For the seventh year, the US Waterski Show Team is coming back to the shores of Long Lake. With new tricks, pyramids, and barefoot skiing, the annual waterski exhibition has spectators lining the shores on July 21 to witness everything from synchronized jumps to quadruple-decker pyramids.
The Scotia NY based water-ski club is also celebrating its 50th anniversary and can be seen weekly on Tuesday nights performing along the Mohawk River, in front of Jumpin’ Jacks Drive. » Continue Reading.
After a stellar 30-year career as a professional engraver of bank notes, artwork, and other items, John Casilear had left the industry to become a fulltime painter, and a very good one — a creator of lovely, detailed landscapes epitomized by artists of the Hudson River School. Even as the popularity of that genre faded and the American art world followed new paths, he was still the frequent recipient of praise and admiration. General assessments of his artistic capabilities were positive, and even glowing.
“There are very few artists belonging to the American school of landscape painters who have achieved such widespread popularity as John W. Casilear…. Mr. Casilear is a great lover of pastoral scenes, and some of his most notable pictures of this character have been drawn from the neighborhood of Lake George, and the Genesee Valley…. His pictures when sent from the easel are as harmonious as a poem, and it is this perfect serenity in their handling which is so attractive to connoisseurs…. He is one of the most popular landscape painters of the day” (The Art Journal, 1876). » Continue Reading.
View, a multi-media arts center located in Old Forge, has announced the opening reception for the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors on Friday August 3rd, 2018, from 5 to 7 pm.
A free public reception will feature hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, and the opportunity to meet with several of the exhibiting artists. » Continue Reading.
View, a multi-media arts center in Old Forge, has announced they are seeking artists working in all mediums for the 2018 Natural Homes: Nests, Burrows, Caves & Trees exhibition. Artists are encouraged to creatively interpret the theme of natural homes and will have the chance to receive over $1,000 in awards.
This year’s juror is Jean Stephens, a Rochester, New York native. Jean Stephens received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master’s degree in Art Education from Rochester Institute of Technology. Stephen’s paintings have been selected for national juried exhibitions and are included in private and corporate collections. » Continue Reading.
Who organizes a major event, without ever having taken part in a similar one? An artist would…. we create new things on a blank canvas all the time! I heard about something called Plein Air Festivals over 10 years ago and one day had a brainstorm. It seemed that if you had a scenic location, you could set the dates, invite a bunch of artists, give them a couple days to paint and then hold an exhibit. So without ever having participated in one, I organized the first Adirondack Plein Air Fesitval in Saranac Lake in August 2009.
Why hold a Plein Air Festival? To share the great beauty of the Adirondack environment with new people. Artists who may never have painted in this area, as well as local residents and visitors who may never have considered buying a work of art. A painting of a place you know, or have visited on vacation might be appealing. Or the fact that you could actually watch an artist as they worked, outdoors, on location, and then purchase that very painting! » Continue Reading.
In the mid-1850s, John Casilear’s career of more than 30 years as an engraver was gradually coming to an end, leaving him financially comfortable and free to focus on painting. He did just that by taking a second trip to Europe in 1857 to compile a fresh collection of ideas and sketches for future subjects, and to paint. While he was away, pieces of his artwork appeared in the 1858 National Academy of Design (NAD) Exhibition in New York City and earned praise from high sources.
Harper’s Weekly glowed: “Mr. Casilear’s power is in exquisitely delicate, vignette-like sketching…. A dreamy tranquility of atmosphere, with delicate-hued hills, a thoughtful spire, a gleaming brook — beauty in repose, and in detail — these are the subjects in whose delineation Mr. Casilear is so eminently successful.” » Continue Reading.
Coinciding with the Saratoga Race Course’s 2018 meet, The Hyde Collection will present a new exhibition, Horse and Rider, in its Rotunda Gallery from July 20 through September 9.
Americans have long romanticized their relationship with horses: the majesty of wild mustangs galloping through the plains, the allure of cowboys on horseback driving a herd, the utility of farmers tending their fields with horse-drawn plough, and the grace of racehorses. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts in Blue Mountain Lake makes part of its mission to bring arts to the public. Through their traveling Adirondack Lakes Summer Theatre Festival, The Arts Center will bring romantic comedy, the annual free Shakespearean production, and a musical to select Central Adirondack communities.
According to Executive Director Christine Pouch providing art around the Adirondacks is just part of their summer scheduling. At the Blue Mountain Lake Art Center, the summer is packed with craft workshops, live music, and even a fun puppet show with a kid-friendly and adult-friendly version. » Continue Reading.
The 19th century paintings and photographs of Keene Valley inspired artists to seek out the depicted images of Nature and experience it for themselves. A number of years ago I fell under the same spell when I looked at the artistic interpretations of the High Peaks as seen from the Ausable Lakes.
Seneca Ray Stoddard (1844-1917) made many photographs of those lakes, including at least two of the view of Gothics and Sawteeth, with and without people. In the version with the boats, the people float within the reflections of the mountains. Stoddard’s guidebook, The Adirondacks: Illustrated, published in 1873 and was reprinted for many years, attracting more visitors to the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
After eight years of summer performances, Adirondack Shakespeare Company will suspend operations this season.
A number of factors contributed to the decision to suspend programming in 2018, according to an announcement sent to the press. Although educational programming during the school year provided a strong backbone for the Company, the summer season lacked much-needed financial support. Housing for the acting troupe also became a challenge early in the year when the Company learned their lease would not be renewed. » Continue Reading.
The 12th annual Common Ground Alliance (CGA) has been set for Thursday, July 19, from 8:30 am to 3 pm at the Lake Placid Golf Club House. Community leaders, business owners and residents are invited to participate in action-oriented conversations about a variety regional issues, focusing on informed policy and lasting impact for Adirondack communities.
Topics for this year’s forum range from promoting electric vehicle use and developing charging stations to workforce issues to managing burgeoning tourism impact in the High Peaks. Community stakeholders from all over the Adirondacks will come together to seek common ground on these and other regional issues in order to coordinate their efforts for collective action. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Foundation has announced it has awarded $15,500 in grants to support community initiatives in Fine, Clifton, Star Lake, and Newton Falls.
The source of the funding is the Damoth Fund, established at the Foundation in 2012 through a bequest from Robert Damoth, a man with a strong attachment to the Cranberry Lake area.
The Damoth Fund to date has issued $450,000 in grants. The Clifton-Fine Economic Development Corporation oversees the application process and makes final recommendations. » Continue Reading.
Artistry — in terms of painting, drawing, sketching, etc. — escapes me. While I admire and enjoy it, the combination of vision, creativity, and especially ability seems foreign, even though I lived with it while growing up. Through learning to read and constantly employing skills in that area, I gradually developed a certain comfort in the world of words, but none of it came to me magically, which is how I viewed the artistic capabilities of two of my siblings: without any lessons or instructions, they could just do it. » Continue Reading.
We just received our July/August issue in the Adirondack Explorer office. It’s our twentieth anniversary issue and packed with good stuff, including a timeline featuring milestones in the history of the Explorer.
Carl Heilman II took the cover photo, an aerial shot of the old titanium mine in Tahawus. The Explorer partnered with Lighthawk, a nonprofit organization, to fly over the High Peaks and the mine. The photos illustrate an in-depth story by our new watchdog reporter, Michael Virtanen, on the history and future of the mine. Incidentally, the flight confirmed that the controversial tanker cars have been removed from the railroad tracks leading to the mine. » Continue Reading.
Volunteers are the heart of most Adirondack events, and Ticonderoga’s Best Fourth in the North is no exception. The week-long celebration makes Ticonderoga more than just a stop on the Independence Day Circuit. » Continue Reading.
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