Art in the Studio, Nancy Natale’s blog, is widely read for her authoritative, humorous, and personal views on making, looking at, and thinking about art and the rest of life. Her website is nancynatale.net.

“I define ‘bricolage’ as collage with muscle. It is similar to collage in that it combines found or invented materials to make a work of art, but it has more dimensionality. My current work combines the sculptural qualities of wax with an accretion of mixed media elements to make semi-relief, loosely-geometric paintings that allude to the building up and wearing away of memory over time. By creating strips from materials such as parts of old books and record albums, painted paper and cardboard, recycled rubber and patinated metal, I add a wealth of texture, color, reflectivity and material associations while making a new abstract arrangement with a rich physical presence. The multitude of tacks I use add a polyrhythmic overtone to the main horizontal or vertical thrust of the strips. Then, in a final step, I paint on pigmented encaustic (wax plus a hardening resin), adding color and enriching the muscularity of the composition by building up dimension to highlight the elements and their organization.”

“Filmmaking is a craft – the craft of storytelling. And like all other crafts, it can be learned. Whether creating an hour-long television drama, a feature length film, or an instructional video on tap dancing, the stories we create are dependent on only two things – our imaginations, and the tools we need to externalize them.”

Join us for this opportunity to learn some film theory basics. Great preparation for planning that music video, vacation adventure, or riveting feature! The two hour class is only $20.

To register please call (413) 731-9730 or e-mail info@bingartscenter.org

Studying under Vilmos Zsigmond (Academy Award winner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Gove developed a unique personal style for lighting and composition while shooting and directing hundreds of commercials. He wrote and directed his debut feature, The Apostate, a thriller starring Academy Award winner Dennis Hopper, which premiered on HBO. His ABC television film  Flip Tops won the Gold Medal at the New York City Film Awards.

The screening will be followed by a filmmakers’ Q & A. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet this award-winning professional filmmaker!

The Bing Arts Center, at 716 Sumner Avenue, Springfield, MA, will present Decoding Our Past: Spirituals and the Underground Railroad, a cappella performance and talk by Christine Clemmons McCune on Saturday afternoon and evening at 2 & 7 p.m., February 25. This exciting event is part of the Bing Artbeat World Music Series, which will continue through June.

A native of Washington, D.C., soprano Christine Clemmons McCune is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. She studied at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Gratz, Austria, and earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her Master of Music from the Juilliard School in New York. She currently resides in Newark with her husband, jazz pianist Brandon McCune, and their sons.

Versatility has been her trademark throughout her career. She sang the role of governess in Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. Christine brought life to the role of Radical in Chandler Carter’s No Easy Walk to Freedom, an opera about the life and struggle of Nelson and Winnie Mandela. She originated Vina in the contemporary anti-slavery musical, Stand by the River by Mark Sutton-Smith. The roles of Amelia in Ain’t Misbehavin’, Jubilee in Band of Angels, and Jeanette in Crowns have also been performed by her. Christine has toured Taiwan with the American Opera Company productions of Rigoletto and La Boheme. As a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, she was seen in both Purlie and Kismet at City Center.

She will draw upon her extensive classical training and love of traditional spirituals to present them as art songs and to teach about the code within the lyrics. This is an extraordinary opportunity to connect with our “living history” through this rich and vibrant musical heritage! Students are especially encouraged to attend the afternoon performance at 2 p.m., for which there is no charge. The performances are made possible in part by Forest Park Liquors.

Tickets are $7.50 each, with all proceeds helping to fund this year’s expanded programming. The afternoon performance at 2 p.m. is free for students. Tickets are available at Flowers, Flowers!, at 758 Sumner Avenue in Springfield, or by phone at (413) 731-9730.

Skolnick created the film as his final project at Fairfield University. Fascinated by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, whose widely influential stories have not been extensively translated into film, Jared made his choice. “Being a fan of The Music of Erich Zann since well before high school, I knew I had found my match. Lovecraft’s elaborate yet vague descriptions and haunting language exhilarate and inflame the imagination, practically daring the filmmaker to attempt to translate it into another medium.”

The Music of Erich Zann is a horror film of haunting beauty and terrifying poetry, filmed in the style of the German Expressionist films of the 1920’s. “Zann has allowed me to experiment with nonverbal storytelling and expressionistic cinematography in the styleof the classic horror films of the silent era such as Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The palpable atmosphere of dread and decay are prevalent throughout the film, giving it an otherworldly yet familiar feel.”

We will also show Jared’s most recent short film The Earth Rejects Him.

A $5 donation is requested at the door. Refreshments including popcorn, candy, and cold drinks will be available for purchase.

The Bing Arts Center, at 716 Sumner Avenue, Springfield, MA, will present African Rhythms! Thursday evening, January 19, at 8 p.m. This exciting event is part of the Bing Artbeat World Music Series, which will continue through June. African Rhythms! features performances by Gokh-Bi System and Abdou Sarr.

One of the leaders of the emerging African hip-hop movement, Gokh-Bi System creates a melodic and memorable blend of singing, rapping, traditional and contemporary beats. They have dubbed their fusion of beats “Ancient meets Modern.” Combined with Abdou Sarr’s dynamic combination of Senegalese dance styles, this will be a performance of unforgettable rhythmic mastery!

For twenty years or more, American hip-hop has influenced the music of the younger generation across the continent. Motivated by its cultural and political power, African youth have adopted and adapted the music and lyrics to their own struggle. Largely overlooked by international media and the recording industries, Senegal has developed into one of Africa’s largest hip-hop markets.

Born in the slums of Dakar, the capital of Senegal in West Africa, GBS was formed in 1995 by three childhood friends Mamadou Ndiaye (MC), Diasse Pouye (MC), and Pape “Bathie” Pouye (manager) who grew up together in one of Dakar’s poorest villages, Pikine, Guinaw Rail which translates literally into “the other side of the tracks.” Raised in Senegal’s deep, rich, musical culture, Gokh-Bi System (pronounced Go-Bee), like most urban youth born in the 80’s, was heavily influenced by hip-hop. Bathie and Diasse are brothers and when they were young, their parents welcomed Mamadou and his family into their home.

Tickets are $7.50 each, with all proceeds helping to fund this year’s expanded programming. Tickets are available at Flowers, Flowers!, at 758 Sumner Avenue in Springfield, or by phone at (413) 731-9730.