ArtEast May studio tour

Nexus by Bob Madden (marble)

Courtesy Bob Madden

ArtEast May studio tour

The ArtEast May studio tour, happening Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, offers a rare look into the working studios of painters, sculptors, mixed media artists, photographers, and more. This isn’t a polished gallery stroll — it’s the clatter of tools, the smell of stone dust and oil paint, the buzz of artists caught mid-idea.

“It might be dirty, noisy, and chaotic, but it will not be dull,” said one of the organizers, Bob Madden.

Now in its 18th year, ArtEast has expanded beyond its signature October event to include this springtime tour focused on process over polish. “The May tour gives voice to practitioners of artforms that are inherently messy,” said Madden, a Poughquag-based stone artist and longtime ArtEast participant. “I love having people visit my studio and ask questions. ‘How?’ is a common question because the material — stone — is difficult for some to imagine how to work it,but that’s a question for a technician. ‘Why?’ is the question I always hope for because it’s asking the artist if the viewer is clearly understanding the message I created.”

Madden will be opening Rock and A Soft Place Studios in Poughquag alongside his wife, Karen Madden, a fiber and metal artist who co-chairs the event. “Each medium challenges my creativity,” said Karen, “as I learn to work with different materials.”

Vintage Sampler by Donna Castelluccio(fiber/mixed media)Courtesy Donna Castelluccio

Other featured artists include Donna Castelluccio, a mixed media artist who reworks vintage materials into one-of-a-kind pieces. “When people come to my studio they will see many projects in different stages that I’m working on,” said Castellucio. Bill Prickett, a photographer, producer, and creative chameleon “makes it a point to be a rookie at something all the time,” as his website states. Brian Wohrman works out of Lagrangeville and is a self-taught sculptor whose welded tribute to his late father started him on a path of transformation through art.

David Tumblety is a sculptor trained in anatomy and classical technique whose accolades include the Lucchesi Grant and Stewardson Prize. Of the open studios, he said, “A few years ago, I converted the small, dilapidated barn behind our house in Millbrook into a studio. I spend most of my time working alone there so, it’s a welcome break from my solitude to have visitors to the space.”

ArtEast brings together over a dozen artists across Dutchess county, inviting viewers to experience the creative process firsthand — from initial spark to final piece.

For more info or to plan your route, visit: arteastdutchess.com

American Caste by David Tumblety (cast bronze)Courtesy David Tumblety

Latest News

Kevin Kelly’s After Hours

Kevin Kelly’s After Hours

Kevin Kelly

Photo by Christopher Delarosa
“I was exposed to that cutthroat, ‘Yes, chef’ culture. It’s not for me. I don’t want anyone apologizing for who they are or what they love.”— Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly doesn’t call himself a chef; he prefers “cook.” His business, After Hours, based in Great Barrington, operates as what Kelly calls “a restaurant without a home,” a pop-up dining concept that prioritizes collaboration over competition, flexibility over permanence, and accessibility over exclusivity.

Kelly grew up in Great Barrington and has roots in the Southern Berkshires that go back ten generations. He began working in restaurants at age 14. “I started at Allium and was hooked right off the bat,” he said. He worked across the region from Cantina 229 in New Marlborough to The Old Inn on the Green at Jacob’s Pillow before heading to Babson College in Boston to study business. After a few years in Boston kitchens, he returned home to open a restaurant. But the math didn’t work. “The traditional model just didn’t feel financially sustainable,” he said. “So, I took a step back and asked, ‘If that doesn’t work, then what does?’”

Keep ReadingShow less
restaurants

Books & Blooms’ tenth anniversary

Books & Blooms’ tenth anniversary

Dee Salomon on what makes a garden a garden.

hoto by Ngoc Minh Ngo for Architectural Digest

On June 20 and 21, the Cornwall Library will celebrate its 10th anniversary of Books & Blooms, the two-day celebration of gardens, art, and the rural beauty of Cornwall. This beloved annual benefit features a talk, reception, art exhibit, and self-guided tours of four extraordinary local gardens.

The first Library sponsored garden tour was in June 2010 and featured a talk by Page Dickey, an avid gardener and author. This year’s Books & Blooms will coincide with Ellen Moon’s exhibit “Thinking About Gardens,” a collection of watercolors capturing the quiet spirit of Cornwall’s private gardens. Moon, a weekly storyteller to the first grade at Cornwall Consolidated School and art curator for The Cornwall Library, paints en plein air. Her work investigates what constitutes a garden. In the description of the show, she writes: “there are many sorts...formal, botanical, cottage, vegetable, herb...even a path through the woods is a kind of garden. My current working definition of a garden is a human intervention in the landscape to enhance human appreciation of the landscape.” Also on display are two of her hand-embroidered jackets. One depicts spring’s flowering trees and pollinators. The other, a kimono, was inspired by Yeats’s “The Song of the Wandering Aengus.”

Keep ReadingShow less
cornwall library