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Feature Articles - Arts

William Forrest Halsey: Silent Scenarist of Fredericksburg
1910s, 1920s, Autobiography and Biography, Fredericksburg (Va.), History Feature Articles, Movies, Robert Hodge, Silent films, Virginia History
10/28/2009 - 1:50pm

Forrest Halsey (who did not utilize the "William" assigned by his parents at his birth in New Jersey on the ninth of November, 1878) was a grandson of John and Martha Whittemore, onetime residents of Fredericksburg's imposing Hanover Street mansion, Federal Hill.

Well-known both in Fredericksburg and in international literary circles during the two decades of 1910-1930, he is to most--like his silent movies--a nearly forgotten shadow.

Gari Melchers: Stafford County's Artist in Residence
1910s, 1920s, Arts and Artists, Belmont (Gari Melchers estate), Falmouth, Gari Melchers, Historic sites, History, Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, Weekly Feature Articles
10/28/2009 - 1:18pm

In 1916, Gari Melchers, an internationally famous painter, purchased the Belmont estate in Falmouth, Virginia. With the exception of some European travel in the 1920s, he made this his permanent home during the last decades of his life. Area residents and visitors are privileged to be able to visit this gem of a museum which combines a glimpse of the artist's home life as well as a tour of his studio.

Alum Spring Park: A Walk Through History
Alum Spring, American Revolution, Barbara Crookshanks, Battle of Fredericksburg, Businesses, Civil War - U.S., Duels, Gari Melchers, Geology, History Feature Articles, Medicine, Parks, Railroads, Robert Hodge, Steve Johnson, Virginia History
10/23/2009 - 8:25am

Alum Spring Park is a 34-acre woodland retreat off Greenbriar Drive with a playground and hiking trails. Its sandstone cliff, also known as the Alum Spring Rock, is 400 feet long and 40 feet high.

A History of Classic Monsters: Dracula
A History of Classic Monsters, Drama, Fantasy, Halloween, Horror, John Gaines, Literary/Classics, Monsters, Silent films, Suspense and Thriller, Vampires, Weekly Feature Articles
10/09/2009 - 11:16am

Many people find one of the most enjoyable aspects of Halloween to be the myriad creatures associated with it. Legendary villains like Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and zombies of all stripes emerge on or about October 31st in the forms of costumes, films, and books.  America’s tendency to associate such creatures with Halloween is so embedded in our culture that we frequently forget that most of these creatures--or at least the versions of them we best remember--are relatively recent creations that are often less than two centuries old.

Storytelling: From the Heart of Human Experience
Arts and Artists, Drama, Families, FYI Articles, Public speaking, Storytellers, Teacher Resources, Virginia Johnson, Weekly Feature Articles
09/10/2009 - 1:11pm

In the past twenty years, storytelling as a treasured art and pastime has made quite a comeback. Not all the video games, cable channels, or talk radio in the world can take the place of a fine story told face-to-face with good friends on a quiet evening as the rain splatters on the window panes.

Family Stories
Storytelling for Educators
Stories as Part of Business Communication
So You Want to Be a Storyteller
Storytelling on the Web

Sorting Out J.K. Rowling
Author Profiles, Autobiography and Biography, Drama, England, Fantasy, Film, Harry Potter, July kids, Virginia Johnson, Wizards
09/04/2009 - 10:10am

Did you know?

  • She's known as Jo to her friends. No one's called her Joanne since she was a child, and only then if she was being naughty.
  • Rowling is pronounced "rolling."
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was first published in England as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
  • Hermoine IS based on a real person-- J.K. Rowling!
  • The fantastic Ford Anglia featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is similar to one owned by Sean Harris, her best friend at Wyedean School.

She was born in Chipping Sodbury, England on July 31, 1965. She loved to tell stories about rabbits to her younger sister, Di. When she was still young, she and her family moved to Winterbourne where two of her good friends were named Potter. A little later on, they moved out to the countryside, to the Forest of Dean. Her London-born parents had always wanted to move to the country, and Di and Jo (Jo is short for Joanne) enjoyed roaming the fields and along by the rivers there.

A Gift and a Sacrifice
Artists, China, Folklore, Reading Matters, Thistle's Realm, Vikings, Virginia Johnson
08/20/2009 - 2:12pm

The Fated Sky

by Henrietta Branford

There was a dragon in the sky the night the stranger came to Smolsund farm. A girl named Ran saw it and feared it. She clutched the tiny silver hammer, a talisman for Thor's protection. Amma, her father's mother, had placed it around her neck. She knew that her grandmother was worried for her.

Front Page Films: Journalism in Films
Film
06/22/2009 - 9:20am

“The news goes on for 24 hours a day.” -Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane

Blond Bombshells: Sirens of the Silver Screen
Actors and actresses, Christie Hoerneman, Film, Weekly Feature Articles
05/27/2009 - 1:26pm

 
Mae West . . .
Jean Harlow . . .
Marilyn Monroe . . .

These three actresses are part of the iconic women in Hollywood’s history known as the blond bombshells. The blond bombshells craze began when Jean Harlow (“The Original Blond Bombshell”) appeared in the appropriately titled film Platinum Blonde (1931). After the film, peroxide flew off the shelves so women could mimic Harlow’s blonde tresses.