A new show opens Aug. 21 at the Damariscotta River Grill featuring seasoned artists Sandra Leinonen Dunn, Susan Tilton Pecora and Kimberly Skillin Traina.  Three distinct styles and mediums explore a number of themes, each capturing a unique viewpoint depicting the natural beauty of Maine. The “Art at the Grill” opening reception is Thursday, Aug. 24.  Art is on display through Oct. 16.

Join us for a special Prix Fixe three course menu that will be offered for $29, with a choice of wine pairings for $10, or choose a selection from the regular menu, from 4 to 8:30 p.m. and celebrate the artists.  A portion of the dinner proceeds will be used to fund a scholarship for a Lincoln Academy student pursuing an art education. Please call ahead to make a reservation. Stop in to enjoy beautiful art and delicious savory food offerings.

How family ties and a museum exhibition ignited a lifelong passion:
I started studying Russian in high school, after having studied French for many years. My family comes from different areas within the Pale of Settlement—what is now Belarus, and Austria or Poland—and I always enjoyed listening to the Russian language, even though it had been multiple generations since any of my relatives spoke it. My family had also been involved in Russian resettlement in our community in the 1980s, when waves of Soviet Jews fled to the US to escape anti-Semitism and persecution. I continued studying Russian in college and became increasingly interested in Russian art and culture. Freshman year, I saw an exhibition at the Guggenheim titled “The Great Utopia,” which celebrated art of the Russian avant-garde—a dynamic period from the 1910s to the 1920s, when you had these really brilliant artists, architects, poets, and others coming together to create completely new forms of art. After the Revolution, they were quite literally tasked with transforming their world and replacing all traces of Imperial Russia, and the more I learned about them, the more I wanted to learn.

Following a love of books all the way to the Met:
Since middle school, I’ve always loved gathering information and resources for research. I have really clear memories of thumbing through the card catalogs in my local and county libraries, and even some specialized indexes. I completed my undergraduate degree at Brown University, graduating with a double major in Russian Studies and Anthropology. I spent a semester abroad in St. Petersburg during my junior year, and knew that when I graduated, I wanted to do something Russian-related. I had pretty much accepted that that would likely mean working for a consulting firm in Moscow, even though I had minimal interest in that sphere of work.

After graduation, I went to see a Russian avant-garde photography exhibition at a gallery on the Upper East Side. I started asking the gallery director questions about the work, and she said, “Wait, you know this stuff?” I told her I had just written about the artists in my honors thesis, and I wound up getting offered a part-time job doing translation and cataloging for them. It had never occurred to me that a gallery specializing in Russian avant-garde books and photographs might even exist, or that I would ever actually be able to work with material that I was really passionate about. I stayed in the city and began to carve out a niche career doing cataloging and research for dealers and collectors who were buying and selling Russian avant-garde books, posters, and photographs, but didn’t speak or read Russian. That eventually led to an opportunity with the Judith Rothschild Foundation, where I got to serve as the curator of a major collection of Russian and Ukrainian avant-garde books that was donated to MOMA and featured in an exhibition there in 2002. I completed my Master’s degree in Russian Studies at NYU while I was working with the foundation, and then got an MLIS degree in library science at Rutgers University. I spent six years as Special Collections Curator and Librarian at the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey, which I will forever love dearly, before joining the Met as a Slavic Language and Special Collections Librarian. That was nearly eleven years ago, and I’ve been in my current Met role a little over a year.

Waupaca hosts lively, colorful activities

Three live-music stages, 40 juried fine-arts-and-crafts vendors, 10 art workshops, four art demonstrations, three dance performances and seven food trucks with a beer/wine tent.

Arts on the Square will bring a full day of activities to Waupaca from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19.

Hosted by the Waupaca Community Arts Board, the free annual event showcases professional artists and musical performers from throughout the state and beyond, filling the streets and areas surrounding downtown Waupaca’s City Square.

Artists

The festival’s Juried Fine Arts and Crafts Show features local and national artists, including ceramics, photography, painting, jewelry, encaustic painting, woodworking and more.

WCAB’s Art Show Jury and Judge Joye Moon will presenting four Awards of Excellence, the Parry Vaux Award and Best in Show at noon.

Waupaca’s pop-up Phantom Art Gallery will be featured this year, in Loot Vintage & Supply, 219 Jefferson St., offering the works of area artists for viewing and for sale.

Main Tent

The Arts on the Square Main Tent Stage opens two acts geared toward families – the Aber Suzuki Center Student performance, 10-11 a.m., and long-time, interactive children’s performer, Tom Pease from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

In the afternoon, Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets take the stage from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., with their blend of tight three-part harmonies and pop-rock songwriting.

Solo artist Amelia Ford appears from 1:45-3 p.m., mixing her soft soprano with raw grit as she performs more than 50 original alternative folk-rock songs.

From 3:15 to 4:30 p.m., The aTOMix Band from Wisconsin Rapids will fill the dance floor as they showcase their rocking three-part harmonies on hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Jazz Stage

Arts on the Square also offers an indoor Jazz Stage at Union Street Emporium, 110 E. Union St., featuring two separate performances in the afternoon.

Daddio, a contemporary improvisational music group that plays jazz with the drive of rock and funk, performs from noon to 1:45 p.m.

Janet Planet, Wisconsin’s own, “voice of the new jazz culture with seemingly limitless expression,” according to Jazziz Magazine, takes the Jazz State from 2-4 p.m.

Bandstand

Vibhas Kendzia will perform Native American music on a Native American flute, 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., in the City Square Bandstand, as well as strolling throughout the venue.

From 12:30-3 p.m., Robin McDumphy will perform her live-loop violin expressions, using her octave pedal magic combined with looping layers to create the sound of a full orchestra.

Workshops, Demonstrations

Free drop-in, interactive art workshops for all ages occur throughout the day in the Workshop Tent.

Workshops include dot painting, face painting, paper marbling, paper airplanes. soap carving, rock painting, “Shine” catchers, the Woven Together community art project, handsewn sachets, and Dungeons & Dragons character creation.

All-day demonstrations by professional artists will include glass blowing by Brady Looker, Aquatic Koi Painting by Ben Nendza, and Encaustic Painting by Ashley Ellis.

Dance Tent

Three local groups will perform in the Dance Tent throughout the day.

Waupaca’s Senior Center is bringing their Cardio Drumming squad for a high-energy 10-10:45 a.m. performance.

The Waupaca High School Varsity Dance Team performs 11-11:45 p.m.

Center for Living Well owner, Tammie Jo Berg, is offering a Tai Chi demonstration where audience members are encouraged to join in for healthful fun.

Food Trucks, Beverages

Seven food trucks will form a food court next to the Beverage Tent.

Food trucks attending the event are Aftershock Smokers, Diablo’s, Street Grub, Hmong Eggrolls, Cottontail Cotton Candy, Java Jive, and Moo’s Ice Cream.

The Beverage Tent will include beer and wine for sale this year, as well as non-alcoholic beverages.

For more details, go to WCAB’s website – Arts on the Square Schedule 2023.