Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Assassin: A Gripping Tale of Morality, Choice and Redemption

By Christine Facciolo

You don’t have to be a football fanatic to appreciate the Delaware Theatre Company’s production of Playing the Assassin.

That’s because Playing the Assassin isn’t really about football — per se.

Playing the Assassin by David Robson.
Photo courtesy of Delaware Theatre Company.
Still there’s plenty of up-close body-slamming action in the form of a spirited — and sometimes disturbing — debate about sports ethics, morality, choice, responsibility, family, race and just about anything else the play’s two characters care to toss into one intermission-less act of conversation/altercation.

The work by Wilmington-based playwright David Robson premiered last year at Rockland County, New York’s Penguin Repertory Theatre under the direction of Joe Brancato, who reprises those duties here in Delaware as do other members of his team, including actors Ezra Knight and Garrett Lee Hendricks.

Knight turns in a gripping performance as Frank, a now-retired football legend whose dirty on-the-field tactics earned him the nickname “The Assassin” and who was responsible for inflicting a devastating in-game injury on an opposing player, rendering him paralyzed from the neck down.

The action takes place in a modern yet not-quite-five-star hotel suite in downtown Chicago. Frank has been flown in by a segment producer from CBS Sports for a much-hyped pre-Super Bowl sit-down with the player he injured years ago.

Robson bases the plot on a real-life incident. During a 1978 pre-season game, Oakland Raider Jack Tatum plowed into New England Patriot Darryl Stingley rendering him a quadriplegic. The two men never spoke again. The incident became a symbol of violence in football, tainting Tatum’s legacy right up to his death in 2010. (The incident was prominently displayed in the headline to his obituary.)

Playing the Assassin is the product of Robson’s musings about what might have taken place if the two players had met and attempted a reconciliation.

Hendricks plays Lewis, the suited-up, buttoned-down, eager-to-please (if somewhat green) producer charged with convincing Frank to sign a contract for the no-holds-barred interview which is to include an apology. Lewis seems a bit too interested in the details of the accident, the reason for which comes through later in the play. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between the vainglorious Frank and the persistent Lewis, culminating in a demonstration of Frank’s tackling prowess which turns shockingly violent.

Frank grows increasingly suspicious of Lewis, accusing him of lying about the other party’s willingness to participate in the interview. In the midst of it all, we learn that Frank has written his memoirs which make no mention of the tragic incident that captured international media attention.

Both actors manage worthy and durable performances as their characters evolve through a series of striking revelations and twists of fate that at times seem strained and contrived.

Knight is a standout in the meatier of the two roles. He deftly combines the swagger of his past glory with the stark reality of his diminished physicality and a deep-seated guilt and anger over an incident that has shadowed him and tainted his legacy.

Hicks initially presents Lewis an affable production assistant but gradually blends in a hostility that presages a deep-seated resentment and belligerence.

Robson does not directly address some of the weightier issues facing football today, namely, fan complicity in the glorification of gridiron violence and the league’s failure to prepare players — especially injured players — for life after the big leagues.

But then, Robson didn’t set out to write a play about football. Just a story about two men who at the sound of the two-minute warning need to make a play for redemption before the clock runs out.

Playing The Assassin runs at Delaware Theatre Company through November 8.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Bootless Delivers Theater for Sci-Fi Geeks, with Star Wars, a New Musical Hope

By Guest Blogger, JulieAnne Cross
JulieAnne is a Wilmington-area do-gooder, specializing in public relations, communications and events, with a focus on the dining industry. Her first arts job was in the opera industry two decades ago, and she famously states that her “only talent is pushing pencils.”


As a regular patron of Bootless Stageworks’ productions, I look forward to seeing the schedule every year. Familiar pop culture stories appear in some shape or another, year after year: Evil Dead (four times now?), Terminator the Second, Musical of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Musical, Jerry Springer, the Opera. I had seen a Bootless production of Star Wars, a New Musical Hope in 2012 and when they announced its return, I was certain I’d see it again.

Although I’d never honor myself with the label of 'sci-fi geek,' the Star Wars movies have, for years, created a common ground for family-time entertainment choices with my now 14-year-old son. While he was all weapons and action figures and play fighting, I was all art and theater and film, and Star Wars was a terrific compromise. Nevertheless, he became my “theater buddy” from a young age, seeing countless Shakespeare productions, literary classics and Broadway hits starting around age 4. Whimsical productions, such as what Bootless offers, ensured there was some payoff for him during those awkward years when I had to push a little harder to get my theater buddy on board with my entertainment plans.

This production was a musical parody of Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, scripted by local playwright, Jeremy Gable, and with music by Timothy Edward Smith and Hunter Nolen. The cast consisted of Caleb Duffy (Luke), Shaun Yates (Obi-Wan Kenobi), James Fuerst (Darth Vader), Ryan PJ Mulholland (Han), Maria Leonetti (Leia), Christopher Waters (C3P0), and Bob Ferst (a 7-foot-tall Chewbacca) as well as Wes Belli, AJ DellAversano, Bob Demarco, Mark Dixon, Mariza Esperanza, Robin Fanelli, Shamus Halloran, Shawn Kline, Andrew Laino, Tom McCarthy, Sean McGuire, Samantha Moscony, James Scotland, Luka Villani and Sedric Willis. Rosanne Dellaversano directed.

What I’ve come to expect from Bootless when they stage a parody is home-spun special effects created with a sustainable, 80-seat theater budget. There is a certain level of amusement that comes from seeing how Bootless delivers on something a Hollywood director had tens of millions to spend on. (Oh, the amount of cardboard used in Terminator the Second! Such a contrast to the Shakespearean dialogue.) I’d like to think I can suspend disbelief more easily for a sustainable budget than I can for a behemoth, and I know I’m not the only one who loved Bootless’ solution to the car chase challenge in Terminator the Second.

For Star Wars, the MOE 365 FIRST Robotics Team created a robotic R2D2. It was thrilling to see it roll out of stage right unassisted on opening night, and none too surprising to hear the mechanical parts struggling as it failed to roll back out again at the end of the scene. To be clear: PLEASE TRY THIS AGAIN NEXT TIME, BOOTLESS! I love your risk-taking and whimsy and I’d rather see Anthony crouching down to save R2 from falling over during the scene than see you not take the risk.

Bootless made effective use of several video projections, and a simple structure representing the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon did the trick for travel scenes. Otherwise, the staging was fairly sparse; given the number of people who needed to be on stage together during some scenes, this was understandable. The trash compactor scene was well-executed with the old Kuroko-holding-a-moving-wall trick.

When you know a story as well as I know Star Wars, it can be challenging to stay “in the moment” and one’s mind focuses on funny little details. I could not figure out why the heck Obi-Wan’s sleeves were tucked into his robe, until he “disappeared” through the left curtain, leaving his robe in the familiar puddle that marked his mortal exit in the film. I’m laughing now as I write about it…very cute. Other costuming and staging details that entertained: the brown creature consuming a dead Greedo in the Cantina, the purposely repeated scenes with the same two actors behind the bar/control panel, the tiny skeletons after the Tattooine slaughter, Luke’s blindfolded piñata-esque training scene. The Chewbacca costume was excellent, and Ferst managed his stilts masterfully. I was certain C3PO was going to inadvertently drop trou, a couple of the Stormtroopers had camel-toe, and I really wanted Leia to have boots instead of ballet flats, but we’re talking about sustainable theater, not obsessive cosplay.

I recall past productions where Bootless incorporated live music and I look forward to more of that; if a theater has to use canned music, making sure it works well is key, and I don’t recall any technological distractions, volume was just right, speaker quality was good, etc. Lighting was equally digestible.

Bootless had artist Blair Webb drawing live on site, having designed the promotional art of the production. The costumed cast came out after the show for photo opportunities. These were extra special touches for sci-fi fans and theater lovers alike. The stage speech was intentionally drawn out: a large party was stuck in traffic and their post-start arrival would have been disruptive to the rest of the audience.

Although I enjoyed some of their previous venues, it is nice the Bootless has found a stable home at St. Stephen’s Church. Online ticketing now includes seat selection, which is extraordinary for a theater this size. Pricing is affordable. I have never yet had difficulty finding parking in the vicinity of 13th and Broom. All in all, Bootless consistently offers a good customer experience. (Not to mention their traditional “splatter zone” seating for gore-themed productions.)

The run for this show has ended, but be sure to check out Bootless’ production of The Light in the Piazza – a “nearly operatic” musical, including some Italian language singing 
starting November 6. 

Mélomanie and The (Conscious) Universe Come Together

By Christine Facciolo
Mélomanie performs with guest artists
Kevin J. Cope, composer/guitarist and Todd Thiel, cello.
 

Music and physics have a long and storied relationship. The Greeks used musical constructions to explain the orbits of the planets. Even today, popular science books like Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe use musical analogies to explain string theory.

So it came as no surprise when composer/guitarist Kevin J. Cope told the audience for Mélomanie on Sunday that his passion for physics and cosmology provided the inspiration for "Conscium Universum (The Conscious Universe)," the work written especially for and premiered by the ensemble at its October concerts.

The composition features musical depictions of four major discoveries: The Copernican Revolution (multiple, revolving melodies); Einsteinian Relativity (rhythms that illustrate time slippage); Quantum Mechanics (melodic particles tossed among the instruments) and Hubble’s Law (simple melodies that slowly drift away from each other).

Needless to say, the musicians had a lot of fun with this piece, especially Richardson who played a “drunk dance” on the harpsichord in the second section.

The concert also featured Cope performing another of his compositions, “Kuitra,” for solo guitar. The guitar is not an instrument that gets a lot of attention from contemporary classical composers. Many are wary of its idiosyncrasies and limitations, unless, of course, like Cope, they hold a master’s degree in guitar performance.

Kuitra is a mesmerizing piece, written at a time when Cope had an abiding interest in Arabian harmonies. But not so much that he wasn’t averse to season it with a bit of the Latin.


Mélomanie violinist Christof Richter and guest cellist Todd Thiel teamed up to offer a picture of Hungary with a performance of Hungarian Folk Melodies by Bela Bartok. These duos are relatively modest Bartok but each has so much dimension and incident that it constitutes a remarkably miniature world. Richter and Thiel play in full classical tone but without smoothing over the rough edges, imparting a rustic quality to the performance.

Richardson and Cope came together to perform two rarely heard gems from the Beethoven catalog: the Sonatina in C Minor and the Adagio in E-Flat Major. These pieces were originally scored for harpsichord and mandolin, an instrument that was enjoying a period of popularity among the cultured nobility when Beethoven was a young composer. Both are charming pieces that reveal the nature of salon music in 18th Century Vienna and the budding talents of the young composer.

Rounding out the program were a Sonata in A Minor by Telemann whose chamber works were well-known for their considerable panache and Quantz’s Quartet No. 5 in C Major, a splendidly vigorous and inventive contrapuntal work, quite different in style from his rather gallant flute concertos.


The ensemble performs the concert again on Sunday, October 25, at the Smyrna Opera House, in partnership with Gable Music Ventures. Tickets for that performance are still available at www.brownpapertickets.com

The Bard Meets the Tomahawk Man

By Guest Blogger, JulieAnne Cross
JulieAnne is a Wilmington-area do-gooder, specializing in public relations, communications and events, with a focus on the dining industry. Her first arts job was in the opera industry two decades ago, and she famously states that her “only talent is pushing pencils.”

Delaware Shakespeare Festival’s annual “Shakespeare/Poe, Readings from the Dark Side” began its two-week run on October 16. The fourth annual event has expanded the series’ reach with a 10-show run, with each of the three distinct, historic locations Rockwood Mansion (Wilmington), Read House (New Castle) and the Stone Stable (Odessa)  set for a limited capacity of 30. I have attended past readings at Rockwood, and can attest that the Victorian setting creates a perfect mood for the gothic-themed selections, and no doubt the colonial settings do the same.

The selections for the hour-long reading included some works familiar to returning patrons, but the theme was newly expanded to include gothic literary royalty: Ann Radcliffe and Mary Shelley.

  • Opening of The Black Cat – Edgar Allan Poe
  • Macbeth – William Shakespeare, Portions from Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 4 Scene 1
  • The Mysteries of Udolpho – Ann Radcliffe, Excerpt from Volume 2, Chapter 6
  • Cymbeline – from Act 2 Scene 2
  • Portions of The Pit and The Pendulum – Poe
  • Richard II – Richard monologue from Act 3 Scene 2
  • Portions of The Invisible Girl – Mary Shelley
  • Annabel Lee – Poe
  • Shakespeare or Poe? Audience Quiz
  • The Raven – Poe
  • Hamlet/Raven Mash-up (You have to hear this one to appreciate it!)
  • The Tempest – Caliban Monologue from Act 3 Scene 2
The handful of readings that repeated from 2014 were, in my opinion, critical to the series theme. It just wouldn’t be a Poe reading without the melodic (and short) Annabel Lee and it wouldn’t be Halloween season without The Raven and the Wyrd Sisters from Macbeth making an appearance. I was shocked to learn my companion had never heard Poe’s haunting love poem, but not surprised that it made an impact.

The readings from new authors were well received. The Invisible Girl gave me the kind of willies one gets from a supernatural story, whereas The Mysteries of Udolpho recalled the kind of terror Julia Roberts’ character experienced in Sleeping with the Enemy. Invisible in this case carries both a literal and metaphoric meaning that will be familiar to feminist sympathizers.

The cast consisted of James Kassees, Danielle Lenee, Matthew Mastronardi, and Megan Slater, with Mastronardi accompanying on the cello. Mastronardi’s arrangements and original compositions, including sound effects, were only applied to a handful of the readings, but to terrific effect, particularly Poe’s The Pit and The Pendulum (my favorite Poe story, which, admittedly, I failed to read in favor of the Vincent Price movie version).

David Stradley (who directed the production and assembled the readings) cleverly breaks up the longer readings using the four diverse voices, and the individual cast members effectively project multiple characters in rapid succession when called for.

The guest experience was enhanced with the offering of a hot, mulled cider. I was pleased to have a chance to stretch my legs, despite there being no intermission, thanks to a quiz-off between another patron and me; we took turns listening to a line of text and guessing whether it was Shakespeare or Poe.

My 14-year-old son has attended readings before, but this was my husband’s first reading. The pace is quick, and it would be a great entrée into theater for most newbie patrons. As far as children, the content is no scarier than Scar or Ursula or Jafaar, and regularly exposing a young mind to the linguistics of centuries past may make high school Shakespeare assignments easier. I strongly encourage you to buy a ticket for the mini-goth, zombie lover or emo baby in your life – the Hamlet/Raven Mash-up should be right up their alley.

Other than a generally excellent setting, there are no lighting effects, which could be interesting in future years. The nearby parking was full, ostensibly due to activity in an adjacent building, but there is a convenient drop off point for passengers, and handicap spaces were still available nearby.

DelShakes puts on similar events around Valentine’s Day, with a “Shakespeare + St. Valentine” program planned for 2016. I’m glad the format fits with other holidays. Otherwise, I’d be awaiting the fifth annual Halloween-time reading like a kid anticipating, well, Halloween.

Some tickets remain available for late October dates. Click here to order.


Tuesday, October 20, 2015

First State Ballet Brings Delaware A "Beauty" of a Performance

By Christine Facciolo

First State Ballet Theatre, under the artistic direction of Pasha Kambalov, held the audience spellbound as it opened its 2015-16 season — its 16th as a professional company — with a gorgeous production of The Sleeping Beauty on Saturday, October 17 at The Grand Opera House in Wilmington.

With music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa, this beloved ballet has captivated audiences for more than a century. Generations have thrilled to its royal celebrations, magnificent castle scenes, magic spells, the battle of good and evil and the triumphant victory of everlasting love.

No ballet tests a company’s technical mettle more than The Sleeping Beauty, and this performance featured three hours of dazzling choreography, intricate pointe work and soaring jumps.

The story gets off to a wonderful start as a sorority of fairy godmothers arrives at Baby Princess Aurora’s christening, bestowing on her all the gifts she will need in life. These masterful ballerinas glided across the stage with such grace and ease that it looked effortless.

The plot gets rolling after the passage of 16 years when the court celebrates the now marriageable Aurora’s birthday. The lovely and lissome Mary Kate Reynolds reprises her role as the condemned princess, displaying all the sprightliness and joy one would expect of a teenage character in the bloom of life. She seemed to hover in the air, skimming the stage with a light pas de chat. The role calls for a master turner and Reynolds executed every pirouette with grace and precision.

The handsome Justin Estelle danced the role of Prince Desire who kisses and awakens Aurora from a 100-year sleep, imposed by the slighted evil fairy Carabosse (danced by a deliciously diabolical Aubrey Clemens). From the moment he appeared in the hunting scene, Estelle commanded the stage with a proper air of aristocracy and exciting yet tasteful and elegant dancing. His gravity-defying feats were among the most impressive highlights of the ballet. There was no shortage of chemistry between him and Reynolds.

And there was much more to appreciate, whether it is in the wisdom and dreaminess of Lauren Frere’s Lilac Fairy, the lightness of Rie Aoki and Leonid Goykhman’s “Bluebird pas de deux,” the playfulness of The White Cat (Angela Zielen) and Puss-in-Boots (John Brewer) or the engaging Master of Ceremonies (Jake Nowicki). Jake Allison and Anna Carapellotti offered a proud and dignified King Florestan XIV and Queen, respectively.

Aside from the breathtaking dancing, the costumes were true stand-outs in this production, perfectly complementing the performers, from the Lilac Fairy’s sparkling purple tutu to the dark robes of the evil Carabosse and her minions.

This “Sleeping Beauty” was a magnificent piece of art, from slumber to awakening.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Delaware Historical Society Series on African-American Leaders Continues

The Delaware Historical Society’s Center for African American Heritage announces its October Voices of the Elders program, highlighting the life and career of Mayor George C. Wright, Jr. 

Throughout 2015, the Voices of the Elders series has documented and shared the stories of a prominent African American leaders in Delaware through short films and mini-exhibitions. Past elders featured in this series have included Esthelda Parker Selby, Dr. Joseph E. Johnson, Canon Lloyd Casson and the late James H. Gilliam, Sr. The series will conclude on December 10, 2015.

George C. Wright, Jr. has a long history of service in the State of Delaware. He became the first African American to be elected mayor when he became the Mayor of Smyrna in 1982. Mayor Wright held the office of Mayor until 1995 when he decided not to run for another term. Before becoming mayor, he served on the Smyrna Town Council for six terms, beginning in 1969. Mayor Wright also acted as the executive director of the Delaware League of Local Governments and was the chief of staffing for civilian personnel at the Dover Air Force Base from 1956-1989.
On Thursday, October 22, there will be a reception beginning at 5:30pm, followed by a film screening and program at 6:30pm. The event will be held in the Copeland Room of the Delaware History Museum, at 504 N. Market Street in downtown Wilmington. Free parking is provided by Colonial Parking in the 6th and Shipley Street lot.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling (302) 655-7161 or emailing deinfo@dehistory.org.

This program is a collaboration between the Delaware Historical Society’s Center for African American Heritage, WITN22, and the Wilmington City Council.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Celebrating 30 Years of Renaissance Music with Its "Pied Pipers"

Piffaro, The Renaissance Band. Photo by Sharon Torello.
By Christine Facciolo

Devotees of Renaissance music packed the chapel at Christ Church in Greenville Sunday to celebrate the opening of Piffaro’s 30th Anniversary Season, welcome back old friends and memorialize the passing of another.

The internationally acclaimed “Pied Pipers of Early Music” broke out shawms, dulcians, sackbuts, recorders, krumhorns, bagpipes, lutes, guitars, harps and a variety of percussion for a lively and diverse retrospective of their “greatest hits” from one of music’s most cosmopolitan and vibrant periods. (Fans were also invited to curate the program by voting at the ensemble’s website, www.piffaro.org.)

Repertoire spanned 15th Century motets by the Low Countries’ Heinrich Isaac to a chaconne by 17th Century Spaniard Juan Aranes. Other composers featured on the program were Ludwig Senfl, Thomas Weelkes, Nicolas Gombert, Jakob Arcadelt as well as the ubiquitous Anonymous.

The Renaissance set the stage for much of what lay ahead in Western music. Increasingly freed from medieval constraints, music became a vehicle for personal expression and composers found ways to make their music expressive of the texts they were setting.

“La Guerra” by Mateo Flecha is a striking example. Here life’s struggles cast in terms of war and victory are conveyed through constantly changing meters, textures and tonality, all of which were executed to perfection.

Throughout the Renaissance, dance music flowered and thrived and was composed — or more likely improvised — by many people. The Suite of Dances by Tylman Susato is a fine representative of some of the outstanding dance music of the late Renaissance. Piffaro’s joyous playing had toes tapping and heads bobbing to the infectious rhythms, making for a fitting close to the two-hour program.

There were more subdued moments as well, such as harpist Christa Patton and lutist Grant Herreid duetted on the poignant La Rossignol, an Elizabethan piece originally written for two guitars. Patton recalled that the piece was used in the 1970s PBS special on Elizabeth I during the scene when the monarch and her fiancé were to meet in secret in a church to exchange vows but somehow missed each other.

A touch of sadness pervaded the concert as the ensemble remembered their late colleague Tom Zajac who passed away on August 31. The recorders captured the meditative quality of Nicolas Gombert’s Musae jovis to profound effect, balancing shades of mourning with moments of light and serenity. Gombert wrote the majestic requiem as a lament on the death of his teacher, polyphonic master Josquin des Prez.

The concert was also a reunion of sorts, as former ensemble members Adam and Rotem Gilbert (1989-2007), Eric Anderson (1989-1995) and George Hoyt (1996-1999) returned to join the milestone celebration.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

A Trip to Winterthur Now Just Might be Better than "Breakfast at Tiffany's"...

By Christine Facciolo
Christine holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music and continues to apply her voice to all genres of music. An arts lover since childhood, she currently works as a freelance writer.

Well by Fence window, design attrib. to Agnes Northrop (1857–1953), 

Tiffany Studios, New York, ca. 1910. 
The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, Queens, New York N86.W.9

Rarely has there been an American artist as innovative and creative as Louis Comfort Tiffany. Son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of the renowned jewelry and silver firm, Tiffany (1848-1933) chose to chart his own artistic path rather than settle into the family business.

Tiffany’s career spanned from the 1870s through the 1920s, embracing virtually every artistic and decorative medium: painting, interiors, lighting, metalwork, pottery, enamels, jewelry, glass and mosaics.

Of all his artistic endeavors, though, it is his work with stained glass — especially lamps — that has earned him the greatest recognition. Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library is celebrating that legacy with the dazzling display “Tiffany Glass: Painting with Color and Light” which runs through January 3, 2016.

The exhibit features items from the collection of Egon and Hildergard Neustadt, who began acquiring the works in 1935 following the death of Tiffany and the demise of his studios in Corona, Queens, New York.

Tiffany began his artistic career as a painter but by 1875 had developed an interest in glassmaking. His constant drive to innovate led to the development of a new technique for making stained glass which had remained essentially unchanged since medieval times, when artisans applied paint to clear glass before firing and leading. Tiffany created and patented a radical new process called opalescent glass, in which several colors are combined and manipulated to produce a rainbow-range of hues and three-dimensional effects.

The windows — Tropical Landscape (ca. 1910), Well by Fence (ca. 1910) and Grape Vine and Lemon Trellis — which greet visitors to the exhibit, are breathtaking examples of Tiffany’s ability to “paint” with glass.

Tiffany looked to nature as the primary source of design inspiration. Nowhere is Tiffany’s mastery for translating nature into glass more apparent than in his iconic lamps. We see them in pictures and on television but only deliberative observation can reveal the complexity of the shapes of the blossoms and the unruly growth patterns of the flowers as well as the nuances of color and texture.

Lampshades of all shapes and sizes are adorned with profusions of peonies, pond lilies, poppies, poinsettias, dragonfly and wisteria.

Supplementing the exhibit is an educational display showing the painstaking and labor-intensive process that goes into making a Tiffany lampshade as well as sheets of original Tiffany glass.

The exhibit also recognizes key figures who worked at the Tiffany Studios and their contributions: chemist Arthur J. Nash (1849-1934) and leading designers Agnes Northrop (1857-1953), Clara Driscoll (1861-1944) and Frederick Wilson (1858-1932).

There is also a primer on forgery with three fakes on display and tips on how to spot the imposters.

A secondary exhibit, “Tiffany: The Color of Luxury,” offers a fun look at the iconic retail operation. It features one of Tiffany’s own paintings as well as fine stationery, silver wedding gifts, diamond engagement rings and brooches. There’s even a silver telephone dialer and — of course, the “Tiffany Blue Box”— the most recognized and desirable retail container in history.

See www.winterthur.org.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Delaware & American Craft Week Kicks Off Tomorrow!

Celebrating artisans and art organizations throughout the state of Delaware who enrich and contribute to the economic fabric and vibrancy of Delaware.

In this month of celebrating arts and humanities, Delaware is prepped to welcome American Craft Week! What began as a small, grassroots effort to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of handmade craft now celebrates its fifth anniversary. American Craft Week is a well-established, national event celebrating the tradition of American craft in artists' studios, galleries, museums, schools, and festivals.


In celebration of craft in America, American Craft Week will present a Masterpiece exhibit and sale -- an online exhibition featuring one-of-a-kind work by one exceptional craft artists from each of the 50 states and Washington, DC.
An architect who creates wearable art, Arden Bardol of Dover will represent Delaware in this nationwide event. The exhibition will be available online now through October 11.

Delaware's 2015 Individual Artist Fellow in Craft, James Ulry, will have an exhibit at the Dover Art League during October, and events will be held throughout Delaware in celebration of American and Delaware Craft Weeks.

Listen here to the WILM "State of the Arts" Podcast interview with Esther Lovlie, Lorin Felter and Hilary LaMotte Burke about Delaware Craft Week, all of whom were instrumental in getting Delaware Craft Week into the public's consciousness.

Join the Delaware Craft Week Facebook page and support local artists!