American Celebration: Ted Degener Photographs

Vacancy by Ted Degener

Ted Degener may not have seen it all, but he’s seen—really seen—a lot. Fortunately for the rest of us he has had a camera up to his eye as he’s roamed the country discovering the unusual. Of his work, he says “ . . . there is metaphoric content hiding right in front of us everywhere.” His new book, American Celebration: Ted Degener Photographs, has just been released.

Earth Day—Times Square by Ted Degener

The Upper Valley has been Ted’s home since 1973. He ran the store Folk in Hanover for 40 years. Now retired, he freelances for several magazines and has had museum shows of his photographs, including in Chicago and Baltimore.

“ I began documenting what is known as “folk art environments" [see photo at the end of this post for one example] in the 1980’s and along the way on road trips I noticed how visually interesting the road can be.” —Ted Degener

Tailgate Party by Ted Degener

Words here won’t capture these works with any sufficiency, because, well, that’s a hallmark and the art of the photograph. The photos are addictive. Not only will you view them yourself, you’ll be imploring every human in your vicinity to take a look. (As it turns out, both Ted and I share a particular fondness for “Vacancy,” top.) Each image is a story, and what stories they are, from the American hinterlands to Times Square in New York City. Perhaps the best overall description may be that voiced by author Roger Manley in the book’s introduction, who wonders what aliens would make of the culture if these photos were their sole source of data . . .

“. . . for Degener takes us on a mad, mad, mad tour of a land that seems about to teeter on the edge of insanity. And yet his images also speak of hope, for they offer a composite portrait of a place inhabited by people determined to remain relentlessly free, exuberant, inventive, and ultimately untamable, even if occasionally more than a bit nuts. With Ted pointing the way, we traverse the rings of a truly divine comedy of ordinary, creative, singular, and deeply committed individuals that few other countries could ever hope (or dare) to welcome as fellow citizens. Each of them provided rich material for his wry, idiosyncratic – but utterly human – observations.”

Ark Alert – Kea Tawana. Photo by Ted Degener

American Celebration is available for sale at Kishka Gallery in White River Junction, Vermont and the Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro, VT. Keep an eye out for a local book presentation.

(All photos by kind permission of Ted Degener)

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Thank you! You’re reading Artful, a blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley, and I hope you’ll subscribe (still free) and then share this post with your friends and on your social media. We now exceed 3100 subscribers.

And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.

Glasstastic 2025: Artists Create Sculptures from Children's Drawings in Live Demo

Saturday, April 26 in Bellows Falls, Vermont

Glass Artist Nick Kekic in his Studio. Photo courtesy of BMAC.

More than 1,000 schoolchildren dreamed up their most fanciful creatures, put pencil or crayon to paper, and sent them off to the Brattleboro Museum of Art in the hope of seeing them transformed into glass sculptures.

“Glasstastic” is Brattleboro Museum and Art Center’s beloved biennial celebration of youthful creativity and artistic ingenuity. On view until Nov. 1, the exhibition features 21 sparkling sculptures of creatures imagined by children in grades K-6 and rendered by professional glass artists from across New England.

The drawings always come with imaginative biographies. This exhibition “includes such characters as the colorful “Fefe,” who is part cat, part dragon, and part unicorn; “Larry,” an unusual avocado who moved to New York City seeking fame and fortune; and a magical critter named “Red Cat” who eats only strawberries.” Each and every submission is included in the exhibition—“either displayed on the walls or in binders available at the museum.”

In addition to the ongoing exhibition, the public is invited to view a live demonstration by glassmakers inspired by two of the kids’ drawings. From BMAC’s recent press release:

Artists Chris Sherwin, Nick Kekic, and other members of the Vermont Glass Guild will transform two children’s drawings of imaginary creatures into sparkling glass sculptures during a live demonstration on Saturday, April 26, 1-4 p.m. Presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) in connection with the exhibition “Glasstastic,” the event will take place at Sherwin’s and Kekic’s adjoining studios at 33 Bridge Street, in Bellows Falls, Vermont.

This family-friendly event offers viewers an opportunity to witness the dramatic art of glassblowing and see imagination come to life in molten glass. The artists will sculpt two creatures dreamed up by children: “Gerald,” a penguin in a blue top hat, drawn by 11-year-old Charli Berger of Charlotte, Vermont, and a candy-corn-shaped monster named “Scooper Dooper the Third,” as imagined by Jayden Bolduc, also 11, of Starksboro, Vermont. During the demonstration, viewers can walk between the two studios as the artists work, come and go as they wish, or watch the process from start to finish.

Meet Gerald here. At first blush, Scooper Dooper the Third reminded me of a certain political figure (see what you think), but artist Jayden expresses a different inspiration in Scooper’s photo and bio here.

Admission to the demo is $10 for adults/teens, $5 for children ages 6-12, and free for children under 6 and for BMAC members. Purchase tickets in advance at brattleboromuseum.org or by calling 802-257-0124 x101. Tickets may be purchased at the door, subject to availability.

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Thank you! You’re reading Artful, a blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley, and I hope you’ll subscribe (still free) and then share this post with your friends and on your social media. We now exceed 3100 subscribers.

And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word, and quite likes the Brattleboro Museum of Art.

Monet at the Hood

Claude Monet, Pommiers en fleurs (Apple Trees in Bloom), 1872, oil on canvas. Lent by the Gregg Turk Foundation. © 2024 Christie’s Images Limited

Monet is at the Hood Museum of Art.

In recent years, it seems as if there were two choices for viewing Monet’s works. You could stuff a roll-aboard and haul yourself off to Paris to the Musées d’Orsay, Marmatton, and de l’Orangerie (any trip to Paris is a fine alternative, but pricey), or you could track down a blockbuster exhibition in a major city, buy a timed-entry ticket, and hope for moments when the crowds inside would not be obstructing the view of the art.

And now, you can happily take yourself to the Hood Museum, where on a Wednesday afternoon I had two Monets practically to myself for at least 15 minutes. Monet’s Pommiers en fleurs (Apple Trees in Bloom) (1872) and Route près de Giverny (Road near Giverny)(1885) are on loan to the Hood Museum from the Gregg Turk Foundation during the museum’s 40th anniversary year. John Stomberg, the Hood Museum of Art’s Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director, commented:

“We are thrilled to be able to share the work of Monet with our many audiences. This focused exhibition features one of the most popular artists of the modern era. Having Monet’s work, which literally named the Impressionist movement, on view in the Upper Valley is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and everyone is invited.”

Monet: Reimagining the French Landscape, which opened on March 29, also includes four paintings from the museum’s permanent collection by artists who followed in Monet’s wake. The exhibition will remain on view until September 28, 2025.

The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, is located in downtown Hanover, New Hampshire. Check its website for more information, including hours.

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Thank you! You’re reading Artful, a blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley, and I hope you’ll subscribe (still free) and then share this post with your friends and on your social media. We now exceed 3100 subscribers.

And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.

Jewel of India: Sunday Brunch Returns

We love Lou’s, but for a change of pace . . .

Sunday brunch is back at Jewel of India in Hanover. We had the honor of being the first in line for the opener on March 30.

Good food, buffet style, all you can eat and priced just right at $16.95. It’s a college kid’s dream even if your college kid status, like ours, expired decades ago.

Nice offerings: curried lamb, curried chicken, tandoori chicken, biryani, plain rice. Non-meat options included lentils, peas and potatoes, pakora, and green salad, naan and standard condiments, and cardamom infused kheer (rice pudding) for dessert.

The vibe is informal and it’s quick. We were in and out in under a hour, though buffet lines may grow longer once the word is out.

Brunch on Sundays, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. Jewel of India is located at 11 Lebanon St, Hanover, New Hampshire.

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Thank you! You’re reading Artful, a blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley, and I hope you’ll subscribe (still free) and then share this post with your friends and on your social media. We now exceed 3100 subscribers.

And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.

“A Man of No Importance” Opens at the Briggs

We the People’s latest production is on stage through April 13.

A Man of No Importance just opened at the Briggs Opera House. It is a story that is multi-layered—sweet and somber, funny and sad. Producer Perry Allison has said she chose this play for a number of reasons: it’s a play within a play, it features Irish music, and it is a quiet and reflective piece about belonging and inclusivity. It works on all counts.

Alfie (Richard Waterhouse) is a bus conductor in 1960s Dublin who harbors a grand passion for the stage as the director of a troupe of dedicated and quirky community theater actors. They are working on presenting Salome, a play by Oscar Wilde. If you’ve ever been someone who makes theater, or you’ve been adjacent to the process, you will recognize the energy and enthusiasm of theater makers everywhere. (“Going Up”in Act I). And the director’s nightmare (in Act II) of trials and tribulations in wrangling cast and crew as opening night looms in the ever-nearing future. Might zippers be included in Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils, for example? No matter, says the purveyor of each improbable and poorly executed idea, “in a week and a half, it will be art.” Alfie sighs, and hopes.

Under Eric Love’s direction, this ensemble cast delivers. The characters in Salome are amusing and are standard in theater companies of this sort, including the egocentric star-in-her own-mind (portrayed by Beata Randall), the veteran (portrayed by Kay Morton) viciously coaching the ingenue, the earnest one practicing (again) his lines (Jonathan Rosenbloom). Some actors play more than one role both within Salome and without because, well, amateur theater is a demanding and resource-slim business.

Standout performances include Waterhouse, skillfully portraying a character who is many things at once: upbeat and kind, and lonely and confused as he realizes he is yearning for, in his words, “the love that dares not speak its name.” His “Welcome to the World” is profound and moving, and would have been (in my humble opinion) an apt if sadder place for playwright Terrence McNally to conclude. What one critic called “the sunny denouement” left me, too, unconvinced.

Jenn Langhus is superb as Lily, Alfie’s long-suffering sister, who is vocal and witty. She too, however, is harboring her own pain as she foregoes both her youth and marriage in favor of being a caretaker of her eternally unwed brother. She shares her comedic chops in a duet with a suitor, William Carney (Steve LeBlanc) titled “Books.”

Lively choreography (Julie Frew) and a cute tableau vivant in Act II drew an appreciative chuckle from the audience. Musicians (music director Alex Arlotta) bring the streets of Dublin alive with Irish music; a short post-production piece on opening night accompanied the audience’s exit from the theater.

A Man of No Importance is on stage at the Briggs Opera House in downtown White River Junction, Vermont through April 13. Tickets and further info here.

(Photos, Opening night, A Man of No Importance, Briggs Opera House, White River Junction, VT, March 28, 2025. Photo credit: Nancy Nutile-McMenemy)

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Thank you! You’re reading Artful, a blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley, and I hope you’ll subscribe (still free) and then share this post with your friends and on your social media. We now exceed 3100 subscribers.

And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.