Catherine Dianich

Down an inviting alleyway, through glass doors and at the far end of a low-ceilinged lobby in an old brick industrial building repurposed into offices, retail stores and apartments, resides a unique Brattleboro gallery in an unlikely location behind floor-to-ceiling windows that make it seem like you’re entering an art-filled snow globe.
That is how people first encounter Catherine Dianich Gallery, which for the past nine years has been a notable player in the town’s vibrant art scene, carving a path distinct from other galleries, reflecting the unique vision of its founder and owner.

Adria Schozer

The Gander Gallery represents a vibrant new addition to Manchester’s art scene and a new venture for owner Adria Schozer, but it’s really no accident that it opened its doors last July at 4716B Main St. The twin worlds of art and Vermont have exerted a gravitational pull on Schozer for so long the opening of The Gander Gallery starts looking a lot like destiny.

Schozer grew up in the world of art. Her father, Fred Faviano, is an abstract painter, and her parents owned The Bittersweet Gallery in Montauk, Long Island. During the 1970s and ‘80s, it was an important showcase for Faviano and other exciting and emerging artists.

Bullish on Vermont Culture

Investing in Vermont — and the arts — comes naturally to the people here. In Putney, Next Stage Arts has launched a performing arts center in a historic church in the center of town. In Guilford, Sara Coffey’s Vermont Performance Lab offers residency programs for contemporary artists, provides them support, fosters their work, and connects them with local townspeople and communities — hopefully in an exchange of knowledge and ideas. In Chester, there is one person determined to bring attention to contemporary art. It is Robert Sarly. VTica is his vision.

Next Stage — An Historic Church Repurposed

by Katherine P. Cox

Now that the Putney General Store has risen from the ashes and is again open for business, the Putney Historical Society and an ambitious group of residents have taken on another historical building in town and are bringing it back to life with music, movies and small stage performances.

Next Stage Arts, a non-profit group formed in 2009 to look into converting the former United Church of Putney building into a performing arts center, has already done extensive work on the building and has hosted many musical performances produced by Yellow Barn Music and Twilight Music. There’s also an ongoing film series — every Friday night and a matinee on Saturday — that’s helping to make the center a vibrant part of the revitalization of Putney.

Vermont Performance Lab

by Katherine P. Cox

Many artist colonies provide artists a retreat from the distractions of the world to focus on their work. Vermont Performance Lab, an arts residency program based in Guilford, turns that notion on its head and encourages artists to get involved in the local community and engage residents in their work.

Founded by Sara Coffey in 2006, the goal of VPL is to bring contemporary artists to Windham County, provide them support, foster their work, and connect them with local townspeople and communities — hopefully in an exchange of knowledge and ideas. “I’m interested in performance and culture and what performances can tell us about culture,” she said. “Our role is to ask, how can the work that artists are doing resonate with issues in our own communities?”

Many of the artists at VPL create contemporary dance or musical works, performances that “can be difficult or unfriendly for a lot of people,” Coffey said, and she wants to lower the barriers between artists and the public. To that end, works in progress are screened at various local venues, artists present workshops where they talk about their work and help audiences understand their process, and collaborations with local schools invite student participation. Over the years, site-specific productions have been staged at places such as the train depots in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls, and more are in the works for this year.

VTica

by Arlene Distler

One of the truly gratifying aspects of being a writer on the arts is witnessing close-up the dedication and passion of both artists and those whose desire it is to bring those artists’ work to the public eye.

Vermont Institute of Contemporary Art (VTica), is a new non-profit arts venue that exemplifies this kind of dedication. The first show, which opened December 17th, and will go through the winter, is titled “Abstractions.” This is an extraordinary show, in an extraordinary space.

To forge ahead as a “contemporary” artist in Vermont is to be singularly, perhaps even obsessively, dedicated to your art. There is not much in the way of monetary reward, or an embracing public. But if there is one person determined to change that, it is Robert Sarly. VTica is his vision, and he has spearheaded the project, aided and abetted by his partner in life and work, Abby Raeder. Through their efforts they are hoping to make abstract painting a more comfortable fit for Vermonters, and visitors to the state. Exposure is everything!

Vermont Food & Wine

Wild Carrot Farm

by Katherine P. Cox

When Caitlin Burlett and Jesse Kayen got married last September, all the food for 200 guests was locally produced — from the small farm that they run with their friend and partner, Max Madalinski, in Brookline.

Wild Carrot Farm has been all-consuming for the young couple since they joined forces with Max in 2010 to raise organic vegetables, chickens, turkeys and lambs for sale at their farmstand and through their CSA. Last summer was their first full season, and by all accounts, it was a success. They’re already fine-tuning and making plans for next season.

To be a successful farmer in Vermont is not easy, but these three young farmers have a distinct approach and a valuable resource — they reclaimed land that was donated to them by Norman and Laura Solomon, who run Windmill Hill Alpaca Farm. Without the financial burden of buying land, which can be prohibitively expensive in southern Vermont, Caitlin, Jesse and Max have a fight-ing chance to make a go at growing vegetables and raising livestock at a time when farms nationwide are going under and young people are turning to other work.

Artful Shopping

There is a genuine joy to shopping with a mind for something above the ordinary, something one-of-a-kind and artfully unique. From art pottery to imported pashmina, the galleries, crafts boutiques and specialty shops in Southern Vermont’s small towns and historic villages are where you can discover beautiful things that feed your soul. Just as the Localvore and Slow Food movements took on the fast food chains, there is a cure for the big-box-shopping mentality and you are sure to find it in Southern Vermont.

Wine Observed:

Biodynamic Wines

by Marty Ramsburg

What are Biodynamic® wines? Some people may explain that it is uber-organic,  but that does not accord Biodynamic practitioners the respect they deserve.
Vinters who embrace Biodynamic principles also commit themselves not just to winemaking, but to farming.

For those wine producers who adopt Biodynamic principles, the objective is to create a self-sufficient living organism by raising cattle, creating a seed bank from one’s own produce, producing feed, and creating fertilizers with farm-produced compost and manure. In addition, certain plants are grown from which herbal teas are made that are applied to the plants and the soil to promote the life of the soil. Werner Michlits, winemaker/beer maker/farm hand at Weingut Meinklang in Pamhagen, Austria, explains that “adherence to these principles leads to a harmonization of the living relationship between soil, plant and animal.
A healthy soil produces healthy plants which in turn supply the nutritional requirements of man and animal.”