Poet Terrance Hayes, a former college basketball player, prepares for all of his readings as if they were basketball games.
“I have got to bring my A-game,” he said. “If you score by making dunks, or even if you are playing great defense, people can be appreciative of what you are doing if you are doing it in an exceptional way.”
For one artist, the term all-Island art is literal. Amid the paintings, pastels and photographs, the seaweed collages by Kathy Poehler hung on the wire fence at the Tabernacle yesterday for the 54th All-Island Art Show.
It’s hard to pinpoint the best label to suit Louisa Gould. Is she a photographer, a painter, a business consultant or a sailor? She’s worked on Wall Street, photographed the Olympics and multiple sailing events and worked as a videographer. But this weekend, Ms. Gould will play the part of gallery owner, as she celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Louisa Gould Gallery, a fixture of the Vineyard Haven art community.
After graduating from Whittier College in the 1960s, Guy Webster decided to join the army reserves for a six-month stint rather than go to Viet Nam. For the first three months he purchased, shipped and decorated Christmas trees. For the second half he taught photography, even though he had never even held a camera before that moment.
“I had never taken a photograph in my life,” remembered Mr. Webster. It wasn’t until his last month in the reserves that he shot his first roll of film. That was all it took to get him hooked.
Some of the earliest encaustic wax painters were probably the Greeks, who used the technique to fill in cracks in the hulls of their ships and to decorate their walls with murals.
Today, artists such as Debra M. Gaines still practice the art of encaustic painting, a process whereby beeswax is melted and pigment is introduced into the mixture. Ms. Gaines will be conducting an encaustic painting demonstration at the Louisa Gould Gallery, 54 Main street, Vineyard Haven on Monday, August 13, at 6 p.m.
Lively, strong pieces that reflect the flair of Oak Bluffs-based Washington Ledesma and his Uruguayan heritage are on display until Wednesday at Featherstone Center for the Arts.
Mr. Ledesma’s striking style is exhibited here in two mediums, ceramics and oils. He is teaching both styles at Featherstone this fall.
Louisa Gould Gallery will opens its annual Small Wonders show the day after Thanksgiving, on Friday, Nov. 23, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. This show features Marjorie Mason’s new oils, Robert Jewett’s ceramics and pottery and Louisa Gould and Thaw Malin’s new small paintings. This event is free with refreshments and entertainment.
Works from Viet Nam, Chantal Legare’s mixed media exhibition on paper and wood, opens tomorrow, Dec. 1. at the West Tisbury library and will continue through Dec. 31.
Sail Martha’s Vineyard’s Maritime Art Show is receiving an enthusiastic response from the community. The open house reception this past Sunday night welcomed more than 60 guests to the Sail MV building on Main street in Vineyard Haven, where gifts and work produced by 21 artists are on display.
More than 14 pieces have been sold, raising funds for Sail MV to continue its sailing and rowing programs on the Island. The show will run through Dec. 22.
