In Brief

The New Spirit United Church of Christ will be sponsoring a workshop with Ysaye Barnwell entitled Building a Vocal Community: Singing African-American Spirituals and Building a Just World. Ysaye Barnwell is the founder of the internationally acclaimed a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock.

This workshop offers a great opportunity to be part of a joyous community, to be a member of a welcoming choir where no experience is necessary, and to find your own individual voice. African- American history and culture will be explored through chants, spirituals, blues, gospel, music of the Civil Rights movement and contemporary struggles. All songs are taught in the oral tradition.

The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the MCC Worship Center at Midway. The suggested donation is $20, which includes lunch. Call 302-226-8008 for more information.

CAMPsafe Director Sal Seeley accepts a check for $945 from artist Aina Nergaard-Nammack—a portion of the sales from her recent art show at the Blue Moon.

Bill Quinn and Ray Svensson of Colors by Bill answered a call for help and donated their time and materials to paint the gallery walls at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center.

Stephen Proctor and Paul Fessler have set a goal of packaging more CAMPsafe condom kits this summer than anyone else. With thousands done, they’re well on their way.

Save The Date for Kerry Event

A Kerry for President Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, July 3 at the home of Jim Walker and Lee Rubin.

The event will take place from 6-8 p.m., and several host opportunities are available. Supporters can be a Red Host for $75, a White Host for $250, or a Blue Host for $1000. General admission is $35.

Jim and Lee live in Canal Corkran at 30 Fillingame Way, Rehoboth Beach. For more information on this event, please contact Paul Hazen at 202-957-9298.

New Exhibits at Lightspun Gallery

Pamela Montague is presenting two new exhibits at Lightspun Gallery on Rehoboth Avenue. One features oils on canvas by Michele Madeksza, while the other is a debut collection of black and white prints, entitled Rusted, by photographer Peter Escalante. The oil paintings that Madeksza will be showing are still life paintings and landscapes of New Castle. Escalante’s photography will include local Sussex County scenes printed in sepia tone.

Both exhibits will hang through July 2. An artist reception is scheduled for June 19 from 3-8 p.m., during the annual Destination Art Tour.

Lightspun Gallery, located at 163 Rehoboth Ave in Gingerbread Square can be reached at 302-236-6467.

New Paintings by Murray Archibald

Murray Archibald’s 2004 show titled childsplay opens on June 26 at the Blue Moon on Baltimore Avenue where he has presented a new body of work every year since 1984.

"Last year’s show was called Emergence," Murray says, "and in it I began to create some new painting techniques for myself. This season’s show is the next step in the development of those techniques."

Murray describes childsplay as "an exploration of our creative nature (with emphasis on the creative power of love), and of the human drama that ‘plays’ out within our minds (both individual and collective). In style," he says, "there is a childlike simplicity which is also primitive (child=primitive), though, for me this primitive stage is not ancient, but rather the next step in the evolution of the soul (again both individual and collective)."

"The play in childsplay," he says," is also about the human drama (theater) of life and is reflected in the titles of many of the paintings, such as: Overture I and II, Scene 1 (act of love), and the 12 piece Character Play Series."

The show also contains Murray’s 2004 Sundance painting childsplay(act of love), which will be auctioned at Sundance 2004 on Labor Day weekend. Prints of childsplay will be available later in the summer, with the money going to Sundance.

childsplay will be on exhibit at the Blue Moon from June 26-July 29. The opening reception is June 26 from 2-4 p.m. Previews available by appointment at the artist’s studio June 21-24.

LENSCAPE: Photo-driven Landscapes

Coastal Frameshop and Gallery announces the opening of LENSCAPE, an exhibition featuring the photography of Roy Boucher, Fred Chase and E. Hayden Hastings, with a reception to meet the artists on Saturday, June 19, from 3 to 8 p.m., as part of the Destination Art event in Rehoboth Beach.

Each of these fine photographers develops an arresting style and sensibility by carefully exposing engaging images and inventing unique procedures to allow the ideas behind the pictures to develop into mature images of grace and beauty. E. Hayden Hastings of Easton, Maryland, finds equal interest in both black and white and color photography. Classic Eastern Shore vistas in rich saturated color take advantage of Hastings’ ability to seek out deeply intense blues as a focal point for his art. Even so, the dense mix of values in his black and white pieces captivate with a compelling display of mastery. This is Hastings’ first showing at Coastal Frameshop and Gallery.

Roy Boucher, who shows regularly at the gallery and who lives in Rehoboth, will be showing a number of works that explore a new geometric motif. It is as if the digitally printed images take on a metaphoric shape in response to dpi or pixilated demands. Before you is an undeniably beautiful landscape suddenly mutating into something altogether different. Likewise, Fred Chase, another gallery regular, finds curious ways to create and assemble new images which he then dyes with his rainbow of colors and prints on canvas, as if it were a painting.

Each of the artists brings a singular outlook to their work and collectively the three stir up a heady variation of contemporary photographic soup.

The gallery will be open until 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, and the exhibition will continue through July 26. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday and Monday noon to 4:00 p.m. and closed Tuesdays. Coastal Gallery is on the service road at 4284B Highway 1 in Rehoboth Beach. For more information, please call 227-8704.

Tuscan Lights: New Rahamin Paintings

Local contemporary artist, Bob Rahamin, is presenting his latest paintings at Cloud 9 Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach from June 27 through September 17.

While Bob lives in Rehoboth Beach, it is his world travels that give him the inspiration for much of his work. His paintings are a spiritual and visual journal of his experiences. This new collection entitled Tuscan Lights is his interpretation of time spent this past winter exploring coastal towns in the Tuscany region of Italy. He re-interprets the romantic impressions of ancient stair-stepped towns, the surrounding hills, the olive groves and the Mediterranean, with a minimalist approach on canvas. He creates the impression of the aged stucco buildings with the use of texture, muted colors and patinas reminiscent of the old structures in the towns. Gold and silver leaf are used to represent the bright Mediterranean light.

Bob received his Baccalaureate and Masters degrees in Art Education and Art Therapy from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He also studied art at Cooper School of Art, Kent State University, and the Cleveland School of Art, all in Ohio. Bob has had multiple shows of his work locally and nationally.