Disappointed with the lack of options, the Town of Brewster formed a Dog Park Development Committee. Carmen Scherzo, a retired veterinarian, serves as president of the Friends of Brewster Dog Park (FBDP) board, which he founded with board director Rick Alto. The efforts to champion the park from concept to the fully realized dream it is today where largely spearheaded by FBPD. Scherzo says the first challenge of course was to raise funds for a variety of endeavors that included initial design, construction and future operations. The first generous donation came from the Stanton Foundation, created by Frank Stanton, a longtime CBS executive over 30 years ago with a three-part mission to protect First Amendment rights, foster international security policy as it relates to nuclear threats, and fortunately for Brewster Dog Park lovers, advancing canine welfare. The foundation offered the committee a $250,000 grant for park design.

Northampton-based landscape design firm, Berkshire Design Group conceived of the park we see today, which thoughtfully created separate spaces for large dogs and small dogs to each have a safe and invigorating place to play. Funding for the construction of the 1.2 acre site was provided by the Brewster Community Preservation Fund. Of course, funding somehow always seems to be a precious resource of which there is never enough, so volunteer efforts become critical to the ultimate success of most community-based projects. Community involvement remains a cornerstone of the park’s success. The FBDP oversees park maintenance and funds amenities such as benches, water fountains, fencing, sheds, plantings, and kiosks. Volunteers patrol the grounds twice daily, ensuring cleanliness and serving as park ambassadors. “We try to make the park a clean, happy place, and it’s been very popular. There’s a real social aspect to the park, where not only the dogs are going to exercise, but their owners are enjoying the park,” Scherzo says.

Local builder, Aleks Mazzeo (pronouns: they, them, their), who enjoys the park regularly with their own dogs, donated the necessary labor of their construction crews to construct two gazebos to provide critical shade for both the dogs and their owners. “It was the first hot stretch of the season,” Mazzeo says of the few days in May when the Mazzeo crew set about creating footing and raising the two structures from kits the board had purchased. “But every single member of my crew was delighted to be contributing to something that makes so many people—and dogs happy.” Mazzeo is garnering a reputation locally with their construction efforts for helping those in need and worthy projects where their expertise and commitment can make a difference. 

The park’s separate areas for small and large dogs: a half-acre for smaller breeds and a spacious one-and-a-half-acre section for those over 30 pounds, has proven to be inclusively successful in welcoming all types of canines. Off-leash areas include five different surfaces, including a sand pit “that the dogs just love,” Scherzo says. Another popular attraction includes the fire hydrant fountain that incites plenty of belly laughs in response to the dogs’ various interactions with the creative water feature. Looking ahead, the park’s board plans to incorporate a training area and expand parking facilities.

The FBDP strives to be an integral part of the lives of local dog lovers and produces a monthly newsletter, featuring informative articles on canine health and wellness, member surveys, and spotlights a local “Mutt of the Month.” Scherzo says, “There were a lot of people involved to bring this park to fruition, but our work isn’t done. We now need to become a committed part of people’s daily lives to ensure this special place continues to thrive and provide an important service to dogs and their owners.”

To learn more about the Brewster Dog Park, take a canine buddy and check it out for yourself. To see how you can support this invaluable effort, visit brewsterdogpark.com.

Brooklyn Moore was a delightful addition to the 2023 Cape Cod Life Internship team. She continues to write for us as a frequent freelancer, and her love of dogs made this assignment a natural choice. She is a rising senior at Northwestern University studying journalism.

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Throughout her marriage to her husband, who served in the Air Force, Fischer lived in 17 different places, experiencing diverse cultures across the globe. Amidst this constant change, swimming became her anchor. While living in the Philippines, she swam two miles almost daily, immersing herself in the natural beauty of reefs, sea life, and water movements that continue to inspire her art.

She was also able to travel through Thailand, studying the vibrant colors of her surroundings, and was struck by the contrast of the deep orange of Buddhist monks’ robes with the rich blue of the ocean. Later, while working in the fine jewelry department at Nordstrom, this natural artist remembers being inspired. “When I look at the wonderful blue of a sapphire or the green of an emerald, it speaks to me,” she says.

Her son’s graduation from the Savannah School of Art and Design reignited her passion for art, prompting her to make a life-changing decision. “If I don’t stop and do it, I’ll regret it the rest of my life. So, I quit my job at Nordstrom and chased my dream,” she recalls. 

After leaving her job, Fischer attended multiple art schools up and down the East Coast, including Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts where she would meet her mentor, Robert Douglas Hunter, in the Copley Masters Program and study under the renowned artist for seven years. 

Fischer’s art reflects the world around her like a lively mosaic, particularly the scenes she observes on her walks along the Cape, where her favorite inspirations are the Chatham Fish Pier, watching the fishermen bring in their catch, and the beach in Wellfleet where she stays each summer. She captures these moments through a unique technique, piecing together scenes from her photographs like a puzzle to highlight movement and color. “The Cape is just a perfect place for me, so refreshing and regenerating,” Fischer says. 

Movement is so important to Fischer that she prioritizes painting in places that people will pass through and says she enjoys the interaction as she works. In her previous home, Fischer enjoyed painting in the kitchen, allowing her to work while chatting with visitors or while cooking a family meal.  

Hunter, her mentor, taught Fischer that sitting while painting is taboo. “You mix your paint, you walk to the salon, you put some paint on your canvas, then you step significantly far back, maybe 10 or 12 feet and look at it. It makes a difference with the eye, and it is wonderful,” shares Fischer.

By painting with and around movement, Fischer can incorporate it into her artistic endeavors. It’s evident in her work, which rarely features a straight line or harsh corner; instead she opts for fluid, dancing colors that curve with the natural lines of figures and landscapes. Her choice of medium, oil paints, plays a crucial role in her artistic process. She favors oils for their forgiving nature, allowing her to adjust as she works. This flexibility not only provides her with the freedom to experiment, but also enables her to enhance the sense of motion and energy in her paintings. With oil paints, Fischer can layer colors and textures, building depth and complexity in her compositions. It is through that embodiment of the beauty of movement, that she invites viewers into a world of vibrant color and dynamic form. 

Fischer’s paintings are sold exclusively at Chatham Fine Art Gallery. She also accepts commissions through the gallery. See more at chathamart.com.

The post Artist Profile: Marie Fischer appeared first on Cape Cod LIFE.

Heller, an experimental artist living in Orleans, has been creating art on the Cape since childhood. At five years old, Heller met Peter Busa, an abstract artist, while her family summered in Provincetown. “He said, ‘You are going to be an artist,’” Heller recalls.

Her early start in her pursuit of creating art led her to Hampshire College to study fine art. In her twenties she worked in several prestigious galleries and museums and earned her Master of Arts in photography from George Washington University. Heller’s work has been showcased for almost 40 years, as it has been featured in the Provincetown Art Association and Museum and the Cape Cod Museum of Art, among others. Heller conveys that her work constantly evolves as her experiences and surroundings influence her inspirations. 

“I took a class in photo history and the studies of Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey, a French photographer; they were motion studies from the late 1800s. Muybridge, his stuff was a little weird, frankly. But you know, it was interesting. And I said, ‘Oh, my God, I have got to do that.’ I dropped everything, I was in the class, and I ran upstairs to my dark room,” Heller says.

Heller also recalls an interest in motion as a child and works to incorporate movement into her artistic endeavors. “I’ve loved motion from when I was a little girl. You couldn’t stop me; the Beatles were on TV, and I would jump off the raised hearth fireplace, dancing around, always dancing. I love dancers, love movement and gesture,” she says.

Heller began experimenting with film and motion photography after seeing Muybridge and Marey’s works. By exposing film in a long strand, rather than separating through frames, Heller can create a panoramic image of models in motion, mimicking the art of her inspirations. Along her artistic journey, Heller became friends with Gail Browne, a fellow Cape Cod artist. In 2020, the pair created a book, Lost and Found: Time, Tide, and Treasures, featuring beachcombing collections by six local artists. “I was just in awe. It took me back to my childhood beachcombing with my mother. And then I was able to indulge in my photography medium as I started photographing the artists’ collections,” Heller says about her time working on the book.

More recently, Heller experiments with cyanotypes. Invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842, cyanotypes use photosensitive materials to create enigmatic negative-space works. While cyanotypes are not new, Heller has introduced a modern flair to her work. “I found these light boxes, and I had them modified. I was making some cyanotype on silk, very thin, silk. Then I started collaging them because I also love collage, mixed media. I started sandwiching negatives and positives in these LED light boxes, and the light revealed things that you couldn’t necessarily see with the naked eye,” Heller says. 

Cyanotypes can be incorporated with various materials and shapes, making each unique. “I use flowers; I use vegetables. I have images of things from the sea—I love seaweed. I simply love it. I don’t like walking in it, but visually I love it, and I love skate egg cases. You’ll see a lot of them in my artwork,” Heller says.

“A lot of the ideas that I have are beyond my capabilities. I have to learn things. I’m constantly experimenting and trying things,” Heller explains as she recalls the forums and groups she connected with during the pandemic. Heller is pursuing sales of her artwork through her new website and continues to create rapidly. She says her mind is constantly active and considering new approaches to creativity, and her art represents that continued consciousness. 

“Everything around me is what interests me,” Heller says. 

Amy Heller’s work and inspiration can be experienced at amyheller.com.

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“Shells are a great metaphor, because we can see how something first comes from the ocean, becomes a home for something, and then it washes up on the shore. It’s this beautiful thing that we can pick up and hold. If you leave it on the shore, it gets tumbled by time; and then the sun and the wind and the waves, turn it into sand, and it goes back into the Earth. It relates to that bigger picture of time and life cycles, and the preciousness of the moment,” Taylor says.

Each piece of jewelry begins as a casual beach find and evolves into a fine piece of jewelry, perfect for any occasion. Taylor creates a plaster mold of the artifact, into which she pours porcelain slip; a viscous clay. After the clay dries, Taylor removes the perfectly molded ceramic replica, cleans up the edges and applies a touch of metallic luster in yellow gold or platinum.

“I can capture the form of a super fragile object, like the shell from a molting baby crab, and transform it into something more durable and permanent,” Taylor remarks. “When we collect shells on our beach walks, they become mementos of that experience. It’s a really powerful thing to have an object that connects us to a special time. When someone chooses a piece of my shell jewelry to wear, we’re making a very personal connection. I love that by doing something that brings me joy, I can bring joy to others.” 

Taylor’s work is currently sold at Trove in Orleans, Upfront in Wellfleet, The Fisherman’s Daughter in Chatham, and Design Works in Yarmouthport. You can preview her work online at katytaylorcapecod.com.

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