MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center’s Restore project features a needle felting (felt painting) workshop this Saturday, Nov. 17, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Adults and children age 12 and up are invited to join one of Lake County’s most prolific artists, Alana Clearlake, to learn some of the techniques and tricks she employs in her work with felt.

The cost of this class is $10 to cover the many specialized materials required.

The name “needle felting” describes the process of this art form: Poking repeatedly at natural animal fibers with a barbed needle that eventually entwines the fibers creating a solid fabric. The result is similar to felt that is machine made and widely available.

Since hand felting is individual, the texture and look is very different from felt, which is purchased. “Come stab with me and become familiar with a new terminology: drafting, carding, roving, tops,” said Clearlake.

Clearlake is a master of the medium. Her colorful and impressive felt paintings and evocative felt sculptures are regularly featured in MAC exhibits. She has taught extensively, and her work in a variety of media has been exhibited worldwide and featured in artisan journals and magazines.

Two large-scale felt paintings, sculptures, and traditional mixed media paintings by Clearlake are currently on view in the “All Souls” exhibit at MAC. Enjoy “All Souls” through Dec. 2: Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; or by appointment.

Please register in advance for this one-of-a-kind class at www.middletownartcenter.org/restore, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-809-8118. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Symphony Association is excited to announce that new brass and woodwind players will join the expanded Youth Orchestra in the November concert.

The concert will take place on Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

This has been the dream of conductor, Sue Condit for several years.

“We now have a group of students who are excited about playing in an orchestra,” said Condit. “All are currently playing in their high school band and were recommended by their music teacher.”

The Youth Orchestra will begin the November concert with Capriccio Espagnol by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arranged by Richard Meyer.

This piece premiered in 1887 for full orchestra after Rimsky-Korsakov changed his mind about scoring for a solo violin with orchestral accompaniment.

Meyer’s arrangement features a clarinet solo and several sections of the original Capriccio Espagnol.

Continuing on with composer, Rimsky-Korsakov, the orchestra will play Dance of the Tumblers, from the opera Snow Maiden. Based on folk and fairy tales, this highly colorful and energetic piece is a favorite of all audiences.

Reserve tickets now for the opening season fall concert set for Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre. General admission for the 2 p.m. concert is $25 or $30 for premium seating. Lake County Symphony Association members receive a $5 discount.

Open rehearsal starts at 11 a.m. The cost is $5 for adults and is free for those under 18.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Lake County residents and visitors are invited to groove to The Higher Logic Project at the Middletown Art Center on Friday, Nov. 16, from 7 to 10 p.m.

With its finger on the pulse of arts and culture in Lake County, the MAC welcomes this beloved local band to perform in the MAC gallery, surrounded by artwork from the “All Souls” exhibit currently on view.

Enjoy reggae-infused dance rock and soulful melodies with lyrical consciousness. Celebrate local music and art! The cover charge is $10. A no-host bar will be onsite.

The Higher Logic Project is comprised of diverse musicians including Dooby (Derek) Wells on lead vocals and guitar, Gary Cambra on guitar and keyboards, Jacob Cambra on drums, Chris Clark on bass, DJ Sam Murti, and Bella Cambra on background vocals.

“Music and Art are key to our existence,” said Rick Berriz, owner and partner with Gary Cambra at The Butterfly House Studio in Clearlake where Higher Logic’s CD was produced and recorded. “We’re very proud of these guys. Just let the music speak for itself!”

“Whether you love reggae, rock, R&B or funk, love to dance or love MAC, the Higher Logic Project – Give Thanks concert promises to deliver a high energy, heartfelt community gathering. We give thanks for our communities’ courage, and who we are becoming as we rebuild, grow, and sustain Lake County, with local arts being an integral part of the revival,” explained Lisa Kaplan, programs director at MAC.

The Higher Logic Project music can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HigherLogicMusic. Digital download the CD at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-higher-logic-project/1240032426.

Since its opening in 2015 and subsequent wildfires in Lake County, MAC has become a cultural hub hosting concerts, open mics, dances and other community events. Be a part of the growing arts scene in South Lake County by becoming a MAC member, or by attending one of the many arts and cultural events or classes at MAC.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29. Visit www.middletownartcenter.org or “Like” Middletown Art Center on Facebook to stay up-to-date with what’s happening at MAC. Check out MAC’s nominal cost Restore classes in sculpture, mixed media, printmaking and creative writing that happen most weekends at www.middletownartcenter.org/restore.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Opera has come to Lake County.

The Lake County Symphony’s Fall Concert opens its 41st season with “An Afternoon at the Opera” on Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

Conductor John Parkinson has chosen a concert performance of opera overtures and arias featuring dramatic mezzo-soprano Heather McFadden, who has been a prominent singer throughout California for more than a decade.

Bringing a lush voice and dramatic presence to the operatic stage, she has established herself as a compelling performer of the lyric and dramatic mezzo repertoire.

The program features an overture played by the orchestra followed by an aria, from each of three well-known operas: “La Favorita,” “Un Ballo in Maschera” and “Carmen.”

“La Favorita” by Gaetano Donizetti is based on a love triangle involving the King of Castile Alfonso XI, his mistress (“the favorite”) Leonora, and her lover Fernando. McFadden will be singing the aria of Leonora, “O Mio Fernando.”

“Un Ballo in Maschera” (“A Masked Ball”) is an opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The plot is based on the assassination in 1792 of King Gustav III of Sweden who was killed as the result of a political conspiracy against him. He was shot while attending a masked ball.

In the opera, Riccardo (Gustavo) investigates Ulrica, a fortune teller accused of witchcraft, and goes to her house. The opening of the second scene finds Ulrica summoning her magical powers in the aria Re dell’ abisso, affrettati (King of the abyss, make haste), performed by McFadden.

“Carmen,” by Georges Bizet, endures as one of the greatest operas ever written. “Les Toreadors,” the theme from Act I, and Habanera, Carmen’s aria featuring McFadden, are among the best known in all operatic repertoire.

The final number in the program will feature the orchestra, playing Bizet’s familiar “Symphony in C,” his first and only symphony before he continued concentrating on opera composition.

It was written when he was a student at the Paris Conservatoire and reveals an extraordinary talent for a young composer in melodic invention, thematic handling and orchestration.

He started it four days after he turned 17, completing it about a month later. It was never played during his lifetime, but was discovered in the conservatory library in 1933. It was first performed in 1935 and quickly became part of the standard Romantic repertoire.

Reserve tickets now for the opening season fall concert set for Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Soper Reese Theatre. General admission for the 2 p.m. concert is $25 or $30 for premium seating. Lake County Symphony Association members receive a $5 discount.

Open rehearsal starts at 11 a.m. The cost is $5 for adults and is free for those under 18.

The November concert is dedicated to the memory of Chris Hansom, longtime horn player in the Lake County Symphony who passed away recently.

UKIAH, Calif. – Experience the magic of a live dance performance in the Mendocino College Dance Repertory Dance Co.’s presentation of “Reflections … a dive into water, dance and life!”

The performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, through Saturday, Nov. 17, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18 in the Mendocino College’s Center Theatre on the Ukiah campus.

Four professional choreographers created original pieces for the production.

The company will premiere original works with actual rain on stage. Eryn Schon-Brunner's and Tara Ford’s “Water Dreams” investigates the world of motion and water. International artist Amelia Uzategui Bonilla (artistic director, Río Danza Comunitaria) premiers “Retrograde is…” an optical illusion that temporarily mesmerizes the eye.

Trudy McCreanor (artistic director, Mendocino Ballet) debuts “L’Etudes des Lignes,” a ballet that focuses the beauty of a dancer’s line, and “Happiness Goes On” is a themed love story by acclaimed social dancer Eddie Vedolla (Vedolla Dance Productions) that will bring a smile.

The performance features costumes by Kathy Katz, video art by Dave Wolf, and technical design and lighting by Steve Decker.

The Mendocino College Repertory Dance Co. is a diverse group of college dancers who share an interest in dance as a performing art.

This year’s company performers are Eleazar Brown, Jas Byerley, Clara Carstensen, Yves Charles, Margarita Diaz, Cody Dooley, Rickie Emilie Farah, Elizabeth Fuentes, Tara Ford, Traci Hunt, Thomas Kenney, Paloma Rodriguez, Ari Sunbeam and Megan Youell.

The company, which formed in 1986, is currently under the direction of Eryn Schon-Brunner.

Each fall the company spends time learning the works of four to six professional choreographers adding to the diverse repertory of dances the company can perform, providing young dancers with experience and professional connections in the dance field.

Tickets are $15 general, and $10 for ASB cardholders, seniors and children 12 and under.

Tickets are available at the Mendocino Book Co., Mendocino College Bookstore and online at www.artsmendocino.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door, cash or check only. Audiences are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.

Do others of you think about what you'll miss when you leave this life?

For me it will be the great skies over my part of the world.

Here's Emily Grosholz's take on this, from her new book “The Stars of Earth: New and Selected Poems,” from Word Galaxy Press. She lives and teaches in Pennsylvania.

Here and There

What will I miss when I'm gone?
The squeak of the wheelbarrow's wheel,
Grace note that strikes with every slow
Revolution, and then the hushed, rusty
Answer in triplets from the invisible
Bird in the lackluster maples.

Branches, weeds, last autumn's leavings
Raked from the moss-eaten pads, beds,
Borders, still untrimmed hedges.
Also the silent pale blue bells
Of my half dozen borage, ringed,
Self-seeded from the woods.

Daylilies my mother liked to set
Roadside in June. Pale Greek anemones
She never traveled far enough
To find wild, as I did once or twice, but
Maybe I'll bring her some, if over there
Windflowers blow beside a cloudy sea.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2017 by Emily Grosholz, "Here and There (from "June")", from The Stars of Earth: New and Selected Poems, (Word Galaxy Press, 2017). Poem reprinted by permission of Emily Grosholz and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.