“Some audiences are more seasoned.” Those are the words of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s Development Director Mike Peluse. He was talking about considerations that are made in setting up the Made in Vermont Tour each year. “For some audience members, this may be the only classical program they have ever heard."

The challenge is creating a program to play in eight different towns  (Johnson, Vergennes, Derby Line, Lyndonville, Bellows Falls, Randolph,  Woodstock, and Castleton). One commissioned piece is always included. “We look for a composer with a strong connection to Vermont. Audiences  vary widely in their experience with orchestral music, so that one connection is very important. After his three-year residency with the Vermont Youth Orchestra, Rob Paterson really had that."

Rob Paterson is from New York. His piece for the VSO, entitled Dark Mountains, depicted his experiences driving through Vermont at nightfall. “People did enjoy this composition, and I think it had to do with its sophistication. In some places, it was edgy, angular, and dark.  The melody and the emotion depicted the sense of a journey. The conclusion became very melodic, and the piece was very accessible. We tend to know if the audience likes a work or not.”

The VSO actively looks for feedback on their programs. Audience surveys are inserted in the program, and there is incentive (often, a  door prize) to return them. The staff and composer make themselves available to hear immediate responses after the performance. The Symphony also has something they call a Green Room Program, which enables several students to have dinner prior to the concert with the composer and musicians. The students are required to write a one-page response.

All of this stems from the Symphony’s mission, specifically, this portion: “It seeks to raise the common standard of musical education and enjoyment, and to provide, at moderate cost, quality performances for a broad and diverse public throughout the State of Vermont.” Saying  more about that, Mike states that “It’s the support of Council and other supporters that make this happen. It’s an important service to the people of Vermont.”

Find out more about the VSO here, and read about Rob Paterson here.

Community.   Collaboration.   Engagement.

None of these are unusual words in a grant application. They are key components in many art projects. An accidentally well-timed project funded by an Arts Learning Grant brought all of these elements into sharp focus late last year.

For two years, the Council has funded a lantern parade in Waterbury. The first year’s grant went to Thatcher Brook Primary School; the second year’s to the school district. “We got such good feedback,” said art teacher MK Monley. “We wanted to draw in more of the community, and one way to do this was to involve more schools.”

The “we” in this story is MK Monley and artist Gowri Savoor. Gowri is a visual artist who has been in Vermont for five years now, coming from England. She is also the recipient of a Creation Grant from the Arts Council this year. “Community art is a little more established in the U.K. There is a strong tradition there, and a lot of events taking place–street theatre, community processions, and lantern parades. They’re all a great example of what is possible when people get together, collaborate with artists of all kinds, and take their creativity to the streets. It is such a visceral experience.”

Just how did they engage the participants? Gowri explains: “There were workshops to build the lanterns. These were not just tied to the school; they were for anyone. People came from Barre, Montpelier, Middlesex, Waterbury and Stowe.” Gowri blogged also, and contacted musicians to be a part of the event. More than 400 lanterns were created, some people making their own at home. Adding musicians to the parade, about 600 people marched the night of December 3. The timing was purely coincidental, but important. Enter Hurricane Irene.

“Post-Irene Waterbury is a different town three months out,” MK wrote in her final report. “This year, this event was extremely important to our community. This parade was a way to celebrate with light and hope that all is not lost.”

The damaged grounds of the Vermont State Complex were opened for the start of the parade. The streets of the village were flooded again, this time with joy. In a follow-up evaluation, one participant wrote: “The River of Light was spectacular, gorgeous and a great treat for the spirit and soul (especially after another day on post-Irene tasks at the house and elsewhere). Thanks for all that you and the creative students and volunteers did to provide this special time for all of us!”

Gowri is enthralled the parade is consistently expanding. “After a town or area can experience something like this, they’ll take ownership. It becomes their own tradition. It is such a happy experience.”

Read all about the parade here, and learn about Gowri Savoor here.

Photograph by Gordon Miller

For nearly two years, WritingInsideVT has been offered to more than 100 women prisoners in Vermont, first at Northwest State Correctional Facility in Swanton, now at the Chittenden facility where the women relocated this past August. The program provides incarcerated women with a weekly opportunity to explore difficult aspects of their lives in safe, confidential circles utilizing structured writing and respectful listening within a framework of community-building.

Some of the themes that the women delve into include: personal addictions, poverty, abuse, dysfunctional families, childhood memories, and relationships. The goal of the writing program is to help incarcerated women ask the big life-questions, often for the very first time, as well as to envision positive new directions. The program has been praised for facilitating personal growth, empowerment and self-responsibility.

“The overwhelming majority of Vermont’s incarcerated women hail from multi-generational poverty and struggle with serious addictions,” say Sarah Bartlett and Marybeth Redmond, co-facilitators of WritingInside. “Once inside, there is little opportunity for self-expression. Materials are limited, expressive opportunities rare, and support and encouragement are not part of the culture. Research shows that writing and art—indeed, all expressive creative activity—stimulate positive self-esteem and mental well-being. With more than half the population suffering from mental illness, this is critical work.”

In addition to funding facilitation of the program, the Vermont Arts Council grant supports the creation and development of an online blog, www.writinginsideVT.com, to share the women’s writings with the wider world. The grant also funds publication of printed anthologies of the women’s work, to be showcased during a celebratory author-reading event on Thursday, March 22, 2012, from 6-7:30 p.m., at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, including local legislators and community leaders as invited guests.
                                               
The value of writinginsideVT is best expressed by the women prisoners themselves:

• Today I pulled something good out of my life. It was hard looking at all the mistakes and not having power over them.
• I am so grateful for this group, for the gentle encouragement to release from inside all the hurt that’s trying to hide.
• Thank you for coming to grow with us through writing.
• I’m so glad I came and you came to give us an opportunity that others here don’t.
• I liked being able to find a bit of light in the darkness.

It is always good news when an artist’s business is growing. So, it was great to get this update from one of our grantees,  Kerry O. Furlani: “I've recently moved into a larger studio at the Journal Press, on Main Street, in Poultney. This new location (larger and more centrally located) will greatly support the production of my studio work and allow me to launch a kind of ‘Slate Carving School,’ in which I hope to offer the public an ongoing calendar of workshops in stone lettering and relief carving.”
 
Kerry has been working with slate since moving to Vermont in 2001. A fiend for traditional craft, she told us she “gives life to her work using wooden and dummy mallets and chisels, a traditional method introduced to her while training at the Frink School of Figurative Sculpture in the late 1990s.” This description was part of her application for an Artist Development grant, seeking funding to work with a master letter carver John Neilson in Wales. With a review panel convinced this would advance her career, she was on her way.
 
She describes the time with the carver saying, “My training began with calligraphy pen and layout paper. John helped me develop a foundation in which to build my own lettering forms. He encouraged me to experiment with scale, texture, and the shapes of both formal and informal letters. After weeks of desk work, I began to transfer my designs into carved pieces. John showed me how to ‘chase’ and ‘chop’ the path of a line.”
 
“I also had the privilege of investigating John’s immense library. Occasionally, we took to the road to track down lettering ‘hotspots.’ From public monuments and cemeteries to medieval churches and cathedrals John offered his insights on the historical development of letterforms. We also took trips to visit some of the best letter carvers in Britain and Belgium. I witnessed a solid group of dedicated practitioners, all of them excited about their work and sustaining themselves through their craft.”

The trip resulted in her recent exhibit “Words to Stone” at the Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.  She created seventeen pieces from stone gathered in nearby Vermont quarries and river beds, stone yards, and back yards. "The outlined shape, texture and color of each stone served as my palette for inspiration for the words and fragments of poetry that were dwelling inside me or came to me after sourcing a stone."

As Kerry moves forward, she describes a new perspective. “I can sense a shift within. I am clearer now about my aims, more confident with the strikes of my mallet to the letters at hand. Fueled and emboldened by the palpable experiences of my adventures in Wales, my ambition is to develop a body of lettering work in private and public spaces that sing with life and are ‘felt’ more than constructed. I wish to convey both rhythm and variety in letter forms and the whole of a text as a singular word image.”
 
Read about Kerry and see examples of her slate relief work.

You can view her letter carving experience in Wales and see examples of her lettering work on this YouTube video. 
 

Twelve Artist Residency Grants were awarded in FY2011; all but one to a school. The exception funded an artist residency held in Barre at the Highgate Apartments. Highgate has 120 housing units, the rents largely HUD-subsidized. At any given time, there are about 100 youth living in the complex. Many of them will participate in some kind of program organized by Doug Hemmings, the Community and Social Services Coordinator. The programs range from food assistance to arts and crafts or sports.
 
These events are especially important for ten weeks in the summer. “The kids might be here the entire time,” Doug explains. “There might not be a family vacation or activity, or time away at a camp. We need to bring experiences here.” Looking always for new activities and ways to fund them, he was led to Shidaa, one of the artists on the Council’s teaching artist roster. “We knew this would be unusual, perhaps a little challenging or even a little risky. It might fail miserably or it might be just what we need.”
 
Doug was thrilled with Shidaa, saying “the bright and colorful materials and activities are pulsing with energy and beg you to participate. You feel drawn to this culture right away, being encouraged to jump in and move; dance, drum, make music and art, taste the food.” He describes the week further saying “It began with tales of West African culture and an introduction to Adinkra symbology. Those concepts became artwork on tapestry cloths and T-shirts. They chose their symbols for personal meaning, expressing aspirations like beauty and bravery, loyalty and love.”
 
“Each day was punctuated with the sound of drumming. The drumming became the soundtrack for the workshop series; it was infectious and called people to dance. Performing the dance was meant to be not only festive but also to bring good luck and good fortune in life’s toils, in this case fishing. The Highgate boys thought this was great fun and practiced it over and over again until they became quite proficient. We shared a West African meal on Thursday. Feeling adventurous and flush with new experiences, even the kids tried and enjoyed the unfamiliar dishes. The week closed with a performance for the greater community. Dancers and groups wearing the decorated clothing took the (dirt) floor while others sat in with the drummers. On the more complex drum patterns, the Shidaa drummers played all the drums while our participants did the dances.”
 
One tangible measure of success was the number of participants. There were more people joining the program every day. Doug says that word gets out when an activity is good. And for those who were there, he says, “I have no doubt this had a major impact on them. I’m so grateful this was available.”
 
You can learn more about Shidaa here: http://www.shidaafricult.com/about.php

Artists struggle with balancing the time to create and sell their work against the time to carve out an income. Throw in the demands of family, home and community and something will give. All too often, what gives is the creation of art. Prior to a residency at the Vermont Studio Center (VSC) in Johnson, a painter in Calais reported that she had reached the point where the question “What kind of art do you do?” could only be honestly answered “Nothing. I don’t do anything anymore.” Teachers who are artists suffer in the same way, often finding they have neither the time nor support to immerse themselves in creative work or to connect with other artists.

Founded by artists in 1984, the Vermont Studio Center is the largest international artists' and writers' residency program in the United States, hosting 55 visual artists and writers each month from across the country and around the world. The Studio Center received an Arts Learning Grant in FY2011. The grant supported two residencies for Vermont art and English teachers, and follow-up curriculum development and assessment activities for two others. This was part of a larger project. Ten teachers attended the Learning in Art and Culture Teacher Fellowships Program. Before the VSC residencies, some Teacher Fellows had been successful at staying engaged in their practice, some had not pursued it for months or even years. All of them left feeling hopeful, creative, awakened, and inspired.

While the teacher/artists were there, they used their work time to focus on creating in the studio. The result is best described by one of the residents who said, “In two weeks I have created more work than I have in years. This experience has allowed me to forgo daily routines and responsibilities and has given me the opportunity to immerse myself in art. This freedom has allowed my ideas to evolve and given me direction.” Another said, “What a luxury for me, a high school art teacher, to renew myself as an artist by creating all day for a week with no responsibilities,” and “To share wonderful meals with other creative people and share their words and slides in the evening has been profoundly rejuvenating.” Rejuvenation is at the core of the Studio Center’s mission.

VSC will also provide resources for the Teacher Fellows in bringing their experience back to the classroom. A focus group in October and group exhibition/reading in the spring will encourage the artists to remain engaged with their creative process throughout the year. The Fellows will check in at the focus group; they’ll discuss how they are continuing to make time for studio work, whether they prefer working towards individual and/or group exhibitions and readings in the spring, and how they have managed to translate some of their studio experience into the classroom thus far in the semester. They can also bring their students to VSC to see how artists and writers work in the studio.

To broaden the impact of these studio residencies, VSC entered a partnership with St. Michael's College to offer post-residency support and resources for the participants to incorporate some of their studio insights into the teaching of how art and writing are made. Expanding on ideas from his own residency, 2009 Teacher Fellow Matt Neckers developed a course he now teaches that specifically addresses how to translate the experience of studio immersion into the classroom through developing creative curricula and how to assess arts education. Six of the ten Learning in Art and Culture Teacher Fellowships Program will be attending this fall.

You can read more about the Vermont Studio Center at vermontstudiocenter.org

The In-Sight Photography Project is a nonprofit organization in Brattleboro founded in 1996. They teach photography to youth ages 11-18 throughout Southern Vermont, regardless of ability to pay class fees. This is accomplished partly through core classes held at their own site and partly through classes with partnering nonprofits. They have received many grants from the Arts Council over the years, the latest being an Arts Partnership grant in FY2012.
 
In-Sight is clear about what they are trying to accomplish. Their clearly-stated mission statement says the Project “offers students a creative voice and outlet, an opportunity to experience success, tools for self-awareness and self-worth, and encourages them to become actively engaged in their communities.” Stephen Dybas is the Director, and he talked more about that. He described two different participants who had flourished as a result of their involvement with In-Sight.
 
“There was one student with developmental disabilities who just really liked the process of working in the dark room. He latched on to this concrete, structured process, and he produced wonderful pictures. I never saw him as happy as the night he brought his father and grandparents to see his pictures in one of our student exhibitions. He was on top of the world with a sense of accomplishment. Another student who struggled with written language found photography to be his passion. He took classes with us for many years, and we worked hard to get him interested in applying for college. He’s in his second year at Mass Art (Massachusetts College of Art and Design) now with a full scholarship, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him become a well-established professional photographer in the future.”
 
Stephen has an MFA in photography, has taught at the college level, and loves his current job. He knows that being involved in art is important in itself. Stephen also believes that learning an artistic process can be a big step in growing up. He’s also quick to point out the importance of the basic skills required for photography. “People don’t always put art together with this other kind of learning. These are concrete skills and basic tools founded in science, chemistry and math that the kids will take with them where ever they go.”
 
You can read more about the In-Sight Photography project here.

GRACE (Grass Roots Art and Community Effort) is housed in the Old Firehouse in downtown Hardwick, but has enormous outreach. The group facilitates self-taught art in more than 500 workshops held each year in the places people live and work: nursing homes, mental health centers, senior meal sites, adult day centers, even artists' homes. Executive Director Carol Putnam is largely responsible for establishing the organization as it is today, following the work of the late founder, Don Sunseri.   Don started this as a project stemming from Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury 36 years ago. A Community Arts Grant from the Arts Council will help them to continue this year.

“What makes GRACE unique,” says Carol,” is our work with diverse populations, and the fact that we go out to do the workshops. This is unusual, and also challenging.” Carol says that she loves the philosophy of fostering creativity no matter what an individual’s abilities or skills are. “All of workshops are based on the same philosophy – be yourself and do it your own way.”  The workshops are non-instructional, that is, “in each place there will be supplies: water colors, acrylics, clay, pencils, and so on. It’s an open studio environment. When people come in, they decide where to be and what they want to work on. They just help themselves as much as they can.”

All the staff at GRACE are artists and each facilitate workshops; the facilitator’s role is to help in whatever way necessary to allow art to happen. Typically, that is encouragement and some technical help ( mixing colors and suggesting materials to be used, for example). Carol loves not only the artistic process, but the work itself. “I work with giving and committed people. We all give a lot, but we get a lot out of it. We get a lot back.”

You can see the art of GRACE participants at the Firehouse Gallery, or in the community. It is frequently displayed in store fronts, church halls, and established galleries. Don Sunseri and staff started a permanent collection in 1997 which continues to grow. There is also a consigned collection being made by those who are creating now. It is always the artist who decides if they would like to exhibited and/or sell their work.

The big payoff for anyone is in hearing something like this from T.J. Goodrich, one of the participants:  “Since attending GRACE, I have felt that freedom to create and further explore my art and visions”.

You can find out more about GRACE by clicking here (www.graceart.org), or by visiting their Facebook page.

Lyn Lauffer is the librarian at Sheldon Elementary School, and she lives in Berskshire. Sheldon and Berkshire are both small communities in Franklin County. As Lyn says, “They’re the kind of communities where everybody knows everybody’s kids, and it’s all very self-contained.” And, according to Lyn, “both schools are really making the most of that situation.”

Sheldon Elementary received two grants from the Arts Council in the last two years. An FY2010 Teaching Artist Residency Grant brought Jeh Kulu to the school for a week-long residency. An FY2011 Cultural Routes Grant brought all students in grades 1-5 to the Flynn for the VSO’s “One Green Earth” concert. Both funded activities were fully integrated with the school’s curriculum and were tied to a school theme for the year (Africa one year, sustainability the next).
 
Lyn describes the Jeh Kulu residency as “the perfect model. All grade levels were involved in inter-disciplinary activities. All of the teachers were involved. Everybody, and I mean everybody—teachers included—learned and performed an African dance. The music teacher was able to bring in 50 African drums for the week, including the school's own set. We ended with an evening performance that was really something to come and see. The entire school and the community took part in the event.”
 
The Cultural Routes Grant was tied to the sustainability theme. The committee planning the curriculum wanted an array of activities. These included projects in the school’s 60-acre forest, displays about alternative energy, demonstrations on trash and composting, and presentations by local food artisans featuring goat's milk products, maple syrup, and whole grains. Recycling was already well established and efforts to bring local foods into the cafeteria already underway. But this year, every single art project was done with recycled materials, including the creation of four 4 by 8 foot mosaics made of colorful ceramic pieces and installed on the outside wall of the school.
 
Students also made musical instruments from recycled materials. This is where the grant came in. All of the students in grades 1-5 were able to travel to the Flynn for a multi-media performance about green living. “The VSO’s instrument-making contest fit perfectly with our theme, and several students took part in that.” This year’s culminating event appropriately featured Donald Knaack (the Junk Man).
 
Lyn talked about the necessity of grant funding. “We're so grateful the grants are available. They have enabled us to work on a scale that we could not have achieved without the grants, and have allowed us to enrich our curriculum in ways we could not have funded on our own."

Julia Shipley is a writer who is also passionate about agriculture and building community. She loves poems and essays that braid disparate ideas together and it seems she lives her life the same way. Brimming with gratitude, she described the Council's Creation Grants by saying, "It is like one big round bale that you'll never finish unspooling. It just goes on and on."
 
When Julia learned she was awarded a grant, she took a step back. She looked at the big picture. She looked at the other awardees, seeing who they were, where they were from, and what they were doing. She had proposed to create essays about agriculture, dwelling and place. Another proposal was about transients and movement – a complementary idea, whose creator she invited to meet and share work.
 
During the year, she drafted, wrote and revised seven essays. She shared work in her writing group, held nine public readings, and taught a workshop on the Braided Essay (lunch was made from food she raised on her land). “But the part that is AMAZING is how this keeps leading to new things!” After reading with one of her fellow grantees at Arts Advocacy Day, she was asked to participate in the "Exposed" sculpture exhibit in Stowe. Additionally, she was invited to submit a proposal to participate in Habitat for Artists. The Habitat, a shack built of recycled materials, is installed where the public can interact with an artist. “I sometimes bring in my typewriter and type. I type out poems by poets that I love, or I write my own poems. Obviously, I can't write and talk at same time, so sometimes I’m sketching some of the tools I use on my farm.”
 
She finds all of this work important, crucial, and necessary. She believes we should not only eat locally and shop locally, but read locally. “Through Habitat, I am now connecting with people I am writing for. Because of receiving the Creation Grant I've stumbled into circumstances that have led me to the Habitat project which then helps me to connect to readers, arts organizations, audiences, curators, project directors, sculptors, even politicians and policies which support the arts. The whole thing has been an extraordinary connective process.”
 
Julia’s latest connection comes from Burlington. The Lane Series always publishes an original work in their playbill and she has been asked to contribute to that. It sounds like that big round bale will continue to feed.
 
You can learn more about Julia’s work here.  You can also read her weekly "postcard" from the Habitat for Artists in the Stowe Reporter.
 

Vermont communities embrace art and culture; we are rich that way. Addison County is no exception and the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is a vibrant example. Musicians are on the Board, they are the players, they are community members. They are—among other things—music teachers, veterinarians, and lawyers. This is a relatively new group founded in 2004 by David Gusakov and Dieuwke Davidov, two musicians who knew they wanted to play challenging orchestral music.

The group has embraced their evolution. In FY10 they were awarded an $800 Technical Assistance Grant in to support a strategic planning retreat. The retreat was led by their Director Paul Gambill. Paul is a tech-savvy and entrepreneurial “horn player in another life” turned orchestra conductor. Paul has something he describes as “a need to build structures and organizations that create synergy with the music.” He came to this belief and polished his skills as an orchestra founder in Nashville—Music City, USA. Bent on the idea that his group’s success was absolutely contingent on exploring different ways of programming, he found his niche. “It’s kind of a blessing and a curse all in one that I have this combination left brain/right brain/creative/type A skill set,” he laments. “But I am driven to design new ways of programming, create collaborations, and engage our communities with our music in creative ways.”

There are about sixty orchestra members in the CPO. Twenty of them participated in the retreat. In two days, they were able to establish core values and design a mission statement (…to engage and inspire musicians and audiences with orchestra concerts and community projects that create transcendent experiences). “So many groups confuse what they do with why they do it,” Paul explained. “We wanted to get at why the group exists, and why are we musicians? Why do we come together? From there, the group can move to actions that further the purpose. It was a very productive two days. And the group has such a ‘We can do it!’ energy about them.”

Stepping forward with their new energy, a collaborative project with Very Merry Theater and the Vermont MIDI Project is in the works for spring, 2012; watch for that. A website is high on the Philharmonic’s priority list. Meanwhile, you can keep up with Paul’s left brain/right brain/creative/type A musings here: http://www.orchestraremix.com

Having a website is a welcome change for Becky Graber. She laughs as she says, “I’ve written ‘not yet’ when asked for a website address on all of the forms I’ve filled out in the last few years. It feels good to be able to write beckygraber.com.” An Artist Development grant this year helped her to establish the online presence she needs. The site was built by Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, a fiddler and graphic designer in Brattleboro. Jeff Woodward, a long-time friend and colleague, managed the photography.
 
Becky has been telling stories and sharing music for all of her life. She is on the Vermont Arts Council’s Teaching Artist Roster and on the Artist Roster for the New Hampshire State Arts Council. She makes her living through the performing arts and arts education; that has been constant. There have been times, though, when her art heads in a new direction. This is one of those times, and it is marked by a longing to create, express, and be heard in a new way. "Things have been shifting since I took a vocal improv workshop with Rhiannon a few years ago. That process made me begin to ask myself, 'what do I have to contribute?' and 'what is it that I want to express?' What I find I most want to do is to continue to touch others through well crafted performances, to collaborate with other artists from different disciplines, and to teach others - of many ages - through experiential learning. I want to teach them through experience the value of art, and I want them to go on to teach others.”

Changes in process are familiar to Becky. There was grad school in her early twenties, a time that led her to Lesley College and the New England Storytelling Center. Her move back to Brattleboro in her mid thirties led her to start the Brattleboro Women's Chorus. “I’ve always had to think not just about what I want to do, I’ve also had to ask myself how I can make it pay.” What else might be coming? “I’d love to create a one-woman show for an adult audience.” None of us will be surprised when this appears; Becky seems to be able to follow those hunches.
 
You can see Becky’s new website here, and her collaborators sites here: http://www.ethanhw.com/ or  http://www.jeffwoodwardphotography.blogspot.com

The Arts Council launched Teaching Artist Express grants last year. Schools can use express grants to hire artists listed in the Council's Teaching Artist Roster for one or two day residency programs that emphasize collaborative learning. A five hundred dollar grant this year helped Milton Middle/High School to bring Peter Gould to the school for two days.

Milton is the 9th largest town (by population) in Vermont, and has a school committed to the arts. MM/HS has two music teachers, two art teachers, and one drama teacher; the drama teacher is Paul Curtiss. Paul's thinking was reflected in the grant request stating "The Milton Jr/Sr High School Theater and Music Departments are more often than not, the only means by which children from the town of Milton will receive any exposure to the arts from age 12 through 18. It is the mission of these departments to provide our students opportunities to experience as many forms of art as possible during their time here in school." In conversation, he went further with this sentiment saying, "I completely support having other points of view and the students having a variety of experiences."

Paul was anxious to bring in Peter Gould, one of the Council's rostered teaching artists.  Peter is a performer, award-winning playwright and author, and a director of youth theater and Shakespeare camp. Peter worked with the Milton High Schoolers on their production of Macbeth, and worked with the middle schoolers on physical comedy. "All of this had enormous impact on the students," Paul explained. "Peter immediately had a great rapport with the kids. Because he shows that he is willing to take risk the students become much more willing to take risks."

Paul took a risk in staging this show, and credits his "own panic" in motivating him to find a way to get Peter's help. "There is always apprehension in putting on Shakespeare. Peter helped us to find ways to really play with it, and loosen things up." Milton's production of Macbeth did advance to the New England Drama Festival this year, a lasting effect of the artist visit.

Find out more about Peter Gould at his blog.

And more about Teaching Artist Express grants (some funding still available this year) here.

If you drive south on Vermont Route 100 you’ll eventually go through Londonderry, then Wardsboro, Wilimington, and Whitingham. Keep driving into Bennington County, and you’ll get to Readsboro, a town of about 800. Our featured grantee describes the town as “way off the beaten path.” Yet, each year since 2007, a group of artists and community-minded individuals has put together an increasingly successful arts festival. This group is Readsboro Arts which, according to their mission statement, is a not-for-profit corporation which supports the growth of the arts in Readsboro and surrounding communities to enhance the life of the townspeople and visitors to the area.

Two people on the Readsboro Arts Board are Mary Angus and William LeQuier. William and Mary have made their living as artists in Vermont for the last thirty years, and were successful in Connecticut before that. Based on their vast experience with craft shows over the years, they designed the festival to be artist friendly. They charge a low fee to exhibit and make the show as pleasant as possible. The festival is held at the village school, an accessible building. William also reports he has built additional ramps where needed to accommodate art coming in. There are opportunities for festival attendees to be an audience member, an art maker, or to buy art. Another big factor: a variety of live music is played all day long.

The Readsboro Arts Corporation used the bulk of their 2011 Community Arts grant to pay stipends to musicians such as the MacArthur Family, Skip and Laraine Morrow, and Jean Chaine. This is an important strategy. “The festival is completely free,” explains William. The music brings a lot of people in, and they do buy the art.” The approach must be working, because he goes on to say, “Our festival grows every year, and the artists keep coming back! It’s a community event that the artists and musicians enjoy as much as the public.”
 
The next festival will be held September 17th, 2011. You can stay on top of the plans by visiting http://www.readsboroarts.org/ or here.

You can see William and Mary’s glass art at http://www.kwilliamlequier.com/ and http://www.maryangusglass.com

Catching up with Brent and Maya McCoy isn't easy. They're busy performing internationally on the street and stage, producing Vermont Vaudeville shows in local venues like the Hardwick Town House and teaching residencies in schools around the country. All of their work is based in physical comedy with a focus on communication, empathy and circus skills. They are doing what they love to do, teaching others to do the same and enjoying every minute of it.

This husband and wife team met at Circus Smirkus Camp in the late '90s. They independently went on to pursue theater and circus, meeting again in 2006. Since then, they've toured their street and clown shows, created Vermont Vaudeville and built their own school program called YES! Theater.

YES! Theater is on the Art Council's teaching artist roster. Orleans Elementary School hosted a residency with them this year using an Arts Learning Grant.  For 10 days, grades K-8 worked on clowning, storytelling, circus skills and theatrical presentation. The residency concluded with a Vaudeville Show for families and friends, complete with artwork, skits and props created by the students. Brent says, "It really energizes a community - everyone gets together to watch each other, and students always rise to the occasion." YES!Theater programs range from 1 to 10 days in length, and typically conclude with a student performance, from an informal demonstration for classmates to an evening community show.

Known to their students as "Bread and Mayo", Brent and Maya use laughter and hands-on learning to connect with kids of all ages.  Maya explains, "We want them to take healthy risks, set concrete goals and overcome their fears of failure. By working together on our feet, we reinforce healthy group dynamics and positive communication. We make a safe place for them to be themselves and try!" Whether using theatrical games, skills-based lessons or free practice time, their teaching is centered on the same idea: Find something you love, and go after it. Brent says, "It's great when you see a young person's eyes light up, and you know you've reached them. That can have a really lasting effect." Maya adds: "The world needs goal-oriented, empathetic listeners who can communicate well and learn from their mistakes. Our work gets kids doing these things intrinsically. It's really cool!"

Learn more about Yes!Theater here: http://yestheater.com And, Vermont Vaudeville here: www.vermontvaudeville.com
 

Jamaica is a small and rural Vermont village with a heritage influenced by traditions of farming, milling, factories, and sheep herding. The Jamaica Village School serves 54 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and 7 pre-kindergarteners. Laura Hazard has been the Principal since 2007. Her philosophy, and the philosophy of her staff, is largely driven by a focus on the positive. Responsive Classroom and an approach to behavior management called Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS) are two of the tools the school uses.

Funded partly by an Arts Learning Grant, the school recently hosted a residency with artist Terry Sylvester (she is listed on the Council’s Teaching Arist Roster). Terry worked with the students to create a WE ARE THE WORLD mural which depicts the school’s culture of community giving. “Terry was the perfect person for this project,” said Laura. “She is such a great artist, and has such a wonderful, artistic mind!” The mural reflects one of the school’s community projects implemented several years ago based on Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer’s book “How Full is Your Bucket?” This is how it works: When a teacher witnesses kindness or a posiitve action in the classroom, they mention it. The kind student puts a pom-pom into the classroom jar. Every Monday, pom-poms from all the classroom jars are poured into the school’s bucket. When the bucket is full, the school makes a connection with their community. Past connections have included donations to the local food shelf and the purchase of school uniforms for children in Africa.

The mural was created with thirty-five banners the students and staff sketched and painted. Laura describes the project as “student driven.” Her role was to administer the work (planning, grant writing, coordinating volunteers, etc.). The teachers were involved in planning and teaching; students took part in all aspects from brainstorming to sketching and painting. They used charcoal, sharpies, and paint to create the work. Laura described Terry Sylvester as “amazing.” She continued, saying, “Everyone enjoyed learning from her, working with her, and celebrating successes. She was knowledgeable, realistic, artistic and very easy to work with.”

A celebration was held at the end of the project after the panels were hung. Students presented Terri with a huge card of thanks, flowers, and fittingly sang “We Are the World.”

Find out more about Terry Sylvester’s work in the directory here.

Montpelier, Berlin, Barre Town and Barre City all lie within a few miles of each other in central Vermont. Barre Town and Barre City make up the industrial center of the region. Barre City’s history is strongly rooted in manufacturing and granite quarrying. The small downtown is comprised of retail shops, a few eateries and coffee shops, and professional spaces. The Barre Opera House is also in downtown Barre.

In addition to its central location, the Opera House (BOH) offers a 650-seat performance space with amazing acoustics, a 32’ by 30’ stage, and a Steinway grand piano.  The BOH hosts everything from community theatre and school events (the Vermont Arts Council recently held the state finals for Poetry Out Loud here) to performances by the Green Mountain Opera Festival, big acts like Asleep at the Wheel, and world class performers such as Pilobolus, Shawn Colvin, Jackson Browne, and Kathy Mattea.

The location posed one huge drawback. The Vermont Agency of Transportation recently calculated the average number of vehicles passing in front of the Opera House to be 15,800 per day. This includes 18-wheeled granite delivery trucks and emergency vehicles using sirens. Add to this the sound of the crossing signal, shouts, horns, and other typical downtown street noise. Dan Casey, the Executive Director, remarks “In 1899, when the Opera House was built, Barre was a bustling town with a busy streetscape and lots of activity.  However, in recent decades the noise levels had grown to such a level that some presenters, particularly those staging classical music concerts, were reluctant to use the space for their events."

This problem has been solved. With the help of a $9,250 Cultural Facilities Grant, the Barre Opera House has just completed soundproofing and weatherizing the windows. The renovations were done with the help of Aventech, an acoustic consulting company based in Boston with a strong history of consulting with theaters. Portland Glass of Barre followed the recommendations and installed storm glass panes from 1/4” to 3/8” inside the Opera House’s historic windows and  balcony doors, and 1/4” storms both inside and outside the hallmark arched Victorian stained glass window. Additional funding will be used to replace emergency exit doors and to light the stained glass window.

The difference is dramatic.  “The soundproofing project has elicited a collective sigh of relief from everyone involved with the Opera House and we’ll be eternally grateful to the Arts Council for facilitating its completion” says Casey.

A work by Vermont composer Laura Koplewitz will premiere at Carnegie Hall March 21. Lunatics at Large, a New York based ensemble of soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano will present The Sanctuary Project, a collection of work written by five composers based on poetry written by five poets. The project was conceived by Evi Jundt, the Lunatics’ Artistic Director and pianist after meeting Laura at another concert in New York. Laura is a tireless networker whose job has been made a little easier with an artist development grant from the Arts Council.

The artist development grant is helping Laura to update her website and to create collateral materials. She explained one marketing challenge for composers saying, “It’s important and very helpful in commissioning to have several short excerpts on the site. However, the challenge is to make sure the musical excerpts load quickly enough for reliable listening. " The site and the materials have already helped her. Based on an excerpt of one piece for the Parker Quartet (recent Grammy Award winners), Laura is in dialogue with the Hausmann Quartet about composing for this internationally touring ensemble. She’ll begin collaborating with them later this month. She now has descriptions of her work, her bio, and information about pieces written in the recent past ready to share. Spending time and money to have the materials ready helps her to focus on the work of networking and composing.

Laura started as a classical guitarist studying the instrument from the time she was 9 years old.  She first tried composing at Hampshire College, and later through a composition fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival.  Laura knew immediately this was the way she wanted to relate to music. Since then, she received a Masters from New York University and has done further doctoral studies in composition.  She describes her music as “more traditional, impressionistic, and tonal,” and gives tremendous credit to two mentors: Joan Tower and Stefania de Kenessey. “Joan and Stefi taught me the importance of craft, and discipline, as well as believing in your compositional ideas and allowing the music to speak to you as you work."

You can see Laura’s website and hear excerpts of her orchestral and chamber music at: http://www.laurakoplewitz.com/

You can read more about the upcoming premiere (and buy tickets) here.
 

Kathy Stark is a dedicated and successful visual artist in Vermont who works with a variety of mediums. She has studied art since childhood. After a period of making intaglio prints, Kathy returned to painting. Her recent mixed media layered art—shown in New York City, Korea, New England, and throughout Vermont—includes water color on colored paper with added text. An invitation to participate in an encaustics show in New York City led her to add another layer, and began a fascination for this new form.
 
Kathy was well aware that she did not know the technique when she said yes to an encaustic show in NYC. Friends gave her a crash course, and she did successfully participate. The show, "Waxed in Time: 4 Takes on Encaustics", was taken to Korea and Kathy was invited to go along. This was just the beginning of a body of new work. Encaustics became exciting to Kathy. The new equipment, new sights, and new smells added so much to the pieces she had already been creating.
 
Kathy knew of R&F, one of the first manufacturers of encaustic paints. The company is in Kingston, New York, and they offer workshops. She was most interested in the five-day workshop. She “really wanted to know how to do ALL of it.” With an Artist Development grant from the Arts Council, she was able to attend the workshop. Hers was a small class of six. Kathy’s word for the instructor (Cynthia Winika): “Fantastic.” How she describes the class: “I can’t rave about it enough.” She experienced encaustics  from top to bottom. She saw everything from how the waxes are made to what the finished product looks like. She was able to participate in experimenting with every technique they taught. By mid-week, she knew she would be investing in equipment and materials. Encaustics come in over eighty colors and are not inexpensive; she focused on choosing a color palette to work with.
 
Once those decisions were made, she says the work “began to show itself. Forcing new work never seems to go right. It seems you have to just let it happen.” Already, she has finished several pieces (including the piece pictured), and continues to create. Kathy is in SOHO20 Gallery in New York. She has been invited to participate in the 2011 AAF show in New York this May, specifically, in a section for women artists.
 
Learning a new technique allowed Kathy and her art to continue to evolve. She is showing and selling in a way that works for her. You can keep track of her progress by visiting her website: http://www.kathy-stark.com
 
And can see one of the galleries where she is selling here: http://www.soho20gallery.com
 

Building a Better Brattleboro (BABB) is a group of community leaders who have been working since 1998 to ensure that Brattleboro’s downtown stays vibrant. They have created a public park and bus stop, purchased the old Rite Aid downtown and converted it into the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, were instrumental in improving nine building facades and adding four sprinkler systems, and have organized hundreds of events and exhibitions. One of their recent events was The 9th Annual Brattleboro Literary Festival held in October, 2010, funded partly by a Community Arts Grant from the Vermont Arts Council.

Sandy Rouse is a co-founder of the festival. She is a former book store owner with experience in organizing arts festivals, and experience as President of an arts organization. Most importantly, Sandy just loves books and always has. “I had a job in the corporate world, and even then, I was in the book store at lunch time.” Ruth Allard is her passionate co-chair. As the Director of Windham County Reads, Ruth is driven to bring literature to young people and is on a crusade to get everyone to treat literature for youth with all the respect it deserves.

The festival grew out of Book Night. Area book stores would stay open late, some hosting events. There were two important turning points. One was the voluntary involvement of Saul Bellow. He was interested in helping the town. At the same time, organizers were able to piggy-back with some events sponsored by the New England Book Sellers Association. They were touring some authors with the intent of helping small book stores. With twenty-four authors that year (2002) the festival was launched.

The Festival has a broad reach. People have come from New York, Boston, Canada, Hawaii, Germany, and New Zealand. There are volunteers who work on the festival that live in the Boston area. Sandy explains, “They attend once, then want so much to be a part of it.” What’s particularly special about this book festival? “This is not a book festival. It is a literary festival. The writers involved are award winning authors, creating some of the finest literature being written today.” Sandy believes this gives participants and the authors a better experience. Audience members have been able to meet John Irving, and Saul Bellows, and to have books signed.

Next year’s festival will be the tenth. The theme will be “Looking back and looking forward.” Expect to see some of the authors that have helped to build this festival as well as some of the newest, brightest literary stars on the horizon. “Although there are always challenges,” Sandy says, “we hope it will keep going for years and years to come.”

Ann Legunn is a puppeteer who founded The PuppeTree in 1999. The company was set up as a collaborative non-profit in 2003. Ann serves as PuppeTree’s Artistic Director, and is responsible for scripting, directing, designing, and booking. It is important to Ann to work with other artists. She says simply, “You can just create a better piece of art that way.” She hires Vermont Artists whenever possible, including Gabriel Q of White River Junction, Evelyn Gant of Fine Threads in Montpelier, and Kristina Stykos who runs Pepperbox Sound Studio in Chelsea. PuppeTree is on the Council’s Teaching Artist Roster and recently completed an in-school residency at the Coventry Village School. The project was coordinated through the school’s enrichment coordinator, Irene Dagesse.

Every student in the school participated in the project, with a school-wide performance on the fifth day. The three-act performance was based on the classic Ugly Duckling story. The egg hatching was performed by kindergarten through second grade students with hand puppets. Act 2 was “Lost in the Woods’ depicted by the third to fifth graders’ shadow puppets. Finally, the duckling finds that he is a swan (in the city!) as done by the sixth through eighth graders, who were also using shadow puppets.

Art is rich in its lessons. Creating a puppet show teaches communication and cooperation. This residency also ties to other school subjects: the physics of light, history, and language arts. The PuppeTree has lesson plans available that tie to the Vermont Standards. Ann uses the themes of old stories applied to current issues. She cites one example, explaining, “Everyone in Sleepy Hollow is a bully!” The Ugly Duckling frames themes of accepting others, self-esteem, self discovery and diversity; all still relevant in today’s schools.

Ann’s values are expressed through her work. It is important to her that students participate as audience members as well as performers. “This teaches respect for what is created,” she says. Her work is also an enactment of respect for diversity and collaborative processes. And no group will be unaffected by her ingenious re-purposing of materials. Ann laments that “We know we can’t change the whole world,” and adds enthusiastically that “we are doing our part!”

Find out more about PuppeTree at: http://vtPuppeTree.org

See the Council’s Teaching Artist Roster here.

1/19/2011 :: Women Writing for (a) Change-Vermont

Today in this room I was not just another inmate, I was unique
I was skeptical of the things I had to share
image of masks
not what I expected,
so many feelings -
pain still very much with me
ongoing PTSD
a silent protest
uncomfortable murky waters
 
These are just a few self-revealing lines of writing that came from the hearts of women housed at the Northwest State Correctional Facility – words elicited within a group facilitated by Sarah Bartlett, Director of Women Writing for (a) Change-Vermont. Her organization received an Arts Learning Grant in FY11 to support art and writing groups at the prison beginning last September.
 
Sarah started this group well aware of the power of trust given her by participants, and with the humble intention of allowing women to “connect with who they are.” Everyone was reassured, “It’s not what you produce, it’s who you become in the process.” Treating her writers with respect helps to create a safe emotional environment for creativity. For example, she calls everyone by their first name - the only place this happens for the incarcerated. Sarah promotes empowerment by encouraging voice, and celebrating change. The writing circle allows many of the women to feel they are “being seen for who they truly are.”
 
The practices and process of Women Writing for (a) Change date from 1991. This includes ambiance – a center cloth, candle, flowers and music. “Ours is sacred space, and I tried to import as much of that ambience as I could to this setting.” Perhaps more important is Sarah’s holding of strong boundaries. This work is not therapy, although the results can be highly therapeutic.
 
Sarah has a busy schedule. How does she stay grounded? “Leading these classes helps a lot. Yes, I have my own practices outside the circle; but when I create the space and bring myself into it, I get as much as I give. I can’t imagine life without Women Writing.”
 

• For more about Sarah’s programs click here. 
• Her blog features women’s words from NWSCF.
• Or check out the growing Facebook community

Alisa Dworsky is an artist who has worked in drawing, printmaking, and installations for more than 25 years. She has a degree in art and an advanced degree in architecture. Her site specific installation, “Transfer/Transform”, was exhibited at the Bennington Museum from May through October, 2010 and was partly funded by a Creation Grant from the Vermont Arts Council. This textile piece, which wrapped a 20 foot tall column on the entry façade of the building, was part of the “State of Craft” exhibit hosted at the Museum.

“Transfer/Transform” was handmade of black polyester rope using a filet crochet technique resulting in a work of black gridded lines against the white column. Alisa explains, “With this work I was able integrate  two dimensional drawing into the creation of a three dimensional installation. The black rope lines allude to the black ironwork window grates and entrance gates at the site. I increased the density of the crochet in a gradient pattern that became darker at the bottom to suggest the way weight from the roof travels down the column to the ground. The joy for me was in discovering a new way of working with a material and being able to incorporate architectural ideas.”

Alisa's grant enabled her to work on this installation which had already been booked, and served as a springboard for her next large show. During the making of “Transfer/Transform,” a new idea came to her. The black netted form was being built flat in her studio. Alisa tugged at the center of this net and found the potential to create a crocheted landscape of peaks and valleys. This idea would become the work  “Surface Tension,” opening  January 7th  in her show “ Alisa Dworsky, Drawing Strength”  at the BCA Center (formerly the Firehouse Gallery) in Burlington. “This grant and working on the Bennington installation enabled me to make a huge artistic leap.”

What’s next for Alisa? “I’m focused on creating more opportunities for my installation nationally and internationally and on collaborating across disciplines with dancers and engineers.”

“Alisa Dworsky: Drawing Strength” opens January 7, with a reception on the 14th from 5-8.

Read more about all of Alisa’s work in her blog, or on her website.

Brian Mooney writes stories and poetry. He makes time for his own writing by carving out a freelance career as a speechwriter, educational writer, and occasional teacher. He’s also the creator of The Storymatic (www.thestorymatic.com), a storytelling game and teaching tool. In 2010, Brian was awarded a Creation Grant to complete his story "Ghost of Her Ghost," to revise several stories for his collection "Tonic," and to support his ongoing revision of a novel, currently titled "Plug."

Brian initially described the impact of the grant with one word: "Immense." He went on to explain, "The grant changes the weather around my work. It’s given me time to complete the stories, and even though it’s really hard to sell a collection of stories, the grant gets the attention of editors and agents. It also gives me confidence to revise ‘Plug.’"

Many things influence Brian’s work—his upbringing in the tiny village of Housatonic, Massachusetts, his graduate studies at UMass, and the more than 20 years he has called Vermont home—but one of his more recent influences has been New York City's storytelling group The Moth (you may have heard The Moth Radio Hour on NPR). A few years ago as a contributor to one of The Moth’s mainstage shows, Brian worked closely with Lea Thau, who impressed on him that he needed to move closer to his material. “Although Lea and I were working on a non-fiction story, the experience transferred to how I thought about my fiction. What did my subject matter mean to me? Where in the hearts of my characters did my own heart reside?”

This experience, which Brian calls “closing the gap,” informs his revision of “Plug.” The book was originally about a baseball player who returns home after years of toil in the minor leagues; however, after working on a freelance project about Muhammad Ali last spring, Brian realized that he needed to close several gaps. “It makes more sense for Plug to be a washed-up boxer and sparring partner. Plug’s experience is less mediated by other factors that way. I had always viewed ‘Plug’ as being about my experience as a writer—that I’m pretty good but haven’t made the Majors—but I think by making Plug a former boxer, I’m better able to heed Lea’s advice and move myself closer to Plug in a way that I hadn’t anticipated at all. That’s exciting—and the Creation Grant gives me the confidence and support to make the change.”

October 13, 2010 :: Circus Smirkus

Circus Smirkus is a well-known and much respected enterprise in Vermont. Through camps, residencies, and the traveling youth circus know as “The Big Top Tour,” it  introduces youth to the performing arts in a way that is life-enhancing, fun, and always challenging. Juggling, aerials , clowning, and acrobatics have entertained audiences under the big top for years. All of this sprang from the vision of founder Rob Mermin in 1987.

Rob, a European trained mime and international circus performer – was clear from the beginning that he wanted to keep the tradition of a traveling circus alive, and share the experience with young people. He began Circus in a pasture in Greensboro,  taking it on a statewide tour the next year.  1988 also marked the beginning of a school residency program, bringing circus arts to young students.  In 1990 the first summer camp was held.

Circus arts are astounding and exhilarating; but, as with many of the performing arts, most people don’t think about what happens behind the scenes.  This non-profit actually has ten  full-time employees and about 85 seasonal  workers. In addition to producing the tour, there are many off-season tasks to attend to, including program evaluation, fund-raising, marketing, scheduling, auditioning talent and creating the next season’s show.  The staff is also committed to professional development.

The Council awarded Circus Smirkus a Technical Assistance grant this year to attend a Circus Educator’s Conference in Brattleboro. The Executive Director, Camp  and Residency Program Director were all able to attend, taking in workshops such as “Getting Circus in the Schoolroom Door: Connecting to Curriculum,” “Mental Health and Teenager,” “Aerial Rigging Basics for Teachers” and “Training the Trainers.” Marialisa Calta, PR Specialist at Circus Smirkus, said the workshops were valuable in enabling Smirkus personnel to “see what other professionals in the same line of work are doing all over the country. We’re certain this will help us continue to refine and improve our programs.”

Marialisa also expressed gratitude on behalf of the organization. “We greatly appreciate all of the support the Arts Council has given us over the years. Vermont is so rich in art and cultural offerings, and we appreciate the fact that the Council recognizes the value of these endeavors to the State.”

September 29, 2010 :: Marlboro Elementary School

Marlboro Elementary School is a small, rural K-8 school about 10 miles west of Brattleboro. It is situated in a community that is also home to Marlboro College and the world-renowned Marlboro Music Festival. A large number of artists work and live in this region of the state. The curriculum and attitudes in the elementary school reflect the community’s commitment to the arts. In addition to art, music, band and P.E. classes, the school teaches violin to every student in grades 1-3. Every child in kindergarten through fourth grade is enrolled in “rhythms,” a movement class based in dance.

Francie Marbury is the school’s principal. She shares this positive
attitude toward artistic learning. She subscribes to concepts based in the theory of multiple intelligences, that is, the development of one kind of intelligence supports the development of all. She also believes that study in the arts helps to create good citizens, people she describes as “being able to fully enjoy life.” This led her to establish a winter workshop series at the school. Last year’s series was funded with an Arts Learning grant from the Arts Council.

The artists were all established teaching artists; some of them are on the Council’s Teaching Artist Roster. Last year’s participants were treated to Todd Roach and his approachable drumming, Ines Zeller Bass’delightful puppetry, Bonnie Sterns captivating approach to pottery, Ezra Stafford’s innovative sculpture making, Janet Picard’s resourceful work with found materials and Jamie Coulter’s fascinating Capoeira.

All of the artists taught in the school for six weeks. Younger students participated in two one-hour sessions every Monday, the older students participated in one two-hour session each week. Every staff person attended. The teachers were available not only to support the artists in classroom management, but also to model the behavior of learning new skills. At the end of the six weeks, parents and community members were invited to attend an evening showcase. One parent who attended the showcase told Francie how amazed she was at the results. “They’ve gone so far in such a short time” she said. “I didn’t expect to see this much depth in the art after just six weeks.”

In keeping with the region’s flavor, some students continue to study art on their own. Several have worked further in Bonnie Stearns’ studio, others with the New England Youth Theater. Francie is encouraged by this, saying, “It’s really exciting to see students pursue arts on their own after the workshops. It helps me believe we’re on the right path.”

Marlboro Elementary School: http://marlboroschool.net/about

September 16, 2010 :: Monteverdi Music School

Monteverdi Music is a small community music school in Montpelier.  The faculty of 17 professional musicians offer individual instruction in piano, voice, strings, wind, brass, percussion and bagpipes. The program serves 80 to 100 students and is well-established in the Central Vermont community. The school received Community Arts grants in both FY 2010 and 2011 to develop and expand their workshop, masterclass, and chamber music programs.
 
In the workshop and masterclass component, faculty members and invited artists share their expertise in a series of two-hour sessions.  These weekend workshops are open to the public and designed for small group participation.  A typical workshop features 5-15 students and the suggested donation is a mere $20.  Last year's topics included fighting stage fright, choral conducting, practice techniques, form and interpretation, and a special two-day masterclass with members of the Sky Meadow Chamber Players. Future sessions will include acting and singing in musical theater, discussion and feedback for "works-in-progress,” performing Baroque music on the piano, and more.
 
The chamber music component is expanding this year with an exciting collaboration with Green Mountain Youth Symphony. Students and amateur musicians will be placed in groups according to level and interest, and Monteverdi and GMYS faculty will provide weekly coaching. This program fulfills a much needed framework for aspiring musicians who wish to play in small ensembles, and learn how to listen and respond to one another in a collaborative adventure. Administrative Director and piano teacher Eliza Thomas said, “The school is grateful to Vermont Arts Council for their support. Music is meant to be a shared experience, and these grants are crucial in developing these new programs.”
 
According to last year’s participants, the workshops and chamber music classes have been enthusiastically received.  One pianist who took part in a masterclass said, "The workshop was a wonderful experience for me!  On the way home, I noticed the world looked brighter in my familiar community. I think it's because music adds special joy to the core of your existence." The parent of a young violinist, Monteverdi student and masterclass participant said, "What a treat it was to have such a high level of musicianship come right in our own backyard! The encouragement and supportive environment of the school and its teachers have allowed my son to mature into the serious and dedicated musician he has become. We will always be grateful."
 
To learn more about Monteverdi Music School and upcoming workshops visit  http://www.monteverdimusic.org
 

Bob Gold :: September 1, 2010

Bob Gold loves Vermont. It seems that every cell of his body is in love with the people here.

For 25 years, Bob was a dentist in Manchester, NH and taught dentistry at Harvard. At 65, Bob developed an illness that forced him to retire and ultimately left him homeless. Searching for help led him to Vermont. He noticed that the ups and downs of his situation created a pattern: Each time he was in a more social setting, he improved; each time he was in isolation, he declined. 
Bob is also an artist. For 50 years he has worked with charcoal, water colors, pen and ink, photography, and sculpture. He credits Vermont’s Vocational Rehabilitation with helping him continue and expand his art. “The people there have been wonderful support for me,” he says. Struggling with an old Macintosh computer he bought last year and using Photoshop “in a completely wrong way,” he has developed a new process he casually calls “digitally altered multi media.” His press kit defines it this way: “Refining and perfecting his interpretative vision of combining art and photography utilizing digital cameras software and 'giclee' style printing and archival inks have created a unique artistic style. At first blush the viewer is not sure whether they are looking at a lithograph, a print or a watercolor.  It is a marriage of all three.”

Since he took part in the Arts Council’s “Breaking Into Business” program earlier this year, Bob has set up a studio and has begun to sell art. He says the workshop was pivotal in his new career.  It was the first place he began to show his work to other artists, and he received positive feedback. It is also where he got his first commission. All of this gave him the drive to move forward. He says he has produced more work since that workshop than in the previous 49 years.  He recently completed a show at the Ilsley library in Middlebury and sold several pieces.

Bob told us what his move to Vermont has meant to him. “What’s really important is that the people of Vermont know how important they are to my feeling better,” he said. “I’ve gone from using a walker and living in assisted living to walking on my own and living independently. I resided at Living Well in Bristol for 3 months and with their help I got stronger and healthier until I was able to live on my own. Now, I’ve got a studio in Brandon and am able to talk to other artists. I can’t even tell you how important the people who I’ve come to count on for support really are.”

Breaking Into Business participants were eligible to apply for Artist Development grants as follow-up to the concepts they were taught. Bob received a grant to help build a website has recently been completed. You can view it at http://www.robertgoldart.com

Carving Studio & Sculpture Center :: August 18, 2010

This fall a marble bench made by students at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center will be dedicated at its permanent home in Rutland’s Giorgetti Park. The bench is a last working of public art, created in five pieces that fit together.  A team of teens from Vermont and Peru collaborated on all the necessary elements to make the project come together. 

Carol Driscoll, Executive Director of the Carving Studio, said that working in stone requires a great deal of planning.  The groundwork for this project was laid in previous programs at the Studio.  Since 2004, the Peru Exchange Program has sent instructors to Ayacucho, Peru to teach carving skills to help teens reclaim their cultural heritage. Nora Valdez is an experienced sculptor and instructor in this program.  A large part of her career has been spent creating public art projects and giving workshops at a variety of urban institutions. Nora believes that in public art projects “Art becomes not just a way to explore issues of human rights but to have a direct effect on them as well.”

This year, with the help of an Arts Learning grant of $4,750, eight Rutland area students had the opportunity to work with Nora and two Peruvian students selected for advanced training as teacher assistants in Vermont.  The first step was to identify the components that would make up the marble bench. Sketches and models were made individually, then discussed within the student group. This conversation included the articulation of personal visions and thoughts about the proposed designs. Through this dialogue the young carvers decided how they would express their vision of humanity being at a turning point with environmental concerns, and the immediacy of acting. The symbols chosen for the bench included hands, a face, and a landscape in relief.

“There was cultural diversity and interaction in and outside of the working environment,” Carol said. “Nora and one student spoke Spanish and could act as an interpreter when necessary. Speaking Spanish also enabled one of the area students to deepen his friendship with the Peruvians and show them Vermont’s hiking trails, lakes and a video arcade.”

The collaborative experience is one Carol would love other students to be able to experience and she believes something special happens at the Carving Studio.  “Students breathe the marble dust, observe the historic remnant, and experience the creativity of a center dedicated to sculpture making!”

Community College of Vermont :: July 22, 2010

Imagine for a moment that you are teaching a science unit at the largest high school in Vermont. Let an image come to your mind. Did you picture yourself in the rec yard at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Center? That image could be accurate.  Community High School of Vermont (CHSVT) is the state’s largest high school, serving more than 3000 students every year.  There are sixteen campuses: one at every correctional facility in Vermont and at eight probation and parole offices around the state. The school is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and designed to serve Vermonters involved with the Department of Corrections. For individuals in custody of the DOC and under 23 years of age with no diploma, attendance is mandatory. Attendance is optional for anyone over 23 or high school graduates.

Students in the school have individualized graduation plans.  CHSVT teachers design and offer courses that will allow students to meet the goals of these plans. Len Schmidt is one of these teachers. On behalf of the school, he applied for an American Masterpieces grant from the Vermont Arts Council and received funding to bring  Judy Dow to the Chittenden Regional Correctional Center campus for two activities. The first was a professional development workshop for CHSVT instructors on teaching math using handcrafts.  The second  was a two-week residency for students titled “The Art of Nature.”  Judy taught participants about ecosystems and reinforced the concepts through creation of a traditional art project. Each student created their own felt sewing project  and received course credits in either science or art.

Judy is an Abenaki master basket maker and outdoor educator focused on experiential, interactive programs to teach biodiversity and cultural diversity. She is an American Masterpieces artist and is on the Council’s Teaching Artist Roster. Len praised the learning environment Judy was able to create, saying, “There were so many elements in the residency that really worked with our students. Judy’s knowledge of the community and the connections she created made this real to them. We have people who have not been successful in traditional schools. Students really connected with Judy’s stories.”

Having a classroom in the rec yard also immerses the artist in another culture. Len recounted a story where students were working on identifying elements of ecosystems between a  building and the perimeter of the yard. A tiny spider web in one of the squares of the chain link fence offered a great teaching opportunity. But as Judy reached for it, several students warned, “Don’t touch the fence!”

You can see Judy’s listing on the Council’s Teaching Artist Roster here.

The Vermont MIDI Project :: June 23, 2010

The Vermont MIDI Project (VMP) is a community of music educators, college music education majors, and professional composer mentors who encourage and support music composition for students, most of whom are in Vermont.  Currently, close to 4,000 youth in 37 schools participate by posting work in progress for online feedback from their mentors. There are also students who are home-schooled and others who take part without school association. Each year VMP hosts two performance events, each called an OPUS, where some of the young composers hear music they have written played by professional musicians.  Having sensitive, experienced musicians play a composition is an exciting opportunity for any composer, and a cherished experience for VMP’s  apprentices. As of OPUS 20 this spring, the Project had premiered 350 new works.

The first OPUS event took place in the spring of 2000. The National Symphony Orchestra was touring Vermont and, with some influence from the Arts Council, VMP was given access to the musicians. Sandi MacLeod, the Program’s Coordinator explained the impact very well in saying, “Live performance of student work brings the process of composing full circle. When a piece of music, often created with the assistance of notation software, moves from the computer to talented musicians, it comes to life and inspires emotional responses.”

The OPUS events of today have a live rehearsal where the composer and performers work together to polish the piece. Sandi gives great credit to the artists, and believes it takes a special kind of person to be a student mentor.  “You can’t ask just anyone to do this. The events are interactive; there are conversations between the young composers and the musicians.” She has relied on players from the Constitution Brass Quintet, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble among others.  Some groups will take a favorite composition for another performance or tour. VMP works have been heard on Vermont Public Radio, National Public Radio and in the Vermont State House. Pieces have been performed in Chicago, IL ; Portland, ME; Washington, DC; Providence, RI; and Minneapolis, MN.

OPUS events include students who are composing for the first time and experienced students with a passion for composition. Students frequently say they have “learned to listen, perform, and think differently about music.” Mark Green and Laura Gaudette of Putney said, “[This was a] transformative experience for our 10 year old daughter. Through her own hard work and creativity and with the support of all those involved with the VT MIDI project, she now not only has a deeper appreciation for music and the process of making music, but also now stands taller as she beams with pride at her achievements.” 

The VMP experience sometimes inspires a lifelong interest in music composition.  Matt Podd started with MIDI in 7th grade and became deeply involved in the art. He studied composition and theory at North Country Union High School in Newport, VT, delved into Composition at Ithaca College, and specialized further by going for a Master’s Degree in Jazz composition at Eastman School of Music. He is now an online mentor, workshop presenter and teacher trainer with VMP. As a high school student, he once summed up his high school OPUS experience by saying “hearing my music played live gave me a reason to compose.”

Click here to learn about Opus 20, including recent audio files from the performance as well as student bios and descriptions of the work.

See the project home page.

Meet the composer mentors.

David Budbill & Lost Nation Theater :: June 9, 2010

Montpelier’s Lost Nation Theater opened its 2010 season with the world premier of David Budbill’s A Song for My Father.  Simultaneously, another sort of premiere was taking place behind the scenes—an impressive array of new theater lighting was also making its debut. This particular opening night had been in the works for years and support from the Vermont Arts Council helped along the way. 

In 2005, David received a $3,700 Creation Grant for the first draft of a new play: LOVE AND RAGE: FATHER AND SON.  Over the next five years the somewhat autobiographical story of David’s relationship with his aging father was further developed.  It’s a play “about a father and son and about the attachments and conflicts between them and how time and education separate them,” says David.  “It’s about growing old and dying.”

The first staged reading of the work took place in 2008 at the Vermont Contemporary Playwrights Forum.  The second was two months later at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA.  The following spring, Oldcastle Theatre Company did a staged reading in Bennington.  For the next year, David honed and refined the script. When it premiered in April it had a new title, a talented cast, and rave reviews.  “Budbill has created a work that aspires to classic heights while staying true to his own life and, in many ways, the lives of everyone,” said Brent Hallenbeck of The Burlington Free Press.

During those same five years, Lost Nation Theater was renovating the municipal auditorium in Montpelier’s City Hall into a multi-purpose performing arts space.  Their first Cultural Facilities Grant in 1999 supported the installation of a curtaining track system.  Another grant in 2004 helped purchase 48 digital dimmers and some sound system components.  Other enhancements have included new seats and a remote, digital communication system that makes it possible for technicians to talk to each other efficiently and quietly during performances.  The final phase was to replace old lighting instruments with new, energy efficient ones.  In January, Lost Nation received a $20,000 Cultural Facilities grant to do just that.

“A typical set design is often accomplished for $500 or less,” says Kim Bent, Lost Nation Theater’s Founding Artistic Director. “Therefore lighting is a particularly important aspect of our production support.  The new lights will also help fulfill the Arts Center’s role as a venue for other community events, providing efficient, creative lighting for non-theatrical uses of the space.”

Installation was completed in just in time for the opening night of “A Song for My Father” and the enhancements were noted by many.  Among them was Jim Lowe, Arts Editor for the Times Argus, who wrote, “The consistency of the overall production was amazing, as well as its high quality. Donna Stafford’s minimal staging was simple and effective; Jeffrey Salzberg’s not-so-simple lighting (with Lost Nation’s new lighting system) dramatically enhanced the production.” 

To learn more about David Budbill, visit www.davidbudbill.com

To learn more about Lost Nation Theater, visit www.lostnationtheater.org
 

Friends of the Opera House at Enosburg Falls :: May 26, 2010

The Artist in Residence (AIR) Cooperative Gallery in Enosburg Falls had a problem.  It seemed that some local residents perceived the gallery as expensive, intimidating and unappealing.  AIR has a strong commitment to community involvement, so the gallery’s board of directors came up with a creative, collaborative outreach project.

Partnering with the Opera House at Enosburgh Falls, AIR applied to the Vermont Arts Council for a Community Arts grant.  They received $2,500 to showcase members of the community through stories and art. The project organizers wisely enrolled other community partners including the Enosburgh Historical Society, Enosburgh Conservation Commission, and Enosburg Falls High School. These groups, in turn, helped engage a wide range of constituents.  

Long-time residents of the town and staff at the Historical Society helped identify people to be featured in the project.   Twenty-eight interviews of both groups and individuals were conducted by a team that included an interviewer, photographer, and artist.

The groups were varied and included young, old, and multi-generational “Burghers” as well as newcomers to town.  Three generations of the Wright Family were interviewed.  The Judd sisters, three women whose father was a prominent local physician and a part of a pioneering family, also took part.  One of the individuals interviewed, Mark LaRose, is a local mechanic and gas station owner, and the second generation to own the family business. A book of stories and photographs was assembled and artists, working in all mediums, created interpretive pieces to complement the accounts.  

The book was published in March 2010 and celebrated with an exhibition and community gathering in April.  More than 200 people attended.  Interviewees were given a copy of the book and their photograph, and an invitation to comment on the process. The afternoon was a moving experience with lots of laughter and a few tears.

The benefits of this project reached deep into this small community of 3,000.  People became better acquainted with each other and with the Gallery.  Visitation by residents has dramatically increased since then, and the Gallery is a stronger part of the Enosburgh region as a result. Project organizers were thrilled with the results. “This project has been so much more than we ever imagined,” said Nancy Patch, AIR’s Executive Director. “The human experience was well worth the effort. The art and photographs that emerged are truly stunning. Perhaps the intimacy of the process inspired the artist’s creativity, but over and over I heard them say this was some of the best work they had ever created.”

Orange Center, Washington Village & Tunbridge Central Schools :: May 12, 2010

What do Orange Center School, Washington Village School and Tunbridge Central School all have in common? A clearly dedicated and enterprising music teacher named Jenny Chambers. Jenny recently took advantage of the Arts Council’s new Teaching Artist Express program to bring Pete Sutherland to these three schools to teach songwriting.

The Artist Express was created as a fast and easy grant program for schools that have limited experience collaborating with artists. Grants of up to $500 are available to hire artists from the Council's Teaching Artist Roster for one or two-day residency programs. The programs must emphasize collaborative learning and the Council encourages applications from schools that serve rural and underserved populations. This was a perfect match for Jenny and the schools she works in.
 
Pete Sutherland of Monkton is one of the artists on the Roster. Pete is a traditional musician and songwriter with decades of experience performing  and teaching. Jenny was thoroughly impressed with both his musicianship and teaching style. “On day one, he sang a cappella for them and taught that concept right away,” she said. “He talked about lyrics. I loved that he was able to show the kids how the words create a slideshow; the song is a series of slides made from the snapshots of life. He also told back stories about songs he has written. The kids were completely enthralled with his experiences and his stories.”

Jenny described Pete as “just the salt of the earth,” and praised his uninhibited and relaxed nature. She credits those characteristics with really allowing the students to open up. He led them through some free writing exercises based on open-ended concepts such as sharing an early memory or a family story. From there they moved to songwriting and Jenny saw the creative process come alive. She said her students let go of a need to rhyme and the rules that govern so much of the writing they otherwise engage in. “Pete is really comfortable with silence, and allowing some room to think,” she said.

Some of the students were not familiar with Pete’s instruments–including mandolin and banjo–and Jenny said they were riveted by the live performance. Some youth had more experience, even parents who were fiddlers, and they were excited to share information about that. This is success for the Artist Express grant program and Teaching Artist Roster. As a result of those programs, three rural Vermont schools had an opportunity to engage in collaborative learning experience with a high-quality artist and an enthusiastic music teacher.
 

VT Contemporary Music Ensemble :: April 28, 2010

The Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble (VCME) is a group of musicians dedicated to performing and commissioning today's music. Since 1987, they have commissioned 76 new works of music, and have premiered 93. They are one of the longest-standing groups of this type in the U.S.

Steve Klimowski is the group’s founder and Artistic Director. He took time from practicing his clarinets to talk about the past season and the Community Arts Grant VCME received from the Arts Council. Steve stressed that he “shops local.” A portion of the $2,500 grant helped with artist fees for the eleven Vermont performers. The grant also helped to fund a four-color brochure featuring images by Vermont painter Frank Woods.  

The 2009-10 season included nine concerts featuring seven premieres and five commissioned pieces, including one student work. The four programs, Sextet Breakdown, Kissed by the Wild, 2 New Too, and To Reach! To Sing! were each performed in Burlington and Montpelier plus at one house concert. 

New this year, Dennis Báthory-Kitsz and David Gunn narrated the program in the style of their long-standing radio show, Kalvos and Damian’s New Music Bazaar. They describe their show this way: “These may be mythical guys (Kalvos & Damian) alternately played by Dennis Báthory-Kitsz and David Gunn, but they're real flesh and are both pretty darn good composers themselves.”  They also created podcasts of the performances which are available on their website. 

VCME’s reputation, versatility, and incorporation of technology suggests that more intriguing seasons lie ahead. “What we want to do is reach audiences with music they haven’t heard, and we want them to really ‘get it.’ We want them to enjoy it,” Steve says.  He can hardly contain his excitement about the potential for future concerts. He says the new production aspect of last season was an experiment. He is toying with the idea of mixing the narrative with poetry or prose, and he muses about the theatre lighting possibilities the Flynn Space offers. Dennis is already fine tuning the program narration concept for next year and will be in charge of presentation ideas. Are these elements that will guarantee VCME’s success?  Maybe. But Steve suggests he has a secret weapon that is also helpful. “Not many people are nearly as stubborn as I am,” he says.

• For more information on the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble, click here.
• To download a pod-cast click here.
• To see VCME performing a piece by Dennis Báthory-Kitz, click here.
   

Teresa Stores :: April 14, 2010

From time to time, grantees send the Arts Council an update on their career.  We recently heard from Teresa Stores of Newfane. She is currently on sabbatical from her position as Associate Professor of English at the University of Hartford (CT), and is living with her family in a small village in southern France.

“Thank you again to the Vermont Arts Council for your ongoing support of my writing!” she wrote. “I couldn't have gotten this far in my career without you! I am a three-time grantee from the VAC. My most recent novel, Backslide, (2008, Spinster's Ink) began as a collection of short stories, which was funded in 1998, my first VAC grant. The story collection, Frost Heaves, (funded with a 2006 grant) is currently seeking a book publication contract, and I am in the revision process for my young adult novel, Letters to Holden, which was funded with a 2009 grant.”

The title story from Frost Heaves was recently selected as winner of the 2009 Kore Press Short Fiction Prize. In addition to $1,000 cash prize, the award includes publication of the story as a chapbook, which just became available.  Kore Press also nominated the story for a 2010 Pushcart Prize.  In Tayari Jones’ review of the book she said, “Set against the beautifully drawn landscapes of a small town in Vermont, this is the story of a thaw, both literal and metaphorical.”  Three other stories from the collection have also received attention. “Fisher” was nominated for the 2003 Fish Story Prize (United Kingdom), and “Big Night” was nominated in this year’s competition. The shortest story in the collection, “Labyrinth,” won 9th place in the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Contest and will be published in the magazine this summer.

Teresa describes herself as a late-bloomer in most things, and said that her writing career is no different. “I grew up a Southerner, listening to stories under my grandmother’s kitchen table. I wrote stories and told stories all my life, but I never really believed I could be a writer until I took a fiction workshop with Alix Kates Shulman when I was almost 30. She told me I should be a novelist. After a few years of working, I went Emerson and earned my MFA, and my thesis there became my first novel, Getting to the Point.”

Teresa says she has grown into the writing process.  “Each piece, I think, tends to take on a kind of life (or dream) of its own as it progresses. That’s a little scary sometimes, like setting out on a very long dark road on a journey with an unknown destination and no flashlight. I think that the limitations I sometimes set myself (and which I often ditch) are a feeble attempt to believe that I am in control of the writing when (really) I’m not very much so. Characters do things that I do not expect (or want). Endings occur before I’m ready. Minor elements explode or sneak their way into becoming pivotal parts. Writing, for me, takes a lot of faith that if the flashlight batteries fail in the middle of the forest, I’ll still find my way to the end of the path just as I’m supposed to do. It’s scary, but it’s also a big thrill when it (finally) works. And now, at this phase of my career, I’m starting to really look forward to those moments in the dark—even hoping that the flashlight batteries will die—because that’s when the magical part of being a writer happens.”

Teresa’s experiences in France are chronicled in her blog.

For more information on her work, visit Kore Press.
 

Eleva Chamber Players :: March 31, 2010

Eleva Chamber Players were founded in 2006 with a very clear mission: to use music to elevate the human spirit. Founder and General Manager Willie Docto explained the programming choices as pieces “that are uplifting, fun, and lively. Our goal is for people to feel differently after the concert than before.” To set the stage, the season’s program was titled “Brilliant.”  The group chose their principal players carefully and with their mission in mind, that is, players with certain abilities and sounds were selected as principals. John Lindsey is the concert master. Scott Woolweaver serves as principal violist. Linda Galvan serves as principal cellist, and Lou Kosma covers principal bass.

Eleva’s goal is to reach out to the community.  To that end, they received a FY10 Community Arts grant of $1,000 to provide senior citizens with access to performances, and to offer musical coaching to youth.  This season’s performances took place in Waterbury and Barre. In order to make the concerts affordable for elderly audiences, free tickets were distributed through the senior centers in both communities and fifty percent of them were redeemed. The downtown venues for the concerts were accessible which also made it easier for people to attend.

The music coaching sessions took place at U-32 Middle School. Twelve string players participated in John Lindsey’s workshop during their school day. Lindsey is an experienced educator. Docto described him saying, “He is very direct about the behavior and techniques that are expected.”  Feedback from U-32 music teachers was quite positive.  They commented that there was great value in infusing classroom lessons with the real-world experience a professional musician can offer. Students gained both knowledge and enthusiasm for music and live performance that day. Docto relates the coaching back to the mission, remarking that “students were very happy to receive the coaching and to hear a professional orchestra” and that it is “important to get young people involved with music.”

What’s ahead for Eleva Chamber Players? In the year ahead they are planning a series of house concerts around Vermont and beyond, expounding that intimate settings such as these is the way that chamber music was meant to be heard. The concerts help to build audiences in other parts of the state and, most importantly, inspire listeners and lift their spirit.

To learn more about Eleva, visit: www.elevachamberplayers.org

Puppetkabob :: March 16, 2010

What can you learn from a shadow? Quite a bit if you are in third or fourth grade at the Georgia Elementary School!  An FY10 Teaching Artist Residency grant allowed the school to hire Sarah Frechette and Jason Thibodeaux of Puppetkabob for a recent residency. Concepts from the science and social studies curriculum were introduced through shows using shadow puppets and string puppets (see Sarah Frechette’s 11/4/09 profile). The ideas were further explored as the students mixed art and design to create original puppet shows of their own.

A unit titled "Shadow and Light" kicked off with Puppetkabob’s whimsical portrayal of the life cycle of a frog.  A pond, dragonflies, tadpoles, and frog shadows emerged in a story featuring Sarah as a young girl exploring the pond and its life…even kissing a frog! The third and fourth graders then turned their attention to the creation of their own puppet show while investigating the concepts of opaque, translucent, and transparent objects, depth perception and planes. Each classroom worked from different visual story boards, all of which Puppetkabob linked to the science curriculum. The resulting shows depicted the life cycle of a salamander, butterfly metamorphosis, underwater food chain, the cycle of a seed, states of matter (snow to rain to ice), recycling, and germs.  A shadow theater was set up in the Georgia School's small gym and each class performed behind the shadow screen as all the other third and fourth graders cheered them on from the other side.

Sarah was very pleased with the way the project came to life. She said, “Jason and I were really happy with how focused the kids were during the building process and then even more so during rehearsals for their final show. It was very important to them to perform well for their friends and peers. Having the students perform for each other created a very cool energy. We had so much fun! There was a feeling of pure JOY in the end.”

Students learned a number of skills in this project including research, drawing from personal experience, and teamwork. With vivid interest in Sarah’s work as a puppeteer and Jason's work as an artist, questions came up about making a career as an artist.  On the last day of the residency Sarah performed her newest marionette show "The Snowflake Man.”  It was an educational and entertaining treat for the students after their week of hard work!

Judith St. Hilaire is one of the teachers who brought the project to the school.  “We are finding art is the perfect tool to bring the students’ attention to these ideas,” she said. “Students were able to make connections that would not have existed prior to the residency. The learning opportunities provided were of the highest quality, and I would love to see more promotion of artists like Puppetkabob throughout our Vermont schools.”

Puppetkabob is one of the 78 artists on the Vermont Arts Council’s Teaching Artist Roster. Grant funding for programs featuring artists from this roster is still available.  

Click here to view the Teaching Artist Roster.

To learn more about Puppetkabob, visit www.puppetkabob.com.

Paramount Theatre :: March 3, 2010

The Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland is alive and well!   Executive Director Bruce Bouchard says the theater is “rapidly achieving its goal to be the night time economic driver of south-central Vermont!” 

The Paramount received a Cultural Facilities grant in FY09 of $13,313 for the "Big Flicks at the Paramount" initiative. They installed a state-of-the-art large screen and both 35mm and digital projection systems. To date, the “Big Flicks” Series, which focuses primarily on classic film from the AFI Top 100, has brought in 3,614 patrons for ten events (18% were under twelve, and many of them were having their first “Big Screen” experience). They plan to continue the initiative, with another thirty-six screen events scheduled this year. Additionally, the Theater continues to function as a rental space for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, other performers and promoters, and recently hosted the Vermont Arts Council’s “Breaking Into Business” workshops in the Brick Box meeting space.

The Paramount is in the midst of their “Passages at the Paramount” series. The series is presented in association with Young Concert Artists, Inc, an organization that has been fostering young classical musician careers through annual international competitions since 1961. Among the celebrated alumni are Emanuel Ax, Dawn Upshaw, and Pinchas Zukerman. Two more concerts are scheduled this season: violinist Noi Inui (February 26) and clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester (March 13).  Previous concerts in this series have functioned as “warm up sessions" for artists about to make their professional debuts.  Soprano Carolina Ullrich debuted at the Kennedy Center, cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan at Carnegie Hall and marimbist Pius Cheung at the Lincoln Center.

The Paramount received an FY10 Community Arts Grant of $2,500 to hold master classes in conjunction with the “Passages at the Paramount” series. Prior to their concerts, the artists conduct master classes at Rutland High School with students from other schools in the region. Ullrich’s master class was attended by 125 students. Students in that session learned about the context of art songs and lieder, with five singers receiving coaching on singing technique. Her pianist, Marcelo Amaral, fully participated in the educational exchange, managing to make the class appreciable to players as well as singers. 

Bouchard projects the Paramount Theatre’s economic impact on the greater community to be $1.5-2.0 million during the 2010-2011 Season.  “In the new era of the Paramount, we dreamed of de-mystifying the theatre experience, removing the “elitist” label, and truly becoming a theater for everyone,” he said. “With ticket prices to two of our series at $15 and $10, offerings for a wide range of tastes, and the advent of the “Big Flicks” series at $6 and $4, we have finally laid in the final brick in our programming dream. There is so much potential in Rutland – it is just a matter of discovery, entrepreneurship and hard work. We sense a rich and rewarding future.”

To see the wide variety of upcoming events at the Paramount, visit www.paramountlive.org

 

 

Brendan Taaffe :: February 17, 2010

Brendan Taaffe is a teaching artist whose school residencies focus on the dance traditions of North America and the British Isles and on world folk tales.  In addition, Brendan plays for contra dances and concerts with his band, Magic Foot, and leads adult singing workshops through the vehicle of Turtle Dove, an arts organization he founded and directs. After being accepted to the Vermont Arts Council’s Teaching Artist Roster, he applied for and received an FY10 Artist Development Grant of $400 to create a color brochure. He was completely clear in his application about what his goals are: “…a full time musical career that balances school residencies, performances, and adult workshop experiences.” When you speak with Brendan he is just as clear. “This is what I want to do,” he says with resolve.

Brendan’s first career was as a vegetable farmer. He left farming because it was exhausting, but brought certain lessons with him that are useful in his art. “There is a certain attitude of resourcefulness that comes from farming,” he explains. “The margin of survival is so slim. That ingrained a certain attitude in me. When I need to do something, I ask myself what resources are available. I ask myself how I can do what needs to be done without paying someone.” He says that the payoff is that he doesn’t have to feel limited by income. Describing his life as full of a rich diversity of experiences, he is currently on his way to Scotland to lead singing workshops. “What could be better than that?”

Many self employed artists struggle with marketing and promotion but Brendan has a good handle on that. He has an attractive and easy to navigate website, gets his name listed in directories and rosters, and is creating brochures for broad distribution.  He says, “It would be great if we could just be artists. I would love to wake up, think ‘I’ll compose a new piece today’ and do just that. But I make time to pay attention to other things because I want to play music and work with people as a musician. I also don’t want to be desperately poor. People aren’t going to beat down the door.”

Another challenge artists face is the lack of a clear boundary between work and the rest of life. The day often flows between things that are clearly work related, things that aren’t, and those unclear things in the middle. But those middle-ground events might feed creativity, so it all comes full circle. For Brendan that could be a walk outdoors, taking a bartered puppet lesson with Eric Bass, or making a table. “Good food and wine also seem to help,” Brendan adds.
 

The Carving Studio & Sculpture Center :: February 3, 2010

The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland received an FY09 Cultural Facilities Grant. The funds were used to make their 155 year-old building more accessible to the public.  The $18,000 grant help support a number of enhancements including building an accessible door and ramp for the main building, restoring an existing historic door with access in mind, installing a new ADA-compliant door in Winter Studios Building, and creating an accessible parking area near the ramp. These improvements are the result of thoughtful planning, and according to Executive Director Carol Driscoll, the work wouldn’t have been possible without the grant.

The Carving Studio is facing the challenges of growth. They needed to expand into the Winter Studio next door. At the same time, they had to be sensitive to access while preserving the historic nature of their building. Their plans are broad and proactive. They developed a master plan for the property that was prioritized by Tom Warner, an architect from Middlebury. They are using the current economic climate to focus on some of the necessary building issues and have been able to rely on Nancy Boone, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer for the Division of Historic Preservation, for guidance.

Frequently, people equate access strictly with wheelchairs. “Universal Design” is actually a much broader concept, intended to create spaces that are usable by all people, whether they're young, old, tall, short, with or without limits to mobility. The renovations had an immediate impact.  “As soon as the ramp was done everyone began using that instead of the steps quite naturally,” said Carol.  “Also, between the two buildings, there are two long picnic tables. That became an active space.”

Last fall, the Studio hosted a literary event with about twenty-five members in attendance. This included members who are elderly and have disabilities. Carol reported that everyone accessed the facility through the new ramp and automatic entrance. “Since then we have hosted several tours through the main building, down the access ramp and into the Winter Studios building without concern,” she added.

The Carving Studio’s vision for further improvements continues to be realized. The Board considers this lean time perfect for implementing a plan that anticipates growth in the next ten to twenty years. The next step is a low cost improvement that demonstrates change and viability. They will be working in the sculpture garden to add pathways and to remove invasive plants.  

To learn more about the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, visit www.carvingstudio.org.
 

New England Center for Circus Arts :: January 20, 2010

The New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) teaches circus skills to students of all ages and abilities. This year, they received an Arts Learning grant to create a circus arts curriculum in collaboration with the Windham Regional Career Center (WRCC).

By their nature, circus arts are non-competitive, culturally diverse and socially inclusive. NECCA describes their courses as a place where “creativity and hard work trump traditional discriminations such as gender, sexual orientation, skin color and physical shape and size.”

WRCC is a natural partner for developing a circus arts curriculum. Students at the Career Center attend local high schools for the academic courses necessary for graduation.  They also receive credit for their career and technical education courses at WRCC.  Programs choices vary from accounting and digital electronics to automotive technology and performing arts.

Director David Coughlin has been supportive of the Circus Arts curriculum as an outlet for students needing non-traditional education paths to help them learn important career tools. “Working with the Center for Circus Arts will allow us to expand our programs, providing the necessary balance students require to successfully move forward to Arts careers after high school. Circus Arts provide an engaging way for our students to learn about working with a group, long-range planning, and connecting science, math and language in a cohesive course with clearly visible goals and accomplishments. And in this age of childhood obesity, adding the physical component is also a benefit.”

The idea has been percolating for some time. “We’ve been entertaining the concept for years,” says Elsie Smith, the Artistic Director at NECCA. “The possibility of a grant was the catalyst in moving toward the creation of an actual curriculum. When the Arts Campus first was conceived, there was the hope that the WRCC would be a part of it. The possibility of receiving funding and having enough growth in our business to support this kind of project were clear indicators that it was time to proceed.”

The grant has allowed NECCA to meet with a variety of circus arts educators to begin designing the curriculum.  In addition to the physical learning, students will study history, writing, math and science using circus as a starting point. Students will write about famous circus personalities through the ages, and because of NECCA’s international reputation, they get to interview some of these people as they travel through the area. When learning about the physicality of certain skills, students will investigate anatomy and physiology and how it relates to the movements they are working to accomplish. NECCA is still developing the day-by-day outlines, and specifics about the staffing and homework assignments.

To find out more about the New England Center for Circus Arts, click here.
 

Focus on Film :: January 7, 2010

The Green Mountain Film Festival (GMFF) began in Montpelier in 1997 with a short series of films and no real intention of becoming an annual event. It is an annual event, however, and has grown steadily every year. In 2009, there were 113 presentations and nearly 10,500 attendances for the 10-day festival.

The 2010 Festival will be the largest yet with three film venues in Montpelier (the Savoy Theater, City Hall Arts Center and the Pavilion Auditorium) and satellite screenings at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury. Montpelier’s events will take place March 19-28 and St. Johnsbury’s events are April 9-11.

Focus on Film is the organization that presents the Festival. Last spring they were awarded an ARTS JOBS* grant of $5,000 to support the positions of Chief Programmer, Graphic Designer and Web Designer. Funding for these positions has a significant impact on the organization and the Festival’s future course.

“Film programming is the single most important aspect of festival planning,” says Executive Director Donald Rae, “and a more complex process than many would imagine.” The Programmer strives to bring films from all over the world at an affordable price. Film selection for the GMFF is carried out year-round with the assistance of a loose-knit body of about 16 volunteers.

The internet plays a key role in the Festival's promotional strategy. They have maintained a presence on Facebook for several years, and are increasingly using Twitter (@Festivius) to communicate with festival goers. The majority of festival goers are from Central and Northern Vermont, but visitors are drawn from all over the region. Invited guests travel from much further afield: New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, and on one occasion, Tel Aviv.

“Social networking and a functional website are both very important to us,” says Rae. “We have become ingenious by necessity. The real genius is our web designer Carter Stowell of Fig Rig Webcrafters, who every year elegantly bridges the gap between what is possible and what is affordable. The same is true of Linda Mirabile of Ravenmark Design, our Graphic Designer. They’re both based right here in Montpelier. They both like the festival. Online and on paper, our design dollars go a long way.”

To find out more about the Green Mountain Film Festival, visit: www.greenmountainfilmfestival.org

* In August, 2009, the ARTS JOBS program, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, awarded $606,000 in grants to 42 Vermont arts organizations. The purpose of this funding is to help preserve jobs in Vermont’s nonprofit arts sector that have been threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn.
 

Gordon Stone :: December 16, 2009

Gordon Stone has been writing and performing banjo and pedal steel guitar music for more than thirty years.  His music has been described as “a blend of jazz-flavored groove-driven funk and buoyant bluegrass.” Gordon recently received a Community Arts grant to support the creation and performance of a collection of new songs that reflect Vermont's ethnic diversity. The result of that grant was a performance piece titled The Sacred Forest.

His goal in this project was to work musically with a portion of the diverse cultures that exist in Vermont.  The inspiration for the collaboration began on a day Gordon wore his African-made mud cloth jacket to Shaw’s supermarket. The jacket sparked a conversation with Elhadji Mamadou Ba, a Senegalese percussionist, and led to Elhadji’s playing hand drums on Gordon’s CD, Night Shade. Elhadji, who also teaches dance, choreographed a group of dancers for the two performances of The Sacred Forest (one in Burlington and one in Barre).  The result was both an interesting new piece of music and a DVD. Gordon said he believes this is the first collaboration involving American pedal steel guitar and banjo and Senegalese drumming and dancing.

Gordon described a noticeable difference in the relationship between music and dance in the American and Sengalese cultures. In traditional genres, American dancers respond to the music. In the Senegalese style, the lead players leave the groove of the ensemble and follow the dancer emotively.  During the Sacred Forest performance the djembe player actually moved around on stage with the dancers.

Gordon and his partner, Jennifer Harwood are looking forward to more projects like this as well as the possibility of beginning a new non-profit organization. They have already made contact with Brazilian, West African and Rwandan musicians living in Vermont. The goal would be to bring the sound of Vermont’s own world music to the rest of the globe.


To learn more about Gordon Stone and his music, visit www.gordonstone.com

St. Johnsbury Academy :: December 2, 2009

St. Johnsbury Academy is a private school with a large international attendance. Vermont students can also attend this school by way of a voucher system.  The Academy has a widely diverse population and a philosophy that learning is most effective in a community atmosphere where collaboration and respect for others is part of the common daily business.

The school received a Teaching Artist Residency grant of $1,000 this year to support a residency and culminating performances with Vermont poet Verandah Porche. Verandah, who is from Guilford, VT, conducts performances, workshops, residencies, and collaborative "told poetry" projects. Students from the Academy’s ESL (English as a Second Language) Program and local students worked together during an 8-day residency that explored international poetry forms.

Prior to Verandah’s arrival, students shared memories and life stories via email. She wrote back, and introduced them to the concept of stories becoming poems. During the residency she helped students set their narratives in poetic form. The poems were shared with each other as well as the St. Johnsbury community.

Robyn Greenstone, the ESL teacher who coordinated the event, described the results saying, “Cross-cultural friendships were made, international poetic forms were experimented with, poetry positively infiltrated the school, and new interests were born.” One student echoed, “…my classmates’ poem helped me know more deeply about their feeling, and I think they also did the