Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Central School sophomore Lindsay Turnbull’s collage, inscribed with the advice “Go to the place u feel most alive,” was one of 150 student art pieces in “On the Trail of Art,” an open air gallery mounted by the Butternut Valley Alliance in Morris’s General Morris State Forest June 10 and 11. (Photo by Teresa Winchester)

Butternut Valley Artists Impress Visitors to BVA’s ‘On the Trail of Art’

By TERESA WINCHESTER
MORRIS

General Jacob Morris State Forest welcomed more than 350 visitors over the weekend of June 10-11 as the site of Butternut Valley Alliance’s third annual “On the Trail of Art” outdoor art exhibit. A half-mile scenic trail featured approximately 150 pieces from both homeschooled students and student artists from Edmeston, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, and Morris central schools.

“This is the third year of ‘Art on the Trail,’ and my students absolutely love participating. Their work keeps getting better and better,” said Ashley Hughes, art teacher at Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Central School.

Forty other artists, all with ties to the Butternut Valley, also displayed their works.

Strolling musician Kristina Turechek intermittently played the melodica, a hand-held reed instrument with a keyboard on top, while fiddler John Potocnik played his fiddle at a site along the trail. Doug Ernst, retired Morris Central School music teacher, organized and played in a trombone ensemble with Matt Oram and Jeffrey Young on June 10. On June 11, playing flute, Ernst was part of a wind ensemble, joined by Rachel Rockwell on clarinet and Melissa Wilson on bassoon.

Two of the more unconventional pieces in the exhibit were by abstract artists, Tony Pinotti and Simone Mantellassi. Pinotti’s untitled on-site installation consisted of identical three-foot by three-foot squares cordoned off by reflective tape. Inside the squares were natural objects such as starling eggs, pinecones, moss and feathers.

‘I wanted people to slow down and look at nature a little more carefully. I wanted the artist’s hand to disappear entirely,” Pinotti said.

“His piece is almost invisible, but when you do see it, it almost blows your mind,” said fellow artist Mantellassi.

As visitors approached Mantellassi’s painted cardboard and paper mâché sculpture, they may have had the impression that a pile of litter had been left on the forest floor. Mantellassi had fashioned a microwave oven, saucepan, running shoe, and other miscellaneous litter as part of his oeuvre, which he titled “In memory of Herbert von K…”

“I used to find garbage when I was walking in the forest as a kid in Italy,” he said, revealing one form of memory evoked by the title.

“Herbert von K” refers to Herbert von Karajan, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic during World War II and Adolph Hitler’s favorite conductor.

“Herbert von Karajan was part Jewish but he opted to stay in Germany. He became a Nazi. He put his career before his convictions, which is kind of like garbage to me,” Mantellassi said, adding that as an abstract piece, there is leeway for approaching his work from “many different directions.”

Positive comments about the exhibit could be overheard all along the trail.

“It’s awesome—the creativity. It’s all very different, a million ranges of talent,” said Lauren DeBiase, who recently moved to Morris from New Jersey. Her painting, “Snacktopus,” was featured in the open air gallery.

“It’s nice seeing the mix of mature artists and kids’ art at the same time. Some of the kids’ art is stunning,” said Dave Cocco of Richfield Springs.

“It’s amazing what this group put on for our community this weekend! It takes some serious vision to walk into a state forest and pop up a gallery! Thank you, BVA, for continuously showing up for our area in such impactful ways!” Gina Gardner stated in a Facebook post after the event.

Gardner also contributed an abstract ink drawing, “BrainCelium,” to the exhibit.

“On the Trail of Art continues to grow and garner more enthusiasm, both from contributors and attendees. We’re thrilled by the amount of diversity we were able to introduce—and with the storytellers and musicians and the artists of all ages. The talent in the Butternut Valley is overwhelming,” said Maggie Brenner, co-chair of the Butternut Valley Alliance.

“On the Trail of Art” was sponsored by the Earlville Opera House, Upper Susquehanna Coalition, Golden Artist Colors and the Otsego County Conservation Association. The open air event was made possible with public funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a program of the New York State Council on Arts, with the support of Governor Kathleen Hochul and the New York State Legislature. The grant was administered by the Earlville Opera House.

Butternut Valley Alliance is a not-for-profit organization serving the Butternut Valley watershed, whose Butternut Creek flows from the Town of Exeter to its confluence with the Unadilla River in the Town of Butternuts. BVA’s mission is to encourage the Butternut Valley to become a better place to live, work and play.