Updates of artists “work in the progress” that will be featured in the show.
Barry Keegan will be leading our Fish Tales workshop this coming weekend, Saturday July 7th, 1-4pm. A man deeply connected to the wilderness and preserving Native American craft. Learn the art of fire making, fishing techniques, as well as flint and basket making!
An art activity will be presented by R.A.R.E. in conjunction to the workshop.
More info on Barry Keegan can be found at: http://www.hawkcircle.com/hcfest.htm
Take a wild snapshot on a guided tour at Constitution Marsh with Eric Lind. Constitution Marsh is a 270-acre tidal marsh located opposite West Point. The marsh is home to more than 100 bird species, over 40 fish and countless other creatures. The marsh developed approximately 5,000 years ago.
Address: 127 Warren’s Landing Rd., Garrison, NY 10524. Website: http://www. constitutionmarsh.org/
Eric is responsible for all aspects of planning, developing, operating and managing Constitution Marsh. Prior to this position, Eric was the Assistant Manager and Education Director at the sanctuary, where he has worked since 1993. A life-long resident of the Hudson River Valley, he has a deep personal connection to the Hudson River and its wild inhabitants. Eric is an accomplished wildlife photographer and his work frequently decorates Audubon New York publications.
Passionate, enthusiastic, talented and intelligent are the first words that come to mind at my first meeting with the young artist. Isr’a’s love for the environment and creativity will be exhibited in Fish Tales Around Westchester. She has generously given her time, efforts and positive energy to build “special show pieces”. In honoring this “gift” R.A.R.E. has adopted Isr’a as our first R.A.R.E. Young Artist and recognized her with an honorarium. We are proud and thrilled to have her on board our team and look forward to exhibiting her artistic abilities next week!
Thank you Isr’a, for strengthening the show and for your participation.
We’ve lost track of what day it is at this point and our aches and pains are numb. Installation has been slow going and we have encountered a lot of challenges and set backs that were unexpected. Along side our Fish Tale artists we continue to shape and mold the show, our hard hats on, our paint brushes in one hand, a hammer in the other and a weary smile. We are well on our way to the “Best Fish show in Town”. See you there!
The absolute beauty of this project is that it reacquainted me with an old friend. I’ve lived within a few miles of the Hudson my entire life. It’s always been there whether or not I took any notice of it. Not until I spent time away did I realize how greatly I was tied to it, how much I’d taken it for granted. There is more to life on a river than commerce and industry. It is healing, regenerative, and flowing. Each step through this project—as the process directed me to all things foreign, all things alien—I found that I was discovering the Hudson anew. What is the Hudson without the precious devils heads? What is the Hudson without the people who live along it? How does one affect the other and what is given in return? Can man really change life, or does life take over with man’s altered states?
Dominick Santise was born in upstate New York in 1975. A graduate of Parsons School of Design as well as a student of the late David J. Passalacqua, he works as a designer and an illustrator. Recently he has turned his time and attention to the subjects of agriculture and the environment, starting the artisanal ceramic plate project Terra Messor and contributing to the blog theenvironmentalobstacle.org. Dominick is the author/illustrator of several stories, including Beneath the Tree, and has been working on the book Spring Tea Party, written by his late grandmother. He lives in Beacon, NY with his wife and daughters and proudly serves on the board of a local farm project.
Shown here is a portion of a mosaic mural by the Peekskill train station in the public park, Riverfront Green. Standing approximately 5ft high and 6ft wide , titled: An ancient mariner’s map of the Hudson River designed by Haifa for the City of Peekskill. It conveys the wealth of surrounding “wild life” at a time when numerous species of fish also filled the River.
Haifa Bint-Kadi holds an M.F.A. from Istituto d’Arte per il mosaico in Ravenna, Italy and has been designing and fabricating public art mosaics since 1993. She recently completed the construction and installation of a sculpture park for the State of New York at Suny Oneonta symbolizing the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Haifa Bint-Kadi has recently been awarded the competitive Create Change Residency which will culminate in a large scale public art project for south Yonkers.
“My work involves working closely with community in developing public art projects that reflect the community’s interests, history and perspectives using a constructivist model to engage the public in the Big Idea of community and in making connections to the environment. I call this work, Resurrection History. I believe public art should be accessible to the public and not simply because it’s installed in a public space, but because the artist has engaged the public through research, history and the discourse the public art inspires. I’m only interested in projects that engage the public in authentic ways.”
Test your knowledge and guess which beautiful fish goes with which fish fact?
1.The Tautog is a popular inshore gamefish that lives along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to South Carolina. Although capable of reaching relatively large sizes, they are very slow- growing
2. The American Shad is an anadromous fish, spending its adult life at sea and returning to fresh water rivers to spawn. They are primarily plankton feeders, but will eat small shrimp and fish eggs.
3. The Black Sea Bass is anadromous but does not spawn in Long Island Sound tributaries. They are popular sport fish that appear in the Sound in the summer, feeding on squid and finfish.
Fish Tales 