What is your name and the name of your business?
My given name is Margaret Merritt, but usually go by Peggy. When I was a child in southwestern Ohio, my mother used my given name only when I was in trouble; i.e., “Margaret Merritt, you get in here right this minute!”

I started “Basket Street Papers” around the time my husband Ron Lawler and I bought our house on Basket Street and I began making paper there. My focus has now turned from papermaking to printmaking.

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?  
I first visited Sandwich in the early 1970s during an afternoon drive to explore the region around the Holderness School where I was attending a scientific conference.  

My real connection with New Hampshire began with a 1986 vacation, when Ron and I were living in Norfolk, Massachusetts. We rented a Lake Ossipee cottage from Betsy Rouner who soon became a close friend. She introduced us to a number of Sandwich folks, including her brother Lee and his wife Rita. We bought a camp on Mt. Israel Road, near Booty Farm, in 1989. Summer weekends and vacations in that camp led to our buying the Basket Street House in 1996 and becoming year-round Sandwich residents in 2002. 

How did you get started in your profession? 
I began taking evening classes at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art in Michigan when I was research chemist at The Upjohn Company and eventually found my art niche in printmaking. I left active printmaking when I began teaching at Wellesley College in 1982.  In my last two years at Wellesley, I taught  “Chemistry and Art,” a lab-studio course for non-science students and included a section on etching.   Parts of that course were expanded and included in a lecture series on the “Chemistry of Library Materials” that I presented to staff of the Harvard University libraries in fall of 2003. 

The beautiful papers used in printmaking drew me into my first New England art-making experience in 1998 when I took a course in Japanese hand papermaking at the School of Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. That experience led to my making paper outside on Basket Street during the summer and in the bathtub in winter. While still at Wellesley, I was juried for papermaking in the Sandwich Home Industries and began to show and sell some of my paper art there and elsewhere.  My work, under Basket Street Papers, included cards, pulp paintings, and dyed and painted papers and grew in scope after my retirement in 2002.

One of the my most interesting papermaking projects was creating a piece containing recycled U.S. currency in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Crane Museum of Papermaking in 2005. The Crane family has made the paper for all United States currency since 1879. Composed of shredded discarded U.S. currency and Asian fibers, my contribution  “Strong as the Dollar” highlights the inter-dependency of world currency and is now in the permanent collection of the Museum. 

I painted with wet colored pulp in addition to making paper in sheet and sculptural forms. Such pulp paintings served as the basis for a collaborative piece, with lithographer Anita Dillman, that now hangs in the cancer research center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Suzanne Lee of Lakes Gallery at Chi-Lin, then in Meredith, helped facilitate this commissioned piece. 

Even when making art papers, I longed for an etching press. Etching processes require a fairly expensive, heavy press in contrast to the simple equipment used in Asian-style papermaking.   Shortly after refreshing my printmaking skills in a 2005 course at Plymouth State, I bought that much desired press. As with each sheet of handmade paper, most of my prints are now made—pulled—individually by hand, using my press.

Although I continued both hand papermaking and printmaking work for over a decade, my principal focus gradually shifted to the latter. I recently gave away most of my papermaking equipment; some will be used to establish a papermaking studio at Smith College. 

The experimental and collaborative nature of modern printmaking resonates with the scientist in me. Printmakers constantly seek new ways to translate their imagined images into reality and willingly share their discoveries. One of my most rewarding printmaking adventures came from collaboration with two other New Hampshire artists, Anne Garland and Wendy Ketchum. Together we produced twenty unique prints containing a distinct layer from each of us, and led to an exhibition at the Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery in 2016. 

Tell us more about your work. 
The natural world provides the inspiration for most of my designs, ranging from realistic impressions to abstract interpretations. I make each of my hand-pulled prints individually by transferring inked images from one or more flat plates to paper. I often overlay different images by sequential printing of multiple plates with different inks to produce a single print.

Most of my early Sandwich prints were made from traditional chemically etched copper plates to produce black and white etchings.  

I have embraced other techniques and color in more recent prints. “On the Edge,” was included in a 2017 exhibition focused on climate change at the Carrega Gallery. 

Using printing plates constructed from dried plant material, I made the 2019  “Running Pine” print.

Scissors served as a model for the multi-colored 2020 “Rambling.”

I mainly show and sell my hand-pulled prints through galleries, locally at the Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery in Sandwich, and Artworks in Chocorua. I also exhibit my work through the New Hampshire Art Association, the Monotype Guild of New England, and Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, Massachusetts.  My own processes use “environmentally green” processes, pioneered by Zea Mays. All my materials and resultant prints are of archival quality. 

How/why did your start your business? 
I use the name “Basket Street Papers” to describe all my work and provide a means for publicizing and sharing my artwork through organizations like the Sandwich Business Group. 

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work? 
I love the technical details of printmaking as well as learning and experimenting with new techniques and materials. The rhythm and flow of printing by hand imparts a sense of timelessness and meditation to my daily work and, I hope, is reflected in my art. 

What is the hardest?
Beginning a new project.  I often start by exploring materials as well as constructing trial plates to get something that “feels” right enough to finish a print or a series of related ones. I make many false starts.  

How has this last Covid year affected your work?  
The Covid year has broadened the horizons of my art life with online workshops and weekly virtual lunches, through my membership in Zea Mays Printmaking. Although sorely missing the company of local folks, I have acquired new friends and artist colleagues from across the country, thanks to ZOOM and Zea Mays. I spent far more time in my studio than in a “normal” year and was able to experiment with many different techniques and subjects. My husband’s companionship transformed the Covid year on Basket Street into a productive retreat.

“Hampshire Hog” serves as an example of a 2020 print made using a sandpaper-covered plate. 

“Bits and Pieces” is one of my first attempts at collaging and printing on pieces of old prints. 

I devoted a good deal of the spring of 2021 on a series of woodcuts, like the one shown here. 

What are your hopes and goals for the future?
I hope that the experimentation that carried me through the Covid-year will continue to enliven my art life.  And I look forward to spending more time with the wonderful people of Sandwich.

What else can you tell us about yourself and your work as an artist?
The Sandwich community, including Sandwich Home Industries folks, helped my transition from chemist to artist.  I first exhibited my paper art at an Old Home Week Art Show, reborn now as Artisans on the Green.  Of the many people who have supported my efforts to “make art,” I would like to acknowledge a few of them: my husband Ron Lawler for his unflagging encouragement of my work; my late neighbor Bob Wright for his pithy advice; and Will Lehmann for his generosity in helping me frame my own art work. I especially thank Patricia Carega for her thoughtful critiques of my art, exhibiting it, and making her gallery a Lakes Region destination for all lovers and patrons of fine art.

Contact:
peggymerritt@gmail.com
https://mvmerritt.com/home.html

What is your name and the name of your business?
My name is Molly Simmons and I own and teach yoga at 2 Basket Street Yoga in Sandwich. 

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?
My husband Paul’s family has been here since 1961. Sandwich was one of the first places Paul brought me after we met. That was Fair Weekend of 2010. I remember riding along the Holderness Road heading to Paul’s mom house and marveling at all the beautiful fall leaves. I had never been to Sandwich, NH and didn’t know what to expect. It was lovely. I also met many of Paul’s oldest friends when we went to watch the parade in town. We watched from one of Paul’s friends house. Many of the people I met that day are now dear friends of mine and also a big part of the community at 2 Basket Street Yoga.

What got you started in this work?
I started practicing yoga 20 years ago at a studio in Cambridge, Mass. I fell in love with the practice of yoga. Not only did it make my body feel stronger, but it also brought so much peace and healing to my mind. As fate would have it I started to work at the studio where I took my first class. I  continued on to teach at many different yoga studios in Boston and surrounding suburbs.

Tell us about your business. What do you make, do, or offer as a service? 
The studio is in our barn and offers beautiful views of Mt. Israel and the Sandwich range. This magical healing space was once used as an artist’s studio by the former steward of the property. It seemed fitting to give the studio a renewed look and create 2 Basket Street Yoga.

My style of teaching is a Vinyasa Flow, which means you will move from pose to pose. I also offer modifications if something is too challenging or you’re nursing an injury. You can rest also when you need. These are all-level classes; novices and experts alike are encouraged to come.

How did your business get started?
When my husband and I bought the property at 2 Basket Street here in Sandwich we were so lucky because the beautiful barn had a studio and I knew that I wanted to create a healing space. The setting is so lovely with the views of Mt. Israel and the Sandwich Range. With fine work of Chris Read, a local contractor and friend, we tailored the studio to fit its current need.

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work? 
I love teaching yoga! It is one of my favorite things to do and it doesn’t feel like work. I tell my students all the time that being able to teach yoga and bring yoga into the lives of others is such a gift. I love the community aspect of creating a yoga studio and bringing people together from the community to learn the practice of yoga and all of yoga’s amazing benefits. It is not about being able to touch your toes, it is about being present in the moment, taking care of you physical body and mind though the practice of yoga. The benefits of a yoga practice happen on and off the mat. 

What is the hardest?
Marketing my business is sometimes challenging because of the time it takes and also needing to be creative to spread the word, that is why I am grateful to SBG offering this platform to share.

What happened to your business in this last Covid year? 
Luckily, I was able to keep my things going by offering my yoga classes on Zoom, which was fantastic. I also held some classes outside late summer/fall last year. I am really excited to be offering in-person classes again here at the studio. For now, I am asking all students who attend in person to be vaccinated. I am also still offering classes on Zoom.

What are your goals and hopes for the future?
My goals and hopes for 2 Basket Street Yoga are to add more classes to the schedule, to continue to create a space for people in the community to come together and practice yoga, feel the healing benefits, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains.

What else can you tell us about yourself and your business?
I am also a Reiki partitioner and own powersofhealing.com which I founded in 2007. I provide Reiki healing to clients in my Cambridge office. I also offer Reiki healing sessions here at 2 Basket Street Yoga. 

I am a twin. I love hiking, biking, skiing and running the trails & the roads with my sweet husband Paul and our dog Penny!

Molly Simmons
info@2basketstreetyoga.com
617-461-9512
2basketstreetyoga.com

Artist, Elizabeth Nelson, has often been inspired and guided by the ancient Chinese divination text, I Ching or Yi Jing, one of the oldest of the Chinese Classics. It is studied as a book of wisdom throughout the world and provides guidance to religion, literature, art, psychology, science, diplomacy and business.  I Ching uses hexagrams to reach solutions. Nelson has painted 64 Symbolic Landscapes representing the I Ching texts that make up each hexagram. Twenty-seven of these are on exhibit at Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery. 

Nelson will give a talk at the gallery on I Ching, the paintings and her book on June 12 at 4 p.m. A reception to meet Elizabeth Nelson will follow the talk.

I Ching is a big subject with a history of more than 3000 years of interpretation.  The texts and hexagrams have been used by many to find solutions to questions or problems. I Ching uses coins to determine these solutions.  A practitioner will toss three coins six times to create a new hexagram related to his or her question.  The response is determined by looking up the meanings of the hexagram in the I Ching text.  
 
Elizabeth Nelson has long been interested in Chinese painting. An early childhood memory reveals a fascination with scrolls her father brought back from Shanghai, India and Europe after his service in WWII.  Chinese and Asian art have remained a ‘foundation of her aesthetic.’
 
It was during a “fallow” period in her painting career that Nelson asked I Ching for “advice and inspiration.”  The answer was hexagram #2 Natural Response (K’un).  At first Nelson was puzzled by the response but the next morning as the moon was setting over her snow-filled pasture, the answer was clear.  She “would paint 64 hexagrams and choose the sequence at random by throwing the coins.” The entire symbolic landscape series took 6 years to complete. The oil paintings on cradled birch panels are 20 x 20 inches. 
 
I Ching is a fascinating subject especially for those interested in systems of divination and astrology.  There is much more to be studied and learned but for now join us for an enlightening talk.

Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery is located at 69 Maple Street in Center Sandwich.
The Gallery is open for the summer.  Gallery hours will be Tuesday – Saturday from 10 to 5.  Sunday 12 to 5 and Monday by appt.  www.patricialaddcaregagallery.com or 603 284 7728.