Draw nature and investigate soil at Berkshire Botanical Garden
Stockbridge— From October 31 to November 2, botanical illustrator Carol Ann Morley will hold a three-day workshop. “Rendering Notes from Nature.” Students will create botanical note cards in pen and colored pencil using a fun technique that starts with tracing over photocopies with a micron pen onto translucent paper. Add shading to give depth, then bring it all to life with colored pencils and watercolors. Artists of all levels are warmly welcome!
This workshop meets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 31 to Nov 2. Register for this event here, $200 for members, $255 for nonmembers.
Beginning on November 1, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. John Howell will teach a four session course explaining how plant growth is affected by the soil, from drainage to pH and nutrients. Learn how to evaluate soils, improve those that are less than ideal and amend soils for specific garden uses. Fertilizers, soil amendments, making and using compost, moisture management, and the pros and cons of mulching will be covered.
Students need to get a soil sample before class and bring the results to the first class. Take and submit a routine soil analysis for home grounds and gardening to UMass Amherst. Request an additional soil organic matter test. Please do so as soon as possible. Further information can be found here and here and order forms can be found here. Please have a copy of your results sent to howell@umass.edu.
Register for this event here, $185 for members, $215 for nonmembers, free for HC Students.
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Ancram Opera House expands
Ancram— AOH recently purchased the yellow house next door to the Opera House and intends to transform the house into artist and intern housing and community meeting space. On Sunday, October 30 from 12 to 4 p.m. Ancram Opera House and volunteers will clear the house, remove carpets, and light demolition work.
No specific skills necessary, just be willing to get a bit dusty and roll up your sleeves. Gloves, dust masks, water and snacks provided. If you’d like to volunteer, contact info@ancramoperahouse.org.
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Historian discusses history of data
Williamstown— On Tuesday, November 1, at 5:30 p.m., architectural historian Zeynep Çelik Alexander (Columbia University) presents a talk examining the architectural history of imperial data at the Clark Art Institute. Sharing material from her forthcoming book, Alexander investigates the construction of nineteenth-century storehouses of information in the British Empire. Alexander notes that what people call a “database” today was, first and foremost, a political technology that, she argues, could be understood as a legacy of imperialism.
A reception in the Clark’s reading room precedes the program at 5 pm. Free and open to the public; no registration is required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events
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Women’s aftercare group meetings
Pittsfield— 2nd Street, an organization supporting men and women in Berkshire County who were formerly incarcerated, will begin holding weekly Women’s Aftercare Group meetings on Tuesday, November 1 from 4 to 5 p.m. The informal meetings, open to all formerly incarcerated women in Berkshire County, will be held at the 2nd Street building located at 264 Second Street, Pittsfield. The meetings are free and no registration is required; drop-ins are welcome. Women on open probation or parole are also welcome to participate. Food and beverages will be supplied.
Lindsay Maynard, a corrections caseworker for the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office, is coordinating the event. Maynard, who said the program enjoyed several years of popularity before COVID-19 temporarily halted it, is excited to restart it.
Second Street Second Chances, Inc., better known as 2nd Street, supports formerly incarcerated persons in Berkshire County and connects them with the tools, programs and support they need to successfully reenter their community. Visit 2nd Street at www.2nd-street.org.
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PS21 premieres Inside Spaces, This is National Wake, and Resonant Mechanisms
Chatham, N.Y. — PS21’s Fall series Preview of Inside Spaces premieres on October 30 at 5 p.m. in their Blackbox Theater, an electro-acoustic collaboration by trumpeter, santur player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar and electronics performer and composer Lorenzo Bianchi-Hoesch. Inside Spaces blends microtonal harmonies, maqam (melodic modes unique to Arabic music), and jazz improvisation in a modular marvel of cross-cultural music-making. Inside Spaces is 1 hour, and will be followed by an informal discussion with the artist.
On November 12 at 6 p.m., Chatham-based filmmaker Mirissa Neff will screen This is National Wake, her documentary tracing the rise and fall of the multiracial South African punk group, “the band that defied apartheid,” whose members risked everything to taste freedom and documented their courageous performances in Super 8. The band’s “brilliant archival footage” forms the basis of Neff’s revelatory film.
On November 18 at 7 p.m., [Switch~ Ensemble] will present Resonant Mechanisms: The Experimental Tradition in Upstate New York, a concert of new and old works that engage with the region’s rich tradition of experimental music, including commissions by Victoria Cheah and Jen Kutler for quintet and electronics of contrasting modalities.
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Aquaponics talk at MCLA
North Adams— Sam Fleming will present the 2022 Elizabeth Vadnais Environmental Issues Lecture at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1 in Murdock Hall Room 218 at MCLA.
Sam Fleming is the co-founder and executive director of 100 Gardens. Over the past 10 years, Fleming and the 100 Gardens team have installed aquaponic gardens across the United States and Haiti. Currently, they have aquaponics programs in 17 schools and two correctional centers, including the Berkshire County House of Corrections. 100 Gardens is dedicated to changing the way people think about how food is grown and how that impacts the environment.
This event is free and open to the public. Call 413-662-5224 or email advancement@mcla.edu for more information or zoom details.
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Material World opens at Bernay Fine Art
Great Barrington— Bernay Fine Art is pleased to announce their new show, entitled Material Word, opening Saturday, October 29 with a reception for the artists from 4 to 6 p.m. The reception will begin with a discussion about plaster, and how three of the artists use it in their work.
Anthony Chase uses different types of plaster and other rock mixes to create his unique compositions. Italian plasters, breccia and marble chips can all be found in his recent creations. Noah Post combines plaster with other mediums such as paint, ink, and graphite to create large complex paintings while Shira Toren mixes plaster and acrylic paint onto linen and wood panel.
In addition to these artists, the show includes Greg MacAvoy, Hideyo Okamura and Nancy Simonds. MacAvoy creates figurative sculptures out of American Black Cherry. Okamura and Simonds contribute unique ink and gouache color drawings and paintings on paper to the show.
Material World runs Saturday October 29th through December 4th, 2022.
