Many of you will remember Thompson Avishai’s wonderful exhibit this past April (photo below) and the thought-provoking panel discussion we hosted with Dartmouth professors Diana Abouali and Jamila Chahboun from the Arabic and Middle Eastern Language and Literature Department at the college. The panel discussion continued way past the planned for time due to the interest of gallery visitors in the topic! No one wanted to leave or discontinue the excellent conversation and many people expressed how much they had learned from the gallery talk about the sensitive approach of the photographer in documenting the issue and the challenges faced by girls seeking educational opportunities in Morocco.

Thompson Avishai, who formerly worked as a photographer for the New York Times and our own Valley News, exhibited images made during a year she spent in Morocco documenting the education of Muslim girls under a Fulbright grant. This series has been recognized by Critical Mass-Top 50 Photographers 2006, The Griffin Museum of Photography, The International Museum of Women, and The Photo Resource Center, and is featured on photobetty and SocialDocumentary.net. Recently the photographer received two Prix de la Photographie awards for her work and she previously received the Paul Schutzer Memorial Award for advanced documentary work and was a featured photographer in National Geographic Magazine.

I’m enclosing the ballot form below for all the categories. Our section is in #21, letter d. If you were moved, challenged, or excited by any of the arts events listed on the ballot form, please vote, express your opinions, and support our many fine institutions and organizations !!!!!

The deadline for voting is Friday, September 28, so don’t delay, do it today.  To cast your votes email: thecompletehoot@comcast.net. Simply list the number of each category with the letter of your choice, and write in your favorites for #24 and #25. THANKS FOR VOTING!

Special thanks, too, to everyone who has written me about the closing of the gallery. I so appreciate all the good wishes and comments about our 3+ years of exhibitions and classes and hope to see everyone around the Upper Valley at other art venues or events.

Sincerely,

Lia Rothstein

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OWL AWARDS BALLOT

MUSIC

1. Classical:

a. Yefim Bronfman, Hop

b. Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt, Hop

c. Go for Baroque, Camerata New England

d. The Classicopia Concerts

e. Ryu Goto,  LOH

2. Blues/Jazz:

a. Keb’ Mo’, LOH

b. Steve Martin and the Canyon Rangers, Hop

c. Paul Broadnax Quartet & Fred Haas, Tupelo

d. Skunk Hollow Jazz, Hartland

e. Guy Davis, Tupelo

3. Pop/Rock:

a. Melanie, Tupelo

b. Lindsey Buckingham, LOH

c. Richard Thompson, Tupelo

d. Lucinda Williams, LOH

4. Musical Series:

a. Jazz Series, Tupelo

b. SGNHS Sunday Concerts, SGNHS

c. Loch Lyme Concerts, Loch Lyme

d. 39^th Summer Music Assoc, New London

e. Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon

6. Music Festivals:

a. HOPFest, Hop

b. Hartland Jazz Festival, Hartland

c. New World Festival, Chandler

d. Munsey Blue Grass Festival, LOH

7.  Community Concerts:

a. Songs of Ecstasy, Counterpoint

b. Spring Concert with Paul Ayres, Bel Canto

c. Mozart Requiem, St. Thomas Church

d. Brahms Requiem, Handel Society

e. Something Old. . ., Full Circle

f. Winter Concert, Thetford Chamber Singers

THEATRE

8. Drama:

a. Romeo and Juliet, Red,Les Liaisons Dangeureuses, Northern Stage

b. Endgame, Parish Players

c. The Uninvited, Bradford Theatre

d. Dust Rings a Bell, Time Stands Still, Shaker Bridge Theatre

e. Our Town, Mousetrap, NL Barn Theatre

10. Comedy:

a. Relatively Speaking, Private Eyes,Regrets Only, Santaland Diaries, Shaker Bridge Theatre

b. Boeing Boeing, Northern Stage

11. Musical:

a. Annie, Chicago, Northern Stage

b. Ragtime, Legally Blonde, Oklahoma! NL Barn Theatre

c. The King and I, Opera North

d. Sweeney Todd, NCCT

12. Edgy Theatre or Musical:

a. Hair, NL Barn Theatre

b. M. Butterfly, Northern Stage

c. Sweeney Todd, NCCT

d. Endgame, Parish Players

e. Re-Entry, Dartmouth

13. Community Performance:

a. Sweeney Todd, NCCT

b. Christmas Revels, Revels North

c. Cabin Fever Follies, Pentangle

14. Youth Performances:

a. Play Time, Trumbull Hall Troupe

b. Beauty and the Beast,Junior Interns, NL Barn

c. Music Man, NCCT

d. Much Ado About Nothing, The Bard’s Troupe

e. Peter Pan, Chandler Arts

15. Multi-Genre Productions:

a. Christmas Revels, Revels North

b. Undue Influence, Dartmouth Dance Theatre

c. 69 Degrees South, Phantom, Hop

d. Angel Reapers, Martha Clarke, Hop

DANCE

16. Professional:

a. SamulNori, Hop

b. Brain Storm, Everett Dance Theatre, Hop

c. India Jazz Suites, Hop

d. Swan Lake, Moscow Festival Ballet, LOH

e. Fantastical Botanica, MOMIX, Hop

17. Community Dance Companies:

a. Clara’s Dream, Cinderella, City Center Ballet

b. Museum Pieces (at AVA), Flock Dance

c. Annual Belly Dance Show, Gina Capossela

d. Raq-On Festival, Raq-on Dance

e. Masquerade, Ballet Studio 260

FESTIVALS

18. Film Festivals:

a. Telluride, Hop

b. WRIF Festival, WRJ, VT

c. Woodstock VT Film Series,Billings

d. Banff Mountain Film Festival, LOH

19. Festivals:

a. HOP Fest, Hop

b. New World Festival, Chandler

c. 4^th Annual Trek to Taste, Woodstock

d. 4^th Annual Summer Fest, ArtisTree

e. Digital Media Festival, Woodstock

f. Bookstock, Woodstock

g. Point to Point, Harpoon Brewery

h. 2nd Annual Gay Pride, Chandler

ART

20. Art-Special Events:

a. Sculptural Visions, SGNHS

b. Fine Woodworking & Forest Festival, Billings/Woodstock

c. Fine Art Fine Food, Utility Club, Lyme

d. Hands-on Pianos, Hop

e. SculpFest, Carving Studio, Rutland

21. Art-Special Exhibits:

a. Embracing Elegance: 1885-1920,Hood

b. Nine Generations, Nuance Gallery

c. Men of Fire, Pollock and Orozco, Hood

d. Within These Walls: The Education of Girls in Morocco; photos by Amy Thompson Avishai,

PHOTOSTOP

e. Zack’s Place, Northlight Editions

f. Regional Native American Artists, AVA

g. Jessie Pollock, Picture Gallery, SGNHS

SPECIAL EVENTS

22. Special Events, Speakers:

a. David McCullough, SGNHS

b. Jules Feiffer, VT Humanities Council

c. Forum on Shakers, Enfield Shaker Museum

d. Summer Forums: Polarization, ILEAD

23. Family Community Programs:

a. Jr Vet for a Day, Billings Farm & Museum

b. LOH Summer Thursdays

c. SGNHS Summer Concerts

d. VINS camps & programs

e. The Fells, John Hay’s Estate, Newbury, NH

f. League of NH Craftsmen Wellness Program

g. Upper Valley Music Center

24. What new businesses do you think deserve recognition?

25. What are your two favorite restaurants in the Upper Valley?

As most of you know, I am closing the gallery, effective this week. As of today, no one has come forward to definitely take over PHOTOSTOP, nor do I know who may be moving into the current PHOTOSTOP space here at the Tip Top Building in the future. I have spoken to a couple of people who might be interested in taking over the space and keeping it for an art-related use, but there’s nothing definite to report in this regard right now, unfortunately. Currently there are still fixtures (color-corrected track lighting, solar shades, gallery hanging system, etc.) available for sale, possibly to a future tenant of the space or to someone else. If you know anyone who might be interested, please have them contact me or Matt Bucy, the building’s landlord. I have listed the many wonderful advantages of our current space in the article below, for those of you who may have missed this posting before.I would like to thank all of you, PHOTOSTOP’s wonderful friends and supporters, for 3+ years of enthusiasm, participation, encouragement, and interest. It has been my pleasure to curate and present photography exhibits exploring some of the diverse perspectives the medium offers. Photography is my passion and I thank you for being part of PHOTOSTOP, whether you attended an exhibit or community event, took a class or workshop, entered a juried show, listened to a gallery talk, participated in our PhotoSlam, bought a photograph, or were just interested in what we were up to here.

Special thanks go to exhibiting photographers Neal Rantoul, Suzanne Opton, Olivia Parker, Keith Johnson, Cynthia Beth Rubin, Amy Thompson Avishai, Sara Wight, James Patterson, Rob Strong, Andrea Greitzer, Courtney Bent and George Kachadorian (Shooting Beauty project), Cynthia Crawford, Carla Kimball, Mark Council, Chris Esten, Medora Hebert, Ros Orford, David Putnam, Ryan Vahey, David Westby, Emma Jane Levitt and all the photographers who entered our juried shows and PhotoSlams for sharing their work with the Upper Valley community and for trusting a fledgling gallery to show and handle their work respectfully. Jurors Tony Decaneas (railroad photography show) and Ellen Carey (Abstract Photography Today) helped ensure that the quality of our juried show offerings were topnotch. Gratitude also goes to Alex Hanson of the Valley News, Amy Rahn of 7 Days, Janet Van Fleet of the Vermont Art Zine, and the Evarts of The Complete Hoot for extensively covering and reviewing our exhibitions these past few years. They really helped get the word out about our shows and provided thoughtful and thought-provoking commentaries.

Thanks, too, to Irene Hollister for approaching me about showing the work of her late husband, Paul Hollister, and for her unfailing enthusiasm for all the details of the project. Angels who helped with a great variety of volunteer tasks at the gallery included Ryan Vahey, Kirsten Elin, Leah Berry, Luciana Frigerio, Cindy Crawford, Carla Kimball, David Westby, Megan McGuire, Hannah Chambers, and Rob Strong. I’m certain there will be halos waiting for all of you in the future someplace, but for now, I send you my heartfelt thanks and appreciation.

Of course, I could not have started the gallery without the help and support of my amazing family. Many of you have seen my husband, Rich, bartending at openings but he has also helped me do everything from moving artwork to washing the floors, much less glamorous tasks, but essential gallery work components nonetheless. My adult kids, Ariel and Zach, have pitched in as well as their time and distance has allowed and I thank them for all their emotional support during an extremely busy couple of years!

Although I have very conflicted feelings about closing the gallery I am excited to be able to focus more on my family and on my own artwork in the future. I will return to teaching next spring but, in the meantime, I’ll be concentrating on new directions in my work and pursuing some new opportunities. I will continue to represent photographers whose work I care about like Suzanne Opton, Neal Rantoul, Amy Thompson Avishai, Emma Levitt, and others to museums, art collectors, and art consultants.

I hope our paths will cross frequently in the future! You can always reach me at lia.rothstein@gmail.com or check my website www.liarothstein.com for updated information about future classes I’ll be teaching, which will be posted in late fall. I’ll be updating my website as one of my first priorities during October and November. Until we meet again, bye for now!

After a great deal of reflection, I have decided to close PHOTOSTOP this fall in order to pursue doing more of my own work and having more time for my family. This decision, while difficult personally, is not a financial one. The gallery has generated enough revenue with art sales, classes, and jury fees to be self-sustainable for over 3 years. Classes and workshops have consistently filled with frequent waiting lists.

As a result, I’m looking for someone who might be interested in taking over the gallery in its present form or in some other, possibly reorganized, structure. The advantages of my current space and gallery business are many:

Physical structure –

Main Street location with terrific street visibility

professional quality color-corrected gallery lighting

first-floor access with easy loading and unloading

high quality solar shades installed in three large windows

professional gallery hanging system installed

handicapped-accessible space with its own kitchen (great for gallery openings) and bathroom

extensive storage and classroom space in addition to gallery space

separate office area with high speed Internet already wired in

freshly painted and cleaned space in excellent condition

parking for visitors and clients easily available

Established art community and interest –

award-winning gallery with established name recognition for high quality exhibitions and classes, regional reputation

extensive email list of people interested in art and photography

eye-catching professionally designed logo

protected domain name and website/blog

excellent location in building and community with strong interest in the arts, many other

artists and occupants of the creative economy located in the building and town

Please contact Lia at 802.698.0320 or by email at photostopvt@gmail.com for more information or to come see the space, located in Suite 150 of the Tip Top Building, White River Junction, VT. By appointment only, please. Please forward this notice on to anyone you know who might be interested. Thanks!

New photos from Neal Rantoul’s ongoing portfolio, Wheat: An American Series, will be on display in the gallery for the month of July. Rantoul’s work was recently acquired for the permanent collection of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, AZ. To see more of his work go to www.nealrantoul.com. After the First Friday opening on July 6th from 6-8 pm, hours will be by chance or by appointment. For details, contact Lia at 802.698.0320 or email photostopvt@gmail.com.

10 and under group: Ella and Farren Stainton

"Love" (above) and "Sister" (below)

Teenage group: Asa Waterworth

"The Blue Stairs"

Adult group: Shawna Gibbs

"Summer Rain, 2011"

Congratulations to our award winners and to all the photographers who have made our Slam such a huge success! Remember to come in and vote before June 1 for our Peoples’ Choice award.

Gallery Director Lia Rothstein put out a call for photographers of all ages and levels of experience to submit their photos for this third annual photo event. Over 115 photographers of all ages (5 to who knows what), amateur to pro and everything in between, shared their photos for inclusion in the popular PhotoSlam event.

The Gallery had pledged to print at least one image from each photographer and, as a result, there will be over 185 photographs with diverse imagery on display once again. Color, black and white, and digitally manipulated images will all be shown.

Gallery hours are Weds. through Saturday from  12-5 pm during exhibitions. On First Fridays and opening nights, the gallery is open until 8 pm. Other hours are available by appointment.