By Mark B. Oliver

One New England.com is pleased to present the first of what will be an on-going series of articles about the crafts, craftspeople and crafts organizations of New England. Our goal is to identify some of the crafts and craftspeople we feel will both inform and entertain our readers.

We appreciate the cooperation of Northwest Connecticut Arts Council in helping us to identify crafts and craftspeople that we can feature.

History

There are hundreds of arts councils throughout the United States, but unusually for such a culturally rich region, it wasn't until 2003 that the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council was founded.  The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism encouraged the Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut and the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce to establish the organization and these founding partners have been key to the success of the Arts Council's mission.

Amy Wynn has been the Executive Director of the Arts Council since its inception.

'I moved to Falls Village in 1999 from the New York City metropolitan area and I became actively engaged in various voluntary roles in the local cultural community.  This brought me into contact with James Garfield of the Community Foundation, who aware of my background in arts management, thought that perhaps I was the right person to guide a fledging arts council.'

The Arts Council serves a wide geographical region which encompasses 24 towns from Salisbury and New Hartford in the north to Roxbury and Plymouth in the south.  A key initial decision was to conduct an in-depth regional cultural assessment.  This was a huge undertaking and it wasn't until 2006 that the Arts Council's full website went online.  The Arts Council is a service organization and information hub ensuring that culture thrives in the region and that residents are afforded ready access to it.

The Arts Council has just two part-time staff  members who are kept exceptionally busy by the wide range of initiatives they have introduced and maintain.  In addition to Amy Wynn, Sharon Dougherty is the other sterling member of the team who both organizes and designs the print calender and other publications as part of her duties.

The Events Calender

The Arts Council operates a web based events calender.  The calender can be searched by function type, date(s), town or a key word.  This helps drive attendances at featured events and provides a 'one-stop shop' for discovering what is going on in the region.  All events are also listed on the week-at-a-glance calender on the Arts Council's homepage.

Additionally a 12-Day Culture Outlook is emailed to those that sign up so that they are handily sent information on events they don't want to miss.  To sign up simply click here.

By Sean Paul Cormier

Photos by John Carafo

“My drawings are manifestations of an urgent state of mind which compels me to understand what I am thinking and feeling in the moment”

Elizabeth Jacobs of Bedford Massachusetts had a hope of one day attending Mass College of Art in Boston.

She achieved that goal in 2005 with a BFA and is now navigating her way through Boston as an accomplished artist in her field. As a young child, Jacobs was always skeptical of imagery and always trying to redefine objects or pictures.  Early in her professional career, she has managed to be a part of some diverse shows that have placed her in some of Boston's notable hot spots. It was not easy early on for Jacobs, who had bouts with nightmares and depression, which became a greater opportunity to explore her passion for art and transform these feelings into something positive. "I didn't want to keep these things, these monsters hidden; I wanted to see what made them tick; what made them stronger, what made them weaker" she explained.

Jacobs 'paintings and drawings are consistent in many ways. They are not only unique pieces all within a group but they have an identity. She explains, "My drawings are manifestations of an urgent state of mind which compels me to understand what I am thinking and feeling in the moment."  Her drawings play a support role to her paintings because it allows her to build her thoughts and transform them into a final painted creation she says. Jacobs continues to explain that, "Drawings are akin to an early stage in evolution, while my paintings are developed and matured, providing more clues through detailed form, color and elements of a (mostly) planned composition."

Carol Scavotto has been in this business for some time. As her website headline states, a journey through artistic healing, she certainly reinvents traditional art in many forms. Her art, which consists of music books, floor cloths and traditional paintings is inspired by personal feelings and drive. She considers art as artistic healing through personal experience and converts those feelings into something positive to share with others. Carol began showing Art work in grammar school and has always been creating works of art since then.

The paintings, which consists of exaggerated features on faces and body has a very consistent style. Movement is portrayed with deep highlighted colors and rounded forms in bodies which highlight her background in figurative studies. "Some people express themselves in words, I think in pictures and express myself in visual images and the medium has changed may times throughout my life" she says.

When Carol was showing art work in grammar school she developed a sense and style of her work. Her main influences of her family, mostly by father and brother. Also, a 9th grade Art teacher named Mr. Nia and a notable influences of works of Frances Bacon and Norman Rockwell. Ballet classes and people in the general population also give Scavotto her artistic motivation.  She went on to explain, "I could go on and on for this question (influences)....I just see things in a visual form".

Based out of the great state of Rhode Island, her exhibition credentials are exclusively New England based.  Her art appeared at some hot spots in Newport Rhode Island and larger universities such as URI and Umass (Amherst). Some of work also appears regularly at Gallery X in New Bedford MA and Gallery Z in Providence RI.

The Verizon Foundation recently provided a $5,000 grant to Hartford-based Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, Inc. The grant will help cover technology costs for the school-based mentoring program "Promoting Positive Assets" in the Town of Wallingford and throughout Windham County. Pictured here (from left to right) are Mike Murphy, public relations manager for Verizon Wireless, and Darlene Roberts, director of development for Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters. The photo was taken at the Verizon Wireless Communication Store at 1479 New Britain Avenue in West Hartford.

Hartford-based Captiol Region Education Council (CREC) recently received a $5,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation in support of the organization's Transition to Employment education and job readiness program. The program serves more than 350 adults in the Hartford area annually. Pictured here (from left to right) are Andy Tyskiewicz, division director for CREC, Mike Murphy, public relations manager for Verizon Wireless, and Shirley Thomspon, grants coordinator for CREC. The photo was taken at the Verizon Wireless Communication Store at 1479 New Britain Avenue in West Hartford.

The Verizon Foundation recently provided a $5,000 grant to Bridgeport-based Mercy Learning Center. The funds support the Literacy and Life Skills project, which teaches important reading and writing skills to local women through one-on-one tutoring and full-time, classroom-based learning. Pictured here (from left to right) are Mike Murphy, public relations manager for Verizon Wireless, and Kathy Parisi, development director for Mercy Learning Center. This photo was taken at the Verizon Wireless Communication Store at 1201 Kings Highway in Fairfield.