Author: The Hippo Press

On The Job – Hannah Cole Dahar

Multi-disciplinary Artist and Art Teacher

Explain your job and what it entails.

My day job is as a high school art teacher. I teach advanced placement, honors, drawing, painting and jewelry. As an artist [coledahar.com] I have a practice where I create wearable sculptures and paint women wearing them as historical and mythological figures that are reimagined through a feminist lens.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve been an artist pretty much all my life; an art teacher, I’ve been doing that for about 25 years. I’ve taught 3-year-olds and my oldest student was 96 years old.

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

I graduated from art school in the ’90s with a fashion degree and I found out quickly that I really wasn’t crazy about that field. I bopped around for a little while and a friend offered me a job teaching and I found I loved it, everything about it. At the same time I promised myself that if I was going to go back to school and get a teaching degree, that I would always maintain an art practice. I think that’s very valuable for students to see, that a teacher not only can talk the talk but walk the walk….

What kind of education or training did you need?

As an artist, I have a BFA, a bachelor of fine arts in apparel design, an MFA in drawing and painting, and I have an MAT, a master of arts in teaching, for my teaching license. There’s been a lot of training. I also make it a point to seek out artists that I want to learn from, teaching artists as well. I study under different masters, both jewelry and painting.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Generally things that I can put through the laundry, because art is a messy business.

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

Time and having enough of it. I wish that we had 30-hour days so I could really get into things. It’s a balance having those two careers … trying to devote enough time to my own practice…

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

Basically, how to network within the arts community, how to find a group of artists to run critiques with…. I didn’t know how much I didn’t know until I stumbled upon it, so I try to give my students a heads up…

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

That it is highly rewarding but it is a lot of work. You work really hard and then when the opportunity comes around you’re able to take advantage of that opportunity….

What was your first job?

I started busing tables for my grandmother’s restaurant when I was 12 years old. Before that I babysat.

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

Don’t wait for inspiration to come to you. … If you’re unsure of starting a piece, work in your sketchbook. If you’re stuck on one, you can move to the next. It’s important to try to create every day. —Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: I am a sucker for the original Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
Favorite movie: Pan’s Labyrinth
Favorite music: It’s usually like indie, goth, a little bit of swing.
Favorite food: If I’m going out, I’d have to say I love Vietnamese food.
Favorite thing about NH: You can be immersed in nature one part of the day and in a really urban setting the next.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 24/05/30

Family fun for whenever

Music, fun and games

• Saturday, June 1, marks Nashua’s Parks and Recreation Department’s official start of summer. Join the fun at Greeley Park (100 Concord St., Nashua) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be games, touch-a-truck, various activities, and live performances by children’s musician Judy Pancoast (judypancoast.com) at 10:30 a.m. and magician BJ Hickman (bjhickman.com) at 11:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Animals

• At Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center (928 White Oaks Road, Laconia, prescottfarm.org) on Wednesday, June 5, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., pre-K visitors accompanied by an adult can see a taxidermied owl, sing and dance to owl sounds and music, and play an owl and mouse game in the “Summer Polliwogs: Whooo’s Who (American Owls)” program. Tickets for a pair are $15.

• Celebrate National Dinosaur Day on Saturday, June 1, at Leach Library (276 Mammoth Road, Londonderry) from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. with their Explorers Workshop: Dig into Dinos. This program, open to ages 9 to 14, will focus on paleontology and dinosaurs; participants will excavate their own dinosaur and create an identification card for it that will include a name and characteristics, according to the website. Register via the Events calendar at londonderrynh.gov/leach-library.

Vehicles

• Touch a truck at New Boston Central School (15 Central School Road, New Boston) on Saturday, June 1, from noon to 2 p.m., with Quiet Hour noon to 1 p.m. Children will have an opportunity to see and touch many types of trucks, and talk to the people who drive them. This event is organized by the Whipple Free Library (whipplefreelibrary.org, 487-3391). Food will be available from the Tola-Rose Italian Eats Food Truck, according to the website.

• The 80th annual New Hampshire Soap Box Derby race will be held Sunday, June 2, at 120 Broadway in Dover — check-ins begin at 7:45 a.m., with side-by-side competitions starting at 10 a.m. The Derby is an opportunity for kids ages 7 and older to create a gravity-powered car and race it down a track in hopes of making the All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship, hosted in Akron, Ohio. Cheering on the racers is free, and parking is available at 73 Oak St. in Dover. Visit nh.soapboxderby.org.

Hands-on

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire’s (6 Washington St., Dover, childrens-museum.org) New Hampshire Maker Fest is on Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is a large-scale show-and-tell with makers of all kinds, including artists, engineers, scientists and others, showcasing their creativity. Admission is on a pay-what-you-can basis, with a suggested $5 donation.

• Join the Seacoast Science Center (570 Ocean Blvd., Rye) for World Ocean Day on Sunday, June 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day will feature hands-on games, educational activities, naturalist-led tide pooling sessions, food trucks, a beach clean-up and a life-size inflatable whale. Visit seacoastsciencecenter.org to see a detailed schedule and purchase tickets (for non-members the cost is $20 for adults, $15 for children, free for those under age 3; members pay $5 or free under age 3).

Buy art, make art

Green Envy offers classes, crafts and more

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

Kermit the Frog once remarked that it’s not easy being green, but Kermit had never met Helen Ryba, the owner of the eclectic and otherworldly Green Envy (377 Elm St., No. 1, Manchester), where she makes being green look easy.

Ryba, a renaissance woman, hosts spaces for local artists to sell their wares. She also holds various classes and offers an anytime drop-in candle-making experience through her Queen City Candle company with a plethora of scents so visitors can craft a unique smell spell specific to their soul or season. It doesn’t hurt that there is free parking on the side.

The offerings include antiques, hydroponic plants, art and more.

“People have a lot of fun if they come here,” Ryba said. “People say I’m a hidden gem but I don’t want to be hidden anymore.”

One unique offering is the locally crafted baby blankets made from old chenille bedspread material.

“I just like the idea that it’s local stuff,” Ryba said.

The candle drop-in is a great time, and participants only need to arrive an hour before closing to take part. “I’ll add different scents depending on the season,” Ryba said. “These are high-quality scents.” From Palo Santo to Baked Apple Pie and Froot Loops, $20 for a nice-sized unique candle that someone can make themselves is a treat.

The creation process takes place in a cozy classroom space with a large wooden table and a seafoam green microwave and refrigerator, which were a joint gift from her three sons, as well as local art pieces on the walls.

Age is no barrier, and the artists Ryba sells for run the full spectrum. “I have a lot of older women’s art here,” she said. “Some women will find later in life that they have these talents that they didn’t know that they had. They’ve retired or they’ve tried different things later on, and I think that’s cool.”

There are classes every Thursday night, typically running from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A class from a couple weeks ago involved wreath making; others include Tarot card reading with a craft project involving the card that is pulled.

Succulents in vintage vessels pair nicely with the hydroponic plants. (“Hydroponic has no dirt, it’s only water, so it’s almost impossible to kill,” Ryba noted.) A plant resting over what looks like a potted plant is lifted to reveal a secret cenote of plant water.

“Once a week you raise the level to where it was originally and then once a month you just rinse the whole thing out, you rinse these, these are called LECA balls, with warm water and then you refill it and that’s it,” she said. LECA stands for lightweight expanded clay aggregate and is used in a lot of hydroponic plants. Ryba has plant foods and other hydroponic plant supplies for sale as well. “People say this is their spot to come when they’re looking for gifts.”

In the Tarot card section there are locally crafted goth-type dolls. “This is a little bit different,” Ryba said. “I guess I have some women that are, I guess they’re witches. I’m not a witch but they like that kind of stuff.”

A line of lotions from a local nurse, a “Not Your Mother’s Hallmark Card Section,” a series of drink mixers from Goffstown, hot sauce from Portsmouth, and fine art glassware from Tara Van Meter are in the shop as well.

Birthday parties are even a possibility in the classroom space. “I did a birthday party for a girl who turned 30 and some of her friends,” Ryba said. Class night and private functions are BYOB: “I’ll supply the ice and the cups and all that good stuff.” There are guidelines; open bottles are not allowed to leave.

“People seem to really like the classes,” Ryba said. “Most of the people that come out to the classes are women. I would say 90 percent are women, it’s like girl power. They come as strangers and leave as friends. I’ve seen people get together afterward, so it’s really great.”

Shop and craft
Green Envy
377 Elm St. #1, Manchester
722-3885, greenenvywellness.com

Classes:
Conch Shell and Glass Necklace
Thursday, May 30, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; $49
Pressed Flower Lantern
Thursday, June 6, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m..; $35
More class listings can be found online.

The Art Roundup 24/05/30

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

Multi-artist show:Positive Street Art and Opportunity Network will be hosting their “United Through Color” exhibition on Thursday, May 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Positive Street Art (48 Bridge St., Nashua), showcasing the solo and collaborative work of 14 artists whose breadth of mark-making and material manipulation is sure to astound and inspire, according to a press release. Fifty-five percent of sales will directly go to the artist, 35 percent back into this program and 10 percent to benefit Positive Street Art, according to the same release. The organizations hosting the exhibit thank New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the artists featured in this exhibition will be Liz Morin, Darren Roberts, Sue Long, Teddy Theos, Ed Davis, Duncan MacLennan, Sara Coffill, Amanda Pare, Hannah Gould, Alyssa Sawicki, Meghan Costello, Lisa Beauchamp, Yasamin Safarzadeh, Amara Phelps, Roger Balcom and Randall Neilson, according to the release. Visit positivestreetart.org

• Choral festival: Be the Change is a collaborative choral festival that will be held Saturday, June 1, at 4 p.m. at Concord’s South Congregational Church (27 Pleasant St., Concord) and will feature these Concord Community Music School ensembles: Canterbury Singers, Northern Lights Women’s Vocal Ensemble, Purple Finches Youth Chorus, Songweavers Women’s Chorus, Songweaver Drummers and Sunset Singers, according to their website, which suggests ordering tickets in advance. Prices range from $10 to $30. Visit ccmusicschool.org/events.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ART
Two Villages Art Society in the Hopkinton village of Contoocook (846 Main St.) will showcase more than 30 New Hampshire artists and sell their work in the annual summer member show, “Communities Gather,” which runs until Saturday, June 22, according to a press release. Admission to the gallery is free, as well as the opening reception, and the gallery is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. All exhibitors in the show are members of Two Villages Art Society (TVAS), a nonprofit organization that offers exhibits, workshops and other events. Work in this exhibit will include paintings and drawings, fiber arts, jewelry, pottery, and prints from painter Pamela R. Tarbell, ceramic artist Karen Sobin-Jonash, photographer Jeff Schapira, knitter Martha Johnson, fiber artist Jules Robinson, and other artists from Hopkinton, Concord, Warner, Meredith and nearby towns. The summer members exhibit is juried by a prominent member of the New Hampshire art community with a “Best in Show” and “Artist Merit” award to be presented during the opening reception.

• Spring concert: The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra will perform its spring concert at The Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org) Sunday, June 2, at 3 p.m. Tickets start at $23.50.

• Handbells: The Granite State Ringers, New Hampshire’s only elite handbell choir, will perform at the Spotlight Room (96 Hanover St., Manchester, 668-5588, palacetheatre.org) on Sunday, June 2, at 3 p.m. Tickets are $50.

• On stage: Manchester Community Theatre Players (MCTP) will present the musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the MCTP Theatre at the North End Montessori School (698 Beech St., Manchester) on Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, at 7:30 p.m. as well as on Sunday, June 2, at 2 p.m. The show focuses on six misfit kids in a spelling bee and the three adults in charge, resulting in hilarious and touching stories from the tweens’ home lives, according to a press release. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is appropriate for ages 14 and older due to adult themes. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for those 65 or older, and $10 for students and those 18 and under. Visitmcpt.info.

• Book art: “Building Books 2” is a traveling exhibition at Twiggs Gallery ( 254 King St., Boscawen) of unique artist books organized by members of the New England Book Artists (NEBA). It starts with a free zine-making workshop from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, followed by an artists’ reception from 1 to 3 p.m. The exhibit at Twiggs runs through July 14, according to a press release. “Building Books 2” presents a range of interpretations on the themes of structure, architecture, public and private spaces, reality and fantasy, libraries, engineering, drafting, bookbinding, the handmade, the maker, connections, conceptualizations, personal narratives, home and much more, according to the same release. Visit twiggsgallery.org.

THE SHOW GOES ON
Into the Breeches! by George Brant, produced by Lend Me a Theater (lendmeatheater.org), runs Friday, May 31, through Sunday, June 9, at the Rochester Performing Arts Center (32 N. Main St., Rochester) with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for adults, $22 for students, seniors and members, $19 for senior members. Into The Breeches! is a 2018 warm-hearted comedy set in 1942: Concord’s Oberon Play House’s director and leading men are off in World War II, so the director’s wife becomes determined to produce an all-female version of Shakespeare’s Henriad (Richard II, Henry IV Part 1 and 2, and Henry V) to deliver a celebration of collaboration and persistence when the show must go on, according to the website.

—Zachary Lewis

Watching iron melt and flowers bloom

Take in the natural and artistic beauty at Andres Institute

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

The Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline) sits on the site of a former ski lodge and granite quarry and consists of 140 acres, 12 miles of trail, and countless opportunities to encounter the sublime on a hike through art and nature. It’s “a beautiful setting, it’s gorgeous,” said Kristi St. Laurent, President of the Institute.

Andres was founded in 1998 by engineer philanthropist Paul Andres and Master Sculptor John Weidman. In 1999 they held the first International Annual Bridges and Connections Sculpture Symposium, which is where typically around three sculptors from all over the world are invited to Brookline for a few weeks to create magnificent sculpture.

Andres Institute of Art also hosts an art gallery and performance space for a myriad styles of music, from bluegrass to jazz to classical, a decision made to reflect the wide array of artistic styles represented here.

“The former ski lodge is now our welcome center,” St. Laurent said.

One hundred sculptures are on permanent display, made by artists hailing from 50 different countries. The trails where the sculptures are placed are open for free to the public any day of the year.

“You can just park your car and walk the trails,” St. Laurent said. “You don’t have to come here planning on doing 12 miles. There really is too much to see in one day, definitely.” On the Institutes’s website is a link to the app and website Trailforks, which contains a detailed map of the trails. Maps can be downloaded, or can be picked up on location.

The studio is set up for metal and stone work.

“It’s just John that’s working in the studio except for during the symposium; then the visiting artists are there,” St. Laurent said. In 2023, Weidman received the New Hampshire Governor’s Arts Award for Distinguished Leadership.

Weidman has lately been building a cupola, a furnace that can melt iron, for the 2024 Spring Iron Melt, set to take place on Saturday, June 1. Another Melt takes place in the fall.

For the Melt, essentially, participants purchase a mold, which is a 12- by 12-inch “brick” that has a 6- by 6-inch square inset that designs can be carved into with a “nail” provided by the Institute or with their own tools. On the day of the pour, each mold is coated in graphite to ease the eventual iron release, “which is like spraying a cooking pan … so that your brownies come out of the pan,” St. Laurent said. Once the iron is poured, what’s left is a half-inch-thick, 6-inch by 6-inch iron tile. “It has their design cast into it…. Some people bought them as Christmas presents.”

Details on how to sign up for future Iron Melts are on the Andres website.

The trails at Andres transform with the arrival of spring and summer.

“The change in the park in just the last week with all the leaves coming out and the flowers, it’s so beautiful,” St. Laurent said. “Even when the parking lot is full you still might not run into anybody. … It’s nice and quiet and peaceful. It’s a great place to take kids.”

More field trips are heading to Andres as well.

“I ask the kids, ‘What are the normal rules at a museum?’ and they’re like, ‘No running, we have to be quiet, don’t touch anything.’ and I said, ‘All those rules are out the window!’ and they love it. You can run, you can be loud, you can touch the art, you can take a selfie with it, you can climb on it, it’s great,” St. Laurent said. This rule applies no matter which direction or trail is taken, and apart from the art, the world around it can be considered an installation piece.

“The money view is up at the summit with the sculpture called the Phoenix, and that was from the very first symposium…. You can look out and see Mt. Monadnock and some of the other mountains in the distance and it’s absolutely gorgeous,” she said. Dogs on-leash are welcome to sniff and zoom with their owners here too.

St. Laurent’s favorite sculpture sits on the quarry trail near the quarry pond: “A human figure made out of rebar and other types of metal. I just love that one. That one’s called ‘Monument [II].’ It’s actually by a woman artist, Alexandra Limpert from New York…. Although there are many, many close runner-ups.”

In an artist statement about that piece, Limbert said she aimed to “translate the human form into metal lines, grids and compartments. This random vocabulary defines the entity beneath the façade. The exposed construction of each piece also reveals my process. Much like architecture under construction, my sculptures are anonymous monuments in states of transition.”

Encountering all the beauty, man-made and from nature, is what the Andres Institute of Art wants for their visitors.

“Part of the mission of the Andres is to get people in contact with art,” St. Laurent said. “That’s what we’re trying to do on a daily basis: art and nature.”

Spring Iron Melt 2024
Where: 106 Route 13, Brookline
When: Saturday, June 1, approximately from noon to 1 p.m.
More: andresinstitute.org, 673-7441

This Week 24/05/30

Friday, May 31

The curtain rises tonight at 7:30 p.m. on 42nd Street at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org, 668-5588). The musical runs through Sunday, June 23, with shows Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and Thursday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m. The play celebrates Broadway and the magic of showbiz with wit, humor and pizzazz and takes place at the height of the Great Depression, following aspiring chorus girl Peggy Sawyer to the big city as she lands her first big job in the ensemble of a glitzy new Broadway show. The score is chock-full of Broadway standards, including “We’re In the Money,” “Lullaby of Broadway” and “Forty-Second Street,” according to the press release. Tickets cost $28 to $49.

Saturday, June 1

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church (7 N. Mast Road, Goffstown, 497-2003, stmattsepiscopal.org) will hold its annual Spring Yard Sale today from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Church.

Saturday, June 1

In honor of Black Birders Week, NH Audubon (nhaudubon.org/event) and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (blackheritagetrailnh.org) are partnering for a guided tour in Portsmouth, at 222 Court St. in Portsmouth, today from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Learn about the rich and often forgotten African-American history of New Hampshire while keeping an eye out for birds and other local wildlife. Participants should arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the trail tour. Free parking is available at the Parrott Ave. Parking Lot and along streets nearby. All ages are welcome. Tickets are $20; space is limited and registration is required.

Saturday, June 1

See the results of the three artists participating in this year’s Nashua International Sculpture Symposium at 1 p.m. as the pieces, which will become part of Nashua’s townwide exhibit of sculptures, will be unveiled in their installation locations. This will involve participants driving from Picker Studios over to where the pieces are to be installed, according to nashuasculpturesymposium.org.

Saturday, June 1

The Goffstown Rotary Club’s (Parsons Drive) Car Show is returning for its 11th year today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include goodie bags for the first 50 registrants, along with food trucks, raffles and trophies given in 16 classes. Admission is free, and the cost to participate as a registrant is $20 per car, with all proceeds benefiting local charities. Visit goffstownrotary.org.

Saturday, June 1

Milford’s third annual Pride Festival will take place today from noon to 4 p.m. at Keyes Park (45 Elm St., Milford) and will feature live music, food and more. “See Milford NH PRIDE” on Facebook.

Save the Date! Tuesday, June 11
Red River Theaters (11 S. Main St., Concord, 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org) will host the first annual Creative Guts Short Film Festival on Tuesday, June 11, from 6 to 9 p.m. The Festival will present short films by independent filmmakers from New Hampshire and beyond. The spirit of this festival is to celebrate the creativity, voice and collaboration of filmmakers. These films are not rated. Some films contain adult themes, language and violence, and may not be suitable for children. All films will be open captioned. Tickets are $12 and available through Red River’s website.

Featured photo: 42nd Street at the Palace Theater.

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