Painting Workshop at the Wayside Inn

Saturday, January 10th .......... 9:30am to 4:00pm

Sunday, January 11th ............ 9:30am to 4:00pm



Experience creating a winter scene and wood graining on a 10 x 18" raised pine panel in the Christopher Gurshin distinctive style of Old New England painting in the memorable atmosphere of Longfellow's Wayside Inn. Begin with morning coffee or tea and fresh baked muffins served in the Inn's Ford room while you prepare for the day.In the historical setting of the old kitchen, a delicious candlight five course luncheon is served at noon. At the end of the day you will finished your painting of the raised pine panel.

The cost is $195.00 and call the Wayside Inn
at 978-443-1776 for your reservation.

LIMITED SEATING

Longfellows Wayside Inn


Wayside Inn Road Off of Rte.20, the Boston Post Road


Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776

Rocky Hill Ferry

It just worked out on a recent weekend, that Janice and I would take time going over to Rocky Hill from South Glastonbury on the ferry. We had worked around the yard on Saturday and thought of just relaxing. It would be nice to see the other side of the river and a place we had learned about to have something to eat.

We parked the van and walked onto the oldest continuing running ferry in the country since 1650. There of course have been all kinds of ferry boats but now it is a little tug boat to guide the ferry back and forth.

The tugboat, Rocky Hill, turns around ready to go to the other side and it will only take about four minutes to get there.

We were hungry for our long awaited breakfast on this beautiful weekend Sunday morning at a place we read about called Mitchell's on the River. It's a small place just with seating on the out side deck. Even though it was mid morning we wondered why we had our choice of seats on the porch. We ordered and were surprised when we were told there was a gas leak problem that was just discovered. It seems that the gas was used up earlier and that there wasn't any to cook with when we ordered. How disappointed we were! Well, at least they offered us coffee at no charge!

Afterwards we went for a little walk to an interesting gift shop nearby called Tapestry Rose, located in what was the old train station. Later we went back to wait for the ferry and just enjoyed what seemed like a far away experience. Maybe it's because we were walking around in a different area, but we could have been miles away instead of just three.

Janice and I still had a nice time feeling like we were on a vacation, just peacefully looking up and down the river.

It's a lot easier to get across the river than the earlier days, but the experience is still the same today as it must have been years ago.

Horse & Carriage ride on Main Street

I was finishing a painting of the Web-Deane-Stevens museum in Old Wethersfield, Connecticut, settled in 1634, where George Washington met with Count de Rochambeau in preparation for the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
The final element in the painting happened to be a horse and carriage traveling by the museum and so it was very exciting and timely to see it in real life as we were on our way to the shop, Antiques on Main. My wife Janice and I wanted to see if there were any more small bottles for her collection and also to drop off a few Country Registers. The horse and carriage ride, offered by The Allegra Farm of East Haddam, Connecticut, was right across the street from the museum. There was no waiting line for the carriage ride so after dropping off the Country Registers at the antique shop, we decided to go for a ride.

At the start of our ride, the coachman in colonial attire greeted us and the door was opened for us into another world. Our particular coach was called a "Brougham" named after Lord Brougham, (1778-1868) , an English statesman, and the restored interior was authentic with a beige velvet material, tufted and pleated as it had been originally. We were excited and happy to come upon this unexpected pleasure to get a traveling experience of looking out as others might have done two centuries ago at the beautiful old homes still standing today.

The Allegra Farm of East Haddam, an authentic "livery stable" for over two decades, provides carriage rides, sleighing party rides and even the experience of a western chuck wagon dinner ride. They travel all over New England and the Tr-State area for weddings, city and town events festivals, parades parties and film parts. Private carriage rides and hay rides may be enjoyed from the farm any season or at your favorite location.

The elegant team of horses were happy and relaxed plodding along at a slow pace, a far cry from their previous life as racing horses. The ride lasted about fifteen minutes but brought to one's mind and imagination another slower pace in time. The ride was pleasant and cozy hearing the carriage creaking and the clip clopping of our two former old race horses going down Main Street.

So if you are visiting Old Wethersfield and you have a few extra minutes on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon this summer, take some leisurely time for yourself and take an enjoyable horse drawn carriage ride for just $5.00 per adult. I wonder how many of our vehicles of today will give rides to those wanting the experience of the year 2008 in 250 years?

Christopher Gurshin

email. chris@christophergurshin.com

www.christophergurshin.com

Antiques, Bottles & Flowers

Welcome to Antiques on Main of Old Wethersfield, Connecticut, voted the best antique shop now for the third year in the Hartford magazine's Best of Hartford 2008 May issue. It is located next to the firehouse on Main Street. I have a variety of my work available there from paintings, tinware, art signs of the town and my wonderful collectibile houses. Historic Old Wethersfield, founded in 1634, is a special place to experience a communtiy of authentic New England heritage, museums, old architecture, places of interest nestled along tree lined streets. Of noted interest also is the Webb House where Washington and Rochambeau planned the Campaign of Ending the Revolutionary War at Yorktown in 1781. The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum is a must to visit and just a few steps from Antiques on Main. Across the street from the museum is the J MICHAELS TAVERN, located in the historic Standish House, where I also exhibit my work.

Janice and I wandered around the shop and she was happy to find some small bottles. One was a medicine appearing bottle, a decorated little vase and an old ink bottle. Then when we got home Janice picked some flowers from the carpet of Myrtle along the edge of the stone walls, which were perfect for the new collection of bottles.

This is a half Federal house with an ell addition I made and with a painted scene all around. I couldn't resist making the image of a flowering tree by placing the Myrtle flowers in the back.

Looking forward to seeing you here at the studio in Glastonbury just over the river from Old Wethersfield, where there are plenty more houses of different sizes and shapes that I've made to bring an accent to your home.

Marblehead Art Walk

April 11th and the 12th was the first time for the Marblehead Art Walk, a partnership of the Art Association and the Chamber of Commerce where various artists were featured in participating small businesses throughout town highlighted with hanging ballons. Friday night was the preview opening and then all day Saturday. I was featured at the Marblehead Arts Association and set up in the front parlor where I demonstrated pencil drawings and gave them away to a fortunate few. Saturday was also the antique appraisal day up in the ballroom with Paul Royka from the Antiques Road Show where many brought in their "treasures".
For this showI did several new paintings, three are shown below, and at the end of the day I placed them in my gallery on the second floor where I hope you can visit someday. This was another successful event in the wonderful town of Marblehead and promises to be again next year in the Spring.

This is an 11x14 painting of Old Tucker's Wharf based on an old post card from my father's Marblehead collecton of many harbor scenes. This shows the wharf from the rocks of Crocker Park which is still there today except all the buildings have changed or are no longer there.

This is an 11x14 painting of Old Appleton's Wharf and is where the Boston Yacht Club is today.

This 11x14 painting is an image of the Fort Sewall lobster shacks where at one time many were there. In the background is Gerry Island and Peach's Point.

A Country Class

On the last Saturday in March, I gave a small private class here at Early New England Homes built by Country Carpenters, the company that also built my barn a few years ago. This model home is open to the public for viewing and when it first opened I spoke to the invited guests about what a wonderful contribution to New England's harmony it was. Eric Sloane, a well known writer and artist of New England would have been so happy to have seen this as well I'm sure.
I did a painting of this complex used on the cover of their brochure. New England Homes is located in the Connecticut countryside of Bolton, a short distance from my Art Studio & Gallery in Glastonbury.
I did a similar class recently in January at the Wayside Inn in Massachusetts. Fred from Country Carpenters asked me about the possibilities of holding a class in Connecticut and then the day finally came. We started at 9:30 on a crisp beautiful morning and it wasn't too long before everyone was pounding away, finishing by 4:30. How fast the day went, but now on this Saturday March, 29th, time was forever frozen with the creation of the "little pine footstool"

Everyone is busy sanding after the roughed up and distressing steps were done previously. It gets noisy with all the pounding and filing! The idea though is to keep in mind not to over do it but give the piece a character of 200 years of use. In the barn there is a display of old tools helping to bring the feeling into the piece as well.

Everyone is concentrating with the final details before the last step of varnishing.

The class all with their finished projects and seven hadn't ever painted before. When the stools were lined up drying I picked one up thinking it was my own, but was surprised that it was Mike's (on the left ). Everyone went home with a smile and all had good reason to be happy!

Collecting Houses from the Barn

I look forward to your visit here in Connecticut to my Studio & Gallery where the flowers soon will be blooming and the birds singing. Please call first to be sure I'm in at 860-633-7707. I will be happy to show you the many houses and barns I have made from large timbers to very small pieces of pine.

When Country Carpenters built the Studio & Gallery post and beam barn, there were some leftover timbers. This is a 4x8 that I used to make this "row" house with scenes and buntings and flags on both sides. I even used old copper from the chimney flashing to make cut out designs and nailed them on the houses. A story is told in the design of the celebration of America by the little band marching by on what I envisioned was a voting day.

This is a set of of three cut from one piece of 3/4" pine wood. There are a wide variety of different houses and barns here in the gallery, that can capture an Old New England accent in any season wherever you want to display them. Each and every one has a finishing patina of history.

I made this collection of small houses for my wife Janice and although very tiny, as the dime shows, they bring a nice accent when arranged on the kitchen counter.