Litchfield State of Mind - The Litchfield Historical Society

Litchfield State of Mind
Artist Bios
Miki Duisterhof
www.mikiduisterhof.com
Originally from the Netherlands, raised in Africa and in Switzerland, Miki Duisterhof moved to New York in the
90s. Since then she has built an exquisite portfolio capturing some of the most beautiful places in the world.
Her interest and passion for people, places and things are apparent in her work. Although widely known for
her food photography, Miki’s striking body of work spans the gamut, encompassing a wide range of subjects
that include children, lifestyle, interiors, portraiture, and travel. Her vision portrays a sincerity, with a quality
of layers. Miki earned her BFA from Emerson College. Her photography is included in the books Buddy
Valastro--Cooking Italian with the Cake Boss, Chloe’s Kitchen, and The Earthbound Cook, among others.
Eric Forstmann
www.janeeckertfineart.com/eric-forstmann-1/
Education
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Tufts University
Studied with Barnett Rubenstein and Henry Schwartz
Observations
“…what fascinates us most about the works of Eric Forstmann is that
they offer us a look at a level of skill in the handling of paint that for the
most part has been missing from representational American painting
for a very long time. “ Excerpt from Essay “Trompe L’oeil and Beyond”
by Louis A. Zona, Director of the Butler Institute of American Art,
Youngstown, Ohio. “Eric Forstmann brings insouciance and rumpled
informality to the tradition of trompe l’oeil still-life painting. With
nods to the work of such 19th-century American masters of the genre
as William Michael Harnett & John Frederick Peto and to the austere
interiors of Edward Hopper, Forstmann paints everyday objects
that appear to be so real that you could reach out and touch them.
Forstmann’s self-deprecating humor adds to the likable Everyman
Eric Forstmann
persona that comes across in his work. His paintings are relaxed, unfussy performances that focus the viewer
on the sheer pleasure of seeing.” Excerpt from Art News Review on Eric Forstmann – September 2008 by
Steve Litt“I am neither quite able nor willing to leave behind the experience of these important and confident
paintings that bring American traditions squarely into the 21st century, that offer a sort of solace in the midst
of our cultural ambiguities and uncertainties.” Excerpt from Essay by Barbara O’Brien, Chief Curator, Kemper
Museum of Contemporary Art after a visit to Eric’s studio, 2010
Visko Hatfield
www.viskohatfield.com
Bantam Resident and Freelance Photographer Visko Hatfield, was born in Salem, Oregon, grew up in
Washington, DC, earned his BA at the University of South Carolina, moved to New York City and eventually
made Litchfield County his permanent home. His saturated, stylized, fluid, canvases, seamlessly blend art and
commerce all the while maintaining a vibrant atmospheric freshness and sensuality.
His portraits have captured the images of Artists and Actors, Billionaires and Boxers, Politicians and
Diplomats, the Military, Models, Friends, Everyday People and Complete Strangers.
His celebrity photography includes Matt Damon, Michael Douglas, Hillary Clinton, Bill O-Reilly, Valerie Jarret,
Queen Latifah, Jeff Koons, among many others. Visko has created indelible images for brands like American
Express, CHRISTIE’S, Gatorade, Hard Rock, HBO, Cinemax, and many more.
Locally, he is a board member of ASAP, The After School Arts Program and heads their Annual Celebration of
Young Photographer’s held in Litchfield each November.
Visko is married to his wife Sharron, they have two children who attend Litchfield Middle School.
Richard Heys
Richard’s work includes decorative and utilitarian wooden bowls, vases, lidded vessels and sculptural objects
made on the lathe and/or by carving. He started ‘turning wood’ as part of his woodworking hobby in about
1990, after he purchased a used lathe in order to make bun feet for a cupboard he was building. He soon
realized that the lathe could be used to create a vast range of three-dimensional objects directly from the log,
and he found this much more interesting than working from flat boards. He is mostly self-taught, but has
studied woodturning under the master turner Dave Ellsworth and has benefitted immensely by association
with other turners and through various activities of the American Association of Woodturners. His work aims
to reflect both the skills of the craft and an aesthetic response to the character of the wood as it reflects the
life of the tree. Most of the wood he uses comes locally from storm-felled or otherwise unwanted trees.
His ‘real’ career, most of which was spent in the pharmaceutical industry, was in chemistry research, after a
Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Stanford University and postdoctoral research at Yale. He has published a
comprehensive text in his field of specialization and authored numerous articles in scientific journals. After
retiring in 2005, he and his wife moved to Litchfield.
Robert Houser
www.RobertFentonHouser.com
Bob Houser is a commercial/fine art photographer based in Litchfield CT. He was born in New York City and
raised on Long Island, where he graduated from Chaminade High School. He then earned a degree in History
from Boston College. While pursuing a law degree, he decided to change direction and pursue photography
as his medium of expression. He works equally well with portraits, landscapes, and still-lifes. His underlying
goal is always to find the basic beauty of each situation. He currently lives on South Lake Street, with his wife,
Diane, and their son, Geoff.
Bob’s commercial clients include:
Art & Auction Magazine; Bertz Design Group; CIGNA; CitiBank; Combustion Engineering; Condé Nast/
Alexander Liberman; Connecticut Mutual Insurance Company; DMCD Design; Dexter Corporation; EDO
Corporation; General Foods; Goldman, Sachs & Company; IBM; Kaiser-Permanente; KCS/Kansas City
Southern Railway Company; Middlesex Mutual Insurance;New York Life; People’s Bank; Scholastic Magazines;
Stanley Works; Timken Company; United Illuminating Company; UTC / Hamilton Standard; United States
Information
Agency; Xerox Corporation
Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP
Sister Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP is Art and Spirituality Coordinator at Wisdom House Retreat and Conference
Center in Litchfield.
A poet and photographer, her poetry has appeared in national and international magazines and she has had
solo shows of her photography in New York and Connecticut. Most recently, she had an exhibit of poetry and
photography in The Clare Gallery in Hartford, CT. The title of the exhibit was “Intimate Spirits: Photography
and Poetry in Conversation.” She is author of the book, Remember, Return, Rejoice: Journeying from Ash
Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
William Jones
William Brooks Jones recently relocated to Litchfield after retiring as Design Director for Running Press book
publishers in Philadelphia. Since retiring he has taken up painting seriously, focusing on still life and landscape
subjects.
Paul Keene www.tongueincheekpress.com
I recently retired after 36 years as a teacher and school administrator, and am
enjoying spending time practicing book arts. Seven years ago, my daughter,
Betsy, knowing my love of antiquarian books, decided that I should join her in
making books. We took some classes with Robin Harper, a book artist here in
Durham, and I also learned from the internet and from books. Soon, however,
Betsy moved on to other interests and the exigencies of my job made it
impossible for me to continue with book arts. Upon retirement in the summer
of 2014, free of the demands of a large high school, I returned to books arts
and began taking classes again, with both Robin Harper and with Kathy
Steinsberger. I work on book-related projects every day and have more classes
Paul Keene
lined up through the coming months. When Betsy and I started making books, we
gave ourselves the light-hearted moniker, Tongue in Cheek Press. I find that the name still appeals and have
decided to stick with it.
Emily Kennedy
My name is Emily Kennedy. I started taking photography classes in high school and fell in love with the whole
process. I really loved working in the darkroom and seeing how incredible “writing with light” can be. Now I
use digital format because of the ease of use. I have been enthrolled with the outdoors and nature since I can
remember. I use my camera to capture special moments in nature. I never use any computer program to alter
my images. The image shown is what my eye saw and what my camera captured. I hope to show through my
photographs just how amazing the little things are in the natural world around me. I
have just begun my journey. It is my joy that others will stop for a moment and slow
their world as they view these wondrous gifts of nature.
Ella Crampton-Knox www.ellaslimited.com
Ella Crampton Knox is a graduate of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science
and Art, New York, NY, class of 1980. There she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree. Since graduating she has owned and operated an art gallery and framing
shop, Ella’s Limited and the Ella Knox Gallery, located in Bantam, Connecticut. Ella is
happy to have grown up in this beautiful area of New England, which provides her with
endless subjects for her work. Ella lives in Litchfield, Connecticut with her husband and
two daughters.
Maple Street View,
Litchfield
Ella Crampton-Knox
Bob Knox
Education
1978 SUNY Purchase, New York (sculpture and painting)
1975 Wesleyan University, B.A., Studio Art
1971 L’Ecole des Beaux Arts (sculpture), Rennes, France
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2014 William Havu Gallery, Denver, CO
2013 Semple/Brown, Denver, CO
2009 Nicholas Robinson Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Nathan Bernstein & Co., New York, NY
Litchfield, Old and New-Bob Knox
2003-04 “Bob Knox: Non-Fiction Paintings,” Blaffer Gallery Museum of University of Houston, Houston, TX;
traveling to: University Art Museum, California State; University at Long Beach, CA, “Urban Grisaille” Jack
Shainman Gallery, New York
2001 “10 Different Directions,” Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY
1999 “Residential Geometry,” Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY
1998 Solo Exhibition, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY
1996 Schoolhouse Gallery, Croton Falls, NY
1992 PMW Gallery, Stamford, CT
1991 Tiglieto Gallery, Kent, CT
1989 Brookfield Craft Center, South Norwalk, CT
1988 Somerstown Gallery, Somers, NY
1984 Gallery Fischer, Stuttgart, Germany
1981 Gallery Fischer, Stuttgart, Germany
1978 Findhorn Foundation, Scotland
Barbra Kraut
The figure has always interested me and has been my focus in sculpture, drawing,
and painting. My other passion is surrounding myself with wonderful animals that
inspire me. My paintings address relationships between women and their animals as a
narrative. But equally important are the relationships between shapes and their colors
to express these personal landscapes with which I hope the viewer will identify.
Tulips-Laura Lasker
Barbra Kraut
Laura Lasker
http://bowwowportraits.com/
I have been an art teacher in the Region 14 school system for
many years. I am an exhibiting member of the Washington Art Association and
Norfolk Artists and Friends. I enjoy capturing the personality of flowers, food,
and dogs.
Education:
Colgate University: BA, Studio Art major
Columbia University: MA Art Education
Wesleyan University: 6th Year Degree in Liberal Studies
Kerry McDevitt
Born and raised in Litchfield, CT, Kerry first began painting rocks, carving wood and making crafts with her
sisters and mother. From an early age, Kerry has incorporated art into every aspect of her life. She holds
degrees from Keene State College, American University and Bridgeport University. Currently, she teaches
Kindergarten at Sherman School. Kerry’s work can be seen in the ASTC Youth Programs publication of
museum programs. Her art has been on display at the Oliver Wolcott Library and Talbots in Litchfield, CT. She
painted a mural at Sportmen’s in Bantam, CT. Kerry has donated art to the Litchfield Community Center’s
“Chair Affair” and “A Country Affair” auctions and to the Morris Town Library “Art Around the Box” auction.
For the past eight years she has designed the t-shirt for the“Sweetheart Run and Walk.”
Joan Morosani
Joan Morosani graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1975 and studied painting at the
Art Students League, while working as a textile designer in NYC. Over the past 25 years,
Joan has applied her training to decorative furniture painting and continued her studies at
the Art Students’ League and at the National Academy. Shows: The Oliver Wolcott Library,
the White Gallery, Vermont Artisans Gallery, White Space Gallery, the Washington Art
Sun and Leaves-Joan Morosani
Association.
Michael Quadland
Michael Quadland is a psychologist and novelist, as well as artist.
His art has been shown at
The White Gallery, Lakeville, CT
Behnke/Dogherty Gallery, Washington, CT
The New Britain Museum, New Britain, CT
Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
DTR Modern Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
The Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT
Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, CT
Gunn Memorial Library, Washington, CT
West Street Grill, Litchfield, CT
Mosaic-Michael Quadland
Bantam Cinema, Bantam, CT
Lee Reese
Lee Reese has studied at the Washington Art Association, the Silver Mine Art Center,
the Bronx Botanical Garden-Botanical Art & Illustration courses, Isobel O’Neil Studio
Workshop, and the Summit New Jersey Visual Arts Center.
Lee Reese
Jessica Jane Russell www.jess-jane.com
Jessica Jane is a painter and installation artist. She has a Masters in Architecture from Yale University, and
joint undergraduate degrees in Visual Arts and English Literature from Sydney University, Australia. She was
born in Sydney, Australia, moved to New York when she was two, and has lived her life between the two
countries. She brings her education in literature, fine art and architecture to a diverse body of work, exploring
landscape, figuration, habitation, construction, hand tools, refuse piles, disaster scenes, and desire. She is
actively involved in the arts in the Northwest corner of CT. She hosts events and workshops in her studio
space, guest curates exhibitions and pop-ups throughout the region, and sits on the board
of the Washington Arts Association. In November of 2014, at EBK gallery [small works]
in Hartford, CT, Jessica Jane presented a solo show of her work. Recent group shows in
2014 and 2013 included The Holiday Show and Farm Fresh at The Gallery, Morris, CT, and
CARAVAN at the Cornwall Bridge Gallery, in Cornwall, CT. For the past two years, Jessica
Jane and Jennifer Terzian have co-curated the annual Litchfield Art Night Out. Art Night
Dam Rock, #2-Jessica
Out is a town-wide art exhibition hosted by retailers and restaurants in the center of
Jane Russell
Litchfield.
Jennifer Sabella www.jennifersabella.com
Jennifer Sabella is a self-taught artist. She has had seven solo gallery shows throughout
Connecticut, and participated in three group shows, one of which included the works of Kenneth
Noland, Frank Stella, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler and Sol LeWitt.
Her work is in public and private collections around the world, including a large
hanging painted sculpture in the Boston Marriott Residence Inn Fort Point.
Her website is www.jennifersabella.com.
Old South Road, Jennifer Sabella
Judith Secco www.judithsecco.com
Judith Secco, a native of Connecticut’s Northwest corner, has been an avid
self-taught photographer all of her life. She began with an in-home darkroom
focusing mainly on black and white images and later realized a passion for
digital photography. Developing her own technique by using textures and
layers, she gives her images a unique quality, enhancing nature’s beauty with
an artist’s eye and neutral background, bringing nature to life.
Pink Peony-Judith Secco
Specializing in, but not limited to, dreamlike flower images, Judith’s work finds its
balance between photography and fine art. Judith is a member of the Fine Line Art Gallery in Woodbury, CT
and Gallery 25 in New Milford, CT.
She has won numerous awards for her work, which has been shown throughout New England. All framed and
matted pieces are printed on an Epson Stylus 4000 Professional Printer using all archival inks and paper. Most
frames are created by Judith’s husband, James, adding a beautiful finishing touch to each piece. Represented
by the following galleries: Gallery 25, New Milford, CT; Fine Line Art Gallery, Woodbury, CT; Island Art Gallery,
VineYard Haven, Martha’s Vineyard, MA; Deer Hill Inn, West Dover Vermont.
Pamela Stockamore
I have used the same process and format as the point of departure and the
common ground in my art for decades. Worked mostly by hand, all my paintings
whether on paper or panel, combine pure mineral pigments with binders directly
on each surface. There is an immediacy to this process, there are elements that
I can control and those that I cannot. There is also a slowness in my process;
decisions are made regarding what can be controlled as direct response to what
occurs in each piece that I cannot control.
My reasons for the use of the square format are formal, philosophical, and
personal. From a formal standpoint, the square, unlike the rectangle makes
Vert de Gris-Pamela Stockamore
no associative reference to landscape or portraiture. The square simply “is”;
an archetypal shape that is stabile and static. The challenge is a matter of energizing something which is
ostensibly passive by using color, texture and light - the expressive ranges of which become endless once
opened to minute permutations.
Through the years, my approach to making art has continued to explore concepts in both Oriental and
Western philosophies of dualities which seem mutually exclusive yet are complimentary. Individuality
within uniformity, flux within permanence, the impalpable within the concrete, all are expressed through
contemporary pictorial means. What is at the heart of my work is at once physical and intangible, the key
elements being light and movement. As sunlight, or distance, or one’s angle of view changes, so does one’s
perception of the surfaces. And with each shift come new possibilities for investigation. Though ultimately,
without regard for the vagaries of light or vantage point, my paintings remain unchanged for each nuance has
always been there waiting to be discovered.
From a personal perspective, the square becomes the perfect foil for one of my goals, On first observation,
my paintings are mistaken for something they are not and only the constancy of the square belies the initial
mistake. I have always been fascinated by oxidized metals, weathered and decaying facades, corroded
construction materials, and lichen growing on rocks and trees. I am irresistibly drawn into an exploration of
surfaces, materials, and textures, which become for me a visually eloquent witness to countless transitory
realities.I want my paintings to become a testament for a kind of worn elegance, a beauty that only time can
impart - a concept revered in older cultures. In Japanese art and culture this concept is known as sabi, from
the word sabiru which literally means to rust.
EDUCATION
1983 Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY - MFA Painting (Summa Cum Laude)
Minor: Printmaking and Art History
Studio Fellowship: (1981-1983)
Graduate Teaching Assistant: Art History Dept. (1981-1983)
1974 Marymount College, Tarrytown, NY - BA, Fine Art Major
Diana Swoyer
She was introduced to the glories of painting by studying with Marija McCarthy at Washington Art Association
and is continuing to paint with her fellow students. Swoyer’s work has been featured in the May 2013 group
show Fifty Years of Teaching Art, Marija Pavlovich McCarthy & Students, Past and Present at the Minor
Memorial Library Gallery, Roxbury, CT, and the August 2013 groupr show Four Friends; A Discovery at the
Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden Gallery, Bethlehem, CT.
Holly Taylor
Education: Saint Margaret’s School, Waterbury, CT
Skidmore College, ‘65, Saratoga Springs, NY
Haystack School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME--studied with Peter Collingwood
Gordon Fraser Greeting Car Company, England
American franchise headquarters in Newtown, CT--Designed greeting cards, wrapping paper, paper plates,
napkins, etc.
Work: Studio “M”--St. Gallen, Switzerland
Designed wallpaper, wrapping paper, paper napkns, machine embroideries
Women’s Educational and Industrial Union (the first of all women’s exchanges), Boston, MA
Director of the Needlework shop and responsible for all custom-designed needlepoint
Opened Hollyhock Cottage, Marblehead, MA
A design studio open to the public, featuring custom designed needlepoint--sold designs to retail, national
companies as well as museums
Marrin Real Estate, Litchfield, CT
Worked as a real estate agent
Member of the Cooperative Art Gallery of Litchfield, On the Green, Litchfield, CT
Designed the logo for the Litchfield House Tour, as well as the logo for the Oliver Wolcott Library’s Festival of
Trees
Beth Carlson
Beth Carlson is a life-long resident of Litchfield County and has
been drawing and painting since childhood. A lover of nature
and the scenery of the northwest corner of Connecticut, she
strives to celebrate the beauty of the local landscape using
oils on canvas. Her favorite subject is Lake Waramaug. Beth is
fascinated by the ever-changing, vibrant colors and patterns
created during sunsets as seen from Tanner Hill Road in Warren.
Yearly trips to Cape Cod also provide inspiration.
Topsmead, Beth Carlson
Decades of painting for her own enjoyment have led to a body of work that she now wants to share with the
hope that others will enjoy her journey as well.
Beth studied illustration at Paier College of Art in Hamden and attended workshops and classes taught by
fine artists at the Washington Art Association in Washington Depot and The Wooster Community Art Center
in Danbury. She also studied graphic design at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted and
made a living in that field at The Litchfield County Times where she was involved with the production of many
award-winning publications.