Brandon art community thrives

Author: Kelly Janis

For watercolorist John Hoare - who, along with dozens of other artists, showcased his art in Brandon, Vt. this weekend - the old stone farmhouse in which he lived for years on the tiny Greek island of Paros was, by the artist's own account, a natural incubator of artistic talent.

"There's no electricity, no running water, no television," Hoare said. "What the hell else are you supposed to do?"

When developers began to encroach upon the land, however, Hoare discovered that his quaint lifestyle could not be sustained.

"They trashed our island," he said. "They built bars and put up fillers. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

It was then that Hoare and his wife Linda Hickox-Hoare - also an artist, with a flair for pet portraits - left in search of a new setting in which to live and work.

"Enough was enough," he said.

It was a pursuit which, ultimately, landed them in Vermont.

"These are some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet," Hoare said. "They are just pristine and fabulous. If you're a visual person, this is the place you want to be."

Since their arrival, the couple has thoroughly capitalized upon the scenes in their midst.

"My wife likes to paint the sunset sometimes, just when it's dipping behind the hills," Hoare said, gazing out the window of the historic Brandon Inn at the snow-covered town green. "Sometimes, I'll sit on the back porch - even in the winter - and just do little studies of the trees behind our house, with the light falling on them, and the beautiful blue-grey shadows across the snow."

Although he regards his most notable claim to fame to be "surviving 12 years as a substitute teacher in a public high school with a last name like Hoare," the artist has amassed his fair share of craft-related achievements.

While he characterizes some of them as peculiar - "a bank in Middlebury bought a pile of pieces for their computer room," Hoare said, "and the manager picked out some stuff I had done on the spot up on Brandon Gap of the beaver pond" - others are of a decidedly more sentimental nature.

On one occasion, a group of siblings approached Hoare to request that he paint a portrait of the since-bulldozed dairy farm on which they had grown up as a gift for their aging father.

"They brought me these old Polaroid photographs of the place as it used to be," Hoare said. "And I thought, oh my God, how am I going to do this?"

Hoare went to work reconstructing the farm, remaining faithful to the images presented to him while imbuing the work with his own personal touches. "I stuck a couple of cows into the trees," he said. "I had fun with it."

The result struck a powerful chord with the man for whom it was intended.

"They gave it to him at Christmas and he was absolutely delighted," Hoare said. "He said it was exactly what it looked like."

An array of Hoare's other works were exhibited this weekend when he joined likeminded painters, potters, jewelers, sculptors, photographers, rug hookers and folk, fabric and glass artists in throwing open the doors of their studios and galleries in conjunction with the Fourth Annual Art in the Snow Winter Weekend Celebration in Brandon, an approximately 4,000-person town which, according to event organizers, is often referred to as "the art and soul of Vermont," given the breadth of its artistic offerings.

"It's pretty major," said Joan Curtis, who, alongside specializing in papier-mâche, has worked extensively with acrylic paint and colored pencils. "It's a vital community."

Sudbury bead artist Chris Naylor agreed. "People move here specifically to do art, because they walked in and felt the energy," she said.

For Curtis, the event was an opportunity to showcase works in progress.

"The fun part of papier-mâché is that I can keep expanding," she said, prodding a wire-framed structure on a table in the foyer of her home. "This is totally spontaneous. I don't know quite what I'm doing yet. But I plan to."

Curtis leafed through a thick binder she described as a cross between a sketchbook and scrapbook.

"I collect pictures and little bits of writing that appeal to me," she said. "They're really like scribbles, so they mean things to me that they might not mean to other people. When I'm at all stuck for ideas - which is not too often, quite honestly - I'll go back through my books and spend a little time with them, and things start to pop up again. One thing evolves into another."

This evolution occurs not only from one piece to another, but between artists and those they introduce to their crafts. Cornwall multimedia artist Klara Calitri is well-attuned to this notion, having spent the weekend instructing visitors to the Brandon Artists' Guild in the art of ceramics.

When Calitri asked observers to decorate porcelain shapes she had produced, "they said 'oh I can't, I can't.' But they did a nice job," she said.

Calitri - who also paints and does monotypes - said the variety of mediums with which she works prevents her from becoming bored.

"It's hard to jump from one thing to another, but it keeps you interested, and there's a cross-relation between them," she said. "My ceramics is really influenced by my paintings."

Alongside the artists, Brandon's restaurants and merchants were equally vital contributors to the event. Carr's Florist, for instance, offered a "Van Gogh in the Snow" Sunflower Special, while Sully's Restaurant featured Monet's "Bridge over a Pool of Water Lilies" in the form of herb and garlic haddock.

Meanwhile, the town throbbed with live music and karaoke, including a Saturday night performance by The Doughboys - a local rock band whose members include Associate Professor of Mathematics and Faculty Co-Head of Ross Commons Steve Abbott, Associate Professor of American Studies and Faculty Co-Head of Wonnacott Commons Will Nash, Associate Professor of Computer Science Daniel Scharstein, Associate Professor of Psychology Carlos Velez and Associate Professor of Music Peter Hamlin - at the Ball and Chain Café.

"It's a nice thing to do in the middle of winter," Hoare said. "You meet all of these people, and they're all good fun. In all of the years we've done this, I've accepted checks from people from all over the country, and not a single one has bounced."

Art in the Snow will hold its third and final weekend celebration of the year on March 22 and 23. For more information and a list of participating artists, visit http://www.artinthesnow.com.