The abstract artist Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) ran with a pretty serious art crowd. The names are icons of the form: Louise Bourgeois, Cy Twombly and Robert Rauschenberg to name just a few. He also established the American Abstract Artists group with Arshile Gorky and William deKooning to help educate the American public regarding this new movement.

Walking the Outdoor Walk

Oh, the snow. Oh, the cold. Oh, what shall we do? How will we survive?

First step is to turn off the weather channel and head outdoors. No matter what Jim Cantore says, the king of weather catastrophe hyperbole, a bit of winter weather is something to enjoy rather than fear.

But if you’re still shaking in your unused Yaktrax, maybe heading out into the snowy outdoors with some seasoned professionals is the ticket.

Getting Gleeful

The newly formed song-and-dance group MV Glee will debut next Sunday, Feb. 13, with a 7 p.m. show at Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven.

The show includes the IMPers, IMP’s high school improv troupe, who will create a never-before-seen Glee episode based on audience suggestions.

MV Glee is directed by musician/composer Mike Benjamin and dancer/choreographer Sandy Stone Benjamin. The IMPers are directed by IMP founder Donna Swift.

The Lobster Bowl

The Patriots may be sitting out this Super Bowl, but here on the Island there will still be a bit of New England to enjoy while watching the big game.

Grace Church is opening its doors on Sunday, Feb. 6 from noon until 2 p.m. and offering up their heavenly lobster rolls to ease the pain of having to watch someone else’s teams take the field.

Valentines Day is fast approaching. Hearts aflutter, chocolates galore, perhaps a nice dinner for your sweet.

Why not add music? After all, a day devoted to love should be a sensory smorgasbord.

On Sunday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. the West Tisbury Congregational Church serves up the perfect appetizer by hosting a recital entitled From the Heart. The concert will feature renowned pianist Lisa Weiss, a Massachusetts native and frequent visitor to Martha’s Vineyard.

Remember when you first met Mars Blackmon and Nola Darling? That was about 1986 and Mars was out begging for some action. “Please baby please. Please baby, baby please.”

It was the start of a career that has made headlines ever since.

But perhaps time has clouded the experience or maybe nothing you’ve read so far has made any sense at all. In either case, it is definitely time to head to the Edgartown library for the next four Sundays.

Fire Breathing and Fun Loving

The three-D kids’ flick How to Train Your Dragon this week won three Visual Effects Society awards, including outstanding animation, so it’s definitely one to see on the big screen rather than popping in the DVD in the living room when the ankle-biters are getting too antsy.

Lucky, then, that the Capawock Theatre is hosting a special matinee screening on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 1 p.m.

By LIZ DURKEE

WALKINGS TRAIL OF MARTHA’S VINEYARD: The Comprehensive Pocket Guide to Island Trails, William Flender, Fourth Edition, Vineyard Conservation Society, Martha’s Vineyard, MA, 2010, $14.95, 117 PAGES.

A weatherproof, pocket-sized, fully-loaded guide to the Island’s walking trails. What a concept! It is such a good idea that the Vineyard Conservation Society has just published its fourth edition of Walking Trails of Martha’s Vineyard by William Flender.

Hooting for Love

The animal kingdom does not have an official Valentine’s Day to celebrate the joining of hearts. After all, wings or claws make it a bit difficult to pen odes of endearment or hold a pair of scissors to make those doily hearts. But that doesn’t mean the ardor of animal love is a quieter affair.

There’s a sense of wonder when you walk the trails at Waskosim’s Rock Reservation in Chilmark on a winter day. Dry leaves crunch under your feet on the meandering flat trails that lead you to the stream. It’s easy to be distracted by the moving water, one of few sounds in earshot, but be careful not to trip on the tree roots curving out of the hillside. Up the small stile over the stonewall, across the sheet of ice where life has stopped underneath the frozen water, be sure to take a moment to stomp your feet on the ice and create dizzying patterns.