Irish artist to be featured at Pember event

By Bo Young

I’ve been teasing out the next First Friday and now I’m going to come right out with it and tell you everything I know. First things first: the first Friday of September is the 7th and, as always both the Pember and the Slate Valley will be open for the event.

At the Pember we’re going to be showing artist Christopher Keating, from Ireland. He’s a sculptor and he’s been spending a lot of time down at the Salem Art Works. He makes very nice wall hangings (inside or out) in stone and concrete.

Lynne Knobel joins us again. A prolific artist (and former art teacher) Lynne showed her ceramics last time and some of her jewelry. This time we will be treated to her pen and ink works on paper. If there’s an art medium, chances are Lynne has worked in it. Her work is figurative and still life.

Photographer Peter Whitney was born in San Francisco and grew up in Northern California. He was introduced to photography by an uncle, who was a photojournalist in World War II. Whitney himself studied under the iconic (“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”) photographer Walker Evans, from 1965-66. Pete moved east in 1972 and lived, for a while in New Milford Conn. The First Friday photos he will be sharing with us were taken between 1970-1980.

Marty from Chapman’s Country Store will be there showing off their inimitable sandwich art. And we will welcome back Mary Berger, Wendy Fagerholm, Julie Freebern, Wayne Garvin, Patti Kelley and Judy Seltmann, otherwise known as the Emerald Valley Recorder Ensemble, who will be making music for us that evening.

Kate has been so busy with her travels, we haven’t had a chance to talk about what the Slate Valley Museum has up its sleeve, but you can be sure it will be first-rate. Kate does nothing less!

As always, First Friday starts at 7 p.m. and the lights go out at 9 p.m.  Come help us celebrate two years of community pride!