Finding Inspiration In A Landmark Newtown Property

By Shannon Hicks

The Mayer family has been working the land of Cherry Grove Farm in Newtown for over a century. Generations of residents have grown up eating the fruits and vegetables that come from the native soil of the farm.

The farm is situated at the intersection of Platt’s Hill Road, Hundred Acres, and Palestine Road, with the old farmhouse and its familiar whitewashed barn bearing the name of the farm proudly in large black painted-on letters.

Artists have also found inspiration in the beautiful south-central Newtown property for decades, and the latest formal gathering of painters and illustrators found its way to the farm this past weekend. On Saturday, September 30, a group of artists spent the morning and early afternoon exploring some of the property, setting up easels and chairs, and basking in the sunshine, light winds, and creativity that surrounded them.

The outing was sponsored by Roaring Lambs, a Christian art group based out of Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel. The group has been together for at least two years, says Betty Christensen, with members presenting shows in the lobby of the church.

“I was delighted with the turnout,” said Mrs Christensen, a Newtown resident and professional artist. Mrs Christensen is a practicing artist, but she spent most of her time Saturday playing the role of coordinator and tour guide for the group, the majority of which came from out of town and had therefore never seen the beauty that is Cherry Grove Farm.

About a dozen people turned up Saturday, and not everyone was a member of Roaring Lambs or even a member of Walnut Hill Community Church. Pat Barkman, another Newtown artist, was invited to join the group on Saturday, as were Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) members Kita Macon and Ruth Newquist.

“We welcome anyone [into our artists’ group], whether they have any faith or none at all. We have people from different churches as well as our own represented. Any age, any nationality, it doesn’t matter at all. We welcome anyone,” Mrs Christensen pointed out.

Ms Macon began a water-based scene of one of the farm’s smaller barns on Saturday. The water work was followed with a pastel overlay, a technique for which Ms Macon is known. The artist is currently working on a step-by-step article detailing her process for American Artist magazine.

By noon, the light had changed too much for Ms Macon to continue working on site, so she packed up her supplies and called it a day.

For Marge Malwitz, the light was not a concern. The Brookfield resident makes fabric pieces, usually finding inspiration in the ocean or beach and stories from the Bible, which are then turned into quilt squares. She was creating a scene of Cherry Grove’s farm stand Saturday afternoon.

“The color here is awesome, and for me the light doesn’t make a difference,” Ms Malwitz explained.

Others were set up around the property with charcoal sticks, pencils, anything they were most comfortable with. Backgrounds ran the gamut from beginners to recognized professional artists.

“I think largely everyone did his own thing in the medium he or she was accustomed to,” Mrs Christensen said, “and I think that associating with others who may have been more professional was exciting to them.” In fact, when the group broke for its picnic lunch around 12:30, a lot of conversations were heard between the artists, who were comparing notes on their approach, their designs, and their results.

“This was a first-time event for some of them, so I think it was exciting for them and it was for me, too,” said the Newtown artist, “because everything went so well. I think it lived up to their expectations.” Mrs Christensen said feedback after the paint-out was so good, those who participated in last weekend’s outing are already trying to plan the next one.

Another positive consequence of the paint-out is what will happen with the resulting artwork that was started on Saturday. Plans are in the works for a future show at Walnut Hill Church that will present the work created this past weekend as a collection of what many different people saw while working in the same general area. Roaring Lambs already has a few exhibitions scheduled in the upcoming months, so the Cherry Grove work may not go on view until the late holiday season.

“I think it will definitely happen,” Mrs Christensen commented. “I’m just not sure when it will be.”

Word of the exhibitions at the church has begun to leak outside of the congregation, with visitors starting to come in to the church just to admire the artwork on view. An exhibition of large-scale works in mixed media by New York City resident Ann Kim is currently being prepared for display.

“We find there is a great deal of interest among the members of the church as well as outsiders, who come in to look at the show,” Mrs Christensen said this week. “We were hoping that would happen, and it’s beginning to.”