MENU

Sections

More

November 28, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

Spy Highlights

Yearning for Blue Skies, White Sand, and Palm Trees: Foxy’s Turns 20 Plus One

by

We’re used to hearing about grand openings, anniversaries, and celebrations that had to be canceled or postponed as the world dealt with a pandemic. In many cases, these inadvertent pauses allowed the planning of an even grander festivity than initially imagined. Such is the case with Foxy’s Harbor Grille of St. Michaels as they prepare for their 20th — or as owner Terye Knopp calls it, 20+1 — Anniversary Party. And, she assures us: it’s going to be epic!

No, Knopp hasn’t owned the establishment the entire 20 years, but she plans on collaborating with those who used to call Foxy’s theirs. This includes Arthur Webb (of Awful Arthur’s Seafood Company fame), who started Foxy’s and then sold it to Steve and Deena Kilmon, who sold it to Jon Lewis, who, around ten years ago, sold it to Knopp. Each owner, says Knopp, left a lasting legacy to the institution, and instead of burying their accomplishments, she plans on making it a significant part of the celebration.

Legacy is important to Knopp; it’s part of who she is. Her family has an Eastern Shore connection that goes back five generations, starting on Tilghman Island and ending in St. Michaels. But there is something else that defines her, and it’s all about her search for ‘blue skies, the white sand, and the palm trees.’

The search for that dream was so strong that in the winter of 1997, she took a job as a chef on a private cruise boat that went to — yep, you guessed it — the Bahamas, the Caribbean, St. Maarten, and St Bart. She might have continued doing that for an indeterminate amount of time were it not for a marriage and a pregnancy that brought her back to the Shore and the start of her restaurant experience. The couple ended up buying and running Madison’s West End Restaurant (named after their daughter) in St. Michaels for several years until a divorce changed her direction once again.

Maddie and Terye Knopp

Returning to her original training as a dental hygienist, Knopp accepted a job in — not surprising — Florida’s Key West, where she and daughter, Maddie, got to enjoy her dream for a while. But there was another feeling that started to intrude into that dream. The legacy part that reminded her not only how much she missed her family and her town but also, surprisingly, the restaurant life.

That’s when she got a phone call from her good friend and former Foxy owner. “Deena (Kilmon) called saying that Foxy’s was for sale. I thought: ‘wow, there’s my opportunity! Let me give it some thought.’ It didn’t take me even 24 hours to decide. It was right in my hometown and small enough (it was just the patio at the time) that I could do it by myself, and it was seasonal, so I could still go and get my skies, sand, and palm trees.”

And so she bought it, and over the ten years, she made some changes to her patio: creating a bigger kitchen, expanding the drink menu, and adding a large selection of craft beer. Foxy’s became a hot spot, and it wasn’t unusual to be put on a two-hour waitlist. Foxy’s had outgrown its space. And that’s about when the adjacent property, formerly the Town Dock restaurant, became available in 2019. It was an opportunity she couldn’t turn down.

Knopp put into motion a plan that would keep the patio casual but ‘bump it up a notch’ once people came inside. She hired an executive chef, upgraded the menus, and started remodeling. The improvement ideas included seating areas, two indoor bars, a gift shop, tropical colors on the walls, tables overlooking the harbor, and space for events.

Once the renovation was completed, it was time to introduce the new Foxy’s. An opening event was planned for Wednesday, March 18th. Invitations had gone out, $15,000 in liquor and over $10,000 in food had been delivered, when on March 16th, the Governor shut down Maryland.

Looking back, Knopp said, “We made it through COVID. It was tough, just like it was for everybody. We learned how to do takeout, even though we didn’t want to do it, but that’s what the world wanted. Takeout was very popular, especially in March, April, and May. Then, once we got into the season, the marina was full every day, and people wanted to eat. So again, we had a captive audience, and we made it through the year.”

This brings us to 2021 and the epic commemoration that didn’t happen but is about to. “I want everybody that’s ever worked at Foxy’s, that’s been a fan of Foxy’s, that has become family of Foxy’s, or a friend of Foxy’s to come.”

So for all those people, the 20+1 year anniversary party is happening on October 3rd from noon to six. The main portion will be held on the patio, and two local and very popular bands, JCT 33 and Bird Dog and the Road Kings, will entertain. The plan is for Foxy’s former owners to attend and celebrate their legacy. For that, Knopp has created a special Owner’s Menu.

Terye Knopp

“When Arthur Webb opened, he advertised Foxy’s as the ‘home of the 10 oz Martini.’ We’re not going to sell 10 oz Martinis, but we will have 5 oz glasses for $5.00 and signed by Arthur. The Kilmons introduced the Crab Pretzel, and we’ll have that on the menu. Jon Lewis’ claim to fame was the hugely successful Orange Crush. So we’re going to roll back to 2006 prices and sell them for $6.00. My contribution is the Island Dog, which is literally a jalapeno hot dog that is grilled and rolled in a taco shell.” That’s only a small part of what is being planned for that day.

As Terye Knopp described plans for the event, and throughout this interview, there was another Knopp who quietly filled in additional detail, answered employee questions, and ran errands. Daughter Maddie. She is the next-generation restaurateur, being groomed to take over Foxy’s. There is no doubt she’s ready. “I have been working here since I was 12, starting as a bus girl, then as a hostess, then a server, and then I bartended for a few years. Over the last two years, I’ve been really involved in the managerial aspects of running this business.”

Is there anything she would do differently? No, Maddie said. “I think that my mom has created a tremendous opening opportunity for me to come in and learn the ropes. I’m a restaurant kid. I know what I’m walking into, and I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else.”

For now, both Knopps are preparing for this party and looking forward to Breakfast with Santa, which they’re hosting on December 11th. The event, which used to be held at the Town Dock Restaurant through 2016, will now be at Foxy’s.

Something else keeping Knopp busy is her involvement with the newly formed St. Michaels Restaurant Association, whose function is to represent the 31 qualifying members. “The restaurants in St. Michaels are the largest employer, and if you put all the restaurants together, we employ over 450 people. Our goal is to be a solution-based organization working with our local government and neighboring businesses so that we can give our visitors the best experience possible.”

It appears as if Knopp is here to stay. And, if you wonder what happened to the yearning for blue skies, white sand, and palm trees, well, it seems as if she’s realized that you don’t necessarily have to leave to find your island vibe. “Foxy’s has become a destination,” she said. “it’s not like they come to St. Michaels and find Foxy’s. They come to Foxy’s and find St. Michaels.” So, for now, the white sand may be a challenge, but we’re sure she found her blue skies and the palm trees.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

www.foxysharborgrille.com 125 Mulberry Street St. Michaels, MD (410) 745-4340 For more information about Christmas in St. Michaels, go here: Christmasinstmichaels.org

Telling the Family Story: Angeline Sturgis on American Dream Stories

by

Everyone has a story. It’s a reporter’s job to get to the part of someone’s life that captures a compelling moment that will motivate, entertain, or move the reader. Of course, unless it’s something ‘newsworthy,’ most people aren’t asked to tell theirs. And that’s too bad. There are some remarkable stories that might just change a life.

That’s what Angeline Sturgis hopes for anyway.  

Angeline Sturgis

Sturgis isn’t a reporter, nor even a storyteller. She’s a retired ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher who moved from New Jersey to Easton. What Sturgis does well is listen. It started with a friend of hers, a janitor from Cuba named William, who worked at her old school. “William would tell me his amazing story,” said Sturgis, “about how he had come to the United States when he was in his early 20s. One day I said to him, ‘William, you have to write this story down!’ And he said, ‘Why? Do you think I’m going to forget it?’ And I said, ‘No. For other people.’”

That was the beginning. Sturgis took her laptop down to his tiny janitor closet and documented his words. She then asked William’s 6-year-old daughter to illustrate the narrative. Once completed, Sturgis found an online site that allowed her to create a picture/photo book. Within a short time, she had chronicled other stories from her students. 

After her move to the Eastern Shore, Sturgis looked to volunteer her time. She heard about Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center (ChesMRC), an organization that provides services to non-English speaking residents from Talbot and surrounding counties, and asked if they’re be interested in her immigrant stories. With help from a small grant from Talbot Arts Council, Sturgis turned to Victoria Gomez Lozano, ChesMRC’s Hispanic Outreach Coordinator, for assistance in identifying the ‘storytellers.’ Three Easton families volunteered. Each family is from one of three countries: Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras, countries that are representative of the immigrant population on the Eastern Shore. 

As these books were being written, Sturgis imagined a small gathering, at a local church perhaps, where these stories would be read aloud, while the pictures drawn by the children would be projected on a screen. She already knew how moving such an event would be, having experienced it in Jersey.

That’s when Matthew Peters, Executive Director of ChesMRC, stepped in. He agreed that these stories were important but knew they needed to be shared on a larger scale. “We’re not an advocacy group or organization,” said Peters, “and we’re not advocating for any change. But we also know the real stories behind what we see every day. What’s normal for us is not being told or heard because it’s too tough. Politics and idealisms aside, we need to start listening to these accounts.”

What Peters meant was that despite these books being illustrated by children, the stories are far from being for kids. They are powerful, hard-hitting, and raw.  

They were never similar, says Sturgis, yet each touched her. She mentioned parts from the books that stood out for her.  One was a drawing from the book called The Pieces of My Heart. “The grandson illustrated it with a heart that keeps shattering. And every time something awful happens to his grandmother, a piece of the heart chips off.” Or this quote from one of the books: “This was harrowing for all of us, but especially for me, because at 14, I was now practically a mother to my seven-year-old brother, responsible for his welfare, and far more aware of the dangers of international travel by unaccompanied children. The two of us were sent off by bus to make our way alone through Central America. It was as awful as all the stories we had ever heard.” 

What’s important to Sturgis that people understand is that her focus is not on the adversity of these families. “That’s why I call this project Telling the Family Story,” she said.  “It’s not called, Against the Odds. These are snippet of the universal desire to work hard and get ahead.  It’s, for lack of a better word, the American Dream.”

Once completed, the only thing that needed to be considered was how to best honor these stories. With Peters’ backing, a decision was made that with Hispanic Heritage Month occurring in September, the right time was now. The Avalon Theater was the right place, and a fundraising event would be held to expose Easton (and the world) to the emotional themes and the journeys that led these three families to the Eastern Shore.

So on September 24th at 7:00 pm at the Stoltz Pavillion, ChesMRC will present “Nuestras Raices (Our Roots),” where each family will read their unique chronicle. Signed copies of the books will be available after the show.  The Director of the Center for Cultural Engagement at The Catholic University of America, Javier Bustamante, will be the keynote speaker and musician, Tori Gomez will perform. Following the event, there will be a mingling session where attendees can meet the families.

This will be a day that Sturgis has been looking forward to—not for herself, but for the families whose stories she captured. “My name is nowhere on these books,” she said, “they are the authors, and the children are the illustrators. And can you imagine if you had to leave school in the fourth grade—being the author of a book! Each story shows that what they went through was to benefit their children because they knew that life was too dangerous not to do anything else.”

The books will be available in either English or Spanish. They are:

The Pieces of My Heart, by Veronica Renero Paz and illustrated by her grandson, Jose. She talks about her life in Guatemala and her determination to keep her family together as they traveled to a new country.

Love Leads the Way, by Trinidad Bravo Bravo, is a story about two Mexican teens whose parents were determined to keep them apart and their commitment to make their relationship work, no matter how far they needed to travel. It is illustrated by three of the couple’s children, Jeremy Jonas, Jadiel, and Genesis Rosario.

Because of Mommy Tomi, by Estela Vianey Ramirez Ulloa and illustrated by her daughters Daniela and Natalie, is a heartbreaking account about the bond between a grandmother and her young granddaughter and the ultimate sacrifice the grandmother had to make to protect the children she was raising in Honduras.

Everyone has a story.

To purchase tickets for this event, go here. https://tickets.avalontheatre.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=1309

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

Mid-Shore Commerce: Setting the Shore on Fire

by

There is always a feel-good component when we talk about a hometown kid who made good, particularly when they’re from your town. The same goes for a simple idea that well… works.

We first heard about City Bonfires from Joe Opalski, Easton resident and dad to Michael Opalski. He wanted us to know that his son and a neighbor started the company, an idea that Joe said was ‘genius.’ We followed up.

Michael Opalski and Chris Mccasland

Born and bred in Easton, the younger Opalski graduated from Easton High, went to college, got married, started a job, had kids, and moved to Rockville, MD, not too far from his roots. In Rockville, he discovered that his across-the-street neighbor, Chris McCasland, and he had a connection to the restaurant industry. Opalski worked with a manufacturing company that sold equipment to restaurants. McCasland owned Quincy’s South Bar & Grille in Rockville and Quincy’s Potomac Bar & Grill in Potomac. McCasland also had a business selling tickets to concerts, sports, and theater events throughout the country.

A proud dad would not have contacted us, and this story might not have turned out to be a story at all was it not for the pandemic. Because suddenly, these two neighbors found themselves without their day-to-day jobs, quarantined in their homes. Like with many other communities, small neighbor pods formed. Their kids began to play together, and the two men, who had never really had more than a two- or three-minute conversation, became friends. With life on pause, as they hung around the house, McCasland shared some ideas he’d been thinking about that would be ‘cool to do’ during the pandemic. Opalski was interested.

What they came up with was simple: Their families had enjoyed gathering around a bonfire; why not, they thought, a personal and portable fire pit? A product that would give people in all living situations–whether in a city or rural setting–the chance to sit around an outside fire without needing lots of space and firewood and with no extra clean-up.

With a solid idea, the two entrepreneurs created various prototypes, finally settling on a 4×2 inch round metal tin can using non-toxic soy wax that becomes the flame and creates a reusable (with 3-4 hours of burn time) mini bonfire.

Their next decision was easy. Knowing that pursuing the big box stores or the old brick and mortars to sell their products would be a slow process (particularly during the pandemic), they decided to use e-commerce instead, creating ad content for social media platforms.

For that, they turned to Opalski’s hometown—Easton. It was the most obvious choice, he said, “there’s such beauty there–the landscape is just incredible. And we could get pictures of the can with the water behind it. We envisioned people using it, took pictures of that, and didn’t need to rely on stock photos.”

And so it began. Now, for many innovators, the possibility of selling some inventory would be a great side or temporary thing—until they could return to their ‘real jobs.’ What McCasland and Opalski did not anticipate was the response. And here is where this becomes a story–because this simple yet solid idea caught on. Again, partially because of COVID.

“It was the experience,” said Opalski. “If you’re a grandparent and couldn’t be with your grandkids, you could send them this and FaceTime with them and be part of the good time they were having. Making this process a little bit more convenient, hit a vein.”

“It also helped that people were stuck at home and were looking for different ideas of what to do outside with their family,” said McCasland. “It was an easy, inexpensive, quick decision kind of thing.”

Also unanticipated was that their buyers started coming up with ideas of their own, and the two responded. The can bonfire expanded from not just a ‘sit around and enjoy a fire’ to a kit that also came with all the components necessary to create s’mores.

The senior Opalski—Joe—was enlisted to help: “I’d go to all the local grocery/big box stores and buy their entire inventory of marshmallows and graham crackers. I’d get strange looks and stares as I came through the check-out lines.”

As the demand grew, so did Joe’s role. “It was fun and exciting watching and being part of his growth. At first, along with Chris’ family members, I was gluing wicks. Finally, I graduated to hauling wholesale supplies. I’d travel to the can manufacturer and bring 10-15,000 cans or 14,000 candy bars to their new warehouse.”

That’s right–they had to move to a warehouse because neither their garages nor their families could support or keep up with the expansion. It helped that the press was supportive. It’s only been a year, yet the product has been featured in People Magazine, Self, Reader’s Digest, E-Online, Today Show, CNBC, to name only a handful.

With all the national publicity, they also learned other ways their product was being used. “Neither Michael or I are big campers,” said McCasland, “but we learned a lot of people were bringing it when they went camping or were putting it in their survival bag or bug out bag.” There was also the very unexpected–you might even say– life-saving use. “Remember,” said McCasland, that crazy snow and sleet storm in Houston last winter that caused the power outages? We received videos from people showing us how they were boiling water to make ramen noodles.”

They soon received another surprise, but this one was international: “We began to sell quite a bit in Canada,” said McCasland. “We do a lot of corporate orders there, mostly retail corporate gifts. But we’re soon to be expanding into Europe and Australia, and Mexico.

Of course, what won’t be surprising is that both Opalski and McCasland now run City Bonfires full time (although McCasland still owns the restaurants, which, he said, are run by ‘really good general managers’).

As for the future, expect more accessories and more ways to enjoy the experience of their product. But don’t discount the possibility of new ideas coming to fruition because if there is one thing they learned, you sometimes need to go back to the basics. “It was kind of like a Business 101 course. Right? Start in your garage, put a little bit of money into it, don’t take too much risk, and everything will just start happening. And in our case, it did.”

Opalski credits this elementary success partially to his roots. “I think there’s some small-town sensibility that you grow up when you grow up in an area like Talbot County. And it doesn’t leave you as you age. Your adolescence are pretty impressionable years.”

Whatever the reason, this small-town sensibility is carried over into City Bonfire’s branding. From their advertising to their website and packaging, you get the same consistent message: “Made with ❤️ in Maryland.” What’s not to love about that?

For more information please go here.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

 

Profile: Oxford’s Fine Arts Featured Artist Sheryl Southwick

by

This coming weekend, May 14-16, the annual Oxford Fine Art Show will take place at the Oxford Community Center. The event, in its 37th year, will feature 50 artists juried into the exhibition and sale. The selected artists are from as far as Cayman Island to as close as the Eastern Shore. 

View from a porch

As customary, a Featured Artist and their work is selected, which appears in posters, advertisements, brochures, etc.  This year that artist is the locally renowned Sheryl Southwick, a teaching artist for the Academy Art Museum and Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center. Her featured work is called A View from the Porch. 

Artist Sheryl Southwick

An artist since childhood, Southwick was raised by creatively inclined parents, who fostered her desire to learn everything from carpentry to sewing to music. She realized the power of art when in high school, a teacher taught the class to work in every style for one subject. “We would take, for instance, a bell pepper,” said Southwick, “and we had to paint it, draw it, make collages, or sculptures. It forced me to think extremely creatively in a very open way.”

Southwick earned a BFA in painting and drawing from Louisiana State University and then studied with Milton Resnick, Mary Vernon, Leon Berkowicz, and others. She also spent a year in Paris immersing herself in the works of painter Pierre Bonnard, whom she considers her most significant influence. 

Southwick began to gain notoriety through her collage interpretations of landscapes and abstracts, created by distressing and coloring paper before tearing it into strips and making it the palette. The process gives the artwork a paint-like quality or creates, as described by a Baton Rouge gallery, ‘paper mosaics.’

Dog Day Afternoon

In March of 2020, with the stay-at-home order, Southwick began to spend more time painting. “We were inside because of the pandemic, and I was in this house that reminded me of the interiors that were painted by Pierre Bonnard, the painter that I just love. So, this became my ‘Bonnardian summer.” It was also the beginning of her series: ‘Other People’s Places,’ which can be seen at the show this weekend.

The series is captivating, probably because there is a certain familiarity to them. Southwick says, “I think that my paintings of interiors are comforting for people to see, especially because it’s things that everybody has in their house. Things like cats, lamps, tables. And when they’re painted, it’s very compelling.” 

Gaia (a collage)

Compelling enough, of course, that one of them was chosen as the featured work by Juror Stewart Burgess White. Oxford Fine Arts chairwoman Karen Walbridge recalls the selection process.  “Stewart chose her because of her style. He felt like you were actually in her work itself. He just liked the feel of it.”

That’s also the feeling that Southwick would like others to experience. “I want my painting,” she says, “to be very beckoning. You want to get up close because sometimes you can’t tell from a distance what’s going on.  If I see a painting from across the room, I don’t want to say, ‘Oh, well, look, I can see the whole thing from here.’ I don’t want it to be just a bunch of big bright colors screaming at me.  There will be a lot of colors in my paintings, but they won’t scream at you. They’re quiet colors, but they’re very rich. And if you get up close, there might be intensity as well.”

If you spend any time with Southwick, you’ll soon learn that color is what defines her as an artist. She studied it; she works in it; she thinks about it. A great deal. She says, “My work is that of a lot of color knowledge and spontaneity. But it’s a light touch. It’s not overworked. I want color to sing, but sing in the right keys.”

Red Sails (a collage)

She’s not kidding. It’s so important to her that lack of color makes her uncomfortable. “I was in a church one time,” says Southwick, “that was so plain, and the walls were so white–no paintings, no stained glass. It was distracting to me, a white room with nothing at all.”

But there is also a positive side to this type of anxiety. “You will hear from other artists who say they’re scared of the white canvas because they don’t know what they’re going to do with it. To me, it’s an invitation to put a dot on it, to make a mark, to make that connection outside of yourself.”

Nowadays, Southwick is finding inspiration from a new muse. She’s staying at a place by a creek with lots of trees. “I like looking at things that are very active and in a quiet way. So, the ground of the forest is full of leaves, sticks, dirt, and the grass creeping up here and there. And all that together is like a tapestry to me. So, I’m painting pictures of what looks like trees, but they’re also evolving into other portrayals that are slightly more abstract.”

You’ll have to wait to see the forest and the trees. For now, you can experience the tapestries of the rooms that Southwick has painted and which you can own. 

Sheryl Southwick will demonstrate how she modulates the color areas of an oil painting from 10 am-11 am on Sunday, May 16th at OCC.

Don’t miss all the other activities and events planned for this weekend’s 2021 Oxford Fine Arts. For more information, go here.  Or please go to Sheryl’s website here.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

Murder on the Eastern Shore: The Craft of Mystery with Author Susan Reiss

by

From “Letters in Time” by Susan Reiss: Emma Chase moves to a quaint Cottage she inherited outside St. Michaels, Maryland. Her plan is to rest and recover from the horrendous car accident that almost took her life. When the movers find an antique plantation desk hidden in the garage, she has it moved into the Cottage. The next morning, a mysterious letter appears dated 1862 and signed by a stranger named Daniel, who declares his love for Emma. Does she believe in ghosts? Should she respond?

Irresistible. How can you NOT want to read a thriller set in St. Michaels that has you walking along familiar streets and perhaps, just perhaps, running into characters that might be recognizable (although their names are surely changed)? 

Available this month, Letters in Time is the latest book by author Susan Reiss, although not her first book set on the Eastern Shore. The Spy recently sat down with the author to talk about her creative process and find out how and why St. Michaels is a source of inspiration. 

Author Susan Reiss

The first thing we learned was that writing was not her first career, nor her second, not even her third. But like all that Reiss has done before becoming an author, it was an award-winning decision.

Originally trained as a concert pianist, she started working as a television writer/producer, which won her various accolades and awards, three Tellys and TWENTY-SEVEN Emmy nominations (with no wins). She then started her own production company doing programming for everybody from PBS to ESPN. But as Reiss explains, “It was like a little girl who has curly hair, who wants straight hair and vice versa. I wanted something on the shelf. So., I figured, hey, no problem, I’m a television writer. This should be a no-brainer.” And she started, as she said, ‘playing with stories.’ But to continue her prize-winning streak, she needed something more–a muse of sorts. And it came in the form of a town.

Her fascination with the Eastern Shore, like for many of us who were not from the area, happened when she and her then-husband passed through on their way to Ocean City. They already had a home on Cape Cod, but an unexpected diversion to St. Michaels sealed the deal, and they bought a house there.  “I needed a place,” said Reiss, “where I could figuratively drop my briefcase at the bridge.” The marriage may not have lasted, but the attraction remained. That was almost 30 years ago.” Thirty years led to six books in the acclaimed Silver Series set in St. Michaels and also won her the Scribe of the Eastern Shore designation in 2015. 

But if you ask Reiss what it is about St. Michaels that inspires her, be prepared not to get a definitive answer. “I wish I knew,” she’ll respond. “I think it’s the water,” she might speculate, “but it could also be the boats and the history.”

Whatever it is, the formula works, and she sees no reason to change. After all, it is her readers who keep asking for more. “When I first started the Silver Series, I had people ask me, ‘oh, dear God, why are you writing about the Eastern Shore? You live in a rural area.’ And I’m thinking to myself; you can’t take three steps without bumping into history or some past of sorts. You want characters? If I need a new character, all I have to do is go out the front door and take a stroll down Talbot Street and do a little observation because we not only have the residents of the Eastern Shore, but we have close to 100,000 tourists that used to come here. Grab a seat and a cup of coffee and just watch.”

Mysteries seem to be what she gravitates to in her stories, and the Oxford-based Mystery Loves Company bookstore couldn’t be happier.  “My friend, Susan,” says owner Kathy Harig, “is a special person and a wonderfully creative author. Her Eastern Shore stories are based on events embellished by her research and imagination. Her books are best sellers at my store, and her followers are thrilled when she has a new offering.”

So, what is it about the genre that is so appealing to Reiss? “I’ve always been drawn to mysteries as a reader,” she says. “But I tend to step away if it’s a story of a stalker or something that is extremely threatening. I mean, there were threats in my books, but there’s a difference with a stalker. I call my stories ‘cozy mysteries,’ meaning you can take them to bed with you and read without having nightmares like you do with some books. Also, I tend not to get into what I call the grizzly parts. Patricia Cornwell does a phenomenal job writing about her medical examiner. But slinging intestines over a telephone pole? No thanks, I can’t do that.”

This type of descriptive commentary made us want to know more about the creative process she uses when writing, but the answer was not surprising given her past. “In television, you have to conceive of an idea before you write the script. Then when you’re writing the script, you have to direct it in your head because if you can’t direct it in your head, it’s no good on paper. When you’re shooting, you have to edit in your head. And if you have a scene that is not working when you’re shooting, then you have to say: ‘Cut,’ and start again.”

Envisioning also comes in handy when writing realistic-sounding dialogue because… well, she’s not alone in that task. “I visualize everything. They’re not words. They’re just really a written report of what I’m seeing and what I’m hearing because, yes, my characters talk to me. I’ve had circumstances where I’ll be writing dialogue, and all of a sudden, that dialogue will stop. And the character in my head will say, ‘No way I’d say that!’ The first time it happened, it was like, ‘Hello? Okay, what would you say? How would you say that?’ I don’t know; maybe writers are just a little bit insane.”

There is someone outside of the descriptive ‘voices,’ who she credits in helping her with references and research: libraries—specifically, the St. Michaels branch, calling the librarian a writer’s best friend. Reiss says, ‘A librarian doesn’t know everything. But he or she knows where to find it.”  In case you doubt her fidelity, her latest book is dedicated to Betty Dorbin, a St. Michael’s librarian (whose mother, Elizabeth Carroll, began the library in St. Michaels—but that’s another story….).

What it all comes down to is that Reiss will continue to write about what she loves and what people want to hear about, and that includes the Eastern Shore. “People feel the magic of this area. And they want to know more. And they love stories that are set here. It’s something that connects with their psyche. And I think if you asked me who I was writing for, I’d have to say I’m writing for people who like a good story.”

Of course, as any writer can attest, the whole writing process is tedious. What took months (or years) to write will be read in a day or a week. “Then people start asking,” says Reiss, “when’s the next one? Well, that’s quite a compliment. But it took you just nanoseconds to read it. And it took me quite a while and a lot of effort to write it. Yes. So, it’s quite a challenge. And sometimes I think alligator wrangling might be a little easier.”

Not that she would have it any other way, but which, of course, begs the question, when is the next one? Says Reiss: ‘Well, actually, the first chapter of the next one will be released in the back of the upcoming book. It’s the first time I’ve done that. How it happened was I woke up at six o’clock one Sunday morning with a jolt and sat up straight up in bed. And I realized that I had the first chapter in my head of Book Two.” 

Somehow, that didn’t surprise us.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

Letters in Time is available on Amazon and the following local retailers:  Mystery Loves Company, Oxford, MD; Pemberton Pharmacy and Gifts, St Michaels, MD; The Blue Crab, St Michaels, MD; Flying Cloud Booksellers, Easton, MD

 

First Harriet and Now Frederick Douglass Gets the Mural Treatment by Val Cavalheri

by

This is a story about a collaboration of passions. On one side is Tarence Bailey, 5x great-nephew of Frederick Douglass, who has a compelling story to tell about family, hope, and freedom. On the other is Michael Rosato, muralist/artist known worldwide for his ability to tell a forceful story in a painting. This is a story about when the two got together.

Their partnership happened accidentally. It was 2019, and a friend of the Bailey family, Michelle Garcia-Daniels, came down for a visit. Garcia-Daniels, a social and political activist from Rochester, NY, asked for a tour of the Eastern Shore.

“We took her to see Harriet Tubman’s birthplace,” said Bailey, “and then went to the visitor’s center and the Tubman mural in Cambridge. We stopped by the Hill, the neighborhood where I grew up. I mentioned to her how I had always wanted a mural on the Hill. She said, ‘Well if you get that guy from Cambridge to do it, I’ll pay for it.’”

‘That guy from Cambridge,’ was, of course, Michael Rosato of the famous Harriet Tubman Take My Hand mural. That mural has been credited for altering Maryland’s tourist scene and attracting thousands of people to the town of Cambridge, even during the pandemic. There was a reason –the mural touched them.  Rosato remembers it happening even as he painted. “People would come up and ask questions, and once you tell them a good story, they’re changed by that story.” 

Michael Rosato

That mural got a lot of press, and suddenly, there was a renewed interest in Harriet Tubman. Could Rosato do the same for Frederick Douglass, Easton’s most famous native son? Could he do the same for Easton?  

Bailey reached out, and Rosato enthusiastically agreed to be part of the project, that is until COVID forced everyone to go on a hiatus. In January ‘out-of-the-blue,’ Bailey received a call from Garcia-Daniels, “Tarence,” she told him, “I’m sending you the money.”

So, what goes into creating a work of art? In this case, it was history. And it became more than the history of one man. It touched on the history of a generation of people.  

“There were many discussions with Tarence,” Rosato said. “To hear him talk about Frederick Douglass is completely different than to hear somebody else that is a scholar of Frederick Douglass speaks of him. Tarence spoke about family history, and the painting started to define itself. It’s unique, in a design sense, in that it’s Frederick Douglass’ story, but it’s also the family tree, the roots that he set into the ground that have sprung. And so, you have other ancillary stories being told, not necessarily that Frederick was involved in, but ones he was influenced by.”

That influence weaves throughout the mural and tells that story, both heartbreaking and optimistic, of a journey from slavery to the White House. Rosato sees it as more than that. “It’s also a legacy mural,” he says, “It’s an American story, just like with the Daughters of the American Revolution, that same lineage and that same story can be told of the African American journey. And it not only talks about the beginning, but it also talks about the now, and what’s to come.”

And what’s to come is as important to Bailey as what has been accomplished. In particular, he asks us to consider two men he thinks we should know more about. You’ll find them on the right side of the mural, and they are the two sons of Frederick: Lewis Henry Douglass and Charles Remond Douglass. Both men served with the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Lewis was the first African-American Sergeant Major in US history, and Charles was the first African American to enlist for service during the Civil War. Says Bailey, “Lewis was not even given an honorable discharge because he had to pick between a pension or honorable discharge. So, he took the pension.”  After over 150 years, this summer, both men will be disinterred from Harmony Cemetery in PG County and buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. 

Stories such as these are important to both Bailey and Rosato. For Bailey, it is a hope that Douglass’ words touch a new generation.  “People are looking back at my uncle, and looking at his words, and they’re saying, how much of a conscience he was of the nation. He called out the hypocrisy. He called out the wrongs. And not just when it came to African-Americans; he was for all people.”

To Rosato, Douglass’ life is a chance for him to tell these narratives in the best way he knows how. “The painting is very realistic with a lot of dimension to it. It’s made up of several scenes, and there is a story in each scene.” Unlike his Tubman painting, this 24 by 8-foot mural is being painted indoors, so he has less of an opportunity to see what effect it’s having on people. But those who have seen it have been moved by its message. 

And just like with the Tubman mural, there is a sense that you, the viewer, are being offered something. Instead of a hand asking you to follow her to freedom, Douglass holds out a book and asks you to ‘read his words.’

It’s not surprising that as inspiration, while Rosato painted the mural, he listened to Douglass’ autobiography and his famous 4th of July speech. “I got a really good sense of who he was, and so certain scenes took on a greater significance,” he said. “When you’re told about what it was like being enslaved and having children being taken from their families, mothers being sold, and men being beaten… when you paint those things, you start to really feel how important telling these stories are, and how you can’t shy away from the fact that people were offloaded on boats on chains and eventually sold.”

The mural is expected to be completed this summer, where it will be placed in the Hill Community, one of the oldest African American neighborhoods still in existence. For now, Bailey is raising funds for this project, known as Operation Frederick Douglass on the Hill. The money will cover the permits, insurance, landscaping, lighting, snow removal, etc. “Then there is the unveiling,” says Bailey. “There are assembly permits and insurance. We plan on having people come to perform; we should at least be able to cover their travel.”

The hope for everyone involved in the project is that the mural allows us to continue the conversations about race, equality, and justice. Like Bailey, we’ll come to see that Douglass’ words do transcend time, and they are as powerful today as the day he spoke them. 

We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future. —Frederick Douglass

For more about Operation Frederick Douglass on the Hill, go here. Donations can be made to the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, Douglass Mural Project Fund

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

Spy Profile: Cavin Moore of Cambridge

by

If there is one thing that Cavin Moore wants everyone to know is that yoga is not just for the, as she calls it, ‘young bendy’ people. Besides being accessible to everyone, she also wants to tell you that yoga is not about standing on your head.

Moore, who is Cambridge born and raised, practices what she preaches. And while the pandemic has put a crimp into bringing yoga to the masses, she is still confident that more people should embrace it in their lives.

As a trained dancer, Moore is all about movement. She attended the prestigious Sarah Lawrence College in NY, majoring in modern and contemporary dance, and has since then worked in film, videos, and modeling. She’s also been involved in local theater in Easton, Oxford, and Church Hill. “The dancing and movement training have always been beneficial to my acting. When you want to take on a character’s physicality, it becomes a study of people’s bodies. Yoga shows how we are connected to our emotions, how our brain, our breath, and our body are all the same.”

Five years ago, Moore received her certification to teach yoga and then opened a studio in Cambridge shortly after. The studio also offers Pilates, Barre, Dance, Piyo, and Meditation classes. Due to COVID, she teaches all classes now but hopes this will change in the near future. “My ultimate plan is to have different teachers at the studio, instructing various things like chair yoga, yoga for kids, dancing for kids, and other classes that help in healing. Yoga has always helped me. And I just want to share that with everybody.”

Sharing is why she’s currently working with Hamilton Garces, who uses her studio to conduct a meditative therapy known as a sound bath or sound healing, where he plays a variety of exotic instruments that help fight fatigue, depression, and stress. Garces, a combat veteran, also uses his creative and musical skills to provide relief to vets who struggle with PTSD.

Small connections such as this are huge to the outreach she wants to make. “I think the sense of community is really important,” says Moore, “especially now when we’re all feeling really separate from each other. I want us to find a way to be in community with one another in a safe way.”

Moore has many other plans. Some of it includes bringing yoga to young children at the pre-school and school level, helping them connect with their feelings. She’s also interested in older kids. “I would love to work with a group of teenage girls. There’s so much media in their face telling them that they’re not right for whatever reason. What the practice of yoga has taught me that I’d like to teach them is that you can be both strong and beautiful. You can be any size and be beautiful. It’s a lesson we all need.”

And a lesson, she says, that gets harder to communicate to adults. “I had a room full of adults that had never done any yoga before,” Moore says. “They were worried that they might be quote-unquote bad at it or were doing it wrong. I say, there is no wrong, there is no bad. It’s only what’s more beneficial for you and your body. It’s really hard to get people out of their judgment brain into a place where they feel safe to try something new. As we grow older, we get self-conscious, and if I can get people to try it, then they will see that yoga is for everybody.”

One of her students, who had been suffering from sciatica and asked not to be identified by name, agreed: “I was hesitant because I thought I was too old, too fat, and too out of shape. I was wrong. Cavin has guided me skillfully and carefully, and she has helped me increase my mobility, strength, and stamina.”

COVID has been hard for small business owners. But that doesn’t mean that Moore will stop broadcasting her message. During the shutdown last year, she made 30 to 40 video classes (still available), asking people to pay as they could and what they could. At the very least, she hoped people would share them with friends.

“Yes, I’m trying to run a business,” Moore says. “Yes, I do want to get paid. But I think it’s more important to me that I share something that has changed my life and hopefully will help others. I don’t want money ever to be the thing that discourages people from coming.”

This generosity fits well with the name of her studio, Anahata Yoga. Says Moore, “I wanted to name it something that would mean something to me, and could mean something to others. In Sanskrit, Anahata is your heart chakra; it’s the fire inside of you that keeps you moving forward, keeping you doing the work you need to do to make you a better person and make the world a better place. It’s the source of your power, the center of love.”

Whether she can safely reopen tomorrow or in a few months, her studio’s philosophy won’t change. As stated on her website, she wants Anahata to be a safe place for ‘community, healing, self-discovery, physical exercise, a place of stillness and quiet or maybe just a place where you can go for an hour and just be yourself.’

Anahata Yoga 212 Dorchester Ave, Cambridge, MD 21613 Facebook or Website:

 

 

Easton’s Rails-to-Trails Takes an Important New Path

by

Pictured: Left to right: Karen Weber Millstein – HOA President, Easton Village Ron Engle – Town of Easton Councilman Delegate Chris Adams Mayor Robert Willey Don Richardson – Town of Easton Town Manager Megan Cook – President of Town of Easton Council Gabrielle Leach – Chief of Staff, Senator Addie Eckhardt – Al Silverstein- Town of Easton Councilman Pete Lesher – Talbot County Councilman

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday, November 17th, celebrating the completion of the Easton Rails-to-Trails, connecting the Easton Point footbridge on W. Glenwood Ave. to Easton Village. Rick Van Emburgh, Town Engineer, introduced invited dignitaries, including State Delegates, Councilmen and Councilwomen, Easton Village representatives, Director of Parks & Recreation, members of the Easton Economic Development Corp. (EEDC), and others.

Rick Van Emburgh

Emburgh also discussed future proposals for the project, which will connect the existing trail to the west side of town. Additional plans include building a small parking lot for the trail in Waterside Village, near the St. Michaels road traffic signal. When complete, there will be five and a half miles of trail in the town of Easton.

Emburgh introduced Kody Cario, Town of Easton Project Manager, who discussed the future of Easton Point Park, which will serve as a destination for the town’s multi-use trail users. Plans also include creating a living shoreline of over 1100 feet and addressing any erosion by installing a regenerative stormwater conveyance. “Additionally,” says Cario, “we’ll provide almost an acre of natural salt marsh habitat to support our native waterfowl populations.”

The Public Works Department was recognized for their contribution. Said Don Richardson, Town Manager, “The town of Easton is extremely proud of the transformation that our Public Works Department has gone through in being able to construct and build this trail for the town of Easton and its residents. It has taken thousands of hours of their time to get it to this point. And we think it’s been done in a top-notch way.”

“The completion of the Rails-to-Trails,” said Executive Director Tracy Ward, “linking Easton Village to Easton Point via the pedestrian bridge is a critical first step in connecting Easton’s waterfront to its historic Downtown.”

This project is also part of the Port Street Small Area Master Plan developed by the Town of Easton and the EEDC. The long-term planning effort addresses development, demolition, renovation, and infill of various sites.

“This is the Northern end of the connection of the whole Port Street Redevelopment, said Easton Mayor Robert Willey. “The water towards the St. Michaels road is hopefully going to become a kayaking area, with paddle boats, canoes, and what have you. Towards the South will be the main park, where we hope to relocate the boat ramp. So, this is just the start of it.”

Terry Gleim, a resident of Easton Village, said: ‘We love being able to walk or ride our bikes to town. We keep our boat over on Port street, so we can ride our bikes over to the marina. It’s been a great addition to the neighborhood. When we moved in five years ago, they promised us this trail. We’re delighted it’s here.

The Easton Rails-to-Trails opened in 1998 and has been a popular spot for walking, jogging, dog walking, biking, and sightseeing.

See map here or below.

Town-of-Easton-Rail-Trail-System

Chesapeake History: Oxford Museum Fills in the Gaps of Black History

by

Today the town of Oxford in Maryland is often referred to as a tourist attraction for its waterfront location, quiet charm, maritime activities, and hosting the oldest privately-operated ferry service still in use. If you Google the town’s history, you’ll find consistent information on how fortunes were made and lost throughout the centuries.

It usually recounts how the demand for tobacco in the 17th and 18th – century, dried up when America won its independence from Britain. There are detailed discussions about how after the completion of the railroad and improved packing and canning methods in the 1870s, oyster and crab harvesting again brought prosperity to the town. Once over-fishing and marine diseases destroyed the industry in the early part of the 20th century, Oxford witnessed the closing of packing houses and smaller local businesses. After the railway and steamships disappeared, Oxford became a quiet little town populated mainly by watermen, until it’s recent resurgence as a vacation draw.

That’s it.

That recounting of the past is incomplete, however. Nowhere is there mention of the contribution and role of Black people in Oxford’s growth and success. Given the history of America, this omission is remarkable. Here are the missing pieces of Oxford’s past:

The tobacco industry boom created a demand for the slave trade to such an extent that by 1755, Black slaves made up 40% of Maryland’s population. When the tobacco trade ended, the Eastern Shore had less need for slaves forcing their sale to rice and cotton plantations in the South. Some enslaved people fled the area via the underground railroad, while others were released or bought their freedom and started new lives in the county as farmers and laborers.

What is also not mentioned is that Oxford’s revival over a century later drew free Black men and women to move to the Eastern Shore to work on the water or in one of Oxford’s nine packing houses. Their efforts led to the worldwide recognition of Chesapeake seafood, while also building a large and vibrant Black community in the town.

But even that is not the full story. There is so much more that Stuart Parnes, past president of Oxford Museum, wants you to know about the impact the Black community has had. The following is part of “Black Lives in Oxford,” a new window exhibit he curated at the Museum:

“At the turn of the 20th century, nearly 50 percent of Oxford’s population consisted of free Blacks. Most Black families lived in segregated neighborhoods centered along Tilghman, Factory, Mill, Norton, Stewart, Bank, and Market Streets. They gathered at their own social clubs, supported their own shops and trades, prayed in their own churches, and sent their children to all-Black elementary schools.

By the end of WWII, however, Oxford was becoming a remarkably integrated community with very strong relationships between Black and white families. By 1970 after the packing houses closed, there were few economic opportunities left for younger Black people. Many departed Talbot County for Baltimore or Philadelphia, leaving their parents and grandparents to live out their lives in Oxford.

As Oxford’s older generations passed away, much of the rich heritage of our community—Black and white—disappeared with them. Only a few Black families remain in Oxford today, but the importance of their contribution to the history and culture of our community should never be forgotten. These lives mattered in the past, and they still do today.”

Left to right, Stuart Parnes, Fern Banks, Paula Bell

The Spy recently spoke to Parnes, Paula Bell, past president of the John Wesley Church, and Ferne Banks, who has been involved in obtaining information for the exhibit.

“This effort,” says Parnes, “actually goes back to Paula’s work with the John Wesley Church in getting the building restored and preserved and in the collection of all of the stories, some of them a series of oral histories done by some of the church elders, that went along with it. The Museum, over the years, had collected very little. So, we needed to go out and start from scratch. And fortunately, all the work that the John Wesley gang did provided a running start because they had made all these contacts and they had collected all these stories, and it was really good.”

One of the important things was to tell the stories of the black members of the Oxford community,” said Bell. “The Church goes way back to 1838, but since my time, I had never seen any representation or exhibit, and this is a community that had long time roots. Stuart was very receptive when I approached him to do this. And with his knowledge, creativity, and background in museum exhibits, it was a perfect opportunity for that to happen.”

So, they gathered a group of people, initially from the Church, and then others who had a connection to the town through their parents and grandparents, and walked around Oxford identifying who lived in all the houses in the black neighborhoods during the 40s, 50s, and 60s. They collected stories, photographs, and artifacts.

That was just the beginning of plans that included utilizing the Cook Shop building at John Wesley, which currently houses the Church’s documentary photography and oral history transcriptions. Both the space and location were perfect for an extensive museum exhibit primarily since it’s located by Screamersville Rd, an area which was also, at one time, a large Black community.

Said Bell: “My personal vision is for it to be turned into a real museum with proper lighting and proper flooring insulation. It really needs to be structurally sound so that whatever goes in there is protected.”

But all that is expensive. It didn’t help that a pandemic happened as plans were being discussed. Luckily, that didn’t stop the visionaries.

“I didn’t want to wait any longer,” said Parnes, “especially with all that is going on right now in this country, recognizing the contribution of Black people. Something had to be done now; this isn’t unique to Oxford. The window display is meant to be just a start; there’s so much more to do.”

There is also so much more to learn, whether you live in Oxford or not.

“I’m a newcomer,” explained Parnes. “I’ve only been here for 15 years. But I’m a history guy and very aware that you should learn about the place where you’re living. There are new people in town who come from other places, and we haven’t tried very hard to really tell them about their homes. How did it get to be the way it is, why does it look the way it does, and who lived in all these places? Why are there real fancy streets and others that aren’t so fancy? You have to understand a bit about the heritage to know that a lot of Black people that built this town worked in all the businesses that made people wealthy. It’s an important piece of the story for somebody who’s coming to Oxford.”

Fern Banks is part of that history. Her father, Bobby Banks, was a police officer from 1965 to 1978. He was on the John Wesley board, and Banks Street in Oxford is named after him. His daughter recalls growing up in the town where relationships between blacks and whites were not unusual. “The black kids and the white kids at the formerly ‘white’ Oxford school (now Oxford Community Center) got along. We played together, and my first best friend was white. She and I are still friends today.”

Banks’ involvement in this project is invaluable, agree both Parnes and Bell. She has the memories of going to the black schools, the integrated schools, and the churches, and she has the connections to current and former members of the Black community. To Banks, the involvement is also very personal. “Members of my family are buried on a lot off of Almshouse Road. It used to belong to the Brooks family, and when they all died, the lot was sold, and I was down there with the new owner who didn’t realize people were buried back there.”

It is stories like these that illustrate the urgency of this project. Today, Oxford has a population of just under 650, with 90% identifying as white.

“Fifteen years ago,” says Parnes, “all of our neighbors were Black, and none of them are left. We got to know them for a few years, and then they were all gone. And part of what’s happening in Oxford, like everywhere else, is that the town is becoming more and more gentrified. We’re losing all these senior members of the community, and we’re not gathering up their stories.”

So, for now, while Oxford Museum is closed, the “Black Lives in Oxford” display is two windows that contain a reproduction on a banner of the faces of people who used to live in the town, along with short transcriptions of the interviews they do have. Parnes hopes the Museum will reopen soon, and the original artifacts and photographs can be appropriately displayed. They even envision a walking tour in Oxford, with stops along the way that tell the residents’ stories.

“This is long overdue,” says Parnes. “It’s not always a pleasant story, but it’s half the story of Oxford, and we have to tell it.”

The Oxford Museum, located at 101 S Morris St, Oxford, is looking for stories, art, photographs, family records, and artifact pertaining to this exhibit. “Black Lives in Oxford” will be on display through the fall.

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

 

Chesapeake Arts: Gallery Q (for Quarantine) Pops Up in St. Michaels

by

This has been an unusual year for those who enjoy art of any kind, whether it involves theaters, galleries, or museums. Many of us have had to satisfy our need for art through YouTube recreations of theater performances, or attending virtual art gallery tours through Zoom. If that’s not enough, then consider The Gallery Q (yes, Q is for quarantine). This pop-up gallery debuted on Wednesday, July 22, at 203 N. Talbot St. in St. Michaels and will be open for the next four weeks. 

Saltwater Bule

Thanks to some local and regional artists, this temporary studio is the perfect place where you can lose yourself in stunning sculptures, paintings, jewelry, and other handcrafted goods. It will give artists a place where they can share what they have been working on throughout the quarantine. “It’s been a really tough time for artists, with the cancellation of art shows and festivals this spring and summer,” said Jen Wagner, an award-winning local mosaic artist, and entrepreneur who is spearheading the opening of The Gallery Q. “We are so excited to offer an opportunity for artists to show their work again, and our artists are thrilled to be a part of it.”

Wagner is no stranger to short term galleries. One of her first studios, Ouvert Gallery in St. Michaels, started as a temporary one, but then, “I fell in love with it and did it for three years,” she says. “I love owning a gallery, and I love curating, but I also love being an artist, and I like doing my big projects and my commission work.” 

After closing Ouvert in 2017, Wagner had another idea for a short-term exhibit. This time she envisioned taking over the Waterfowl Festival building during the holidays for a Christmas in Easton Arts and Crafts Market Place. With the help of a friend, Susan Langfitt, the two-day event became a yearly success, and a winning partnership was formed. So, when Wagner again mentioned the idea of a pop-up a month ago, Langfitt was all in. 

The pair began looking for space, and Wagner reached out to various area artists, selecting approximately 12 who would be part of the show. “I wanted the quality of the work to be really high,” says Wagner. “I wanted it to be interesting, and as always, with every space that I’ve opened or show that I’ve done, I wanted it to be work that you can’t typically find in other places.” The group found the N. Talbot St. location on July 3, began hanging the artwork this past Monday, and was ready to open on Wednesday.

Says Wagner, “We’re not charging gallery admission prices. I believe in offering artists opportunities. That’s what the Christmas show is all about. We do things during the Christmas show that benefit places like Talbot Mentors and the various youth groups in the area, but we don’t put that pressure on the artists. They don’t have to give up a piece of their sale. We don’t charge outrageous fees for them to show. We’re just really selective about who comes in.”

Who is in at The Gallery Q includes Eddie Ford featuring his larger-than-life metal sculptures, and driftwood pieces by Tom Yeats and Larry Ringgold. Painters range from local favorite Josepha Price to newcomer Chelsea Benincasa, whose images show a bold and colorful graphic style. Filling the gallery will also be Wagner’s mosaics, handmade jewelry, etc.

Because of the pandemic, Wagner realizes that galleries, even pop up ones, may be forced to close or switch to virtual openings for a while. “It’s a lot of experimenting right now and trying different things. And I don’t think we’re going to know what any of this is until we just start walking down that road for a little bit.” What’s important, she says, is that “there is nothing as powerful as standing in front of a piece of art and just connecting with it.” 

The Gallery Q will be open from 10 am – 8 pm. Strict safety precautions will be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in adherence to state regulations on retail stores. Masks and social distancing will be required. For added safety, private appointments can be made to view the gallery. 

Visit The Gallery Q Facebook page(https://www.facebook.com/thegalleryq/) to meet the artists and get a sneak peek at some of their work. For more information, contact Jen Wagner at 443.521.4084 

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.