I am happy to announce that my website project is ready to see! My intent is to showcase the many talented professional visual artists that live and work in Skaneateles. It is also to provide a resource for our community to promote greater interaction with art. Please take a few moments to check out this new project and bookmark it! As it is still in the beginning stages and more content will be added, check back often to enjoy all the links to the wonderful art that our fellow community members create! I am sure this will grow and change over time and I look forward to discovering more talented artists to add! So please contact me directly for more information about joining this site at hreaster@yahoo.com or through the new website skaneateles.fine-art-info.com
I would like to thank several generous sponsors without whom this project would have never gotten out of the idea phase; firstly to SKARTS who provided an individual artists grant that got the ball rolling, secondly to an anonymous local art lover who donated more funds to keep it up in the air, and lastly Global Tree Media who donated a large portion of the design and hosting.
I am eternally grateful for all the patient people people in my life, family and friends who encouraged me and supported me through this labor of love and journey into learning something new~
Hetty
The Art of Living with Intent Retreat: Expansion & Love, Sunday, February 5th, 1:00-6:00pm
195 Intrepid Lane, CNY Healing Arts Center, Syracuse, NY
Dr. Rob Kiltz, Author, Fertility Doctor and Motivational Speaker, is excited to share about his next retreat offering. Joining him will be Sheila Applegate, Clinical Therapist, Motivational Presenter, Author and Radio Host, and Teresa Huggins,MS, Inspirational Speaker, Author, and Leadership Facilitator. February’s retreat focus will be on love, expansion, and cultivating a life of being open to possibilities. Each attendee will get a copy of Dr. Rob’s new book, The Art of Living with Intent: 60 Days of Intentions and Inspirations. Click here to preview the book. This Day Retreat will end with a delicious warm dinner and time for community sharing. Read more about Dr. Rob here, Sheila here and Teresa here.
*Limited space available so please call and pre-register soon at 315.671.5755. Fee to attend is $40 and will be collected at time of registration.
Kirtan Event directly following dinner from 6-8pm in the yoga room.
$10 cash donation (suggested) to attend, all are welcome to stay and join in this very spiritual and wonderful event. Open to the general public. The Kirtan band, the Now is made up of Mark Nanni and David DeSiro and they’ve been playing around CNY on a regular basis this year. They played a previous Kirtan event at CNY Healing Arts to an audience of about 35 in January. Interest in Kirtan is building in our area.
About Kirtan:
Kirtan is a musical call and response where the “band” calls and the “audience” responds. We chant to the different forms of the Divine, mostly in Sanskrit. Don’t worry if you’ve never been to a Kirtan or don’t know Sanskrit: you can learn the music and the words on the spot, and although everyone is encouraged to sing, you can also feel free to dance, clap, or even just quietly meditate upon the music and the occurrence of the vibration of the mantras. Kirtan is a form of Bhakti (devotional) Yoga.
Photo caption: workshops taught at Creekside bookstore by Bob Comenole, retired literature professor and regional novelist
Subway has the $5 Footlong, and now Creekside has the $17 Writing Workshop. Yes, that’s right: we’re now offering a One-Day workshop in various fields of creative writing. A 2-Hour seminar for the ludicrously low tuition of $17..!
Here are our first two offerings:
-Overcoming Writers Block
-Keeping a Writers Journal
The workshops begin January 26th, 2012 at Creekside Books & Coffehouse. And in each successive week we will be offering a new 1-Day seminar.
Here are all the single-session workshops the Writers Academy will feature:
Lessons in Enhancing Your Creative Abilities
Style: Develop Your Own Unique Writing Voice
How to Win Over Agents & Publishers
Writing Detective, Mystery & Suspense Stories
Editing and Proofreading Skills
How to Publish an E-Book
Screenwriting & Stagewriting
Power Writing: Advanced Writing Techniques
Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication
Master Class in Writing Powerful Scenes
Crafting Authentic Dialogue
When the Well is Dry: How To Get Great Ideas For Your Writing Projects
The workshops are scheduled based on demand—that is, the first workshop to fill up will be the first taught, and so on. Participants will have the opportunity to express their preferences for which class time and which sessions they desire. Students will be promptly notified when their choices are scheduled.
Classes are limited to only 12 students, so sign up today!
To ensure your seat is saved for ANY of the 1-Day seminars, please visit the registration site by clicking here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
DESCRIPTIONS:
-Overcoming Writers Block
This workshop looks into the various causes of writers block and offers the most proven remedies for defeating this dreaded condition, one that, sooner or later, almost all writers face. It accounts for lack of inspiration, lack of creativity, and lack of production. If you have been blocked, this workshop will help you understand why, and—most importantly—will offer practical and specific solutions. Join others who have struggled as you have. This workshop will offer techniques that will put the spark back into what drew you to creative language in the first place.
-Keeping a Writers Journal
Great writers keep notebooks. Beginning writers ought to! Writers’ journals come in all flavors, and this workshop will explore a variety of techniques and strategies most useful for capturing & generating material that will ultimately prove useful in your polished works, no matter your chosen genre. Journaling is an indispensable aid to creativity. It also does more, much more: journaling frees you from the demands of always needing to be in control of perfect prose. It helps you monitor your progress as a writer, helps you discover patterns and meaning in the observations you make….and not least of all: helps you keep your writing commitments. It is probably the best tool in allowing you to trust in your own writing…and, naturally, to make sure you keep writing! The practice sharpens your vision and creates a wealth of material from which you can draw for your major works, enabling you to produce far more vivid and compelling material than those who begin with a cold page, unsupported by the depth of a good journal.
The workshops, taught at the Creekside bookstore by retired literature professor and regional novelist Bob Comenole, are generally 2 to 2-and-a-half hours in length. Classes meet in evening or afternoon sessions. They are designed for both beginning writers who wish to learn fundamental techniques and seasoned writers wishing to acquire more advanced skills; there are no prerequisites.
The Instructor: For more than 20 years Bob Comenole has taught writing, literature and communications at several colleges, including Miami University, Siena College, the State University of New York and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Comenole, author of Bushel & Lamp and the novella The Long Night of Clement C. Craggogre, has just completed work on a collection of short stories, Perplexed by the Egg & Other Stories, as well as a collection of essays. He was also the producer of the children’s television series, StoryBrook.
To view what past students have said about the writing workshops, visit: http://infinitelycurious.us/
For further details, visit the Writers Academy Info Pages HERE: http://infinitelycurious.us/
Or call or visit the Creekside Bookstore!
By Thea Reidy, Photos courtesy Tom Meier
Baltimore Woods Nature Center is located at 4007 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus, NY 13108
Hours: Interpretive Center is open M-F 9am-4pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, closed Sundays.
The hiking trails and parking are free and open every day from dawn to dusk.
Below is there schedule of February 2012 events.
10th – Star Party: Venus, Mars, Jupiter 7-9pm Back up date February 11
Join Bob Piekiel for great views of the winter skies and the area surrounding the constellation Orion, with its bright nebulae and clusters. Also, the planets Venus and Jupiter will form a brilliant sight in the western skies, and Mars will be rising in the east. Dress warmly, and be focused like Orion, the Hunter. $5 for members, $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
14th - Sweetheart Snowshoe 7-9pm
Program for Adults
Bring your Valentine for a romantic, lantern-lit snowshoe for two through the evening woods. Together, you’ll discover romantic notes hidden along the trail, and share some quiet, reflective time outdoors. Then, warm up indoors with hot drinks and decadent desserts. Get close, like winter chickadees at night. Limited to 20 couples, registration is required. Snowshoes provided. Members $20/couple; nonmembers $30/couple.
18th – The Greenhorns Documentary 7-8:30pm
The Greenhorns is the story of one young woman’s three-year scouting adventure into the changing landscape of American agriculture. Severine travels across America looking for the leaders of this movement – and she finds many of them—thousands of them. She finds that they are the pivotal entrepreneurial force in our nation’s shift to a sustainable food system. But she also discovers that this new corps of farmers faces daunting professional challenges. The Greenhorns sets forth the need and the strategies for all of us to assure the success of our new generation of farmers. $8 for members; $12 for nonmembers.
20th - Nature’s Little Explorers: Under the Snow 10am
Come read the book Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart and then go on a hike to see who has been stirring on a winter’s day. See if you can tell who has been walking by, and perhaps who is hidden below the piles of snow outside. Be curious like a kit fox. Dress warmly. For ages 3-5. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Members: $5/child; nonmembers: $8/child.
20th - Home School Expeditions: Tracks and Traces 1pm
Join us for a snowshoe hike and tracking walk. Learn the 3 Ps of tracking: place, pattern, and prints. Then we’ll go into the woods to see who has been out and about on this cool winter day. Be observant on the trail like a coyote. Dress warmly. For children in grades 3-6. Members: $5/child; nonmembers: $8 per child.
Wild Winter Break Day Camp February 21–24, 2012
Join us for Winter Break Camp in February for fun-packed days of discovery and adventure! $40/child/day. Registration forms and descriptions of each day’s theme are available on our website www.baltimorewoods.org. Pre-registration is required. Before and after care are available.
Space is limited so don’t miss out!
~~
Baltimore Woods Nature in the City brings authentic natural science learning to K-6 grade urban school children. Supported by the Syracuse City School District and corporate sponsors, tied to the Syracuse City School District curriculum and New York State Science Standards, lesson content supports teachers while directly impacting students. Holding programs in parks and neighborhood green spaces as well as the classroom, students’ earliest learning experiences in the sciences are relevant, meaningful and fun.
Visit www.baltimorewoods.orgfor more information
By Evelyn Dankovich of Skaneateles Artisans
Picture of Thayer Park on Skaneateles Lake by Christine Briel
Skaneateles Artisans celebrate WinterFest Saturday January 28th with artist demos and as a site for A Taste of Skaneateles.
Featured artists are Teresa Vitale doing Faux painting, Susan Hadzor with stained glass and Linda Bishop-Surbeck weaving.
Niles Gourmet Bistro will be serving rustic Italian cuisine using all local organic meat and vegetables as part of A Taste of Skaneateles from 11:30AM-3PM.
The Skaneateles Artisans Gallery Under the Stone, located in The Old Stone Mill at 3 Fennell Street (lower level), offers off-street parking as well as municipal parking, and accepts major credit cards. Winter Gallery hours Friday-Saturday 11AM-5PM; Sunday 12-4PM. Visit our website at www.skaneatelesartisans.com. For more information, call 315-685-8580.
By Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications
For the first time in a decade, Skaneateles-based Mid-Lakes Navigation Co. will have a presence at the New York Boat Show, taking place Jan. 4-8 at the Javits Center in Manhattan.
Mid-Lakes Navigation will join the New York State Canal Corporation in its efforts to promote the New York State Canal System—comprising the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego and Champlain canals—as a vacation and travel destination for both boaters and land-side visitors alike.
On display as part of the Canal Corporation’s exhibit will be the Canadice, a 33-foot-long Lockmaster canalboat from the Mid-Lakes fleet.
According to Sarah Wiles, co-owner and director of marketing for Mid-Lakes Navigation, the decision to attend was not taken lightly. “It’s an expensive and time-consuming proposition, but once we decided to go, things started moving rapidly,” she says. “Nearly the entire year-round staff, including the family members and office staff, have put on their work clothes and picked up sanders, grinders and brushes to get the Canadice ready for the show.
“Each Lockmaster in our fleet comes home to our boat barn near Skaneateles every five years for a major overhaul, in addition to receiving regular maintenance each spring,” she says. “This year, the Canadice will get just a little extra care!”
The boat, which weighs 10 tons, will be transported to New York by Lockview Marina & Transport, of Cayuga.
The Canadice and Mid-Lakes’ nine other traditionally styled Lockmaster canalboats were designed and built at the Borodino Boatworks between 1986 and 2001 specifically for self-skippered charter on New York’s canals. They are rented by families, couples and friends, who cruise at their own pace for a week or partial week after receiving a comprehensive driving lesson and tips on where to go.
“The Canal Corporation could not be more pleased or proud to be joined by Mid-Lakes Navigation for the world’s greatest annual boating event,” says Brian U. Stratton, director of the New York State Canal Corporation. “Their participation, and the presence of the Canadice on the convention center floor, will have a major impact on the success of our exhibit and generating traffic for the New York State Canal System in the 2012 navigation season.
“It’s because of innovative, hard-working companies like Mid-Lakes Navigation and others that New York state’s 524-mile canal system generates an estimated $380 million each year in direct tourism-related revenue across the upstate region,” he adds. “Today the Erie Canal continues to be a major attraction, not only for recreational boaters and commercial navigation but also for cyclists, pedestrians and outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy the Erie Canalway Trail.”
Mid-Lakes first took a Lockmaster to the New York Boat Show in 1995. “It was quite daunting logistically, and we didn’t know what to expect,” says Peter Wiles Jr., co-owner and president of Mid-Lakes. “We were bowled over by the excitement and enthusiasm of the visitors. We had the boat all set up for cruising, and people would come aboard, look around, ask some questions and then just sit on a berth and relax. You could see them planning their canal vacations in their head and thinking, ‘We could really do this!’”
A lot of them did. That year, about 20 percent of the season’s bookings came from people who had visited the boat at the show.
After that, Mid-Lakes exhibited with the Canal Corporation almost every year until 2002, when the Canal Corporation scaled back its space at the show.
“We are so excited that the Canal Corporation decided to go with a big exhibit again,” says Sarah Wiles. “There’s only one Erie Canal, and we New Yorkers have it. Mid-Lakes Navigation is really proud to help show it off.”
The Progressive New York Boat Show is presented by the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Tickets are $14; children are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. The Canal Corporation exhibit will be in space D69.
For more information on the show, go to http://www.nyboatshow.com. For more information on Mid-Lakes Navigation, go to http://www.midlakesnav.com. For more information on the New York State Canal Corporation, go to http://www.canals.ny.gov.
Diana Godfrey: The Influence of Strata
An exhibit of mixed media collages
Baltimore Woods Nature Center Weeks Art Gallery is pleased to present The Influence of Strata, an exhibit and sale of mixed media collage by Syracuse artist Diana Godfrey. On exhibit from January 2nd through February 29th, 2012 in the Weeks Art Gallery, 4007 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus, NY, this collection of work is open to the public during regular business hours: M-F 9am-4pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. There is no admission charge to the gallery and parking is free.
The natural world informs Godfrey’s non-representational works. “The gray, rough surface of stone, the softness of moss, the linear quality of grasses and plants, the complex crisscrossing of branches, and the patterns of fields leading to a horizon are examples of what contribute to a visual input that feeds my nonrepresentational expressions.” explains Godfrey.
Godfrey’s artworks are developed through a complex layering of textures. This layering, combined with intense colors and sensitive line evoke a visceral response from the viewer. The title of the exhibit, The Influence of Strata has multiple interpretations. It refers to the physical layering of media in each piece, and also to the intellectual assimilation of visual data that together resolve into a finished piece of art. Additionally, the title references nature, suggesting cross-sections of sedimentary earth and rock that create a vertical composition often appearing in Godfrey’s art.
Diana Godfrey has exhibited her work throughout the Northeast, and is currently represented by several CNY galleries. These include the Edgewood and Szozda galleries in Syracuse, and Gallery 54 in Skaneateles. She studied painting at The University of Connecticut, and holds an MFA from the University of Iowa. The artist currently resides in Syracuse, NY.
More information on Godfrey’s work can be found on her website: www.dianagodfrey.com.
Baltimore Woods Nature Center is located at 4007 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus, NY 13108. Hours: Interpretive Center is open M-F 9am-4pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, closed Sundays. The hiking trails and parking are free and open every day from dawn to dusk.
By Rita Trenti / rita@creeksidebooks.com
Join author Jack Reed for a special book signing of Back to the Front and Been Dead Already at Creekside Books & Coffee on Thursday, December 22nd from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Jack Reed is a coaching legend and an impassioned author. His latest book, Back to Front, is an intimate, raw, honest and unflinching story of students who dared to live for each other. The story celebrates sweat, sacrifice and the daily grind that leads to the euphoria of championship racing.
Author Reed’s first book, Been Dead Already, delivers the classic story of one boy’s coming of age set against a haunting backdrop of prison life, a bucolic vacation community and one man’s triumphant struggle to come back from the brink of hopelessness. Its religious, political and educational overtone will make you question long-help assumptions.
Jack Reed coached at Skaneateles, Marcellus and Jordan-Elbridge. His teams have won numerous NY State Championships from 1995-2006, were ranked #1 in 1994 NYS Poll, and had a 15-year unbeaten streak in the Onondaga High School League from 1993-2007. Reed has coached several famous athletes: Jonathon Riley, James Goss, Ann Abrahamson, and Michelle LaFleur. Forty-five of his runners were named All-State during his coaching career.
Calendar of events
January 2012
January 10: 10:30am – 12:00pm
The Art of Seeing Things: Snowshoe with John Burroughs
Join Tom Meier on an inspirational snowshoe hike through The Woods. We will stop at some of the best winter views our trails have to offer, and reflect on the words of a legendary naturalist of the last century, John Burroughs. Snowshoes will be provided, terrain will be relatively flat. $5 for members, $8 for nonmembers.
January 16: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Adventure Day Camp: In Search of Yeti
Ancient legends from around the world tell of mysterious creatures living in the frozen tundra. Join us as we explore Baltimore Woods in search of dire wolves, tundra yeti, and the elusive Abominable Snowman. This is a one-day adventure you won’t want to miss! Camp runs from 9am-4pm, cost is $40, family membership is required. Before and after care are available. Registration and medical forms are available at www.baltimorewoods.org. Adventure camps fill fast, so register early!
January 21: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Owl Prowl
The owls are out, so join a naturalist on a nighttime snowshoe hike in search of these magnificent and secretive birds. Dress warmly, and bring a flashlight. $5 for members; $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
January 22
Third Annual Local Harvest Dinner
Savor local foods grown and produced in Central New York as you graze from station to station chatting with the hard working folks who provide this year round bounty.
• Grazing session one: 1pm-3pm • Grazing session two: 4:30-6:30pm
$20 for members; $35 for nonmembers.
Reserve tickets by Friday, January 13th. Call (315) 673-1350 or email: info@baltimorewoods.org.
January 27: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Star Party: Clear Winter Skies
Back-up date: January 28th.
Winter skies at their finest! No moon, perfect views of the brightest nebulae and star clusters the season has to offer, plus great viewing of the planet Jupiter. Dress warmly, in layers. $5 for members, $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
January 28: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Fresh Documentary Film
As a follow-up to the Annual Local Harvest Dinner on January 22, The Woods presents the documentary Fresh, an inspirational film that explores creative ways thinkers and business people are overcoming challenges to eating locally. $8 for members; $12 for nonmembers.
Baltimore Woods Nature Center is located at 4007 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus, NY 13108. Hours: Interpretive Center is open M-F 9am-4pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, closed Sundays. The hiking trails and parking are free and open every day from dawn to dusk.
By John Turner
Along with other Dusty Pas’cal fans—and music fans everywhere, really—I’m glad he’s walking the planet with us.
Dusty Pas’cal
- website
- facebook page
