Washashore Art

One clever way to clean up a beach is to collect trash and turn it into art. That’s what artist and art teacher Wendy Shalen did, using found floating debris from beaches on the Vineyard, Long Island and Florida as subject matter for her handmade paper seascapes. The series is called Washed Ashore, and was recently exhibited at the Pound Ridge Library in New York.

The images show the closeness of nature and material culture. Garbage can be collected on some beaches as easily as drift wood.

After graduating from Whittier College in the 1960s, Guy Webster decided to join the army reserves for a six-month stint rather than go to Viet Nam. For the first three months he purchased, shipped and decorated Christmas trees. For the second half he taught photography, even though he had never even held a camera before that moment.

“I had never taken a photograph in my life,” remembered Mr. Webster. It wasn’t until his last month in the reserves that he shot his first roll of film. That was all it took to get him hooked.

It’s hard to pinpoint the best label to suit Louisa Gould. Is she a photographer, a painter, a business consultant or a sailor? She’s worked on Wall Street, photographed the Olympics and multiple sailing events and worked as a videographer. But this weekend, Ms. Gould will play the part of gallery owner, as she celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Louisa Gould Gallery, a fixture of the Vineyard Haven art community.

Poet Terrance Hayes, a former college basketball player, prepares for all of his readings as if they were basketball games.
“I have got to bring my A-game,” he said. “If you score by making dunks, or even if you are playing great defense, people can be appreciative of what you are doing if you are doing it in an exceptional way.”

Ashley Medowski creates unique frames for her paintings with wood salvaged from barns or found on beaches. Her painting The Elizabeth Islands is a panoramic done on an old wooden waterski.

Stone Wall Show

Photographer Mariana Cook first noticed the timeless beauty of stone walls when her neighbor’s cows broke through the one that separates their properties in Chilmark.

“I realized how beautiful the wall was, and started wondering about who built it, and how the stones [were put together],” she said.

Dana Nunes perched naked on a pedestal of pillows and blankets inside a studio at Featherstone Center for the Arts.

“I get a kick out of the flea market go-ers who look through the window and back up . . . and then look again,” she said.

Ms. Nunes was the model for the Tom Maley Life Drawing class which last Tuesday morning was experiencing another full house, as the flea market was in bloom right outside the doors.

Class facilitator Anne Gallagher asked everyone to make room for old and new faces alike.

Those attending the Arts Stroll in Oak Bluffs tomorrow, July 14, can expect paintings, sculptures and prints, naturally. But be prepared for capes and crowns, too.

Lucinda Sheldon of Lucinda’s Enamels, located at 11 Vineyard avenue, has dedicated a whole corner of her studio to decorative fabric capes and complementary felt crowns.

“I’m an artist,” she said, looking at her collection of fantasy costumes for kids, “But I’m also a grandmother.”

Traeger di Pietro first started painting for love. He was 15; she was artsy and he was a jock, a baseball player. He knew her ex-boyfriend had painted her things and he wanted to impress her too. His first paintings were small still lifes of flowers and roses.

“I never stopped, I just kept going and going,” he said. Now he’s a full-fledged member of the Island arts scene, and has received acclaim from art collectors and artists alike.

Ray Ellis has been painting for over 70 years, much of it on the Vineyard. This year one of his paintings was auctioned off for $120,000 at the Taste of the Vineyard fundraiser for the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust. Two years ago at the same event, a painting by Mr. Ellis went for $250,000. Last year, his tie was bought for $150,000. To hear him talk will only cost $75.