The Caroline County Council of Arts is proud to co-sponsor an exhibit of Mark Priest's Harriet Tubman Series. Mr Priest's paintings include scenes of the Underground Railroad from events that occurred in Caroline County. Mark Priest holds a Master of Arts degree from Yale University and is currently a professor of painting and drawing at the University of Louisville. Among his work, which has been widely exhibited in the United States, is a series of paintings stunning in their depiction of the intense exertion of a rail-laying gang. Mr. Priest has now begun his Harriet Tubman Series, now on display at the Museum of Rural Life in Denton, 16 North Second Street, Denton, MD from February 17–April 16, 2007.

The museum is open Friday & Saturday 10:00–3:00 p.m. and Sunday 11:00–4:00 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

More about the Museum of Rural Life

Just like the stories she tells, Linda’s career as a storyteller started with a story. Years ago in Shanghai, China, a teacher who wanted to help a ten-year old girl overcome her shyness handed her a book and said, “Go and read the story, my child. Come back tomorrow and see if you can tell it to me.” That launched Linda Fang’s career as a storyteller. She began telling stories, went on to win storytelling competitions, and eventually became a professional storyteller who delights hundreds of children and adults every day. Enriched by her experience of growing up in China, Linda tells stories she collects from Chinese folktales, historical anecdotes, oral traditions, and Chinese opera. Her captivating storytelling style is seen in her unusual ability to engage her audiences at various levels, to draw them into the stories, and keep them there. Instead of hearing a story, the listeners are ushered into a magic world to witness the story unfold. Traveling across the country, as well as abroad, Linda unveils the culture, traditions and beauty of China, a country that never ceases to be mysterious yet fascinating.

Linda Fang will share her stories at the Ashburn Public Library in Ashburn, Virginia on April 28th at 2 pm. Admission is free. For more information please call 703-737-8100. To purchase her books or CDs, please write to info@chinesestoryteller.com.

Linda Fang's website

Ben Taylor's circumstance is far from normal. His parents—father James Taylor, mother Carly Simon—are giants of popular music. And with that lineage come the expectations that make ANOTHER RUN AROUND THE SUN a milestone as well as a masterwork. Of course, there was never any pressure from his family to match their achievements—no pressure, that is, except from Ben himself. He's always kept his standards high—how could he not? And when his sound began to evolve, and invariably it showed signs of influence from those who were closest to him, he found himself at a crossroads that most artists never have to visit. His choice was whether to deny his birthright, to pack up his music and take it somewhere else for reasons that have nothing to do with the music itself. Or he could stake his claim on the family land, sing and play the way he wanted to, and against all odds stand as an artist with unique qualities of his own. It took a while, but with ANOTHER RUN AROUND THE SUN Ben makes that choice—the right choice. Listening to his album is like slipping into a brand new shirt that feels as comfortable as one you've worn with pleasure before. As you button up and shrug it into place, though, you notice the differences. That combination of the familiar with the new is the key to appreciating Ben Taylor.

Ben Taylor

Doubt is the story of a nun who runs a parochial school in 1960's America. She has serious concerns about a priest and his behavior at the school. Should she confront him and raise some very uncomfortable issues when she is not absolutely certain? It's a powerful performance that resonates in today's headlines.

Doubt stars Tony award-winning actress Cherry Jones, who is reprising her award winning role on the production's national tour. Rhea had the great pleasure of sitting with Cherry Jones and talking about John Patrick Shanley's provocative play which has been exciting audiences literally from coast to coast.

Doubt runs through March 25th at Washington's National Theater, then makes its way to Baltimore's Hippodrome Theater for a May 1 thru 13th run.

Doubt: The Tour
National Theatre
Hippodrome Theatre

I am primarily interested in using narrative figuration to explore an imagined relationship and a particular lifestyle. The figures in my paintings are all New England academic-types. They live in the country and they teach part-time at the local college. In my work I try to tell stories about their lives, as individuals and as couples. I hope for an ambiguous tone. I have affection for the way of life I portray and I may even hope to adopt it myself, but I understand the affectation that comes with it, and I know that my aspiration toward it is ultimately somewhat foolish. I want to satirize, but I don't want to do so to the extent that the relationships between the men and women in the paintings are drained of significance or pathos. Individuals can feel a certain way about one another, but "types" cannot.

So far, the paintings are fairly small and painted on wood in either oil or egg tempera. I work slowly, trying to invest every inch of the surface with interest. I want to achieve the appearance of sparseness which gradually reveals formal complexity. In working with subject matter that is essentially rural, regional kitsch, I have become familiar with the conventions used by other painters working in that same vein, such as Grant Wood and Andrew Wyeth. I try to treat this approach playfully in my own work, without making a burlesque out of it. I hope in the end that people who aren't interested in Northampton professors or in the tropes of regionalism, but are interested in marriage, longing and loss—will have something to look at in my pictures. Contact at clidston@gmail.com.

On ArtChat This Week, Nate and Rhea discuss the highly successful Artafare at MICA last weekend. There was great food, art and entertainment. Baltimore artist Joyce Scott was there and recently spent some time working with a master glassmaker. She has created a new body of work in blown, painted and pressed glass on exhibit at the Goya Contemporary. Even the arts has to keep up with the times and Gary Vikan over at the Walters Art museum is staying in step with the current web trends—he’s created a blog. He may be the first major museum director to do so and you can log on at thewalters.org/blog and add your voice to the mix. And reportedly, slumping attendance has left the city’s two sports museums in the red with a projected deficit of 600 thousand dollars. The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum and the Sports Legends at Camden Yards are struggling to make ends meet. Hopefully the start of the O’s season will pull more people back to the attractions and boost revenue.

Walters Art Museum
Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum
Sports Legends at Camden Yards