On The Job – Melissa Fournier

Owner of Mellifera modern

Melissa Fournier is an artist and the owner of Mellifera Modern, which focuses on custom clothing with fine art photography elements (melliferamodern.com).

Explain your job and what it entails.

I do a lot of different types of art but I specialize in cyanotype on clothing, so I make custom clothing, basically, usually on denim. The process of cyanotype is actually one of the oldest photographic processes that exists. Chemicals go on in a darkroom, just like any other darkroom process, you bring it out into the sun and … then when you rinse it out it’s a beautiful blue color. I use a lot of pressed botanicals and other things like that to create that artwork….

How long have you had this job?

I have been making art for probably about a decade but I have been full-time for about five months.

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

A few years after college I really honed my craft to figure what I wanted to do with it. My repertoire is very big, so I had to narrow it down to be able to have a clientele and have a fanbase. …

What kind of education or training did you need?

I have a bachelor of fine arts. … it did help me hone my skills and learn new things that I can then implement in my artwork.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Messy clothes. … I am working with chemicals that stain fabric, I’m painting, I refurbish furniture on the side … Then, when I’m actually showing, I tend to wear my own artwork … to advertise it.

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

Probably getting people to see it. Especially online, the market is so saturated. Social media is very hard to break into and there’s only so much in-person work you can do.

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

I think that I underestimated how much work actually went into it and how long it would take to get to a point where I could go full-time.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

How much work it is behind the scenes. I would say I am only actually making artwork 40 to 50 percent of the time. The other half is finding markets.

What was your first job?

I was a photographer for a Life Touch studio in a Target in high school.

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

To not take a break after college. A lot of my professors and alumni warned me that you work so hard in college as an artist that a lot of people tend to take a break and … it becomes harder and harder to pick it back up. —Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: I have a first-edition copy of the best works of Roald Dahl that was given to me by my professor in college when I graduated, so that one is very very special to me.
Favorite movie: Probably 500 days of Summer
Favorite music: It’s a little cliche but Taylor Swift
Favorite food: Anything sweet. I like chocolate. Lots of desserts.
Favorite thing about NH: … I would say probably that, how much nature is here.

Featured photo: Melissa Fournier. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 24/05/16

Dear Donna,

Came across this in my dad’s garage. Can’t figure out what it was for or why he would have it. Can you shed any light on it?

Roger

Dear Roger,

I can share what I know about it with you. I have seen many right in the Manchester mills area. They were used in the bricks for architectural supports in the late 1800s. The stars are still visible in some of the old factories still today.

Along with stars there were other shapes and forms. So not only were they architectural, but they were decorative as well.

Your dad’s being attached to a fragment of the original iron bar shows it’s a real one. Could have even been from right here in New Hampshire.

There are many reproductions out there. But the authentic ones usually run in the $80+ range. So nice treasure, Roger. Thanks for sharing.

Kiddie Pool 24/05/16

Family fun for whenever

Kids love trucks

• Liberty House will host a Touch-A-Truck event on Saturday, May 18, at 100 William Loeb Drive in Manchester from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to raise funds for veterans struggling with PTSD, housing instability and other concerns, according to the press release. Participants can explore a wide array of vehicles that includes fire trucks, race cars, BearCats, school buses and propane bobtail trucks, and there will be other activities suitable for children, such as face painting, lots of games, and a family-friendly scavenger hunt. Participants also have the opportunity to win a ride to school in a fire truck from the Manchester Fire Department or even a Kawasaki Electrode Motorbike, among other prizes, according to the press release. There will be a Ben & Jerry’s food truck, and Fungo from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats will make an appearance at the event, where all proceeds will benefit Liberty House, which provides a substance-free residential program and community pantry, helping veterans regain their independence and build stable futures, according to the same release. Admission is $5 per person or $20 for a family. Children under 2 are free. Registration is on-site. Visit libertyhousenh.org/touch-a-truck.

Kids love a parade

• Bedford’s Memorial Day Hometown Parade will travel from the Bedford High School down County Road to Liberty Hill Road at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 19.

On stage

• Stuart Little will be presented by The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts and will run on Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 18, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre (880 Page St. in Manchester).The play is based on the book by E.B. White and is described as an endearing classic about a mouse named Stuart Little who is born into an ordinary New York family. The cast plays many human and animal roles in a series of delightful scenes that make up the marvelous maneuverings of a mild-mannered mouse trying to survive in a “real people’s world,” according to the website. Tickets are $10 and $15. Visit majestictheatre.net or call 669-7469.

• For the Tay-Tay fans of all ages, catch Shake It Off! A (Taylor’s Version) Tribute featuring the Swiftie Tribute Band at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) on Friday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 18, at 2 & 730 p.m. Tickets cost $35 and $40.

• Catch the final weekend of the Teen Mainstage production of Godspellat the Peacock Players (Janice B. Street Theatre, 14 Court St. in Nashua; peacockplayers.org). The musical will be on stage Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $12 to $18.

• Learn while you watch the adventures of Ada Twist Scientist and Friends, based on the books and spotlighting STEM curriculum, atStockbridge Theatre (5 Pinkerton St. in Derry; stockbridgetheatre.showare.com) on Tuesday, May 21, at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $12.

Sharing the knowledge

Education and fellowship at Iron Rose Women’s Shooting Club

By Zachary Lewis
zlewis@hippopress.com

TerryAnn Bowen is the only female owner of a public and indoor gun range in New Hampshire. She has made it her mission to create a space for any woman to learn about firearm education, which is why she started the Iron Rose Women’s Shooting Club.

The Iron Rose moniker was a nickname given to TerryAnn by her employees. She has co-owned Manchester Firing Line (2540 Brown Ave. in Manchester) for the last eight years with her husband, Jake, a former Marine.

“They were saying that I’m kind but I’m not weak,” Bowen said. “My guns have that [Iron Rose] engraved in it, those words engraved in it.”

Knowledge about firearms is crucial to Bowen and she wants to share her knowledge with any woman willing to learn.

“Education about firearms is for everyone,” she said. “If you are remotely curious about firearms in any way, not to own one, but just to know they’re out there in the world. Women are afraid. They’re afraid for themselves, they’re afraid for their children, they’re afraid for their families…. Education is the answer. Whether or not you decide they’re for you, the important thing is to go find out what are they, what do they mean and what do they mean to you. … Maybe the Club is not for you, but at least go to the seminar and get the information on what firearms are. … It’s not about selling guns, it’s about women finding out what firearms are for,” Bowen said.

She did not always feel this way about firearms.

“I grew up with no guns, like guns were bad … to me, guns were danger.” Bowen said. “I needed education.” TerryAnn and her husband helped each other to gain an understanding on a potentially volatile topic within a couple and were able to see where they both were coming from, and now they own a range together.

“It took me 15 years before I would even touch a gun,” Bowen said.

Iron Rose is structured into three sections. The first is the women’s seminar, which is free and occurs once a month.

“It’s my female perspective of owning a range and it’s the female experience of owning a gun. It’s what pertains to us as women and that’s for people who have never shot before,” she said. The first five seminars Bowen gave were all registered to full capacity in under an hour. There are no trips to the range during the seminar.

Club Nights are the next step. “The Club is being designed by women, for women, and it’s just been awesome. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell,” she said. The twice-monthly event costs $40 to register for. Bowen and her daughter-in-law have designed the itinerary. “It’s kind of like paint night, but with shooting,” Bowen said. “We decorated the shots that we made and made it look like a bouquet … shooting and crafts all at once.” Participants also receive a real iron rose each Club Night they attend. “If they keep coming they can potentially have a bouquet of roses in their home … tangible evidence of their growth in firearms and training.”

Course nights are once a month “for people who really are into shooting, if you want to get really good at it,” Bowen said. These nights are for women who have shot before. “Whether it’s for fun or whether it’s for self-defense, the course night is going to bring them to the next level.” Twice a year the course night will be open to women who have not shot before and will go over fundamentals. TerryAnn is the lead instructor for club nights and is the assistant instructor for course nights. The master instructor on course nights is a man, but there are female instructors, Bowen included.

Manchester Firing Line also holds charity events for breast cancer awareness, veterans, and even local schools, such as their Cruise Night, which is a car show every Monday, starting on Memorial Day, with the first event hosting the Manchester Mounted Police, Fisher Cats mascots, face painting by Miss Teen New England, and cool cars, all for a good cause.

“I’m trying to help people understand the things they don’t understand,” Bowen said. “I think it’s scary to ask when you’re so afraid of it and the only place you hear about it is on TV and you’re getting conflicting information.” Iron Rose Women’s Shooting Club is a venue to get real subject-matter knowledge. “You do what you want with the information, but let me show you how to get the right info. … If you’re intimidated, this is the place to come.”

Iron Rose Women’s Shooting Club
Where: Manchester Firing Line, 2540 Brown Ave., Manchester Info: gunsnh.com
Women’s Seminar
Sunday, May 19, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 1, at 10 a.m. free
Club Night
Monday, May 20, from 6 to 8 p.m., $40
Course Night
Thursday, June 13, $100

Featured Photo: Courtesy photo.

Toasting the arts

Celebrating creativity in Sunapee

Wine and chocolate will flow amidst paintings, photography and piano music at an upcoming event in New London to showcase the Lake Sunapee Region Center for the Arts. The Raise a Glass to the Arts! reception will serve as a reminder of the Center’s many efforts to support expression throughout the area, which include micro-galleries in local businesses, festivals, seminars, concerts and youth programs.

“We wanted to create a wonderful evening to celebrate with our donors and members, our artists and our community, what the arts are all about when it comes to the Center,” CFA Executive Director Dina Stahlheber said by phone recently. “It’s a moment to step back and think about the wonderful talent here, and all the different things that are able to come together.”

The Center’s mission encompasses visual, performing and literary arts, Stahlheber said.

“They’re very closely intertwined, yet each one of themselves are quite vast,” she said. “Many of our painters are poets and many of our poets are performers or musicians. We have singer-songwriters that dip their toes into both writing and music. We have quite a variety here.”

She envisions the event, happening at Colby-Sawyer College’s Wheeler Hall, as a way to “celebrate these three different key aspects of what the organization does, as well as its love and focus on youth. We also offer some great scholarships, school grant programs, and activities for our youth and families.” To underscore this cross-pollination, ticket holders will be entered to win a pair of seats to the New London Barn Playhouse’s June production of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Stahlheber added that a past scholarship winner will perform at the gathering, along with veteran pianist and composer Will Ogmundson. This and other CFA endeavors serve to highlight the importance of human expression, something that’s particularly critical in an age that sees it threatened by machine learning.

The latter is a topic that Stahlheber spoke eloquently about in a press release last March.

“In a landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and algorithms, the essence of human experience embedded within artistic expression becomes ever more poignant,” she said. “While technology can assemble stories and generate visually stunning images, it cannot convey the personal journey behind the creation of art.”

During the interview, Stahlheber was quick to point out that she’s no Luddite.

“I appreciate technology,” she said. “I just want to be sure that we don’t forget or lose sight of the fact that artificial intelligence still cannot communicate the human essence of the arts as humans can.”

She continued, “AI can replicate stories and even make them very moving, but at the end of the day, there’s something about someone having lived … when they share their story, the pain and glory of overcoming a situation, that is what’s authentic, powerful and meaningful.”

Stahlheber took over the reins at CFA just over a year ago and has focused many of her efforts on messaging. “I wanted to be more intentional about what we’re doing, why are we doing it, and how it fits into our mission,” she explained. “Not everyone in the community realizes how much we’ve done and the large role it plays, the many places and connections the Center for the Arts has in this region.”

To that end, an event later this summer will shine a light not only on the CFA’s work but also on the region it serves.

“I am so excited for our July Arts Week in Sunapee Harbor,” Stahlheber said. “It has been a year-long planning session with a group of wonderful organizations, [and] we have been trying to put together a really special weekend. But also, to promote Sunapee Harbor. It is super-beloved, but not everyone, even in the surrounding area, remembers it’s here.”

Raise a Glass to the Arts!
When: Saturday, May 18, 7 p.m.
Where: Wheeler Hall, 541 Main St., New London
Tickets: $55 members, $65 non-members at centerfortheartsnh.org

The Art Roundup 24/05/16

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

• Murder! The Hillsborough Community Center is raising funds to build a brick-and-mortar center. As part of the fundraising efforts, they will present Murder at the Banquet, a play by Robert LaVaughn, at venues around the Hillsborough area. The play, described as a lighthearted and humorous send-up of famous detectives, will be showing at the Ice Cream Bar at the Emporium in Hillsboro on Friday, May 17, and Sunday, May 26, both at 6 p.m.; at the Deering Town Hall on Saturday, May 18, at 6 p.m.; at the American Legion (Young and Richardson Post 59) in Hillsboro on Sunday, May 19, at 1 p.m.; at the Washington Town Hall on Saturday, May 25, at 1 p.m.; at the Antrim Town Hall on Saturday, June 1, at 6 p.m., and at the Hillsboro-Deering Middle School on Sunday, June 2, at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for those 60 or older and children 15 or younger. Visit hccnh.org/play.

• More murder! Help solve the murder of Mr. Boddy, which has now become a cold case with items from his iconic mansion — with the Library, Billiard Room, etc. — sold and now in spots around Concord for Clue: A Walking Mystery, which will run Thursdays through Sundays, starting Thursday, May 16, through Sunday, June 16, according to ccanh.com where you can purchase tickets for $34 at the various start times. The interactive family friendly (for ages 8 and up) game features about a one mile walking distance and takes about 90 minutes to complete the website said. Five players in six teams per start time will be greeted by a butler and sent to gather clues around the downtown, the website said. Dressing up as Clue characters in encouraged.

IMAGINE ART
Twiggs Gallery (254 King St. in Boscawen) invites New Hampshire artists to enter artwork inspired by the impossible, the surreal and the fantastical for its summer juried exhibition “When Pigs Fly,” which is inspired by the idiom suggesting that something is utterly improbable. Twiggs encourages participants to explore the limits of imagination and break free from the constraints of reality whether the result is silly, serious, mystical or magical, truth, fiction, political, personal, or even pigs since Twiggs Gallery invites broad interpretations based on the theme, according to a press release. The deadline to enter is Sunday, May 19, and local artist Donna Catanzaro will serve as the exhibit’s juror, according to the same release. Catanzaro, who has exhibited her work nationally, is an interdisciplinary artist with an MFA from Goddard College who through mixed media sculpts from household items and delves into memory and body image, infusing each creation with her distinctive wit, according to the same release. Learn more about Donna at donnacat.com or visit twiggsgallery.org.

• Play preview: The New Hampshire Dance Collaborative will host “Excerpts and Investigations: Paradise Now!” on Wednesday, May 22, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Kimball Jenkins School of Art (266 N. Main St. in Concord). The event will be free to the public and will offer an inside look at Theatre Kapow’s upcoming June production, Paradise Now!, with select excerpts and the opportunity to engage with the actors, designers and director, according to the press release. The play follows a group of women in a multi-level marketing company promoting essential oils. It will premiere in June at the Bank of NH Stage at Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. Visit nhdancecollaborative.org.

• New works: Sullivan Framing and Art Gallery (15 N. Amherst Road in Bedford) will hold an opening reception for new works by Rosemary Conroy on Thursday, May 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. with the exhibit running until the end of June, according to a press release. In a statement, Sullivan Framing said, “Rosemary’s latest collection of paintings is a breathtaking tribute to the wild and untamed world around us. Each piece is a vibrant, soulful portrait of some of nature’s most awe-inspiring creatures, from majestic moose to fierce and formidable bears, and even the mysterious and elusive whale. And who knows, there may even be a shark lurking among the collection!” Visit sullivanframing.com.

• On canvas: The Lakes Region Artist Association (120 Laconia Road, Tanger Outlets, Suite 300, Tilton) will host a Watercolor on Canvas class on Tuesday, May 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. Participants will be able to explore the unique combination of watercolors and canvas as a medium. Registration is $50 in advance. Visit https://form.jotform.com/240044827770153 to register. For details email Stephanie McQuade at Stephanie@scmcquade.com

ADDAMS FAMILY
St. Paul’s School Theater Company will present The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy on Friday, May 17, and Saturday. May 18, at 7 p,m. both nights in Memorial Hall at St. Paul’s School (325 Pleasant St., Concord). Admission is free. The school’s theater department website states, “Through our student-centered curriculum, our experienced faculty will guide students to become artists who think independently, empathize, and explore the world around them while developing a deeper understanding of self and others.” Visit www.sps.edu/arts/theater.

—Zachary Lewis

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