Founder’s Focus

“The winter of our (—)content” has come to a close, and Pogo, our intrepid canine companion, is racing  around sniffing all the signs of spring, revealed by the retreating snows.  It’s wonderful to have spent 25 winters, springs, etc. in a community of contented artists and writers, contented because they are where they most want to be:  their studios; doing what they most want to do:  creating; and being/doing this free from the many responsibilities and many interruptions of their daily lives at home.

In this time of ever present worldwide economic dis-content, at VSC  we are fortunate to live in a community not consumed by those concerns;  which doesn’t mean that  members of the VSC community, residents, staff, et al. are necessarily “enlightened” but rather that most of us don’t have anything, and as Bob Dylan said “when you ain’t got nothin’ you got nothin’ to lose”  (an excellent exposition of the Buddhist concept of non-attachment)…and so life at VSC continues with the same vitality and joy it has always had, and in these times that makes the Studio Center an inspiring haven of creativity and compassion, and a reminder of those aspects of being human that truly matter.

That said, we couldn’t be offering this VSC “haven” to 600 artists and writers each year (and to the staff) without the continuing support of our large family of VSC donors, and their continuing support in light of the fact that so many donors have been significantly impacted by the economic crisis is truly wonderful, and truly appreciated.

And so…onward!

Jon

A Selection of Recent Resident Portraits:

Photos by Howard Romero

April 2009 Residents:

Photo by Howard Romero

Photo by Howard Romero

April Visiting Artists:

Cora Cohen	Phoebe Adams
Joyce Kozloff	Jene Highstean

April Visiting Writers:

Aftermath
By Rosanna Warren

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was that last, euphoric summer, between
one chemo and another, when you looked out
your kitchen window and saw the doe standing
at the edge of your lawn where the thicket gathers—
autumn olive, buckthorn, forsythia, dogwood.
And when you stepped outside, the doe stayed still
and looked in your eyes, you thought, with a companionable
complicit question, and didn’t run. You were
light-headed. The doe lowered her nose
to shove at the small bundle at her feet
folded up like an awkward deck chair
till then invisible in its hollow of grass.
She had just given birth. The fawn couldn’t stand
but raised its too-large head to gaze at you.
You were, as you said, already more or less
posthumous. You took each other in.
One of you before, the other beyond fear.
Two creatures, side effects on one another,
headed in opposite directions.

The Kingdom of God Likened to a Deer Carcass
By Eric Pankey

 

 

 

 

 

 

What the crow abandons, worms relish.

If I stare long enough at these remains
I will imagine a kingdom undone:

Surveyed. Staked off. Limestone and ivory.
A cathedral built upon a temple.

This bone a buttress. That one a crossbeam.
Every altar stone bloodless and sun-bleached.

Every chapel floor swept clean by the wind.
For now, wind shudders the collapsing ribs,

Swirls up a mote of fur like milkweed silk,
And touches the ruin intricately.

What the wind forsakes, dogs will drag away.

May Visiting Artists and Writers:

Michael Harper

Andrew Ginzel

Katherine Porter

Colin Chase

Myrna Harrison

Eamon Grennan

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our 25th year we’re sharing the stories of 25 VSC fellows on our website.  Each month we reveal new fellows here.  Here are two recent examples:

“Its really good to know there are people working for art in this culture, where so much is about consuming and making money.  Its refreshing to be in a community where people are creating.  It makes me feel at peace.”

- C. Ryder Cooley, Joan Mitchell – VSC Fellow, March 2009

(read more about Ryder here)

“I knew the VSC residency would allow me to follow the rhythms of my work; it’s not just being in a new place, it’s looking at the entire day, for four whole weeks, as an opportunity to work.” - Sarah Gorham, Fellow, April 2009

Half Empty/Half Full
By Sarah Gorham

Reasons to grieve: diminishing flesh,
weeks that scroll by unnoticed.
Coarseness of image and voice.
Rain of ash on Montseurrat,
milkweed that loosens in a sudden gale.
The mirrored hall of adolescence,
rootlessness of politicians.
Books that end up in the air, seas
that pare away the shore. The black horse,
black horse that throws its rider.
The sinking of foundations and moral standards.
Blur of small print, medicine that comes too late.
The reduction of great literary characters
to one or two dismissive sentences.
Pale skin, cold coffee,
wandering attention. Unpainted boats.

Reasons to rejoice: skin closing
after an abrasion. First attenuated hours
of vacation. Swell of rivers
and waves and the White Mountains.
Simple accounts: I’m relieved. I’m first in line.
The red hot blaze before the ash, milkweed
feathering down. The transformation of sisters
into late-life companions.
Fresh sheets, a bar of glycerine soap.
Open-ended novels. Tram tickets, tea time,
little red spiders, the other minutiae
behind great open-ended novels.
Aspirin that prevents, caresses that sway,
primer to hold the bright coat of paint.
Aphorisms, epigrams, succinct parables:
Two horses fighting, one black, one white.
Which horse will win?

The one you feed the most.
Again: the one you feed the most.

(read more about Sarah here)

Save the Date

Saturday, May 2nd

VSC’s 25th Anniversary Celebration

Bring a friend and join us in Johnson for a celebration of 25 years of supporting Vermont’s artists and writers.

6:30 PM Anniversary performance in the Lowe Lecture Hall (Main Street) by Peter Schumann http://www.breadandpuppet.org/.

7:15 PM Vermont Artists Week 2009 Open Studios Tour.

8:30 PM Dance party in the Red Mill with music by Yankee Chank http://www.myspace.com/yankeechank. Vermont Studio Center staff exhibition. Silent auction (featuring a wide variety of goods and services from generous regional merchants and individuals)

The event is free and open to the public. For questions or to RSVP please contact:
Tara Thacker
802-635-2727 x 223
tara@vermontstudiocenter.org

Save the Date

Thursday, May 7th

VSC’s 25th:  A New York Alumni Reunion

WOLF KAHN, Magenta Variations, 2009, Oil on canvas, 52 x 83 inches, A&Y#180

The Vermont Studio Center invites you to join us for a gathering in New York of VSC alumni, friends, and staff at Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art (20 West 57th St.) on Thursday, May 7th, from 6 – 8pm.

For information or to RSVP please contact: tara@vermontstudiocenter.org

http://www.vermontstudiocenter.org/25/

			Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art 20 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 t (212) 445-0051  f (212) 445-0102 www.Ameringer-Yohe.com