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Joys of Summer
Four Shoreline Artists
Exhibition Dates: July 16th - September 26th 2009 
Opening Reception July 16, 2009 5-7pm
An exhibition extolling the beauty of the season, Joys of Summer, features four shoreline artists – Renni Ridgeway-Korsmeyer, Ron Olansen, LeeSkolnick and Bonnie Fins Stoddard from July 16 through September 25. The exhibition will open with a public reception for the artists on Thursday, July 16 from 5 to 7 pm.
The four artists who work in oil and watercolor, all share both a love of painting and of the shoreline communities where they live –Lyme, Old Lyme, Madison and Westbrook. Their images reflect those sensibilities -- children at play on the beach, a shimmering marsh sunset, a still life of luscious fruit. Interestingly too, they all have enjoyed varied previous careers – in nursing, engineering, psychology and psychotherapy.
Renni Ridgeway-Korsmeyer was reared “among the beautiful fields and farm land of Ohio” but discovered her love of painting in Old Lyme. In her subtle, sensitive evening skyscapes of the shore and marshes, she notes that the changes in nature, like the feelings and emotions of the artist and viewer, “unfold, shift and evolve.” She holds graduate degrees in both education and psychiatric social work. “It felt natural to move from working with people as a psychotherapist to expressing feelings on canvas as an artist,” she explained. Her work is in private collections in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast. She has exhibited at the Mill House Gallery, Autumn Art Trail 2008, the Guilford Library, the 2008 and 2009 Junior Women’s Expressions art shows and at the Essex and Lyme Art Associations.
Ron Olansen, originally from Long Island, nowlives in Lyme and describes himself as a “semi-retired” mechanical engineer working with General Dynamics/Electric Boat in Groton. He has had a life-long interest in art, especially drawing. In this exhibition his meticulous still life oil paintings of common fruits – pears, apples, reveal great skill. He says that he is largely self-taught, although he has taken art courses in drawing, painting, sculpture and most recently illustration. His inspirations come from Jean Chardin, Eric Sloan and Andrew Wyeth. His superb draftsmanship is also evident in his vibrant pencil portraits which he does on commission. His work is in numerous collections throughout New England and locally is on view at R J.Vickers Herbery in Chester.
Lee Skolnick is a New Haven native who relocated to Westbrook three years ago. Her childhood interest in art continued throughout her life but was put on hold while she earned a BS in nursing from the University of Connecticut. After a nursing career and child rearing, she returned to study drawing at Central Connecticut State University.
Watercolor has become her favorite medium, evident in her light, painterly touch and exceptional draftsmanship. She said she finds her subjects serendipitously – kids fishing in a stream, a basket of freshly picked blueberries or summer flower bouquets. She has participated in workshops on Cape Cod and now teaches watercolor classes privately. She has won numerous awards and is a member of the Lyme, Madison and Clinton Art Associations.
Bonnie Fins Stoddard divides her time between Madison and Florida, where she has studied at the Ringling School of Art and Design. In addition to her artistic career, Stoddard served as a school psychologist for Lyme/Old Lyme schools in1980 and from 1981 to 1997 with Region 4 schools in Essex, Chester and Deep River. Working primarily in oil, she has created a wide range of subject matter – figurative, still life, landscape and seascape. Currently she is working on a series of paintings of the human form in everyday landscapes; in this exhibition she concentrates on nostalgic beach scenes of carefree children at play, with superb renderings of the intense waters of Hammonasset Beach State Park. In addition to private commissions, her work has been exhibited in area shows and galleries and in Massachusetts and Florida. Her next exhibition, of still life, will be at the Scranton Library in Madison from August 3 through 31.
The "Joys of Summer " exhibition is free and open to the public. Works are for sale and the artists will contribute a portion of the proceeds to the library. For more information, please call the library at 434-1684.
Evening Book Discussion
with Facilitator, Marsha Bansavage
Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
5:00 p.m. in the Community Room
It was 1932 the early part of the great depression. Jacob now ninety narrates this story and his time with Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He remembers the circus as a world of both salvation and a living hell. He was a veterinary student at Cornell about to graduate when fate stepped in. He was tossed on a shaky train bound for the circus. He was quickly placed in charge of caring for the animals. It is here he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope of survival. Gruen well researched this novel. The book is partially based on real circus stories and illustrated with historical circus photographs.
Our discussion leader, Marsha Bansavage has been an educator for thirty-six years. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in English literature and Masters and sixth year degree in Art and the Humanities. Marsha is an active member of the Connecticut Humanities Council. Her passions are teaching, reading, art appreciation and antiquing.
Books are available at the circulation desk. Call the library at 434-1684 for more information or to register for the program.
Phoebe's Book Chat 
The Book of Air and Shadows
by Michael Gruber
Thursday, July 9, 2009
11:00 a.m. in the Community Room
Join Phoebe's Book Chat to discuss Michael Gruber's latest literary thriller. The Book of Air and Shadows has received critical acclaim from the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. It is the story of Jake Mishkin, an intellectual property attorney whose job puts him in the center of a deadly conspiracy and chase to find a priceless treasure involing William Shakespeare.
Gruber was born and raised and New York City. He holds a Ph.D. in Marine Sciences and began freelance
writing while working in Washington D.C. as a policy analyst and speech
writer for the Environmental Protection Agency. Works published under his name include: Tropic of Night, Valley of Bones and Night of the Jaquar. His most recent book is The Forgery of Venus.
Books are available at the circulation desk. Call the library at 434-1684 for more information or to register for the program.
 Old Lyme Midsummer Festival
July 24th and 25th
For more than 20 years, the town has showcased its artistic heritage with a Midsummer Festival. This two-day community event, a quintessential New England celebration for all ages, takes place in the heart of Old Lyme's historic district. The activities span two locations along Lyme Street, the Florence Griswold Museum and the Lyme Art Association. For more information visit www.OldLymeMidsummerFestival.com
Library Sponsored Events on Saturday July 25
Join the Library staff at 10 am, in the Hands-On, Minds-On Education Area of the Florence Griswold Museum, where local cultural organizations provide a variety of free hands-on creative projects. The Library’s Be Creative! activity links the summer reading theme to the festival. Old Lyme PGN Library staff will create handmade notebooks of everyday recycled craft materials with children ages 5 and older.
Next door at the Lyme Art Association the Library will hold a Book Sale: Cheaper by the Dozen, organized by the Friends of the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library. All books are 50¢ each or 12 for $5.00.
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Write Now: A New Writing Group
Second Monday of the month, 4:30 p.m - 6:00 p.m., Community Room
A new writer’s group has formed at the library! Write Now will generally be meeting on the second Monday of each month from 4:30 - 6:00 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!
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