First Weekend

We began our first weekend in Hartford with a late afternoon visit to the Renbrook School in West Hartford. The promised artwork was from alumni artists of the venerable school. After driving through the afternoon traffic, turning into the driveway was a pleasant change. The wonderful building was originally the manor of Frederick Rentschler, founder of Pratt & Whitney, and has been home to the Renbrook since 1958. Steep wood-shingled roofs, heavy timbered promenades, and acres of natural beauty offer a most appealing setting for education.

The 20th Annual Alumnae/i Art Show was found right in the front foyer of the main building, and down the adjacent hallways. A variety of media from twenty-six was represented with a good many of the items’ tags sporting a small red dot.

Salmon Vase by Tim Scull

Reed Ladders by Beanie Caman

On Saturday afternoon we joined the other artists at the West Hartford Art League retrieving their artworks that were not selected for the upcoming CT+6 Exhibition. The good news is that one of Marie’s new horses was chosen. More on that show later.

West Hartford Art League

We next found our way onto the University of Hartford campus for the opening of the Unspeakable Things show at the Silpe Gallery in Taub Hall. This is an exhibition of art by seniors at the Hartford Art School and the opening, despite the rain, was well attended

Scott Nicola

That night we had the comforting pleasure of seeing and hearing our old friend Sparky Rucker and his wife and co-star, Rhonda. They were scheduled to play at the Sounding Board in West Hartford, and we were looking forward to surprising them with our appearance in Connecticut. I’ve known Sparky since the mid-80s and have seen him perform in four states. I mean States.

Sunday had a variety of offerings but we chose to walk downtown to watch the parade celebrating UConn’s NCAA Basketball Championship.

Oh yeah, the team.