Newsletter |

Thank You for Meeting “The Challenge”

YOU DID IT! An amazing group of 88 people donated to the Hermitage during the recent 24-hour Giving Partner Challenge! This is up from 66 donors last year. Once all the “dust has settled” at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, the Hermitage will be receiving more than $20,000 – thanks in part to matching dollars provided by The Patterson Foundation.

HUGE THANKS to our 2016 Giving Challenge Donors! Steve and Dale Adler (in honor and memory of Syd Adler), Sam Alfstad, Peggy Allen, Caroline Andrus, Darrell Ayers, Alana Badinger, Craig Badinger, Judy and Pat Ball, Susan Barrett, Debbi Benedict, the Willa and Robert Bernard Fund, Carol White Bold and Larry Bold, Arts Alliance of Lemon Bay, Judy Bremer, William Buttaggi, Patricia Caswell, Jim Chandler, Mary Clement, Deborah Cohen, James and Kim Cornetet and the Bjork Sanders Donor Advised Fund, Carol Crosby, Ilene Denton, Annette and Tom Dignam, Joan and Jim Dusenbury, Sandy and Paul Eppling (in memory of Rose Ebeltoft), H. Wayne Ferguson, Carolyn Fitzpatrick, Melissa Granberry-Pranke, Linda and David Green, Linda Gross, Sandra Hammonds, Marilyn Harwell, Mildred Headdy, Christine and Richard Hess, Pencie Huneke, Charlotte Isaacs, David Katz, Carole Kleinberg (in memory of Ted J. Shears), Gerlinde Kohl, Thomas Koski, Lucy Laides, Dorothy Lawson (in honor of Ina Schnell), Diane Ledder, Arthur and Marcella Levin, Sharyn Lonsdale (in honor of Linda Mansperger), Ruth and Andy Maass, Kerry Mack, Linda and Mike Mansperger, the Martin Family Fund, Rita Mazer, Hannah and Gregory McDaniel, Susan McLeod, Charmaine McVicker, Carolyn Michel (in honor of Bruce Rodgers), Vance Mixell, Michelle Morris, Don Morrison, Sara and Larry Myers, Anne Patterson, Margaret Pennington, Charlotte and Charles Perret and Family Fund, Michele Redwine, Bruce Rodgers, James Rogers, Joy Rogers, Nancy Roucher, Lisa Rubinstein (in honor of Bruce Rodgers), Don and Linda Schilke, Stephanie Simmons, Harvey Small (in memory of Jeanie Small), Audrey Snyder (in memory of Robert B. Snyder), Laura Soule, Shannon Staub, Zoe Strecker (in honor of Patricia Caswell), Cynthia Stuhley, Elizabeth Van Riper, Sheila Weiss, Barbara Williams (in memory of Jean and Denzyl Williams), and Karen Williams.

Book Reading with Hermitage Fellow Josh Barkan

When Josh Barkan walked along the sandy Hermitage path, he was seeing the sands of Mexico and hearing Spanish in his mind. Josh was the first of two writers in residence who wrote timely and important stories of the underworld of Mexico. As I read his stories I too was transported, with a new empathy for those across the Gulf from us. He befriended painter Michael Wyshock while at the Hermitage, so Wyshock invited him to read at the College. Reservations are not required for this reading.

October 13, at 7 pm at the Judy Hughes Studio @ Bayou Ringling College

Josh Barkan’s astonishing collection indelibly captures the beauty, strangeness and brutality of life in modern Mexico. The characters in these pages are everyday citizens—a chef, architect, nurse, high school teacher, painter, beauty queen, classical bass player, plastic surgeon, businessman, mime—simply trying to lead their lives and steer clear of violence. Yet inevitably, violence has a way of intruding on their lives. A surgeon finds himself forced into performing a risky procedure on a narco killer. A teacher struggles to protect lovestruck students whose forbidden romance has put them in mortal danger. A painter’s freewheeling ways land him in the back of a kidnapper’s car. Again and again, the lines between “ordinary life” and cartel violence are shown to be paper thin, with tragic results. Though the lives of Mexico’s characters are affected by the corrupt and dangerous subculture of their country, these are much more than simple “crime stories”. They are complicated and deeply moving tales that tap into universal and enduringly powerful themes: love and loss, religion, family relationships, government abuse, sexual identity, professional ambition, cancer; they introduce us to characters that feel fully realized in their humanity.

Fiction Writers Workshop by Eric Goodman

The Suncoast Writers Guild is collaborating with the Hermitage to get the word out to area writers about this free creative learning opportunity. “The Things They Cherish” is a two-hour workshop designed to help writers of all levels in fiction and creative non-fiction, create vivid characters through the use of a totemic object, a talisman, if you will, that carries great meaning for the character. Seating is very limited for this workshop.

Eric Goodman has published five novels, most recently the award-winning Child of My Right Hand and Twelfth and Race. He’s published more than 200 essays and short stories in publications including North American Review, Travel and Leisure, Glamour, Los Angeles Times Traveling in Style and Saveur. He directs the Low-Residency MFA at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Goodman lives in upstate New York and Sonoma County, California.

You can read more about Eric at his website:
http://www.erickgoodman.com/index.html

Do You Remember Our Very First STARs? We Sure Do!

So just how does the STAR program make a difference in these artist/teachers lives? I went back to our first STARs, a wonderful group of teaching artists, several of whom I am happy to call my friends, who came to the Hermitage in 2011, not knowing what to expect from this surprise gift of time and space. I had been here three years and never saw a group of artists bond so tightly. Looking back, they provide insight as to what is so special about the STAR program and how five years later, how much their time here mattered.

Andrea Huffman: “After breakfast every day, I looked forward to walking to the studio, opening the doors to let the light in and just focusing on the creative process. It was a pivotal experience for me in accepting myself as a working, professional artist. In a practical way, I have sketches and photos from the Hermitage that I continue to reference in my artwork. In a deeper way, it is a constant reminder to treasure the moments I have to create art, and suck the life out of those moments (to very loosely paraphrase Thoreau). It’s also a reminder of how little I needed to be content…. Oh to recapture that perspective again.

Patricia Cummins, Artist: “The best memories of my residency at The Hermitage reflect on the personal connections made with Manasota Key and the other STARs. There was always something new and exciting to share! I have served a dozen National Park residencies, receiving recognition as an artist. The STAR residency was the FIRST and ONLY that recognized me as an artist as well as an arts educator. Never before has that occurred in my 40-year career as an art teacher. Being recognized by the Hermitage and the FAAE was one of the highlights of my career.”

Alan Sincic, Writer; “What I remember most fondly about our time together was the informal nightly ritual of gathering in the main house to compare notes, socialize, gossip, debate, share the progress we were making, joke around, and generally make fools of ourselves. We were like a little family of expatriates, gathered together on a secret island making secret plans for the future.”

Melissa Pranke, Writer: “There are no standardized tests to pass; no observations or personal development plans to construct. You experience the chance to be creative and to create solely for the purpose of whatever you wish to explore without any strings attached. I fell in love with the philosophy and natural beauty of this place and met people who truly value and cherish the creative spirit. No one will ever bond the way the first of us did. The Hermitage experience is life changing.”

Dear Friends of the Hermitage

If you missed the March 16th meeting of the Friends, this message may be for you. After serving as the Coordinator of the Friends of the Hermitage for the past several years, I am stepping aside to make room for someone else to fill the position.

Dear Friends,

photo for Friends 3-16 — Portrait of Marianne painted by artist and Friend of the Hermitage, Jacobina Trump

I have enjoyed meeting all of you and working with many of you during my tenure. Thank you for all your willingness to help out when needed and for your friendship that I hope will continue to grow in the future.

Soon Mike and I will be heading north to Canada for the summer. When we return in the fall we plan to volunteer at the Hermitage as usual. I will continue to oversee the libraries in the main cottage and to serve as the Friends liaison to the Artful Lobster Committee. I also hope to organize more literary events whenever there is an appropriate writer in residence.

So exactly what does the position entail? First of all, the length of time you have been a Friend is of no concern. New Friends are as welcome as “old” Friends to step up to the plate. Being the Friends Coordinator is a great way to get to know the workings of the Hermitage, the artists, the staff and the volunteers. The Friends meet about four times a year and at most of those meetings we are treated to a special program by a Hermitage
Fellow. At this past meeting we enjoyed a fabulous program by Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova. Just another perk of being a Friend.

Coordinator responsibilities include being an ambassador for the Hermitage as in networking with the community and spreading the word. Greeting returning Friends at meetings and events and welcoming new and potential volunteers is important to keeping the Friends strong and growing.

Sharyn Lonsdale, the campus director, will be work with you in setting the agenda for meetings. She will also make it incredibly easy for you to actively participate in those meetings. You will work with Sharyn to make sure volunteers are happy with their roles in the organization. In addition, you are free to pursue any project that interests you and to encourage other volunteers to do the same.

It may be that two or more of you would like to share the position of Coordinator. If you would like to volunteer your leadership, Sharyn will welcome you with open arms.

I look forward to seeing you at the last meeting of the season slated for Friday, May 6th, details to be announced later. Hopefully, Sharyn can introduce us to a new Coordinator of the Friends by then.

Happy spring!
Marianne

Bringing the Hermitage to You

I recently had the delightful opportunity to speak to a local group, The Lemon Bay Garden Club. Several of the members of this group are also Friends of the Hermitage and every year swoop in like Santa’s elves to decorate the Hermitage House for the holidays. It was a pleasure to return the favor and share the Hermitage with those members who might not be as well acquainted with us.

I also just got to speak about the history of the Hermitage in front of hundreds of people at the Lemon Bay History Fest Cracker Fair, a celebration of Old Florida. Clocking in at 109-years-old, the Hermitage House certainly qualifies as “Old Florida.” And as for history, we’ve got plenty.

This event took place just a few miles from the Hermitage but to my surprise, many in the audience not only had never been to one of our free programs, but they weren’t sure where we were or what we did. They were thrilled to hear that we had renowned national and international writers, artists, composers and choreographers staying right here in Englewood and sharing their work and talent throughout the area.

The Festival also provided several volunteers the opportunity to chat up the Hermitage with others in the community. It was wonderful to watch Margaret Riley and her husband Pat, John Arnold and Maria Baskin share their enthusiasm and knowledge, along with the beautiful scrapbooks created by Jackie Parsons. Thanks to all our Friends who gave up part of their Saturday to spread the word about the Hermitage.

John Arnold, Margaret Riley and Pat Riley get ready to greet the crowd at the Lemon Bay History Fest “Cracker Fair” on Feb. 13.

Development News: What a Great Way to End 2015

We want to thank and recognize the generous donors to the annual fund since our last report in October and through January 10, 2016:
Ruby ($2,500): Carolyn Michel and Howard Millman
Sapphire ($1,000): Gene and Rita Bicknell, Ross and Jen Branca, Harold and Addie Morrison, Roberta Somach, and Harrison and Lois Steans
$250 ‐ $999: Carol Ankerson, Dennis and Trudy Archer, Anthony Bannon and Elizabeth Stewart, Pavel and Alyssia Kapic, Josephine Kixmiller, Gregory and Hannah McDaniel, Lamar and Jan Matthews, and Lisa Rubinstein
Up to $249: Rebecca Allan and Laura Kaminski, Allison Campbell, Neil and Ginny Goeppinger, John Guare, Wendy Hacker, Ermina Hahn, Marilyn Harwell, Steven and Lisa High, David and Hobey Hinchman, Pencie Huneke, Andy Maass, Neil and Sandra Malamud, Christine Mickiewicz, Chinelo Okparanta, Richard and Jacqueline Parsons, Betty Ramming, Jean Kathleen Ranallo, Christopher Still, Peter and Lee Vandermark, and Ray and Elinor Uhlhorn.

by Linda Mansperger, Development Director

THE HERMITAGE ANNUAL FUND
We want to thank and recognize the generous donors to the annual fund since our last report in October and through January 10, 2016:

Ruby ($2,500): Carolyn Michel and Howard Millman

Sapphire ($1,000): Gene and Rita Bicknell, Ross and Jen Branca, Harold and Addie Morrison, Roberta Somach, and Harrison and Lois Steans

$250 ‐ $999: Carol Ankerson, Dennis and Trudy Archer, Anthony Bannon and Elizabeth Stewart, Pavel and Alyssia Kapic, Josephine Kixmiller, Gregory and Hannah McDaniel, Lamar and Jan Matthews, and Lisa Rubinstein

Up to $249: Rebecca Allan and Laura Kaminski, Allison Campbell, Neil and Ginny Goeppinger, John Guare, Wendy Hacker, Ermina Hahn, Marilyn Harwell, Steven and Lisa High, David and Hobey Hinchman, Pencie Huneke, Andy Maass, Neil and Sandra Malamud, Christine Mickiewicz, Chinelo Okparanta, Richard and Jacqueline Parsons, Betty Ramming, Jean Kathleen Ranallo, Christopher Still, Peter and Lee Vandermark, and Ray and Elinor Uhlhorn.

Do you appreciate the work of the Hermitage but have not yet made a financial gift?? Because the Hermitage fiscal year goes until June 30, 2016, you can still make a donation to this very special Annual Fund. Just click on the DONATE NOW tab. THANKS!

PADDLE RAISE FOR PLANTS AND LIGHTS!
With the care of our native ecology part of the Hermitage mission and a new path connecting the Palm House with the historic campus, it made sense for the paddle raise at the Artful Lobster last November to focus on essential landscaping improvements. The paddle raise kicked off with a $5,000 grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation that was quickly matched by board member Susie Samp, who realized that path lighting is essential for the safety of both artists and guests attending Hermitage programs. Board member Steve Adler and his wife Dale (who expertly prunes bushes and pulls weeds around the Hermitage) made a gift of $2,500. Several joined the cause with gifts of $1,000 – Bob and Ginger Bailey, Larry and Carol White Bold, Dan Denton, Jim and Sandy Goldman, Robert and Ann Jackson, Carolyn Michel and Howard Millman, Bea Miley, and the Paver Family Foundation. We also want to thank and recognize these additional donors with gifts ranging from $50 to $500: Caroline Andrus, Robyn Badger, Allen G. Barry, Jr., Arthur Boyce, Mark and Irene Cole, Teri Hansen and Steve Wilberding, Hees and Associates, Charles and Susan Hines, Tom and Sherry Koski, Robin Radin, Barbara Ras, Neville Thame, Ellen Dore Watson, and Ellen Wells. When the dust settled, $22,550 was raised!

The Hermitage would like to thank Michelle Hazeltine and Hazeltine Nurseries again for donating their services to develop the Hermitage landscaping plan. Watch for future project reports.

OTHER VALUED GIFTS
We thank Vicki Weil for renewing her Palm Circle membership with a $2,500 contribution; Sid and Carol Tracy and the Tracy‐Sorkin Family Fund for a $2,000 gift; David and Linda Green for a $1,000 donation; and other generous contributions from Larry and Carol White Bold, Peggy Hunt, and Honor and Malcolm MacLean.

GREENFIELD PRIZE DINNER
We know you have it on your calendar for Saturday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Michael’s On East! This special event celebrates the Greenfield Prize mission “to bring into the world works of art that will have a significant impact on the broader or artistic culture,” with the presentation of the 2016 Prize.

Co‐chairs Beverly Bartner and Renee Hamad are inviting Sponsors to join them on the Greenfield Prize Committee as $5,000 - Gold Underwriter (Table for ten with preferred seating; thanked on invitation, program, and screen; invitation for two to the Greenfield Prize Sponsorship Reception in February, 2016; $3,000 – Silver Sponsor (Table for ten with preferred seating; thanked on invitation, program, and screen; Invitation for two to the Greenfield Prize Sponsorship Reception in February, 2016); or $1,000 – Benefactor (Preferred seating for two guests; thanked on invitation, program, and screen;Invitation for two to the Greenfield Prize Sponsorship Reception in February, 2016). For more information, call Linda at 941‐475‐2098 #2. Invitations will be mailed next month, or go to www.greenfieldprize.org to purchase tickets.

The Hermitage gratefully acknowledges the support of these Greenfield Prize Dinner Sponsors (as of January 14, 2016):

GOLD UNDERWRITER: Hillary Steele

SILVER SPONSOR: Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Charlotte and Charles Perret

BENEFACTOR: Murray Bring and Kay Delaney, Larry and Carol White Bold, Carole Crosby and Larry Wickless, Bobbi and Will Lorry, Nancy Markle, Ina Schnell, Betty Schoenbaum, Judy Zuckerberg and George Kole.
EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE SPONSOR: Sarasota Magazine

The Announcement Reception on December 8th was graciously hosted by Margaret Pennington in her art‐filled home.. Thank you Margaret! Also, we thank Steve Seidensticker and TableSeide for donating a portion of the delicious dishes and wines that were served that evening.

Ah-Ha Insights and Stories Told Lovingly

Kukuki Velarde created a delicate whimsical, ode to her little girl Vida. Line drawings on paper, cut out and layered in three dimensions told the beautifully crafted, artfully re‐imagined story of how her little daughter came to be. A fairy baring an egg metaphorically gave a gift to Kukuli that started Vida’s life.

This work intended for a children’s book was a departure from her critically acclaimed ceramic work expressing the struggles of the indigenous people of Peru.

June is family residency month. Hermitage babysitters allow artist‐parents the freedom to create at an intense pace between tranquil family playtimes on the beach.

Oscar Bettison, here with his sweet baby daughter Paloma, came to write a commission for an Amsterdam ensemble.

His warm comfortable British accent seemed at home in the Hermitage living room when we gathered in the house to chat after his composer‐talk was rained out on the beach. A conversation evolved about his way of composing music.

He told us he liked to be challenged, like when a pianist/percussionist asked him to write a solo piece. Together they had to invent ways the pianist could play percussion with his feet while still manning the keyboard.

He wrote a piece with the violin strings all tuned to D (when usually the four strings are tuned to GDAE). We watched a young virtuoso play the piece on youtube. If many of us had heard this piece on a car radio, we might have changed the channel, but after learning its origin, appreciating the difficulty and understanding the pattern, listeners were fascinated.

Oscar doesn’t go with the first idea he has for a piece. He gets more ideas, then, if the first one is still exciting, he goes with it. A writer agreed she works the same way. An artist later chimed in that Oscar’s work is like the collage she makes. Everyone heard something in his music to relate and memorable ah‐ha discourse.

Baby Paloma’s father had sat on the old wooden Hermitage floor helping her learn her first words in the morning. That evening in the same spot Englewood’s literati (decades older than Paloma) still with curious, open minds, learned a new language too, the language of 21st century musical composition.

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