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Artist of the Month
Bruce McGhie
"The Flowers Around Us"
May 2008
Meet the Artist Reception, Friday, May 2, 2008, 5 to 7 p.m.
The library is proud to hold an exhibit of Bruce McGhie's photographs through the month of May in the main library. The Flowers Around Us is a collection of photographs taken either inside McGhie's house or in the immediate surroundings - a mix of arranged floral compositions and flowers in their natural state. No artificial lighting was used.
He began this work in 2003, and it represents a complete departure from his other subjects, which have been landscapes, portraits, wildlife, and images of the sky. McGhie states, "I have always had a passion for making images, starting in early childhood with drawing. My work includes photographs, drawings, and watercolors." Although basically self-taught, he studied at the Art Students League in New York and at Yale when time permitted.
Please join us for a reception on Friday, May 2nd from 5 to 7 p.m. in the library. Kindly R.S.V.P. Light refreshments will be served.
Art Lecture Series, January through May, 2008
Botticelli's Mythological Words - Saturday, May 3, 2008, 10:30 a.m.
Guest Speaker: Robert Baldwin, Associate Professor of Art History, Connecticut College
The Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library will present the last of this three-part lecture series on Saturday, May 3 at 10:30 a.m. Connecticut College Associate Professor of Art History, Robert Baldwin, is the guest speaker and will discuss mythological works by Botticelli.
Large-scale mythological painting emerged in Italian Renaissance art after 1460 and remained a major category of Western art through the nineteenth century. No pioneer of mythological painting was more important than Botticelli. This talk will discuss his four major mythologies: Birth of Venus, Primavera, Minerva and the Centaur and Mars and Venus as examples of the Renaissance revival of classical antiquity recast to serve contemporary values tied to Christian marriage and Medicean politics.
Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance. His work has been seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting, and the Birth of Venus and Primavera rank now among the most familiar masterpieces of Florentine art.
All programs are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided by the library. This program is made possible by the Friends of the Library. Registration is encouraged by calling 434-1684.
Write Now: A New Writing Group
Monday, May 12th from 4:00 p.m - 5:30 p.m., Community Room
A new writer’s group has formed at the library! Write Now will be meeting on the second Monday of each month from 4-5:30 p.m. The group leader is author/facilitator Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager of Old Lyme. Fitzpatrick-Nager invites both beginning writers as well as seasoned writers to join the group at any time.
The mission of the writing group is to practice writing skills to create poetry, memoirs or stories rather than critique sessions. All you need to participate is a journal and your fastest writing pen! Fitzpatrick-Nager uses the method of “writing down the bones” taught by Natalie Goldberg. Anyone interested in learning more about this technique can check out Goldberg’s book from the library’s collection.
Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager is a writer, teacher, workshop presenter and speech-language pathologist. She and her husband, Paul, live with their two cats in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Her memoir, Swimming on My Wedding Day: My Cancer Journey through the Seasons was released in early January 2008. Call 434-1684 to register. Walk-ins welcome!
May Book Discussion
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Thursday, May 8, 2008, 11:00 a.m.
The setting is postwar Barcelona 1945. A young boy Daniel Sempere has recently experienced the loss of his mother. His father decides to take his son to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. It is from this massive sanctuary the story unfolds. Daniel is coaxed by his father to choose a novel. He picks The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Daniel becomes obsessed with the life of this author. He meets characters and visits places of great depth and mystery. The reader follows Daniel through the scary, erotic, touching, tragic and thrilling storytelling of Zafon. The narrative is part detective story, part boy’s adventure, part romance, fantasy, and gothic horror. The reader watches Daniel mature from a youth of 10 to a young adult of 19.
Zafon (1964 - ) was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain. He moved to Los Angeles in his late twenties to work as a screenwriter. Zafon’s desire to write a book about his homeland is the completion of The Shadow of the Wind. He felt that he had to be removed from his homeland to write about Barcelona as he did. Zafon wrote the novel in Spanish. It has since been translated into 20 languages. He has also authored four books for young adults.
Zafon states it well when suggested of the possibility of making the book into a movie: “This is a book for people who love to read, who love books and reading, and it will remain so.” “The greatest multiplex in the universe is inside your mind, and the only ticket you need is a good, well-written novel.”
Multiple copies are available at the Circulation Desk.
Spring Bird Walk with Robert Braunfield
Pleasant Valley Preserve, Lyme
Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 6:30 a.m.
Naturalist and artist, Robert Braunfield, will lead an early morning bird walk through the open fields and woodlands of the Pleasant Valley Preserve in Lyme. Early May is the peak of the birding season and is an excellent time for viewing spring migrants such as warblers, vireos, tanagers, and thrushes. The walk will focus on identifying a variety of species through their physical characteristics, habitat, behavior, and song. This is an easy walk of approximately two hours and can be enjoyed by bird watchers of all levels.
Wear appropriate clothing including comfortable shoes. Please BRING your binoculars. We will meet at Pleasant Valley Preserve at 6:30 a.m. at the gate. Please call the library for additional information and to register for the program.
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