Tag Archives: Cape Ann Museum

CHECK OUT THE BEAUTIFUL WORK OF MARY RHINELANDER AT HER NEW ONLINE SHOPPING WEBSITE!

Many locals are familiar with Mary Rhinelander and her beautiful artistry. For my out of town friends, as well as local readers who may not yet be aware, did you know Mary has an amazing website where, for super, super reasonable prices, you can purchase one of her prints?

Not only prints, but her wonderfully fun and whimsical greeting cards.

Visit Mary’s Website Here: Mermade Press

Mary also teaches block printing workshops at the Cape Ann Museum. It’s on my bucket list to take her class. Now more than ever, after the pandemic  has run its course, of course.

STUDIO VISITS BY APPT

34 Mt. Pleasant Ave

Gloucester, MA 01930

​OPERATING HOURS
Mon – Fri: 10am – 9pm
​​Saturday: 10am – 9pm
​Sunday: 10am – 9pm

From Mary’s About page on her newly revamped website –

 

 WHO IS MARY?  

Hmmm….
In the nursery rhyme, she has a reputation for being quite contrary. No doubt some would say in real life too.

Ever desperate for affirmation, this Mary won an art prize in first grade and that was the beginning of “making stuff.” Creating kept me semi-sane in high school and college.  A sculptor student suggested I design wallpaper and I was grievously insulted.  No doubt it would have been more lucrative! But he had a point. I love the strictures of graphic design and the precision of typography.  My first jobs were in the art departments of publishing companies. However the freedom and mess of ink and paint tempted me back to graduate school, where I earned an MFA in printmaking. Since then I have been a practicing artist and educator.

My mixed media work has graced the walls of television shows and movies (thank you set designers), and it is in many collections, both public and private (thank you art reps).  I have shown in Canada and Europe and the USA. One of the best things about printmaking and works on paper is probably also the worst: they tend to be very affordable!  When a young person buys their first piece of original art from me, I am proud.

I hope you enjoy looking around. Please feel free to reach out with any questions (see contact page).

Gloucester Girl at the Wheel

The Cape Ann Museum has a wonderful children’s activity room, perfect for a winter day when its too cold to go to the park. Come on by and enjoy!

Caffe Sicilia is super family friendly, too, with friendly faces, yummy treats, and spacious seating. Charlotte had her first bites of cannoli, and of course, she loved it! 

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EXCITING NEWS FOR THE CAPE ANN MUSEUM, CAPE ANN COMMUNITY AT LARGE, AND ESPECIALLY FOR VIRGINIA LEE BURTON FANS!

As part of the programming for the Cape Ann Museum’s current exhibit “The Little House: Her Story,” a special program was presented by curators Martha Oaks, Michiyo Okabe, and Atsuko Tanaka to discuss the cultural collaboration behind the exhibit. Towards the end of the fascinating and oftentimes, humorous and deeply moving presentation, one member of the captivated audience asked, “what will happen to the Little House model.” Everyone was delighted to learn that the curators are gifting the Little House to the Cape Ann Museum!

Unfortunately, I could only stay for the first hour of the program, but I am sure Catherine Ryan, who would have loved to have attended the presentation (but is still under the weather with the terrible cold that is going around), will provide us with more details.

FANTASTIC PRESENTATION BY CRANE BEACH ECOLOGIST JEFF DENONCOUR AT THE CAPE ANN MUSEUM

Jeff Denoncour, the Trustees of Reservations Eastern Region Ecologist, gave an outstanding and informative presentation to a packed audience Saturday afternoon. Subjects included the formation and history of Crane Beach, marsh, and dunes; the seven uniquely different ecological zones; the many species of flora and fauna that comprise the rich biodiversity at Castle Island; and the Trustees protective measures managing rare and endangered species.

Since 2010, Jeff has managed the Trustees Shorebird Protection Program at Crane Beach. Because of the very excellent shorebird management at Crane Beach, 2018 was a banner year, with 42 pairs of nesting Piping Plovers and approximately one hundred PiPl chicks fledged. Our community can learn a great deal from the success at Crane Beach in how to better manage shorebirds migrating and nesting at Cape Ann beaches.

We learned from Jeff that Crane Beach is part of a string of barrier beaches formed from sediment deposited by the outflow of the Merricmack River. Salisbury Beach is at the northern end, then Plum Island, then Crane, with Coffins and Wingaersheek at the southern end. The sand that was deposited at Salisbury Beach is the coarsest; the sand at Wingaersheek the lightest and finest as it would have more easily flowed furthest away from the mouth of the river.

Excerpt from a previous post OUTSTANDING COASTAL WATERBIRD CONSERVATION COOPERATORS MEETING! talking about Jeff and the success of the Crane Beach Trustees Piping Plover

“Readers will be interested to know that our region’s Crane Beach continues to have one of their best year’s ever. Trustees of Reservations Jeff Denoncour shared information on the latest census data from 2018 and Crane Beach has a whopping 76 fledglings, with 25 more chicks still yet to fledge. Because of the huge success at Crane Beach, the northeast region, of which we are a part, has fledged a total 136 of chicks in 2018, compared to 108 in 2017, and as I said, with more fledglings still to come! The northeast region encompasses Salisbury Beach to the Boston Harbor Islands.

Jeff noted that this year they had less predation by Great Horned Owls. Because of owl predation, several years ago the Trustees gave up on the wire exclosures and now use electric fencing extensively. The Great Horned Owls learned that the Piping Plover adults were going in and out of the exclosures and began perching on the edge of the wire, picking off the adults as they were entering and exiting the exclosure.

Crane has an excellent crew of Trustees staff monitoring the Least Terns and Piping Plovers, as well as excellent enforcement by highly trained police officers. No dogs are allowed on Crane Beach during nesting season and dogs are prevented from entering at the guarded gate. As we saw from one of the graphics presented about nesting Double-crested Cormorants, when a dog runs through a nesting area, the adults leave the nest, temporarily leaving the eggs and chicks vulnerable to predation by crows, gulls, raptors, and owls.”

Jeff Denoncour and Courtney Richardson, Director of Education and Public Programs at the Cape Ann Museum

TREMENDOUS TURNOUT FOR CATHERINE RYAN’S CAPE ANN MUSEUM OUTSTANDING “ONCE UPON A CONTEST” OPENING EXHIBIT CELEBRATION!

The opening celebration for the beautiful new exhibit at the Cape Ann Museum, “Once Upon a Contest: Selections from Cape Ann Reads,” was fabulously well-received and well-attended. Artists, writers, Mayor Sefatia, Cape Ann Museum director Rhonda Falloon and staff, Cape Ann librarians, friends, families, and well-wishers were all there to join the celebration.

Congratulations to special exhibition curator Catherine Ryan, the Cape Ann Museum, and Cape Ann Reads Initiative for an outstanding show!

The exhibit highlights local writers and artists of children’s picture books from the Cape Ann Reads initiative. Cape Ann Reads, hosted by the area’s four public libraries (Sawyer Free, Rockport, Manchester, and Essex), was created to encourage literacy in young people through community and creative collaborations.

“ONCE UPON A CONTEST” RUNS FROM DECEMBER 20TH THROUGH FEBRUARY 24TH

Author/illustrators included in the exhibition:
Leslie Galacar, Martha Shaw Geraghty, Marion Hall, Steven Kennedy, Charles King, George King, Michael LaPenna, James McKenna, Barbara McLaughlin, Alexia Parker, Victoria Petway, Jim Plunkett, Diane Polley, Mary Rhinelander, James Seavey, Gail Seavey, Kim Smith, Christina Ean Spangler, Bonnie L. Sylvester, Juni VanDyke, Maura Wadlinger, Betty Allenbrook Wiberg, Kirsten Allenbrook Wiberg, Jean Woodbury and Claire Wyzenbeek

Exhibit Curated and directed by Catherine Ryan, with support from the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation.

Deborah Kelsey, director of Gloucester’s Sawyer Free Library

Cindy Grove, director of the Rockport Public Library

Sara Collins, director of Manchester’s Public Library

Deborah French, director of Essex’s TOHP Burnham Public Library

THE CAPE ANN MUSEUM IS FREE TO CAPE ANN RESIDENTS DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH OF JANUARY!

CATHERINE RYAN’S BEAUTIFULLY CURATED EXHIBIT AT THE CAPE ANN MUSEUM – ONCE UPON A CONTEST

My friend Catherine Ryan has curated and designed a wonderfully fun and beautiful exhibit, “Once Upon a Contest: Selections from Cape Ann Reads,” currently on view at the Cape Ann Museum.  The exhibit highlights local writers and artists of children’s picture books from the Cape Ann Reads initiative. Cape Ann Reads, hosted by the area’s four public libraries (Sawyer Free, Rockport, Manchester, and Essex), was created to encourage literacy in young people through community and creative collaborations.

The exhibit is thoughtfully designed for little folks. The paintings are hung at just the right height for pint-sized readers and soon-to-be readers. Mock-ups of the books are placed on shelves within easy reach and petite chairs for little ones make for a cozy storytime feeling.

I took Charlotte to the Museum on Friday and she had a fantastic experience. We’re planning to return again this Friday!

Come join us at the opening celebration from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, this Saturday, January 5th, at the Cape Ann Museum, 2nd floor.

“Once Upon A Contest” runs from December 20th through February 24th.

Thank you to Charlotte and her Mom and Dad for the photos! The watercolor illustration Charlotte is sitting in front of is from my book, “Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly,” which was the original inspiration for the documentary film of the same name. The illustration shows a pair of Monarchs ascending into a maple tree, as they are mating. 

The Cape Ann Museum is free to Cape Ann residents during the entire month of January!

Author/illustrators included in the exhibition:
Leslie Galacar, Martha Shaw Geraghty, Marion Hall, Steven Kennedy, Charles King, George King, Michael LaPenna, James McKenna, Barbara McLaughlin, Alexia Parker, Victoria Petway, Jim Plunkett, Diane Polley, Mary Rhinelander, James Seavey, Gail Seavey, Kim Smith, Christina Ean Spangler, Bonnie L. Sylvester, Juni VanDyke, Maura Wadlinger, Betty Allenbrook Wiberg, Kirsten Allenbrook Wiberg, Jean Woodbury and Claire Wyzenbeek

Exhibit Curated and Directed by Catherine Ryan, with support from the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation.

Deborah Kelsey, director of Gloucester’s Sawyer Free Library

Cindy Grove, director of the Rockport Public Library

Sara Collins, director of Manchester’s Public Library

Deborah French, director of Essex’s TOHP Burnham Public Library

Monarch Butterfly Ovipositing Egg on Marsh Milkweed: NINETEEN SIBLINGS READYING TO EMERGE

All nineteen eggs hatched and became caterpillars. They have pupated and are nearing the end of metamorphosis. You can see the developing butterflies within the chrysalis case. I wonder if they will all eclose (emerge) on the same day??

Several readers have written to ask how do I manage to have so many Monarch Butterfly caterpillars and chrysalises. The answer is very simple–because we have planted a wonderful little milkweed patch! We grow both Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) side-by-side. Our milkweed patch is planted near our kitchen. When washing the dishes, I can look out the window and observe all the pollinators and fabulous activity that takes place at the milkweed patch.

Several weeks ago, a Mama Monarch arrived and I watched as she gently floated from leaf to leaf, and bud to bud, ovipositing one golden egg at a time. She went back and forth between the Common and Marsh, depositing eggs on both the tender upper foliage as well as the more sturdy lower leaves. I waited for her to leave, but not too long (because the eggs are quickly eaten by spiders) and collected the sprigs with the eggs. I thought I had scooped up about eight eggs and you can imagine our surprise when 19 caterpillars hatched, all within the same day! Female Monarchs like to deposit eggs around the tiny buds of Marsh Milkweed and many of the eggs were hidden within the buds.

Here’s a video of a Mama depositing eggs on Marsh Milkweed buds. Charlotte was with me that day and we were dancing to the song “There She Goes” as the butterfly was depositing her eggs and it was too perfect not to include in the video clip.

Our garden is postage stamp size, but I have managed to fill it with a wide variety of songbird, butterfly, bee, and hummingbird attractants. The great majority of plants are North American native wildflowers and shrubs, and we also include a few nectar-rich, non-native, but non-invasive, flowering plants. Plant, and they will come 🙂

THANK YOU TO COURTNEY RICHARDSON AND THE CAPE ANN MUSEUM KIDS!

We had a super fun morning at the Cape Ann Museum Kids program. Courtney Richardson and her assistants Sarah and Nick set up a long table in the auditorium where the caterpillars, art supplies, plants, and pods were arranged. The kids were wonderfully curious, as were the adults. Many thanks to Jan Crandall for supplying the caterpillars. Thank you to Courtney and to the Museum for the opportunity to share about Cape Ann Monarchs!

Monarch Madness!

Four Monarchs eclosing and nineteen caterpillars pupating, all in a day! And we have a new batch of caterpillars, just in time for my program tomorrow morning at the Cape Ann Museum. I hope to see you there!

Many thanks to my friend Jan Crandall for the caterpillars. She has a gorgeous butterfly garden and this morning there were dozens and dozens of caterpillars on her Common Milkweed plants.

Velvet wings drying in the morning sun.

Monarch Conference

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CATERPILLAR CONDO

Caterpillar Condo

Several readers have written to ask how do I manage to have so many Monarch Butterfly caterpillars and chrysalises. The answer is very simple–because we have planted a wonderful little milkweed patch!

We grow both Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) side-by-side. Our milkweed patch is planted near our kitchen. When washing the dishes, I can look out the window and watch all the pollinators and fabulous activity that takes place at the milkweed patch.

Several weeks ago, a Mama Monarch arrived and I watched as she gently floated from leaf to leaf, and bud to bud, ovipositing one golden egg at a time. She went back and forth between the Common and Marsh, depositing eggs on both the tender upper foliage as well as the more sturdy lower leaves. I waited for her to leave, but not too long (because the eggs are quickly eaten by spiders) and collected the sprigs with the eggs. I thought I had scooped up about eight eggs and you can imagine our surprise when 19 caterpillars hatched, all within the same day! Female Monarchs like to deposit eggs around the tiny buds of Marsh Milkweed and many of the eggs were hidden within the buds.

Here’s a video of a Mama depositing eggs on Marsh Milkweed buds. Charlotte was with me that day and we were dancing to the song “There She Goes” as the butterfly was depositing her eggs and it was too perfect not to leave in the video.

Our garden is postage stamp size, but I have managed to fill it with a wide variety of songbird, butterfly, bee, and hummingbird attractants. The great majority of plants are North American native wildflowers and shrubs, and we also include a few nectar-rich, non-native, but non-invasive, flowering plants. Plant, and they will come 🙂

I am super excited to give my children’s program at the Cape Ann Museum on Saturday morning. The program is free and open to the public. I hope to see you there!

Save the Date: Kim Smith at the Cape Ann Museum!

Join documentary filmmaker and photographer Kim Smith, creator of Beauty on the Wing: The Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly on Second Saturday Cape Ann Museum Kids. Learn all about the life story of the Monarch and how you can help the butterfly on its migration. The program runs from 10am to noon. To register, contact courtneyrichardson@capeannmuseum.org

Families of school aged children visit free on Second Saturday mornings. Visit the galleries, join a workshop, and more!

Monarch Butterfly Emerging

BEAUTIFUL SNOWY DAY IN GLOUCESTER TOWN

How the day began

More about Margaret Fitzhugh Browne

From wiki: … “From early 1944 through May 1945, Browne served the USO as a Portrait Sketcher, volunteering three times a week, as her diaries now at the Boston Public Library indicate . Photographs of over 120 of these charcoal portraits of servicemen and women were made and presented to her and are archived in the Boston Public Library. Many of the photographs carry the names of the servicemen and women and a few wrote a heartfelt note to her on the back. Similar wartime efforts have been documented and help understand the support that she and others gave to the war.”

Margaret Fitzhugh Browne Modern PriscillaCover illustration by Browne for The Modern Priscilla: A Magazine Exclusively for Women, September 1909.

As Raymond Agler, Fine Arts Dealer, writes on his web page:

“Browne’s love of the staged scene found perfect expression in her annual “Wax Works”, the tableau vivants that she produced every summer for 25 years at the Annisquam Sea Fair (which continues to the present, and was the subject of an article in the “New Yorker”). She had an uncanny talent for identifying facial similarities of the famous or infamous in the looks and manners of her neighbors–who were then recruited to pose as wax figures, the subjects ranging from Marat (with a gob of ketchup on his chest) in his bathtub, to Little Miss Muffet.”

Margaret Fitzhugh Browne: Sixty Years of Portrait Painting

Now through October 9th at the Cape Ann Museum

Margaret Fitzhugh-BrowneMargaret Fitzhugh Browne (1884-1972) Emily “Bonnie” Browne, the Artist’s Sister, c. 1920s.
Oil on canvas. Collection of the Cape Ann Museum.

Margaret Fitzhugh Browne (1884-1972) was an important member of both the Boston and the Cape Ann communities. Locally, she maintained a studio in Annisquam and was an active member of the North Shore Arts Association and the Gloucester Society of Artists.

The walls of the second floor of the Annisquam Village Hall seemed naked without Margaret Browne’s strikingly beautiful portraits. In addition to paintings borrowed from the Hall, on exhibit at the Cape Ann Museum are Browne’s paintings in the museum’s collections, and paintings borrowed from private collections. A special Margaret Browne walking tour of Annisquam is scheduled for this coming Saturday, July 16th.

Saturday, July 16, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Margaret Fitzhugh Browne’s Annisquam Walking Tour

Take an historical stroll through the artist’s Annisquam neighborhood. Offered in conjunction with the special exhibition, Margaret Fitzhugh Browne: Sixty Years of Portrait Painting. $20 members, $30 nonmembers. Cape Ann Museum Exhibits and Programs