Beyond Wellesley: Andres Institute of Art in Brookline, New Hampshire

July 30, 2020 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

In a small New Hampshire town on the Massachusetts border, art-lovers flock to a long-abandoned ski area. There, they wander the woods to view sculptures made of stone, steel, wood, and other materials in the same setting where, decades ago, thrill-seekers sped straight down black diamond trails.

At the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline, NH, artists from all over the world have contributed pieces to what is New England’s largest outdoor sculpture and hiking park. And new art is created and installed on the 140-acre hill every year at this hidden gem, which is free, fun, and open to the public year-round, dawn to dusk.

Over 100 thought-provoking, original works of art are nestled along walking trails all over the mountain, just waiting for visitors to view and enjoy the experience of a personal connection with nature combined with a chance to see large-scale art created on-site.

The park is the brainchild of engineer and innovator Paul Andres, who in 1996 purchased Big Bear Mountain and moved into the house at its peak. There, he was able to combine his lifelong love of nature and passion for art to devote a portion of the property to a sculpture park. Once Andres joined forces with sculptor and long-time Brookline resident John M. Weidman, there was no stopping the pair, and the Andres Institute of Art was born. What started as a few works in the front yard of Andres’ house has turned into a full-blown outdoor museum, with art placed among the many trails that criss-cross the mountain.

Start your visit by picking up one of the maps available in the parking area. An Andres Institute trails map is a curious thing — all at once necessary, inscrutable, and practically useless. Maybe the map is itself a work of art, and I’m too obtuse to understand it. I don’t know. Sometimes it map helped. But sometimes I consulted mine, looked up and around, and wondered if I had perhaps strayed to the edge of a flat world, one where beyond there were beasties waiting to devour me. Still, you need one of those maps if you’re to have a chance of really enjoying the place. Think of it as just one tool. Having your hiking wits about you is another. Basically, you can’t get all that lost on a 613-foot-high, 140-acre mountain, right? Also, there are signs here and there, so that’s one more tool in your kit.

Relax, you’re here to hike and enjoy art. If you bring children, fantastic. They can run and shout and actually touch the art. Even normally reluctant, complaining young hikers will be kept so busy looking for the next sculpture that before they know it, they’ll be at the top of the mountain and it will be time for a snack or lunch. If you bring a dog, also great. Just keep that member of the family on a leash, and it’s all good.

During my visit, I walked the Summit Loop with the goal of enjoying my bagged lunch with a view of the Monadnock Mountains range. Pro tip: when you get to the cell phone towers, you’re at the top, it just might not be 100% obvious. Here’s where your hiking wits come in. Where are cell towers placed? At the tippy top of wherever it is they are — church spires, sky scrapers, mountains, right? OK, you’ve got this. Walk a little further, poke around a bit, and before you know it, the Monadnock range will be arrayed before you, over a dozen peaks, great and small. To the left, there’s Barrett Mountain. Straight on, there’s Mt. Monadnock. Over to the right, Pack Monadnock. What you’ve got in front of you is a whole list of future adventures.

Old Man in the Mountains, NH. I miss the old lug. Photo credit: Library of Congress.

All that and art, too. You made it. Plop yourself down on the old bowling alley seating and enjoy the amazing view that include, of course, a perfectly placed, massive stone sculpture.

How the art gets there

Once a year, several artists from all over the world travel to the Institute to immerse themselves in its rural character and create their art as part of the Bridges and Connections International Sculpture symposium. The artists travel to the Andres Institute for a 3-week stint to craft what are often multi-ton works. The program is part short-term residency, part cultural exchange. Artists stay with locals who sponsor their stay, and work with volunteers who groom and prepare sculpture sites, and operate the heavy equipment needed to properly place the works.

According to the Andres website, “The artists are paid a small stipend for their attendance, but the real reward is that they are allowed to create whatever sculpture they like and to place it wherever they want on the mountain. The Institute provides tools and materials to help each artist realize his or her vision.”

The result is beautiful art hidden in plain sight among the natural backdrop of a New Hampshire forest.

The best part about the Andres Sculpture Park is that it’s unique and charming, with an original sculpture at every bend. The mountain itself, immovable and unchanging, serves as host to a this constantly growing work-in-progress that attracts an increasing number of artist applicants who vie for the four coveted spots per year.

We arrived for our visit to the Institute late-morning on a Saturday and enjoyed an easy, breezy socially distanced experience. The mountain was peopled but not crowded, and visitors were quick to don their masks upon approaching others. We’re told that a nice side trip is to stop off at the New Kun Garden Chinese Restaurant down the street for their Thai ice cream roll, followed by a dip at Potanipo Pond. We opted to hit one of the many farm stands in the area for organic produce and homemade baked goods.

Details:

Andres Institute of Art
98 Rte. 13
Brookline, NH 03033
603-673-8441

Open year-round, dawn to dusk.

Parking is plentiful.

There is a port-a-potty in the parking lot, but it was off limits when we was there due to COVID.

There is no water available, so be sure to bring your own.

This is a carry in/carry out park.

Downloadable maps are available online.

The Wellesley High senior mural project that refused to go down to coronavirus

July 20, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Three recent Wellesley High School 2020 graduates finally got the chance over the weekend to take up their paintbrushes and start work on a long-planned project for their WHS Art Intensive course. It’s been a long time coming. First the public artwork, a 6′ x 27′ mural-style painting on the curved brick wall at the corner of Linden and Everett Streets, faced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Next, the artists were challenged by two days in a row of 90+ degree temperatures. No matter, they got out there and made a solid start on the artwork, which will reach completion by perhaps as early as Wednesday.

Linden Square, Wellesley, mural — Linden Square mural, roughed out. From left: Allie Wornell; Khansa Khan; Carson Dobos, Alexander Golob

The mural’s concept and visual aesthetic were produced through a guided dialogue between the students — Carson Dobos, Khansa Khan, and Allie Wornell — and the students’ senior project mentor Alexander Golob, the principal of Golob Art, and himself a WHS grad. Although all senior projects were cancelled due to the pandemic, none of the artists was willing to abandon the idea, which came about through a combination of their ideas along with feedback from over 60 community members, making the project a community endeavor.

The mural features a storybook-style animal illustration of life in Wellesley, an anthropomorphic imagining of frogs, birds, dogs, and birds. The creatures are depicted enjoying what many in the Wellesley human community have taken up during the pandemic such as listening to music, going for walks, and baking cookies. The scene is set at nearby Morses Pond at sunset.

Linden Square, art, mural — Linden Square mural, work in progress. Thanks to Federal Realty, which has underwritten all production costs for the students and Alexander.

Wellesley Trails Committee braves great outdoors for public meeting

July 17, 2020 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

There was no more appropriate town organization than the Wellesley Trails Committee to forego Zoom and hold its latest public meeting outdoors, between Town Hall and the Crosstown Trail.

The meeting was called to order at 7pm and we easily had quorum (I’m a member of this committee).

trails outside

Town Clerk KC Kato swore us in for another year of trails stewardship, and the meeting went on.

Chair Denny Nackoney got a few words out before a commuter rail train went blasting by. He uttered a few more, and then a red-tailed hawk grabbed our attention by swooping into a bush nearby, then flying to a perch near a back window on Town Hall to take in the rest of the meeting. That led to an aside by one member who once saw a hawk snag a golf ball from a course she was playing.

town hall hawk — Photo courtesy of Ekaterina Zemlyakova

We withstood a couple more trains, fire engine and police car sirens, and constant birds chirping. But really, was this any more distracting than the bangs and grunts from the boiler or whatever makes those noises in the bowels of Town Hall where we usually convene?

Nackoney had marked off a socially distanced seating arrangement with little orange flags, and most of us brought our own chairs to plant on those markers. We all wore masks of course, and hunkered down on a perfect bug-free night for the meeting.

Topics covered included our fall slate of guided trail walks, which may or may not happen based on pandemic guidance a couple months from now. We also discussed laying out a loop trail on the North 40, and other assorted trails clean-ups.

We got the latest from Trails Committee member John Schuler on flower boxes planned for the bridge over the Charles River in Lower Falls (these are ready to go, but installation’s on hold due to the pandemic). Discussions also covered tidying up the stairs that go from the Waban Arches to the Guernsey Path, the latest on Wellesley College’s resident ban (which affects access to trails), and the potential for smoothing the dirt path on Rte. 16 on the opposite side of the street from Elm Bank Reservation.

The next Trails Committee meeting is set for Sept. 2, when the sunset will come at 7:17pm. If we’re going to meet outside, that means we’ll need to start earlier than 7pm, or wear headlamps.

Keep your Wellesley dog cool as temps soar over the weekend

July 16, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

With a heat wave forecasted to hit Wellesley (and other places) starting this weekend, Animal Control Officer Sue Webb reminds pet owners to take extra precautions with their animals to keep them safe. “Watch your dogs in this heat,” she says. “Walk them early or late, not in the high heat of the day. One dog had to go to the emergency vet when he collapsed on a walk in the woods. Also if you can’t walk on the pavement in your bare feet, don’t expect your dog to want to walk on it either.”

wellesley dogs — Duke, a cockapoo (left) and Whistler, a Whoodle, are two Wellesley dogs who really know how to keep their cool during the summer.

Fortunately, Webb reports that the dog who needed emergency attention has recovered fully, but she says people should take it seriously when they notice their dogs panting more, getting tired, and wanting shorter walks. The loyal nature of dogs can be their biggest downfall. Webb says that when dogs are out on walks , “They try to keep going with their owner. If the owner has a way to go back to the car, they may end up having to carry the dog, which isn’t easy when it is a medium-to-large dog like a Labrador.” (There are 392 Labs registered in Wellesley, making them the most popular dog breed in town.)

What can drive problems

The summer months are not the time to bring your best bud along to ride shotgun during errands. Don’t leave your pet in a car on hot days, ever. Not even for a quick minute, or if you leave the windows open, or even if the car is running and the air conditioner is cranked up. Car temperatures can easily rise to over 100 degrees within ten minutes. After that, they can get up to 120 degrees or higher, fast. Dogs don’t have a chance against that kind of heat. Also, it is illegal in Massachusetts to leave animals in vehicles where they are subject to danger from extreme weather conditions.

A little time at the spa

Let your pet laze around and enjoy this time that’s named just for him — the dog days of summer. During the intense mid-day heat, keep walks to a bare minimum. Better yet, limit walks to early in the morning or after the sun goes down.

If your dog really needs some outside time, park your pooch under a shade tree for a little while, with his water bowl close at hand. Add ice to his water every now and then. If you have one of those elevated pet cots, now’s the time to break it out. They increase air flow on alls sides of your pet, which helps keep him cool. A baby pool filled with cool, refreshing water would complete the spa environment.

Just know that shade doesn’t provide all that much protection, so keep his time outside limited. The best place for your dog during extreme heat is inside.

Danger signs:

If your pet is suffering he won’t be subtle about letting you know. Look out for these signs of trouble, which could indicate heatstroke or dehydration:

heavy panting
glazed eyes
rapid heartbeat
difficulty breathing
excessive thirst
lethargy
lack of coordination
profuse drooling
vomiting
body temperature of over 104 degrees (normal is 101 – 102.5)
a deep red or purple tongue
seizure, collapse, or unconsciousness

If these signs present, seek immediate medical attention for your dog.

Let’s all keep Wellesley’s 2,800 registered dogs nice and safe all summer. Heaven knows, they’re worth the extra effort. Who’s a good human friend? You are, that’s who.

Pandemic no match for this Eagle Scout project on Wellesley trails

July 15, 2020 by Bob Brown 3 Comments

george steps — Mark Luzaitis learned a thing or two about building things from son George

George Luzaitis presented his plans for an Eagle Scout project to the Wellesley Trails Committee back in February: building steps to ease the ups and downs of those negotiating their way between the Cochituate Aqueduct and Dale Street near the new skating and swimming facility on Rte. 9. The 2020 Wellesley High School graduate was a key member of the Raiders’ dominant cross country and track & field teams, and liked the idea of helping to improve the trails that he and his teammates often train on.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, and a project that was supposed to take place in early May got bumped indefinitely.

The project’s roots go back to fall of 2019, when Luzaitis connected with the Trails Committee’s Denny Nackoney, who observed that the steep-sloped hill coming off the aqueduct onto Dale Street was getting increased foot traffic with the opening of the sports center and a new traffic light across Rte. 9.

Due to the location’s proximity to Morses Pond, the scout had to get permission from the Wetlands Protection Committee, whose coordinator, Julie Meyer, provided lots of assistance.

dale street trail — The steps go between the aqueduct and the pumping station near Dale Street

Luzaitis got the all-important go-ahead from Troop 185 leader Paul Sullivan to proceed with the project on June 15. The Boy Scouts of America’s Mayflower Council interviewed Luzaitis about the project as well to go over safety protocols being implemented. He provided masks, new work gloves, hand sanitizer and emphasized social distancing where practical for his assistants, which included some senior ranking scouts and adult volunteers.

While the project took a long time to complete end to end, it should also last a long time. The steps have been constructed with 4 inch x 6 inch x 8 foot pressure-treated wood that had to be cut down and fastened together into 4 foot wide x 21.5 inch deep boxes. The survey work and measurements were critical to that last step ending up at the proper level coming off the trail.

There were plenty of rocks, roots and earth to work through during what Luzaitis’s father Mark described as “our own ‘big dig.'” Most of the earth was re-used to backfill the steps as they were installed. Crushed stone tops off each step.

So this project is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

Before…

before dale st steps

After:

Dale St Steps

Storm tries to take down Wellesley Town Hall

July 3, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

A quick but destructive storm moved through Wellesley on Thur. evening. Strong winds took down trees in neighborhoods throughout the area, including Town Hall. During a Fri. morning walk, we spied a sugar maple on the east side of Town Hall that had dropped a major limb which glanced the 137-year-old historic building, covering the exterior air conditioner compressor unit. There did not appear to be damage to the building. Within minutes of our phone call, a couple of DPW workers were on the scene to assess the damage. As they made plans to remove the limbs, I asked if the rest of the tree would have to come down. “Not today….,” was the wary answer, lest he be dealing with a rabid tree hugger.

Wellesley Town Hall, damaged tree

Storm brings Father’s Day gifts of downed trees

Mother Nature whacks Wellesley trees

Waban arches part of Wellesley post-storm clean up

Head to Wellesley’s ponds, lakes & rivers: Free freshwater fishing June 6-7

June 5, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The state allows free freshwater fishing at any public freshwater lake, pond, reservoir, river or stream statewide from 12 a.m. Saturday, June 6 until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 7.

So it’s a good time to get out and explore Wellesley’s many bodies of water, including Morses Pond and Pickle Point, the Charles River, Reeds Pond, and others (the path around Lake Waban is off-limits, so you might need to parachute onto that lake to fish). Hotspots include the parking lot at Longfellow Pond, and for the more adventurous, take a walk through the Guernsey Sanctuary to fish from the dock at Sabrina Lake (yes, the dock is for public use).

A license is required at all other times if you’re 15 or older. If you’re 15–17 or 70 and older, your license is free.

Funds from fishing license sales support MassWildlife’s fisheries research, trout stocking, and angler education programs. Buy your fishing license here. For saltwater anglers, Free Saltwater Fishing Weekend is June 20–21.

Not sure if any of you anglers would be interested in doing this, but we could really use a page on our site that summarizes all the places to fish in town. If interested, please email us: [email protected]

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