On The Job – Neon

Owner and tattoo artist at Neon Lady Tattoo

Explain your job and what it entails.

I am a tattoo artist and that entails drawing custom pieces for clients and bringing their ideas to fruition.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve been tattooing for 11 years. Started apprenticing in 2013 and opened my own business four years ago in February 2020.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I wanted to be able to create artwork for my clients and wanted to do something I enjoyed as my career. Creating custom work and being able to do custom art pieces has always been a passion of mine and being able to support myself doing that has been one of the greatest things.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I did go to art school for a little while, for a couple years, but you do need an apprenticeship, so finding a mentor and another tattooer that has experience and is willing to take on a student or an apprentice, in order to be licensed to be able to tattoo legally.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

I wear whatever I please that is comfortable and black usually. It’s my favorite color. It hides the ink and the blood — you can include that or not; it’s the truth, though. It’s professional, looks artsy.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Time management. Especially as a business owner, beyond just being a tattooer, owning the business. Just trying to balance personal life and work life is very challenging but it comes with its own rewards.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

How much of my time would be dedicated to being involved in it. Like the emails and customer service aspect of it, again, the work-life balance.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

It can be physically taxing, mentally taxing. But a positive aspect of that, though, is you get to meet so many different people and I feel like you definitely grow as a person with all the folks that you meet and how close you end up becoming with some of your clients and the importance of some of the art pieces that come in. Whether it’s a memorial piece or you’re doing a cover-up or scar cover, how important that can be with some clients and that comes with some responsibility too, being able to give someone a sense of themselves back.

What was your first job?

My father owned a pizza restaurant for several years…. So I pretty much folded pizza boxes for a dollar to help the family, swept floors, cleaned tables, that was my first job.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Stay humble and keep growing. There’s always an opportunity to learn.
—Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt
Favorite movie: An American Werewolf in London
Favorite music: I like a mixture of punk and rock ’n’ roll, in general. Some rap, some hip-hop, some oldies.
Favorite food: Sushi!
Favorite thing about NH: There’s so much to do, especially with nature. I love to hike, I like to garden, I like the seasons.

Featured photo: Neon. Courtesy Photo.

Kiddie Pool 24/04/04

Family fun for whenever

See a show

• Southern NH Youth Ballet will perform “Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly” along with “The Princess & The Pea,” the Hans Christian Andersen classic, at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St in Manchester) on Sunday, April 7, at 1 and 4 p.m., and guests can enjoy tea time with Fancy Nancy and her friends 45 minutes before each show, according to a press release. This performance is appropriate for children and young ballerinas of all ages and lasts approximately 90 minutes. Each special pre-performance Tea with Fancy Nancy is $20 per person, must be purchased separately, and is limited to only 50 guests, according to the release. Tickets range from $20 to $25. Visit palacetheatre.org or call 669-5588.

• Hear New Hampshire’s own Adam Sandler in his role as protective-dad Dracula in a screening of Hotel Transylvania (PG, 2012) on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. at the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire in Bedford. The event is part of the New Hampshire Jewish Film Fest, which is slated to start Thursday, April 4, and is free. Register to attend at nhjewishfilmfestival.com/2024-films.

• The Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St., Concord) presents Pete the Cat in “Pete’s Big Hollywood Adventure” on Wednesday, April 10, at 10 a.m. as part of their education series, according to a press release. Pete the Cat and his buddy Callie get lost in the world of movies when they sneak into the Hollywood Studios with Ethel the Apatosaurus and Robo-Pete in this new musical adventure that features “Cavecat Pete,” “Pete the Cat and the Treasure Map”and“The Cool Cat Boogie,” according to the release. The show is 60 minutes long and recommended for children in pre-K or kindergarten. Doors open at 9 a.m. and tickets are $8. Visit www.ccanh.com.

Story time

• Meet Pete the Cat at the Books Alive! event at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org) on Friday, April 5, at either 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. and Saturday, April 6, at either 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. On both days, play sessions are from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4 p.m. (the Friday also features “First Friday” play time from 4:15 to 7 p.m.).Admission costs $12.50 for adults and kids over 12 months old, $10.50 for 65+

• Derry Public Library hosts a recurring story program for children ages 3 to 5 and their caregiver, for sharing books, songs, puppets and a preschool craft, according to the library’s website. The next one is Monday, April 8, from 10 to 10:45 a.m. A second session is held from 1 to 1:45 p.m. every Monday as well. Since space is limited, registration is required for each storytime, but only children need to be registered, not adults, and registration opens two weeks before each storytime. Visit derrypl.org or call 432-6140.

Totality!

• The big eclipse is finally here — Monday, April 8, with the highlights roughly between 2 p.m.-ish and 4 p.m.-ish. See our story on page 33 of the March 28 issue of the Hippo (find the e-edition at hippopress.com) for more on local happenings including the happenings at McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord (2 Institute Dr., 271-7827) which will have eclipse activities included with general admission from noon to 5 p.m., such as making a pinhole camera, eclipse puzzles and lunar phases wheels. In Manchester, SEE Science Center will host an eclipse viewing event at Arms Park from 2 to 4:30 p.m. with music from WZID and activities to explain eclipse science. Visit see-sciencecenter.org for eclipse simulation videos and more. Both location’s gift shops sell eclipse glasses (including, at SEE, Thursday, April 4, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Monday, April 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the center is closed for its annual fundraiser).

Horses and health

• The new Girls Rule program at UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center (153 Paige Hill Road in Goffstown) offers a unique opportunity to specifically address mental health and wellness for girls, according to a press release. This curriculum-based program helps girls learn self-advocacy, build confidence, feel empowered, learn how to establish and assert healthy boundaries, develop a body-positive image and make empowered choices, according to the press release. The release stated that this unmounted program happens in a fun, safe, supportive environment with horses and ponies and is designed for girls ages 11 to 14. The program runs from Monday, May 6, through Monday, June 17. Tuition is $200, and financial aid is available. Visit upreachtec.org or email [email protected] or call 497-2343.

Treasure Hunt 24/04/04

Hello, Donna,

I have had these two candlesticks for about 45 years and have always wondered what their value may be. They are from my grandparents. I believe they are brass, and they are stamped on the bottom Tiffany Studios New York 1201. Could you give me a value on them?

Thank you.

Lisa

Dear Lisa,

Beautiful set of Tiffany Studios candlesticks!

Your bronze gold dore (meaning bronze with a gold gilt/wash over them) candlesticks date to the early 1900s. They are called cat’s paw due to the streamline design ending in a paw bottom. They appear to be in great original condition.

The value on them as a pair would be in the $3,000 range to a collector. Singles sell for less each. Having both makes them more desirable.

Lisa, your grandparents left you a treasure that will do nothing but increase with time. Enjoy them!

Hope this was helpful, Jake.

Playing Robert Frost

‘A voice worth having,’ says Emmy-winning actor

By Zachary Lewis

[email protected]

Gordon Clapp, a New Hampshire native, is no stranger to the stage. He will be performing the role of Robert Frost in A.M. Dolan’s Robert Frost: This Verse Business at Stockbridge Theatre at Pinkerton Academy (44 N. Main St. in Derry) and will be in residence starting on Tuesday, April 2, at Pinkerton Academy with a public performance on Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m.

Clapp is known for his Emmy-Award-winning performance as Detective Greg Medavoy on NYPD Blue, and was also nominated for a Tony award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in the revival of David Mamet’s Pulitzer’s Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross as Coach Mad Maxx in 2007, among a myriad of other film, television and stage credits.

Performing Robert Frost has been on Clapp’s mind for some time.

“This was something I had thought about doing since right after college. I read the biographies, and Frost was a voice that had been in my head since high school, since the inauguration of Kennedy,” he said.

“Also,” Clapp said, “I wanted to bring an older Frost to the stage, so I wanted to wait till I was old enough to be believable as the older Frost.”

As luck would have it, Clapp’s patience paid off.

“I stumbled across a script just at the time when I was thinking about writing, putting together a script.” So Clapp and Dolan “worked on it together. He’s actually more familiar with some of the talks and he knows where all the treasures are in the talks. He started working on this probably 20 years ago. We’ve been doing it for 15 years, on and off,” Clapp said.

While the Frost estate is protective of the late poet’s image, Clapp and Dolan “managed to get an endorsement from Peter Gilbert, who is the executor of the estate,” Clapp said.

During the presidential election week of 2016, Clapp and Dolan “went to Edinboro, Pennsylvania, where there was a meeting of the Frost Society. One of Frost’s granddaughters [Leslie Lee Francis] was there and she gave us a thumbs up … hoping we could make him a little younger and more energetic. It’s a very energetic performance in terms of presenting an 88-year-old,” Clapp said. “She just had a very strong memory of that. She spent a lot of time with her grandfather.”

Clapp is excited to bring the show to Derry.

“Derry was the most fertile ground for him for writing. He spent 10 years there. … He raised a family there. Many of the best poems he ever wrote were written in Derry or about his time in Derry or inspired by his time in Derry,” Clapp said.

Shannon Myers, Director of the Stockbridge Theatre, “came to see the show in Portsmouth in January of 2023,” Clapp said, “and she loved it and spread the word. We decided to do a three-day program.”

Frost taught at Pinkerton Academy. The performance for the students is “more about his thoughts on education. It’s the first time we’ve done something like that.”

Diving into the little and lesser-known details of Frost’s portfolio is what makes Clapp’s performance memorable.

“The first Frost poem that really captivated me outside of ‘[The] Road Not Taken’ and ‘Stopping by Woods [on a Snowy Evening]’ was a poem called ‘Out, Out—,’ which is not one of the ones that I say in the show,” Clapp said. It is not a poem that Frost ever recited either.

“He never read the poem in public and it’s a very short poem about the sudden accidental death of a teenage boy working on a farm sawing wood with a buzz saw and having his hand cut off and the response of everyone around him, so the family and friends. That poem really resonated with me…. There was a coldness to it but at the same time there was this kind of stoicism, ‘the show must go on’ feeling….”

That poem, which gained its name from the “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” soliloquy delivered by Macbeth in the Scottish play,was based on a real event in Franconia. According to Dierdre Fagan’s Critical Companion to Robert Frost, Frost was friends with the victim of the accident, a 16-year-old named Raymond Tracy Fitzgerald.

These tragedies rhymed with Frost’s own life. “There were all these dark, dark things and he kept overcoming them in his writing,” Clapp said. “All that’s subjective, but objectively … there’s a depth to Frost that I don’t think people appreciate because people think of him as a Hallmark card poet. But some of his work I think is profound…. We try to keep his voice alive because it’s a voice worth having at this point.”

This Verse Business
When:
Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m.
Where: Stockbridge Theatre in Derry
Tickets: $25 to $30; see pinkertonacademy.org/stockbridge-theatre
More info: Visit thisversebusiness.com for future show dates including
April 23-28 at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston

Featured Photo: Gordon Clapp. Courtesy Photo.

The Art Roundup 24/04/04

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

The League at the Currier: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester) will partner with the League of NH Craftsmen to offer a series of one-of-a-kind foundational workshops and classes from local Master Craft artists as part of their spring session, featuring different projects and media that will serve as an “introduction to fine craft as a valuable human expression,” according to a press release. On Saturday, April 6, join League of NH Craftsmen artist Amy McGregor-Radin from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to explore the accessible (and satisfying!) art of white line woodcut printing for a fun one-day workshop, according to the same release. The price is $125 ($112.50 for members) plus a materials fee of $25 to be paid to the instructor on the day of the class. Visit currier.org or call 518-4922.

Shop crafts: The Capital City Craft Festival on Saturday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road in Concord) will feature more than 100 artisans selling their arts, crafts, specialty foods and more, according to castleberryfairs.com. Admission is $8 for adults, free for those under 14.

New exhibit: Twiggs Gallery’s (254 King St., Boscawen) first exhibit for the 2024 season, “Pushing Our Boundaries,” opens with an artists’ reception on Saturday, April 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. and showcases the talent of four League of NH Craftsmen artists: woodworker Steven Hayden, textile artist Cheryl Miller, ceramist Lori Rollason, and mixed media artist and calligrapher Adele Sanborn, who all collaborate as the 9th State Artisans, according to a press release. Twiggs Gallery is a nonprofit that offers regional art exhibitions, adult art classes and community events and is handicap accessible, according to the release. Hours are on Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Visit twiggsgallery.org or call 975-0015.

Arts cafe: The Londonderry Arts Council announced in a press release the 2024 Arts Café will take place on Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Londonderry Senior Center (535 Mammoth Road, Londonderry). The Arts Café is an annual free family event with local art, music and community spirit where attendees can enjoy complimentary coffee provided by Coffeeberries of Londonderry, hot chocolate and delicious breakfast pastries while they browse the artwork and can engage with the artists, according to the same release.The event will feature live acoustic music performances as well as a 50/50 raffle to be drawn at 3 p.m. with proceeds going to supporting local art events. and participants do not need to be present to win, according to the release. Visit londonderryartscouncil.org.

Author Fest! The Derry Author Fest is on Saturday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway, Derry, 432-6140, derrypl.org). It will feature workshops, panels and networking for aspiring authors. Find new reads, meet authors and get tips for writing your own book — attendees can stay all day or just drop in for a session. Book sales and signings are interspersed between workshops. The day begins with a keynote address from Virginia MacGregor. See derryauthorfest.wordpress.com/schedule for a detailed schedule.

Litfest! Exeter Litfest is on Saturday, April 6, at Exeter Town Hall (Front Street) and Exeter Library (4 Chestnut St.). A kick-off party will be held Friday, April 5, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Exeter Public Library with a free concert by Sharon Jones. Events on Saturday include a Crime and Mystery Brunch at Sea Dog restaurant, tickets required; an event with children’s authors Matt Tavares and Suzanne Slade at the Exeter Public Library at 11 a.m.; poetry readings, writers’ panels and author talks during the afternoon; a book-swap table; and a keynote address with Andre Dubus III at 4 p.m. at Exeter Town Hall. Exeter Litfest is a free event but donations are welcome. See exeterlitfest.com.

Brutal encounter

‘Unfixed Concrete Ideal’ exhibit at 3S Artspace

By Michael Witthaus
[email protected]

In an April 2020 episode of her 99% Invisible podcast, design critic Avery Trufelman said that concrete is exceeded only by water as the most consumed product in the world. In architecture, it’s also one of the most divisive. Trufelman noted that James Bond creator Ian Fleming named his Goldfinger supervillain after a real architect just because he disliked his buildings so intensely.

On the other hand, at least one of Ernő Goldfinger’s concrete creations has received landmark status.

“Unfixed Concrete Ideal,” opening April 5 at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, explores the role of concrete in civic architecture, and the many conflicting passions it can inspire. The exhibition includes mixed media works, photography, sculpture and even a couple of etchings done on drywall by co-curator Ben Sloat.

In a recent phone interview, Sloat noted the egalitarian nature of concrete. He’s an Asian-American who grew up in New York City; his mother is from Taiwan. Under-resourced as it grew in the 1960s, the country relied heavily on concrete. “It could modernize without deforesting,” Sloat said. “That felt like a really amazing thing that concrete can do.”

Sloat also likes that “concrete has a really significant impression in our cultural language; like, ‘my plans aren’t concrete yet.’ At the same time, concrete poetry looks like a shape. Other definitions are about amalgams or accumulations or abstraction; concrete photography is actually a form of non-representational photography. So I like that concrete has a very almost elastic presence in our cultural context.”

Running through June 2, the exhibition began as a response to the planned demolition of the Government Services Center (GSC) in Boston’s West End. Many of the works on display in the show are images of the building, which was built in 1971 and designed by Paul Rudolph, a well-known Brutalist architect.

Brutalism isn’t derived from the word “brutal.” “It’s actually related to ‘béton brut,’ which means raw concrete,” Sloat said. He called the style “quite the mixed bag; some people hate it. It’s one of those things — really good Brutalist buildings are amazing and knock-offs are terrible.”

This duality is at the center of “Unfixed Concrete Ideal,” which was shown first in Boston last July, and later in Fall River, Mass. An exhibition statement reads, “In some spaces, concrete can be seen as a modern and democratic material, while in others it can be quite hostile and oppressive. In many ways, concrete itself represents the ideals of the modern era, but also how incomplete those ideals often became.”

Joining the version in Portsmouth is “Heap,” a sculpture by Boston artist Tory Fair that consists of piled up cast objects that, curator Susan L. Stoops writes, “bear the memories of absent originals” — mugs, boots, cameras and other pieces. The two etchings from Sloat share Fair’s nostalgia. One shows an amphitheater that was originally part of the GSC; the other is a detail of Rudolph’s creation as it is today.

A series of sculptures by Finnish artist Anssi Taulu depict concrete’s stages of decomposition. “There’s a parallel between concrete being unfinished and being alive with the kind of natural cycles that we witness in the organic world,” Sloat said. “Certainly, Anssi is thinking about that … he uses a very lightweight concrete, and he adds more water and other binders, so it’s not super heavy.”

Other pieces reflect the social nature of concrete architecture, including excerpts from (Un)finished, a book of photographs that documents pending structures in modern Athens, from Greek artist and researcher Maria Lalou and Danish architect Skafte Aymo-Boot. Lalou’s work constantly questions “the relations between perception, space, material-object and an observing subject, with a central focus to the politics of the viewer,” according to her catalog bio.

Rudolph spoke of his work in similar terms while discussing a bench in the GSC plaza that was at one time a focal point of the structure.

“Civic architecture means assigning a proper role to each building so it works in concert with its neighbors,” he said. “The benches are curved for sociability; they are my social statement.”

Unfixed Concrete Ideal opening reception
When: Friday, April 5, 5 p.m.
Where: 3S Artspace, 319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth
More: 3Sarts.org

Featured Photo: “Heap” by Tory Fair. Courtesy Photo.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!