Wordless Wednesday: Berkshire Brunch Edition
Tag: photography
Photo Hunt: Find the Horror Scene
“Your mum and I were hiding in a house. A wee cottage. There was an old couple that owned it. And they were there, too. Three other people. And we were, uh… just trying to stay alive, I suppose. We were doing okay for a while. And then we were attacked. They came in through the kitchen window. They were really fast, you know? Chased us. Chased your mum. And we were trapped. Trapped in the bedroom. I… I seen them… biting. I couldn’t do anything. I tried to go back. She was already gone. She was already gone.” ~ 28 Weeks Later, 2007
“My asshole brother bought her back in September ’57. That’s when you got your new model year, in September. Brand-new, she was. She had the smell of a brand-new car. That’s just about the finest smell in the world.” ~ Christine, 1983
“In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.” ~ The Blair Witch Project, 1999
Crystal Visions ~ The Art of Mindy Lam at Berkshire Botanical Garden
As galleries slowly reopen, my list of hopeful weekend engagements continues to grow. It’s one I was worried would start late due to my ongoing injury recovery, but I was able to begin the return to culture this weekend with a show after my own heart: Flights of Fancy: The Botanical and Bejeweled Universe of Mindy Lam.
On display in The Anna and Frederick Henry Leonhardt Galleries at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Mass., the exhibit is an intersection of several different things I already love: modern art, vintage pieces, fantastic elements, haute-couture jewelry… all hosted in the rooms of a slightly ominous garden house constructed in the 1700s.
Lam works with crystals and semi-precious stones, repurposed, vintage costume jewelry, and metal wire — including weaving metal lace out of gold, copper, and steel. Her art is inspired by and reflective of nature, and has been displayed within the clapboard walls of the Leonhardt on moss beds, willow branches, and squares of unbleached linen.
Separated into three rooms, the exhibit includes a selection from Lam’s Homme Couture brooch collection; a “man-made ornamental garden” of twigs and brambles adorned with pins, necklaces, and earrings; and a curated menagerie of pieces created for once-in-a-lifetime events, featuring Lam’s signature metal lace gown: “a wearable sculpture originating with a single, delicate thread of wire,” as described on the BBG website.
The real piece de resistance for me, however, is a cool-metal crown in a mirrored bell jar that appears to be telling an entire tale in-the-round.
Lam is also a decidedly philanthropic artist, working with charities large and small including the American Heart Association, American Theatre Wing, and St. Jude’s Research Hospital. She has extended sales on her website to support BBG’s education and horticulture programs throughout Flights of Fancy’s run, until June 6, 2021.
All photos (c) jcs 2021 ~ view the full set here
Film Noir: Five photos given the Horror-movie treatment
It hasn’t been a good year for photo field trips for myriad reasons, but I was able to explore (as much as my broken limb would allow) an empty campground this weekend — a prime spot to capture a few images of desolation and edit in a horror-movie cue or two.
Here are five favorites, captioned with film dialogue for good measure.
Rachel: Seven days. ~ The Ring, 2002
Samuel: You will be when it creeps into your room at night. ~ The Babadook, 2014
Photos taken at Camp Bonnie Brae, the nation’s longest continuously operating Girl Scout Camp, in East Otis, Mass.
Blogtoberfest Guest Post: The Tattooed Ladies of the Mohawk Trail, by Ralph Brill
MANY BEAUTIFUL AND INTERESTING TATTOOED LADIES LIVE ALONG THE MOHAWK TRAIL – FROM BOSTON TO ALBANY. WE WILL MEET SOME OF THESE SPECIAL WOMEN IN A BEAUTIFUL BOOK AND TRAVELING EXHIBITION.
WE ARE SEEKING TATTOOED* LADIES OF ALL AGES, SIZES AND COLORS WHO LIVE ALONG THIS ROUTE 2 REGION.
NUDE WITH ONE GREAT TATTOO OR MANY IS OUR INTEREST. CONTACT BRILL GALLERY PRODUCTIONS IF INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED FOR POSSIBLE INCLUSION. MAYBE YOU KNOW SOMEONE?
*In 2014, about four-in-ten females aged 18 to 29 years old have tattoos. This Look-At-Me phenomenon along The Mohawk Trail was not in place in 1914. Lots of other things have thankfully changed as well for these ladies over these past 100 years: Women were allowed to vote for Presidents, Women were allowed to study at Williams College, Minority Women were allowed to enjoy the resorts in the Berkshires, Women were allowed to buy their own cars, etc.
Most of the Five Nations Confederacy Chiefs of the Iroquois including the Mohawks were Tattooed as were the Chiefs of the various Atlantic Tribes. It was like their personal signatures. The above is a detail of Mohawk Chief Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow’s portrait by John Verelst painted in 1710. Some Native American women were also Tattooed. For the first time in American history, in 2014, more women than men along The Mohawk Trail are Tattooed. Our Tattooed Ladies are a connection to this historical art form along The Mohawk Trail.
The Mohawk Trail started out as an important Indian Trail connecting the Atlantic Tribes around Boston with those in Upstate New York. In 1799, the Massachusetts Legislature established a toll road along this Path – officially known as The Fifth. Eventually, cattle were driven from Western New England Farms to the Boston Markets along this Path as were wagon loads of various goods. Horse coaches brought visitors from Boston to the Berkshires via The Fifth.
In the early 1900s, as more families owned Model T Fords and wanted to take long country drives, The Fifth began to become known as the scenic road to explore. In 1914, The Fifth was widened to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles and was officially designated as the Mohawk Trail by the State in that year.
Ralph Brill owns the Brill Gallery in North Adams, Mass. Have a Blogtoberfest Guest Post you want to submit? Email it to writerjax – at – gmail – dot – com.
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