CELEBRATION!
This Will be Fun: The Creativity and Vision
of Ted Cornell

Exhibition at Whitcomb’s, May 4 through June 29

Join friends, neighbors, art-lovers and hikers in celebrating the Art Farm and the exhibition on National Trails Day! Celebration co-sponsored by Champlain Area Trails (CATS).

Saturday, June 1
9:00am Art Farm to Whitcomb’s hike with Champlain Area Trails (meet at Whitcomb’s for shuttle)
10:00-11:00 Shuttles to the Art Farm to see the sculptures.
12:00-1:00pm Lunch at Whitcomb’s ($15, provided by River & Rails)
1:00pm Presentation, Stories and Discussion with the exhibit curator and artist

Register in advance for the hike from the Art Farm to Whitcomb’s.

Reservations requested for lunch at Whitcomb’s. Catering by River and Rails Deli in Whallonsburg. Menu includes quiche (with veggie option), sandwiches, fruit salad, and dessert. $15 per person.

Whitcomb’s Arts is featuring the multimedia exhibition, “This Will Be Fun: The Creativity and Vision of Ted Cornell” from May 4 to June 30, 2024.  The Whallonsburg Grange Hall is excited to host the exhibition in the new gallery space at Whitcomb’s, the renovated garage across the street from the Grange.

The exhibition displays original paintings and other works by Ted Cornell as well as featuring a photography and film presentation of his life and art. It focuses on the work he has created since he arrived in the Adirondacks in the early 1990s, including landscapes, abstract paintings, and site-specific sculptures designed from abandoned objects found on his farm.

Most of these large-scale, outdoor sculptures were created by Ted at the Art Farm, near Wadhams, and are meant to be viewed from the Art Farm Trail, one of the many woodland trails maintained by Champlain Area Trails (CATS). To showcase Ted’s sculptures, a hike from the Art Farm to Whitcomb’s on CATS trails will take place on the morning of the celebration, which is also National Trails Day. The trail begins on Sayre Road in Essex, NY and hikers will be shuttled to the trailhead from Whitcomb’s. Registration for the hike and more information can be found HERE.

Starting at 10:00, there will be a shuttle to the Art Farm for anyone wishing to see the sculptures. At noon, lunch will be available at Whitcomb’s from River & Rails Market ($15 per person), followed by a presentation on the exhibition. Ted’s friends and neighbors will also tell stories about Ted’s adventures in pursuing his artistic visions. $15 per person.

Ted Cornell considers the meaning of community, farming, and wilderness in his art while striving to create positive change as part of the larger community. For decades, Ted was a motivating force behind rebuilding and rebirthing projects at the Whallonsburg Grange and the Wadhams Library.  He brought his past professional theater experience from New York City to the Grange, Depot Theatre, American Studio Theatre and into local schools. As each endeavor began he would declare, “This will be Fun!”

The exhibition is curated by Margaret Gibbs, former director of the Adirondack History Museum, working together with Ted in planning for the exhibition. Whitcomb’s Arts Chair and filmmaker Laurie House of Headlamp Pictures, is developing a film that includes Ted Cornell’s Art Farm house and barns, photographs representing his life and work, and past interviews with Ted. Laurie is a producer, director, editor and writer of documentary films.