Art | The Swellesley Report - News about Wellesley, Massachusetts

Arts on the Green coming to Elm Bank Reservation, July 27

June 11, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

When: Thursday, July 27, 5:30 pm – 8:00pm

Where: The Gardens at Elm Bank

Join us for our summer music and arts series, sponsored by Wellesley Bank Charitable Foundation. This evening will feature an Art Walk of artists showcasing their work throughout the gardens. It is a chance for the community to buy original art from the artists who make it and enjoy the gardens in their summer splendor.

Stroll the gardens and enjoy live music. Bring a picnic, and chair or blanket. We will also have family activities and garden tours. Beer and wine will be sold.

This event is FREE to all!

If you are interested in being one of our showcased artists on our Art Walk, please complete the Artist application and return it as soon as possible to reserve your space. If you have any questions about the event, please email Amy Rodrigues at [email protected].

Music by: LiveWire Boston (Jazz, Blues and Bossa)

Hanging at the Wellesley Library

June 5, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Waterstone at Wellesley and the Wellesley Council on Aging have joined forces to present a Senior Art Exhibit at the Wellesley Free Library. Stop in and view the works of nearly 50 artists across multiple mediums, all on exhibit in the Wakelin Room and the lobby through June 29. There will be an opening reception on June 4, 2pm – 4pm in the Wakelin Room.

Senior Artists Reception, Wellesley — Left to right, artists Florence Como, Linda Porreca, and Helen Turner pose with their beautiful paintings. Their work, and that of others, will be on display through June at the Wellesley Library.

Before Hillary Clinton speech & Wellesley College commencement, the press gets prepped

May 25, 2017 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

The grounds are weeded, mulched, pruned, and blooming within an inch of their lives. Banners have been hung, and tents have been erected. It’s Wellesley College graduation time, and it’s a special one this year. First of all, after four years of unremitting labor, the Class of 2017 will receive their diplomas. Oh, and Secretary of State and Wellesley College Class of 1969 alumna Hillary Clinton will be on hand to deliver remarks.

I attended the mandatory press briefing this morning, where I picked up my credentials and my parking pass. All the cool kids were there — the major networks, C-SPAN, CNN, the Boston Herald, and more. I’m running with the big dogs, now.

Tomorrow everyone will be all smiles and tears, but just a few short months ago, the stress level on campus was running high over the upcoming Commencement. According to an editorial in the student newspaper of Wellesley College, The Wellesley News, some students were concerned that Commencement was in danger of becoming more of a post-election rally for Hillary Clinton than a celebration of the Class of 2017 and their families. The idea that a couple thousand alumnae might descend on campus (as they did on election night, hoping to celebrate a big win) was making some graduating seniors wonder if their milestone moment was in jeopardy of being overshadowed by Clinton’s star power. Toss in rumors that Paw Paw and Granny might not be invited due to limited ticketing, and you had a lot of women asking, “Who’s being celebrated here, anyway?”

As it turns out, the administration took matters firmly in hand. Back in March, Clinton spoke at a private event at the college, perhaps taking a bit of the edge off of alumnae demand to see her this week. In a nod to the 570 graduates that their four years of continuous struggle and triumphs counted for pretty much everything, the school instituted a lottery in order to limit the number of alumnae who would be allowed to attend. Such a compromise ensured not only that security and parking would be kept under control, but that extended family members would be warmly welcomed to the campus to witness their student receive her diploma. (You can also see it live streamed.)

So although Wellesley College encourages alumnae to consider the campus something of a second home, for this go around they’ll have to think of that second home as one that’s not available to them this weekend. Kind of like the family lake house that everyone shares, but that you can’t go to when the cousins are taking their summer weekend turn.

Here’s a sneak preview of graduation day. I get to go as press, so thanks for reading The Swellesley Report.

Wellesley College graduation — A reporter marks off her spot for tomorrow (to the annoyance of some other reporters).

This marble bench, a 2001 work by Jenny Holzer displayed in the Davis Museum, is titled “Selections from Truisms.” It reminds students that “A sincere effort is all you can ask.” Unless, of course, you interpret the work as ironic. In which case, I suppose we’ll have to parse the definitions of “sincere” and “effort”, and that sounds like too much sincere effort. I choose to take it at face value.

Wellesley couldn’t have asked for a more Wonderful Weekend

May 22, 2017 by bbrown 2 Comments

Upham school at Wellesley veterans parade — *Upham School was well represented at the annual veterans’ parade on Sunday*

Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend had something for everyone, from the sold-out pancake breakfast to the veterans’ parade and from fireworks to public art.

We hit a bunch of the activities, including Friday’s Through the Looking Glass Art show (more on that later), Art in the Park, the Fuller Brook Park walk led by the Wellesley Trails Committee, the dog contest at Warren Park, the open house at the Police Department for our annual hot dog and ice cream fix, Wellesley Historical Society’s open house and Tollhouse Shop sale, the Wheels of Wellesley car show and the grand finale of fireworks from the comfort of a nearby friend’s patio. Here’s a sampling of scenes from the big event:

Wellesley High senior takes poetic view of town’s outdoor beauty

May 20, 2017 by bbrown Leave a Comment

Kyle MacKinnon poetry and trails project in Wellesley — Kyle MacKinnon plots his course through Wellesley

Pickle Point at Morses Pond, the Guernsey Path along Sabrina Lake and the Esker Trail near Longfellow Pond are among Wellesley’s most beautiful outdoor spaces. Wellesley High School’s Kyle MacKinnon, for his senior project, this weekend will attempt to make those spots even more attractive via a dozen Cypress wood plaques featuring short Robert Frost-style poems that he’s written.

Finding all 12 poems will amount to something of a scavenger hunt for the public, as some of the plaques are right out on the trails and paths, and others are a bit hidden.

“I have always been a big fan of the outdoors and also starting this year I have been writing on my own, mostly poetry, so I wanted to find a project where I could use my passion for both,” says MacKinnon, who following his graduation from WHS will head to Sewanee, The University of the The South, in Tennessee, which has a strong English and liberal arts program.

Back to Wellesley, MacKinnon says Pickle Point at Morses Pond is his favorite outdoor location in town, noting that it reminds him of his summers on Long Island.

The Wellesley Natural Resources Commission approved MacKinnon’s project as a temporary one, though he says he’d love for it to become permanent or at least an annual event to kick off the summer months.

“All the poems are around the common theme of why people go outside,” MacKinnon says. “Some will be about peace, others beauty and escape. The community service aspect of the project is that it will encourage people to get outside and walk along the paths.”

If you’d like to try to spy all 12 poems, we can tell you this much. They can be found at the locations listed below (and the Wellesley Trails Committee’s listing of trails in town might help guide you to areas you might be unfamiliar with):

*The start of the Charles River Path

*Crosstown Trail by Warren Park

*The Esker Trail

*Longfellow Pond

*Centennial Reservation

*Rockridge Pond

*Duck Pond at Town Hall

*Waban Arches

*Guernsey Sanctuary at Sabrina Lake

*Cliffs at Boulder Brook/Rocky Ledges

*Morses Pond trail

*Pickle Point on Morses Pond trail