In one of the final chapters of his new book, Loria writes an ode to his beloved “Homer.”
Jeffrey Loria “very disappointed” about home run sculpture relocation
Great Barrington: Bank donates $15K to Du Bois Sculpture Project
The W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project of Great Barrington has received a donation of $15,000 from the Adams Community Bank of Adams.
Advance Photography
Advance Photography will provide dynamic marketing images to meet your needs, whether you have a machining company, a salon, construction firm, an online retail store, real estate, or a business of any type.
Professional photography is a reflection of the professionalism of your business and an essential part of any successful marketing campaign. You will attract positive attention, build trust, and close more sales. Let’s ADVANCE your business together!
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ADVANCING YOUR BUSINESS TOGETHER!
Artist-turned-scribe depicts a morally complex life
Rebecca Keller has been a visual artist almost her entire life — and has garnered numerous accolades for her work. But with the debut of her first novel, You Should Have Known, she is exploring a different creative outlet — and is already receiving positive reviews for her effort.
“I don’t know if I ever made a conscious decision to transition from one medium to another. I’ve continued making visual art. I just installed a solo exhibition at the Evanston Art Center. I’ve [now] added another artistic pursuit for which you work really hard for little or no money on top of another of the same,” she said, laughing.
Keller has been a member of the faculty of the School of the Art Institute (SAIC), where she teaches in three departments — sculpture; art history, theory and criticism; and art education — for more than two decades. She has exhibited her work internationally and is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, among other honors.
But she also has been writing short stories for many years — it fit into her busy life as an artist and teacher and mother. But about 10 years ago, one of her short stories gave her the germ of an idea for the book that eventually became You Should Have Known.
She was interested in exploring a character with a morally complicated life — someone with a strong moral compass who steps off the straight-and-narrow path. Her central protagonist, Frannie Greene, is such a person.
“If you look at a lot of compelling stories where someone does something really terrible, but with whom we still connect, it’s because we sense that they are justified — that they are trying to get justice and the world is not cooperating so they are forced to take matters into their own hands,” Keller said.
During the course of the novel, Frannie is presented with the opportunity to exact vengeance against someone who has nearly destroyed her entire family. Her decision is an errant impulse in an otherwise exemplary life. And the reader is still rooting for her.
While thinking about her main character, Keller also decided to focus on someone who was older — because older people, especially women, are invisible in our society. Frannie’s invisibility gives her a kind of freedom, however, because who is going to suspect an elderly lady?
Keller’s choice of setting is a major aspect of the book. Watching her own mother move into an assisted-living facility confirmed Keller’s sense that it would be a great setting for a book.
“There is a reason so many books are set in semi-enclosed environments — small towns, schools, dormitories, etc.,” said Keller. “Every motivation becomes amplified, everybody knows one another, and secrets are hard to keep. In an assisted-living facility, this situation is compounded by the fact that residents come in with their whole life histories, and their memories might not be accurate. They are at a point in their lives where they are reflecting, with a certain amount of wisdom, but also straining at the bounds that their current situation is imposing.”
Keller had experience working in a nursing home after college and engaged with senior citizens as an educator at the Museum of Contemporary Art. As part of her research for the book, she talked with doctors, nurses and administrators at senior residences to make sure that a major plot point was realistic.
After writing the manuscript — and rewriting it twice — Keller embarked on the journey of convincing an agent to promote it to a publisher. It was a rocky road, filled with lots of rejections, even though she won a Novel Slice Award for the first chapter and a work-in-progress award for an early draft.
In some ways, the life of an artist prepared her for rejection.
“I was doing a lot of dating but no one was putting a ring on it. I knew what the odds were, going into it. So many excellent books never find a home, or sink like a stone. I remind my students that even the best baseball hitters fail 7 out of 10 times,” she said.
The responses that most rankled her were from agents who told her that they didn’t think they could market a book with an elderly protagonist.
“This struck me as a distinct lack of imagination. Who do they think reads books — it’s middle-aged and older women!”
Just as she was refocusing her energy on another book, she decided to submit her manuscript directly, without an agent, to Crooked Lane Press. The publisher quickly got back to her and offered her a contract in January 2022.
She was surprised at how quickly the physical aspect of the book kicked in. While she was still making a few revisions to the manuscript, she was asked for input about marketing and promotion and the design of the cover. A publicist advised that she could get Keller on Good Morning America for $40,000, an offer Keller passed up.
One of the most exciting parts of the production process, according to Keller, was the creation of the audio book.
“They sent me samples of voice auditions. It was amazing to hear professional actresses interpret these characters who had lived in my head for so long — to see how they portrayed the characters vocally. Luckily, I was really pleased with the actress they chose to read the book,” she said.
Reviews for the book have been positive. Shelf Awareness, an industry e-newsletter, referred to the book as “a beautifully drawn psychological literary thriller … explores themes of what is right and what is just.” A reviewer for Chick Lit Central wrote that “Keller does a masterful job at weaving in all the other threads that the novel presents — immigration, sexism. racism, even religion. You Should Have Known is a compelling novel that, thematically, goes beyond the plot to ask deeper questions about the responsibilities people have to each other, and the ripple effects of their actions.”
Keller is currently on a book tour, which takes her to Iowa City later this month, and is already at work on a new novel — about an advice columnist on the brink of retirement who decides to explore what happened to several readers for whom she provided advice, and connects with someone who represents a major trauma from her past. Sounds like another fascinating character with a morally complicated life.
“You Should Have Known” is available at The Book Table in Oak Park.
The Oversaturation of Photography: Is Social Media Killing the
Without a doubt, social media has revolutionized the experience, dissemination, and even creation of photographs. Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter have leveled the playing field in a lot of ways, allowing photographers to instantly share their work with hundreds or thousands of followers. Combined with the availability of high-quality cameras in smartphones and social media algorithms, the number of images disseminated to the world has absolutely exploded. Despite this democratization of the craft, has social media actually diminished the value of photography?
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. The list goes on and on. With just a smartphone, an app, and a few taps, you can quickly share your work with thousands of followers and likewise, digest the work of whomever you want. This ease of access, combined with decreasing costs of equipment and increasing capabilities and ease of use, has made photography explode as a hobby and blurred the line between amateur and professional. In turn, this has led to increased pressure on professionals to constantly produce content to keep up with the veritable tidal wave of onrushing images. This is especially a problem when you factor in algorithms, which often prioritize and reward consistent, repeated posting.
You might just say that photographers should simply avoid competing with the mob on social media, but that’s an issue itself. Consumer habits are constantly evolving, and nowadays, many consumers turn to social media first when looking for services. In fact, over half of Fstoppers traffic is now mobile devices. Many professionals can’t afford to simply cut out a wide swath of potential clients. Most consumers these days shop with a prioritization on quickly finding someone who fits their general needs and desires at a reasonable price, emphasis on “quickly.” This often means they’ll go with the first visible person who matches their rough idea of what they want.
Quantity Over Quality
On social media, likes and follower counts reign supreme. This means content production often focuses on gaming those quantities — going viral — over originality, storytelling, and artistry. I recall a few years ago when I made an unusual image I was particularly proud of, posted it on Instagram, watch the like count lag behind my other posts, and felt the strange urge to delete it. Why did I feel so influenced by that arbitrary number?
Quantity over quality, algorithms, and likes counts commodify the craft and diminish the artistry. “Instagrammable” locations become so because they offer easy visual impact; rather than mine the depths of creativity for original creative thought, we are trained and even pressured to take the most efficient route, cultural, historical, and/or artistic significance be damned.
The Homogenization of Photographic Styles
Because photographers are (perhaps unconsciously) trained to chase trends, the craft as a whole becomes largely homogenized. When you are chasing what is popular at the moment, you will seek to emulate it, which only reinforces the popularity of that trend. Teal and orange, yellow raincoat in front of waterfall, backlit hair flinging ocean water skyward, significant other leading cameraperson by the hand, the list goes on and on (and on and on).
The homogenization is only made worse by presets and filters. The consequence of ease of access and increasing efficiency of editing is a reduction in creative exploration. Why learn to color grade when the Mayfair filter will do it for you?
The Balancing Act of Professional Photographers
All this is fine for an amateur who has no real skin in the game, and, I dare say, it’s even a good thing. At least, it encourages people to use a camera, to explore creativity without a technical barrier in place. But for professionals, it results in a significantly complicated landscape. Professionals who work years to develop a sound and recognizable personal style may suddenly find themselves beholden to the latest aesthetic trend, caught in a balancing act between relevance (and thus, income) and artistic integrity.
Beyond that, the flood of amateurs means increasing expectations for free or heavily discounted work. This can lead to an overall devaluation of the profession. Particularly as smartphone cameras continue to grow in their ability to produce good images in less challenging situations, educating the consumer on the value a professional offers becomes more difficult.
The Future
While the platform of choice is seemingly always in flux, social media usage continues to rise, with Gen Z using it for even more time per day than Millennials, the first generation to at least partially grow up with it. So, the answer is not fighting the presence of social media; that’s a losing battle. Nothing short of a fundamental cultural shift will ever change that.
What photographers can do, however, is educate potential clients. The human brain tends to oversimplify that which it knows little about, and thus, it can be difficult for the layperson to understand the value of a professional in any realm. Almost everyone on the planet has had the experience of thinking they could tackle some task, only to realize they have vastly underestimated its complexity.
One cannot fight the tools, the algorithm, or the culture. Like it or not, professional images make up a very small fraction of the billions of photos produced and put out into the world every day. What one can do, however, is establish an argument for why what they offer is worth something more, why the mom and pop shop is better than the generic mega-store. Gone are the days of technical image quality being a sufficient argument. The most successful photographers I know today don’t sell images; they sell an experience.
Conclusion
Social media and smartphones have, without a doubt, fundamentally changed the landscape of professional photography. They have given countless photographers the means to share their work and build their brand, but it has also led to a tidal wave of content and a homogenization of style. The viability of the professional photographer has not died, but what sustains that viability has evolved, and it is crucial that we embrace that.
Casey’s Promotes Latest Pizza With Customer Challenge
ANKENY, Iowa — Casey’s General Stores Inc.’s newest tongue-twisting challenge will give guests and fans the chance to win free pizza.
From April 11-25, the “Pepperoni Pepperoni Pepperoni” Challenge invites customers to visit pepperonichallenge.com and test their quick-talking skills by recording a video saying “pepperoni” as many times as possible in 10 seconds.
During the promotional period, guests can unlock free pizza, Casey’s Rewards points and other prizes that can be redeemed in the Casey’s app.
“The Pepperoni Pepperoni Pepperoni Challenge is exciting because it gets our guests engaging with Casey’s and our delicious pizza in a new, fun way, while also utilizing the Casey’s Rewards app,” said Art Sebastian, Casey’s vice president of omnichannel marketing. “We have more than 6 million Casey’s Rewards members now, and they benefit from valuable choices as they earn and redeem rewards points toward in-store purchases, fuel discounts or donations to local schools. This challenge puts our guests’ quick-talking skills to the test to earn even more rewards, and we can’t wait to see their submissions that celebrate our limited-time, fan-requested Pepperoni Pepperoni Pepperoni pizza.”
Fast-talking pepperoni fans can play once per day. Here’s how to participate:
- Download the Casey’s app and join Casey’s Rewards at caseys.com/rewards.
- Visit pepperonichallenge.com to take on the Pepperoni Pepperoni Pepperoni Challenge.
- Fans record themselves saying “pepperoni” as many times as they can in 10 seconds.
- Submit and share the video on their social channels to be entered to win, making sure to tag Casey’s.
Casey’s debuted the limited-time-only Pepperoni Pepperoni Pepperoni pizza last month. The pie is layered with crispy-cupping pepperoni, deli-style pepperoni and traditional pepperoni on Casey’s made-from-scratch dough. The pepperoni-loaded pizza is available across the retailer’s footprint for only $16.99 from March 1 through June 20.
Headquartered in Ankeny, Casey’s operates more than 2,400 convenience stores. The company has is the third-largest c-store retailer and the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States.
The Infinitesimal Birthplace of Comets Inspired Oort Lighting
Some scientists theorize comets traveling across observable space all originate from the same place, a distant region of our solar system known as the Oort Cloud. It is here where billions, or even trillions of pieces of icy material and rock emerge from the “cometary reservoir” to make an orbital journey occasionally past our small blue planet. It is this theory that inspired the Oort series of lighting solutions designed by engineer Jacopo Roda for FontanaArte.
Characterized by filaments of flexible LED silicone tubes encased in a ribbed glass cylinder, the collection draws inspiration from the innumerable icy space debris that make up the Oort Cloud. Like the astronomical region it is named after, the tubular elements of Oort can be turned into an infinite number of shapes and configurations to fit any space of every size and aesthetic. 
Describing the collection, Roda notes, “Sinuous rectilinear and curved luminous paths allow the creation of a personalized and different lighting for every need: a moldable, flexible play of light that can be used in domestic environments and open spaces.”
For more information on the Oort lighting family, head to fantanaarte.com.
Why Small Businesses Matter in Darien: Jessica Xu Photography
Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story!
You’re IT Jessica Xu Photography!
Three questions with Jessica Xu, founder of Jessica Xu Photography.
Why did you start your business?
Before having kids I was an elementary school teacher; I loved teaching my students dearly. However, once I had my first child in 2012 I was motivated to find a way to stay at home with my baby so I bought myself my first DSLR. I had attended photo school before I got my teaching degree but had learned on film so it was a process to develop a digital shooting and editing style.
A couple of years and two babies later I started Jessica Xu Photography, shooting family sessions here in Darien. Being a family photographer is my dream job: I meet new families, I get to express myself creatively and most importantly I work out of my home and can meet my kids at 3:15 when they get off the bus.
What is your best-selling product/service?
When I started out shooting family portraits I only did mini sessions (and I still do them from time to time) but 15 minutes can feel so frantic. My favorite part of the job and my most popular “product” is the full family session. I love to take my time getting to know the families so I can capture them honestly and artfully. I think clients like the full session because we are all so busy and with a full session the family gets to choose the date, time, and location.
Have you “reimagined” your small business?
Transitioning from shooting mostly minis to more full sessions made me think about what kind of experience I wanted to give my client. Everyone who books a photo session is looking for great shots of their family but I want my clients to walk away from our session feeling like they participated in something special. I’m looking to avoid the frantic nature of a mini-session and I understand how most parents doubt their kids’ stamina for actively engaging (aka smiling) but my goal when I’m shooting is to let the session unfold naturally.
That might mean taking a break to chat for a minute about favorite books or tv shows and then we’ll jump back into shooting. I always take that mandatory smile-at-the-camera shot but then the real fun begins and we can get silly if that’s the mood, or serious if that’s where someone is at. Sometimes we’ll explore the location to find the best spot for frolicking. Sometimes the kids need to run a few laps to get their heads in the game (while I shoot furiously).
Sometimes Dad needs to run a lap. Taking the time to get to know my subjects helps me capture them more honestly and that means the photos look great on a holiday card and even better on a wall, in an album, or another keepsake. I’m shooting for posterity, I want to take images that decades from now, families can look at and vividly remember this season of their life.
Jessica would love to nominate Megan Dey who runs Squishy Life Photography to be featured next – “A local infant photographer! I gave newborn photography a shot about ten years ago and it is so hard! Not for me; what she does is pure magic!”
Visit Jessica Xu Photography online here, and make sure to check out their Facebook page as well!
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!
Step by Step Ladder Reinvents the Traditional Library Ladder
If floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are on your home design wish list, I suggest you add the versatile, functional, and inviting Herman Studio‘s Step by Step Ladder to it. Featuring a deep top step for extra safety and a wooden support bar for balance, Step by Step can be folded up and hung on the wall when not in use using an included small wooden hook, pulling double-duty as a decorative wall object.
Designer Jonas Herman of Herman Studio in Bosnia-Herzegovina shared, “This stepladder has two purposes: to provide optimal function when unfolded and in use, and serve as a decorative element when folded up and hanging on the wall. We wanted to create a functional ladder that would also have a sculptural effect in a room.”
Choose between natural oil treated and white oak treated European oak finishes.
An ultra-strong flag halyard line prevents the ladder from collapsing when in use and prevents it from damaging the wall when stored.
To learn more about the Step by Step Ladder, visit formandrefine.com.
Around Town: UNC Asheville hosts free Indigenous hip-hop concert
Since joining UNC Asheville’s faculty in 2016, Juan Sánchez Martínez has strived to expose his students to diverse works by contemporary Indigenous artists, musicians and writers.
“In this context, I have witnessed how powerful Indigenous hip-hop is in challenging misconceptions and stereotypes about Indigenous peoples while empowering women, elders, children and keepers of the land,” says Martínez, an associate professor of Spanish and American Indian and Indigenous Studies.
In 2017, Martínez and others started thinking about organizing a UNCA festival celebrating Indigenous hip-hop. After a few years of planning, they were set to host an event in the spring of 2020 but had to cancel when COVID restrictions hit.
Three years later, Activating Indigenous Beats: Hip Hop Nativo is finally a reality. The four-day festival will include workshops and community events and will culminate with a free concert on UNCA’s quad Friday, April 14, 6-9:30 p.m.
The show will feature performances by:
- Luanko Minuto Soler, a singer and rapper who is a member of the Mapuche of south-central Chile.
- Mare Advertencia Lirika, a Mexican rapper and songwriter of Zapotecan descent.
- Tall Paul, an Anishinaabe and Oneida hip-hop artist enrolled on the Leech Lake reservation in Minnesota.
- Asheville hip-hop artist Davaion “Spaceman Jones” Bristol.
“They represent a generation of musicians who face their communities’ reality with dignity and strength,” Martínez says. “Their rhymes activate Native languages, disrupt heteropatriarchy and challenge racism.”
Organizers made sure the concert included representation from South, Central and North Abiayala (“the land in full maturity” in the Dule language), as well as from different genders and genres, Martínez says.
Shennelle Feather and Jarrett Wildcatt, artists and educators of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, will be masters of ceremony during the concert, which also will include visual artists, a food truck and a performance by Aztec dancers. UNCA is partnering with the museum and the Asheville hip-hop community to put on the festival.
“While listening to these beats and lyrics, please keep in your mind, heart and spirit that [the festival] is special in the sense that distant Indigenous languages and peoples are converging in Tokiyasdi, Cherokee territory,” Martínez says. “We are remembering together.”
UNCA is at 1 University Heights. The concert is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets. For more information, visit avl.mx/cks.
Toy story
Two educators from Odyssey Community School have teamed up to write a children’s book aimed at teaching youths about compassion and empathy.
Pick Up Your Toys, Kirk! tells the story of a little boy who loves his toys but doesn’t love putting them away.
“I wanted to support children in developing the qualities of sharing and taking care of treasured objects,” says Shirley Rotolo, who teaches kindergarten at the Asheville charter school. “Kirk has to make some challenging age-appropriate choices and realize he has possessions and treasures that not everyone has the opportunity to own. One of my goals for this book was to show how Kirk processes his emotions in this situation.”
Rotolo wrote the book and enlisted fellow kindergarten teacher Samantha Sole to do the pictures.
“I wanted to illustrate pages that a young reader could enjoy both when reading independently and when listening to the story with their parents,” Sole says. “With this in mind, I aimed for the pages to be imaginative and detailed so that the reader could explore both the written and illustrative story.”
Rotolo and Sole started reading portions of the book to their students to gain feedback as they were putting it together.
“It ended up being special for both the children and as well as us when it became published,” Rotolo says. “They were so excited that they were a part of the process.”
For more information or to buy the book, go to avl.mx/ckt.
A little night music
White Horse Black Mountain will host “Remembering Sondheim” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15.
The concert will feature Western North Carolina singers and pianists performing the works of legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim, including songs from Into the Woods, A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George. A version of the show was performed earlier this year in Waynesville.
Featured singers include Lara Hollaway, Adrianne Blanks, Matt Blanks, Matt Edwardsen, Dominic Michael Aquilino and Mandy Vollrath, who also is the show’s director. The show’s pianists are Luke Shaver and Leonidas Lagrimas.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 at the door.
White Horse Black Mountain is at 105 Montreat Road. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/cku.
American songs
The Asheville Symphony will present “Masterworks 6: New World,” a concert of American orchestral music at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
The performance will feature Antonín Dvořák’s “New World Symphony” and Alexandra du Bois’ “Fanfare on We Shall Overcome.” Cellist Amit Peled will play Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto No. 2. The du Bois piece was inspired by the election of President Barack Obama in 2008.
“This introduces a concept of the American orchestral sound in the 21st century, while the other two works in the program were seminal in establishing an American school in the late 19th century,” says Darko Butorac, the symphony’s music director, says in a press release.
Ticket prices range from $25-$75.
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at Harrah’s Cherokee Center is at 87 Haywood St. For more information or to buy tickets, visit avl.mx/ckv.
A Fuller understanding
The Asheville Art Museum will host Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet from Friday, April 14-Monday, Aug. 21. A members-only preview will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, April 13.
The exhibition features two major suites of prints and other works by inventor and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller, known for popularizing the geodesic dome after conducting field experiments at Black Mountain College. It is meant to introduce visitors to Fuller’s strategies for the sustainability of humans and the planet relating to housing, transportation, mathematics and engineering, the museum says in a press release.
Altruistic Genius will be presented in three sections: “Inventions,” “Synergetics” and “Black Mountain College and Lasting Influence.”
The Asheville Art Museum, 2 S. Pack Square, is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Wednesdays, Fridays-Sundays, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, go to avl.mx/ckw.
Perfect circle
FBO at Hominy Creek will host an album release party for Life Is Perfect by Pat Zim and Friends at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 15.
The event will feature performances by Zim, anti-folk/folk-punk band Lurky Skunk, singer-songwriter Lo Wolf and others.
Each song on the album, which will be released Thursday, April 13, is co-written by Zim and a different local musician.
“I have been in Asheville for three years and have met some really inspiring people in the art and music scene here,” Zim says. “[Perfect Circle] is a showcase of their talents and personalities.”
For more information, go to avl.mx/ckx.
