Tag Archives: Diane Lowman

Roundup: Saugatuck Sweets, Valentine’s Sweets, Haiku …

Posted on February 9, 2022 | 2 comments

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Last night’s Saugatuck Elementary School 5th grade orchestra and chorus concert was the first such in-person event in 2 years.

To celebrate afterward, kids and parents headed to Saugatuck Sweets. To their dismay, they learned their favorite shop closes at 8 p.m.

To their delight, owners and employees kept the place open late.

Grateful parent Felicia Sale says, “Thank you Saugatuck Sweets!”

Celebrating at Saugatuck Sweets.

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United Way of Coastal Fairfield County has awarded the town of Westport $2,000. The funds — and a supply of KN95 masks — support residents impacted by COVID, along with a supply of KN95 protective face masks.

This is the third round of United Way grants to help during the pandemic. It brings to 6,500 the number of masks donated to residents.  A previous award of gift cards helped ease the way for struggling residents.

United Way has also helped area agencies, including Homes with Hope, during COVID.

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Westport ❤s Local to Market. And the aptly named food-and-more store celebrates upcoming Valentine’s Day with a few specials this weekend.

This Saturday (February 12, 1 to 4 p.m.), Locavore Kitchens offers the debut of heart meringues, and tastings of shortbread cookies.

Dustin Lowman — one of Westport’s favorite singer/songwriter/guitarists — plays Saturday too, from 2 to 4 p.m.

And, of course, there’s a full array of Valentine’s goodies, from BE Chocolat and Knipschildt.

Dustin Lowman

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Speaking of the Lowman family:

Poet laureate

Presents great haiku workshop

At Wakeman Town Farm

It’s not great haiku. But that’s what’s happening February 28 (7 p.m.) at Wakeman Town Farm.

Westport’s own Diane Lowman (aka Dustin’s mother) will help you learn to write concisely and beautifully — well, at least more beautifully than my effort. The Farm will serve as inspiration. Click here for details and registration.

Haiku, by Westport poet laureate Diane Lowman

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Fans of Mark Twain and/or music will enjoy the Westport Library’s February 27 event.

Westport composer Barbara Backlar Reis will present songs and commentary from her original collaboration “My Millionaire.” The musical is based on Twain’s short story, “The Million Pound Bank Note.”

The show explores the themes of money and power and how people behave toward those who possess them. Click here for details, and registration.

Coming (sort of) to the Westport Library

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The family of Roberta Eggart writes that their “proud stage manager, assistant to Michael Sottile, writer, dancer, sister, mother of 3, widow, comedy texter, giver of gift cards to strangers and collector of stray humans, died peacefully on January 26 at the age of doesn’t matter. She will be missed by all who interacted with her.”

She lived in Westport for 3 decades, and knew nearly everyone. She is survived by her children Kat, Casey and Jesse Eggart, and grandson Kai.

Kat calls her mother “one of a kind, and a huge influence in so many people’s lives. She loved to dance, sing and write. She was  the best stage manager in the world, and the coolest mom in town!”

The family adds, “A celebration of life will be announced at a later date. Light a candle and wish her well. That’s how she rolled.”

Roberta Eggart

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Nancy Prevo Andersen — believed to be the last surviving member of Staples High School’s Class of 1941 — died recently in Texas. She was 98 years old.

A noted illustrator and artist who showed frequently in the Southwest and Mexico, she was married to Bill Andersen (Staples ’42). Nancy’s father-in-law, Einar Andersen — longtime president of Westport Bank & Trust — helped put together financing for the town’s purchase of Longshore in 1959.

Nancy and Bill had 4 children: Nonnie, Lee, Diane and BJ. Further details on survivors and services were unavailable. (Hat tips: Carl Addison Swanson, Tom Allen)

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Jerry Kuyper sends along today’s “Westport … Naturally” image, with this comment: “At our feeder, birds of a different feather flock together.”

(Photo/Jerry Kuyper)

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And finally … to get you in the mood for Dustin Lowman’s appearance this Saturday at Local to Market (above), check out this video:

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Facing Grief, To Live A Full Life

Posted on January 26, 2022 | 1 comment

Dustin Lowman and Julie Blitzer met at a Westport Little League field.

There — as Dustin coached Julie’s son’s team of young boys — he and she talked about death.

We all experience loss — but we seldom know how to deal with it. Julie — who has been trained by the Grief Recovery Institute — shows us how, with insight, wisdom and compassion.

Dustin is still in his 20s. A 2011 Staples High School graduate, he’s now a freelance writer and musician. Most people his age, doing what he’s doing, don’t think about loss and grief.

But he immediately got what Julie said.

“The general perception of grief is that it’s unpleasant,” Dustin notes. “It actually gives you a chance to reflect, and go inward. If you face it head on, it doesn’t have to be negative.”

Julie Blitzer

When Julie encourages people to tell stories and share memories during the grieving process, she says, it inevitably leads to lightness and laughter. It’s fulfilling, offering opportunities to share, connect, and appreciate life.

“Looking at the monster under the bed makes it less scary — especially when you do it with others,” adds Diane Lowman. She’s Dustin’s mother, and Westport’s poet laureate.

On February 2 (6:30 to 8 p.m.), Diane and Julie team up to offer a free workshop at the Westport Library.

Through writing and mindfulness exercises, “Exploring Grief, Mortality and Vitality” will help participants address the 4 aspects of the human experience –mental, physical, emotional and spiritual — in order to gain a life-affirming perspective about death.

“You don’t have to be grieving to find a benefit” from their session, Diane explains. It’s designed for anyone who wants to lead “a more vital life,” and be prepared for loss whenever it arises.

“The biggest pain point is unresolved grief,” Diane says.

“If we can be more mindful of grief during life, we can lessen that pain.”

(For more information, and to register for “Grief, Mortality and Vitality,” click here. For Julie Blitzer’s website, click here.) 

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0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 80 Gallery

Posted on October 9, 2021 | Comments Off on 0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 80 Gallery

Today, our online art gallery showcases a new medium: fused glass.

We’re also introducing haiku.

And for the first time ever, 2 pieces share the same name: “Fall Colors.”

What will be new next week? It’s up to you.

Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old — this feature is open to everyone.

All genres and styles are encouraged too. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage (and now needlepoint) — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world!

“Fall Colors” — fused glass (Virginia Baxter)

“Wall at the Mall” (Karen Weingarten)

“Fall Colors” — haiku (Westport poet laureate Diane Lowman)

“Roses and Wine” (Larry Untermeyer)

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0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 35 Gallery

Posted on November 21, 2020 | 1 comment

Thanksgiving is (almost) here. Submissions to our Saturday art gallery are starting to include some familiar holiday themes. Keep ’em coming!

Each week, we welcome submissions from all artists. You don’t have to be a pro, or even experienced. We want it all!

Works should be inspired by, relevant to, or somehow, in some way, connected to our current lives. Student art of all ages is especially welcome.

Email dwoog@optonline.net, to share your work with the world. Then enjoy your turkey!

“With Thanks for All Our Memories” (Ellin Spadone)

“Emaskulation” (Miggs Burroughs took all these photos during a 20-minute walk in Parker Harding Plaza)

Untitled (DIane Lowman)

“Welcome” (Lawrence Weisman)

“Morning Sky at Saugatuck Elementary School” (Olivia Whee, age 7)

“We Are Family” (Karen Weingarten)

“Happy Thanksgiving” (Amy Schneider)

“Falling Leaves” (Judith Koffsky — a giant Japanese red maple on Compo Road South)

 

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Roundup: Poet Laureates; Jessica Bram; More

Posted on July 19, 2020 | 4 comments

A new video called Connecticut Poets Respond features current and past town poet laureates reading their works online. They’re “responding” to the current state of the world (pandemic, the environment … you get the idea.)

Westport’s own laureate, Diane Lowman, is one of the featured poets.

Fellow laureate David Bibbey of Woodbury produced it. Westporters know him through his video work at the Westport Library. Click below to see:

Rozanne Gates reports that Jessica Bram — Westport’s much-loved author/writing teacher/NPR commentator — needs our support.

She is recovering from an almost-fatal fall. Cards of encouragement will help her see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Her address is 32 Webb Road, Westport, CT 06880. Let’s all write to our writer!

Jessica Bram

And finally … of course:

 

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0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 17 Gallery

Posted on July 11, 2020 | Comments Off on 0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 17 Gallery

Summer’s here. The town is reopening. Your art gallery submissions are slacking!

Here are this week’s works. We will keep posting them as long as you keep sending them.

Professional, amateur, old, young — we want it all. Every medium is welcome. We are particularly interested in student art.

The only rule: Your art must be inspired by, reflective of, or otherwise related to the times we’re going through — or the times we’ve lost. Email dwoog@optonline.net.

“Opening Up” (Karen Weingarten)

“Compo Moonrise” (Westport poet laureate Diane Lowman)

“Good Humor Man” (Lawrence Weisman)

Untitled, plein air watercolor (Werner Liepolt)

“Life is Just a (Handmade) Bowl of Cherries” (Amy Schneider

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0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 8 Gallery

Posted on May 9, 2020 | 1 comment

Congratulations! We’re already at Week 8 of our pandemic art gallery.

Every Saturday, “06880” highlights readers’ creativity. Professional, amateur, old, young — you send us your paintings, collages, sketches, photos, sculptures, chalkwork, cartoons, whatever.

The only rule: It must be inspired by, reflective of, or otherwise related to the times we’re going through.

After 2 months, we’re still going strong. Keep the submissions coming (including students, of any grade!). Just email dwoog@optonline.net.

“The Scream 2020,” painting (Norm Siegel)

“Close and Separate” (Lawrence Gordon)

“My Bedroom Window Haiku” (Diane Lowman)

“Spring is Inevitable” (Werner Liepolt)

“Isolation” (Leslie Beatus)

(Tess Feldman, age 13)

“Back and Forth on the Same Street” (Joyce Landon)

Sidewalk art (Tom Haberstroh)

“Absence of Truth in Our Critical Time of Need” (Miggs Burroughs and Mark Yurkiw)

“Floral Distancing” (Judith Marks-White)

“We Are All Interconnected,” handmade beaded necklace (Amy Schneider)

“Guard Dog” (Karen Weingarten)

Hand-sewn masks in production (Amanda Kuster)

“Seeing What I’ve Known, and Seeing an Unknown Future,” collage and acrylic (Bevi Bullwinkel)

 

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TEA Talk Sunday: Breaking Barriers Through Arts

Posted on October 24, 2019 | 1 comment

Everyone knows about TED Talks.

But here in Westport, we’ve got TEA Talks.

The Westport Arts Advisory Committee and Westport Library’s 8th annual TEA — that’s Thinkers, Educators, Artists — event is set for this Sunday (October 27, 2 p.m., Town Hall).

The topic is timely and relevant: “Breaking Barriers Through the Arts.”

Music, visual arts, performance and poetry artists will share personal stories of breaking boundaries through their work, in 3 20-minute conversations and performances.

There are special appearances by Westport poet laureate Diane Lowman and internationally renowned pianist Frederic Chiu — a local resident — plus an audience Q-and-A, and the presentation of a Horizon Award to a young area artist of note.

Noah Fox

Noah Fox is the winner of that Horizon Award. The 2009 Staples High School graduate — he went by Noah Steinman then — studied photography at Staples, and studio art, art history and queer theory at Oberlin College; earned an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; worked as education manager at the Westport Arts Center, and now serves as coordinator of academic and public programs at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.

He’s made a name with a unique project: “transforming” educational books that are “alarmingly misogynistic, homophobic and racist.” Fox paints, draws, sculpts and uses collages to gouge out the books, and “reclaim” them. He “sheds light on the oppressive foundations of American culture, while exposing the ways in which these systems and rhetoric persist today.”

Fox will be joined on the TEA stage by:

  • Illustrator Ann Chernow of Westport, whose works evoke the images of female cinematic figures of the 1930s and ’40s
  • Westport conceptual artist and sculptor Jeanine Esposito, who co-founded Beechwood Arts salon, and now brings innovation to libraries, universities and non-profits
  • Westport director, producer, dramatic coloratura and private voice teacher Wendy Morgan-Hunter
  • Ecuadorean-born violinist, educator and social entrepreneur Angelica Durrell
  • Groundbreaking classical and jazz singer, inspirational teacher, body builder and nutrition specialist Dr. Tiffany Renee Jackson.

The TEA Talk is free, and open to the public. A reception follows immediately afterward. Registration is encouraged; click here.

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The Storm: The Sequel

Posted on August 19, 2019 | 2 comments

Just minutes after this afternoon’s savage thunderstorm moved on, this was the scene in a Linda Lane back yard. (Photo/Diane Lowman)

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Westport’s Poet Laureate Raps With “06880”

Posted on July 3, 2019 | 10 comments

During her 22 years in Westport, Diane Meyer Lowman has done a lot.

As her 2 sons moved through the school system, she was involved in many PTA ventures, including ArtSmart. She helped formalize and coordinate Staples High School’s library volunteer program, and was on the district’s food committee.

She was a substitute Spanish teacher, at Staples and the middle schools. She did pro bono nutritional consulting for Homes with Hope. She teaches yoga at Town Hall.

But until a few days ago, Diane — a graduate of Middlebury College, with a master’s in Shakespeare studies from Britain’s University of Birmingham — had never been Westport’s poet laureate.

That’s okay. Until a few days ago, we’d never had a poet laureate either.

Diane Lowman (Photo/Jane LaMotta)

If you missed the announcement, you’re not alone. It came in the middle of the Westport Library’s opening-day ceremonies. (The library was part of the selection process, along with the superintendent of schools’ office and the town Arts Advisory Committee, which manages the poet laureate program.)

The application process was rigorous: a resume, personal statement, 4 letters of recommendation, and several interviews. “It was like applying to college,” she says.

So what exactly does Westport’s poet laureate do?

Good question.

The job description includes the importance of promoting poetry as a form of communication, inspiration and entertainment; expanding and promoting awareness and appreciation of poetry and writing in general, and advocating for poetry, literature and the arts.

Diane admits she is not a poet, per se. (She has, however, written 1600 haiku.)

“This is the inaugural position,” she says. “There’s no template. But I’ve got some good ideas.”

They include working closely with schools, the library and the arts community; helping students and senior citizens collaborate through writing; organizing poetry slams at places like Toquet Hall and the library; bringing a “Poetry on Demand” desk (and local poets) to townwide events; putting bulletin boards around Westport, for anyone to post poems; working with ArtSmart, the Westport Arts Center and Artists’ Collective of Westport to include poetry alongside exhibitions; integrating poetry into WestportREADS — stuff like that.

“I wake up every morning thinking of something new,” Diane says.

She welcomes ideas from the community. “This is not about me. It’s about Westport,” she explains.

Diane knows that the word “poetry” can be intimidating to some people. When she studied Shakespeare, she realized that his name too carries “a cultural cachet that can feel elitist or off-putting.”

But, she insists, “everyone can read and write poetry. It’s just another way to communicate feelings. It makes us realize how much we all have in common, whether we’re seniors in high school or seniors at the Senior Center.”

Her favorite poets are Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, and her son Dustin. (He’s midway through an MFA program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her other son, Devon, is an artist and art  handler, also in Chicago.)

Devon, Diane and Dustin Lowman.

There’s no type of poetry Diane does not like — except “poems that intentionally try to be difficult. Challenge is fine. Thinking, reflecting, questioning — that’s good. But it’s not good to make someone feel dumb or stuck.”

Westport’s new poet laureate — who began her honorary, non-compensated 2-year post on July 1 — is both excited and humbled.

“I’m so appreciative of this community,” Diane says. “I’m so glad to be able to give back to it. I know it sounds trite, but I’m very enthusiastic and excited.”

No, not at all.

Not trite; quite right.

(Westport poet laureate Diane Meyer Lowman welcomes all suggestions and ideas. Email waac@westportct.gov — with “Poetry” in the subject line — or dilo922@gmail.com)

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