Arts Notes

A Happy Place Celebrates First Friday with Artist John Sharp

September 25, 2020 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Can you lose yourself in the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay? Relax in the unique culture of this region? Enjoy a chat with a waterman-educator-artist?

October at A Happy Place boutique answers these questions, with a selection of original oil paintings by artist, waterman and educator John Sharp.

Painting from his studio and home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Sharp strives to depict the unique culture of the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding Tidewater region.

Turners Creek by John Sharp

“With a lifetime of experiences, including a career in education, countless hours on the bay as a commercial waterman, charterboat captain, and recreational sailor, I have accumulated nearly a half century of memories, observations, and experiences,” says Sharp.

Boutique owner Beth Hickman invites the public to A Happy Place on First Friday, October 2, from 3 to 7p.m., to meet Sharp and view his newest works. “Our shop is spacious with plenty of room for social distancing,” Hickman said. “I am pleased to have John’s work in my grouping of artists, and was excited to discover that my former high school principal has gone on to become a wonderful painter. John’s work makes me happy.”

A Happy Place is at 12 N Washington St. in Easton, and it is open Tuesday through Friday, 1 to 6, Saturday 10-6, and Sunday 11-3 p.m.

For more information, call 410-200-3867, email ahappyplace@goeaston.net or find the boutique on Facebook.

AAM Summer Camp in a Tube is a Big Hit Among Children of Talbot County Essential Workers

September 21, 2020 by Academy Art Museum Leave a Comment

This summer, the Academy Art Museum provided 211 free summer camp kits for children of essential workers in Talbot County. The kits were packed into empty tennis ball sleeves and distributed to the YMCA, the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, the Easton Police Department, Easton Public Works, Easton Utilities, and the Talbot County Department of Emergency Services.

Photo: L-R: F. Graham Lee, VP, Philanthropy, University of Maryland Memorial Hospital Foundation; Jessica Fluharty, MSN, RN, FNE-A, Director of Critical Care and Emergency Services, Shore Medical Center@ Easton; Constance Del Nero, Director of Children’s Education and Community Programs at the Academy Art Museum; and Ron Lewis, MS, NRP, Director of Security, University of Maryland Shore Regional Health.

The program was called “Summer Camp in a Tube” and included materials and instructions for five different activities typical of what one might find at an in-person summer camp. Ken Kozel, President and CEO of the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, sent a letter of appreciation for the kits, stating, “I want to express gratitude for your organization’s generous in-kind donation of 100 art kits to be given to children of our hospital workers. I am sure they will provide many hours of entertainment during this trying time.”

In addition to the summer camp kits, Art at Home weekly emails that feature children’s art projects have been shared with area families every week since March. According to Constance Del Nero, Director of Children’s Education and Community Programs, 22 different themes have been shared through Art at Home, including creating secret codes, designing family flags, learning about aerial perspective, exploring surrealism, creating creatures out of scraps, and making abstract glue/pastel paintings.

Del Nero states that the Museum is committed to remaining engaged with area children and non-profits throughout the pandemic. She quotes Quanice G. Floyd, Director of Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS), who reminded us how important the arts are when she said, “In times of despair, we need the arts now more than ever. Over the past few months, we’ve had to ‘stay at home’ to protect one another and to re-examine who we each are and our place in humanity . . . As we move into the remainder of 2020, please take moments to love, to rest, to breathe, to laugh, to dance, to sing, to listen, to act, to draw, to create to question, to change, and to cherish humanity. The arts can teach us how.”

This fall, the Museum will introduce a new program called Museum Inside Out! Because it is doubtful that schools will be able to send children on field trips, the Museum will offer their students unique and important ways to learn through the arts. For example, the Museum will be sharing special video content with teachers that focuses on its current exhibitions and/or works in its permanent collection and will also supply teachers with materials and instructions to work on a project related to the artwork featured. As with all ArtReach programs, there is no cost to participate in Museum Inside Out!

The Museum is offering another tweak to its usual fall programming with the opportunity for schools to participate in its signature program, Museums in the Museum! (MiM), from home or as part of an independent study. In 2012, the Museum launched MiM as a special curriculum project to introduce fifth graders to the concept of museum thinking. The program teaches children how a museum functions, asks them to consider what their ideal museum would look like, and helps them create their own miniature “museums” in diorama boxes. The program has typically culminated in an exhibition of student museums at the Academy Art Museum, hence the name Museums in the Museum!

In 2020–21, the Museum invites children to imagine their own personal museums and work on “museum”-creating remotely. Interested teachers will be sent a PowerPoint that outlines the program and supplied with diorama boxes and select art materials for their students. If it is safe to do so, finished student “museums” can be transported to the Museum in the spring for an impromptu exhibition and a reception. If it is not safe, the Museum will design an online exhibition of student museums and furnish children with a certificate of participation.

Essential workers at Easton Utilities who received art kits for their children. L-R: Arlesha King, Brian Richards Kaitlin Foster-Clark, Melissa Book, and Anderson Watson.

Finally, due to COVID–19, the Academy Art Museum will not be able to offer in-person Family Art Days in the fall but instead will initiate themed “Grab-n-Go” art kits that parents can pick up at the Museum and work on at home with their children. The first session will focus on learning about Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos). The Day of the Dead holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay tribute to friends and family members who have died and helping support their spiritual journey. Pick up dates for Grab-n-Go Day of the Dead Art Kits are Friday, October 30^th through Saturday, October 31^st at the Museum. There is no cost to participate, but pre-registration is required.

To find out more about any of these programs, please visit academyartmuseum.org or email Director of Children’s Education and Community Programs, Constance Del Nero, at cdelnero@academyartmuseum.org.

Matt Zoll – Classic Works at Troika Gallery

September 19, 2020 by Troika Gallery Leave a Comment

Troika Gallery is proud to present new paintings by Matt Zoll, Classic Works, opening First Friday, October 2, 2020.

Painting professionally for over twenty two years, Zoll studied at The Schuler School where he learned the painting techniques of the Flemish Masters. Incorporating hand- ground oil pigments and a rare painting medium which produces a rich luster and an intense luminosity, Zoll’s paintings achieve remarkable color and vibrancy.

Matt Zoll, Preserves, oil, 10 x 15

The Matt Zoll show runs through November 2, 2020. Be sure to stop in and see his hightly detailed still lifes which combine an old master approach with a modern sensibility.

Troika Gallery located at 9 South Harrison Street, Easton is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday, 11 am -6:30 pm and Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment, www.troikagallery.com. 410-770-9190

October in the Galleries at Dorchester Center for the Arts

September 16, 2020 by Spy Desk 1 Comment

Dorchester Center for the Arts is pleased to present two unique exhibits for the month of October. In the front gallery, “Behind the Mask” explores the connection between creativity and Covid-19. The exhibition features masks as art created by community artists, hung via hand-painted clothespins crafted by the patients of the Eastern Shore Hospital Center.

Vienna Bridge View by Anne Allbeury-Hock

In the main gallery, “CLOSE TO HOME, Reflections of the Shore” features the work of Anne Allbeury-Hock, Carla Huber, and Patti Lucas Hopkins. In the artists’ words, “an exhibit appropriate for these times during the Pandemic where we can appreciate the many beautiful and unique sights of our own area”.

In 2004, Anne Allbeury-Hock founded a group of outdoor painters called PAPES (Plein Air Painters of the Eastern Shore). For ten years under Anne’s lead, the artists would meet every Tuesday at many picturesque locations. Carla Huber and Patti Lucas Hopkins were among the early followers of this ever-growing group. They continue to pursue their painting individually, on location or in the studio from nature inspired themes of the Eastern Shore.

Shore Morning by Carla Huber

As a “California girl”, Anne Allbeury-Hock was naturally drawn to the paintings of the early West Coast Plein Air artists. She came to Maryland’s shore after a career in advertising and fashion design. Anne has studied with well-known landscape artists, all of whom were instrumental in her development of the soft-focus realism she prefers in her oil paintings.

After a career in commercial and wildlife art, Carla Huber settled on the water outside of Cambridge. There she is inspired by the local scenery as well as the unique light. Working primarily in oils, Carla particularly enjoys painting boats, marshes and farmland. She remains true to her subject matter, yet still striving for a looser, impressionist style in her painting.

A native of the Cambridge area, Patti Lucas Hopkins lives on a farm on the Little Choptank River with her husband, dogs, and chickens; surrounded by wild geese, deer, fox and wild turkeys. With a passion for the land and water around her, she is developing her oil painting to express that environment, and takes inspiration from the expansive landscape.

Dailsville Sunlight by Patti Lucas Hopkins

Both shows will run from October 2 through October 31. Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday, noon to 6:00 p.m.

For more information on exhibits and activities at the Dorchester Center for the Arts, visit online at www.dorchesterarts.org, or stop by 321 High Street in Cambridge. Programs at DCA are supported by the Maryland State Arts Council.

Original Banner Art Show at St. Michaels Library

September 16, 2020 by St. Michaels Art League Leave a Comment

Painting by Naomi Clark-Turner “Ice Cream at Justine’s”

If you drive down Talbot Street in St. Michaels you can’t help but notice the “Celebrate St. Michaels” banners that grace the utility poles from April to November. The artwork for these banners is created every year by members of the St. Michaels Art League.

Now that the St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library has announced its modified reopening, the St. Michaels Art League is pleased to announce an exhibition of the original artwork that was used to create the 2020 banners.

In the spirit of community collaboration, the show will be judged by Tracy Eutsler, the Executive Director of the Perkins Family YMCA in St. Michaels. Separate Awards are given in the categories of artistic merit and graphic design.

The banner artwork will be displayed Monday, September 28^th through Friday October 30^th, 2020 at the gallery in the rear of the library during modified library hours: Monday and Thursday 10am-12pm and 3pm-7pm (library closed mid-day for cleaning) and Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm (library closed mid-day for cleaning). The Library is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Original 18 x 18 framed banner artwork is for sale. For more information and to view all the banner artwork go to smartleague.org.

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

Emanuel Takes Chesapeake Film Festival’s Jury Prize

September 15, 2020 by Chesapeake Film Festival Leave a Comment

On June 17, 2015, national headlines blazed the story: Churchgoers gunned down during prayer service in Charleston, South Carolina. After a 21-year-old white supremacist opened fire in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, nine African Americans lay dead, leaving their families and the nation to grapple with this senseless act of terror.

Featuring intimate interviews with survivors and family members, Emanuel, from Executive Producers Stephen Curry and Viola Davis, & Co-Producer Mariska Hargitay, is a poignant story of justice and faith, love and hate, examining the healing power of forgiveness.

With a 100% rating on the movie critique website, Rotten Tomatoes, Emanuel was lauded by critics when it came out:

“Emanuel achieves a rich solemnity in honoring lives ripped away too soon and often quickly forgotten by a public all too often redirected by the news cycle toward another mass shooting.”

(October 18, 2019, Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times)

“Emanuel is a tribute to those who lost loved ones, but it’s also a movie with a message, one that emphasizes some survivors and family members’ willingness to forgive Roof just mere days after he walked into their church.”

(October 11, 2019, Monica Castillo, TheWrap)

Emanuel

Ben Kenigsberg, of the New York Times writes that “Emanuel is primarily an act of bearing witness that does not ask to be judged on conventional filmmaking terms.” (Emanuel Review: Race, Religion, Thoughts and Prayers, October 10, 2019). He further describes the film:

“At a time when news of each new mass shooting vanishes all too quickly from headlines, Emanuel offers a memorial. The director Brian Ivie weaves in a bit of the history about Charleston, a hub of the slave trade, and about churchgoing as a symbol of independence for African-Americans after the Civil War.

Initially, it seems like a mistake for the movie to introduce the shooter Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, onscreen. He is seen only in archival footage, but why not keep the focus on the nine people, all of whom were black, he killed? Then the film shows that, at Roof’s bond hearing less than 48 hours after the shooting, some of the bereaved — like Nadine Collier, whose mother was killed — began to offer expressions of forgiveness for him. The film argues that these expressions were not submissive (as some critics have claimed), but demonstrations of courage and grace.

This film, headlining at this year’s virtual Chesapeake Film Festival (October 1, 9 am EDT- October 4, 12 pm EDT) is highly impactful and considered a tour de force in documentary movie-making. You can experience the best in independent filmmaking from the U.S. and around the world in the 2020 Virtual Chesapeake Film Festival. Watch any or all of the 45 films FOR FREE as the Chesapeake Film Festival’s gift to communities coping with CoVid 19.

Donations and sponsorships are appreciated. The Chesapeake Film Festival is a 501 c3 charitable organization.

Check chesapeakefilmfestival.com for more information or call Nancy Tabor, Executive Director at 443-955-9144.

The Chesapeake Film Festival is generously supported by the Shared Earth Foundation, Maryland Film Office, Maryland State Arts Council, Talbot County Arts Council, Talbot County Department of Tourism, Artistic Insights Fund, Richard and Beverly Tilghman, Karen and Langley Shook, U.S. Small Business Administration, Talbot CARES Small Business Grant and The Ravenal Foundation. Funding has also been provided to the Chesapeake Film Festival from Maryland Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.

Studio B Art Gallery Presents Master Jove Wang’s Opening Exhibit October 10

September 15, 2020 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Studio B Art Gallery is pleased to announce that Master Jove Wang will be teaching a Plein Air Workshop in Tilghman Island, Maryland, October 9 – October 15, 2020. To celebrate his trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Studio B Art Gallery invites the public to Master Jove Wang’s Opening Exhibit on Saturday, October 10, 5:00-8:00 p.m.

“Fisherman’s Harbour” by Master Jove Wang

Master Jove Wang is a highly sought after World-renowned artist, award-winning plein air painter, professor, and author. His career spans more than three decades. During his impressive career, he has received exceptional recognition and won numerous awards. Master Wang’s demonstration at the 15th Plein Air Easton Competition in 2019 was a highlight of the festivities.

“Jove fell in love with Tilghman Island last year when he was the featured artist demonstrating at the Avalon Theatre during Plein Air Easton 2019,” Studio B Art Gallery Owner Betty Huang said. “We are so lucky to have Jove come back to the Eastern Shore this October.”

Master Jove Wang’s theory in creating is that “A work of art Must Have Soul”. His paintings are a visual accumulation of experience and artistic integration that create a powerful visual effect reflecting the soul of what he paints – whether it is a figure, landscape or still life. His spirit of freehand expression of realism made his artistic achievements on the level of mastery sought by many. This is a rare opportunity to meet and learn from a master artist.

“Old Bottles and Flowers” by Master Jove Wang

“October is the best month to be painting plein air on the Eastern Shores,” Huang said. “The 2020 Plein Air Easton Competition in July was a huge success and we can’t wait to get outside again and paint with the master artist.”

Master Jove Wang’s work is available for purchase at Studio B Gallery in Easton, MD. Studio B Art Gallery is located in the heart of Easton’s historic district, at 7 B Goldsborough Street. Visit www.studioBartgallery.com for more information,

Academy Art Museum Announces October Events

September 12, 2020 by Academy Art Museum

Bracelet by jewelry artist Shana Kroiz.

SPECIAL EVENT

2020 Virtual Craft Show
October 16-18, 2020
Virtual Preview Event: Friday, October 16, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The 2020 Craft Show will take place from Friday, October 16th through Sunday, October 18th with over 40 juried artists participating in its annual event which this year will be held virtually. This year’s show will provide virtual programming giving participants a chance to meet and better understand the work of some of the Museum’s favorite craft show artists. The first of these Zoom meetings will be held on Thursdays, starting September 17 at 6 p.m. featuring Craft Show Artist Shana Kroiz who does jewelry design. Future Craft Show artists to be featured on Thursdays through October 15 include jewelry artist Amanda Hagerman who will show off her studio and new craft show artist Jennifer McBrien who will teach an embroidery class. In addition, this year’s Craft Show Visionary Artist is painter Katherine Mann who will be making a special installation in the cube where the Gamelatron used to be. https://www.katherinemann.net/ There will also be a free family craft available.

Sponsors of the Craft Show at the $500 level and up will be invited to a special Preview Event on Friday, October 16 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sponsors can also access the auction at 32auctions.com and buy items online before regular Craft Show participants. A video of the Visionary Artist will be premiered on the night of the Preview Event for sponsors only and released later for Craft Show participants.

Andy Warhol, Jane Fonda, 1982, Polacolor Type 2, Courtesy of Salisbury University and the Andy Warhol Foundation.

To learn more about the Museum’s Virtual Craft Show 2020, visit academycraftshow.com or to go directly t the Show’s site, text CS2020 to 474747. Participants can register online beginning September 15, watch their favorite items, and register to stay informed right up to the final bidding on Sunday, October 18th at 8 p.m.

EXHIBITIONS

The following Academy Art Museum exhibitions are sponsored by the Talbot County Arts Council, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Star Democrat. Open daily, Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Sunday, 12 noon to 4 p.m.

Accidental Icons: Warhol’s Photography
October 23, 2020–January 17, 2021
From the late 1950s until his death, Andy Warhol produced thousands of photographs of his Factory life, surrounded by fellow artists, celebrities and socialites. Warhol’s Polaroids and silver gelatin prints are lesser-known compared to his monumental silkscreens, drawings and films that transformed the course of American art. From close, brightly-lit Polaroids (some of which served as drafts for his silkscreens), to lucid yet moody silver gelatin prints of the people, objects and places of his time, Warhol created a visual diary that transformed the personalities in his midst into vernacular icons.

This exhibition offers a glimpse into Warhol’s photographic oeuvre. Actresses Jane Fonda, Pia Zadora and Helen Schneider; Native American artist and activist Russell Means; socialite and trophy hunter Elsa Talayero; model Juliana Siu; basketball star Kareem Abdul Jabbar and author Truman Capote make appearances in Warhol’s photographs, bringing together threads from the New York City scene that arguably made, and was later sustained by, Warhol.

Claudia DeMonte, Claudia Dancing in Rio, 1981, Handmade paper (paper maché; celluclay), acrylic and glitter, Gift of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, 2008.

The exhibition includes works on loan from the Salisbury University Art Galleries.

The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Selections Lesser Known and Unseen Works from the Vogel Collection
October 23–November 29, 2020
This exhibition presents highlights and previously-unexhibited works from the Vogel Collection, which was gifted to the Academy Art Museum in 2008 as part of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel’s 50 Works for 50 States initiative. Featuring works on paper and sculptures by prominent contemporary artists such as Richard Tuttle, André Cadere, Robert Barry, Steve Keister, Moshe Kupferman, Lucio Pozzi, Edda Renouf and others, the exhibition reveals both the landscape of 20th-century American art and the story of an exceptional collection.

The selection presents some of the most illustrious examples of abstract and minimalist art in America that addresses the profound socioeconomic and creative transformations of the postwar period. From Tuttle’s whimsical but interpretative watercolors on ruled paper to Cadere’s color-coded sculpture with an elusive solution, yet can become a game of chance for both the installer and the viewer, the exhibition revisits simultaneously radical and subtle ideas that defined the future of artistic production.

New Photography II
Through October 7, 2020

New Photography II, a biennial juried competition, includes photographic artists at all stages of their career and will be open through October 7, 2020. The exhibition aims to highlight the current state of photography across a broad spectrum, showcasing new and exciting work by both emerging and established artists. This year’s selection includes many exciting works by 66 artists from all over the United States that explore our modern world through different disciplines within the medium. In addition, the Museum is offering the publication of “New Photography I,” a catalogue of the first edition of the juried exhibition held in 2018. The catalogue is available at the Museum Shop and online for $10.00.

Antonio McAfee: Legacy
Through October 7, 2020

Antonio McAfee is one of the most unique emerging voices in photography today. The Baltimore-based photographer and professor’s first solo U.S. museum exhibition, Legacy, features found portraits of middle-class African-American historical figures, which McAfee uses to explore the reconstruction of identity and the significance of visual perception. His installations deliver ethereal and dynamic experiences of his historical subjects and transform their legacy.

Steve Ziger, Partner, Ziger/Snead

COMING!
2020 Annual Members’ Exhibition
Signs of the Times
December 11, 2020–January 17, 2021
Sign up online: October 1–30, 2020 (link open October 1)
The Museum’s Annual Members’ Exhibition invites artists to submit works that explore Signs of the Times. 2020 has been a troubling year that has at least brought moments of clarity, togetherness and gratitude for many of our members. We look forward to exhibiting imaginative and experimental works in any medium that addresses how this unique time manifests itself in our personal and shared world.

LECTURES
KITTREDGE-WILSON SPEAKER SERIES – Lectures on Zoom!
Friday, October 30 at 6 p.m.
Learn about the Museum’s newly completed renovation project through “Architecture for the Arts,” with Steve Ziger, Partner, Ziger/Snead of Baltimore, MD. Ziger is a partner at the Top-50 US Architects firm of Ziger/Snead of Baltimore, MD, which served as the architect for the AAM’s new courtyard entrance and gallery renovations. Cost is $20 Members, $25 Non-members.

Bernie Dellario

ADULT CLASSES
Pastel: Creating Strong and Vibrant Compositions in Still Life and Landscape
Instructor: Katie Cassidy
October 14–November 4
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Perspective for Painters Made Easy
Instructor: Diane DuBois Mullaly
4 weeks October 1, 8, 15 & 22
Thursdays, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

Still Life Painting in Oil
Instructor: Bernie Dellario
2 Day Workshop October 10 &11
Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Oil Painting: Color Crash Course
Instructor: Bradford Ross
2 Day Workshop October 24 & 25

Basic Drawing: The Fundamentals
Instructor: Katie Cassidy October 31 and November 7, 14 & 21
Saturdays: 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

Family Art Days

Art on the Lawn: An Outdoor Open Studio with Model
Every Friday Morning through October
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m

CHILDRENS CLASSES
Family Art Days
“Grab-n-Go” art kits available on Friday, October 30th–Saturday, October 31
Families can work on projects at home along with an instructional video available on AAM’s Facebook and Vimeo pages. The free art kits feature Mexico’s “Day Of The Dead (Día de Muertos).” Register ahead at cdelnero@ academyartmuseum.org.

PERFORMING ARTS CLASSES
Piano & Guitar Lessons
Instructor: Raymond Remesch
Contact Instructor for further information at (410) 829-0335 or rayremesch@gmail.com

Voice Lessons
Instructor: Georgiann Gibson
Contact instructor for Information at (410) 829-2525 or georgiann@atlanticbb.net.

MUSEUM COVID-19 GUIDELINES
Per City, State and CDC guidelines, new safety measures have been implemented to ensure limited attendance and adequate space for social distancing. Masks must be worn at all times by participants and instructors. Prior to visiting the Academy Art Museum, visitors are encouraged to visit AAM’s website to read more about the Museum’s reopening protocols. Responses to frequently asked questions can be found on the Visit Page.

If you aren’t able to visit the Museum at this time, please enjoy our available virtual tours, art activities, artist talks and virtual platform, Art at Home. We look forward to seeing you soon at AAM.

For additional information, visit academyartmuseum.org or call the Museum at 410-822-2787.

Kevin Thomas Music Studio Announces Openings for Private and Homeschool Study

September 12, 2020 by Spy Desk

Kevin Thomas

Kevin Thomas Music Studio announces several openings are available for new students interested in voice or piano instruction, as well as for the study of music theory. The studio offers both virtual and one-on-one instruction in a private studio setting. Homeschool group instruction is available by request.

Kevin Thomas has more than two decades of experience as a professional singer, music director, teacher, and musical theater director. His philosophy is to offer classical instruction in a fun environment to nurture a passion for music in students ages 10 to 110.

He believes classical techniques are the foundation of music and instructs students to use those techniques to further their interest and involvement in musical theater, jazz, pop, and other styles of singing, as well as classical piano instruction.

“I believe that all students who enter my studio, regardless of age, enter with a different set of music and vocal abilities, coupled with different personalities,” Thomas said. “I therefore tailor an individualized plan of study for each student. I teach classical techniques in both piano and voice and allow students to apply those techniques to styles of music they enjoy. I strongly believe lessons should be fun and educational at the same time, therefore I believe that laughter coupled with hard work is a winning combination.”

Thomas began his undergraduate studies in music education at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and holds a bachelor of arts degree in vocal performance from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. He pursued graduate studies in choral conducting at the University of South Carolina and subsequently trained under both Robert Paige and Rodney Eichenberger. He also studied voice at the Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Baroque Performance Institute with the celebrated Dutch bass-baritone, Max Van Egmond.

Thomas debuted professionally as the counter-tenor soloist in Chichester Psalms with the Virginia Symphony and has sung professionally with the chamber ensemble Capriole in Williamsburg, Va., as well as the Virginia Chorale in Norfolk, Va. He also served as assistant music director at Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston, S.C., and performed as a soloist throughout the southeastern United States.

An Eastern Shore native, Thomas returned to Delmarva in 2002 and has since directed many musicals and has served previously as director of music at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in St. Michaels and at Grace Lutheran Church in Easton.

He has also worked with community choirs, serving as artistic director and conductor of the Tidewater Singers (formerly Bach to the Future) based in Easton, the Delaware Choral Society based in Dover, Del., and the Chesapeake Youth Chorale based in Easton.

Among the many musicals for which he has been music direct are Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods and The Secret Garden for St. Michaels High School; Bye, Bye Birdie, Beauty and the Beast, The Music Man, Kiss Me Kate and Into the Woods for Easton High School and Easton Middle School; and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for both Church Hill Theatre and the Underground Actors at the Avalon Theatre. He also performed as Mr. Applegate in the Tred Avon Players’ production of Damn Yankees.

Most recently, Thomas taught theater, band and choir at Saint Thomas More Academy in Magnolia, Del., where he directed Little Shop of Horrors, The Spoon River Project and Honk! The Musical Tale of the Ugly Duckling.

To apply to Kevin Thomas Music Studio or for more information about studio policies, visit kevinthomasmusicstudio.org or call 410-725-684

AAM 2020 Craft Show Goes Virtual with Online Auction and Virtual Artist Sessions

September 11, 2020 by Academy Art Museum

The Academy Art Museum in Easton has announced its 2020 Craft Show will take place from Friday, October 16th through Sunday, October 18th with over 40 juried artists participating in its annual event which this year will be held virtually.

A bowl created by woodworker Mike Cruz.

“Adjusting to the current reality, this year’s Craft Show will go virtual allowing our patrons the opportunity to view the work of our favorite participants from the past as well as new participants appearing for the first time in this year’s show,” comments Ben Simons, Director of the Academy Art Museum.

The Academy Art Museum Virtual Craft Show 2020 is chaired again this year by Craig Fuller. Fuller shares, “The Craft Show is important as a means of supporting some of the finest makers and artists in the country who depend upon shows to sell their fine work. It is also important as an event raising funds to support the year-round work of the Museum.”

According to the Academy Art Museum Development Manager, Jennifer Chrzanowski, this year’s show will provide virtual programming giving participants a chance to meet and better understand the work of some of the Museum’s favorite craft show artists. The first of these Zoom meetings will be held on Thursdays, starting September 17 at 6 p.m. featuring Craft Show Artist Shana Kroiz who does jewelry design. Future Craft Show artists to be featured on Thursdays through October 15 include jewelry artist Amanda Hagerman who will show off her studio and new craft show artist Jennifer McBrien who will teach an embroidery class. In addition, this year’s Craft Show Visionary Artist is painter Katherine Mann who will be making a special installation in the cube where the Gamelatron used to be. https://www.katherinemann.net/

A bracelet by jewelry artist Shana Kroiz.

Sponsors of the Craft Show at the $500 level and up will be invited to a special preview event on Friday, October 16 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sponsors can also access the auction at 32auctions.com and buy items online before regular Craft Show participants.

A video of the Visionary Artist will be premiered on the night of the Preview Event for sponsors only and released later for Craft Show participants.

Chrzanowski states, “We want to make sure our generous patrons can access the fine work of our juried artists while at the same time supporting the mission of the Museum.”

The public auction will go live at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 16, and run through Sunday, October 18 at 8 p.m. There will be bidding and a buy-it-now feature at the auction.

Stools by furniture maker Christina Boy.

The weekend of the Craft Show, participants can watch the videos for any Zoom sessions that were missed before the Craft Show Weekend, plus there will be a free family craft available. In addition to the Museum’s website, the schedule and videos will be on the Craft Show Website, Vimeo, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

To learn more about the Museum’s Virtual Craft Show 2020, visit academycraftshow.com or to go directly to the Show’s site, text CS2020 to 474747. Participants can register online beginning September 15, watch their favorite items, and register to stay informed right up to the final bidding on Sunday, October 18^th at 8 p.m.

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