New Exhibit: Windsor Barns Tell Stories

The Windsor Historical Society exhibition of Lowell Fewster's photographs of Windsor barns opens with a reception on Tuesday, June 9, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 96 Palisado Ave., Windsor.

For almost 300 years, barns were an essential part of life, housing animals, vehicles and farm equipment. As the automobile replaced horse-drawn transportation and small-scale farming declined, barns began to disappear, falling victim to the weather, disuse and disrepair.

For photographer Lowell Fewster, barns tell an important story about life and commerce in Windsor as well as exhibiting aesthetic beauty.

Barns were practical, functional buildings and close examination of a barn’s architectural features can tell the story of its original and subsequent uses. Some barns have been re-made and rehabilitated while others have disappeared.

Additional Windsor barns have stories associated with them, such as the shade tobacco magnate who used the cupola in his barn as an observation deck where he could oversee the working habits of tobacco workers he employed.

Then there was the barn where methane from cow manure was piped into the house to light gas lamps inside.

Official history records little about Windsor barns. In an attempt to gather barn reminiscences for the record, viewers are invited to record and post their own Windsor barn stories or reminiscences as part of the exhibition.

Photographer Lowell Fewster grew up in a Kodak family in Rochester, New York, and started taking pictures at the age of six.

For more information call (860) 688-3813, or visit www.windsorhistoricalsociety.org.

'Made of Thunder, Made of Glass'

Intricately beaded bags, purses and hats with bright floral, figural and geometric designs from the 19th century American Indian beadwork collection of Gerry Biron is featured in Made of Thunder, Made of Glass: American Indian Beadwork of the Northeast, an exhibit at the Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS), in Washington, Connecticut.

Now through June 30.

The center is located at 38 Curtis Rd.; open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday; noon to 5 p.m. Cost: $5; children, $3.

Gerry Biron, artist, author, collector and independent researcher, is of Wabanaki descent. His collection includes "souvenir" purses made by Native American women during the 19th century.

Regarded by many as some of the finest representations of American Indian art, the creators of this work came from diverse cultures and regions including the Haudenosaunee of New York State and Canada and the Wabanaki of northern New England and the Maritime Provinces of Eastern Canada.

Image, courtesy IAIS.

Vibrant Quilts, Art in Fabric, MIT Exhibit

Quilt collector Heather Korostoff Murray introduces her audience to the stories behind vibrant quilts on Sunday, March 15, 2 to 5 p.m. at the MIT Hayden Memorial Library (building 14S), Cambridge, Mass.

The exhibit will feature 25 quilts from her collection. Murray’s talk at 3 p.m. will focus on the lives and work of eight significant African-American improvisational quilt makers, their stories, inspirations, and talents.

The event is sponsored by the MIT Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, MIT Humanities Library, and the Program in Women’s and Gender Studies.