Vignettes from Vermont: Closing the Opening

One of the nearly 150 people who attended the opening reception
looks at Brian Hewitt's work in the mezzanine at Fiddlehead at Four Corners.
You can buy Hewitt's works HERE (Joey Kulkin photo)

BENNINGTON -- Be it by blind luck, kismet, circularity, coincidence or bits and pieces of them all, Brian Hewitt's diamond-framed triptych of the Park-McCullough House is staying in North Bennington after Lesley Jacobson won the piece during Hewitt's opening reception Friday night at Fiddlehead at Four Corners.

Jacobson lives in North B on the back side of old Park-McCullough turf. She visited Fiddlehead six days earlier after reading an article about the reception and raffle in the Bennington Banner, which is where Hewitt worked in the mid-'90s as the director of advertising. Jacobson loved his original oils on canvas depicting one of Vermont's landmark estates and explained why in a video with Art Gallery Dude

"They had exceptional power to them and I just love his unique perspective," Jacobson told AGD, who was a sportswriter at the Banner when Hewitt was schlepping ads.

"Fall"

"Winter"

"Summer"

Park-McCullough House triptych

Jacobson delivered her spot appreciation and bought 5 raffle tickets for the triptych an hour or two before John and Bertie Noble of Bennington fell in love with Hewitt's work on Fiddlehead's mezzanine and began the process of buying a print of the Park-McCullough House centerpiece called "Fall".

Lo and behold, it was the Noble's granddaughter who reached into the jar that held roughly 150 raffle tickets and picked out one of Jacobson's. Funny how life be sometimes.

And yet there's another ties-that-bind aspect to the story about Hewitt, Jacobson and the Park-McCullough estate. But you've got to keep reading.

The raffle capped a 4-hour shindig during which about 150 receptionistas drank 12 bottles of free wine and schmoozed and hobnobbed and rubbed elbows and tickled each others' fancies and listened to guitar heroes Tommy Marshall of North Adams and Sam Clement of Bennington. They opened the set with a cool version of KT Tunstall's "Big Black Horse and A Cherry Tree" which you can watch at the bottom.

If there was a downer, only one of Hewitt's pieces sold -- a print of "Winter" although the flip side is it's the second print to sell in a week so maybe it's the start of a hot streak.

Sales from raffle tickets raised $535 for the Park-McCullough House.

No one from the Park-McCullough House attended the reception, a true downer. And it's another example of how Bennington's art scene is "passionate and disjointed."

Here's a passionate slice of life in a Vermont art gallery ...

Bennington socialite Ann Jareckie helped organize the reception
and sold the most raffle tickets

Cider Magazine writer Josh Smith showed up to interview Hewitt
and Fiddlehead owner Joel Lentzner for a story

Brian Hewitt, Tommy Marshall and Ann Jareckie
look up at the mezzanine

Cider Mag's Josh Smith (hat) interviews Hewitt (center)
and Fiddlehead owner Joel Lentzner

Another vantage point of the interview

And another.

Canes and Able: Bud Hewitt (Brian's dad)
and Tommy Marshall make their entrance

Tommy Marshall making another entrance
with his geetar. The boy can pick it.

Brian, Joel and Josh one more time

Gallery owner by day, gallery bartender by night

Art Gallery Dude thinks he's artsy with the camera

Bud Hewitt becomes the second-oldest artista
to Chalk It Up in the Graffiti Vault.
For the oldest person click HERE

Bud and Brian.
Bud drew a Double-TT for the farm he owned,
the Double-TT representative of his name Merritt Hewitt;
Brian's middle name is Merritt.

Bud's girlfriend who did a great job
selling raffle tickets during the reception

Tommy Marshall and picking partner Sam Clement;
they opened with a great version of KT Tunstall's
"Big Black Horse and A Cherry Tree"

Up in Fiddlehead's mezzanine

which features a dozen Brian Hewitt works

Brian McKenna looks at "Prospect Street"
which is part of Hewitt's North Bennington series

Ellen Jareckie, a true Carolina firecracker

Of mothers and daughters: Ellen and Ann Jareckie

Eric Wood chats in the Graffiti Vault;
the Google-certified photographer took the cover photo
of "Chalk It Up 2!"

Of men and conversations

John Shanahan, executive director for Better Bennington Corporation,
reads Joey Kulkin's "Chalk It Up 2!" He appeared in the first Chalk It Up!

The wife of a Fiddlehead regular shows off the earrings
he bought her a few weeks ago. Want some? HERE

Shanahan, Hewitt and Sunburst

At the peak of the reception there were 47 in the gallery

And the winner is ...

Lesley Jacobson of North Bennington

But if you think that's the end of the coincidences ...

What is the bind between Lesley and Ron
and the Park-McCullough House?
Watch the following video:

Brian Hewitt chats with AGD on Saturday morning ...

And as promised, Tommy and Sammy riffin' on KT ...