Artist Andrew Quient’s architectural drawings will be on exhibit in the Neil Hammer Gallery of Meekins Library throughout November.
Quient earned his architecture degree at Syracuse University and has been a draftsman for 45 years. He also studied design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and began his lifelong career as a potter in 1976.
The Meekins show will be the first time that Quient has featured his drawings in a public venue.
“I have had many art shows but they have all been for my pottery,” he said.
Quient said that he was inspired to draw many of the buildings in the area after moving to western Massachusetts from New York in 1999.
“One of the big differences that I found is the architecture that is present here. So many of the beautiful 19th century buildings have been maintained. It’s impressive,” Quient said.
Over the years Quient has done many renderings of buildings throughout the region and in a number of other states.
Some of the work featured in the show includes drawings of the Field Memorial Library in Conway, Meekins Library, the Masonic Block in Northampton, and the Amherst Town Hall.
He says that most of his drawings depict buildings constructed in the Classical and Romanesque Revival style.
“I put great detail into my drawings because that is my way of portraying the personality of these buildings,” he said.
Quient is currently working on his first book, the theme of which is architecture throughout New England.
“There are just so many little-known buildings that are gems in surprising, out of the way places.”
Formerly the owner of Andrew Quient Pottery in Haydenville, Quient lives and works in Florence.
Some of his pottery pieces also draw on his architectural training sporting intricate relief designs.
“These pieces are an intersection of my two careers,” he said.
Quient’s pottery work has been featured in gallery exhibitions throughout the United States and is included in the permanent collection of the White House.
Prints from the show at Meekins are available for purchase.
The Gateway Regional School District is giving its gator mascot a new look and school officials are asking the public to weigh in on the final choices.
“We’ve narrowed it down to three possibilities,” noted Public Relations Director Wendy Long. “We want everybody to take part in the final selection.”
Long said that the new image was for a “special project” that will be unveiled in mid-November, but declined to elaborate.
“Our new ‘gator’ needs to be appropriate at all levels of the districts elementary, middle and high schools,” Long said, noting that she is pleased with the final three options.
All students, staff, families, alumni and community members are invited to take part by going to the Gateway website at www.grsd.org and voting for their favorite image.
The results will be announced on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m., the Goshen Historical Society will present “The Puzzle of the Goshen Tunnel Revisited,” by Margaret Waggoner.
The stone Goshen Tunnel has been an intriguing mystery for decades that has baffled many who have tried to figure out who built the structure and what it was used for.
Waggoner will be presenting her documentation and physical evidence that attempts to answer those questions.
The program will be held at the Goshen Congregational Church, 45 Main St. It is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served. Please call Kristen Estelle with any questions at 268-7120.
Ideas for this column on life in the Hilltown’s can be sent to Fran Ryan at Fryan.gazette@gmail.com