Wednesday Art Class

Kendal’s WEDNESDAY ART CLASS continues. The next session will cover Painting Fundamentals. It will be held at 3:00 pm in the Art Room on June 22. The focus will be on planning and composition for painting with acrylics or watercolors — and exploring abstract style.

June 29: Design of the page using the rule of thirds— cropping and inclusion of background images— optional combining paint with ink using brushes and pens.

July 6: Painting people— proportion and gesture drawing.

Interested? To register, contact Gretchen Engler.

Trips

The Trips Committee is planning an excursion to the NY Historical Society on July 20.

Our visit will begin with a docent tour of the exhibit “Scenes of NYC: Paintings from the Hirschfeld Collection”. Afterwards, participants are free to explore a wide array of exhibits including “Turn Every Page: Inside the Robert A. Caro Archive”; “Title IX: Activism On and Off the Field”; and “Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement through Children’s Books”. Visit a gallery with over 100 Tiffany lamps, all illuminated. See a recreation of the Oval Office. And much more.

The museum restaurant, Storico, is open for lunch.

The sign-up sheet for this trip and all other trips is at the Front Desk.

Republican Primary

The New York Republican primary for Governor is also being held on June 28. Candidates include Representative Lee Zeldin of Long Island; Rob Astorino (former Westchester County executive); Andrew Giuliani (son of Rudy Giuliani), and Harry Wilson, a businessman and former adviser to Barack Obama.

Our polling location is the same as for the Democratic Party, and is in Phillipsburg Manor.

Monday Night Lecture

On June 20 Kendal will host Prof. Thomas James: for a lecture on “Kurt Hahn: The Man and the Philosophy Behind the Movement of Which Outward Bound is a Part”.

In this talk, historian James will tell us about his study of Kurt Hahn, the educator who founded schools such as Gordonstoun, which Prince Philip and Prince Charles, among others, attended, as well as Outward Bound, which offers young people expeditions and classroom experiences designed to foster an appreciation of the balance among risk, reward, and responsibility.

James will talk about “the agility of this extraordinary educator” to focus education on the deep sources of what it means to be a human being and how that can help us wrestle with the confusing state of the world in our own time.

Thomas James is a Prof. of History and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and has held many senior administrative positions at Brown, NYU, and UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as at Teachers College. He will be introduced by Ellen Lagemann.

The lecture will take place in the Gathering Room and begin at 7:30 pm.

A Party in the Healing Garden

The Horticulture Committee invites you to attend an open house to celebrate summer in the Healing Garden Tuesday, June 21, from 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm.

Rain Date: Thursday, June 23, same time.

Come any time between 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm and enjoy refreshments while you take in the beauty of this special place. While it was initially planned and landscaped by Kendal, the Garden has been maintained by devoted volunteers. Some of those volunteers will be your hosts. The party will also highlight some of the wonders of the Residents Herb Garden— your garden!

The Healing Garden is on the C Level. Find your way to the C level and do bring your mask. You must wear it while you pass briefly through Clearwater on the way out to the Garden.

Questions? Please call Annette, Anna Mae, Fran or Mary Alice.

We look forward to celebrating with you.

The Horticulture Committee

Trips

There will be a New Trip Wednesday, July 13, to Piermont, NY.

Piermont is a quaint village on the Hudson River, just south of the Mario Cuomo Bridge, with an interesting history and wide river views. Walking tour with a local guide (your trip leader). See Flywheel Park, early 1800s houses, a hand-cranked drawbridge, salt marsh, and the pier. Hear the history of Piermont. Visit unique shops and art galleries. On your own, if you wish, walk on the pier, part way or to the end (two-mile round trip). Have lunch at one of many fine restaurants, or picnic on the pier. (See list of restaurants and picnic areas in Trips Book; check restaurant websites for menus and outdoor seating).

There is a Short Wait List for the trip to Storm King Arts Center on Wednesday, June 29. Storm King has outstanding contemporary and modern art with large-and small-scale outdoor sculptures. Artists include Alexander Calder, Mark di Suvero, David Smith, Isamu Noguchi, Richard Serra, and many others. A tram runs continuously all day.

Sign up. There are frequently cancellations, and you might get a spot on this exciting trip.

Saturday Video Opera Program Continues

Kendal’s Saturday Opera Keeps rolling right along.

On June 18, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s opera Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City) will be shown in the Gathering Room at 1:00 pm.  The principal roles are sung by Jonas Kaufmann and Marlis Petersen (a fantastic Lulu in the opera of the same name).  Simon Stone is the director, and Kirill Petrenko conducts the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera in a performance in 2019.  English subtitles.

All are welcome.

Wednesday Art Class Continues

The weekly Wednesday Art Class is at 3 pm in the Art Room. The topic is:

Painting Fundamentals

June 15

Wet-on-wet and blending techniques for watercolor – value and color of object and its shadow – cool versus warm colors for high-lights and shadows.

June 22

Focus on planning and composition in either acrylic or watercolor – exploration of abstract styles.

June 29

Design of the page with the rule of thirds – cropping while including background images – optional combining paint and ink using brushes and pens.

To register, contact Gretchen Engler.

A One-Woman Show

On Sunday, June 19, at 3:00 pm, a one-woman play Independence: The True Story of Dr. Mary Walker will be presented in the Gathering Room.

Actress Kathie Barnes will play the title role in this 70-minute production, to be followed by Q. and A. with the audience and a reception in the Private Dining Room

Born in Oswego, NY, in November 1832, Mary E. Walker became one of the few women physicians in the country.  A Civil War surgeon, dress reform crusader, women’s rights activist, suffragist, feminist, abolitionist, and prisoner of war, Dr. Walker is the only female recipient of the Medal of Honor presented to her in 1866.

The play, dedicated to the memory of Kendal’s Civil War historian Bill McFeely, will be introduced by his daughter Eliza.

Lecture: “Changing Minds: Technology, the Sociology of Knowledge, and Russian Literature”

On Monday, June 13 at 7:30 pm in the Gathering Room, Peter B. Kaufman will present a talk on “Changing Minds: Technology, the Sociology of Knowledge, and Russian Literature

Kaufman is Senior Program Officer for Resource Development and Strategic Initiatives at MIT Open Learning.  

A Russianist educated at Cornell and Columbia, he has studied structures of totalitarian thought control and is the author of The New Enlightenment and the Fight to Free Knowledge (2021).

Kaufman will speak about the ways minds can change now, at a time of craziness and incipient violence around our country.  He will describe our strife-torn republic – with misguided beliefs about vaccines being poison, elections being stolen, and violence being seen as a legitimate part of political discourse.  He will also discuss the warnings of the great World War II philosophers and sociologists and describe some of things universities, libraries, museums, archives – and everyday citizens - can do to try to heal some of our divisions. 

As background, he recommends reading:  Karen Yourish et al., “Inside the Apocalyptic Worldview of ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’” New York Times, April 30, 2022, online at: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/30/us/tucker-carlson-tonight.html
Barbara F. Walter, “We Are Living in the Age of Civil War,” The New Republic, April 14, 2022, online at: https://newrepublic.com/article/165959/global-age-civil-war.

All residents are invited to this timely and interesting presentation.