“If we are to preserve culture we must continue to create it”
— Johan Huizinga
Come Alive
“I want to sing a song into your bones
Until they hum in harmony with the roots of the mountains.
I want to breathe fire into your blood
Until it is molten potential like the iron in the forge.
I want to dance your feet into a frenzy
Of ecstatic revelation…”
Fiddle with Gray
"You try to play me like a fiddle when you don’t know how to play
Talking black and white observations when it’s really all gray…"
Lyons’ Share: Past and Future of a Modern Medium
"The Lyons' Share" opens on Thursday, September 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, at the
Chester County Art Association: Creative Space For Everyone
in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The exhibit, featuring four clay monoprint artists plus representative works of Lyons, runs through September 24th.
Gallery at the Old Post Office Announces Exhibits
Hanover’s Gallery at the Old Post Office has announced its 2024 exhibit schedule through late summer.
A Less Experienced Era for Arts Attendance?
“As federal relief funds gradually ended, assuming business was back as usual, many arts organizations found that those assumptions needed to be revised. As a director at one Philadelphia theater noted in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “People are really happy with their yoga pants and Netflix.””
Hanover Explores Its Historic Heart
June 30th, 1863, changed Hanover from a stop on a well-used route to a Civil War battle site whose outcomes impacted the more famous battle to the west in Gettysburg. Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, Brig. Gen. Elon Farnsworth, and Brig. Gen. George A. Custer are all military leaders who influenced the day. The delay that the unexpected fighting caused for Stuart is considered by many to be a crucial factor in the outcome of July 1st through the 3rd in Gettysburg. A wide range of events will be held on June 28th and 29th to commemorate Hanover's memorable historical place.
Clay & Pigment at the Out Door Country Club
The “Clay & Pigment” exhibit at York’s Out Door Country Club features both clay monoprints and photographs of artist Andrew Smith of Visual Realia, LLC.
Three to Read: Jim McClure on Bringing York’s History to Light
“I immediately thought about “Almost Forgotten” and then two other books on Black history that bookended that work.
Those other two books — John V. Jezierski’s “Enterprising Images,” about York’s three Goodridge brothers who became pioneering Black photographers, and Daisy Myers’ autobiography “Sticks ’n Stones” — had a national scope. All three books — Jezierski’s, Myers’ and “Almost Forgotten” — tell about the Black experience in York County in three literary forms: biography, autobiography and general history, respectively.”
Three to Read: Barbara Eisenhart on the Synthesis of Poetry
“It uses concentrated language: less words, more meaning. All words are chosen carefully by the poet so that each word is important… For me, poetry adds definition and clarity to my place in the world, and I can’t imagine life without it.”
Emily Arndt on Reducing the Divide
“The movie reaches us via a documentary-style approach with visual storytelling, relying extensively on conversations by and with individuals with varying political experiences and beliefs. America's current status is discussed in terms of values & stories rather than political party labels.”
Three to Read: Dixie Brillhart
“A young man visits the area of her home during summer vacation, discovering her and the beautiful coast of her home. He is looking for artistic inspiration and enters her world. She finds in him love, companionship, hope, and the desire to reach beyond her self-made limitations.
Andrew Wyeth is the man's name, an Artist.”
Three to Read: Anna Corbin
These novels give readers hope that their next best friend or love of their life is waiting for them somewhere - maybe in a hospital hallway, in the English countryside, or even on a magical island… there are no deeper relationships than those forged in fate and driven by destiny, in spite of and against the odds.
The Beloved Community
“The weather report is in. There’s been a long drought of prophetic vision and public moral courage. The situation is dire.
Your divining rods for compassionate justice and Beloved Community can transform the forecast.”
Three to Read: Barbara Eisenhart
“Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve loved reading books about strong women. Beginning in elementary school, I remember the library books on the shelf: Joan of Arc, Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, Eleanor Roosevelt, Pearl Buck, Helen Keller. These books were biographies, but in recent years, I’ve discovered the “memoir,” which is a collection of personal memories written by the women themselves.”
Three to Read: Tiffani Spangler
“As much as culture gives us sayings like 'time is merely a construct' or the capitalist view of 'time is money'; I've often wondered - is there any other way that I can understand what time is? Of course, my go-to thought is to find an answer in a book. Did I find one singular answer? No, but I did find a beautiful unfolding of why I'm more settled than ever to continue journeying through time.”
Three to Read: Brian Shea
“Not only do I wonder how people can exist without a constant stream of thoughts running through their heads, but I will one-up things here. I don't know how people survive without constant musical accompaniment inside their heads.”