The Artful Mind Magazine October 2025

THE ARTFUL MIND

BERKSHIRE’S MONTHLY ART MAGAZINE FOR PROMOTING ARTISTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL & BEYOND | IN PRINT & FREE SINCE 1994

OCTOBER 2025

RICHARD M. HARRINGTON

PHOTOGRAPH BY JULIA GREY

GHETTA HIRSCH

Call or text 413-597-1716

Ghetta-hirsch.squarespace.com

@ghettahirschpaintings

“Tumble” Oil on Vintage Linen, 8”X10” 2025

• Exhibiting now until end of October

at The Artful Mind Gallery

11 Eagle Street, North Adams, MA

the

IN PRINT SINCE 1994

OCTOBER 2025

ARTFUL MIND

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

—ROBERT FROST 1874 - 1963

JOANE CORNELL

FINE JEWELRY

Interview: Rosemary Barrett

Artist: New series Lotus ... 12

Interview: Richard M. Harrington

Photograph on Cover by Julia Grey... 24

Richard Britell | FICTION

Valeria and the Ants CHAPTER 5 ... 43

Diaries of Jane Gennaro Mining My Life

AS WE CREATE - WE ARE CREATED .... 44

Publisher Harryet Candee

Copy Editor Elise Francoise

Long Black Tourmaline Bead Necklace w/pink, yellow Tourmaline beads.

So Sea Pearl/18kt Gold.

COMMISSION ORDERS WELCOMED

Hand Forged Designs

www.JoaneCornellFineJewelry.com

9 Main St. Chatham, NY

Contributing Photographers

Edward Acker Julia Grey Bobby Miller

Contributing Writers

Richard Britell Jane Gennaro

Third Eye Jeff Bynack

Distribution Ruby Aver

CALENDAR / ADVERTISING

EDITORIAL / SUBSCRIPTIONS —

413-645-4114

EMAIL: ARTFULMIND@YAHOO.COM

Read every issue online: ISSUU.COM

and YUMPU.COM / instagram

Join the FB group:

ARTFUL MIND GALLERY for Artful Minds 23

THE ARTFUL MIND

PO Box 985, Great Barrington, MA 01230

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THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER 2025 • 1

2 • OCTOBER 2025 THE ARTFUL MIND

Lear Levin

FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER

Bella & Ralphie, Acrylic on Canvas 36” ×36”

Ilene Richard

Clock Tower Business Center, 75 S.Church Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201

978-621-4986

ilenerichard5355@gmail.com ilenerichard.faso.com

Lear Levin, C. Anastasia

learlevinphotography.com

LESLEE CARSEWELL

LORI BRADLEY

"Welcome Morning Tree" oil on canvas, 24"w x 24"h x 3"d 2025

www.lcarsewellart.com n @carzeart

lcarsewellart@icloud.com

loribradley@comcast.net

http://www.loribradleyart.com


LESLEE CARSEWELL

My artwork, be it photography, painting, or collage,

embraces a very simple notion: how best to

break up space to achieve more serendipity and

greater intuition on the page. Though simple in

theory, this is not so easy to achieve. I work to

make use of both positive and negative space to

create interest, lyricism, elegance, and ambiguity.

Each element informs the whole. This whole, with

luck, is filled with an air of intrigue.

Breaking up space, to me, has a direct correlation

to music. Rhythm, texture, points of emphasis, and

silence all play their parts. Music that inspires me

includes solo piano work by Debussy, Ravel,

Mompou, and, of course, Schubert and Beethoven.

Working with limited and unadorned materials, I

enhance the initial compositions with color, subtle

but emphatic line work, and texture. For me, painting

abstractly removes restraints. The simplicity of

lines and the subsequent forming of shapes is quite

liberating.

Lastly, I want my work to feel crafted, the artist's

hand in every endeavor.

Leslee Carsewell -

Prints available, please inquire.

413-229-0155 / 413-854-5757

lcarsewellart@icloud.com

www.lcarsewellart.com

OILS/COLD WAX

CAROLYN M. ABRAMS

INSPIRATIONAL AND

ATMOSPHERIC SOULSCAPES

My work is about relationships. Connecting with

my creative spirit and the world around me, most

especially Mother Nature in all her beauty and her

challenges. There is a voice in nature that touches

us and connects us to one another in ways that

evokes an emotion and stirs the soul. My work is

about creating that connection. It is a metaphor for

so many ethereal moments in life that are fleeting

and bring with them a bond like no other.

Using unique mediums such as oils and cold wax,

I feel that relationship as I work layering, adding,

subtracting, constructing and deconstructing on

canvas, paper and wood panels. Mark making is a

must to infuse my energy in each work and you will

find each of my atmospheric "soulscapes " intuitively

honors this affinity with Mother Nature.

My work can be found online at www.carolynabrams.com

and in the gift shops at Chesterwood

and Becket Arts Center as well as upcoming venues

throughout the Berkshires.

If you are interested in learning more about the

medium, I will be facilitating a one afternoon intro

workshop at the Berkshire South Community

Center in September. For more info contact me or

look for sign up info late August/early September

at the Guild of Berkshire Artists website

www.berkshireartists.org or though the community

center.

Carolyn M. Abrams —

www.carolynabrams.com

Member, Guild of Berkshire Artists

Human subtlety…will never devise an

invention more beautiful, more simple, or more direct than does nature because,

in her inventions, nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.

—Leonardo da Vinci

WARBRIDE, OIL ON CANVAS, 36” X 52”

CANDACE EATON

WarBride was created to honor all women who

suffered the indignity and physical brutality of

rape which is still happening in the 21st century

by warring aggressors. It was a shock to me when

women were brutalized in Sarajevo (the Bosnian

War in the later 1990s) where not long before, the

Olympics had been held. In my depiction of

women, I stress their strength, dignity and indomitable

spirit over that brutal ravaging. They are

stronger than the terror & indignity committed to

them. These Archetypes are part of my Icon and

Archetype Series I have been creating for decades.

I use a general ‘realistic’ style that is not

part of any current realist movement to let the

Image be its’ own voice. This allows me to subtly

augment any gesture to emphasize a psychological

statement, as it looks like an ‘established’

older painting.

I also paint my expressive, abstracted

Jazz/Horse Series, a more joyful & sensuous

celebration of the life force, which often involve

the dance of connectiveness between the figures,

anchored by the symbol of the horse which expresses

the physical world where the connectiveness

& melding with the Other abolishes all

existential isolation in that sensual union where

one momentarily transcends one’s self.

Candace Eaton —

www.candaceeaton.com

candaceeatonstudio@gmail.com


The Artful Mind Gallery

Through October. 2025


Thurs. to Sun. & Appt. Noon to 4:30

FULL CIRCLE

COME VISIT.

Ruby Aver

Lori Bradley

Richard Britell

Jeffrey Bynack

Katherine Borkowski-Byrne

Shoshana Candee

Leslee Carsewell

Janet Cooper

Julian Craker

Candace Eaton

Yana van Dyke

Jane Gennaro

Julia Grey

Katherine Haig

Ghetta Hirsch

Sarah Horne

Stephan Marc Klein

Thea Knapp-Baker

Bruce Laird

Lear Levin

Leo Mazzeo

Bobby Miller

Mark Millstein

Kent Mikalsen

Dawn Nelson

Richard Nelson

Ellen Pollen

Janet Pumphrey

Ilene Richard

Alexandra Rozenman

Richard Talbert

Jay Tobin

Mary Ann Yarmosky

ART POSTER BY HARRYET CANDEE THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER 2025 • 7

A Sound of a Yellow Light, Oil on canvas, 20” x 20”

ALEXANDRA ROZENMAN

artschool99somerville.com

www.alexandrarozenman.com

alexandra.rozenman@gmail.com

Airborn Acrylic on canvas 36” x 36”

On view at The Artful Mind Pop-up Gallery til’ end of October


RUBY AVER

rdaver2@gmail.com |

Instagram: rdaver2.

Housatonic Studio open by appointment: 413-854-7007

A Way Out Water soluble oil on wooden panel 36” x 36”

SPRING, JOHNSON, VT Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”

SARAH HORNE

sarahhorne29@gmail.com | 518-469-3846

Dawn Nelson

WWW.DAWNNELSON.ORG

DAWN.LESLIE.NELSON@GMAIL.COM


LEO MAZZEO

janet cooper

“Backstabbed”, distress oxide, graphite, highlight pen, metallic color pen,

and ink on fluid mixed media paper, 6.5”x9” (c)Leo Mazzeo.

Wall Tapestry / Floor Sculptures Mixed media by Janet Cooper

www.janetcooperdesigns.com

Katherine Borkowski-Bryne

"Green Man Profile"

Drawings by ELLEN POLLEN

Ellen.S.Pollen@gmail.com

(413) 212-8327 | Savannah, GA 31411

No Title. Oil on canvas. 30” x 40”

kbyrnerun@hotmail.com

http://katherineborkowski-byrne.com

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER • 9

TWILIGHT'S RHYTHM

ACRYLIC ON PAPER PLUS MAPLE FRAME, 16” X 20”

KATHERINE

BORKOWSKI-BYRNE

I studied painting at the Boston Museum School

of Fine Arts when painting was king. It was when I

first saw a deKooning painting, that I knew what

painting could do and that I had to be a painter.

My main love is oil on canvas or paper giving the

full range of marks from watery thin to luscious

thick. One of my favorite teachers at art school, said,

“When you paint in oils, you have the whole orchestra.”

My inspiration comes from many outside sources

but my excitement comes from the process of painting

when any original ideas disappear and the painting

has a life of its own. My favorite pieces are those

that come from “within.”

Katherine Borkowski-Byrne —

www.katherineborkowski-byrne.com

artborkowski@aol.com

KATE KNAPP, RODMAN’S HOLLOW VIEW WITH TREE

FRONT ST. GALLERY

Pastels, oils, acrylics and watercolors, abstract and

representational, landscapes, still lifes and portraits,

a unique variety of painting technique and styles you

will be transported to another world and see things

in a way you never have before join us and experience

something different.

Painting classes continue on Monday and Wednesday

mornings 10-1:30pm at the studio and

Thursday mornings out in the field. These classes

are open to all...come to one or come again if it

works for you. All levels and materials welcome.

Private critiques available. Classes at Front Street

are for those wishing to learn, those who just want

to be involved in the pure enjoyment of art, and/or

those who have some experience under their belt.

Kate Knapp —

413-528-9546 at home or 413-429-7141 (cell)

Front Street, Housatonic, MA. Gallery open by appointment

or chance anytime.

www.kateknappartist.com

LORUS, PHOTOGRAPH, 12” X 18”

THREE MORNING GLORIES, WATERCOLOR, 8” X 8“

JULIA GREY

Julia Grey has spent the last twenty years training,

photographing and painting hummingbirds;

both in the Berkshires and in Las Vegas, NV.

They are her great loves.

Ms. Julia Grey —

She/Her/Miss

www.xgender.net

Thea Knapp

Whale Watercolor, 9” x 11”

theaknappbaker.com

instagram / lpplanding12@gmail.com


UPDATE WITH THE ARTIST

ROSEMARY BARRETT

Interview by Harryet Candee

Photographs courtesy of the Artist

Harryet Candee: The Lotus series you've developed

is a stunning body of work. The rich, deep

colors envelop the canvas, drawing the viewer

right into the heart of a Lotus flower and beyond

into the mysterious depths of the waters

they inhabit. I'm curious—what is your technique

and compositional principles a little about

that brings this art to life?

Rosemary Barrett: I would say that my sense of

color and the fibration that color emits work in the

placement and overall feel that gives power to the

pieces. I have moved into a way of painting that

gives me great satisfaction and perhaps this shows

in the execution of these pieces. It is fascinating to

me to watch the canvas come alive and the discipline

it takes me to stay with it, as it has stages

that one goes through that are not always that satisfying

but, one has to go through to get to the other

side where the reward and satisfaction reside and

it is clear when it appears.


I have been developing a technique over the years

that is faster and moves forward in a way that still

holds the satisfaction of years of study, experimenting

and practise. Composition comes to me with

an innate ability that I have for space and balance

and together they speak of my technique.

Wasn't your previous series of paintings centered

around boats? I was captivated by how

each vessel seemed to carry its own human-like

echo, resonating with distinct personalities. I'm

curious—what inspired your transition from

boats to this new exploration of the Lotus?

That is a good question and one I have never asked

myself before as it is the inspiration that I work

from. In considering the question, I do see some

similarities between the subjects, I am in both so it

makes sense that my feelings would continue. This

includes the beauty that this world offers and the

inquiry of what is it about, where are we going and

with what knowledge of self do I carry and then

express. These objects hold mysteries of atmosphere,

isolation and the peace that comes as

we move along our path. Both series have been

inspiring on many levels and I love being able to

express that, from my point of view.

To what degree would you consider yourself a

Surrealist painter?

In a subtle way I am that. The surrealist brings the

unexpected and stimulates thoughts and ideas. Although

this series seems so straight forward with

images of the Lotus. I have considered the history,

the lore, power and mystery that it brings from the

unconscious mind or dreams seeking another reality

which normally we don’t tap into.

The Lotus symbolizes purity, spiritual awakening,

rebirth, and transcendence. For you, it embodies

commitment and optimism. What is it

Beginnings, Oil on canvas, 30” x 52”

“What rises from muddy waters and blossoms with beauty is an inspiration to the world.”

— R. BARRETT

about the Lotus that resonates with your emotions

and spirituality?

The spiritual journey that I am on started many

years ago and I recognise that I bring it forward in

my paintings in a subtle way—guess that is the surrealist

in me. Out of the muck and mire that life

can bring we can struggle or go with the flow that

life offers. The Lotus is a beautiful, strong enduring

species which holds the truth that we will continue

and the result can be stunning and inspiring.

Many people feel a deep connection to mythology,

appreciating how these stories, like modern

fables, serve as a means to teach valuable lessons.

Do you draw upon memories from your

own life to inspire your process in creating each

Lotus as a unique entity, reflecting your experiences

and insights?

That is a good way to put this and yes, the me that

is part of this life gains much from the experiences

of others and the stories that mythology brings to

us. I do have myself in each piece that I create.

Sometimes I see it and other times it is part of the

mystery for me. This inspires me to look forward

to what could be next and how it weaves into my

life.

Could you share some thoughts, memories from

the early days of your career as an artist, particularly

the time you traveled and worked in

the Trompe L'Oeil style?

When I started to really make a living from my

abilities as a Trompe L’Oeil artist there were many

challenges for me. How do I conduct my business,

how much do I charge, how fast am I, am I good

enough? The fact that I was on display and had to

go through the stages that bring a job to completion

could be judging and that terrified me. Am I what

I said I am and how does that measure up to my

portfolio? Am I a fake or what! As time went on I

can say that I had a very successful business and I

learned so much. I met wonderful people and traveled

around the country and abroad. I then started

teaching and that brought enormous rewards personally.

It is interesting to explore the connections and

parallels between being a 2-dimensional and a

3-dimensional artist. You've worked extensively

with bronze, concrete, and plaster. Looking

back, how do you evaluate that body of work in

comparison to your earlier thoughts, and is

there a way to overlap the principles of all mediums

to find a middle ground?

The period of time that I spent as a sculptor was an

enormous gift. I apprenticed at St. John the Divine

in New York with Gregg Wyatt, artist in residence

for many years. My current medium and expression

is linked to the observations of dimension,

volume and space. Continued on next page...


ROSEMARY BARRETT UPDATE WITH THE ARTIST

Dream

The skill of sculpting, mold making, patinas and

working within formulas was a challenge that

shaped how I approach my current work today. In

regards to gathering what is needed, laying out materials

in an order that moves me along towards a

finished painting with more ease. And the patience

that it takes to see a work to its end when it doesn’t

just appear and has to be worked out. The inspiration

and knowing that it will just take all that I have

to give can be a gift in itself. All experiences impact

where we are now wouldn't you say?

That’s for sure. Among your Lotus paintings,

which one do you consider the closest to a selfportrait?

What does this Lotus reveal about

you?

That’s another good question. I would have to say

after much thought the one that resonates closest

is the whisper. I don’t always come right out and

say what I need to say and so as another bends and

invites me I can give my all and that reflexes some

of me and the courage that resides within. I am


working on a new painting that I want to show my

feelings of late. It is more direct to my present

being, so thank you for that question as I move on

it will most likely have surprises for me and I will

share it.

Since our last interview in 2019, what changes

have occurred in your life that have directly influenced

your perspective on the world, your

art, and your vision for life?

Well that is a big question and I hope I can sum it

up with words that do reflect how my experiences

have put my life in perspective. That my heart,

mind, family and friends are most important, as I

reside on this planet. I have always been an optimistic

soul and with that I am more optimistic with

regards to people taking better care of one another,

seeing the damage that we have brought to the

world and how to make it better. I have found

more love of self and forgiveness to the world as I

move and take care of what experience presents itself.

Art is one of the most important expressions

we have and most recognize that. Those that don’t

add to the suffering as I see it and restrict our

growth, happiness and joy. I am thrilled to be

teaching and sharing all the knowledge that I have

gathered over the years and will continue to do this

as long as I can.

I'm thrilled to hear that your Lotus series will

be showcased at The Stewart House in Athens,

New York! "The Awakening" and a reception

on Saturday, October 11, from 4 to 7pm, promises

to be a good art exhibit through December.

I've heard positive things about this restaurant.

How do you plan to curate this show, and what

can visitors expect when they come to experience

your artwork?

The Stewart House has a lovely inviting room that

will be dedicated to showing my work. There is always

a wonderful display of things to eat and drink

during the opening. The Stewart House is a generous

and lively place to go and I hope to add to

that environment with my paintings that generate

a feeling of peace and wellbeing. And enjoy the

wonderful food that their talented chef creates!

What have you learned to cherish over the past

few years that has come to light, making your

life full and rich, beautiful and with an intensity

and hunger for more?

A new life has emerged out of the blue as they say.

Giving me faith that love is the most important

thing on this planet. I am challenged to create this

new life and have the courage to envision all that I

know to be true. I believe in the act of creating and

all that goes with it, which is always available. And

when the tide turns and unhappiness shows, I have

a strength that will carry me through onto the other

side and again see the joys that life has to offer. Nature

offers me that stillness and beauty that is rich

in change, surprises and a peek into the unknown.

It takes courage to express and jump into something

new or to discover what hasn’t been known

until the act of making art of some kind emerges.

I encourage my students to do and be present to

that experience, it can be so rewarding and revealing.

Emerging oil on canvas 52” x 30”

Have you had any interesting travels lately,

abroad and close to home?

Close to home has opened to me in the form of hiking

trails and traveling wooded unpopulated unknown

roads to me. Beautiful places that I was

unaware of right here in the Pioneer Valley, hidden

gems everywhere!

How has your career as an educator been going

for you? What has the past few years been like?

The joys of teaching unfold all the time with the

challenges that my students come with and the satisfaction

of leading them to discover themselves

and the techniques that work for them. We are all

different and what works for one might not for

another. Although the principles of mixing paint,

laying on a surface, choices of composition ,perspective

and ways to navigate the process do not

necessarily include a creative expression, although

there might be exceptions to that!

Rosemary, where did you grow up?

I grew up in a small town in midcentral north MA.,

Westminster, MA

Tell us about your family.

I come from a long line of artists, musicians and

makers. Shem Drown is one of our relatives that

was a weathervane tinsmith and designer at the

turn of the century he did the grasshopper on Faneuil

Hall and the rooster on the Old North Church

in Boston and Deerfield, MA. My mother, Shirley

Drown, was a very creative person and encouraged

us all. I have two sisters that are accomplished artists

and work in their fields contributing much to

the arts. We all have children that have continued

the flow of art in our gene pool. Musicians, makers

and creative painters are a joy for us. My daughter

continues to make a living in the Tromp L’Oeil

world in New Orleans, abroad and places around

the U.S.

Continued on next page....

Almost There, Oil on canvas, 52" X 30"


Lumination Oil on canvas, 26” x 34”

Turning Down Oil on canvas, 26” x 40”


How many hours a day are you in your studio

painting?

Never enough it seems! I get the most done when

I have at least three days running and sometimes

that is hard to come by. As I am running my household

and commitments to others seem to whittle

away the hours that move way too fast. My studio

is my sanctuary and very important to be in touch

with and have time for my own work.


Does the world news and affairs disrupt your

day when you listen? How do you take charge

and not let it interfere with your art making?

I have made it a practice to not start my day with

the news that can leave me crying and thinking

about it during the day, so I don’t go there any

longer. As I have managed to avoid the news for

the most part, the only thing that has changed is

my state of mind and the ability to have more

peace. I trust that there is little I can do unless it

appears within my scope then that is different. All

this reminds me about how little I know about the

workings of this world, all I can affect is myself

and with that I paint and take a loving stance. I

listen to music or a pod cast while I am painting

and I disappear and immerse myself in the work.

The music can and does send me into a state that

supports the flow of my painting and if I find it

doesn’t then I move to change the vibration and

get in sync.

To find solace and peace, there must be a spot

that you can go to and be. An artist needs head

room. It is a part of our nature. Where do you

go to unleash and feel free, laugh, dance, spread

your wings and celebrate?

That would be my studio! I have been caught

dancing and singing by a student and we celebrated

the joy of that moment! It just sets the tone to let

go in and create, I am so grateful to have this space

to feel so free and open in.

Preparing for the fall and soon, the winter, what

do you need to do?

I would say that I have always enjoyed preparing

for the oncoming time to be alone, with less social

interaction and limited activities. An excitement

has always built in me with an impending storm

and with the challenges it might bring. I love to be

painting and planning and watching my world

cover and change before my eyes. I do love being

in the Northeast. It is a time of hibernation for me

I suspect, and a time of creativity that surpasses no

other time of the year.

What museum, gallery, or other sort of artistic

institute would you recommend students visit

to gain valuable insights into art history?

I don’t feel that any one place is the go to. As much

art as one can see and feel will be an inspiration if

one is open to the experience. The creative person

is always looking at what has been done, how it

was done, does it speak to me and what part can I

take into myself to drive my passion? I still visit

the Worcester Art Museum as I went to school

there, right in the museum, before they added a big

Continued on next page...

Whisper Oil on canvas, 52” x 30”


Rosemary Barrett Finished 26” x 34”

Rosemary Barrett The Light Within Oil on canvas, 52” x 30”



Rosemary Barrett Garden Party Oil on canvas, 36” x 36”

addition for the school. They have a great collection

of many fine artists and a great education can

be had there. New England is just full of great experiences

in all the arts. I feel so proud of what this

area has to offer.

Which specific artwork has left a lasting impression

on you, and what elements contribute

to its enduring presence in your memory? Additionally,

how do your childhood encounters

with art—perhaps from your home or television—shape

your current interpretation and

appreciation of those pieces?

“The False Mirror” by Magritte stuck with me for

years as it emulated a dream I had as a child and

when I saw that Magritte had done something similar

I was intrigued and then investigated his other

paintings. I was young enough to find books of his

works at the library. His ideas of painting a different

world has influenced me in a stubble way. Perhaps

this is when the surrealist in me started to be

recognized. Magritte had influence in the assemblage

works that I did early on, as some were unexpected

in the poetic and surreal nature that they

spoke of. That period was a joy.

Exploring so many aspects of the construction, textures,

and the found objects that spoke and turned

into something that delighted or scared me. I was

always hunting and looking for feathers, objects,

textures, boxes and baskets of all kinds that spoke

to me. And that experience still speaks to me today

in a simpler voice.

What was your favorite way to spend your

childhood? What activities brought you the

most joy or fulfillment during that time?

My most favorite times were drawing and coloring,

I loved coloring. And I spent many hours in

the woods, building camps and exploring stone

walls with my sister, no matter what the weather

or time of year. Some of my most fond times were

in the winter when everything had changed but we

knew it was the same underneath.

Rosemary, Please enighten us about your quote-

“What rises from muddy waters and blossoms with

beauty is an inspiration to the world.”

The idea that muddy waters occur in life be it

trauma, exploitation or harm of any kind can be

what might be needed to rise and blossom. Being

fulfilled and knowing that it is important to stand

where you are and let the process of being move

along as it will into something beautiful. This idea

gives me great hope for humanity and my life in

general.

Rosemary’s Lotus series is

on view at THE STEWART HOUSE

2 North Water Street, Athens, New York.

Reception is Saturday October 11, 4 to 7pm.

Through December, 2025

rbarrettstudios@gmail.com

www.rbarrettstudios.com


RICHARD TALBERT,C, CUBA, WATER OLOR ON

WATERCOLOR PAPER, 22” X 30”

RICHARD TALBERT

My Native American vision quest began in South

America in Peru in the Amazon in 1997. My journey

began with the sounds of the tropical rainforest

while walking through thick brown mud and watching

pink dolphins swim in the Amazon River. In the

rainforest, I only had a machete to cut through the

wild grass which paved the way for nature photographers

to shoot tropical birds. Before that, I painted

landscapes and photographed people in urban cities.

Many of my paintings, drawings, and photographs

are considered Abstract Surrealism.

Richard Talbert —

richtalbert1@gmail.com

CAT-2

ILENE RICHARD

Ilene Richard's background in painting figures and

iconic characters informs her ability to tell stories

on canvas, bringing humor, warmth, and emotional

depth to each piece. Her work resonates with both

collectors and dog lovers, offering a vibrant and

heartfelt interpretation of the loyalty and charm that

dogs bring to our lives.

Ilene Richard—

978-621-4986, Clock Tower Business Center

75 S.Church St, Pittsfield, MA.

ilenerichard5355@gmail.com

ilenerichard.faso.com

SNAPSHOT OF YESTERDAY’S

COLLAGE ON PAPER 12” X 16”

BRUCE LAIRD

I am an abstract artist whose two and three-dimensional

works in mixed media reveal a fascination

with geometry, color and juxtapositions. For

me it is all about the work which provides surprising

results, both playful and thought provoking.

From BCC to UMASS and later to Vermont College

to earn my MFA Degree. I have taken many

workshops through Art New England, at Bennington

College, Hamilton College and an experimental

workshop on cyanotypes recently at MCLA. Two

international workshops in France and Italy also.

I am pleased to have a studio space with an exciting

group of artists at the Clocktower Building in

Pittsfield.

Bruce Laird —

Clock Tower, #307, 75 South Church Street, Pittsfield,

MA. Instagram: @ecurbart


FRONT STREET GALLERY

Carolyn M. Abrams

Housatonic River Summer, Oil on canvas, 20” x 40”

Painting classes on Monday and Wednesday Mornings 10-1pm

at the studio in Housatonic and Thursday mornings 10am - 1pm out in the field.

Also available for private critiques. Open to all. Please come paint with us!

Gallery hours: Open by chance and by appointment anytime

413. 274. 6607 (gallery) 413. 429. 7141 (cell)

413. 528. 9546 (home) www.kateknappartist.com

Front Street, Housatonic, MA

"Beyond and Beyond" oils/cold wax medium

Soulscapes

Atmospheric and Inspirational Art

www.carolynabrams.com

MEMBER GUILD OF BERKSHIRE ARTISTS

THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER • 21

Janet Pumphrey

Paradise Pier

Photographic printed on ultra high definition acrylic

30” w x 20” h

JHPumphrey@gmail.com | www.JanetPumphrey.com

DON LONGO

The fall season in the Berkshires always brings memories of

a story book landscape that's alive with color. This painting

came from those days growing up there. It's not based on a

certain place or a photograph, just a feeling of the fall air

making it's transition from warm to cool. I imagine myself

sitting here being mesmerized by all the colors and enjoying

my favorite time of the year.

www.donlongoart.com

"WESTERN SUN OVER THE BERKSHIRES" 16" x 20" Acrylics on Canvas.


BRUCE LAIRD

The Journey Continues Acrylic on Arches Paper 20”w x 26”h

Clock Tower Artists

Business Center Studio #307

75 South Church Street, Pittsfield, MA

Instagram- ecurbart

Also at— THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY

THROUGH OCTOBER 2025...

Thur - Sun 12 - 430 & by Appointment.

11 EAGLE ST. NORTH ADAMS MA


H Candee

RICHARD M. HARRINGTON

VISUAL ARTIST WITH A LIFELONG INTEREST IN GEOMETRY, LIGHT, AND PERCEPTUAL PSYCHOLOGY

Interview by Harryet Candee Cover Photograph by Julia Grey

Photographs courtesy of the Artist

“The origin of art lies in the discrepancy between physical fact and psychic effect.” —JOSEPH ALBERS

I thoroughly enjoyed our talk in North

Adams, near your home and art studio. It was

a good coincidence that you happened to walk

into The Artful Mind Gallery on Eagle Street

where we first crossed paths. Since you were

preparing for your upcoming show, “Color

Line Arc” at the North Adams Public Library,

it felt like the perfect time for us to take a walk

to this historical building as well to visit your

studio, just around the corner.

I appreciated your scientific explanations,

which also enhanced my interest in your sculptures,

paintings, drawings, and photography.

The concept of Horror Vacuii intrigued me, revealing

a fear or aversion to leaving empty

spaces within artistic compositions. I realized its

significance through our discussions about the

balance of negative and positive space. It was

amusing to explore why some people feel compelled

to fill every inch of their wall space with

objects, rather than allowing the open areas to


convey their own message. We discovered a

shared appreciation for this dynamic, which

added depth to our understanding of art and

design.

Would you say you are a curious person by nature?

Richard M. Harrington: Curious for sure, obsessive

as well. I am not a teacher, but maybe I am a

learner, and a very slow learner at that. The curiosity

doesn’t always result in truth by any means.

Richard, right off the bat, please explain what

is Fibonacci numbers and Platonic Solids?

The Fibonacci numbers, so named for an Italian

mathematician Leonardo Bonacci aka Fibonacci

(son of Bonacci) who discovered the sequence of

numbers where each number is the sum of the previous

two, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, … when these reach

55 and 89, their proportion is 1.618 phi. This proportion

demonstrates the growth pattern of natural

sequences like the radial pattern in a sunflower, the

spiral pattern in a conch shell, and innumerable

others...

The Platonic solids are the most basic three dimensional

objects composed of vertexes, straight

edges, faces, and cells where each face is equilateral.

They are the tetrahedron (four sided pyramid),

the cube or (hexahedron), (octahedron) eight sided

solid, dodecahedron, (twelve sided solid), icosahedron

(twenty sided solid). All of the objects I build

are inspired by this set.

How do you weave together elements of geometry,

light, and perceptual psychology in your

work?

The things I build demonstrate one very basic concept,

looking at and looking through an object. The

idea of a solid implies that an object is opaque. I’m

interested in being able to apply a kind of stereoptic

three dimensional vision to these otherwise opaque

entities. Using the screen material as I do the object

Richard M. Harrington, Ogma. Digital Iris print on Somerset watercolor paper 22 in. by 24 in.

Collection of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University.

then sends back a kind of noise, ie, moire patterns

that, for lack of a better word add intrigue to the

viewing of the work and reveal the solid as a

whole.

Do you think these complex themes tend to puzzle

viewers? How important is it for newcomers

to grasp the scientific and mathematical concepts

behind your art?

The idea is not to bewilder people in a Byzantine

way with a complexity that is overwhelming, but

rather to present the geometry and light in an arresting,

mysterious, and paradoxical `magical`

way. Paradox and self contradiction in verbal form

as with a pun, or wordplay. So I guess you’d call it

a visual pun. Victor Vasarely, a phenomenal Hungarian

painter and sculptor, was a master of this

idea.

How have you curated the space for your exhibit

exhibit now in progress at The North

Adams Public Library?

This is the second time I’ve exhibited at the library.

It’s a fascinating place, both down to earth, and a

convenient home away from home. My goal with

COLOR LINE ARC is to demonstrate connections

between my two dimensional computer generated

studies and how they evolved and are related to and

influence each other in a surprising way. There are

themes that are and were important to me, 1.618

again, Morphogenesis is a word coined by the great

Alan Turing to explain the growth of cells, color

gradients in the large digital prints that will be exhibited,

and the contradiction of the idea of line.

What are you expecting from this exhibit—will

you be debuting new pieces or showcasing a retrospective?

It’s a peculiar retrospective. The drawings are the

newest in the set of things that will be shown, and,

oddly, they are influenced by some of the attributes

that are characteristic to software drawing programs.

Living so close to such a beautiful turn-of-thecentury

library seems to reflect the neighborhood's

commitment to preserving its heritage,

don’t you think?

It has begun to be so in a progressive way. The city

is aware of its past and its present. When I lived in

Cambridge, it was life changing and inspiring to

live in Harvard Square, which in an odd way is a

kind of village. North Adams near the library is a

village to me with significant architecture but also

the incredible ability to quickly be in the woods or

near the Hoosac River.

From a viewer's perspective, your work is captivating

in its ability to capture light and its

myriad colors. The metal you incorporate is

crucial to each piece. How did you first come

across this material, and how has your approach

to it changed over time?

I first began assembling things from aluminium

screen when I was in graduate school at Massachusetts

College of Art as it was then called. Aluminium

reflects over ninety percent of the light that

hits it, and its minute porosity diffracts that light

into the visible spectrum. When it intercepts the focused

white light of a theater projector or sunlight

really fascinating things happen. I began folding

the material origami style and the rest, as they say,

is history. The same approach can then be applied

to hardware cloth, another common ubiquitous material

with interesting properties too, and other

crazy self contradictory things happen. The Platonic

Solid, a noble entity, is then applied to hardware

cloth, a material as common as dirt, and bingo

wabi sabi perfectly imperfect contradiction

happens. The complexity of the things that I now

build is influenced by a lot of reading about mathematicians

and their frequently brilliant insight.

What prior projects have influenced your current

work?

Some came from work experience in digital typography

at Adobe Systems and Bitstream. The letterform

is a world unto itself. The orderliness and

rationality of analyzing forms has definitely left an

indelible imprint. I’m probably wrong, but I’d have

to say that analytical thought is regarded by many

as non creative thought. I think that my mindset



RICHARD M. HARRINGTON VISUAL ARTIST

Richard in his studio. North Adams, MA.

has become analytical perhaps to a fault, ie, never

being satisfied with what I’ve made.

"I began to devour books on about and by Joseph

Albers, Johannes Itten, Wilhelm Ostwal,

Paul Klee (still a personal standalone favorite.)"

Please explain more in-depth this sentence you

had made a not to mention during our conversations.

There’s a quotation from a philosopher that I find

especially galling: “Color shines and only wants to

shine, when we analyze it in rational terms it is

gone.”

How then does anyone who uses color make it

shine? How does a painter like Rothko in particular

create the glow that is paramount to his output, and

the effect that it has on us? Trial and error, this

worked but that didn’t. Color theory is a very profound

subject. The deeper you dig, the more there

is to be revealed. Color systems that have been employed

over the last century and the scientific analysis

where we’ve learned that one portion of the

population sees color in an orange blue range while

others see it composed of red green range. It is also

known that women’s color vision is superior to

men’s. So we’re not seeing the same thing.


Is your art also a way you enjoy life and have

fun? I see your art as a way of celebrating the

facets of life, the world and the universe--if we

can't explain it -- why not celebrate it.

It is a celebration of paradox to me.

Before diving into your art career, you were an

MIT student. What were your academic goals

and interests back then?

I worked at MIT for seven years, in a low level job

in the department of psychology. I was never a student

then. Which is not to say that I wasn’t studying

and learning a lot. As an undergraduate at

Massachusetts College of Art many of the most interesting

professors were affiliated with MIT. And

when I returned to Graduate School at Massart,

there was a fluid open door policy with the Center

for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT. I met and

studied the work of many of them. International in

outlook, overseen by Gyorgy Kepes, who founded

CAVS, and my graduate advisor was Lowry Burgess.

I was lucky enough to exhibit there and great

things resulted. During graduate school I was an

apprentice to Michio Ihara, an architectural scale

sculptor who had graduated from the MIT School

of Architecture. Call that a defacto something or

other academic this-or-that.

In addition to your passion for art, you mentioned

developing an interest in baseball. Could

you elaborate on that part of your life?

EVERY morning I wake up, have some coffee, and

breakfast, work on cryptic crossword puzzles and

listen to a recording of Charles Ives string quartets.

What does that have to do with baseball? When I

was a kid I was a decent enough pitcher to pitch a

no hitter in high school, and a one hitter the following

year and got an honorable mention for

pitchers in Berkshire county.

The Composer Charles Ives, a native of Danbury

Connecticut was a jock! He played football and

baseball and then went on to be an insurance executive.

But more importantly became the premier

American composer whose work was admired by

Stravinsky and others. My point is that the lesson

learned from Ives’s New England proximity to the

Berkshires meant that great art and music aren’t

something remote but something that can take

place here.

You participated in the Bridges 2024 Exhibition

of Mathematical Art, Craft, and Design at Vir-

Drawings. Richard’s studio.

ginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

What insights have you gained from collaborating

with other artists who have different perspectives

or methods? Are there new ideas

you’re considering integrating into your work?

I was elated to have been accepted and to have my

work exhibited by this prestigious group. I’ve exhibited

with them for several years, and am always

astonished with their sophistication. A few notable

friends have been instrumental in communication.

David Press, Phil Webster, Stephen Luecking,

Robert Fathauer, Tara Taylor are such fun to communicate

with.

Of all the exhibits you have been involved with,

were there any that particularly stands out in

your mind? Can you tell us why?

About eight years ago Finite Infinity was an exhibition

in North Adams at Gallery 51 the MCLA. I

did an installation that had about ten polyhedral

mobiles suspended in a large room where I could

control the light. It was precisely installed, the behavior

of the projected color from a single theater

light was very compelling and well received. The

letter ‘P’ was a symbolic link among people who

attended of which there were many. People came

from Providence, Portland, OR, Pittsburgh, and

Philadelphia. When I publicized the show on a

science website I got a message from Kendria

Krick, a woman from Portland saying that she was

coming. OK I thought, how many times have I

heard that? But then after the show was up for

about a week, a woman came in with her family.

Her cousins, husband, her brother, and their kids

all in all about 7 or 8 of them. They loved it, it was

astonishing and gratifying. I knew the name Crick

and asked her, are you? Yes, she said, I am the

granddaughter of Francis Krick, the co-discoverer

of the double helix. But that ain’t all folks, that

same afternoon a rep from MCLA came to the exhibition

with two women from the Massachusetts

Cultural Council. They loved it, they asked for

contact information, they sent the info to the MIT

Museum, and I was invited by the MIT Museum

to participate in the Cambridge Science Festival.

A separate afternoon was when a representative

from the Fogg Museum at Harvard acquired two

prints for their permanent collection.

How might your work on human perception of

texture lead to a better understanding and appreciation

of the world around us?

We aren’t separate from the world around us, we

ARE the world around us and vice versa. Touch

and vision are part of the same hierarchic continuum

of sensation.

What are the boundaries and limitations you

find captivating to challenge or transcend in

your artistic practice?

The tyranny of the frame in particular.

I’m also curious about the various mediums

you’ve experimented with, particularly with

photography. How do these different forms

meld together in your creative journey? Show

and Tell time, Richard!

It’s the one discipline that I attribute to the influence

of Gyorgy Kepes, who was a protege of

Moholy Nagy. The Hungarians are to my mind so

fluid to seamlessly doing so.

A. Is a so-called cryptic alphabet projected onto a

screen octahedron assembled from hardware cloth.

The ‘letter forms’ are the left over dividers from a

cryptic crossword puzzle. The influence of a brief

career in typographic design is unmistakable.

B. Octahedral pair is composed of the two separate




Octahedral pair

Cryptic Alphabet

Edgerton

Stellated Icosidodecahedron


Stellated Polygonal Quartet

Richard’s stack of papers on his desk.

light projections onto the same object where one is

imported from a separate file.

C. Edgerton refers to Harold Edgerton’s image of

a bullet penetrating an apple. In my instance it is

light passing through two solids assembled from

screen material.

D. Stellated Polygonal Quartet is somewhat influenced

by Noguchi who was a master of seemingly

defying gravity, these objects and their

shadows appear to be sliding down the wall.

E. Stellated Icosidodecahedron is perhaps the best

example of a clear interplay between an object and

its cast shadow.

F. Large Stellated Dodecahedron by far this is the

largest of this series of explorations of the Platonic

and semi regular solids.

G. Ogma. digital Iris print on Somerset watercolor

paper 22 in. by 24 in. Collection of the Fogg Art

Museum at Harvard University. Entirely digitally

generated it was inspired by principles of color

theory that I mentioned previously. Contrast of secondary

complementary colors and gradients

created by attributes of the software.

H. Twin Crystal exhibited at The Cambridge

Science Festival and sampled by an attendee. This

is the clearest example of the learning and participating

feature of what the festival is all about. The

event is about learning with no barriers thousands

of learners experience and remember how great it

can be. Also, it was another instance of my longtime

collaboration with my friend Matthew Belge,

who took the photo, being so inspired by what was

happening before his eyes.

What do you do on your free time away from

the art, or, not so away from the art. How long

is the leash from human to beast can we comfortably

allow!

Walk and hike, doing Cryptic Crossword puzzles,

drinking Peet’s dark roast Sumatra, having a beer,

pretzels, chips and what have you after life drawing

with friends on Tuesday nights.

What are some of your favorite experiences you

have encountered while living in this town?

Safely walking the RR tracks to look at the abundant

flora and fauna at the edge of the meandering

Hoosac River and thinking about the fascinating

geology of the area. The apex of this experience is

seeing Great Blue Heron and other waterfowl, and

more recently a fisher cat, gamboling about its

business.

Why did you choose to settle in North Adams?

Necessity, and I suppose homecoming. I am from

this area, born in Pittsfield, raised in Adams, attended

high school in North Adams, then it was

onto the larger world, a Dickensian naif with a lot

to learn.

What are some of your most favorite places, notions,

historical facts you find most fascination

about North Adams and its surrounding area?

GEOLOGY, GEOLOGY, GEOLOGY. Its connection

to the Appalachians, realizing that 500 or so

million years ago, New England was in the southern

hemisphere, Mt. Greylock and other mountains

in the Appalachians were about the height of the

Himalayas.

I am experiencing this art community. Its thriving!

What do you think most of the community

would like to see happen and not to happen in

this pioneer-like cool town?

Continuous steady incremental progress. Eruptive

change is dangerous, a lesson that this or any town

ought to bear in mind. Eruption’s aftermath is often

catastrophic.




Large Stellated Dodecahedron

Polyhedron


Twin Crystal exhibited at The Cambridge Science Festival and sampled by an attendee.

Richard outside The North Adams Library

Do you enjoy visiting the wonderful art institutions

around North Adams, such as MassMoca

and the Clark Art Institute in nearby Williamstown,

MA? I love both but rarely visit either. I am

elated that the work of James Turrell has made its

way here. It’s almost unimaginable to me that the

work of this giant is only about a 10 minute walk

away. I also very much love the architecture of

Ando the architect of the addition to the Clark.

Just think, you will be getting more attention on

your art as the art community grows with more

cafes and galleries and living and working

spaces! Will you be an active participant in its

growth?

I am elated, that said though, I am a bit of a hermit.

Have you had the chance to travel much?

Not really, because I am inclined to panic attacks.

I’ve exhibited and visited European and American

cities, Wales, Great Britain, Denmark, Austria, Canada,

and the Netherlands. Loved them all.

If you took a very complicated mathematical

theory, say, one you understand, and find you

need to have it explained to a nine-year-old boy

who loves the sciences. What would that theory

be, and how would the narrative go? If you recall

the ways your father explained things of the

world to you, do you have that same special

touch of explaining complicated and puzzling

ideas?

I am that nine-year-old boy! Two experiences from

the Cambridge Science Festival stand out:

Explaining the Euler Equation V-E+F-C= 0 to a

young guy about that age, and seeing the light bulb

go off! Another instance where an Israeli family

comes to the installation. The mother is the only

one who speaks English. The two sons and their

dad ask a question in Hebrew, the mother translates

the question to me, I answer her and she translates

the answer back to them. That kind of thing

happens a lot.

What is your reaction to those that have supported

and influenced you along the way in

your art career?

I am astonished and gratified when people such as

yourself and others gasp when I can get the ideas

across, because the ideas aren’t always especially

clear. And I’m not always able to recognize my

own pretentious flat feet.

Richard, could you share a thought that can tie

up this interview?

Two of them actually: “I really didn’t say what I

said” —Yogi Berra.

“Plagiarize! Plagiarize! Don’t forget why the good

lord made your eyes!” — Tom Lehrer

G


JANE GENNARO

Jane Gennaro is an artist, writer, and performer

based in New York City. Jane’s work has been

widely exhibited, performed, and broadcast. She

has been featured in the New York Times, New York

Magazine, and NPR among others. Her illustrated

column, "Mining My Life” appears monthly in The

Artful Mind magazine. Jane’s art studio is in Claverack,

NY.

Jane Gennaro —

www.janegennaro.com

shop.janegennaro.com

https://performingartslegacy.org/

“TERRA TERRIFIED” DISTRESS OXIDE, GRAPHITE, HIGHLIGHT

PEN, METALLIC COLOR PEN, AND INK ON TONED TAN SKETCH

PAPER 5.75”X8.5”

LEO MAZZEO

As a long time advocate for the arts, New Ashford

based artist Leo Mazzeo has served on regional

boards and acted as a catalyst for many arts related

projects. He works primarily on paper, using diverse

media and techniques appropriate for each

piece’s theme. Initially, he establishes a broad concept,

which evolves into a narrative as a piece progresses.

Mazzeo sketches from life, reference images, and

imagination, assembling compositions almost as a

collage artist would. Symbolism is key, and characters

and objects often have repeating roles. His

themes are sociopolitical/psychological, often surreal,

reflecting personal perspectives and offering

therapeutic benefits.

Leo Mazzeo —

l-mazzeo@hotmail.com

HOUSATONIC : OUR RIVER

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 24”X24”

RUBY AVER

Growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the

60’s was a history, rich and troubled time. As a

youth, my playing in the streets demanded grit.

Teaching Tai Chi for the last 30 years requires a

“Zen state of mind”. My paintings come from this

quiet place that exhibit, the rich grit of my youth

.Movement, shape and color, dominates, spontaneously

combining raw as well as delicate impulses.

I was honored with the exhibition of my abstract

painting (inspired by Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl

Earring) in the Amsterdam Vermeer exhibit 2024 .

Ruby Aver—

Housatonic Studio open by appointment:

413-854-7007 / rdaver2@gmail.com

Instagram: rdaver2

MARK MILLSTEIN

Bicycle. 2025

Whimsical Sculpture by Jeffrey Bynack

made from found metal parts & objects.

Welded and mechanically fit. Perfectly suitable

for indoor and outdoor enjoyment.

Center Court drypoint engraving 8” x 9” 2025

www.markmillstein.com

See more of this work at ...

The Artful Mind Gallery

11 Eagle Street, North Adams, MA • Fri-Sun, 12 - 430.

—Commissions gladly accepted—


PORTRAIT OF BRUCE BY BOBBY MILLER

BRUCE PANOCK

I am a visual artist using photography as the platform

to begin a journey of exploration. My journey

began in earnest almost 14 years ago when I retired

due to health issues and began devoting myself to

the informal study of art, artists and particularly

photography. Before retiring I had begun studying

photography as a hobby. After my retirement, the

effort took on a greater intensity.

My world had changed for reasons outside of

my control and I looked for something different in

my work. I wanted to do more than document what

was around me. I wanted to create something that

the viewers might join with me and experience.

Due to my health issues, I found myself confined

with my activities generally restricted. For the first

time I began looking inward, to the world that I experienced,

though not always through physical interaction.

It is a world where I spend more time

trying to understand what I previously took for

granted and did not think about enough. The ideas

ranged from pleasure and beauty to pain and loss;

from isolation to abandonment; to walking past

what is uncomfortable to see. During this period of

isolation, I began thinking about what is isolation,

how it can transition to abandonment and then into

being forgotten. The simplest display of this idea is

abandoned buildings. They were once beautiful,

then allowed to run down and abandoned, soon to

be forgotten. After a while they disappear. Either

mankind knocks down these forgotten once beautiful

structures, or remediates them, or Nature reclaims

the space. Doesn’t mankind do the same

with its own?

My work employs references to other photographers,

painters, as well as sculptors. The brushwork

of Chinese and Japanese artists is appealing for

both its simplicity and beauty. Abstract art has its

own ways of sharing ideas which are jarring and

beautiful at the same time. Black and white and

color works each add their own dynamic. My work

is influenced by these art forms, often using many

of them in a single composited image.

Bruce Panock—

Panockphotography.com

bruce@panockphotography.com

Instagram @brucepanock

DINNER BELLS

Upcycled Wearable Art

@deborah_h_carter

PHOTO: ERIC KORENMAN

MODELS: EDEN HOOD. JORDAN ALIJAH

REPRESENTED BY THE WIT GALLERY

CLOCK TOWER ARTISTS

DEBORAH H. CARTER

Deborah H. Carter is a multi-media artist from

Lenox, MA, who creates upcycled, sustainable

wearable art. Her couture pieces are constructed

from post-consumer waste such as food packaging,

wine corks, cardboard, books, wire, plastic, and

other discarded items and thrifted wares. She manipulates

her materials' color, shape, and texture to

compel us to question our assumptions of beauty

and worth and ultimately reconsider our habits and

attitudes about waste and consumerism.

Since she was eight, Deborah has been a sewing

enthusiast, and she learned her craft by creating

clothing with her mother and grandmothers. Her

passion took hold as she began to design and sew

apparel and accessories. After graduating with a degree

in fashion design from Parsons School of Design

in New York City, she worked as a women's

sportswear designer on Seventh Avenue.

Deborah's art has been exhibited in galleries and

art spaces around the US. She was one of 30 designers

selected to showcase her work at the

FS2020 Fashion Show annually at the University

of Saint Andrews, Scotland. She has been featured

in the Spring 2023 What Women Create magazine.

Deborah H. Carter has been featured in The Artful

Mind, Berkshire magazine, and What Women

Create magazine and was a finalist in the World of

WearableArt competition in Wellington, New Zealand,

2023.

“Sending Messages” on display at Hancock

Shaker Village, 34 Lebanon Mountain Rd, Hancock,

MA. Through November 30th.

Deborah H Carter —

413-441-3220, Clock Tower Artists

75 S. Church St., Studio 315, 3rd floor

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Instagram: @deborah_h_carter

Debhcarter@yahoo.com

DIGITAL ART BY RICHARD NELSON (RICK) FOR

THE ARTFUL MIND GALLERY SEPTEMBER PROMOTION.

DEPECTS THE STREET THE GALLERY IS ON IN NORTH

ADAMS, EAGLE STREET.

RICHARD (RICK)

NELSON

Recently, I attended the opening reception of IN

GOOD COMPANY, at The Artful Mind Gallery;

the newest, hottest art venue around. It was certainly

an honor to be included in such a prestigious group

of artists. I met some wonderful people there, it was

awesome!

Getting there required a four and a half (+/-) hour

drive. A beautiful drive. We have mountains in PA,

but not like our Northern neighbors! We decided to

turn it into a vacation. The GPS was taking us on

all manner of back roads; mountains, REAL mountains,

lots of tiny towns, each with its own individual

charm and two covered bridges. We spent the last

three days camping in the woods in upstate New

York. All in all, a rejuvenating experience.

This was my third ever art reception, so it still has

that newness. My first reception was for a show that

centered on me and my sister in law. At the time, I

was doing large, somewhat feral, deconstructed

monoliths on sheets of Masonite. Connie was doing

photorealistic pencil drawings of her sisters and college

apartment. Hung side by side, my monstrosities

and Connie’s delicate drawings actually worked

really well together. The reception was a major

event in our quiet little Pennsylvania community.

Hosted by New Yorker Ed Meneely, who owned

the gallery, it was THE event of the moment. My

family was upset by my art, a woman demanded an

explanation; it ruffled some feathers. I consider that

was a success. After that, reality prevailed, and my

attention shifted to running the family business.

I had been in a rut, my drawing felt uninspired and

forced, even my music was lacking, but I’ve been

rejuvenated and ready to go! So, thank you, Artful

Mind. Cheers!

Richard (Rick) Nelson —

nojrevned@hotmail.com

Rick Nelson on FB

ARTFULMIND@YAHOO.COM THE ARTFUL MIND OCTOBER 2025 • 33


WALL MURAL, MIXED MEDIA

JANET COOPER

THE ART OF FIGURING OUT

WHAT KIND OF ARTIST I AM

Fabrics, anatomy, stitches, colors and bricologue

are words, imbued with intense emotionality for

me, a maker, collector and lover of objects and

places.

My first love was clay, so basic, earthy and obsessively

compelling, I adored making pottery

shapes and objects, resembling torsos. A period

of fascination with vintage tin cans, bottle caps

and junky metal discards followed. Metal was

sheared, punched, riveted and assembled into figurative

shapes. I began to use fabrics with these

works and eventually abandoned metal for hand

stitching doll sculptures, totems and collages, all

with second hand or recycled fabrics.

Janet Cooper—

janetcoop@gmail.com

www.janetcooperdesigns.com

LIVE LAYERS

WATER SOLUBLE OIL ON STRETCHED CANVAS

DIPTYCH. 40”W X 60”H 2021

DAWN NELSON

Dawn Nelson lives and works in North Adams’

Eclipse Mill, where she has had a studio since 2008.

She grew up in the Midwest, and graduated with

a B.F.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University and an

MEd from Lesley University. She has been a working

artist for her entire adult life, exhibiting extensively.

For 30 years, Dawn was a middle school Art

Teacher in the public schools of Weston, MA, and

lived in Jamaica Plain, MA. She was active in the

arts in both communities; Jamaica Plain and Weston.

Dawn was part of the group that initiated Jamaica

Plain Open Studios.

Since retiring from teaching in 2014, Dawn has

transitioned to living full time North Adams, and

has since become involved in Future Lab[s] Gallery,

First Fridays Organizing Committee, and the Eagle

Street Alive initiative.

Dawn Nelson—

dawn.leslie.nelson@gmail.com

www.dawnneslon.org

SEASIDE, PASTEL, 9” X 11”

THEA KNAPP-BAKER

I have been a practicing artist since I was fice.

I always loved looking at nature, animals, trees,

etc. and then to replicate that vibrant energy and

vision was quite a fun challenge! An artist translates

tears, laughter and curiosity itself.

For me, art has been a lonely means of creativity,

escape, and reflective communication. I love

the quote: “My art is a way of praying and crying

at the same time...and the highest expression of

love and solitude.” - Guayasamin

Thea Knapp-Baker —

www.theaknappbaker.com

Email: lppanding12@gmail.com

MARY ANN YARMOSKY

Instagram • Facebook | maryannyarmoskyart.com


BEFORE

8”X 10” OIL ON VINTAGE LINEN

GHETTA HIRSCH

October in the Berkshires brings all the colors we

crave for!

I continue to paint our Berkshires even though I

look closely for details in the landscape. As I do, I

develop a closer link with our environment. More

and more I feel our connection to nature and sense

a silent communication which enriches my

thoughts, feelings and well being. I touch rocks and

trees with reverence and awe. I thank their beauty

around us and I am honored to paint their forms,

texture and colors. We are poor artists in front of

Nature’s paint brush. Enjoy our coming Fall and

walk the fields and forests to feel the peace. Take

your shoes off to feel the ground! Brush your hand

on the bark of a tree and sit on a rock! I hope you

feel or hear Nature’s whispering to us. It gives hope.

I promise you.

The art exhibit at The Artful Mind gallery, 11

Eagle Street in North Adams are still going on. You

must see the array of style among all our Berkshire

Artists! You can see some of my oil paintings there.

The Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday noon to

4:30. If you need an appointment call 413-645

4114.

I will have OPEN STUDIO in my place—

30 Church Street, Williamstown, MA on the following

dates: October 5 and October 12 from noon to

5pm.

If you need to visit my studio at another time reach

me by text or phone at 413-597-1716.

Williamstown attracts visitors with The Clark Museum,

so if you are around, let me know.

Ghetta Hirsch—

Website: ghetta-hirsch.squarespace.com

CARDINALS

ACRYLIC 16” X 20”

SALLY TISKA RICE

BERKSHIRE ROLLING HILLS

Born and raised in the captivating Berkshires,

Sally Tiska Rice possesses artistic prowess that

breathes life into her canvases. As a versatile multimedia

artist, Sally seamlessly employs a tapestry

of techniques, working in acrylics, watercolors, oil

paints, pastels, collages containing botanicals, and

mixed media elements. Her creative spirit draws

inspiration from the idyllic surroundings of her

rural hometown, where she resides with her husband,

Mark, and cherished pets.

Sally's artistic process is a dance of spontaneity

and intention. With each brush stroke, she composes

artwork that reflects her unique perspective.

Beyond her creations, Sally also welcomes commissioned

projects, turning heartfelt visions into

tangible realities. Whether it's capturing the essence

of individuals, beloved pets, cherished homes, or

sacred churches, she pours her soul into each personalized

masterpiece.

Sally Tiska Rice will be the featured artist at the

Hotel on North, located at 297 North Street, Pittsfield,

MA through September 1, 2025. Set in the

heart of downtown Pittsfield, this beautifully restored

boutique hotel blends 19th-century architecture

with sleek, contemporary design—and is the

perfect backdrop for Sally’s richly layered, lightfilled

artwork.

Sally’s work is on the gallery walls of the Clock

Tower, Open Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00 pm for

self-guided tours.

SallyTiskaRice@gmail.com

www.sallytiskarice.com

https://www.facebook.com/artistsallytiskarice

Fine Art Prints (Pixels), Twitter, LinkedIn

Instagram, YouTube, TikTok

A woman’s name raises doubts until her work is seen…

I will show your illustrious lordship what a woman can do.

—Artemisia Gentileschi

UNTITLED

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 35"X25"

JJ (JAY) TOBIN

“I primarily use house paint because it is acrylic

and mixed with artist's paint. The canvas from the

life net is thick and coarse. You can't stretch it so

that I will use it as collage material.” —JJ Tobin

What were some of your most memorable experiences

working as a full-time artist?

JJ: Twenty years ago, I took a course in painting

using fresco, which is pigment in wet plaster. The

Sistine Chapel is probably the most famous. It

was given at the Frelinghuysen-Morris house in

Lenox. I painted a large mural using fresco at

East Coast Refinishing on Industrial Drive in

Pittsfield. It was great making the plaster and

painting such a large piece. (10ft x 20ft). Looking

at it now, I would change a lot.

When creating your black-and-white paintings,

what challenges did you set for yourself to test

your skill and ability to produce aesthetically

pleasing work?

JJ: I have been doing black and white paintings

on and off since the late 1970's. At Umass, I had

John Grillo for a painting class. I did a black and

white painting that he thought was awful. He told

me about an artist he knew who used black and

white almost exclusively. His name is Myron

Stout. Stout has had a big influence on my work.

I try to set up these paintings so the black shape

or negative space and the white positive space are

"nice looking shapes," as Grillo called them. I try

to get the black and white shapes to play off each

other. One isn't more important than the other.

Certain objects lend themselves to just two

colors. A firefighter's facepiece or a drop of liquid,

for example.

To read full interview, please plug in this link:

https://issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs/the_a

rtful_mind_.._nov_2024_online

JJ will be in The Artful Mind Group Exhibit, In

Good Company, at 11 Eagle Street September

and October. Reception date: september 13, 5 -

8pm. Please visit the gallery.


RICHARD NELSON

THE ALPHABET SERIES FROM A TO Z: “Q ”

&

Ai

ART

Digital Art

nojrevned@hotmail.com

Rick Nelson on FB


DAY CLOUD, JOHNSON, VT.

ACRYLIC AND PASTEL ON PAPER, 11” X 14”

SARAH HORNE

I find myself drawing and painting primarily from

nature. I am an abstract painter and I don't look to

copy nature so much as I want to evoke the feeling

I have about the subject. I want to capture a moment

that has affected me.

The images I paint first come under my own looking

and investigating, usually done with drawings

and photographs. That done to my satisfaction, I let

all of that initial process go. Then, I can paint with

freedom and without over-thinking.

Sarah Horne —

sarahhorne29@gmail.com

WARM WIND, OIL ON WOODEN PANEL, 24” X 18”

LORI BRADLEY

Lori Bradley is a contemporary painter working

primarily in oil and acrylic on canvas and wood

panels. She describes her style as alternative realism—a

blend of storytelling and whimsy grounded

in the natural world. While inspired by the traditions

of past and present realist painters, her work integrates

modern themes, bold colors, patterns, and design

elements, creating a dynamic synthesis of

classical and contemporary painting.

Much of her imagery is rooted in nature, reflecting

her fascination with the mysterious connections between

humans and the natural world. Through her

paintings, Bradley explores visual mythologies and

narratives that reveal both the wonder and complexity

of our relationship with the environment.

Lori Bradley—

loribradley@comcast.net

http://www.loribradleyart.com

ANDY WARHOL, 35MM FILM & DIGITAL IMAGE,

ARCHIVAL INK AND PAPER

BOBBY MILLER

Bobby Miller is a poet and photographer who

lived and worked in New York City for thirty years.

He has also the author of 23 books including —

Fabulous! A Photographic Diary of Studio 54,

A Downtown State of Mind: NYC 1973 – 1983,

Wigstock in Black & White:1985 – 2005 and

Queer Nation.

Bobby has published three books of poems, Benestrific

Blonde, Mouth Of Jane and Rigmarole

and is included in several anthologies: Aloud:

Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café, Verses That

Hurt, Pleasure and Pain from The Poemfone Poets

and The Outlaw Bible Of American Poets.

Bobby’s work has been shown in New York City,

Provincetown, MA, Palm Springs, CA, Seattle,

WA, Hudson, NY and the Berkshires, MA.

Bobby Miller —

troubleblonde@comcast.net

CANDACE EATON

The Sanderson Sisters, Acrylic on stretched canvas

Sally Tiska Rice

BERKSHIRE ROLLING HILLS ART

CLOCK TOWER ARTISTS

Studio 302, 3rd floor

75 South Church St, Pittsfield, MA

(413)-446-8469

www.sallytiskarice.com

sallytiskarice@gmail.com

American Gypsy. Oil on Canvas. 32” X 28”

CANDACE EATON

www.candaceeaton.com | candaceeatonstudio@gmail.com

(631) 413-5057

38 •OCTOBER 2025 THE ARTFUL MIND

BELIEF IN THE POSSIBILITIES OF SPRING

COLLAGE, CRADLED WOODEN BOARD, 12”X12”X2”

ALEXANDRA ROZENMAN

Alexandra Rozenman’s narrative about identity,

search for belonging, and journeying to a foreign

land forms the core of her work. She says, “my approach

to beauty and wonder came with me from

Russia and has kept playing a big role. I am always

working with it or against it.” Her paintings tell

stories and invite viewers into her world of images,

symbols, historical events, and the lives and work

of famous artists. Rozenman’s work touches in personal

ways on issues of artistic influence and dialogue,

emulation and creativity, and continuity and

discontinuity in contemporary art. She shows us

how we are all part of a larger story. In her most recent

work, mainly done after the invasion of Ukraine,

Rozenman uses trauma (e.g., floods, fires,

emptiness) as subject matter, asking the viewer to

think about the meaning of even the darkest things

around us.

Rozenman was born in Moscow and emigrated

to the U.S. in 1989. She was classically trained in

the Soviet Art Academy and with well-known artists

from Moscow’s underground movement. She

lived in New York City in the 90s and was part of

what later became Artists Alliance Inc. on the

Lower East Side. Rozenman holds a BFA in Painting

from SUNY and an MFA from the School of

the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts. She has studied

with artists Gerry Bergstein and Robert Ferrandini.

Her paintings and drawings blend the styles and

symbols of folk art, illustration, Russian Underground

Conceptualism, and Jewish Art. Rozenman

exhibits nationally and internationally at venues

that have included Lichtundfire Gallery in New

York, Trustman Art Gallery at Simmons University,

Hudson Gallery in Gloucester, MA, Flinn Gallery

in Greenwich, CT, French Cultural Center of Boston,

The Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery in Washington,

DC, Gallery 360 in Minneapolis, MN, The

Painting Center in New York, and Moscow Center

of Contemporary Art. Rozenman was a MacDowell

Fellow in 2006. She leads her own art school

for adults and teenagers in Somerville, MA called

Art School 99. She is a member of Fountain Street

Gallery since 2016.

Alexandra Rozenman —

artschool99somerville.com

www.alexandrarozenman.com

alexandra.rozenman@gmail.com

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

COLLAGE, CRADLED WOODEN BOARD, 10”X10”X2”

JAYE ALISON

"I was really anxious because we were pretty

much snowbound in our homes, being in a particularly

cold 2025 winter. I had moved many of my

art supplies to my studio in Southfield, and had

begun organizing works. The idea of playing with

them, cutting some of the ones to which I felt drawn

to do so, this had been playing around in my mind

for a looooooong time, but this weather allowed

me to take advantage of the opportunity- I couldn't

go anywhere, so I could just focus and play."

Jaye Alison harnesses water-based mediums like

acrylic and watercolor, influenced by a creative upbringing

and artistic journey. Through abstraction

and intuitive color selection, she captures the interplay

between forms with lines that articulate

deep-seated emotions. Her art resonates with joy

and upliftment, transforming personal and worldly

complexities into visual harmony.

The artist is passionate about creating art, painting

on flat, smooth surfaces, and using environmentally

friendly materials.

Alison’s work has been exhibited nationally and

internationally and has appeared in print, film, television,

the web, and Off Off Broadway.

Transforming personal and worldly complexities

into visual harmony. In celebration of Jaye's new

studio, enjoy 10% off large paintings and 30% off

small paintings.

Jaye Alison —

310-970-4517

Studio visits by appointment only:

Pond Shed (behind the Buggy Whip Factory),

208 Norfolk Road, Southfield, Massachusetts

jayealison.com

jaye.alison.art@gmail.com

STEPHAN MARC KLEIN

NORTH FOLK SKETCHBOOK

I have been making art on and off since my undergraduate

education as an architect in the late

1950s. I rarely leave the house withut a sketchbook

and pen or pencil.

In the summer of 1999, my wife and I rented a

house in the village of Mattituck on the North Fork

of the East End of Long Island, in Suffolk County,

New York.

Unlike the South Fork, whose farms and forests

over the years have been mostly subdivided and

turned into vacation home communities, the North

Fork has remaine agricultural, and we were surprised

and delighted by how farm-like the landscapes

were. For me, they presented endless

invitations to draw.

On many mornings during our summer in Mattituck,

I would take my bike with my sketchbook

strapped down to the luggage rack and go off exploring—and

drawing. I am always experimenting

with different sketchbooks but had not used a square

format before. I was intrigued by the geometry of

the square and how it could both influence, and be

affected by, the placement of shapes within it.

Stephan Marc Klein —

stephanmarcklein.com | smk8378@gmail.com

Member 510 Warren Street Gallery, Hudson, NY

ARTFULMIND@YAHOO.COM


TENDING THE GARDEN

YANA VAN DYKE

Yana van Dyke is a Conservator at The Metropolitan

Museum of Art since 1999, specializing in

the conservation of works of art on paper and

parchment. Connoisseurship, scientific study, art

historical research, and practical matters intertwined

in caring for and preserving works of art

fuel van Dyke’s investigations into artists materials

and techniques. Curiosity, experimentation, and a

passionate pursuit of knowledge guide her own

creative process.

Yana Van Dyke —

vandykeyana@gmail.com

CENTER COURT

DRYPOINT ENGRAVING, 8” X 9” 2025

MARK MILLSTEIN

Mark’s work is shaped by the convergence and

conflict between natural forms and human cultural

and architectural constructs. His images are meant

to invite extended looking, revealing new details

under close observation.

A central theme in his practice is the parallel between

Brutalist architecture and drypoint engraving—both

defined by precise forms animated by

surfaces marked with irregular, tactile traces. In a

similar way, Mark’s process begins with a structural

framework, a foundation upon which imagery and

patterns accumulate as a theme emerges. By alternately

creating and disrupting perspective, he constructs

shifting planes of imaginary space, seeking

to capture pockets of both calm and chaos within

planned environments and forgotten landscapes.

Mark Millstein—

mmillstein@umassd.edu / www.markmillstein.com

WORK BENCH AND WORKING IT.

JOANE CORNELL

FINE JEWELRY

At my bench now, with night closing in fast. Working

on a premier piece/necklace, that will certainly

be, possibly, for only a select few, that will be able

to carry it off without a blink. The majority of my

designs are large, and not all customers are comfortable

with the sizes. Quite a few will admire,

even ohhhh and awww, but can be hesitant to believe

they can actually wear my designs on a casual,

day to day basis. BUT!, we are warriors at this point

in our lives, and DESERVE jewelry that will balance

our formidable personalities. So give yourselves

the gift of feeling great in your own skin, and

break out of the old mold, and live a little!! Express

yourself with the things that will bring you joy.

Maybe with a bold piece of custom made, one of a

kind jewelry item! Oct-Dec will reveal new inventory

in my boutique. Take a trip to Chatham NY. It’s

a lovely town, on the precipice of new and wonderful

things coming, 2025-2026 and beyond.

Joane Cornell Fine Jewelry —

917-971-4662

9 Main St., Chatham, NY

joanecornellfinejewelry@gmail.com

Instagram

https://issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs/the_artful_mind_june_2025

Commissions welcome!


RICHARD TALBERT

Richard Talbert c, CUBA, 2016

Watercolor paper, 22” x 30”

Richard Talbert c, SAW GRASS, 2016

Mixed Media on Canvas Board, 11” x 14”

Richard Talbert c, CAPE COD, 2018

Watercolor on Watercolor paper, 30” x 22”

richtalbert1@gmail.com | Richardtalbertdesign.com


MARY ANN YARMOSKY

My work is a collection of a variety of people, a

collection of experiences and expressions. It’s

about understanding their history, understanding

the power of their history, the power of their power,

the power of their vulnerability, the power of transformation,

and the power of purpose.

My works are abstract in nature, but aren’t we all

pieces put together by our life experiences? Who

is to say what is real when we look at a person.

Don’t we always project onto them some characteristic

we think we see, some fleeting feeling that

crosses their face, or some mannerism that indicates

their comfort or discomfort?

I work mainly with acrylic on canvas, paper or

wood and often add fabric, thread or other artifacts

that seem to belong. My process unfolds unintentionally

since my characters dictate what needs to

be said. I invite you to weave your own story into

my works. You can decide what is held in an expression,

a certain posture or the clothes they wear.

I hope you enjoy the adventure as much as I do.

Mary Ann Yarmosky —

instagram: @maryannyarmoskyart

DIAMONDS IN PINES, PHOTOGRAPH

SPARKLE, PHOTOGRAPH

JANET PUMPHREY

PHOTOGRAPHY

Janet Pumphrey’s traditional, representational

photographs span the genres of portraits and street

photography, vintage and sports cars, travel, landscapes,

and wildlife. While photography is a representational

medium, Pumphrey also moves

beyond the inherent realism in traditional photography

to see the world in a new and more creative

way. Her work is painterly, sometimes abstract,

sometimes impressionistic. Each piece is a

unique, creative interpretation of a realistic image.

Currently, Pumphrey shows her work at the 510

Warren Street Gallery in Hudson, New York.

From June, 2020 until October, 2024, Pumphrey

showed her work at the Janet Pumphrey Gallery

in Lenox, Massachusetts. Previously, she showed

her photographs in many galleries in the Berkshires

and in the Hudson Valley.

Janet Pumphrey —

An interview with Janet Pumphrey is in the July

2020 Artful Mind:

https://issuu.com/theartfulmindartzine/docs/the_artful_mind_july_2020_issue_enjoy

and an interview and tour of her gallery is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYHhXtSWl-g

Facebook - Janet Pumphrey

BERKSHIRE DIGITAL

Since opening in 2005, Berkshire Digital has done

fine art printing and digital scanning for artists and

photographers. Archival Inkjet/Giclée prints can be

made in many different sizes from 5”x7” to 42”x

80” on a variety of archival paper choices. Berkshire

Digital was featured in Photo District News (PDN)

magazine in an article about fine art printing. See

the entire article on the BerkshireDigital.com website.

Berkshire Digital does accurate digital scans of

paintings, illustrations and old photographs that can

be used for archival prints, books, magazines, brochures,

cards and websites.

Berkshire Digital also designs and produces books

printed by Blurb.com

“Fred Collins couldn’t have been more professional

or more enjoyable to work with. He did a

beautiful job in photographing paintings carefully,

efficiently, and so accurately. It’s such a great feeling

to know I have these beautiful, useful files on

hand anytime I need them. I wish I’d called Fred

years ago.” ---- Ann Getsinger

We offer restoration and repair of damaged or faded

photographs. A complete overview of services offered,

along with pricing, can be seen on the web at

BerkshireDigital.com

The owner, Fred Collins, has been a commercial

and fine art photographer for over 30 years having

had studios in Boston, Stamford and the Berkshires.

He offers over 25 years of experience with Photoshop,

enabling retouching, restoration and enhancement

to prints and digital files. The studio is located

in Mt Washington but drop-off and pick-up is available

through Frames On Wheels, 84 Railroad Street

in Great Barrington, MA (413)528-0997 and Gilded

Moon Framing, 17 John Street in Millerton, NY

(518) 789-3428.

Berkshire Digital -

413-644-9663

Or go online to www.BerkshireDigital.com

ARTFULMIND@YAHOO.COM

BE SEEN

ADVERTISING WORKS!


Valeria and the Ants

CHAPTER 5

THE RETURN OF THE SPIDER

Soon after Bruno the Elephant bellowed at Valeria,

and told her he would not be her friend if she persisted

in her acquaintance with the Ant Syracuse,

Valeria went directly to the ant, and told him all

about her situation. She explained how her relationship

with Bruno was very important to her and she

simply could not imagine how talking to an insect

could make him so angry.

Syracuse listened to the explanation of her predicament,

and, as I have mentioned before the ant did

not seem to be very intelligent, and Valeria had noticed

that his vocabulary was extremely limited,

nevertheless at the word, “elephant,” his entire

manor changed completely, and he seemed to be

suddenly ‘all ears,’ to hear what Valeria had to say.

And so the Ant Syracuse explained the situation of

ants and elephants to Valeria, and subsequently she

explained it to me, sitting at the picnic table, and eating

our fried dough. This is what she had to say.

“Animosity exists between the ants and the elephants,

and has existed for a long time, many years

in fact. Animosity is really not the correct word, hatred

is really more accurate. The ants hate the elephants

intensely. They hate human beings also, but

not as much.

The ants divide humans into three distinct groups,

there are those who will avoid stepping on an ant on

the sidewalk. Then there are those people who will

not deliberately step on an ant, but will not bother

to avoid them either. Then there are those people

who will go out of their way to kill the ants. They

kill them for no reason whatsoever, and even take

pleasure in it.”

“Ants know what people take pleasure in?” I said,

interrupting her, but she just shook her head and

went on.

“The ants even devote thought to the subject of

the patterns on the soles of our shoes, since the tread

of a shoe has so often been the difference between

an ant's life and death.

Sometimes, when an ant is stepped on, they come

out from the experience entirely unscathed, having

found themselves to be entirely within a cavity of

the shoe tread. There are others for whom death is

instantaneous. What instantaneous death of ants is

like, what sort of experience it might entail, they

have no idea, although they certainly speculate

about it.

Lastly are those ants who find themselves caught

in the pattern of the sole in such a way, that part of

a limb is cut off.”

At this point in Valeria’s explanation, she stopped

just for a moment, and for dramatic effect said,

“That is the very thing that happened to Syracuse,

he was stepped on by a hiking boot, and lost one half

of one of his legs.”

When Valeria said this, I could see that she was

very affected by the crippling of Syracuse, and even

looked at me with reproach in her eyes, as if I was

the sort of person who would step on an ant on purpose,

as if I was, in her mind, somehow the actual

person who had done the deed myself.

Of course, I was simply listening to what she had

to say, and I didn’t have an attitude about it one way

or another, but my apparent lack of sympathy for her

friend Syracuse was not something she could accept.

At first I really did not understand the strange predicament

I found myself in, since all along I had

been listening to her, but in the back of my mind was

the assumption that the ants were imaginary, and just

a product of the child’s inventive mind. My reactions

to what she was saying might even be compared

to one's reaction to the death of some fictional

character you might be reading about in a book.

Your tears over some fictional character cannot be

compared to the death of an actual friend, even if

the friend is a cat. But the dissonance of emotional

reaction to a tragedy between two people is a marker

pointing to the end of a relationship, and I suddenly

felt myself to be on the outs with little Valeria, a situation

I very much did not want to have happen.

“Would you pull all the legs from Syracuse, would

you watch him try to crawl away with his single

stump of a leg…like you did with the spider that

time.”

Now I ask you, how was I supposed to react to

that comment, and her accusation, which was

simply a logical extension of something factual I implied

about myself as a child. She was, at that time,

still entirely a stranger to me, having only talked to

her once before, and so she could not have any idea

how the fact that I tortured and murdered a spider

when I was just her very age, had troubled and tormented

me ever since. She did not know that I had

made a vow to myself to never harm an insect ever

again, and to even endure without complaint the bite

of the mosquitoes, suffering the itch as a reminder

of how evil I had been as a child.

But her remarks about Syracuse painted me as

one of those children who torture cats in the back

yard for the pleasure of it. I felt it was really necessary

to defend myself against her accusation,

whether she was serious or not. I pointed out to her

that her description of the attitude of the ants toward

people was lacking one thing. It did not include any

mention of those people, suffering from an excess

of moral sensitivity, and with outlandish ideas of the

judgmental nature of the universe. I asked her, “Did

Mr. Syracuse realize that there were those poor souls

who, late for work, would spend their time rescuing

an ant from the slippery walls of a toilet bowl, and

might even shed tears if they failed, or witnessed

some spider, who happened to be floating in the

water when the stopper in the sink was opened. The

spider rushes frantically about, and then disappears

forever into the black watery depths.

And indeed, there are those who, once the spider

disappeared down the drain, might continue to torture

themselves by picturing in their mind what the

spider might be experiencing as they drown in the

sink trap. What might it be like to be carried away

by the rush of water? Was everything black? Was

there any possibility the spider might be able to

catch at some bundle of hair on his way down, and

then hold on for dear life, waiting out the flood.”

Saying all this I became slightly intoxicated with my

own eloquence, and began to fear I would start

pounding on the picnic table. I felt like I was in

court, defending myself from an accusation of murder,

and Valeria was the judge and jury. So I continued.

“Consider some person who saw the spider

disappear down the drain, they’re late for work, and

not even completely dressed, standing there at the

sink for several minutes hoping against hope that the

spider might, by some miracle, reappear at the opening

of the sink drain. And then the spider appears,

not the entire spider all at once, but first just a single

leg, and the single leg is feeling around this way and

that, trying to find a foot hold so as to pull the rest

of his body out of the fearsome tunnel he was in. He

is soaked to the skin, trembling in fear. Think of how

that witness to the resurrection and salvation of the

spider, some nameless spider might feel. The spider

can't manage to crawl because his feet are wet and

the sink is slippery, so that man, understanding the

spider's predicament, rushes to his desk to get a

piece of paper to use as a ramp to coax the spider to

safety. The paper does not work because the spider

is afraid of it and will not approach it, so the man

finds a piece of cardboard instead, and he fetches a

pencil as well, thinking to put the cardboard to the

front of the spider, and then with the pencil, nudge

and encourage the little thing to just have a little

faith and trust, and accommodate his savior and get

up on to the cardboard, and then be transported

through the air and out the back door of the house

and be placed in some snug safe spot in the grass.

Then he can resume his life, catching flies or whatever

else he was intending to do.

But the spider is refusing to be helped, he wants

to save himself all on his own, without any help

from some person who wants to play the part of an

omnipotent being, who has come, as if an answer to

his prayers.

But the spider is not willing, and why should he

accept help from the half dressed man with the pencil

and the cardboard, seeing as he was the very

same person who tried to drown him in the first

place just moments ago. No, the spider thinks that

the pencil and the paper is just another attempt to

separate him from his precious existence, and he

sets every nerve of his little being, to escape from

the pencil point and the paper, dodging first left and

then right, drawing himself in, and leaping from one

spot to another in desperation, to avoid being saved,

at all costs.”

Valeria, listening intently to my story, (a true story

I might add, although I presented it as a fiction.) She

had stopped eating her fried dough, and, as the story

of the spider progressed I could see that I had her

complete attention.

I could see from the expression on her face that I

had won an argument with her, and although she

said nothing, I could see that she was willing, at perhaps

some later date, in granting me a pardon.

“So then,” I said, “tell me why do the ants hate the

elephants.”

She leaned forward and held up her hands about

twelve inches apart, with her elbows on the picnic

table and said, “Picture in your mind the elephant's

foot. Now picture in your mind an ant hill,” and saying

this, she made a circle with her thumb and her

first finger.

Having explained everything with a gesture, she

began to elaborate on the feud of the ants and the

elephants.

RICHARD BRITELL, SEPTEMBER 2025

CHAPTERS 1 - 4 CAN BE FOUND AT

RICHARDBRITELL.COM


44 • OCTOBER THE ARTFUL MIND

BRUCE PANOCK

Abstract Landscape

Panockphotography.com

bruce@panockphotography.com

917-287-8589 | Instagram @brucepanock

My Heart is a Haunted House

Photo: Korenman.com

Designer and Model: Ruth Langner

Model: Nick Langner

Concept: Deborah H Carter

The Artful Mind Magazine October 2025

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