Meditations on time, history, and myth

Norfolk woodworker Mark Burke in his shop with his walnut chair based on a design by Scottish architect/designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928).
Jennifer Almquist
Norfolk woodworker Mark Burke in his shop with his walnut chair based on a design by Scottish architect/designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928).
Three friends have joined forces to exhibit their art in a pop-up gallery exhibit in the Royal Arcanum building at Station Place in Norfolk. From Aug. 16 through Sept. 2, painter Ann Getsinger and woodworkers Mark Burke and Peter Murkett will show their furniture, painting, sculpture and objects. Kozmik Braid is the name they coined for their eclectic offering. According to the artists the name is “a riff on each other’s work, weaving utilitarian furniture with pure art.”
Norfolk woodworker Mark Burke said of their friendship, “I have collaborated with Peter on projects for probably 25 years and have always been impressed by his sense of design. He can make subtle changes that instantly make the piece more pleasing. Peter introduced me to Ann, who is well-known in the Northwest Corner and is very passionate and energized with her creativity. I am thrilled to participate in this Art and Design Pop-Up exhibition with them both.”
Burke continued, “My initiation into woodworking was out of necessity, followed by three and a half decades of accumulating tools and essential knowledge. Over time you witness many designs by others and are slowly inspired to find your own spin on things. Slowly tweaking and playing with everything that passed by, having total creative freedom within my shop.”
Burke professionally uses computers to draw plans and program electronically controlled tooling to cut wood parts. His playful spirit is given free rein in the work he has made for this show, which includes chair designs based on Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and furnishings and objects informed by the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Burke’s pieces include lyrical music stands made of black walnut, a graphic metal light echoing Wright’s complex geometric patterns, and a minimal dining table that embodies architect Louis H. Sullivan’s 1896 design principle: Form follows function.
Burke said, “People working with wood can often choose to use figured material. I have chosen to use more subdued lumber so that it is the joinery of the shapes and the overall piece that attracts your eye.” Burke’s precision marries perfect joinery with his deep knowledge of wood. Rather than break free of technology, he has bent it to his creative vision.
Jennifer Almquist
Southfield woodworker Peter Murkett demonstrating the translucence of the thin wood wall sconce he designed.
Southfield, Massachusetts-based Murkett’s love of the simplicity of Shaker design is evident in the clean lines and functionality of his creations. Murkett cradles a perfectly formed bowl in his weathered hands and explains how the Shakers added the curved handle for hanging the water dipper on the edge of their buckets.
“I was struck by the turned form of the Shaker dipper at first sight. This handled bowl that must have been turned on a lathe in the shape of a bowler hat, with the brim mostly cut away to make the handle. The Shakers thrived in the early years of industrial development, mid-nineteenth century. They valued machines like the lathe for the efficiency they offered in reproducing shapes. But handling a Shaker dipper was a revelation: the shape begged to be cradled in the hand; they have an uncanny, tactile appeal that seems to replicate the visual appeal of Shaker design,” mused Murkett. Other examples of his work, informed also by the grace of Windsor chairs, can be found at www.newenglandmodern.com. According to Murkett, his objects and sculptures are “meditations on time, history, and myth.”
With his mystical sense of history, meaning, and a poet’s quiver, Murkett conjures up stories and subtle ironic nods to current events within his wooden objects. His skill is that of a master craftsman. One expects secret drawers and hidden messages within his dovetails.
After a lifetime making furniture to grace the homes and gardens of countless clients, Murkett will be showing his own designs. A talismanic carving, created when he was a boy of twelve, forms the soul of his offerings in this upcoming exhibit. This odd little object remains an icon to Murkett, and inspired his poem:
The Boy I Was
1.
The boy I was had a cheap set of woodcarving tools
maybe six—a gouge or two, a veining tool, others too.
The professional I later became never tossed them out
or used them again. Memento only, and good for that,
like the object that boy carved which still remains
(although the making lies buried deep, beyond reach):
a head in lightbulb shape, wide-open eyes (gouge)
a tidy mop of hair (veiner), a mustache (ditto),
no chin, all in mahogany, cleanly bored to fit snug
on the shifter tip of the family ’56 Plymouth,
the car he learned to drive.
2.
Decades later I resurrected the shifter tip
that boy carved so long ago, hardly knowing how,
the wood long separated from the car
(new in his boyhood) now a junk somewhere
or even less than that—but maybe more:
meltdown steel remade as what? a machine, a tool,
a part fit to some greater whole, used anew.
My father, bent by many years walking
now grips the shifter tip atop his cane,
the head from off the column upright at last
in the hand of my old man. I adjust my step to his,
glad we go this way together.
Painter Ann Getsinger in her studio in New Marlborough, Massachusetts.Jennifer Almquist
Ann Getsinger (anngetsinger.com) paints fantastical landscapes which include deep evening sunsets, skulls of wild animals, seashells, and natural flora and fauna. Dreamlike and evocative, her skilled oil paintings contrast human cycles with the cycles found in nature.
Getsinger said of her art, “My work is more connected to the recent offshoots of the realist tradition, for example, Jamie Wyeth as he expands on the spectrum of carefully observed work into pure abstraction all expressed within the same image. Life is both observable and unseeable, feelings come and go, stories unfold multidimensionally, and it’s all pure change. How can a human being bear this… without art?”
In the center of her studio, built in 1988 in a meadow in New Marlborough, Massachusetts, a tall window lets in the cold Northern light. A velvet drape, the color of clematis, gives her workspace the mood of a Renaissance atelier. On her tall French easel an oil painting of an enigmatic rooster in a shroud adds a surreal element. Getsinger, who is represented by galleries in Maine and nearby Housatonic, Massachusetts, will be showing new, unexpected work in this Norfolk show including an “umbilical” figurative drawing (over six feet wide) and a flying sculpture. Her weaving of the metaphorical through her work, and the aesthetic she shares with Burke and Murkett, inspired the title of their show, Kozmik Braid.
Gallery hours: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and by appointment (413) 717-2530
Opening reception on Friday, Aug. 16, from 4 – 7 p.m.
Getsinger’s studio in New Marlborough, Massachusetts, is full of natural light and painter’s tools.Jennifer Almquist
Getsinger’s “Vortex and Orb” and more paintings will be on exhibit.Jennifer Almquist
Aradev LLC’s plans to redevelop Wake Robin Inn include four 2,000-square-foot cabins, an event space, a sit-down restaurant and fast-casual counter, a spa, library, lounge, gym and seasonal pool. If approved, guest room numbers would increase from 38 to 57.
LAKEVILLE — The public hearing for the redevelopment of Wake Robin Inn is over. Salisbury Planning and Zoning Commission now has two months to make a decision.
The hearing closed on Tuesday, Sept. 9, after its seventh session.
Michael Klemens, chair of P&Z, had warned at the opening of the proceedings that “this might be a long night” due to a last-minute influx of material from experts hired by Wells Hill Road residents William and Angela Cruger to oppose the project, but this turned out not to be the case.
These 11th hour submissions set a sour tone to the start of the meeting, with commissioner Robert Riva stating that it was “not very professional to pull this stunt on this Commission.” Riva said he had diligently reviewed the already substantial documentation provided by both the applicant and the opposing experts, and was surprised to find a “dump” of additional information submitted just hours before the meeting’s start time at 6 p.m.
Tensions were quickly eased, however, when William Cruger offered his concise summation of his platform’s opposition to the expansion, which is the second iteration of the project after an earlier version was withdrawn late last year.
“It’s important for you all to hear from me that there was never any disrespect intended to the Commission, the commissioners, and to the process,” Cruger said. He defended the last-minute submissions as an effort on the part of the experts to be thorough in their analysis: “Our intention… has been and remains to do our best to get whatever we think will be helpful in your deliberations into the record.”
The Crugers formally entered the hearing process as intervenors for the first application from Aradev LLC, the applicant, in the fall of 2024, meaning they and their hired consultants had full party status in the hearing proceedings. During this cycle, however, they chose not to petition for intervenor status, yet during this round of hearings their role has been similar. Klemens described them as having “almost intervenor status — not quite.”
William Cruger summarized the consultant’s findings for Aradev’s revised application, noting they found it to be “virtually identical in scale to the previous proposal.”
“Our position is that the proposed expansion would absolutely negatively impact the usefulness, enjoyment and value of the surrounding properties,” he said.
Aradev’s attorney Joshua Mackey countered by saying that the special permit conditions would elevate the currently non-conforming hotel in the zone, describing it as a “community asset that is improved, regulated, and safeguarded for generations to come.” He characterized Aradev as “the next steward of this storied property.”
After Mackey and Aradev co-founder Steven Cohen concluded their remarks, Klemens closed the hearing with no public comment, which he had stated would be the case at last week’s hearing session on Thursday, Sept. 4. Klemens said that P&Z will begin deliberating the proposal in early October after the commissioners have had the chance to review the information in the record.
A total of 45 letters, including the Crugers’ experts’ testimony, were submitted since the Sept. 4 meeting alone, alongside hundreds of pages of application materials and additional testimony.
As the Commission deliberates and reviews, all of this information is available for public viewing on the “Meeting Documents” subpage under P&Z’s section on the town website, www.salisburyct.us.
The Commission must issue a decision on the application by Nov. 13, the end of the statutorily defined deliberation window.
The Weavery is Stanton Home’s oldest activity space, featuring a collection of vintage and modern floor looms. It offers opportunities for building dexterity, creative expression, and social connection through fiber arts.
Stanton Home is holding its annual Harvest Roast fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 13 in Great Barrington, an evening of farm-to-table dining, live swing music, and community connection.
For nearly 40 years, Stanton Home has supported adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through residential programs, therapeutic services and skill-building activities.
“Here in the Berkshires, adults with diverse abilities often face barriers like limited housing, tricky transportation, and fewer opportunities for meaningful work,” said Executive Director Peter Stanton. “Stanton Home flips that script. Our mission is to partner with adults to pursue healthy, self-determined lives.”
The Harvest Roast features locally grilled meats, roasted vegetables from Stanton’s own gardens, warm apple crisp with SoCo Creamery ice cream, and beverages —all set to the swing and gypsy jazz rhythms of the Lucky 5 Band.
“The Harvest Roast is a celebration of what makes our community strong, inclusive, and vibrant,” Stanton said. “Every ticket and sponsored table supports programs that make a lasting difference.”
Guests will begin in the gardens with a signature cocktail before gathering at long farm tables for a shared meal and celebration.
“Though this night matters, the work is year-round,” Stanton added. “People can help by shopping locally at the farm store or buying handmade weavery goods, pitching in with time or skills, gardening, lending a hand at events or by partnering with Stanton’s programs like composting or sourcing local goods. Folks can also speak up for inclusion in their workplace or community circle. Even the smallest action helps keep the mission alive.”
Tickets are $125 per person. Proceeds support Stanton Home’s inclusive programs. Reserve at donorbox.org/events/771775/steps/choose_tickets or call 413-441-0761.
Following the memorable benefit reading last season of Charles Busch’s Tony-nominated Broadway hit, “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” the Sharon Playhouse will present a one-night-only staged reading of his riotous comic melodrama “Die Mommie Die!” on Friday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.
The production —a deliciously over-the-top homage to classic Hollywood mid-century thrillers — continues the Playhouse’s artistic partnership with Busch, who reprises his iconic role of the glamorous yet troubled songstress Angela Arden.
The playwright and performer is no stranger to the Playhouse and, luckily, he’s supported by a truly stellar powerhouse cast of top-notch comic actors — some returning to the Playhouse stage, and some making their debut. The cast includes Richard Kind; two-time Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen, who was part of the original New York cast; Tony Award winner Celia Keenan-Bolger; Andrew Keenan-Bolger; and Claybourne Elder.
The production also marks a fortuitous alignment of talent and history. It is directed by Sharon Playhouse Artistic Director Carl Andress, who performed in the play’s Los Angeles premiere in 1999.
“I have a long and happy history with this particular show,” Andress said. “At the Sharon Playhouse, we’re thrilled to offer unforgettable, one-of-a-kind live experiences. With Charles Busch and this phenomenal cast, ‘Die Mommie Die!’ will surely light up the Olsen Stage with laughter, wit and glamour.”
The original music is by Lewis Flinn, whose score for the 2007 Off-Broadway production is being adapted specially for this event.
The play is a classic Charles Busch concoction that, like all his work, lovingly and intelligently spoofs some of the greatest talents and tropes of stage and screen. The original production was praised by critics as his “funniest, most accomplished and, without question, raunchiest work.”
In 2003, Busch won the Best Performance award at the Sundance Film Festival for the film version of “Die Mommie Die!” His indelible contributions to American theater have been recognized with countless awards and he was recently inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.
The event promises to be an unforgettable night of laughter, glamour and theatrical fun, with all proceeds going to benefit Sharon Playhouse’s productions and educational programs. The funds will help ensure that the Playhouse continues to thrive as a cultural destination for audiences and artists alike.
For tickets, visit: sharonplayhouse.org. Running time: 90 minutes.
Richard Feiner and Annette Stover have worked and taught in the arts, communications, and philanthropy in West Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, and New York. Passionate supporters of the arts, they live in Salisbury and Greenwich Village.