New England 3

July22, 2023 - Saturday 

Seven weeks post-surgery, and I have zero pain and full mobility. Finally I can be a better assistant with the Farmers’ Market set up. Today was one of the better attended in Lee and it felt so rewarding to have people milling around our booth in awe of Rich’s work. We always say if we had a nickel for every “you do beautiful work”, he’d need a wheelbarrow to hold them. On this day, the patrons put their money where their mouth is and he sold a little of everything he has to offer. This is a young girl, Lily, with her father who was very impressed - he is a Lego Village builder in their home so appreciates what it takes to do. He was impressed that this piece they took home is based on Arizona sandstone. 

July 23, 2023 - Sunday

Today was my first “in person” attendance at church since last summer. I love that I can go to my church online each week, but it was special to be participating with the choir again. 

 

It was such a perfectly gorgeous day today that we took a long, top-down ride over Berkshire backroads in search of more buildings to draw…

Yoyo Ma’s stone building at the entrance to his home. 

Dilapidated buildings on Cold Spring Road

 

… ended up at Dairy Queen in Winsted, CT. Our goal was to treat ourselves to an ice cream since we have been eating “better" for a whole week. We didn’t know which ice cream joint we would end up at… It was worth it! We didn’t get cones as they would have melted before I got back to the car with them. Rich had a shake and I had a Peanut Buster Parfait - delicious. We'll get back on track tomorrow.

 

July 24, 2023 - Monday

A very interesting man, Wayne, stopped by our booth several weeks ago and as a fellow artist, was fascinated with Rich’s woodwork art. We talked for a long time and he gave us his name, phone and address to get in touch to see his workshop. He has lived in this unique house for 20 years. He rebuilt it with low maintenance in mind - the roof is made of rubber which looks like roof tiles, the windows are powder black steel with wood behind it, the sidewalk is heated, etc. 

He and Nancie met in Hudson, NY and when she joined him in Lenox, he designed and helped build the crooked house-studio with a stone mason. It wasn’t easy to create a crooked chimney, fireplace and roof so he had to use rebar to keep it all in place.

I had drawn a picture a couple of years ago of a fairy house because I loved the roof. Hers is much cuter! 

She started quilting in 1976, but gave it up in 2005 due to frustration with the strict, straight, rigid lines of traditional quilting. When she started up again in 2017, she defied that standard by making her lines crooked and haphazard. Some of her most popular items are done using vintage clothing to create new “rags" with quilted denim patches. She has won “Best of Show” numerous times and all of her work can be seen on Instagram @ragsfrombritches. 

 

Wayne finds vintage clothes online and Nancie decorates it with marvelous quilt pieces. She used material from WWII Naval uniforms in this piece.

Adorable toddler size jacket

The master bedroom is decadent with all shades of denim. Often times people give her their old jeans. This bedspread was done in courthouse steps pattern and the reverse side always has a message hidden somewhere. 

In the same room is her favorite wingback chair which she had upholstered with the pattern she wanted. 

Wayne took it upon himself to make a miniature out of cardboard and cover it in denim for the bureau.

Old chest resplendent with spare quilt, pillow and huggable. 

The spare room …

Since he makes at least one item every day, you can imagine how many pieces adorn their home. 

Next was the tour of his workshop -WOW! He believes in repurposing whatever he can find. Just looking around or on the ground reveals so many treasures that others might consider junk. Often, he transforms them into mobile art without using batteries - just mechanical kinetic power. 

See the video in the body of this email for 360 tour.

1928 Ford on display 

FUN AT FARMERS MARKETS:

As I have said, it is a LOT of work to set up at the markets, but we have been satisfied with the monetary outcome. It is also like a social experiment when you talk with the shoppers a while and learn that they too are artists, or live across the country, or even live down the street. 

Seeing people’s faces when they examine Rich’s “real” work - the detail, bright colors, and use of raw materials - is most rewarding. These are his latest - magnets for the fridge!