Beacon Bits -- Winter's Reprieve

I had an irresistible urge to get my car washed today. I wasn't in denial that it will soon rain and snow again as this brief interlude of spring comes to an end (don't blink) and when we return once again to winter's version of March madness. It just felt like it was a great day for a good car wash - 'the ultimate' a.k.a. 'the works' - and that shedding the layers of road salt was in order. And long overdue. It really felt like spring! 

 

I imagine that we all are looking around for signs of a lasting spring............

 

The changing light on the face of Mt. Beacon and Fishkill Ridge.

 

The literal signs that spring really does arrive betwixt and between the short days of winter and the long days of summer.

 

The rumors that Zora Dora will soon be re-opening its doors with seasonal favorite paletas to entice every one's palate into tasting spring's arrival before it actually does.

 

Food for thought:  The lengthening of the days with the return of Daylight Savings time is energizing the birds and those who delight in spring cleaning rituals. It's always good to greet the change of season with an openness and lightness of being. For those who have been out and about on Main Street or who attended last week's Second Saturday, you know that the increased number of opportunities to get out of the house is growing exponentially; the voracious appetite to explore and ingest is as palpable as watching a hibernating bear emerge to forage for its long-awaited nourishment. The early smorgasbord of spring delights for Beaconites include:

 

o  the return of Marion Royael Gallery with its current show featuring the 'onion';

o  sampler ballroom dancing classes at Yanarella Dance studio;

o  the birthing of chocolate bunnies, jelly eggs and marzipan chicks at Alps Sweet Shop;

o  renewed planning to revive fundraising efforts to further renovate the Beacon Theatre;

o  Water Way: The Paintings of Fredericka Foster exhibit at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries with a dialogue of the creative process with the artist planned for Saturday, 4/12 at 5pm.

 

Snow showers or not, it's time for another walking tour of Main Street before it comes into full bloom and well before parking becomes nearly impossible!

Beacon Bits -- Diversity of Women

On the eve of the annually-celebrated International Women's Day (March 8th), I wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate the Women Artists of Beacon, a show which opened on March 1st at the Howland Cultural Center and will run through March 30th.

The show is a tribute to National Women's History Month, but by virtue of the women artists represented and the content of their art, it is international in scope. One only needs to look at the roster of artists (Carol Barnstead, Stephanie Fogarty, Anne Forman, Mary Ann Glass, Charlotte Guernsey, Meredith Heuer, Gwenno James, Insun Kim, Helen Lang, Maria Largo, Jill Losee, Basha Maryanska, Michelle May, Charlene Moore, Susanne Moss, Janet Ruhe-Schoen, Tinya Seeger, Robyn Tauss, Susan Richter Todd, Kate Vikstrom, and Jane Warner) to know that among others, Wales, Spain, Norway and Korea are in 'the house'.

It's the Olympics of watercolorists, photographers, painters, print makers, collagists, and sculptors with a range of landscapes, portraits, still lives and abstract expressions. Other than joining women on the Walkway Over the Hudson on 3/8/14 or attending the Women of Beacon Awards at the Howland on 3/28, going to this show on Second Saturday or during gallery hours throughout the month, is a good way to stand in awe of the diversity of women's way of seeing, the complexity of women's way of knowing, the accomplishment of women's way of doing and most of all, the individuality of women's way of creating. Go celebrate the women of Beacon who are bold, courageous, inventive, insightful, visionary, daring, reflective, interesting, curious, colorful,

 

Food for thought: Since the inception of Women's History Month, there have been a myriad number of ways to celebrate the unique perspective that women bring to the world. This art show reflects our community of women who have invested in the revitalization of Beacon, as co-creators of the Main Street scene in its galleries, shops, restaurants and businesses. Take a look around, the presence and presents of women in Beacon are visible throughout all the months of the year, not just during the month of March. Now that's a celebration!