Artist Behind the Blow Torch Burns Just as Brightly
Landry Harlan

In a cloud of smoke and shower of blue sparks, Island sculptor Jay Lagemann blasts the stainless steel braids of his newest humanoid creation with a blowtorch registering over 3,000 degrees.

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Pasting, Pressing, Cutting; Book Binding Leaves a Tactile Trail
Katherine Gianni

On any given afternoon, one of three sounds can be heard coming from Mitzi Pratt’s Aquinnah bookbinding studio: the dull squeak of a 19th century press, sheers clipping through paper, or the piercing bang of a weighty backing hammer.

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When Art and Life Are Woven Together
Holly Pretsky

Shelly Davis bought her loom, a four harness Nilus Leclerc, in 1975. It weighs more than she does, and it arrived in pieces with a guidebook called “Weaving: A Fantastic Hobby.”

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Giving Trees a Second Life, One Wooden Bowl at a Time
Landry Harlan

Inside of a shipping container studio on Chappaquiddick, artist Zach Pinerio stands surrounded by shelves of bowl blanks.

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Painter and Author, in His Spare Time Thomas Benton Transposes Difficult Music to Play on His Harmonica
Vineyard Gazette
Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert - nothing heavy but on the classical side - and Thomas Hart Benton, painter, and author, plays them all on his harmonica. He’s got a special scheme, which he himself devised, for transposing the music into a complicated harmonica score.
 
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“One of Benton Harmonica Boys” Is Here for Visit
Vineyard Gazette
He was walking along the state road with his wife up in West Tisbury. He carried a suitcase, and, although he did not actually wiggle his thumb, he looked hopefully back at the car.
 
His name is Manuel Tolegian of New York city, artist and former student of Thomas H. Benton, summer resident of Chilmark. When he was picked up by the Gazette reporter, he looked slightly warm but grateful, animated and eager. He has a thin, aesthetic face and long, slender hands.
 
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Keeping the Spirit of Charles Addams Alive
Landry Harlan

It was pure happenstance that West Tisbury cartoonist Paul Karasik stumbled upon a mural that became the basis of his first essay in The New Yorker.

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Staying Attuned to Happy Accidents Is Part of the Art

Making a piece of pottery is an arduous process. But that doesn’t slow Candy Shweder down.

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Found Objects Help Art Take Flight
Holly Pretsky

Abe Pieciak’s latest work in progress sits on a table in the middle of his Aquinnah studio.

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Under the Sea and Around the World
Louisa Hufstader

When Margot Datz began painting the walls of the children’s room at the Edgartown Public Library last fall, she expected the work to take three or four months at most.

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