A Party In The Woods … At The Top of A Mill

Go to the hamlet of Wassaic, N.Y., climb to the top of the Maxon Mills, the home of year-round artist colony The Wassaic Project, up seven flights of stairs showcasing the summer exhibition titled “Counting the Seconds Between Lightning and Thunder” and you will be thoroughly rewarded. Danielle Klebes, a young painter from North Adams, Mass., who also works as The Wassaic Project’s programming coordinator, has created something exceptional for the area in her fully immersive installation piece, aptly titled, “Seventh Floor Walk-Up.”

In an artist statement, Klebes describes her inspiration coming from a weekend rental at a “colorful man-cave.” “I felt an inexplicable sense of ownership and pride for that apartment. There was something so funny to me about a queer female and her queer friends existing in that stereotypically masculine space.”

On view through Sept. 16, Klebes recreates the convivial scene of lounging twenty-somethings in a three-dimensional optical illusion, with painted wooden cut-outs that imbue the room with a frenzied, live-in sense of clutter. Following the path of pop singers like Lana Del Rey or Ethel Cain, the friction between east coast indie sleaze and the iconography of working-class Americana melds into a poetic harmony as Klebes’ wry humor marries gas station Coors Light with alt-girl summer. Animal skulls and mounted deer heads hang as wall decor next to a vanity license plate that reads “ASSMAN,” but look to the bookshelf and you’ll find more sensitive book club reading, like Ottessa Moshfegh’s “My Year of Rest And Relaxation” and Michelle Zauner’s memoir “Crying in H Mart.” Vintage copies of Playboy are stacked next to the dizzying graphics of microbrewery IPA cans.

In her soft yet saturated palette, Klebes tenderly depicts her gang of bright-eyed individuals, tattoos across their warm skin, dark thrifted clothing wrinkled and paint-splattered. In her inviting world is the spirit of play and curiosity, as well as surprising pangs of emotional storytelling — the connection of friendship, and the way the strangest of trips, in the unlikeliest spots, takes on a real-time daydream nostalgia when you’re sparking up with your buds over a beer.

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Latest News

Gilbert Kenneth Schoonmaker

WINSTED — Gilbert Kenneth Schoonmaker, of Monroe, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2025, at the age of 77. Born on Jan. 18, 1948, in Winsted, Connecticut to Gilbert and Alta (Bierce) Schoonmaker, Gil spent four decades enjoying life on Highland Lake before settling in Monroe.

He is lovingly survived by his wife of 56 years, Sally (Gustafson) Schoonmaker, and his two daughters, Lynn Sindland and her husband Lee of Lead Hill, Arkansas, and Deb Pikiell and her husband Tim of Bristol, Connecticut. Gil was a proud grandfather to Ozzie, Tommy, Betsy, Katie, George, Lucy, Maddie, Joey, and Julia, and he cherished his time with his eight great-grandchildren. Gilbert leaves behind his siblings Ann, Gary, Gail, Jan, and Tim.

Keep ReadingShow less
Books and bites beckon at the upcoming Sharon Summer Book Signing

Author and cartoonist Peter Steiner signed books at Sharon Summer Book Signing last summer.

Photo by Stephanie Stanton

The 27th annual Sharon Summer Book Signing at the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon will be held Friday, Aug. 1, from 4:45 to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Aug. 3, at noon.

Friday’s festivities will honor libraries and the power of the written word. In attendance will be 29 locally and nationally recognized authors whose books will be for sale. With a wide array of genres including historical fiction, satire, thrillers, young adult and non-fiction, there will be something for every reader.

Keep ReadingShow less
Voices from Ukraine to America come to Stissing Center July 27

Ukraine Emergency Fundraiser at The Stissing Center in 2022 raised over $120,000 for Sunflower of Peace.

Photo by Michael Churton

The spirit of Ukraine will be on display at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains on Sunday, July 27. Beginning at 5 p.m., the “Words to America from Ukraine” fundraiser is set to showcase the simultaneous beauty of Ukrainian culture and the war-time turmoil it faces, all the while fundraising in support of Ukrainian freedom.

“Words to America from Ukraine” aims to remind and spread awareness for the suffering that often gets forgotten by those who live in comfortable worlds, explained Leevi Ernits, an organizer for the event. “We are trying to make an attempt to remind people that we are human, and we are connected with human values,” she said. “With very few words, poetry can express very deep values.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Grumbling Gryphons’ set to celebrate 45th anniversary with gala and summer theater camp

Celebrating its 45th year, the Grumbling Gryphons will perform at HVRHS Friday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m.

Photo provided

The Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater is preparing to celebrate its 45th year — not with fanfare, but with feathers, fabric, myth, chant, and a gala finale bursting with young performers and seasoned artists alike.

The Gryphons’ 2025 Summer Theater Arts Camp begins July 28 and culminates in a one-night-only performance gala at Housatonic Valley Regional High School on Friday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. Founder, playwright, and artistic director, Leslie Elias has been weaving together the worlds of myth, movement and theater for decades.

Keep ReadingShow less