LAKEVILLE, Conn. — The second annual art show at the expanded arts center at Indian Mountain School opens to the public on Jan. 30. It is a celebration of the arts center, of the abundance of talented artists in the Northwest Corner and of the exquisite landscape here that offers inspiration to artists, hikers and everyone else who lives in the area. Sam Posey of Sharon is in charge of this year’s show, and said the theme is Connecticut Open Spaces. The invited artists, from A to Z, are Judy Albright, Leora Armstrong, John Atchley, Ira Barkoff, Debra Bilow, Mita Bland, Tina Chandler, Anne Day, Brad Faus, Eric Forstmann, Mary Harvey, Tony Henneberg, Pieter Lefferts, Charlie Noyes, Harry Orlyck, Susan Rand, George Shattuck, Louise Wales and Scott Zuckerman. Their works will be judged, and three cash prizes starting at $5,000 for the top finalist will be awarded. The judging will be on Jan. 28, and there will be an invitation-only showing on Jan. 29. The show is open to the public from Jan. 30.The pieces included in the show are in a wide variety of media. Anne Day’s depicts Long Pond at sunset in a large-scale photo (20 by 40 inches, not including the frame). Painter Ira Barkoff is also working in a large scale, with a 6-foot painting.Photographer George Shattuck said, “The image I have chosen to submit is one that I captured late one July evening during last summer’s most oppressive heat wave. It was the height of summer with the corn tassels topping a verdant green field. The air was thick with humidity, which cast a familiar blue haze across the disappearing horizon. It was evening, and even at that hour, the breeze was neither cooling nor refreshing.“With luck, the image will convey the feeling of that moment to the viewer — perhaps triggering a memory of their own experiences. The height of summer in our beautiful area; the hot, humid and oppressive air wafting above a mature corn field, tall and flowering; and the repeating rolling hills vanishing into the blue haze of a late summer’s eve.”Painter and art teacher Pieter Lefferts of the Northlight Art Center, said, “My entry into the show is titled, ‘Fields & Sky, Hiddenhurst Farm.’ The 24-by -48-inch oil painting expresses the relationship between the life-giving light and water of the sky with the fertile ground below. On the horizon rise the barns and silos of the farm as a focal point to the composition, although nature dominates the pastoral landscape.”And Brad Faus, an artist and a teacher at The Hotchkiss School, said, “My piece will be an installation of sorts, wall mounted with relief, mixed media and 3D components. The subject matter will relate to the landscape and the idea of place in the Northwest Corner.”
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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