Posted By Amelia Devoid on Fri, Aug 11, 2017 at 9:56 AM

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Jennie Sadler

'was never.will never be,' Jennie Sadler

As a systems engineer for internet music-hosting platform Bandcamp, Brattleboro's Jennie Sadler is embedded in the current hub of artist-to-fan culture. Sadler has been self-releasing music on the site since it was founded in 2007. In her past work, Sadler's songwriting was akin to the outsider artist nature of (Sandy) Alex G's genre-blending indie rock. Sadler's upcoming eighth release, was never.will never be, contains vulnerability, guarded with distortion that would make PJ Harvey proud.

Tags: Brattleboro , singer-songwriter , grunge , indie rock , folk , DIY , alternative , Jennie Sadler , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 9:00 AM

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Courtesy of Skye Makaris

Skye Makaris

Skye Makaris, though only 23,  has a flair for historical fashion and wears it well. Most often, you'll see her around the Burlington area in full-blown 1940s or ’50s regalia, from hat to shoes.

Makaris documents her exploits in vintage fashion on her blog, My Kingdom for a Hat. There, alongside numerous self-portraits, she expounds on market trends in vintage, her love of tailored suit sets, hats and her various fabulous finds.

Tags: fashion , vintage clothing , 1950s , 1940s , Skye Makaris , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 3:27 PM

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Courtesy of Stephen Mease

Green Mountain Fire Militia at work

Ready, aim, fire! The Green Mountain Fire Militia has been accepted to perform at the 2017 Burning Man Fire Conclave in Nevada. It's the first time a Vermont group has applied to the conclave, a massive fire performance that precedes the torching of the notorious "man" figure. The militia is one of 27 acts that will perform.

The group is led by Jericho-based Kim and Chris Cleary. They also head up a local fire troupe called Cirque de Fuego and host an annual event at summer solstice called Zenith.

"It is a Burning Man-inspired, volunteer-run, participatory event that highlights community, art, music and fire," Kim says of Zenith. "We have a ceremonial fire performance before burning a 20-foot-tall wooden sculpture." By comparison, last year's burning "man" at the Nevada event was taller than 70 feet.

Tags: Burning Man , Green Mountain Fire Militia , Cirque de Fuego , fire arts , Image , Web Only

Posted By Amy Lilly on Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 11:21 AM

Courtesy of Geoffrey Gross, NYC

House II in Hardwick

Not many house hunters are in search of an experimental, white, modernist home built in 1969-70 that one listing described as a “live-in artwork.” But, after four years on the market, as Seven Days reported earlier this year, architect Peter Eisenman’s House II in Hardwick finally found its ideal caretakers.

The New England-based couple who purchased the iconic house would prefer to remain anonymous. Andrew Ferentinos, the architect they hired to make the house both truer to Eisenman’s original drawings and more livable, describes them this way: “They are the rare people who are deeply and passionately interested in architecture, and in being stewards of modern architecture.”

That’s fortuitous, for only pure love was going to save this building.

Tags: architecture , modernism , Peter Eisenman , House II , Devin Colman , historic preservation , Docomomo , Andrew Ferentinos , Hardwick , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 12:58 PM

Tags: Sky Sandoval , humor , standup , Vermont comedy , Image , Web Only

Posted By Amelia Devoid on Fri, Aug 4, 2017 at 10:00 AM

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Bella Ortiz-Wren

Without question in my mind, the most stellar Vermont songwriting of the last decade has emerged from the bedrooms and studios of Brattleboro. The beatnik bards Ruth Garbus, Chris Weisman, the Lentils and Zack Phillips drew curious hordes of internet eyes to the small town with their mildly Dickensian, cosmically aware folk music.

Tags: Bella Ortiz-Wren , Brattleboro , folk , acoustic , garage-rock , indie , singer-songwriter , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sally Pollak on Thu, Aug 3, 2017 at 6:07 PM

File

Judith Jones

Judith Jones, an editor,  author and part-time Walden resident, died early Wednesday morning at her home in the Northeast Kingdom, according to her stepdaughter Bronwyn Dunne of South Burlington. The cause was complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Jones was 93 and had worked as an editor at Alfred A. Knopf for more than half a century.  She was perhaps best known for seeing to publication the manuscripts that would become the books Anne Frank: The Diary of  a Young Girl and Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.  In a 2010 interview with this reporter , Jones described  Child's cookbook as  "manna from heaven."

In addition to her work with cookbook writers, Jones was a literary editor who edited all the novels (and other books) by John Updike. Other authors Jones worked with include John Hersey and Anne Tyler.

"I think her most important contribution was  probably making cookbook writers be significant," Dunne said. "That is, she kind of blended her literary tradition with her interest in food.

"There was this kind of marvelous thing that she loved the writer's voice," Dunne continued. "She felt that way about John Updike and she felt that way about Lidia Bastianich.  It was very important that their voices be heard."

Jones grew up in Manhattan and her primary home was in the city, but she had lifelong ties to Vermont. Her paternal grandparents lived in Montpelier, in the big white house on the corner of Bailey Avenue and State Street. As a child of 11 or 12 she left New York and the Brearley School for a year to live with her grandmother, a choice Jones made for herself, Dunne said.

It was during childhood visits to her grandparents' home that Jones first gained an appreciation for food, she told Seven Days in a 2011 piece about a dinner in Greensboro to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Tags: Judith Jones , Julia Child , Mastering the Art of French Cooking , John Updike , Vermont , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Thu, Aug 3, 2017 at 1:22 PM

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Oliver Parini

Chris Thompson

Updated at 11:09 a.m., Friday, August 4, 2017

On Thursday, Burlington's Generator announced that Chris Thompson will assume the role of executive director on August 24. The announcement comes on the heels of Lars Hasselblad Torres' departure from the nonprofit maker space in Burlington's South End.

Tags: Chris Thompson , Lars Hasselblad Torres , Michael Metz , Generator , Burlington , South End , South End Arts District , technology , nonprofit , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams and Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Thu, Aug 3, 2017 at 10:00 AM

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Kate Donnelly

Out for a stroll with "Green Umbrella," by Kate Donnelly

Hi, art-loving friends! Welcome to our newest series on Live Culture. Joining Playtime, Style Points, Special Collections and others, meet the First Friday Roundup.

Each month, we'll showcase a few of the First Friday art shows and events we're especially excited about  in Burlington and beyond. And we'll include a suggestion for a musical performance to top off your night — maybe even a great bar for a cocktail or casual drink.

As it happens, the Seven Daysies awards party is this Friday at ECHO, the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, in Burlington. But what follows is what we would do if we weren’t going there.