Monday, October 22, 2012

Gaetano family dedicates Grand Staircase at View



















The Charles A. Gaetano family gathered at View in Old Forge on Saturday, Oct. 13 to dedicate the grand staircase and balcony in memory of Connie Gaetano, the family matriarch, who passed away earlier this year.

View executive director Jennifer Potter Hayes welcomed the Gaetano family and friends to View and gave opening remarks. She thanked the Charles A. Gaetano Construction Company for their patience and commitment to View and the Town of Webb. She remarked on the craftsmanship that went into constructing and finishing the building, including the beautiful staircase that graces the lobby and is the centerpiece of the building.
 
“We are so proud to call this magnificent building home of the arts center in Old Forge,” she said. 
 
Potter Hayes then spoke about how the grand staircase and balcony are the centerpieces of View.

“From this staircase and balcony, visitors have views of the Noonan lobby, the courtyard, and the Mallinckrodt Garden. This staircase is the path Kinderwood children take every day on the way to their classroom. Also, yoga ladies, painters, photographers, our resident weaver, board members, staff, and visitors use these stairs. Brides have been married on this landing! And all of View’s bridal parties have used this staircase for their formal pictures. It is a beautiful design. I will think of Connie Gaetano when I go up and down, up and down, up and down these stairs every day,” she said.

Potter Hayes spoke of her memories of Connie, as the “front man” at the company’s office on Genesee Street in Utica. Connie staffed the front desk in the foyer, and “you had to pass muster with Connie to get through,” she said.  “It is fitting,” she continued, “that the family chose to dedicate the grand staircase and balcony in Connie’s memory as this may have been one of the final public projects that she worked on.”

Kerry Rogers, View board member and chair of the construction committee, also spoke. He noted, tongue in cheek, that “the path to completion [of the building] was not exactly conventional,“ a reference to the need to halt construction for a period in order to raise more funds.  Rogers also said that it was his sincere pleasure to have worked with the Gaetano team. He thanked them for their professionalism and dedication to the project. Rogers reiterated Connie’s presence at the Gaetano company and said that she will be missed.

After the remarks, Charles Gaetano and his six children gathered on the landing to cut the ribbon to the staircase and balcony, followed by the unveiling of the dedication plaque, which reads, “Grand Staircase. Given by the Charles A. Gaetano Construction Corporation in loving memory of Connie Gaetano.”


---By Leslie Bailey, View staff

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Mountain Theatre Company to present Quilters at View

Mountain Theatre Company will present Quilters at 7 pm on Saturday, Oct. 20 and at 2 pm on Sunday, Oct. 21 at View. Quilters will be performed as a musical in concert featuring local actors from the community.

Scrap by scrap, piece by piece, a quilt comes together, assembled by pioneer women who sew and socialize in a unique expression of folk art. Quilters, a musical by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek, is about the lives of American pioneer women based on the book The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art by Patricia Cooper and Norma Bradley Allen.

In the American West, a pioneer woman, Sarah, and her six daughters, face frontier life. Rather than a straightforward storyline, the musical is presented as a series of short tales and tableaux matched with musical numbers, each presenting an aspect of frontier life or womanhood. The patches or blocks show girlhood, marriage, childbirth, spinsterhood, twisters, fire, illness, and death." The patches are ultimately put together to form one dramatic tableau.

Quilters stars local actors Amy Bartel, Patti Delano, Kelly Hamlin, Jennifer Potter Hayes, Connie Milligan, MaryAnn Lum Nelson, Lani Ulrich, and Stephen Wick with musical direction by Ellen Drake, vocal coaching by Connie Milligan and Judy Barker, costumes by Sue Russell, and quilts by Claire Oehler. Alan Saban is the director.

 This mosaic captures the sweep and beauty, the terror and joy, the harsh challenge and abiding rewards of frontier life. But with this there is also love, warmth, rich and lively humor, and the moving spectacle of simple human dignity and steadfastness in the face of adversity. The play pays eloquent tribute to the courage and spirit of our nation's pioneer women. Who would have thought that quilts, quilting—quilters—had so much joy and pain, laughter and tears, so much life, beauty and drama in them?

Tickets for this concert are $10 at the door the day of the show with general admission seating. For more information, call View at (315) 369-6411.

--Posted by Leslie Bailey, View staff

"Quilts Unlimited" opens at View

The 26th annual “Quilts Unlimited” will open at View on Saturday, Oct. 13 and run through Dec. 2. This exhibition is an annual favorite that transforms the galleries into a pleasant plethora of pattern and patchwork. Quilts are hung gallery style and entries include both traditional and eclectic quilts and wall hangings. Other exhibits that will open concurrently include quilts by Mary Knapp, mixed media fiber art by 8 That Create, mosaic tile sculpture by Shelly Hamill, and glass sculpture by Tina Betz.

The opening weekend begins with a preview reception on Friday, Oct. 12, from 5 to 7 pm, and includes music, light refreshments, and a variety of quilt-related raffles. Both on Saturday, from 10 am to 5 pm, and on Sunday, from noon to 4 pm, there will be quilt-related vendors, demonstrations, and workshops at View. At 2 pm on Saturday, the Quilts Unlimited awards ceremony will begin, followed by a fat quarter drawing. Enter an 18”x22” piece of fabric (fat quarter) for a chance to win them all.

The annual Quilting Lecture and Luncheon this year with Mary Knapp begins at 10 am on Saturday. Mary will present “Uniquely You,” an interactive presentation to spark your creativity while providing insights into quilt design and technique. She will provide examples ranging from traditional to innovative; from hand work to machine work, and she will blend all of it together so that the audience can develop it into their own unique style.

Mary Knapp is a retired biology teacher who now teaches quilting and designs patterns. She has earned numerous awards in a variety of quilt shows.  Mary enjoys both piecing and appliqué: machine piecing because of the sharp precision it affords and hand appliqué because of the softness.  She has a new book, “Star Quilts” due to be released by C & T Publishing this fall. Learn more about Mary Knapp at maryknappquilts.wordpress.com

Vendors and Events
Dyeing to Sew will be displaying and selling hand dyed fabrics and patterns.  Sew Crazy Fabric Shop will also be on hand selling quilt related fabrics and notions.  Three members of 8 That Create will be in attendance on Saturday and Sunday.  Carol Sloan, Liz Kettle, and Jane Davila will all be demonstrating, signing their books, as well as offering workshops; Modern Day Reverse Appliqué with Carol Sloan on Saturday, 3-6 pm; Stampmaking For Quilters with Jane Davila on Sunday, 9am-noon; and Fabric Collage Stories OR Embellish your Story with Liz Kettle on Sunday, 1:30-4:30 pm. Local demonstrators include Annette Eyre – appliqué; Donnie Brownsey – Quilt as you Go; and Sandra White – Binding. On Sunday, Margaret Sykes will be offering a beginners quilting class, Tree Farm Throw, Sunday, 1-4pm.

--Posted by Leslie Bailey, View staff. Pictured: "White Flowers" by Rene Bracken.