Kismet Kapers
by Bradlee White
Saturday, July 19th
was the 11th Anniversary of Kismet’s “House Call”
Art Show, (or “Art Crawl” as it’s more colloquially known). It was
considerably smaller than in previous years, mostly by design. Bill
Poindexter conceived the event and has managed it since, recently with the help
of Peter Schmidt. Entries were limited to paintings, drawings and
photographs. Bill told me that Cherry Grove was holding a similar
artistic event this year.
Maura Erickson is the artist who painted the beautiful mural on the side of the
Kismet Market. Andy saw the mural she did for Atlantic Honda and invited
her to Kismet. After getting 200 “likes” on the Facebook picture (there
were several), she was obviously a star draft pick for this year’s mid-July art
show. She has been painting for sixteen years in addition to her regular
job as a Permanent Make-up Artist for medical patients.
Maura
Erickson
Brian
Kelley, creator and Webmaster of Beach Blender and the Facebook Fire Island
page and super DJ (working at Le Dock in Fair Harbor this year,) is also a
photographer of considerable talent as well as imagination. As this
winter’s harsh weather proved a disaster for a roving photographer, Brian, a
hobbyist, attached his camera to a remote-controlled model plane – drone, if
you will -- and sent it up to capture some terrific sunsets.
Young
admirer dances in front of Brian Kelley’s work
Peter
Schmidt and Andrea Wikso held a joint showing at Andy’s house. A big
highlight was Pete’s spectacular shot of a huge lightning bolt. He shot it with
a 15 second exposure on a tripod with a remote (F13, ISO 100). He spent hours
capturing it, ducking into the Inn in the heaviest rain. He shot the
Saltaire Fire Works last year from the bird watching stand at Field 5 and plans
to do it again. Andrea uses unusual angles and placement of ordinary
objects. A big favorite is her shot of two red wagons “coupling” at the
wagon stand.
Susan Welt admiring the Lightening photo
Coupling Wagons
Alyson Fendel Breier has
been painting for many years. She paints every day: her art is her
work. She plays around with color and water and terms her impressionistic
style “fauve.” She paints wherever she travels, though she was primarily
showing works modeled from her very impressive garden. Although she
hasn’t shown in Kismet in three years, her work is carried by two galleries in
New York City and has been shown in exhibits such as the Baltimore Art
Show. Today’s buyers included Helen Quenzer and Myrna Ussach
.
Alyson with Helen Quenzer
Rachel Towle first showed
her work in Kismet at last year’s “Crawl.” This year she exhibited at the
Lighthouse Art Show for the first time. Her use of angles and
perspective, combining human structures with the natural environment is
compelling. She is currently staying in Ocean Beach and will take part in
their upcoming Art Show. She has a new website, RachelTowlephotograpy.com
Two of Rachel's photographs
Bill Poindexter, a former commercial artist, has been painting for
many years and has exhibited at the Lighthouse Art Show for many years.
The paintings on his Kismet exhibit walls still hung, but Bill was forced to
take his prints inside in the midst of the sudden rain. He was mostly showing
work from previous years as he has spent a great deal of time working on his
house, repairing Sandy’s ravishes and making it “better than before Sandy.”
The other big event of July 19th was the celebration of Laurie Bellafiore’s “very important
birthday” at
Myrna and Phil’s house. Her husband, Kenny, planned everything down to
the last detail, meeting with Myrna a month beforehand. Laurie’s sister,
Danna, flew in from Wisconsin. Kenny’s siblings Steve, Greg and Marge were
there, as well as their two grown daughters, Anna Marie and Catherine. A
Freeport-based band, “The Wreckers,” supplied oldie dance music that kept all
forty guests dancing for hours. Dinner was catered by the Kismet Market
with three 6-foot heroes and several hot dishes. Andrea Wikso spent hours
on her Mac & Cheese dish and someone brought wonderful pastries. The
KFD graciously lent tables and chairs for the party.
Kenny and Laurie
Nick, Nicoletta and Kathy having dinner on front deck
Kenny
joined other guests at another table
Coming
events: Taste of Kismet scheduled for August 9th
. A reminder from the organizers: "We're getting down to the wire
with planning for this year's event, taking place on Saturday August 9th. A
number of people have approached Krysia and/or me to confirm they'll
be participating but we're also still waiting to hear
from some of you. We ask again that you email one of us; Krysia,
Joanne or John B. and let us know what you intend to make ."
Helpers too.
The
annual Clam Shucking
Fund Raiser for West Islip Breast Cancer Coalition is scheduled for Tuesday
August. 12th. In addition to the shucking and the many
raffles, there will be two other WIBCC fund-raising
events. A one-hour Adult Tennis Clinic ($30) and a Pro-Am
Tennis tournament ($20) are scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 12th. A
Gold-level package at $65 includes both clinics and $25 worth of Food/Drink
tickets. For information and registration contact WIBBC at (631)-669-7770 or
email: info@wibcc.org.
The second WIBCC event is the 4th Annual Kan Jam Beach Tournament to be
held Monday August 4th at noon on Pine Walk. Entry fee is $5 and there
are prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Surf's Out is donating
hamburgers and hot dogs to all players: Meet at Surf's Out Courtyard at 4
p.m.
