OLD LYME — Hundreds gathered last night on the lawns of the Florence Griswold Museum for the traditional kickoff concert for this year’s Midsummer Festival.
The Savage Brothers’ band played “funkin’, rockin’, and rhythm” music, which delighted the large crowd …
… and spurred numerous audience members of all ages to stand up and dance.
The weather was kind …
… the atmosphere was energizing …
… and the sunset was stunning!
SweetSeidners.com was one of the onsite food trucks. Lymes’ Youth Service Director Mary Seidner’s sister-in-law, who owns the business, was kept busy making sales of all kinds of delectable cookies and brownies.
Tiles from Lilywork Artisan Tile are handmade by owners Paul and Esther Halferty at their studio located at 56 Lyme St. in Old Lyme.
OLD LYME — On Saturday July 29, the newly-established Lyme Artisans Guild will kick off its rejuvenation of a shoreline artisan tradition at Old Lyme’s Midsummer Festival.
Beatrice Hoffman—wool dyer, photographer, weaver, mosaicist, enameler, and wife of local painter Harry Hoffman—led the founding of the Guild in the early 1930s.
While Old Lyme has long been known as a fine arts mecca, less well known is the fact that fine crafts were featured by the Old Lyme Guild of Artists and Craftsmen as part of the sweeping international Arts and Crafts Movement.
The Guild’s studios were located at the Old Peck Tavern at 1 Sill Lane, which was once visited by George Washington. The 18th-century building was also used as a display space for the artisans’ hand-crafted furniture, ceramics, ironwork, weavings, metal ware, paintings and other decorative objects.
The objective of the Guild was to make people living in the region aware that quality hand-crafted items made by professional artisans were readily available locally and they did not therefore need not search far afield to find beautiful items for their homes.
At the Guild’s studios, the public could view and purchase finely-crafted furniture, ceramics, ironwork, metalware, and other functional and decorative objects made by the Guild’s members.
On July 29, visit the tent of the new Lyme Artisans Guild on the lawn of the Lyme Art Association at the Midsummer Festival to see:
Silver earrings by Michaelle Pearson will be for sale at Old Lyme’s Midsummer Festival. Pearson is a member of the Lyme Artisans Guild.
local hand-forged silver jewelry by Michaelle Pearson
pottery by Wayne Kirk
hand-made ceramic tiles by Lilywork Tiles
weaving by Susan Morrison
metal sculptures by Sherry Block
wood-turned bowls by Paul Maulucci
textile creations by Carol Hunts Stanland, such as the bag pictured below.
Another member of the Lyme Artisans Guild, Carol Hunts Stanland, makes an array of textile creations.
Visit the Lyme Artisans Guild Facebook and Instagram pages to keep informed about upcoming events, see artist profiles, and more.
The 2023 Lymes Creative Arts Program offers a variety of opportunities for teens during the summer. Photo by Kristen Thornton.
LYME/OLD LYME — Registration is now open for the third season of Lymes Creative Arts, a summer arts program for teens residing in Lyme and Old Lyme. The 2023 season includes seven new offerings including filmmaking, photography, and ceramic mosaic-making, as well as returning favorites such as outdoor art studio and jewelry making.
The initiative is produced and underwritten by the Sustainable Committees in the Towns of Lyme and Old Lyme as well as the Lymes’ Youth Services Bureau (LYSB). Additional support is provided by the public libraries of both towns.
A guiding principle of the programming is to reduce barriers to participation such as access to program locations, time availability, and financial hardship. Fees for participating in the programming are either waived or minimal, and programming is offered at easily accessed locations in the two towns at a variety of times during the summer weeks.
Nine different programs will be offered through the summer. Space is limited in most and signups are online at LYSB.org/TeenArts.
Programming includes:
Outdoor Art Studio with Kristen Thornton
Watercolor Doodle Art with Denise Albert
Introduction to Photography with Diane DeWolf-Carli
Sun Printing with Liz Ellenwood
Summer Filmmaking with Green Planet Films
Ceramic Mosaic-Making with Lilywork Artisan Tiles
Jewelry Making with Michaelle and Phoebe Pearson
Learn Piano with SteveSongs
Writing + Drawing Club: Let’s Get On the Same Page Youth Magazine with the Old Lyme-PGN Library
The initiative invited art instructors and craftspersons to submit proposals to teach the summer youth programming. Proposals needed to demonstrate that the workshop or class would be accessible to students of all abilities, introduced skills that students could enjoy on their own, and that the program could be delivered in a cost-effective way.
The Town of Old Lyme granted its Sustainable Old Lyme Committee funding from its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant for the programming.
Since its inception in 2021, Lymes Creative Arts has sought to introduce artistic outlets that can reduce youth’s stress and anxiety during the pandemic and to create positive social interactions for youth.
This work by William Brayton is featured in Summer Sculpture Showcase 2023, which open Saturday with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds in Old Lyme.
OLD LYME — Now in its eighth year, the Showcases have featured the selected sculptural works of over 100 acclaimed artists, providing them with a unique opportunity to showcase their sculpture in an outdoor environment specifically designed to nurture the creative arts. The annual exhibitions have drawn a total of over 7000 viewers to the 4.5-acre sculpture garden located on the Connecticut shoreline.
In response to the success of the previous Showcases, Gilbert Boro, owner and sculptor at Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds in Old Lyme, has announced that Summer Sculpture Showcase 2023, featuring 14 outstanding sculptors this year, will be on display from June 10 through Oct. 29, 2023. The works selected for the Showcase are intermingled with Boro’s own permanently-displayed works throughout the Sculpture Grounds. Boro’s sculptures now number in excess of 80 works in greatly varying sizes.
The 2023 Showcase effectively creates a new exhibition within the Sculpture Gardens. Boro comments, “I’m delighted to be able to open my grounds to these exceptional sculptors whose work intrigues me. Each one offers original creative thinking resulting in a combination of contrasting conceptual designs in a variety of media. I think any visitor to the exhibition is going to be thoroughly engaged by what he or she sees – including children.”
Boro is somewhat unusual as a professional sculptor in that he loves to see folk of all ages directly interacting with his sculptures, noting that he has a strong aversion to exhibitions, “… where people can’t touch my work.”
Apart from attracting visitors to see the works on his grounds, Boro is deeply invested in the vibrant Old Lyme arts scene and hopes this exhibition will help cement the town as a summer destination for art-loving visitors from near and far.
Boro explains that Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds is, “A vibrant community environment dedicated to arts education and appreciation,” with a mission, “To create a bond between art, nature and community by inspiring and promoting participation in the arts.”
Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds is located at 80-1 Lyme St., less than a minute from Exit 70 on I- 95. The Sculpture Grounds are open 365 days a year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is free. Children, field trips, group visits and dogs are all welcome.
The newly restored terrace with slate paving stones will be highlighted at the official opening of Gillette Castle on Saturday, May 27. Photo submitted.
EAST HADDAM, Conn. – On Saturday, May 27, the interior of Gillette Castle re-opened to visitors after completion of a half-million-dollar project to restore its surrounding terrace.
Most Connecticut state park buildings, museums, nature centers and other enclosed structures are expected to open during the Memorial Day weekend.
Through Sept. 4, the century-old fieldstone mansion may be toured daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Advance purchase of tickets from park staff is highly recommended, and may be done at ReserveAmerica.com under “Gillette Castle State Park Tours.” Questions about tickets should be directed to park staff at (860) 526-2336.
“The home of the late stage actor William Gillette is the true centerpiece of this wonderful park, and our plans over the past couple of years are coming to fruition — with more to come,” said Lynn Wilkinson, president of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park.
“What visitors may not notice is the restoration of the upper terrace behind the Castle, which has been in works since last autumn,” she added. “The work allowed an improved drainage system to be installed, preventing possible damage to the Castle.”
The $480,000 project was administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in cooperation with the engineering firm Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates of Chester and Baltic, Conn.-based Mattern Construction Inc.
“Now that the project has been completed, the terrace and a restored retaining wall look just as they did before,” Wilkinson said.
Elsewhere on the Castle grounds, visitors who travel to the ferry dock may note that efforts are continuing to prevent additional deterioration at the former home of Gillette’s longtime assistant and friend, Yukitaka Osaki.
The park’s grounds are open from 8 a.m. until sunset daily, offering visitors a chance to use the park’s varied hiking trails, stroll around Gillette’s unique home and perhaps spot the eagles that frequently nest with their young along the river at many times of the year.
The park is nestled between the towns of East Haddam and Lyme. Many of its trails follow a former railroad bed created for a narrow-gauge track installed by the late Connecticut stage actor, who built his castle-like home atop one of the Seven Sister Hills along the river.
Trail maps and videos of the estate may be found on the Friends website at www.gillettecastlefriends.org. Those interested in becoming a Friends member may sign up online or download a mail-in application form at the website, or direct their questions to info@gillettecastlefriends.org or (860) 222-7850.
The organization’s mission includes the preservation, restoration and conservation of the historic structure and its scenic grounds. The all-volunteer, nonprofit group works in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Memberships help to finance park and structural improvements while preserving the estate and Gillette’s legacy.
