It has always seemed as if there were two Cheryl Wheelers, with fans of the New England songwriter relishing watching the two tussle for control of the mic. There is poet-Cheryl, writer of some of the prettiest, most alluring and intelligent ballads on the modern folk scene. And there is her evil twin, comic-Cheryl, a militant trend defier and savagely funny social critic. The result is a delightful contrast between poet and comic.

Poet-Cheryl writes achingly honest songs of love and loss. Contrasting the prosaic landscpes of her native small-town America with the hopelessly rootless life of the traveling performer, she touches the common chords with any who feel the tug between our busy, camorous times and the timeless longing for simplicity and silence. Her deceptively plain-spun songs have been hits for such mainstream stars as Suzy Bogguss and Dan Seals, and have been recorded by everyone from Bette Midler, Maura O'Connell, and Peter Paul and Mary, to Juice Newton and Garth Brooks.

Comic-Cheryl comes on like Groucho-in-a-housecoat, a fiercely everyday woman with a barbed-wire tongue. Shredding the mores of our gossipy, greedy, trend-obsessed culture, Wheeler always aims enough darts at herself to never seem sanctimonious.

As the two forces smooth their conflict, taking their separate turns and melding into the same artistic vision, Wheeler emerges as a gifted and openhearted songwriter approaching the sure summit of her craft. Audience members'' abilities to find their own lives reflected in the sweet spaces of her songs reveals an artist comfortably wearing the austere genius that defines folk music's best traditions. More confidently and beautifully than ever before, she proves that the poet and the comic are one and the same.

The Gallery at Lighthouse, Groton is proud to announce the opening of a show of paintings by local artists Gray Park and Guido Garaycochea. Gray is inspired by the changing scenery of Barn Island in Stonington and the surrounding marshes of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The majority of his paintings are done en plein air, where Gray strives to capture the essence of the changing relationship between land and sea. In Guido's paintings, he endeavors to express his own vision of reality. It is not a tangible reality, but one that evokes a particular magic in each human being, one in constant conflict.  His visual aesthetic proposition symbolizes the passing of time in an ethereal atmosphere. Forces constantly fight to meet their point of equilibrium to find the inner, always hidden, other face of the human being that is in a no-time reality.  He tries to create a universality of expression that allows perhaps for the present to meet the future. The Gallery at Lighthouse, Groton is located at 744 Long Hill Road, Groton Shopping Plaza, Groton, CT. 06340.  The Gallery is open Mon - Fri 12 - 5 pm and Sat 12 - 6 pm

On Friday, November 21st, cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum and his improvising chamber jazz ensemble, SpiderMonkey Strings, will present the New Haven premiere of his innovative secular oratorio, Madeleine Dreams, at Firehouse 12.  Inspired by the novel Madeleine is Sleeping (Harcourt), a 2004 National Book Award finalist written by Bynum’s sister, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, the piece draws text from the book while further exploring its theme of “the logic of dreams.”  SpiderMonkey Strings, which takes its name from two mythical tricksters, Anansi the Spider of West Africa and the Monkey King of China, features Kyoko Kitamura (vocals and electronics), Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Jessica Pavone (viola), Tomas Ulrich (cello), Pete Fitzpatrick (guitar), Joseph Daley (tuba) and Luther Gray (drums).

“Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum is at the forefront of a younger generation of creative musicians in New York,” writes AllAboutJazz.com’s John Sharpe. “He combines thrilling improvisation with stealthy composition, unconfined by genre.”  Other critics agree, calling him “one of the most exciting figures in jazz’s new power generation” (Steve Dollar, Time Out Chicago), “a strong cornetist and serious-minded composer with experimental tendencies” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and “an agile and creative improviser who sounds like no one but himself” (Chris Kelsey, JazzTimes).  Jazzwise reviewer Kevin Le Gendre adds, “Bynum is thinking outside of the jazz box without getting trapped inside another in the process.”

Bynum’s expansive resume includes a wide variety of work with both his contemporaries and legendary figures alike, most notably the iconic saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton, with whom he has performed and recorded extensively over the past decade.  His most recent recordings as a bandleader include The Middle Picture (Firehouse 12, 2007), featuring his trio/sextet, and True Events (482 Music, 2007), a recording of cornet/percussion duets with Fujiwara that veteran jazz writers Howard Mandel, Brian Morton and K. Leander Williams, among others, included on their top 10 lists for the year.  In addition to leading his own bands, Bynum is a member of such groups as Jason Kao Hwang’s Edge and the large ensembles of creative music legends Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor.  He is also a curator for the annual Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) in New York and a partner in the Firehouse 12 Records label. 

Westport Arts Center presents:
Not All Rubber Ducks Look Alike

Thurs., Oct. 30 - Sunday, Nov. 30

Studio Party: Thurs., Oct. 30, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., Studio Gallery

Lucy Sander Sceery's whimsical, charming take on rubber ducks.

Open to the public.

For more information, contact Westport Arts Center at 203-222-7070 or www.westportartscenter.org,
or visit the gallery M-F 10-4 and Sat-Sun 12-4 at 51 Riverside Ave., Westport.

November 16 – December 23, 2008            Craft USA celebrates craft as art.  It is recognized as an exhibit of merit where original works of art made by hand are showcased.  This is the sixth year of the juried craft triennial competition/exhibition.  The competition draws over 1000 entries and over 400 artists from coast to coast working in various mediums such as ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, paper, wood, basketry and mixed media.   This year’s juror is Gretchen Keyworth, Director of the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA.  A notable figure in the world of contemporary craft, she has extensive experience in curating and advising prominent craft shows.  The Fuller Craft Museum underwent a re-branding in 2004/05 to become the preeminent craft museum in New England.  The museum has recently exhibited Joan Morris, Thomas Mann, Megumi Naitoh, Carter Smith, and Alan Klein.  Ms. Keyworth has independently curated many craft exhibitions such as GlassForms, Charles Kaziun Early Works and Traditional Paperweights.  In 2005, Ms. Keyworth was named one of ten people to watch in American Craft by The Crafts Report. GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday – Saturday: 11 am – 5 pm; Sunday: 1 – 5 pm.

Westport Arts Center presents:

Optomism

Sept. 26 - Nov. 30

An exhibition examining the role of art as a form of political activism. Open to the public.

Gallery Talkback: Wed, Nov. 12, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

WAC Main Gallery

For more information, contact WAC at 203-222-7070, www.westportartscenter.org, or visit the gallery, M-F 10-4; Sat/Sun 12-4 at 51 Riverside Ave., Westport.

Artistry on the Shoreline Holiday Sale

October 20 - January 11, 2009

Visit our website at www.guilfordartcenter.org.

Now through Dec. 14 -

Holidaze: The Real Story of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas

Special exhibit at the Henry Whitfield State Museum

Learn why the Puritans did not celebrate Christmas, the myths behind the First Thanksgiving, and how All Hallow's Eve became a night of costumes and candy. The exhibit is available for viewing during regular museum hours and is included with museum admission.

The Connecticut Forum

Storytellers and the Stories They Tell:

Moviemakers, Writers, and Artists

Featuring:

David Simon, creator of HBO's "The Wire"

Tony Kushner, Tony Award-winning playwright, author of "Angels in America"

Friday, Nov. 21, 2008

for more information: www.ctforum.org

Woodbury painter Matt Wood returns to nature’s essence
in “Pentimento” exhibition at Good News Cafe & Gallery

Woodbury artist Matt Wood returns to the essence of the subjects he paints from the natural world in his new exhibition titled “Pentimento,” showing through Jan. 5, 2009, at the Good News Cafe and Gallery, 694 Main Street South, Woodbury.

A native of southern California, Wood began his artistic odyssey with painting studies at the University of Iowa influenced by the work of Mauricio Lasansky. Wood notes that his own Polish and Russian heritage, and his marriage to Polish native Joanna Czaderna, have established a natural affinity for Lasansky’s passionate approach to the creative process that seeks to use art as a means to raise personal awareness.

Good News Cafe & Gallery is open from 11:30 am to 10 pm daily; closed Tuesdays.
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Stratford High School Drama Society will present “Arsenic and Old Lace” on Thursday, November 20, at 7:30, Friday, November 21, at 7:30, and Saturday, November 22, at 2:30 and 7:30. Tickets are $9 for adults and $7 for students, children, and senior citizens. They may be reserved by calling (203) 381-6909, extension 1234.

The Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society presents its annual members exhibition at Hartford Fine Art, 80 Pitkin Street, East Hartford, beginning with the opening reception and awards presentation on Friday November 7, 2008 from 6-8 pm. This year's juror is David Dunlop, well-known to CPTV viewers for his thirteen-episode series Landscapes Through Time With David Dunlop, which debuted this year to rave reviews. His careful selection of 72 works in oil, watercolor, pastel and acrylic makes this the most exciting show ever for this talented group of artists. The public is cordially invited to the opening reception to share insights and a glass of wine with many member artists. All works will be for sale and a drawing will be held for one lucky guest to win an original painting by a member artist. The exhibit will continue through January 31, 2009. Please go to www.hartfordfineart.com for gallery hours and directions.

In conjunction with the annual exhibit, the Gallery will host a series of artist demonstrations and panel discussions on selected Saturdays in November and December, including a hands-on demo by David Dunlop himself on December 6 from 11-1. This is an opportunity for artists and art lovers alike to gain insights from several artists into the painting process. For a complete schedule of events, please go to www.cpaps.org.

Magdalena Gómez
Jaguar Dreams: Each Day A Lifetime
FRIDAY, November 21, 8pm (Potluck reception starts at 7pm)
$8 ($5 members, seniors & students)

While on an Arts International residency sponsored by the Augusta Savage
Gallery at the University of Massachusetts, Magdalena documented her time
in Southeast Mexico during the last Presidential campaign in poetry.
Magdalena met with indigenous theater, literary and visual artists,
underground revolutionaries and was welcomed into a world unseen by
tourists.  Her poems reflect the struggles and passion of oppressed people
who struggle against tyranny by organizing and art-making as a form of
resistance.

Art Exhibition Reception and Musical Performance

Tuesday, November 18th 5 – 7pm
Free and open to the public

Clare Gallery is pleased to present Completing the Journey: The Art of Hospice Care,an extraordinary and powerful multi-media exhibition depicting the use of the arts in hospice care. Artists participating in this exhibition are constituents of The Complementary Therapy Team, a Connecticut VNA Partners organization. Along with the artists, professional musicians from The Complementary Therapy Team will perform original music during the reception.

Along with this exhibition there are also other programs that might be of interest to people dealing with loss. The first program, sponsored by the ministries of Women of Hope and Bereavement from the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry, is “Grief – Shattered and Mended: How Hopeful Women Survive” on November 12th from 5 to 9 pm. This Twilight Retreat includes dinner, a discussion on how women deal with grief, and a hands-on project. The cost is $15.00. The second program, sponsored by several Ministries of Pastoral Care is a “Service of Remembrance” on November 25th from 7-8 pm. If one would like more information on either of these programs, please call the Urban Center at 860-756-4034.

Free parking in Saints Lot across the street. Please bring ticket for validation.

So you think you know the whole story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his late partner, Jacob Marley?  Then you haven’t seen Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, playing November 14 through December 13 at Hole in the Wall Theater in New Britain. 

In Tom Mula's funny, irreverent spin on the Christmas classic, Jacob Marley sets out to redeem Ebenezer Scrooge's soul and, in the process, save his own.  Accompanied by a jaunty Hell-sprite called a “Bogle,” Marley embarks on a journey filled with laughter, terror, the power of redemption, and the promise of second chances.  Four actors play multiple roles in this highly theatrical holiday entertainment.  Dennis Hull directs. 

Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol runs Fridays and Saturdays, November 14 through December 13, at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays, November 23 and December 7, at 2:00 p.m. at Hole in the Wall Theater, 116 Main Street, New Britain.  Admission is a $20.00 suggested donation.  Seating is limited, so please call (860) 229-3049 for reservations.  For more information, visit www.hitw.org.

Jennifer Jane Gallery has organized an art exposition with a cooperative of local artists in New Haven.

The best place around this holiday season to buy handmade, original gifts.

Original photography, paintings, stained glass, giclees, watercolors, jewlery, etc.

Located at ArLoW

838 Whalley Ave.

The Westville Arts District

New Haven, CT 06515

Hours: Wed - Sat, 12 - 6 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

www.GroupX20.com

ART@jenniferjanegallery.com

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Dead Man Walking is a 2002 play written by Academy Award winning actor/director Tim Robbins.  The play, based on the book Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean, combines the actual accounts of Prejean’s encounters with the first two men on Louisiana’s death row for whom she provided spiritual counseling, as well as her encounters with the families of the victims.