Art in the Loft's summer show to end

MILLBROOK — The summer show of regional artists in the Millbrook Winery’s converted hayloft gallery will close on Sunday, Sept. 5. Exhibited between salvaged dairy barn windows is a juried art show featuring the works of four artists. The annual exhibition and sale is sponsored by the Millbrook Winery and the Dutchess County Arts Council and is open every day in conjunction with the winery’s tasting room hours.

The second-floor gallery is well lit and provides ample space for each artist to display multiple works. The intensely colored acrylic paintings of flowers, trees and houses by Scott Taylor, a self-taught Berkshire artist inspired by the hues and brush strokes of Van Gogh, Hopper, Thiebaud and Diebenkorn, complement the rustic ambience of the exposed barn siding.

Taylor’s work contrasts dramatically with the precise photographs printed on canvas by Robert Rodriquez Jr., on the other side of the gallery space. Rodriquez’s photos of a foggy Bear Mountain Bridge, a rocky Maine coast or the Hudson River, express his personal vision and show his passion for conservation and nature. Rodriquez’s images have appeared in numerous publications and many nonprofit groups concerned with preservation rely on his images, including the Audubon Society, Mohonk Preserve and Scenic Hudson.

The works of two female artists face each other at the front of the show, one an expressive painter and the other an evocative photographer. Stacie Flint’s whimsical oil paintings of everyday life with microwaves, cats and telephones are filled with humorous energy. Flint, who studied art at SUNY New Paltz and Empire State, lives and works in the Hudson Valley, where her work is widely exhibited and collected.

Early training as a painter and a love of vintage photography influenced Rebecca Tocci’s mysterious, poetic photos of flowers, reflections in the night and even a Ferris wheel. Tocci works as a portrait and events photographer in the Hudson Valley and has had shows from Oregon to Long Island.

Each of the artists entered one of their works in the second annual Millbrook wine label contest. Visitors to the gallery can vote on their favorite and the winner will be announced at an event after the fall art show goes up.

Latest News

East Canaan's CowPots to face the 'Sharks'

Amanda Freund of East Canaan will appear on the television show "Shark Tank" on April 4 to pitch CowPots.

Photo by Ruth Epstein

CANAAN — Fans of the television show “Shark Tank,” stay tuned. On Friday, April 4, Amanda Freund of East Canaan will be facing the panel, imploring members to invest in her unique product: cow poop.

Freund and her father Matthew Freund produce and market CowPots, which are made from the abundance of manure found on their dairy farm. Matthew Freund, realizing cows were producing more manure — 100 pounds per cow per day — than was needed for fertilizing fields for crops, came up with the concept of the pots. Years of trial-and-error experimentation finally resulted in success. In 2006 he began selling the biodegradable pots using 100% composted manure to local stores. Now the pots can be found in outlets across the country, as well as internationally.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss lacrosse ices Kingswood Oxford 19-0

LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss School opened the girls varsity lacrosse season with a big win in the snow against Kingswood Oxford School.

The Bearcats won 19-0 in a decisive performance March 26. Twelve different players scored for Hotchkiss, led by Coco Sheronas with four goals.

Keep ReadingShow less
HVRHS releases second quarter honor roll

FALLS VILLAGE — Principal Ian Strever announces the second quarter marking period Honor Roll at Housatonic Valley Regional High School for the 2024-2025 school year.

Highest Honor Roll

Grade 9: Parker Beach (Cornwall), Mia Belter (Salisbury), Lucas Bryant (Cornwall), Addison Green (Kent), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Abigail Perotti (North Canaan), Karmela Quinion (North Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent).

Keep ReadingShow less
Thomas Ditto

ANCRAMDALE — Thomas Ditto of Ancramdale, born Thomas David DeWitt Aug. 11, 1944 in New York City changing his surname to Ditto at marriage, passed peacefully on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. He was a husband, father, artist, scientist, Shakespeare scholar, visionary, inventor, actor, mime, filmmaker, clown, teacher, lecturer, colleague, and friend. Recipient of numerous grants, awards and honors in both the arts and sciences, a Guggenheim and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, he was a creative genius beyond his time. In addition to authoring scores of papers, he held several patents and invented the first motion capture system and the Ditto-scope, a radically new kind of telescope. He was a pioneer in computer generated video, film, and performance.

When not hard at work, he was always there to help when needed and he knew how to bring smiles to faces. He loved his family and pets and was supportive of his wife’s cat rescue work.

Keep ReadingShow less