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Tag: sullivan county ny

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En Plein Air – Lessons with Helena Pittman

En Plein Air with Helena Pittman July 30th

Enjoy the outdoors and capture its beauty in this class

The Cutting Garden is pleased to host a plein air class with artist and instructor Helena Clare Pittman on July 30th, at 2 pm.  (Rain Date: July 31st) She will guide you through the steps of painting directly from nature, teaching you ways to better understand the landscape and to successfully transfer what you see to your work.  Bring the medium of your choice (watercolor, oil, pastel), brushes, a hat, a stool, and an easel.  Paper will be supplied.  The class fee is $20.00

Helena majored in Painting at Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, New York, and was awarded her Bachelors of Fine Art degree there. She took her Master of Arts at Antioch, in Painting, Writing and Education.

Helena has taught Color, Illustration and Drawing at The Parsons School of Design; Design, Drawing and Life Drawing at The State University of New York at Farmingdale; Writing and Classroom Methods at The City University of New York, Queens College School of Graduate Education; and Painting, Drawing and Illustration at The Nassau County Museum of Art. She has also taught both children and adults at the Art League of Long Island, as well as worked as an Author/Illustrator in Residence in many public and private schools.

Helena has published 17 books for children, most notably “A Grain of Rice” and “The Gift of the Willows.”

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Shorts & Sweets – Summer Heat!

Summer’s here and we’re feeling the heat! Domesticities and the Cutting Garden in Youngsville, NY, presents Big Sky Productions in a performance of “Shorts & Sweets: Summer Heat,” an afternoon of suggestive jokes and short stories.

This adult-only presentation will be offered on Sunday, July 23 at 2 p.m., and will feature New York City actress and director Sharlene Hartman and Big Sky Productions’ Artistic Director Carol Montana.

Sharlene Hartman has been acting, singing, dancing, writing and directing for most of her life. It all started out in San Francisco, with a broken collarbone and a lisp. Her credits include Off Broadway, indie films, television, live industrials, nightclubs, commercials, voice acting, skit comedy and rap songs. Her heart truly belongs to the theatre, however, most recently she’s been having a love affair with film. Her latest, “Lunch With Leslie,” is currently in festivals, receiving numerous awards, including Best Actress and Best Comedy Short. She simply loves creating a character.

Actress, producer, director Carol Montana has a Master’s Degree in Dramatic Form and Structure from the University of Connecticut. She has directed over 50 plays for her company Big Sky Productions, as well as for the Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop, Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, Sullivan Performing Arts and Sullivan County Community College. Carol’s current area of concentration, besides “Shorts & Sweets” is Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre produced in cooperation with the Greater Liberty Chamber of Commerce.

There is no charge for admission and refreshments will be served. Audience members may make a freewill offering for the Sullivan County SPCA.

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Read Anything Good Lately?

Join the authors of a new book of short stories on Sunday, May 21st from 2 – 3 pm to celebrate the launch of their new book, Musings.  
This delightful book takes readers on a captivating journey through a diverse range of short stories bound together by the theme “New Beginnings.” These selections feature twelve eclectic original narratives by eight different authors showcasing a range of unique voices and styles. From tales of love and loss to accounts of adventure and discovery, this anthology has something for everyone.
Join Marylou Ambrose, Dana Bree, Donna Consiglio, Laurie A. Guzda, Elaine Leet, Carol McManus, Susan M. Thompson and Youngsville’s very own Mike Vreeland at Domesticities, 4055 State Rte. 52, Youngsville.  
 

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Planning your Garden? Let us start seeds for you!

It’s Time to Pre-Order Seedlings!

Need Seedlings?  We’ll start them for you.
$4.99/ 4” pot
Updated for 2022

Please Pre-Order by March 1.  You can either stop into the shop with your list, or email it to us.  No need to pay in advance, but if you don’t receive a confirmation by email, please call to make sure we received the order.  Plants will be available for pickup around Memorial Day weekend, depending on the temperatures.
We will also have a limited number of herbs and annuals available.

 Tomatoes

Generally, hybrid tomatoes are more prolific and uniform than heirloom varieties, and hybrids usually have more resistance to disease, but many people say heirlooms taste a little better.  We start our tomatoes in mid-March, and grow them on in 4-inch pots. Last year we put them in the ground about June 1, and our first ripe tomatoes came in the last week of July.  All of these varieties are indeterminate unless noted.

Large Tomatoes:

Brandywine, Heirloom, red/pink

Rose, Heirloom

Mortgage Lifter, pink heirloom

Big Beef, Hybrid, red

Beefsteak, Hybrid, red

Striped German, Heirloom, yellow/red stripes

Old German

Pineapple

Pruden’s Purple

Carolina Gold, Yellow Hybrid

 

Medium-sized tomatoes

Early Girl, Hybrid, red

New Girl

Martha Washington

Celebrity Red Hybrid

Damsel red hybrid

Mamaturo

Skyway Hybrid determinate

SV7846-hybrid

Better Bush Hybrid Determinate

Lemon Boy yellow Hybrid

Juane Flammee, 2-inch orange

 

“Black” tomatoes

Black Krim

Purple Russian

Piglet Willy’s French Black

Black Vernissage

 

Cherry Tomatoes

Sun Gold, Hybrid, orange, very sweet

Citrine, orange

Chocolate Cherry, Heirloom, black/red

Supersweet 100

Yellow Pear

Gardener’s Delight Heirloom

 

Paste/Sauce Tomatoes

Amish Paste

Granadero

Gilbertie Paste, Heirloom, red, largest paste tomato

San Marzano Heirloom

 

Grape

Brad’s Atomic (Baker Creek) multi colored

 

Strong Disease Resistance. In our region, early blight is one of the top diseases that causes tomato plants to wither prematurely. The following tomatoes are resistant to early blight, late blight and several other common tomato diseases.

Iron Lady F1, 5-ounce, red fruit. Determinate.

Defiant F1, 6-8 oz. globe-shaped red fruit. Determinate

Mountain Merit Plus F1, 8-10 oz. red fruit. Determinate

Stellar F1, 5 to 7-oz. red fruit. Determinate.

Jasper F1: Red Cherry. Indeterminate.

Beefmaster, large, red, indeterminate.

Peppers

We start our peppers even earlier than our tomatoes and grow them on in four-inch pots, and we have fully-red ripe peppers by August 1.

Sweet Peppers

Carmen, Hybrid, red, 5 to 6 inch horn-shaped peppers.

Ace, Hybrid, red bell peppers

King of the North, Red Hybrid

Red Mercury, red hybrid

Stocky Red Roaster

Cubanelle, horn, green 4 to 5 inches

Jimmy Nardello, long thin sweet

Staddon’s Select, early red

Italian Sweet

 

Hot Peppers

Habanera, Heirloom, orange, very hot

Jalapeno, Heirloom green to red, hot

Thai Hot

 

Aunt Polly’s Ground Cherries

Tart sweet berries, very prolific!

 

Eggplant

Nadia, black, 7 inches

Dancer, purple/pink 7 inches

Due to limited space, we are limiting the number of custom orders.  If there is something else you would like us to start for you, please give us a call or send an email and we will let you know if we can accommodate the order. Questions?  Give us a call at 845 482 3333 or email us.  If you don’t receive a confirmation by email, give us a call to make sure we got the order.

Happy Garden planning!

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Celebrate Paint and Pop June 19 – July 5th

Local artist Barbara Winfield was busy over the last year, creating a series of pieces that will bring a smile to your face.  Please join her for an opening reception on June 19th from 3-5 pm here at the shop.
Barbara explains her process, saying “For the past several years I have been collecting imagery from both popular and mass culture, such as vintage mid-20th century magazine advertising and iconic comic book art.
I chose imagery that is both nostalgic, amusing and a reflection of American society post WWII. Although many of the images are vintage, they also depict feeling and emotions that resonate today.
These works combine two major mid-20th century art movements:  Abstract Painting and Pop Art.
First I chose an image that amuses me, and then created a colorful background painting to frame the image.
Although certain paintings are inspired by Abstract Expressionist women artists of the 40’s and 50’s downtown NY art scene, I discovered that  in the end the iconic images I chose actually told me what colors and patterns to use for each image.
My goal is to create art with amazing visual effects that are pleasing to the eye, nostalgic and fun to look at.”
The reception will be held inside and outside, ensuring that all who attend will have an opportunity to see the work while maintaining a respectful distance from others.  Masks will be required inside.

Barbara Winfield is an artist and writer specializing in Art & Interior Design. Her experience includes full time editorial positions at several national home furnishings magazines.  Ms. Winfield is the recipient of  The Dallas Market Center Editorial Award.  She is also the author of two home design books, The Complete Book of Home Details, and Dream Log Homes and Plans,  Ms. Winfield has taught “Color for Interiors” for twelve years in the Interior Design Department of the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. She has shown works at The DVAA annual “Art in Sixes” for the past two years. Starting as a weekender in 2001, she now lives full time in Jeffersonville, NY.

Barbara’s work will be on display at Domesticities, 4055 State Route 52, in Youngsville through the July 4th weekend.

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Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is all about the food, the company, the chance to share recipes and stories. The parade, Miracle on 34th Street, the football, the leftovers. The time to remember Thanksgivings gone by and to be grateful that the era of Tomato Aspic is over.

A time to reflect.   A time to be grateful.

As Henry Van Dyke said,

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.
Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.
Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”

As we head into the holidays, we want to thank you for your support over the years.

It matters that you continue to support small, local businesses.

All of the statistics support the benefits of shopping locally, ranging from the dollars kept in the local economy to the strengthening of communities.

Thank you for keeping your money where your heart lives, supporting an economy of friends and neighbors, giving strength to the place we all love and call home.

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On Writing and Painting

An afternoon with Helena Pittman and Scott Woods

Join author/artists Scott Woods and Helena Pittman for a lively discussion on writing and painting on Sunday, December 2nd at 1 pm.  WJFF’s Valerie Mansi will facilitate the discussion.

Helena has written and illustrated 17 books for children and her best-selling book “A Grain of Rice” has just been published in a new edition by Penguin Random House. On the origins of this book on exponential progression, Helena writes “Math was never my strength, anything but! But I worked out the transactions up to one hundred doublings of the numbers. Kids would love this, I thought. I hadn’t yet imagined the pictures the numbers would ultimately inspire me to conceptualize and draw—the book was published in black and white, its drawings in pencil. I was just taken with what the numbers did.”

Scott started his career illustrating boys’ adventure novels for Simon and Shuster, then moved on to the film business in LA, animating for Amblin’ Entertainment and DreamWorks. He spent his childhood summers in Callicoon Center and that landscape provided the inspiration for many of his later illustrations. Eventually the Catskills called him home and his recent book “We Hillfolk” describes his re-entry into country life, a real-life, grown-up boy’s adventure.  He is a portrait artist and painter whose work captures the charm of each subject.

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Winter Show opens November 17th

Ann Higgins, Elise Hornbeck, Valerie Taggart, Laverne Black and Kate Hyden, have created an early winter show featuring their vibrant watercolors and drawings of landscapes, wildlife, flowers and faces. This professional group of local artists and friends meet regularly, getting together to paint, share their expertise and have some fun.
Join us for an opening reception Sunday, November 18th at 1 pm.  The show will run until December 16th.

Don’t know these artists?
Ann Higgins is a former Liberty, NY teacher, a founding member of the Catskill Art Society, a signature member of the North East Watercolor Society (NEWS) and a renowned artist who continues to exhibit her work from the Adirondacks to Connecticut.
Elise Hornbeck has a passion for drawing and painting the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains, including the old covered bridges and barns of New York State. She is also a signature member of the North East Watercolor Society and has exhibited locally and throughout the region.
Valerie Taggart is a former Art Teacher with an MA in Painting/Printmaking from SUNY Oswego.  She is also a signature member of the Northeast Watercolor Society. Watercolor is her favorite medium, about which she says “it allows for direct and immediate expression.” Invoking the quiet solitude of rural life, she strives to create a sense of place in her work.
LaVerne Black grew up on a small farm in Sullivan County and she holds dear the rural landscape and country lifestyle. She has exhibited widely throughout the region and in NY City. For many years she roamed the countryside photographing the rural scenes that were rapidly disappearing. She has returned to painting, drawing upon her photography for inspiration.
Kate Hyden has a degree in Painting from FSU and is a resident of Livingston Manor, NY. She is a member of the North East Watercolor Society, Catskill Art Society and has exhibited in the area for the last several years. She is also a member of the Sullivan County Audubon Society.  Her love of birds is reflected in her work. She created and participated in the three Audubon and Friends Too exhibitions in Sullivan County.

 

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Sunday, November 11, 2 pm — Two Local Authors chat about their work

 Two local authors will read and discuss their books  on Sunday, November 11 at 2 pm.  Both writers have set fictionalized stories in part in Sullivan County, each with historical backdrops; and both infuse government conspiracy theories into their work.
Gray Basnight will talk about his new political thriller, set against the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival and government crimes of the J Edgar Hoover era: Flight of the Fox (July 2018).
Bill Klaber will talk about his historical novel set in part in Sullivan County in the 1880s: The Rebellion of Lucy Ann Lobdell (2015), and his recently updated historical investigation: Shadow Play: The Unsolved Murder of Robert F. Kennedy (April 2018).

More About the Authors and Their Books In Gray Basnight’s new political thriller Flight of the Fox, an innocent math professor tries to decode a mystery file while hitmen chase him from Bethel to NYC and down the East Coast.  Their goal is to suppress dark government crimes from decades past.  His goal is for the truth to be told.  The action switches between the historical backdrop of the J. Edgar Hoover era and the forthcoming 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival.  The professor runs for his life, armed only with his wits and intellect, worrying whether the truth will be told, and if he’ll be seen as a hero whistle blower or a pariah.   Basnight is deeply immersed in his third career — fiction writing, after almost three decades in broadcast news; preceded by a few years pursuing an acting career. His other published novels are The Cop with the Pink Pistol, a modern NYC-detective mystery with some scenes in the Catskills; and Shadows in the Fire, a Civil War historical novel about two young slaves on the edge of freedom as Richmond falls in April 1865. Basnight and his wife split their time between Sullivan County and New York City. He has lived in New York long enough to consider himself a native, though he grew up in Richmond, Virginia.

William Klaber, who lives a short way upstream from where Lucy Lobdell lived 160 years ago, originally set out to write a non-fiction account of her life after learning that the farmhouse he and his wife bought in 1980 had a history with Lucy’s legend.  Klaber ultimately decided it would be better as a fictionalized account, tapping her story through echoes and dreams to create the award-winning novel The Rebellion of Lucy Ann Lobdell.  Just-updated for the 50th anniversary of the murder of Robert F. Kennedy, Shadow Play explores altered evidence, ignored witnesses, and coerced testimony. It challenges the official assumptions and conclusions about this troubling, and perhaps still unsolved, political murder. It’s also the basis for a new podcast that debuted at #1 on the iTunes chart this year. Bill Klaber is a part-time journalist who has lived in an old farmhouse on a hill overlooking Basket Creek since 1980, where he and his wife raised their three children.

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