks captured diverse images of life in the 20th century. Paired with his lesser-known works of poetry, this exhibition positions Parks within the history of art and provides a catalogue of his wide-ranging interests beyond documentary photography.

"Art4All": an exhibit of artworks on display that have been created by artists with special needs. This is a rare opportunity for them to share expressions of their imaginations and the world around them. The show presents a diverse collection of unique, beautiful pieces, ranging from works on paper to 3-D sculptures.

Artist George Manesoitis says, "Art helps me express my feelings and thoughts and relaxes my mind and body."

Nicolas Yurgaitis, another artist whose work will be exhibited says, "I enjoy trying new things, and i find that creating art in any form is very regulating for my neurodivergence and fun."

Artist Owen Haldin says, "I have stories in my head and i need to draw them."

The Cornwall Library is excited to begin its 2025 art shows with Hotspot, Kit White’s dramatic and innovative paintings prompted by recent California wildfires. As White worked on the paintings, his daughter in San Francisco was sending home vivid images of the lurid, smoke-filled air outside her taped-up windows. The paintings were his response to her apocalyptic scenario.

The show runs from January 11 until February 22 except Mondays, when the library is closed. The Artists Reception from 5 to 7 pm on January 11. Registration on the library website for the reception is requested.

Though at first the paintings can seem wholly abstract, close inspection reveals a black and white photograph of a wildfire embedded in each, creating a layered space that reveals itself slowly. The result is a startlingly eloquent reaction to the fire, and by extension to climate change.

The embedded image results from a unique process developed by the Eastman Company in Rochester. It begins with a digital photograph White manipulates and then transfers via inkjet printer onto a giant sheet of mylar. After White puts down a base layer of oil paint, he treats his canvas with a solution that lifts the photograph from the mylar onto the painted canvas. He then overlays the “ghost” image embedded in the painting with more oil paint. The effect is more akin to an 1860s-era glass plate photograph, with its imperfections, than to a crisp contemporary image, suggesting the porousness and mutability of memory.

White says “This particular method of working, with a spectral photo embedded in the painting, began with the Iran-Iraq war, when I started thinking that most people get their sense of the world from photographs, not direct experience. It seemed, then, that if I wanted to address the physical world, I had to acknowledge the role of photography in creating our sense of a place.”

Kit White is a New York-based artist and writer who studied Fine Arts at Harvard and was professor of Painting at the Pratt Institute for 21 years. He has had many solo exhibitions and his work is in the collections of museums including The Guggenheim Museum, The M, The Weisman Art Museum, The Johnson Art Museum, the Luther Brady Collection, (formerly, The Corcoran Museum), and others. In 1979, he received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for painting. He is the author of 101 Things to Learn in Art School and his work is the subject of a monograph, Kit White, Line Into Form, by critic Carter Ratcliff.

Exhibition featuring : Matthew J. Best, Mark Buku, Stanwyck Cromwell, Vincent Dion, Lois Goglia, Mark Guglielmo, Sam Posey, John Simboli, Laura J. Stern and Lydia Viscardi.

Exhibition runs from January 10 - February 22, 2025.

Opening reception Friday, January 10 and Artist talk Friday February 7.

Gain an inside look from the people who spend the most time in the Mattatuck Museum- our staff! Hear from Mattatuck Museum Visitor Services Associate, Danielle Morrison, on her favorite pieces of art currently on display.

Sponsored by Christine and Eugene Shugrue

The January and February picks for the Gunn Memorial Library book clubs will come from the New York Times Top 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. In January, the Thursday evening Book Club will read the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tobarczuk

In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind . . .

A deeply satisfying thriller cum fairy tale, Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead is a provocative exploration of the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, autonomy and fate. Whom do we deem sane? it asks. Who is worthy of a voice?

Please register @ https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/gml-thursday-book-club-drive-your-plow-over-the-bones-of-the-dead-by-olga-tobarczuk/

Unleash your inner artist and dive into the world of watercolor!

Join local artist Liz Rosiello for a fun and exciting two-session watercolor painting workshop at the charming Gallery 25 in the Historic Train Depot, New Milford, CT. Whether you're a beginner or looking to improve your skills, this class is the perfect opportunity to explore the vibrant world of watercolor in a relaxed, inspiring setting.

Class Details:

When: Thursdays, January 23 & 30, 6:00–8:00 PM

Where: Gallery 25, Historic Train Depot, New Milford, CT

Instructor: Liz Rosiello, local artist and watercolor enthusiast

Cost: $85 (for both sessions)

Over the course of two evenings, Liz will guide you through the basics of watercolor—learning techniques like washes, gradients, and brushwork—while encouraging your personal creative expression. You’ll explore color blending, texture, and even how to use the unpredictability of watercolor to your advantage. Each session builds on the previous one, allowing you to gain confidence and skill in creating beautiful, vibrant works of art.

Liz’s teaching style is approachable and fun—no experience necessary! You'll leave each class with new skills, new artistic friends, and a growing love for this beautiful medium.

Grab a friend and your spot today! Don't miss out on this chance to get creative, relax, and discover the magic of watercolor.

Materials: All supplies are included, but feel free to bring your own if you prefer.

Reserve your spot now and get ready to paint your world with watercolor!

Registration is required at Gallery25CT.com or click https://square.link/u/PUbIyRfw

Gallery 25 and Creative Arts Studio

New Milford Commission on the Arts

11 Railroad St., New Milford, CT 06776

860-355-6009 * gallery25ct.com

Open Friday & Saturday 12-6 and Sunday 10-4

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram Gallery 25 and Creative Arts Studio

Thursday, January 23rd, at 6:30 PM, 2nd Home welcomes back the T.J. Thompson Trio. This promises to be an amazing evening with this killer jazz trio. They've been here a number of times already, and it's always special. A true don't miss. 

For reservations call 860-238-4500 or email us at momanddad@2ndhomelounge.com

https://www.facebook.com/tjthompsontrio/

See our complete event list - https://2ndhomelounge.com/events/

Google Street View

https://goo.gl/maps/eC7A4ZDEjenNqzpb6

https://goo.gl/maps/NWGK4NRyk6MNfmWZ6

2nd Home Lounge

524 Main Street, Winsted

2ndhomelounge.com

Join our mailing list - https://2ndhomelounge.com/email-sign-up/

Stellar storyteller Mike Allen--the producer of the podcast "Amazing Tales From Off and On CT's Beaten Path"--tells us about some of the incredible sea adventures that occurred near CT. This program is sponsored by the Friends of New Milford Library.

Come downtown and cheer on your favorite singers at Salt 2.0!

Don't forget to come a little early and grab some of Salt's great happy hour specials offered daily from 4-7PM.

Vinny has a great Karaoke setup and knows how to make all of us sound like the pros!

Every Thursday from 7-10PM.

Beginner Knitting Class

- Come learn in a class designed just for you…a beginner!! You will learn the basic stitches of knitting – the knit stitch and the purl stitch – as well as how to read a yarn label so you can buy yarn on your own after classes end, how to read a knitting pattern, and more!

- 6 weekly classes, 1.5 hours each

- All materials and supplies will be provided at the 1st class

- Requirements: None

Instructor: Andrea Dener

Instructor Bio: My name is Andrea Dener and I call myself The Yarn Farmer because I love knitting and crocheting fun items inspired by the farm and food...like carrot scarves, pumpkin hats, and chicken coasters!

I've been knitting and crocheting since I was 10 years old and love both crafts but LOVE TEACHING THEM EVEN MORE so I became certified to teach both by the Craft Yarn Council of America!

I look forward to bringing out the 'inner knitter' and 'inner crocheter' in you!

"Talismans" – is an online art show of the objects, people or ideas which guide us. 

Visual artist, video, music ands poetry.

Launches January 10

Personaland is an artist-driven global village transforming the world of art by using technology to bridge time zones and cultural boundaries. Our mission is to promote humanity, creativity, and community through a mix of entertainment, enchantment, and imagination.

Since its 2018 launch, Personaland, in its global reach, has showcased over 750 visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and poets from 66 countries in 30 group art shows and 55 individual exhibitions, many with videos of artist profiles

https://www.personaland.com

Thomaston Restaurant Week is almost here and it’s your opportunity to try as many restaurants as your schedule allows for one incredibly low fixed price. Ever wonder about that restaurant you’ve heard about or driven by all those times? Thomaston Restaurant Week 2025 is your chance to give it a try at a reduced cost. This inaugural event is proudly organized by the 150th Anniversary Committee in partnership with Litchfield.co.

The Gunn Memorial Library Stairwell Gallery is pleased to present "Light, Color, and Mood," a solo show by Sergio Villaschi on display from November 30 through January 27.

In Light, Color, and Mood, Sergio Villaschi takes an artistic approach to photography, using light, color, and texture to create compelling still life and landscape images. Inspired by the mosaics and frescoes of his native Rome, Sergio's work blurs the line between traditional photography and fine art, giving each piece a distinct atmosphere and depth. His still life compositions are vibrant and layered, while his landscapes capture a quiet, serene quality.

Through techniques like "light painting" and Intentional Camera Movement, Sergio enhances his images with unique textures and moods. He invites viewers to see familiar subjects in a new way, with each photo offering a refined and thoughtful perspective.

David Zinni is a longtime Southbury resident who began painting in 2018 after retiring from a career as a mechanical engineer. Always interested in painting, the opportunity to pursue the art came with his retirement. With no formal art education and a little studio training from local artists, Dave began working with acrylics and later oils. Dave’s technical background and love of nature led him to create realistic paintings with great detail. He finds his inspiration from the beauty of local landscapes, seascapes and wildlife. His works are based his own photography while hiking the local parks and land preserves. The exhibit is a collection of local landscapes and birds based on his many hikes and walks through scenic Southbury, Woodbury and Middlebury. His art has been featured in Southbury Makers Spotlight, at Southbury Library, Naugatuck’s Whitmore library and several charity auctions.

Instagram: @dajzinni_painting

“Cozy Up with a Good Book” Winter Reading Program, all ages, January 2 – March 20, 2025.

Stay warm this winter and Cozy Up with a Good Book in the Morris Public Library’s Winter Reading Program for all ages (January 2 – March 20, 2025). We explore various reading activities, new authors and genres in our reading journey this year.

Cross off the appropriate blocks in your Reading Card for each book you have read or listened to. One book may qualify for up to three categories (blocks). Return/e-mail your completed card by March 20 to qualify to win the Grand Cozy Prize. Reading Cards are available at the library or via morrispubliclibrary.net (starting January 2).

Have had an extra-cozy reading spree and completed several cards this winter? Enter more than one card into the drawing!

All reading levels have their own Reading Card and the Grand Cozy Prize!

Information: https://morrispubliclibrary.net or 860-567-7440.

"Art4All": an exhibit of artworks on display that have been created by artists with special needs. This is a rare opportunity for them to share expressions of their imaginations and the world around them. The show presents a diverse collection of unique, beautiful pieces, ranging from works on paper to 3-D sculptures.

Artist George Manesoitis says, "Art helps me express my feelings and thoughts and relaxes my mind and body."

Nicolas Yurgaitis, another artist whose work will be exhibited says, "I enjoy trying new things, and i find that creating art in any form is very regulating for my neurodivergence and fun."

Artist Owen Haldin says, "I have stories in my head and i need to draw them."

Do you have a word or mantra for the new year? A song lyric, poem, or other quote you love? Visit the Makerspace and put it on a tote bag with some help from the Cricut cutter and heat press! You’ll learn how to use the Design Space software to format text for cutting and some tips for working with heat transfer vinyl and selecting the best settings for the heat press.

Ages 18+. Registration required.

Visit us at: https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/adult-workshop-quote-totes/

Show your support for our small local business by joining in the fun! Each day has a theme; participate for your chance to win a $50 BD Provisions gift card! Check our posts on social media (Facebook/Instagram) for more information!

The learning experience in Cookie Count centers on introducing young children to early math concepts in a fun and engaging way. Through its vibrant, detailed illustrations and delightful depictions of cookies and confections, the book encourages counting, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence. Additionally, the book supports language development and vocabulary building through descriptive text and storytelling.

Space is limited, and registration is required, so be sure to sign up on our website - https://www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/preschool-storytime-cookie-count-by-robert-sabuda/

Paintings by Amanda Acker, Sally Maca, and Melanie Parke

To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose

A time to rain, a time of sow

A time for love, a time for hate

A time for peace, I swear it's not too late      - The Byrds (excerpt)

It is December and we have moved inside for the winter. The birds have picked the garden clean of seeds, leaves have been raked, and firewood stacked against the promise of cold nights. We move inside to welcome quietude and time for reflection, planning for new growth and regeneration.

Amanda Acker moves through her daily environment with affection towards her surroundings. In her words, “I see a scene and I think, oh I see you. I feel some sort of attraction, understanding, or curiosity. Sometimes I make a sound... Oooooo, ahhhhh, hello. It is really that simple. I choose to make paintings because it is the way I acknowledge, process, learn, and move around the place where I live”.

Technically, Acker is trying to make the thing look like the thing. Not so much in a photographic sense, but in the way it is seen and evoked. “Oooooo ahhhhh.” How do you make the chair, but in paint? How do you paint the water falling from the hose? How does the tree interact with the neighboring tree? That is when the artists really start to notice things, and more things, and how she falls in love with the world.

Amanda Acker is a self-taught artist whose work has been widely exhibited (in sold out shows) in Michigan and in CT. She lives and works in Michigan.

Pastoral and bucolic still life settings emerge from Melanie Parke’s life. The tenderness of each painting evokes the artist’s fondness for domestic setting and mementos of friendship. Melanie Parke reconstructs familiar interiors and filters them through the ideology of memory. Her subjects often center on flowers, birds, decorative objects, gardens, and intimate interior settings with an intent in creating safe places for pleasure. Sentiment crafts a domestic locus and seeks visual lushness by alternating tonal moods and vivid ornamentation.

Painting is a pleasure-seeking process for Parke and abstraction a vehicle with which to think and begin. The artist sets up the space intuitively in broad and textured gestures, then pieces together arrangements to compose a homespun narrative. Specific interiors and landscapes are implied. Shifting the emphasis to pattern, texture and tone, Parke works to destabilize notions of exacting representation. This is an effort to build on a sensation of memory which conjures both comfort and longing. 

The artist’s work is exhibited widely and is in collections throughout the United States. She has been a visiting artist at The American Academy in Rome three times, and an artist in residence at Borgo Finocchieto Invitational Residency, Tuscany, Italy, Heliker - LaHotan Foundation, Cranberry Isles, ME, Acadia National Park, ME, Yosemite National Park, CA, and Dorland Mountain Colony, CA. Parke earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL and studied at Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN. Parke lives and works in a contemporary studio in rural Michigan surrounded by orchards, meadows, and birds.

Sally Maca explores the daily changes in atmosphere and light and their transformational effect on familiar streetscapes and landscapes. The artist is dedicated to capturing the moment when the mundane becomes transcendent, a transition often created by the heaviness of a passing storm, the glow of a streetlamp, or an otherworldly sunset.

Maca’s subjects mostly hyperlocal landscapes, inspiration gleaned from daily walks or a glance out her front door. The artist explores the soft geometry in the angles of tree branches, or the horizon line and the hard-edged, manmade lines of roads and utility wires; these disparate elements are woven into lyrical compositions. Maca is not focused on a specific representation of a neighborhood or landscape, but in isolating the elements of a location to bring a universality to the painting, enough so that a viewer realizes that they too have experienced that same feeling, somewhere else, at another time.

The small scale of the paintings is central to the work; not only does the size invite close inspection but it evokes an intimacy with the painting.

Please contact Lani Holloway, Associate Director, Lani@kbfa.com, 860 560 3085 with inquires or to arrange a preview of the exhibition.

Get started with the basics of sewing in this three-week workshop! Participants will learn how to cut out a pattern, thread and safely operate a sewing machine, and machine-embroider a monogram as they create their very own reading pillow. This workshop is for grades 4-5.

Registration is required, and participants must attend all three sessions.

www.gunnlibrary.org/calendar/beginner-sewing-club-grades-4-5-2/

Gordon Parks: Homeward to the Prairie I Come

Opening Celebration January 19

January 19, 2025 – March 30, 2025Homeward to the Prairie I Come showcases the work of Gordon Parks (1912-2006), a pioneering photographer, poet, filmmaker, musician, and composer. After becoming LIFE Magazine’s first Black staff photographer in 1948, Parks captured diverse images of life in the 20th century. Paired with his lesser-known works of poetry, this exhibition positions Parks within the history of art and provides a catalogue of his wide-ranging interests beyond documentary photography.