The Trail awaits arts and crafts lovers

For artists and craftspeople used to showing and selling their work on the festival circuit, the calendar’s been big and empty this year, thanks to the novel coronavirus and the resulting restrictions on sizable gatherings. No Arts at the Gardens at Sonnenberg in Canandaigua, no Canandaigua Lakefront Art Show, no Naples Grape Festival — and, as the holidays approach, no Christkindl Market on the Granger Homestead grounds. Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester still had its M&T Bank Clothesline Online Festival (wrapping up Sept. 18) — but all online, and not the same.

This dearth of art-show action makes next month’s Naples Open Studio Trail all the more welcome, noted multi-media sculptor Scott Grove of Bristol.

“We are looking forward to getting some feedback,” Grove said. “I have a whole season of new works, and no one’s really seen it.”

The works of Grove and 12 other artists — sculptors, painters, potters, fiber artists and more — will be featured in this year’s Naples Open Studio Trail, set for Oct. 3-4. It’s the 19th year for the trail, which invites visitors into participating art studios throughout the Naples/Canandaigua Lake region for a free, self-guided tour. The artists and their work will be featured in nine locations — nine hosts and four guest artists — for the tour, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

The trail format allows for a safer atmosphere than a festival gathering would in the current situation, with smaller numbers of people coming into a given studio at a time, with social distancing and masks required. Even on a normal year, Grove noted, the trail offers something that even the best festivals don’t.

“You get to see where the magic is happening,” Grove said. “You get to meet the artists and get a more behind-the-scenes look” at the creative process. And you get to do it on an intimate level, he noted: “You don’t have these crowds of people hanging around all day long.”

This year’s venues are:

• Grape Moments Studio, 174 S. Main St., Naples, showcasing the paintings of Albie Alliet.

• Old Dog Wine Barrel Creations, 4495 Kear Road, Canandaigua (Bristol), featuring the woodworker Tom Glynn’s creations from wine barrels.

• Grove Green Design, 4494 Kear Road, Canandaigua (Bristol), showcasing the sculpture of Scott Grove. Also set up at Grove’s studio are two guest artists: painter Mark Stash and Joanne Schwallie of Ravenwyne Mercantile, who handcrafts vegan bath and beauty products.

• The Folk Art Guild Woodshop at the guild home, 1445 Upper Hill Road, Middlesex, featuring the work of David Barnet.

• The Folk Art Guild Pottery Shop, also at the guild home, featuring the work of Annie Schliffer.

• Lauren Hirsh Custom Framing, 18 West Ave., Naples, showcasing Hirsh’s custom picture framing as well as her original art (wall hangings, shadow boxes, photography and more) and woodwork. Hirsh’s studio will also feature two guest artists: fiber artist Joyce Martelli and ceramicist Mike Griffin.

• Mac’s Woods, 6295 Edson Road, Naples, featuring the furniture of wood craftsman Thomas MacAllister.

• Joan Mitchell, at 1421 Shay Road, Middlesex, who creates wearable art from alpaca fiber.

• Finger Lakes Denim, 6620 State Route 21, South Bristol, featuring denim wearables by Judy Voss.

Glynn and Martelli are both new to the trail this year.

It’s a relatively smaller list this year than in some years past — even with masks and other protocols, not everyone is comfortably admitting people into their home studios during the pandemic, after all. The number of participating studios has always varied over the years as artists have moved into and out of the area and chosen whether or not to participate — it’s been as high as 26, though that year brought feedback complaining that people couldn’t make it to all the studios. Setting up guest artists at studios seems to be a workable way for people to view the work of more artists at fewer locations, noted Nancy Napurski Grove, trail co-organizer with Joanne Alliet — it also means artists who aren’t necessarily directly in the Naples/Middlesex/Bristol area can participate.

Grove himself has built up enough of a clientele base over the years that he doesn’t do many of the local shows anymore other than the studio trail, but he teaches across the country and in Europe — engagements that have gone away this year due to the virus, other than some online teaching. But there’s “a bit of a silver lining” to that: Without the other responsibilities, he’s been free to focus on his craft. “I’ve been able to have some quality time in the shop,” he said.

As well, “there’s obviously been a lot of stress” due to the pandemic and the world situation — and “I’ve used my art to help relieve some of that stress … It’s been good for me to be able to do that.”

Another silver lining, both Groves noted, is a higher level of interest in crafts among the public — viewing, purchasing, learning. “People are chomping at the bit for something to do,” Grove said.

They could do worse than take a drive through the picturesque Bristol Hills and lake region, Napurski Grove noted — while visiting art studios, perhaps dining at a local eatery or winery, walking around the Groves’ sculpture garden and getting a look at the alpacas at the Mitchell farm.

“It’s always something new and different and fun,” she added.

Back to the Tracks

For more than a decade, Clifton Springs Library has hosted the Tunes by the Tracks folk/acoustic music series, presented by Jim Clare, Allen Hopkins and Cathy McGrath and featuring performers from throughout the region and beyond.

While performances inside the library aren’t realistic right now, Tunes by the Tracks will continue Thursday, Sept. 24, with an outdoor concert featuring Loren Barrigar & The Burgers, featuring LJ Barrigar, with an opening set by Greg Franklin and Bill Destler. It was originally set for Sept. 17, but an uncertain weather forecast led to organizers moving it back a week.

The Burgers features frequent TBTT performer Loren Barrigar on vocals with his son LJ on guitar and brother Mason on percussion.

The concert will be 6-7:30 p.m. on the west lawn of the library at 4 Railroad Avenue in Clifton Springs; audience members are asked to wear masks and bring lawn chairs (to be set up in a socially distanced fashion as marked) and their own refreshments. (Audience members will have access to the library restrooms.) As always, admission is free, though a $10 donation for the featured performers is suggested.

Early music, modern method

Pegasus Early Music will present world-renowned lutenist Paul O’Dette of Rochester on Sept. 25 and 27 in the first event of Pegasus’ fall 2000 online season.

O’Dette’s program, titled “Dowland’s Grand Tour,” includes music by John Dowland, the most famous English lutenist of the Elizabethan era, as well as by Italian, French and German composers who influenced Dowland during his travels through Europe.

O'Dette is professor of lute and director of early music at the Eastman School of Music and artistic director of the Boston Early Music Festival.

The concert will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, and 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, and is free (with a request for donations to support Pegasus’ programs and the musicians). For information on how to access the event, go to www.pegasusearlymusic.org.

Upcoming events in Pegasus’ online season include:

Oct. 16 and 18: Oboist and musicologist Geoffrey Burgess discusses his new novel, “Thorn of the Honey Locust,” based on the life of Bach’s favorite oboe player, and reads from the work in progress.

Nov. 20 and 22: Baroque cellist Beiliang Zhu will present a program including a Bach violin partita on 5-string cello and other virtuosic solos.

Dec. 11 and 13: NYS Baroque artist director (and Pegasus founder) Deborah Fox presents a multimedia presentation, "At the Court of the Sun King," on the life and music of Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, a composer and musician at the French royal court of Versailles.

Talk to us

FRONT-ROW SEAT is a column that showcases the area’s art, music, theater, film and general all-around creative scene. If you’re a musician (or venue) with an upcoming live (or online) performance or album release, or if you have any information in the arts/entertainment sphere to report, please send your information to L. David Wheeler at dwheeler@messengerpostmedia.com