Bennett Konesni creates vivid works of cut paper which articulate a world in which food is reconnected with music and people are reconnected with a sense of wonder. Cutting without drawing the image out first, he uses a single sheet of black paper, a scalpel, and his mind’s eye to create these images. In addition to carving paper, Bennett owns and runs Duckback Farm in Belfast, Maine, focusing on garlic production for seed and table, culinary herbs, and teas. He is also an internationally-touring musician, focusing on northern fiddle and dance music as well as worksongs for field and forest, which he uses regularly on his own farm and teaches at workshops.

Bennett was raised in Maine and was naturally drawn into the strong communities of old-time music, art, and farming near his home. At thirteen he shipped as a deckhand aboard local schooners, spending five summers sailing Penobscot Bay and learning the traditional work songs of the tall ships as he raised sails and hauled anchors. Later, at Middlebury College in Vermont, Bennett co-founded the student farm and made Zulu farming songs the focus of his thesis in ethnomusicology. He was awarded a Thomas J Watson fellowship to spend a postgraduate year in Tanzania, Ghana, Mongolia, Vietnam, Switzerland, and Holland studying worksongs of sea, field and steppe.

Bennett's work is on display at the Sterling College Brown Library from now until September 17th. Hours are 8 am to 4pm. His artist talk will also take place in the Sterling College Brown Library!

The talk will include refreshments!

Questions? Call 802.533.9370 or email ceilidh.g.kane@gmail.com