OUT OF HERE

Compiled by Robin Jovanovich

JULY 21

Water-Saving Wisdom

Learn how to conserve water in gardens and landscapes at a program at the Byram Shubert Library from 3-4. Award-winning landscape designer Jennifer Yates will lead the environmental stewardship workshop.

Attendees will receive a complimentary succulent plant from the Friends of the Byram Shubert Library.

Shalene Valenzuela,

JULY 21

All-American Art

“US”, a national invitational exhibition of ceramic works exploring what it is to be an American, opens at the Clay Art Studio in Port Chester with a reception from 6-8.

This is the third core exhibit of “4 Degrees of Separation”, the Clay’s year-long focus on social activism. Clay Art Center is committed to exhibiting emerging, mid-career, and established artists, as it seeks to become a platform for the field to express potent ideas and relevant topics of our time. “US” runs through September 15.

waiting for high-res

Scott Nammacher, Northern Lights, Churchill, Manitoba

JULY 29

Solar Sensations

Harrison Council for the Arts presents “Treasures of the Night Skies”, an exhibit by astrophotographer Scott Nammacher, at the Harrison Public Library, July 29 through August 16.  

Nammacher recently photographed a spectacular show of the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) from Churchill, Manitoba, just south of the Arctic Circle. The best of these will be shown at this show as well.  

On August 4 at 10:30, he will give a talk on his photographs and will set up a solar telescope, so attendees can get amazing views of the sun. 

His photographs are taken from his upstate observatory (Starmere) and two remotely operated observatories (one in Australia and the other in New Mexico). He has been photographing nebulas and galaxies, along with cloud and gas regions, and more local solar system targets since the early 2000s. 

Nammacher’s prints are created using a unique process that involves printing on a coated piece of thin aluminum, which enhances the color and vibrancy of the photos. For a preview of his work, visit starmere.smugmug.com.

For Harrison Library hours, call 835-0324 or visit harrisonpl.org.

AUGUST 2

Ultimate Fleetwood

• Tusk is the #1 Tribute to Fleetwood Mac in the world. No wigs, no backing tracks, no gimmicks, just five musicians recreating the musi

The No. 1 Fleetwood Mac Tribute band takes the stage at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck at 8. Tusk covers all the great hits of Fleetwood Mac, which has featured the talents of Mick Fleetwood, Christine and John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and others over the years.

The five seasoned musicians comprising Tusk have been making music together in various combinations and styles, in original outfits and in cover bands, for over 25 years. It seemed only fitting that they should come together to form the Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute, and pay homage to a group that dominated the charts during the band members’ formative years. Authentic-sounding and always respectful, Tusk leaves no stone unturned in replicating the sounds of one of the world’s best-loved, top-selling bands.

Tickets are $25. Visit emelin.org.

AUGUST 11

Talk to the Animals

Jason Reilly knows that “Animals Rock” and he’s coming to the Greenwich Library from 11-12:15 with live ones to demonstrate all the ways. Learn, laugh, and touch the animals in this informative program.

Space limited to 50 children. No registration needed. Doors open at 10:50. For more information, visit greenwichlibrary.org.

(with pix)

Caption: Third Phase Navajo Chief’s Blanket, Bruce Museum Collection

AUGUST 18

An Uncommon Thread

“A Continuous Thread: Navajo Weaving Traditions” opens at the Bruce Museum. The exhibit traces the history from the earliest Mexican-inspired Saltillo serapes, c. 1880, to mid-20th century pictorial rugs and features a dozen items from the Museum’s Native American ethnographic collection – some of which have never been publicly exhibited.

Navajo rugs are unique because their warp (the vertical strings on a loom) is one, long continuous piece of wool thread. Once the warp is set on the loom, the size of the rug cannot be altered. This weaving method requires the weaver to plan the design and pattern of the rug to fit precisely into the predetermined length.

The ability to conceive and execute two-dimensional designs in extraordinary patterns and colors set Navajo weavers apart from the creators of other Native rugs and blankets. Knowledge of this traditional process is an important cultural tradition that has been maintained through intergenerational instruction and mentoring despite the obstacles of displacement, discrimination, and isolation experienced by the Navajo Nation.

“The Najavo textile collection at the Bruce is extensive enough to illustrate the history of the weaving traditions and varied enough to demonstrate the artisanal skill of the weavers,” says Kirsten Reinhardt, Museum registrar and the organizer of this exhibition. “Each piece is an extraordinary example of artistic creativity and technical execution.”

The Navajo were first recognized as the finest weavers of small horse blankets, placed under saddles to protect the horse, after the Spanish introduced both sheep and horses to the American Southwest in the mid-1500s. Influenced by Pueblo weavers, the Navajo then made large blankets which were prized throughout the Southwest and across the Great Plains for their quality as outerwear. Later, trading post economics led to a transition to rug making, a tradition that remains strong today.

The items on display are from the collection of Miss Margaret Cranford (1887-1974), a resident of Greenwich. At the age of 21, Miss Cranford began a lifelong pursuit of traveling across the United States and the world, collecting fine decorative art, jewelry, and textiles.