Inspiring artistic inspiration at the Art Nest in Wassaic

Inspiring artistic inspiration at the Art Nest in Wassaic

Left to right: Emi Night (Lead Educator), Luna Reynolds (Intern), Jill Winsby-Fein (Education Coordinator).

Natalia Zukerman

The Wassaic Project offers a free, weekly drop-in art class for kids aged K-12 and their families every Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m. The Art Nest, as it’s called, is a light, airy, welcoming space perched on the floor of the windy old mill building where weekly offerings in a variety of different media lead by professional artists offer children the chance for exploration and expression. Here, children of all ages and their families are invited to immerse themselves in the creative process while fostering community, igniting imaginations, and forging connections.

Emi Night began as the Lead Educator at The Art Nest in January 2024. She studied painting at Indiana University and songwriting at Goddard College in Vermont and is both a visual artist and the lead songwriter and singer in a band called Strawberry Runners.

Night sources her ideas for projects “from all over,” she said. “Sometimes we’ll pull ideas from artists in the shows [at The Wassaic Project] and if there’s something that seems like it would be fun for the kids, we’ll create a project around it.”

Night emphasized that the Art Nest is a drop-in opportunity as opposed to a drop-off class.

“Some families come in that are new in the area and don’t have a lot of parent friends,” Night said. “And they meet people here and develop a network. It’s a really cool space for that, and art is a great way to bring people together.”

Jill Winsby-Fein, Education Coordinator at The Wassaic Project also emphasized the community aspect of the offering. “We ask families to stay together, and that results in family art making that’s actually really special.”

Depending on the day, there can be up to 20 children and their families in the space. “Most days we have five or six kids at a time,” said Night.

The summer exhibition, “Tall Shadows in Short Order,” opens May 18 and the teachers expect an increase in attendance. The Wassaic Project has partnered with the Intern Project through the NECC (North East Community Center) and Luna Reynolds, a student at Webutuck Central School, is “our intern extraordinaire,” said Winsby-Fein.

“The projects I plan are geared toward kids ages four and up,” said Night, “but they are always adaptable to engage younger artists in sensory play and fine motor skill development. The average age range of attendees since I started working here in January has been three to 12. We do have materials and equipment more appropriate for teens like sewing and embroidery machines, jewelry and wire sculpture tools, button/pin-makers, and we’d love to have more teen artists working in the space.”

The program is funded through the Wassaic Project, which relies on grants, individual and donor funding, and artwork sales. The group is currently in the process of applying for various education grants to help fund the program.

“We have kids who walk from nearby and come every week,” she said. “A lot of the feedback I’ve gotten from families is about the community aspect.”

Families seeking to explore the world of art through The Art Nest are invited to drop by on Saturday afternoons. Visit www.wassaicproject.org for more information.

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less