ART ON THE LIBRARY WALLS

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ART ON THE LIBRARY WALLS

Exhibiting Artist: Joan Garrison

Paintings by Joan

68 Railroad Avenue

Montgomery, NY 12549

845 457-4205

I started out at Hoboken New Jersey High School with art classes. I ventured in pastels, charcoal drawings and advertising posters. I took oil classes in 1954 – 1956, which was my favorite medium to paint in. Later on, went into acrylic classes for about 5 years doing mainly landscapes of all kinds in Pine Bush, New York. Then took pen and ink, pencil drawings and charcoal classes in Middletown, New York and went back to oil on canvas in Newburgh, New York painting all kinds from flowers, balloons,, seascapes, birds, etc. and my favorite, landscapes.  Painting is very relaxing and rewarding with a personal feeling of accomplishment.

RAVE REVIEWS BY OUR OWN JEAN E. EUSTANCE!

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RAVE REVIEWS by Jean E. Eustance

The Black Ascot is the newest Ian Rutledge murder mystery by Charles Todd. We have it in the Pine Bush Area Public Library on the new book shelf, upstairs in the adult’s section.

The first few pages are set in 1910, at the Ascot Racecourse in England. Royal Ascot is when the socially-important horse races are held there, not far from Windsor Castle. (Royal Ascot is still held nowadays.) The 1910 Royal Ascot was called the Black Ascot because everyone was supposed to be in mourning for the late King Edward VII, and everyone was to wear black.

This sets the stage for what happens later. The rest of the book begins in January 1921, and Inspector Ian Rutledge from Scotland Yard is told to look over the cold case file of why a wealthy woman was killed in a motorcar, some miles away from the racetrack in 1910. Her suspected murderer may have slipped back into England, recently.

The Ian Rutledge series of mysteries are interesting in that their hero is written with a twist. He was a detective at Scotland Yard, and then he went to serve on the Western Front in World War I.  He came home, and rejoined the Yard, but brought back a secret that only a few know. Rutledge suffers from shell shock or battle fatigue.  (Nowadays it is called post-traumatic stress disorder.)

He had to order the execution of a man in his unit, when Hamish refused to lead the men “over the top” in another useless attempt to retake a few yards of No Man’s Land. Rutledge had tried to reason with him, but in the end had to have him executed for refusing to obey an order. Hamish is dead, but it is Ian Rutledge who has never recovered. He can hear Hamish talking to him, in his head. He thinks that Hamish is sitting behind him when he drives his car, and he cringes every time two fat Chief Inspectors from Scotland Yard take up the entire back seat. He is afraid to look in the rearview mirror because he thinks he will see Hamish’s anguished face.

Most detectives in novels have a sidekick or assistant. One must talk to someone. One must not talk to one’s self alone. It just isn’t done. Ian Rutledge does not have an assistant or sidekick to share his troubles. He has Hamish, in his head, all the time. Sometimes it is sad, sometimes it is wry, and sometimes it is very funny.

On the cases that Rutledge covers, Hamish tends to have insights which Rutledge doesn’t have. He also says the most embarrassing “asides,” usually something like “Don’t trust that woman!” Hamish sometimes yells “Ware!” meaning “Beware!” when someone is aiming a gun at Rutledge.  The detective has learned to duck when Hamish yells “Ware!”

All the books in the series are intricately detailed, and the detective goes around and talks to all sorts of folk, all of whom come across as real people. If the books were “food,” I would say that they were dense and chewy. This is not light-weight froth, and the reader must be prepared to settle down and read strongly. The books feel real, despite the premise that our hero is hearing a voice in his head.

Charles Todd is the pen name of a mother-son partnership. They have written 21 books about Ian Rutledge, and 10 about his friend Bess Crawford.  Bess occasionally appears in a book about Rutledge.

Pine Bush Area Library has a few of the more recent Ian Rutledge books and about 5 of the Bess Crawford books. Come in and see what we have and settle in for a good read.

Would you be interested in visiting Boscobel House and Gardens with a free pass for 4 courtesy of The Pine Bush Area Public Library??

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Boscobel is a beautifully reassembled 1800’s neoclassical house in Garrison, NY.  There are lush gardens, trails and magnificent Hudson Valley views. We are surveying our patrons to find out how many library cardholders would be interested in obtaining a free pass (for 4 individuals) to visit this historic site. Boscobel is open for tours from April to December 2019. Please call the library at(845) 744-4265 to add your name to the list of patrons who would like to take advantage of this library card benefit!

(You will be responsible for your own transportation to visit Boscobel House)

THE ORIGINS OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS – A six week overview starting March 26th

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THE ORIGINS OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS

 JOSEPH BRITTO, adjunct lecturer SUNY/Orange & Professor Emeritus SUNY/New Paltz provides a fascinating six (6) week overview of the origins of pre-history to present day religions, formal and informal, in global perspective.

 Location: Pine Bush Area Public Library Community Center

Dates: Tuesdays, March 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30th

Time 6:30 to 8:00 PM

Please register for this program by calling (845) 744-4265 ext. 2

ART ON THE LIBRARY WALLS

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Exhibiting Artist: GINI ROSE SIVILLI

Being a native of the Hudson Valley has always been a blessing.  Painting is a way for me to express this beauty. I started painting when my kids left the nest.  Learning through classes, art groups and workshops given by artists worldwide has helped me develop my skills and style. I love impressionistic watercolors.  The spontaneity of unexpected beauty that can happen as the paint “does its thing” is very exciting. 

I have found my passion and my Zen.

(Please stop in the Main Library to view this artist’s paintings!)

The Pine Bush Area Arts Council is calling all artists: 

If you would like to exhibit your artwork in the Pine Bush Library,

please contact Dick Reich

(845) 744-3781

RAVE REVIEWS BY JEAN E. EUSTANCE MARCH 2019

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RAVE REVIEWS

by Jean E. Eustance

March 2019

IN honor of St. Patrick’s Day, March 1t I will be looking at two picture books about leprechauns. Clever tom and the Leprechaun is retold and illustrated by Linda Shute. It is found in the Pine Bush Library in the folklore and fairytale section, on a free-standing set of shelves in the Children’s Department.  The other book, Shannon and the World’s Tallest Leprechaun is written by Sean Callahan, and illustrated charmingly by Kathleen Kemly. It is found in the Juvenile Picture book section, the long set of shelves on the wall.

Clever tom and the Leprechaun  is a retelling of “The Field of Boliauns” from Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, published in 1825 by folklorist T. Croftion Croker. In it, Tom catches a leprechaun and demands his pot of gold. As long as Tom does not look away or blink, the leprechaun cannot escape. The leprechaun directs him to a big field of boliauns, which are also called ragwort. He tells him which ragwort bush the gold is buried under. Tim cleverly ties the red garter, which was holding up one of his socks, to the ragwort bush. The leprechaun vanishes.

Tom runs home to get his shovel, and make his fortune. But when he gets back to the field, he finds that every single ragwort bush has a red garter tied around it. He spends the rest of the day digging up bushes and never finds the pot of gold.  This is a traditional leprechaun tale.  The leprechaun is never tricked out of his gold.  Tom spends the rest of his life waiting for the second chance of finding the leprechaun and the treasure.  Clever Tom is a classic, and a lot of fun.

Shannon and the World’s Tallest Leprechaun is not a traditional tale. Shannon is practicing hard to dance well in the ST. Patrick’s Day step dance contest, to be held at the Irish-American Heritage Center.  She is worried that the other girls will dance better than she does, and they all have either fancy shoes, fancy wigs, or dressed imported from Ireland.  When the heel breaks off one of her shoes, she knows that Mom and Dad can’t afford to buy her new shoes. What now?

She decided to give up and throw away the shoes, but at the last moment tries something her father had said.  “If you close your eyes and counted backward in Gaelic, the ancient language, a leprechaun might appear to grant a wish.”  She does, and HE does—Liam, the world’s tallest leprechaun (five –foot-eleven) appears and says he will grant three wishes to her, one a day.  She asks for a fancy dress and a wig and shoes with heels that don’t break off.

“A wig? A dress?” the leprechaun scoffed. “”What do those have to do with dancing?” But a shoe—you do need that.  “Give me the broken one. I’ll show you how to take care of the perfectly fine stuff you already have.”

He helps her repair the shoe (a leprechaun is the fairy shoemaker after all) and then says that’s wish number one, and he vanishes.

 

The next day he is back to help her dance—by asking her to teach him how to dance. By teaching him she improves her dancing. That’s wish number two. The third day, they dance again. Then Shannon asks, “Do you have a pot of gold buried at the end of the rainbow?”

“Aye, that’s true,” Liam said. “Did you Google me or something?”

 

“Is it within the rules for me to wish for some of your gold?’

 

“Tis, and if you practice some more, tomorrow, on St. Patrick’s Day you will have some,” he said, grinning.

The next day, Shannon dances in the competition, and wins, despite her homemade dress and repaired shoes. She sees Liam standing at the back of the crows. “When Shannon won first prize, she caught sight of a rainbow arcing across the sky.” It seemed to point right to the shinning medal hanging around her neck. So this was the leprechaun’s gold!”

Shannon and the World’s Tallest Leprechaun is a great book and everyone should read it.