Celebrating Independence Day at Kendal

Sometimes everything falls nicely into place.  The stars are in conjunction. All is right with the world. "Serendipity"  – that's what it is: a serendipitous moment.

And that's the right term for the Independence Day celebrations at Kendal in 2014!

We actually started our celebrations a few days early. On the evening of Tuesday evening, July 1, a wonderful local choral group, the Vintage Voices, came to Kendal to present their annual July 4th concert. As the name suggests, the members of the chorus are senior citizens. But their voices were full and exuberant, and their program richly satisfying. The theme of the concert was patriotism, and the hallmarks of American society the singers chose to foreground were service to country and equality. The great American patriotic songs were performed – "America, the Beautiful," "God Bless America," and "The National Anthem" – and the audience was encouraged to join in on all of them. Each of the military branches was honored with the presentation of flags, borne in each case by residents who had served in the branch being recognized. Nor were the vital contributions of the myriad of persons who had not been members of the armed forces forgotten, as one choral number specifically celebrated these actions. The evening began solemnly with the posthumous conferring upon a former resident of an award for long and distinguished service to veterans. The concert was both a moment for serious reflection and an occasion for proud celebration.

On the evening of July 3rd the Granville community fireworks show lit up the clear skies over Kendal. Settled back in lawn chairs, residents could watch the colorful pyrotechnic displays while savoring the inevitable booms, bursts, and jolts that accompany them. For what would an Independence Day celebration be without some body-shaking blasts?

On the morning of the Fourth itself a contingent of about twenty residents gathered with two convertibles – our float! – to represent Kendal in the annual Independence Day parade down the main street in Granville. Some rode, some walked. The weather was spectacular, with temperatures in the mid-70s, low humidity, and a light breeze. The various floats represented many of the kinds of organizations that vitalize American communities: schools (public and private), musical groups, service organizations of all sorts and all ages, local businesses, and governmental offices. Children were everywhere. And so were people in colorful and often perplexing costumes. Many, including the Kendal gang, waved small American flags. The parade route was lined with spectators of all ages, ranks deep, often comfortably ensconced in lawn chairs while cheering, smiling, and waving. Some of these spectators were Kendal residents who preferred to watch and clap rather than walk in this spectacular setting. All in all, it was an occasion fit for Norman Rockwell.

Here, courtesy of Emily Conlon, are some photos of Kendal parade participants.

                      The Kendal Parade Gang

                   Dr. John Weigand, and Tom and Myra Gallant 
      

                                                         Dave Skeen

                              Becky Skeen

In the early afternoon the residents celebrated the Fourth with one of the spectacular mid-day meals that mark the big summer holidays at Kendal. To continue the Rockwell image, ask yourself this question. What could be more emblematically American than a special meal built around grilled hotdogs and hamburgers; brats and ribs; cole slaw, baked beans, deviled eggs, and corn on the cob; and an array of pies, cakes, and puddings?

It's true that many residents then spent the afternoon viewing the exciting World Cup matches. But that choice merely affirms that the spirit of America – as much on this 237th commemoration of the country's founding as on the grand day itself in 1776 – remains open to new and ever-broader visions.

We had a spectacular Fourth of July at Kendal. 

The Gallery Committee at Kendal at Granville

This blog begins where my last blog left off with the promise to continue the story of the Gallery Committee.  The mission of this committee was and remains to assume the responsibility for managing the Art b Gallery as Jane Heller had been doings since it opened in 2005.

One of the first tasks taken on by the committee was to obtain a museum quality hanging system to replace the hammer and nails being used.  This would free the maintenance department from continually having to repair the nail holes and repaint the walls.  The committee also was able to get the Woodworking Committee members to make a locked display cabinet with adjustable glass shelves to accommodate three dimensional art objects.  Considering the work involved in maintaining exhibits in two areas the committee decided to extend the time span for each exhibit to two months with alternating opening dates

Planning meetings are held once a month.  In between meetings members are engaged in a variety of tasks such as contacting artists, getting agreements with artists signed, putting up and taking down displays, arranging for and hosting receptions for show openings, sending thank you notes, etc.  Beyond a doubt this is one of our most active groups.

Since its inception the committee has hung twenty-nine gallery shows and set up twenty-seven cabinet displays.  All of this has been possible because of the number of artists and art enthusiasts who live here.  Four of the gallery shows consisted entirely of the works of Kendal artists.  When the subject matter of one of these shows was flowers the committee used the opening reception to not only recognize the artists but three individuals who created flower art in their own special way. One was a resident who has become known as the “flower lady” because she gives so many of us miniature bouquets of fresh flowers on birthdays and anniversaries.  The other two were a couple who created and maintained a lovely  “oval garden” where any one of us could pick flowers.

A call for art posters brought considerably diverse responses from twelve persons. There were posters from Alaska to Florida, from Delaware to California, with some from here in Ohio including one from Granville.  Some came from well known art museums while others came from lesser known venues.  Each reflected a bit about their owners. 

The response of residents and staff to a similar call for photographs demonstrated that we have some skilled photographers in our community.  One of blue birds by a staff member brought several requests for copies.  At the present time we are planning an informal presentation of photographs mounted simply on foam board. .

Believing that young artists should be encouraged we have had nine gallery shows featuring the work of students from nine area schools ranging from kindergarten to post-secondary levels of education.

 

Currently we have a display of Heisey glass in our display cabinet made up of items on loan from twelve residents. In July and August it will be replaced by a show of half boat models with sea shells. That will be followed by what we have come to call our “Olio Shows,” i.e.  Small groups of items from more than one artist.

Our current gallery exhibit is made up of pieces of art from the personal collections of fifteen residents.  Plans underway for future gallery shows include photographs, mandalas, student art, and fiber arts.  There is no quiet time for the members of this committee as they work to assure our community of a new show each month.

I personally find working with this committee fulfilling and challenging.  It helps to give purpose to my life.  Along the way I find that I discover kindred spirits among my fellow residents.  I believe that this is one of the reasons that we enjoy visiting and revisiting art galleries and art museums. Another benefit for me and our Kendal community is that the nature of the work of the committee keeps us focused on the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART at Kendal at Granville

If you are reading this on your computer, you no doubt have some familiarity with the vagaries of computes such as crashes and frozen screens. When I discovered that the subject of Reed Browning’s most recent blog was the same as mine, I felt as though my computer had frozen and then crashed.  After reading what he wrote I have decided to post my blog with this preface.  I believe that Reed’s comments serve to back up the premise that led to my decision to write about art.  I also believe that my blog focuses on how we arrived at the events about which he has written.

Because of the extent to which ART permeates our lives here at Kendal at Granville I often think  the word should be printed in capital letters followed by exclamation points.  It all began with Jane Heller, an artist who was one of the four persons vitally involved in bringing Kendal at Granville into being.  Ever since then she has given us most generously the benefits of her talents as an artist.  It continued when the building that emerged from those dreams included an Art Studio and an Art Gallery. Then it happened as in the film, Dream Field, “If you build it, they will come.”  Artists and art enthusiasts began to come and they are still coming.

Thus far eighty-five of them have come.  This includes fifty-seven artists who create art and forty-six art enthusiasts who share items from their personal art collections   The fact that some may be counted as both artists and art enthusiasts accounts for the apparent discrepancy as to the total number who have come.

 Our artists include sixteen painters, thirty-one fiber artists, and eleven photographers. Thirty-four persons have provided items for our display cabinet and eighteen have made items available for the art gallery.   This count doesn't include all of our residents who come to our art opening receptions nor the people who create small artistic vignettes on the shelves just outside the doors to their apartments or hang art on the wall outside their apartments. 

In addition to those who came as artists two persons have developed their latent abilities to paint by taking advantage of the Art Studio and the willingness of a resident artist to teach. A painting activity in assisted living uncovered the hidden ability of another resident. Currently one of our residents, in her 90’s, is learning to draw portraits.  So not only do they come as artists but they become artists after they arrive.
Hedda von Goeben, one of our most ardent artists and art enthusiasts has enrolled regularly in art classes at Denison University with the goal of working as a ceramist.  Once she finished the course, Denison gave her the opportunity to teach ceramics to fellow residents. Eight residents have been enthusiastic participants in her classes and have demonstrated their artistic bent by producing a variety of ceramic objects which have been shown in our display cabinet.

 For the first four years Jane Heller was the curator for the Art Gallery arranging for a new art show every month featuring area artists..  With the passage of time it became evident that there was a need for others to help with the work of maintaining the gallery.  Thus in 2009 the Gallery Committee came into being.   More in my next blog about the work of this committee

Our Continuing Encounters with Art

Two grand visual arts events have come to fruition at Kendal this spring. And thus, even as we have already been celebrating the arrival of several artists into our community and our consequent emergence as a Licking County art colony, we have also become the venue for some engaging encounters with the works of exciting artists, both present and past.

First, we'll consider the contemporary artists. Throughout April and May the resident-run gallery committee has arranged for an exhibition of the creations of four Columbus-based artists to be on display. All four artists are associated with the Goodwill Art Studio and Gallery. In aggregate, these works take the viewer through a variety of alternative worlds, envisioned through a variety of media. (At this point I must say: caveat lector. I am not an artist and can only be grateful that some people are gifted enough to be able to accomplish what these folks do. Also, I know of no vocabulary that allows one to convey the complex set of responses that a person – in this case, me – feels when one's sensibilities are touched by visual or aural art. But still, humankind can't help but talk about art's impact, and so, here we go!)

Deborah Griffing exhibits both dolls and paintings. I found that her dolls could somehow (and simultaneously) invite cuddling and portend danger, and that her paintings, with their animal forms and floating shapes, could nudge my psychic equilibrium a bit off center.  Kate Gorman's contributions are a group of wall quilts that rock with color and achieve their effects through abstract forms and a readiness to violate apparent borders. Kristen Spickard displays a set of haunting miniatures that began their artifactual lives as photographs and have been transformed into evocative silver-gelatin prints. Cody Miller, whose paintings feature marvelous eyes, manages to impress me as the most internal of the artists, inviting the viewer's speculation about the thoughts that lie in the mind of the elusive figure on the canvas.

Second, we have launched our six-part program entitled "Adventures in Art at Kendal." This is a series of hour-long interactive encounters with docents and paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art and has been organized in part with a grant from the Granville Arts Commission. The advance interest in this program in art history was so great that Kendal was obliged to establish queues among both residents and prospective residents in an effort to be fair in accommodating the hopes of members of both groups.

The first session, held on April 30, focused on Impressionism, and since I was not lucky enough to make the cut for attending this session, I can only report on it second-hand. It turned out to be a learning experience, in both implications of that term. To begin with the awkward news: not everything went quite as smoothly on this maiden voyage as we might have wished. But we had expected glitches (that's what maiden voyages are for), and they are being addressed. And in any case – now comes the happy news – they did not affect the central features of the program: the opportunity to view Museum masterpieces, and the chance to engage a museum expert in conversations about them. After the session the attendees proceeded with their own discussion of impressionism and then enjoyed a fine Kendal meal at which – what else? – impressionism was still discussed. The buzz at these post-session events was very positive.

The email feedback which has been received has also been quite positive, and new requests to get into the queue have appeared. Meanwhile, in response to suggestions from several participants, we are now exploring the possibility of organizing a bus trip or two to the Cleveland Museum of Art later this year.

All of this is good news for the art-conscious community at Kendal.

Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras

Written from the Perspective of a Member of the

Diversity and Inclusion Committee

In my last blog entitled “February Lifesavers” I wrote about two events which warmed our hearts  during the unrelenting cold and snow which plagued us throughout that month.  The first week in March we saw more of the same.  Fortunately for us the two groups that helped to brighten our spirits in February had planned an event for Shrove Tuesday (March fourth) which would once again warm us up on the inside while the cold winds blew outside. 

Members of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee began their explorations of ways to observe the day by clarifying the meaning of unfamiliar terms beginning with the word Shrove. They learned it means confess and is applied to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday which begins the season of penitence and fasting known as Lent. The French term Mardi Gras which means “Fat Tuesday” derives from the custom of eating rich fatty foods on the day before Ash Wednesday as a way to rid the pantry of lard, sugar, fat, and butter before the Lenten practice of fasting observed by many Christian denominations. 

Committee members also learned that another name for Shrove Tuesday is Pancake Tuesday because in many different parts of the world pancakes are one of the foods frequently served as one way to use up rich foods on hand.  In addition they found that in Pennsylvania Dutch and many German areas fastnachts, fried doughnuts, are quite popular on this day.  The name comes from two Gernman words: “faster” which means “to fast” and “nacht” which means “night” indicating the eve of the traditional Lenten fast. The German version is made from yeast dough, deep fried, and coated or dusted in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar; they may be plain or filled with fruit jam. Pennsylvania Dutch fasnachts can often be potato doughnuts, and may be uncoated, dusted with table sugar, or powdered with confectioner's sugar.   It quickly became apparent that the help of our dining staff would be essential to carry out a meaningful observance of Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras.

 Thus it was that the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and our outstanding dining staff came together to provide us with a taste of Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras traditions by offering us free pancakes and fastnachts at lunch on Shrove Tuesday.  As we entered the Heller Dining Room that day we found it decorated with colorful beads, masks, and glitter which created a festive atmosphere reflecting the carnival nature of Mardi Gras.   Research on the background of this aspect of Mardi Gras revealed that it goes back hundreds and hundreds of years when followers of the Catholic religion in Italy started the tradition of holding a wild costume festival right before the first day of Lent.  Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival, carnevale, which means “to put away the meat.”  Over time the practice of carnivals spread throughout the world.

In the Bistro Jim, our Executive Chef, along with members off his staff were kept busy at  the grill making pancakes.  Everyone who had a pancake or two or three proclaimed them to be light, fluffy, and delicious.  In a word: perfect.  Fastnachts and crullers were available on the counter next to the grill. 

 

A pancake flipping contest in the Heller Dining Room proved to be a fun time for both spectators and participants.  A supply of skillets and cooked pancakes gave residents and staff members a chance to demonstrate their skill or lack thereof.  The objective of the contest was to see how many times a contestant could flip a pancake in thirty seconds.  The picture below shows the three top “flippers.”  Seen on the far right is Joan, one of our newest residents, who flipped her pancake 40 times.  On her left are two staff members, Stella and David, who tied for second place by flipping their pancakes 36 times.  The spectators joined the fun by cheering and poking good natured fun according to the degree of skill  or ineptitude displayed by the contestants.

 

 

 

 

 

February Lifesavers

 

 

 

 

 When I lived in a suburb of Philadelphia one of the local television weathermen used to always say about February, “It’s the longest month of the year when it comes to weather.”  Never was that statement truer than this past month setting all kinds of new records of the sort we could very well have done without.

 

Fortunately here at Kendal at Granville we had two really bright spots which warmed our hearts and brightened our spirits.  The first was a gift from our dining staff who served us a sumptuous Valentine Dinner. Our tables were set with tablecloths and napkins in the traditional colors or the day.  At each place there was a special favor – a chocolate heart on a paper lace doily.

 

The meal began with a choice of crab bisque or cream of mushroom barley soup along with shrimp cocktail.  The entrees were filet mignon with sautéed mushrooms, portobello mushroom stuffed with cheddar and poblano pepper., chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese served with mushroom wine sauce, grilled salmon with pistachio basil butter.  Along with the entrees came offerings of asparagus spears, roasted fresh red beets with pine nuts, twice baked potatoes, and baked fresh yams.  All of this was topped off by a chocolate fountain with fruit kebobs and marshmallows.  Of course, there were, as always several flavors of ice cream available.  Like many of the menu items we ended up “stuffed.” In deed we were kings and queens for the evening thanks to our thoughtful cooks, servers, and wait staff.

 

The second event occurred on the last Sunday of the month when our Diversity and Inclusion Committee as a part of our observance of Black History Month brought to us Stafford C. Berry, Jr  a nationally known performing artist and educator.  As an Assistant Professor at Denison University, Granville, Ohio he teaches Dance and Black Studies classes. His many credentials include Associate Artistic  Director of the African American Dance Ensemble of the North Carolina Dance Institute and as a member of Kariamu & Company Traditions he has taught, choreographed, and performed African rooted dance and theater throughout the United States.



 

This very tall man with a deep compelling voice dressed in his African dance costume brought with him a group of his students who provided us with an exciting and interesting presentation consisting of a lecture demonstration featuring African dance and music.  The announcement of the program promised that we would be entertained, educated, and engaged in a rich African cultural experience and we were not disappointed.  The energy in the room was electrifying and left us both energized and exhausted just watching all of those young students respond so enthusiastically to their charismatic teacher.  I suspect that many others felt as I did that it ended too soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The second event occurred on the last Sunday of the month when our Diversity and Inclusion Committee as a part of our observance of Black History Month brought to us Stafford C. Berry, Jr  a nationally known performing artist and educator.  As an Assistant Professor at Denison University, Granville, Ohio he teaches Dance and Black Studies classes. His many credentials include Associate Artistic  Director of the African American Dance Ensemble of the North Carolina Dance Institute and as a member of Kariamu & Cmpany Traditions he has taught, choreographed, and performed African rooted dance and theater throughout the United States.

 

 

Timeline: Listening Through History

On Thursday, January 30, Kendal hosted a concert by the Newark-Granville Chamber Symphony. It was a first-time event for Kendal and only the second time that the chamber orchestra, newly-formed for the 2013-14 season, had performed. Well attended by residents and guests, the event provided yet more evidence that the opening of our new Amelia Gathering Room is allowing Kendal to offer an important venue for musical and theatrical groups from Granville, Newark, and Denison University.

The concert was titled "Timeline: Listening Through History." Its purpose was to introduce listeners to the changes in styles and tonal resources that composers experimented with over the most recent half-millennium of Western history. Timothy Weiss, Musical Director of the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra and Director of the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, conducted the performance, which consisted of eight rather brief pieces – often, actually, parts or movements of larger pieces. Opening with a canzone by Gabrieli, it included works by Bach, Mozart, Wagner, Webern, Stravinsky, and Lutoslawski, before concluding with a partita-pastorale by Stucky, drawing on motifs from J. S. Bach. (Timothy Weiss apologized for omitting Beethoven from the all-star roster!) At various points along the way Professor Arnie Cox of Oberlin College spoke to the audience about the music we were hearing, much of which, in the second half, was both unfamiliar and perhaps forbidding to many in attendance.

Arnie Cox asked us to consider why we felt as we did about music. As we puzzled over that question, he proposed that our response to music is somatic – that our body wants to imitate its melodic and and metric movements; physical feeling, in short, is an important aspect of hearing. Once we moved past Wagner, he suggested, we were hearing music that was unpredictable in tone choices and direction. We needed a longer exposure to begin to be able to grapple with its novelties. Newer music challenges us to pay less attention to comforting repetitions, whether melodic or structural, and more attention to the sheer sounds of the instruments and the skills of those who perform on them.

At the end of the concert Timothy Weiss, speaking for himself, told us that he needs both the old and the new – the Mozart and the Lutaslawski. He encouraged us by noting that we all live in a difficult time for listening. But the effort is worth it. "The sandbox," he smiled, "is infinitely large today." He even suggested – and painters might disagree – that music is more personal and invasive than art.

I have heard much talk about the concert in the past few days, some favorable and some unfavorable. Since I was known as a proponent of this experiment, hoping that the event could launch some sort of a partnership between Kendal and the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra, I can't pretend to have been exposed to all the comments. Those who got a kick out of the concert were delighted that we could finally bring a larger-scale professional musical organization to Kendal, intrigued by the encounter with new and perhaps uncomfortable sonorities, and pleased with the quality of the performances. Those who were disappointed focused on two aspects of the evening: the inaccessibility of some of the music and/or the time consumed by Professor Cox's commentary.

To me, the concert was a grand success. The musicians were very good, the program was challenging and fun, and the Amelia Gathering Room passed its first acoustical test. And whatever one's views, it certainly seems to have triggered some wide-ranging discussion about the nature of our engagement with music, which is, after all, one of the purposes of good art.