CT Humane’s “Springtime Unleashed” benefits Covid relief programs
NEWINGTON — Join the Connecticut Humane Society’s “Springtime Unleashed” virtual event to celebrate the season and give pets a fresh start. All funds raised through the special event will go toward CHS’ Covid Relief Programs, which work to keep pets in homes they know and love through the Pet Food Pantry and reduced-fee and free veterinary clinic initiatives.
CHS has expanded its public medicine services over the past year to give access to more pets and their families at a time when their needs are particularly high.
Pet fans can register to enjoy the Springtime Unleashed virtual show, bid in an online auction, or buy bandanas for their pups.
Because it’s virtual, anyone can join the fun, even if they live outside of Connecticut. Visit CThumane.org/unleashed to be a part of any or all of Springtime Unleashed.
Visit @perfectstitcheg on Instagram to purchase sports-themed bandanas for your dog, and 10-percent will come to CHS pets, now through May 15.
Register for the virtual show for free, and you will receive a link to tune in on May 13 at 6:30 p.m. Viewers will meet some of the pets who’ve received extensive medical care at CHS and are now happy to be on the road to recovery, as well as some furry VIPs who are ready to be unleashed for playtime.
The online auction goes live May 13 to 15, with items that will make it easy to have fun safely outdoors this spring and summer: day trips, packages to amusement parks and rope courses, horseback riding lessons, a cruise on the Connecticut River, an Essex Steam Train experience, and more. But there are also items to cozy up your at-home days, pet-themed cornhole boards to liven up your yard, and sports memorabilia to enhance your baseball and football seasons.
CHS serves pets at its three locations in Newington, Waterford and Westport, and its Fox Memorial Clinic, which means local pets all across the state will benefit from Springtime Unleashed. Visit www.cthumane.org/unleashed for more information. Pictured is Wally, a pet who received care at CHS this year. The photo was provided by Susan Wollschlager.
Art & Garden tour features local gardens, artwork
AREA — The Art and Garden Tour of Northeastern Connecticut will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13.
This free self-guided tour features 11 artists’ gardens, displaying the works of 17 area artists. Enjoy paintings, sculpture, ceramics, woodwork, photography and other works of art in gardens in Ashford, Coventry, Mansfield and Willington. The gardens, which vary in style, include a handmade greenhouse, a hydroponic greenhouse, ponds and pools, a stone arch, paths, terraces and an abundance of flowers, shrubs, vegetables, trees and herbs. Art work will be available for purchase. All current Covid-19 protocols will be followed, including masks. Visit ArtGardenCT.com for more information and a map. The locations are as follows.
Ashford: Willow Tree Pottery, 24 Bebbington Road. Set in an old hayfield, this is a blowsy cottage garden, casual in a country setting. It invites you to wander and stroll. There are arbors, informal hedges, flowers, and the sound of birds. Artists: Host Suzy Staubach, Guest artists Barbara Katz, Gretchen Geromin, Lauren Merlo.
Ashford: Windowhaven Studio, 179 Varga Road. These lush perennial gardens are designed as a place of refuge and inspiration. There are places to sit, observe and enjoy. Stone walks, a whimsical garden lantern and other accents bring joy. Artist: Host Debra Gag.
Coventry: Barbara Timberman Watercolor Paintings, 1194 Main St. A charming handmade greenhouse is at the heart of this abundant hillside cottage garden packed with flowers, herbs and vegetables. There are paths, a garden gate, stone terrace, and loads of charm. Artists: Host Barbara Timberman, Guest Richard White.
Storrs/Mansfield: Fenton River Studio, 287 Gurleyville Road. This enchanting and magical garden features a colorful riot of blossoms, cast cement leaves, sculptures, fairy houses, a Koi pond, and columns reminiscent of the classical era. Artist: Host Shauna Shane.
Storrs/Mansfield: Flying Dragon Farm, 533 Chaffeeville Road. The summer gardens are filled with the greens and reds of kale and tomatoes and bold, clown colored zinnias. Goldfish bask in the aquaponics greenhouse. Artist: Host Mary Noonan.
Storrs/Mansfield: Khuyay Farm, 441 Warrenville Road (Route 89). Alpaca graze in the fenced pasture. Chickens greet visitors. A bright cutting garden supplies the roadside flower stand in mid-summer. Artists: Host Janet Dauphin, Guest Nora Charters.
Storrs/Mansfield: Kim Bova Photography, 587 Wormwood Hill Road. This is a naturalized landscape with herbs, vegetables, flowering shrubs, raspberries and a pretty dining terrace. It nurtures people and butterflies. Artist: Host Kim Bova.
Storrs/Mansfield: Scott Rhoades Studio, 422 Browns Road. A show stopping garden artfully combining plants and structure. Paths, fences, a pool, and terrace grace these picture-perfect grounds. And there’s a must-see stone arch. Artist: Host Scott Rhoades.
Willington: Holes In the Woods Studio, 17 Lustig Road. In the tradition of the landscape gardens of the eighteenth century without the formality, this garden offers a woodland walk with ferns, moss, loads of mountain laurel and a half acre pond. Artist: Host John Starinovich.
Willington: NC Bunnell Studio, 12 Red Oak Hill Road. The garden is filled with hostas, hardy geraniums, rhododendrons, grasses, daylilies and other perennials and shrubs. There’s a fish pond, a meditation walk, and a gently arched bridge. Artist: Host Nancy Bunnell, Guest Aline Hoffman.
Willington: TBG at Dragonfly Studio, 34 Old Farms Road. A small and charming garden of roses, annuals and perennials enclosing two sides of the studio. It is overlooked by an impressive eight-foot dragonfly sculpture. Artist: Host Marylin Makuch.
Information on the artists is as follows. Bova is a photographer who creates images of the natural world. She produces handmade one-of-a-kind prints using gicleé ink transferred to paper and other surfaces. Her naturalized landscape includes herbs, vegetables, flowering shrubs and raspberries.
Charters earned her BFA in photography from NYU in 1994. Working for years in fashion advertising in NYC honed her creative eye. Back in Connecticut, she now turns her camera to the local landscape. She also makes beaded necklaces out of semi-precious stones.
Cooke-Bunnell paints animals, flowers, and the natural landscape using acrylics and pastels. She recently expanded her work to experimental abstraction and design. Her gardens offer a fish pond, mediation walk, gently arched bridge and richly planted beds.
Dauphin, a second-generation farmer and glass artist, is inspired by her walks through Mansfield Hollow state park and the day to day beauty of her cutting gardens, chickens and alpaca. She makes whimsical items like night lights and more serious pieces inspired by nature.
Gag paints landscapes, seascapes, flowers and farm scenes, often local, in oil. Her lush perennial gardens attract bees and are a place of refuge and inspiration. There are places to sit, observe and enjoy.
Geromin and Merlo work as a team, collaborating on unique, handmade cutting boards and signs made from local wood. A meticulous craftsman, Merlo builds the boards from strips he glues together. Geromin burns her original art onto each piece. They welcome commissions.
Hoffman works primarily with gourds, burning, cutting and painting her detailed images of birds, fish, and vines She is also skilled in pen and ink and Chinese brush painting. Whichever process she is using, she is fascinated with the magic of lines.
Katz is an award-winning ceramic artist influenced by her world travels and ancient artifacts. She creates ceramic sculpture and pottery, including spirit houses, cat and kitten mummies, large vessels, mouse mugs, tiles and more. She also works in encaustic collage and loves mud and wax.
Makuch makes jewelry using wire and beads. She also creates unique home accessories such as ceiling fan pulls, napkin rings and letter openers. A small, lovely garden of roses, annuals and perennials, with an eight-foot dragonfly sculpture, surrounds two sides of her studio.
Noonan works in oils, watercolors and encaustics which she displays in her barn. Her summer gardens are filled with the greens and reds of kale and tomatoes and bold, clown colored zinnias.
Rhoades paints from photographs in his studio. His works are predominantly representational in style. He loves weathered barns, local historic homesteads, nature and the wilderness. His wife Ellie Rhoades has created a show-stopping garden, artfully combining plants and structure.
Shane is widely known for her impressionistic paintings of farms, flowers, and people. In her work, she shares her love of the natural world through color, light and energy. The gardens feature colorful blossoms, cast leaves, sculptures, fairy houses, a Koi pond and her many paintings.
Starinovich uses natural holes from downed trees combined with metals, crystals, deer antler, bone, shells, seed pods, various woods, LED lights, and most importantly, mirrors to create his sculptures. His garden includes a woodland walk, mountain laurel and a half acre pond.
Staubach is a potter, writer, and gardener. She makes simple yet elegant platters, bowls, mugs, baking dishes, tableware and kitchenware. Her newest book is A Garden Miscellany: An Illustrated Guide to the Elements of the Garden. Her blowsy cottage garden, set in a hayfield, is an invitation to wander.
Timberman creates exuberant, celebratory watercolors. She begins with the initial color of her subject and then builds a color chord. She also makes long stitch blank books. A charming handmade greenhouse is at the heart of her cottage garden of flowers, herbs and vegetables.
White is an award-winning figurative painter and illustrator known especially for the strong character development of his portraits. His work for the tour includes framed and mounted drawings, paintings, and photographs. He welcomes commissions.
Cat Tales hosting annual fundraiser walk
MIDDLETOWN — Cat Tales’ annual cat walk will take place in-person and virtually on Saturday, June 19, at Middlesex Community College’s upper parking lot, 100 Training Hill Road.
Registration will take place from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. Visit http://cattalesct.org/walk-a-thon-run for more information.
Woman’s Club cleans up Alumni Road
NEWINGTON — On Thursday, April 22, GFWC Newington/Wethersfield Woman’s Club members Pearl Bouchard, Marygene Cosma, Jo Late, Donna Recknagel, Susan Sonstrom and Nancy Zurek cleaned up Alumni Road in Newington, as part of Earth Day clean-up.
Grabblers and trash bags were provided by Newington Parks and Ground. They also picked up filled bags and disposed of them. GFWC members ended by going to Dunkin Donuts for coffee, a yearly tradition.
