Valerie Sonnenthal
Chilmark: Close to home
Morning dog walkers have happily returned to Lucy Vincent Beach, and all of us have appreciated and delighted in the new Squibby all summer...
Barney Zeitz’s open studio is an adventure in learning
All summer and throughout September, artist Barney Zeitz hosts a weekly open studio on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 pm. I make a point...
Gardens of Love: Duncan Caldwell
Updated Sept. 14
Thirty years ago, Duncan Caldwell purchased an Aquinnah property and began designing a home and garden for himself and his wife Nancy....
Chilmark: Field of dreams
This week Chilmark and the world lost artist Irving Petlin, 83; someone whose pastel work and paintings have never stopped being relevant. In fact...
Chilmark: Changing times as new season arrives
The hardest part of this time of year is losing light and sundown creeping to an earlier and earlier time, evening walks cut short...
Chilmark: Election season
Not sure how I missed writer Nancy Aronie's “Waiting in the Steamship Line” at this year's Ag Fair, but one of her fantastic miniature...
Memory keeper
Upon entering Susan Shea’s Edgartown home, I am greeted by her dog Sophie, named for Sophie Bloch, a weaver and wool spinner who lived...
Chilmark: Rest in Peace Mark London
I am sad to share Mark London passed away on August 19 after receiving a stem cell transplant for NK cell leukemia, according to...
Laura Fahrner collects Ashley Medowski’s magical work
Every summer I relish visiting the studio and gallery of Island artist Ashley Medowski. This summer when I arrived, she had a few pieces...
Chilmark: August tomatoes
Life's a peach, at least in August. I admit to having peach envy after seeing my neighbor's tree laden with ripening peaches, the fullest...
Chilmark: Road race season
I’m sending love to the extended family of Rena (Regina) Fischer, who passed away at 103 years old on Sunday, August 5. Her family...
The collector
Ruth Epstein, who turned 93 in July, cheerily greets me at the door of the guest home her son-in-law Ivory Littlefield, a sculptor and...
Menemsha’s the perfect place for plein air
Last Friday morning I drove down to Menemsha to get gas. The sign at the bottom of the hill two-thirds still missing, nearly every...
Chilmark: Family reunion
Oh August, so soon. It's nice to see sold-out events all over town, bright lights reflecting off night skies from outdoor celebrations, animals grazing,...
Chilmark: So much art
Happy belated 70th birthday to artist Wendy Weldon, and congratulations to her partner James Langlois on his drawing exhibit, which just opened at A...
Chilmark: Road Race sign ups
Even David Bromberg made a Dershowitz comment while playing on the Island last week. An old friend of mine, an activist, went on a...
Gardens of Love: Cathy Walthers
It was a rainy day when I visited private chef and cookbook author Cathy Walthers at her home and garden in West Tisbury. Cathy...
New farms on the block
I went to the first Wednesday Farmers Market to get Lydia Fischer of Beetlebung Farm's perfect slender asparagus, and found two new farms in...
Stan and Eric’s excellent adventure
Some folks may think Stanley Larsen, owner of Menemsha Fish Market, could have a screw loose, or perhaps it's a midlife crisis, but standing...
Chilmark: Book deliveries
Thank you, Alan Dershowitz, or maybe not; Chilmark and the Island made local, regional, national, and international news. Clearly summer folks’ social life is...