As well as the feature exhibit for July, “The Art of the Plein Air Painter, The Trippe Gallery will be hosting several artist demonstrations and a reception where guests can meet the Plein Air Easton gallery artists. Beginning at 10 Am on Friday July 19, oil painter Len Mizerek will be demonstrating his marine painting techniques. Len had been juried into Plein Air Easton for 11 consecutive years. At 12 noon Friday, event favorite Elise Phillips will be demonstrating her oil techniques. Elsie is appearing in her 10th straight Plein Air Easton. The day rounds out with a demonstration by Charlie Hunter of his unique oil painting technique. Charlie has been a festival favorite for many years.
On Saturday at 4 pm, popular Plein Air Easton alum David Csont will be doing a watercolor painting in front of the gallery. All demonstration paintings will be available for purchase.

A reception will be held at the gallery from 5-7 pm Saturday with an opportunity to mingle with repeat and new Plein Air Easton artists and view paintings of Plein Air Easton artists that exhibit at the gallery year round. The Trippe Gallery is located at 23 N Harrison St.. For more information please call 410-310-8727.

Legendary singer-songwriter John Gorka returns to The Mainstay for an evening of original song Friday July 26 at 8pm. Tickets are $25 online or $30 by phone reservation or at the door.Information and advance ticket sales are available on the Mainstay’s website at www.mainstayrockhall.org

From New Jersey, John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who got his start at a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania. Though small, Godfrey Daniels was and is one of the oldest and most venerable music institutions and has long been a hangout for music lovers and aspiring musicians. In the late 1970’s, John was was one of these aspiring musicians. Although his academic coursework at Moravian College lay in Philosophy and History, music began to offer paramount enticements. Soon he found himself living in the club’s basement and acting as resident MC and sound man, encountering legendary folk troubadours like Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers, Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton and Claudia Schmidt. Their brand of folk-inspired acoustic music inspired him, and before long he was performing his own songs – mostly as an opener for visiting acts. Soon he started traveling to New York City, where Jack Hardy’s legendary Fast Folk circle (a breeding ground for many a major singer-songwriter) became a powerful source of education and encouragement. Folk meccas like Texas’ Kerrville Folk Festival (where he won the New Folk Award in 1984) and Boston followed, and his stunningly soulful baritone voice and original songwriting began turning heads. Those who had at one time inspired him – Suzanne Vega, Bill Morrissey, Nanci Griffith, Christine Lavin, Shawn Colvin – had become his peers.

John Gorka

In addition to his 11 critically acclaimed albums, John released a collector’s edition box featuring a hi-definition DVD and companion CD called The Gypsy Life. Windham Hill also released a collection of John’s greatest hits from the label called Pure John Gorka. In 2010, he also released an album with his friends and Red House label-mates Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson under the name Red Horse. Getting high praise from critics and fans alike, it landed on the Billboard Folk Charts and was one of the most played albums on folk radio.

Many well known artists have recorded and/or performed John Gorka songs, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell. John has graced the stage of Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, etown and has appeared on CNN. His new song “Where No Monuments Stand” is featured in the upcoming documentary Every War Has Two Losers, about activist and Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford (1914-1993).

John Gorka lives in Minnesota and when not on the road, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children. He continues to tour, playing festivals, theaters and clubs all over North America and Europe.

The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. It is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit dedicated to the arts, serving Rock Hall, MD and the surrounding region and is committed to presenting local, regional and national level talent, at a reasonable price, in an almost perfect acoustic setting. Information and advance ticket sales are available on the Mainstay’s website http://www.mainstayrockhall.org.

Upcoming Mainstay performances include:

July 29 Joe Holt Welcomes Libby York
August 3 Bluegrass Supergroup Blue Highway!
August 5 Joe Holt welcomes Fred Hughes
August 9 Sue Matthews and the American Jazz Trio
August 12 Joe Holt welcomes Alex Lacquement
August 19 Joe Holt welcomes Pat Mercuri
August 26 Joe Holt SOLO SHOW
August 31 Kathy Kallick Band
September 2 Joe Holt welcomes Beth McDonald
September 7 The Mainstay Blues Series: Eleanor Ellis
September 9 Chestertown Jazz Fest Kickoff with Larry McKenna Quartet

The Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore (FACES) is pleased to announce the opening of “Off the Axis,” an exhibit of knitted wearable pieces by Sue Wright. The exhibit features original knitted wearable art. Employing variations of basic knit and purl stitches, Sue uses different styles of knitting including diagonal, stockinette stitch and more. She even brings in mathematical concepts including the Fibonacci sequence to create unique and intricate masterpieces. The pieces in the show are available for sale as noted on each garment. The exhibit can be viewed at the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore through August 31, 2019.

Sue Wright is a Master Knitter, certified by the Knitting Guild of America, and a certified Knitting Instructor. Her interest in Fiber Arts is of long duration, completing her first hand knit sweater at age eleven. She has been taught by world class instructors and designers, including Evie Rosen, Sally Melville, Lily Chin, Nancie Wiseman, Katharine Cobey and Ginger Luters. She also has attended training conferences sponsored by Knitter’s magazine and The Knitting Guild of America. She was director of and participated in Fiber Shows at the Friend Memorial Library, Brooklin, Maine January, 2000 through 2013 and had a one woman show there August, 2011. She also was instrumental in the Fiber Shows at Chester River Artworks, Chestertown, Maryland 2002 – 2011 and Chestertown RiverArts 2012-2015. Sue has been teaching beginning and experienced knitters for twenty years in Maryland and in Maine.

Sue’s higher education was received from Johns Hopkins University, where she won a Master of Administrative Science degree. She is retired from her faculty position at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she was Technical Director of the Hemapheresis Unit for the Oncology Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore is the region’s premier resource for fiber artists and fiber enthusiasts. It is located at 7 North 4th Street in the Arts & Entertainment District of historic downtown Denton. The gallery is open weekly Thursday through Saturday from noon to 4:00 pm. For more information, visit fiberartscenter.com or call 410-479-0009.

The St. Michaels Art League has announced the winners of their Art Exhibit at the Talbot County Fair on July 13^th, with first place going to retired Talbot County Art teacher Joan Cranor for her watercolor “Golden Harvest.”

“Golden Harvest” by Joan Cranor

Second Place went to Virginia Perram for “Dairy Cows,” and third place was a tie between Jane Anderson for “Honk Honk,” and Valerie Sunderland for “Cock-a-doodle-do.”

The winners were chosen by “People’s Choice;” where fairgoers vote for their favorite painting.

SMAL’s presence at the fair was a first for the League. They provided guided drawing and painting for children over the three-day event and an art exhibit of farm themed work on the last day.

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council with revenues provided by the Maryland State Arts Council.

Online: www.smartleague.org.

Join the artists for the opening ceremonies of Local Color on Friday, July 19th at Noon.  Local Color Show and Sale is an art show sponsored by the Working Artists Forum (WAF) with the support of the Avalon Foundation and Plein Air Easton. It is held through July 21st during Easton Plein Air Art Competition. Artists juried into the show are exclusively from the Delmarva Peninsula,  displaying for sale paintings of two dimensional art in acrylic, watercolor, oil and pastel.

Awards will be given and refreshments will be available at the Noon opening ceremony. The judge this year is Tim Bell, the Grand Prize winner of Plein Air Easton 2018.

“Early Morning at Turner Creek Landing” by Nancy Thomas

The show is held in the Crystal Ballroom of the historic Tidewater Inn, 101 E. Dover Street, Easton. The time and dates for the show are Friday, July 19, 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, July 20,  10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, July 21, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  There is no admission fee.

Juried artists in the show include Anne Allbeury-Hock, Amy Cummins, Abigail Ober, Barbara Harr Watson, Betty Papson, Barbara Zuehlke, Carole Boggemann-Peirson,  Carol Cowie,  Cheryl Wisbrock, Doris Gerlach, Donna M. Finley, Diane Joy Laird,  Debra Howard, Deborah McFarlin, Fred Craig, Gerilyn Gaskill, Georgette Toews, Joan Hart, Jane Knighton, Jim Rehak, Jerry Serie,  Judith Weaver, Katie Cassidy, Kathleen Kopec, Karen Merkin, Kathleen Quinn, Lois Engberg, Mary Clark Confalone, Mary Ellen Mabe, Mary Ford, Maggii Sarfaty,  Nancy Lee Davis, Nancy R. Thomas,  Patricia D. Lang, Patti Lucas Hopkins, Rhonda Ford,  Ryan Jacobson, Robert Manning, Stephen Walker, Sarah Stolte, Sheryl Southwick and Stacey Sass.

In addition, this year WAF will be honoring Doris Glovier for her many years of devotion and hard work as chairperson for Local Color. Doris will be showcasing her work during the show.

There are free demonstrations in the Dover Room of the Tidewater  by well-known plein air artists throughout the weekend during Local Color. Those artists and times are on Friday Tim Bell –  1-3 pm; and Zufar Bikbov – 3:30-5:30 pm; Saturday Mark Shasha –  2:30-4:30 pm; and  Aimee Erickson – 5-7 pm; and on Sunday Qiang Huang – 9-11;and Kim VanDerHoek –  Noon-2 pm.

In addition, artists will painting outside the Tidewater during the entire weekend.

For more information on Local Color and Working Artists Forum, visit www.workingartistsforum.com.

Troika Gallery, in partnership with The Avalon Foundation, is proud to present  An Evening with Raoul Middleman, Legendary Artist, as he discusses his acclaimed art career and an upcoming documentary film on Saturday, July 20, at The Avalon Theatre at 7 pm.  The Director and Producer of the film will show excerpts of the film which is set to release in 2020.

An American painter, Raoul Middleman (Baltimore 1935) is known for his provocative and prolific work including figure studies, landscapes, seascapes, florals and still lifes. Middleman has been a member of the Maryland Institute College of Art faculty since 1961 and received a B.A. in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, attended The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and The Brooklyn Museum Art School. His vigor for life and vivacious spirit run parallel to his dynamic paintings.

Raoul Middleman

Raoul’s paintings hang in private and museum collections including The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art, The National Academy of Design, The New York Public Library, and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Troika Gallery has represented Raoul Middleman since 1997. The owners/artists of Troika are closely associated with Raoul in both a personal and professional manner.

Madeline Becker, Film Director & Producer, will discuss the documentary which is a journey into the Raoul’s studio.  Focused on his later years, the film reflects Raoul’s life and philosphy as a painter from the 1950’s to present day. Middleman’s subjects range from Baltimore cityscapes of the industrial past to large narrative paintings full of colorful characters. Becker received a B.F.A. summa cum laude in painting and video/film from the Maryland Institute of Art.

Tickets to this highly anticipated talk at The Avalon Theatre and the Troika Gallery Reception (limited to 40 ) are on sale https://tickets.avalontheatre.com/ordertickets.asp?p=1511&src=eventperformances

Visit troikagallery.com for more information or call the gallery at 410-770-9190.

Painting by Betty Huang of the New Zealand fjords

Stop by Studio B Art Gallery for a wonderful night of art and conversation during First Friday Gallery Walk, August 2nd, 5 to 8 pm.  Betty Huang invites you to enjoy and discuss her new paintings from her recent travels to New Zealand and China, as well the latest additions of work from the other artists the gallery represents. Enjoy refreshments, hors d’oeuvres and conversation. 7B Goldsborough Street, Easton.  For more information, visit www.studioBartgallery.com; Betty Huang, 443-988-1818.

The sounds of singing and dancing are filling the Church Hill Theatre as talented local youngsters rehearse for their productions of The Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon and Alice in Wonderland, JR. that they will perform Thursday, July 25 through Saturday, July 26. For the past twenty years, Green Room Gang campers have honed their acting, singing and dancing skills to produce fully staged musical productions. The Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon is adapted for children from the Magic Tree House series of books by Mary Pope Osborne. Alice in Wonderland, JR. is based on the 1951 Disney film Alice in Wonderland and the novels The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

2019 Green Room Gang Junior and Senior students, interns and instructors.

Becca Van Aken directs the younger performers in The Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon and Iz Clemens directs the middle and high students in Alice in Wonderland, JR.   Interns Shayla Moore and Kelly Young ably assist both directors in all aspects of the classes and rehearsals.  Production staff includes Tom Rhodes, Carmen Grasso for set construction, Tina Johnson, Debbie Ebersole, and Erma Johnson who are creating the costumes, with Kat Melton working on lighting.  Krista Roark is the choreographer for GRG Jr.  High school apprentices are Courtney Adams, Olivia Giuliano, Lynsey Hildebrand, Christina Lewis, Maya McGrory, and Grace Sutherland.  Shelagh Grasso and Sylvia Maloney serve as producers and mentors.  Many parents and other volunteers helped with costumes, sets, and props, making this annual show a community effort.

Performances will be on the evenings of Thursday, July 25 and Friday, July 26 at 7 pm and on Saturday, July 27 at 2 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Reservations can be made by calling the box office at (410) 556-6003.

Traditional instruments take center stage at the Blue Crab Coffeehouse in St. Michael’s at 7pm this Saturday night, July 13, 2019.

This music performance will feature the hammered dulcimer, guitars, a 1921 mandolin, a bouzouki, banjo, harmonica, pennywhistle, and bones, all providing the underpinning to songs from the 1700s to the present.

“The hammered dulcimer was often used in place of a piano at early American barn dances – it keeps a lively beat and can be heard above the crowd, even before the advent of amplification,” says Beth Lawton, one of the core members of the group Ampersand.  “On the other hand, the dulcimer sounds almost like a harp on early tunes such Planxty Fanny Power by the 18^th century composer Turlough O’Carolan.”

The bouzouki, a traditionally Greek instrument introduced to the Irish folk scene in the mid-20th century, provides a rich sound in the hands of Topher Lawton. Topher notes that this instrument’s 8 strings, tuned an octave lower than a mandolin, “strike a balance between the sweet tones of a guitar and the twang of a banjo, providing a driving rhythm to underpin Irish jigs and a full sound underneath our songs.” Topher also plays the bones, a traditional percussion instrument – originally actual bones, but now made from slightly curved wooden pieces – and the Irish pennywhistle.

The 1920s were a vibrant time for stringed instruments and this group brings both a 1921 Gibson mandolin as well as a 1921 Vega Whyte Lady banjo.  These older instruments have a deep, resonant sound that mixes well with the sound of the modern guitars.

For this event, Ampersand’s core duo, Beth Lawton & Dick Hogle, will be joined by Dave Moore (banjo, bass, guitar, harmonica, vocals) and Topher Lawton (vocals, bouzouki, percussion) for this evening of songs and tunes.

Blue Crab Coffee is located at 102 S. Fremont Street, Saint Michael’s, MD.  Food, wine, and local craft beer will be available during the performance. Please see Ampersand’s website for more details:  www.ampersandmusic.org.