Stop and Look Around by Jeremy Phillips

“…stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” Leo Tolstoy.

In the midst of summer there is plenty to do. Work is tiresome as you stare out the window wishing you were outside, visiting neighbors and complementing them on the yard work, attending parties, swimming, driving from place to place. Phew… where did the season go? Even our fun activities can seem like work in times like these. So, remember, “…stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” There are seasons within seasons that can get overlooked with a blink.

Papermill Children's Theatre pleases crowds weekly at Rey Center!

The Papermill Children’s Theatre has been performing their original fairy and folk tales at the Rey Center this summer each Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. The five professional, adult actors perform a different play each week, including original songs, costumes and sets. The shows are accompanied by a live musician and are designed for ages 3 and up.

This summer’s line-up has included Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Fisherman and His Wife, Pinocchio, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Still to come this summer are The Red Shoes, Aesop’s Fables, and Sleeping Beauty! Don’t miss out on the fun - come join us for a morning of Papermill Children’s Theatre!

Have you checked the weather on Tecumseh lately?

Have you had a chance to check out the weather station on Mount Tecumseh yet?  Current weather conditions are recorded every fifteen minutes and then displayed on the Rey Center website. If you took a peek this past winter, you may have noticed that some of the equipment was temporarily down.  Conditions can be harsh at 3,800 feet!  The weather station sustained damage to both its anemometer, which records wind speed (ironically, the anemometer blew off!), and its solar radiation shield, which protects the temperature and relative humidity probe from direct sunlight.

Watercolor Workshop by Maryellen Sakura

Six seasoned and aspiring artists gathered for three days to practice and learn watercolor techniques from local artist Maryellen Sakura. The course celebrated the outdoors in summer at Waterville Valley and the spontaneity of watercolor painting. Maryellen began with demonstrations and guided exercises in washes, glazing, wet on wet, drybrush, color theory and mixing. Then, the artists applied these skills to recording and interpreting their surroundings. Maryellen included references to historical and contemporary watercolor artists each day. Maryellen Sakura is a painter and printmaker who has taught for over 36 years. You can view her work at maryellensakura.com.

Two Old Friends perform at Rey Center

Thanks to the generous support of the NH Humanities Council, Two Old Friends, Emery Hutchins and Mac McHale, performed an evening of music at the Rey Center to an enthusiastic crowd!

Over the centuries, immigrants from the British Isles have come to the Americas, bringing with them their musical styles, tastes, and instruments. Using the concertina, bodhran, mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar and banjo, Emery and Mac played traditional Irish songs and tunes. They performed American country music the way it was conceived in the early 20th century and demonstrated how these tunes are often derived from the songs of the Irish, but have been influenced by other cultural and ethnic groups (particularly African American) to create an original American sound.

Art Exhibit Opening Reception - In the Mix: Blended Styles of Art

A wonderful crowd gathered to celebrate the opening of the the Rey Center’s current art exhibit, “In the Mix: Blended Styles of Art,” featuring a variety of sizes and styles of paintings by still-life artist, Patricia Giebutowski, abstract artist, Robert Garlitz and landscape artist, Cynthia van Frank.

The exhibit is on display through August 28, 2010. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. All works are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds from each sale benefit the Rey Center.

Youth EcoArt Camp with Cynthia Robinson

For the third summer, local EcoArtist, Cynthia Robinson, led a creative and talented group of children in a week-long workshop exploring nature and art. The group started each morning with a warm-up exercise to get their creativity flowing. One morning the children created group animal drawings, where each child drew an animal body part as instructed, and then rotated one seat to the right to draw another body part on a drawing started by another child. The resulting artwork was titled “Unidentified Flying Animals” and is on display at the Rey Center - you should come check it out!