Betsy Sterling Benjamin
ANCIENT ART: Betsy Sterling Benjamin spent 18 years in Japan mastering an ancient dyeing technique known as rozome, which she continues to incorporate into her art.
Seven of her elaborate wall hangings, painted with dye and wax in the rozome style, are on display in the Art & Nature Center at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. Special programs in collaboration with the exhibition run Jan. 6 and 7.
Each of Benjamin's works represents one of the seven continents and celebrates the diversity and interconnections in nature and among cultures. The textiles were made to be worn as kesa, traditional Buddhist prayer robes.
Events on Jan. 6 include a demonstration by artists Gayle Fraas and Duncan Slade, noon to 2 p.m., when they show the techniques used to create their dye-painted and printed quilted textiles.
A drop-in art activity, making batik using crayons on rice paper, takes place 1 to 3 p.m. And Cornell "Sugarfoot" Coley presents a drumming and dance performance, with audience participation encouraged, from 3 to 4 p.m.
On Jan. 7 at noon, Benjamin presents a demonstration of the rozome technique. An art activity using recycled fabric scraps, cardboard, and paper to make journals or sketchbooks runs 1 to 3 p.m.
Benjamin discusses the history of the textile art of kesa, and how it inspired her to create the robes representing each continent, from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. Gamelan Galak Tika performs traditional and modern music from Bali, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Call 866-745-1876 or visit pem.org.
ALL TOGETHER NOW: In the early 1980s, Peabody lawyer George Ankeles donated two paintings by Emile Gruppe to the District Court and two others to the Peabody Institute Library.
Now, for the first time in 25 years, the paintings are being displayed together. District Court Judge Santo J. Ruma recently loaned the court's two paintings to the library, where the four paintings will be shown indefinitely.
Gruppe, who died in 1978, was best known for his paintings of Rockport and Gloucester harbors. The paintings now displayed in the lobby of the library are "After the Storm," "Gloucester Morning," "Distress," and "Hauling the Nets."
MUSICAL CHAIRS: Kristen Bowes of Salem is the new general manager of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival.
She replaces Elizabeth Redmond, who stepped down after three seasons to pursue an advanced degree in accounting. Bowes was chosen by a search committee of six festival board members, led by Carol Ackerman and Mollie Byrnes.
A native of Long Island in New York, Bowes received a degree in political science from Boston College. She then worked as assistant director of admissions and admission events manager at Mount Ida College in Newton.
In 2003, Bowes returned to BC to become assistant director of band operations and administration, managing and producing concerts for the college's six musical ensembles.
The Rockport Chamber Music Festival, which presents several weeks of concerts each summer, celebrated its 25th anniversary in June.
AUTHOR'S CORNER: "The Irish Dresser: A Story of Hope During the Great Hunger," by New Hampshire author Cynthia Neale, has been rereleased with educational resources, including lessons for teachers. In the story, 13-year-old Nora McCabe crawls into an old dresser near the hearth in her home as her father declares they must leave Ireland for America. Hidden in the dresser aboard a ship traveling to a new land, she lives an adventure that transforms her life. A sequel, "Hope in New York City: The Continuing Story of the Irish Dresser," is due out early next year. . . . Poet Arthur Boyars of London reads from his early and recent works at Christ Church of Hamilton and Wenham, 149 Asbury St., South Hamilton, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Born in 1925, Boyars is known as a poet, publisher, linguist, musicologist, BBC broadcaster, and translator of Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
IN LOCAL GALLERIES: "Four Compositions," on display at artSPACE@16 in Malden through Feb. 17, features works by four Malden artists: "Abstractions in Metal," sculptures by Stephen deFilippis; "Minor Erections," photographs by Wesley Kalloch of buildings under construction; "Upper Story," sculptures by Sand T; and "An Expedition to Benin, West Africa," a photo documentary by Paul J. Sieswerda. . . . "Color Therapy," new acrylic paintings by Francesca Bastarache, is at Concetta's Gallery in Marblehead through Saturday. . . . A retrospective of works by the late Michael Stoffa, a Cape Ann painter, is at the Rockport Art Association through next Sunday. . . . The Holiday Show at Newburyport's Walsingham Gallery, through next Sunday, includes artists Caleb Stone, Don Stone, Ralph Bush, Ronalee Crocker, William Maloney, and John Caggiano.
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