Mélomanie at Blue Ball Barn

Mélomanie, a music ensemble which supports and collaborates withlocal composers, is launching their fall season with a fundraiser concert and party in Blue Ball Barn. The program is one of their signature ‘provocative pairings of early and contemporary works’ – combining four early composers and two contemporary works by local composers.

The contemporary works are two of the works by regional artists which will appear on the ensemble's new CD produced by Meyer Media. Mélomanie has secured grants for the recording project from WSFS Bank, DDOA, educational institutions, individuals and other sources.

Harpsichordist Tracy Richardson says, “Our ensemble has had the good fortune to collaborate with these superb composers over several years, and we want to document our work together in order to bring it to a wider audience.” Contemporary works by Christopher Braddock and Chuck Holdeman and baroque works by Georg Muffat, Michel Corrette, Marco Uccellini, and George Philipp Telemann will be the provocative pairings for the party.

Come to the party at Blue Ball Barn on Friday, October 2 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and enjoy hors d’oeuvres and a preview of works appearing on the CD.

$75 Adults advance tickets
$65 Young Friends of the Arts (35 and under)
$85 Tickets at the door

For more information, visit www.melomanie.org or email info@melomanie.org or call 302-764.6338 to reserve tickets.

Teaching Through Image: September Wilmington Art Loop

Great art is often beautiful to behold: Monet’s Water Lilies, symphonies by Mozart and ballets danced by Baryshnikov are all pleasing to the senses. But art may also serve as a vehicle for political or social expression. The powerful work of artist-teachers Michael Kalmbach and Lori Crawford pulled me in off the gallery floor right into their worlds and viewpoints.

Step into the gallery of the Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) and you get a fabulous treat. Until October 15, the faculty and staff exhibit is on display. Jewelry, 3-D design, illustration and painting are among the mediums presented by these talented artists. Michael Kalmbach, founding member of the New Wilmington Art Association, and winner of this year’s Christi Award for Outstanding Achievement in Arts Advocacy, was there with one of his works. Presidential Auras, McCain, 2008, (pictured with Michael and son Thurman) is from his Presidential Auras series, which also includes images of Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. It’s hard not to laugh out loud when you see the life-sized cardboard cut-out of McCain that Kalmbach has transformed into a painting using acrylic paint, a felt backdrop, and a plastic covering. McCain stares out with what Kalmbach describes as a menacing glare, while the pattern of acrylic paint creates his “aura”: a drape resembling a Native American fur garb. Kalmbach explained how he calculated saving the creation of his least favorite candidate’s painting for last, when Kalmbach’s technique would be perfected.

For more information about Michael Kalmbach and the New Wilmington Art Association, visit: http://newwilmingtonart.blogspot.com

Lori Crawford, an associate professor of art at Delaware State University, was awarded the 2008 Individual Artist Fellowship in Works on Paper from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Her three-dimensional works on display at the Mezzanine Gallery in the Carvel Building include computer photographs of women printed on brown paper bags. Crawford explained to me how, years ago in the South, a person’s skin color might be compared to the shade of a brown paper bag. Church doors were sometimes painted that same color, so that parishioners might be assessed before being allowed to enter. Each one of Crawford’s bags shares a woman’s personal experience with race as well as her photograph. One woman speaks of the Vitiligo affecting her skin’s pigmentation. Another woman, of mixed heritage, expresses her exasperation over always having to explain and qualify her ethnic background. Crawford has interviewed women all over the world for this project she thought would end with the completion of her thesis in 1996. She also fashions reliefs of women in action poses from crumpled brown paper bags, with titles like The Bag Lady: Stomping Out Racism and The Bag Lady: Kicking out Sexism. (Pictured with Lori Crawford.) Her works are on display until September 25, 2009.

http://mysite.verizon.net/crawford-style/index.html

Arden Fair: Goddesses and Recycled Teapots

Live music, big crowds, and “Hippie-dom” at its best: the Arden Fair delivers! Parked cars were stacked for blocks and happy families and couples strolled on the local roads to get to the fair. The grounds were jammed with little booths, each one with its own wares or creations, from fragrant dried flowers to birdhouses and mobiles made from old silverware and whisky containers.

I stopped to talk to Ehanamane (pictured), an artist based in Smyrna. A member of the Nanticoke tribe of southern Delaware, she spoke to me of the medicine bags and goddesses she creates. Ehanamane uses geodes, leather, beads and metals in fashioning her unique creations. She told me she sensed it was her year to create goddesses she designs to be worn as necklaces. The Nanticoke Indians are Delaware’s only Native American people. Ehanamane, whose name means “Walks Among,” told me she was the only artist representing Native Americans at the fair.

Email her at ehanamane@verizon.net.

The quirkiest creations I saw were those of West Chester-based Maryann Zawicki. Her “Agape Garden” is a collection of fun garden art including bird feeders made from clear bottles and wind chimes of teapots with antique silverware dangling from them. All of Ms. Zawicki’s art is made from recycled materials. When I asked her where she found her materials, she told me, “If you had an old piece of silverware in your trash, and I liked it, I would just take it.” As fellow hoarder and recycler of trash, I enjoyed the whimsical, nostalgic feel of her artwork.

See www.mazeesagapegarden.com.