BY KERRY MOONEY

The Peterborough Senior Center has been ‘jazzing it up” during August as it has been graced with the art of Clarence Washington, a Fenway experimental artist. In addition to his show, “The Inner Eye: Visual Encounters/Songs of Departure-A Multi-Media Installation,” Washington also presented a couple of lively talks.
When asked, Washington animatedly expresses the intent of his exhibit with enthusiasm: “To actuate the inner rainbow that establishes peace and happiness to every man or woman.”

Washington’s exhibit is broken into two parts. The first section shows a set of drawings, watercolors, and pastels Washington did as a young man during the 1960s, when he was on a fellowship in Mexico and Greece. The second and main part of the exhibit appears to overwhelm the tiny senior center with a massive floor-to-ceiling abstract display of “Chromaflows,” an art technique developed by Washington through inspiration from Jackson Pollack, Morris Lewis, and Helen Frankenthaler. Apparently, the senior center has never been so contemporary.

As Washington explains the thought process behind his “Chromaflows” creations, he says his intent was on “how to control the action of the color mixing as it flows through colored water without touching the actual surface” of the water. Washington goes on to say this technique results in a “dynamic mixing combination of patterns and textures in every type of possibility” because of the flowing water. Casting over the surface is a kind of “stain painting” which absorbs into the surface, says Washington.

Clarence Washington is a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Over the years he has taught as at the Museum School, Tufts University, Mass College of Art and Boston University. He is also a registered, certified teacher in the Boston Public Schools for grades K-12. He has been teaching art for the Boston Parks and Recreation Department over the past six years and now teaches classes outside in the parks. He can be reached at clarencewashington33@gmail.com or at MySpace.com as “Clarence Rogers.”

Kerry Mooney lives in the West Fens.

A version of this article was published in the September 2009 Fenway News.

Holy Ghosts poster

By Tracey Cusick

Holy Ghosts, a rock opera written by Fenway resident Larry Bell, will premiere at the Berklee Performance Center on September 15 at 8:15 p.m. Already in the repertoire as a play, Romulus Linney’s Holy Ghosts deals with an extreme (and accurately portrayed) form of religious worship in the rural American South. Hymn tunes populate the score, while congregants “testify” to their life experiences and religious faith—and test their faith by handling poisonous snakes in a climactic salvation scene.

In addition to having its world premier in the Fenway, Holy Ghosts was also composed in the neighborhood. A composer and pianist, Larry Bell lives in the East Fens with his wife, musicologist Andrea Olmstead (who is Holy Ghosts’s executive producer and co-librettist with Romulus Linney). Bell arrived in the neighborhood in 1980 after earning masters and doctorate degrees from The Juilliard School in New York City.

Bell also works in the Fenway: He is a music professor who appreciates what the neighborhood has to offer. “I have found the relaxed diversity of The Fenway conducive to creative work and practicing the piano for concert and recording dates,” he says. “I like living in this neighborhood because of its proximity to three music schools as well as the Symphony and Jordan Hall. So many musicians live here.”

Bell’s North Carolina upbringing inspired him. Holy Ghosts, he explains, “draws on my experience growing up in the South and contains a number of familiar hymn tunes. I even wrote my own hymn tune, ‘Unchanging Love,’ for the end of the opera. Although I’ve written about 100 classical pieces, including orchestral works, this is my first oper—-a rock opera.”

Tickets (adults $10, senior citizens $5, children $2-$5) to the show are available at the Berklee box office at 136 Mass. Ave.

Tracey Cusick lives in the East Fens.

A version of this article was published in the September 2009 Fenway News.

BY MATTI KNIVA SPENCER

Residents of the West Fens are fed up with several situations that have plagued their neighborhood for several years. On August 12, this writer met with William Onuoha, Mayor Menino’s District 8 representative, to voice some of the more serious concerns residents of the neighborhood are facing.

A petition drawn up by many residents asks that potholes be fixed, as they not only damage cars but also affect bicyclists and people walking through alleyways to their apartments.

In addition to potholes, other issues of major concern are reducing dog and Canada geese poop and controlling rodents (rats and mice) that invade the alleys. One thing the city can do to control rodents is to ensure that dumpsters have tops to contain trash, and provide “big bellies” (trash compacters now being installed on city streets) for the West Fens, where residents and visitors walking on neighborhood streets have no place to put litter. On August 26, Mr. Onuoha walked through the neighborhood to view the problems first-hand and will meet with some residents to talk about issues they have raised.

One resident has been picking up the trash in the neighborhood for years and places it in huge plastic bags. A store owner states that while customers were eating dinner one evening rats paraded in front of his establishment. Signs need to be posted warning residents (and non residents) to clean up their pets’ deposits. The issues are many, and complaints have been made for years with no solution.

Mr. Onuoha, whose parents came to Boston as international students from Nigeria, lives close by, in Mission Hill. He formerly worked as assistant dean of students at UMass Amherst and is a former intern for State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez. Says Mr. Onuoha, “I keep a close eye on the Back Bay, Mission Hill, Fenway, Public Garden, Boston Common and LMA areas. My job is to keep the mayor abreast on neighborhood issues. I serve as a bridge between City Hall and the neighborhoods I serve. Concerns are taken back to City Hall, and every effort is made to correct the issues at hand.”

Anyone wishing to add to the list of concerns or to get updates on some of these issues can e-mail Mr. Onuoha at william.onuaho@cityofboston.gov or call City Hall at 617-645-4000.

Matti Kniva Spencer lives in the West Fens.

A version of this article was published in the September 2009 Fenway News.

Nan Fuller Models Some of Her
Creations at the Peterborough Senior
Center – Image by Matti Kniva Spencer

BY MATTI KNIVA SPENCER

The Peterborough Senior Center, located at 42 Peterborough Street and one of West Fenway’s hidden treasures, provides its clients with fullfilling activities and skilled people to introduce them.

One such person is Nan Fuller, a senior who recently moved here from Los Angeles and now teaches a knitting class at the center. Fuller retired from the office work she did with the Legal Support Network and moved to the West Fens in April 2009, at the insistence of one of her daughters, Kerry Mooney, herself a resident of the West Fens for several years. Now living close to the Peterborough Senior Center, Fuller teaches knitting once a week to eager seniors who are learning how to make beautiful, colorful scarves.

Says Fuller, “I enjoy doing practical handicrafts and working with my hands. In creating the scarves, I use large yarn and size 15 needles—which allows one to knit at a faster pace. My scarves are unusual, as I always use two different colors when I knit. I bring in the yarn and offer people their choice of colors.”

This fall, Fuller intends to make scarves for the center’s tag sale and holiday events. Proceeds will go to support center operations. Fuller is also available to give private lessons, and anyone wishing to pursue this can e-mail her at nfuller895@hotmail.com or call the center at 617-536-7154. She also has a selection of her scarves at the Senior center for anyone who wishes to see her work and/or purchase a scarf. You can attend her classes for free on Thursdays between 10 and 11 A.M. These classes are open to nonseniors, and men are always welcome.

Born and raised outside of Los Angeles—in Canoga Park on the west side of San Bernado Valley—Fuller grew up around people who managed the business affairs of celebrities, which is how she met her late husband, who was a music executive for Columbia Records. Together they raised two daughters, the aforementioned Kerry Mooney, an accomplished muralist, painter and writer, and another daughter who’s a dancer and who does voice-overs for International Games and lives in L.A.

Fuller really enjoys the openness of the diverse group of individuals who live in her neighborhood. An avid gardener who has a plot at the Victory Gardens, she also enjoys attending Shakespeare on Common, going to museums, and the fact that Boston is such a walking city—she enjoys walking a lot.

With the holiday season coming up, Fuller encourages everyone to come by the Senior Center, be a part of her knitting circle, and make that “special friend” in your life a beautiful, colorful scarf. There’s nothing like a hand-made item to give to a friend as a gift.

Frequent contributor Matti Kniva Spencer lives in the West Fens.

A version of this article was published in the September 2009 Fenway News.

Jake Sherman on Piano with Walter
Platt on Trumpet. Photo by
Lauren Dewey Platt

BY CAMILLE PLATT
Jake Sherman is a pianist who was featured in The Fenway News back in January, 2008, when he was chosen for the Grammy Awards band while still a junior at Boston Latin School. He is now attending the New School in New York City, but spent some time this summer playing with the Dave Ehle Band at the Tiki Hideaway lounge in the Howard Johnson hotel on Boylston Street in the West Fens. The Fenway News talked with him recently after one of his sets.

Fenway News: What was the first instrument you ever practiced?

Jake Sherman: The cello, but only for a few months.

FN: Who were/are your major influences that led you to become a musician?

JS: Dr. Lonnie Smith, John Medeski, and Joey DeFrancesco

FN: What part of practicing music do you enjoy most?

JS: I enjoy the freedom, especially when playing jazz music and/or instruments. Also the communication between the musicians is very well done.

FN: What school are you currently attending? Is it a music school?

JS.: I’m attending the New School in New York, and yes it is a music college.

FN: Where did you attend high school? Was that a good musical experience?

JS: Boston Latin School, and I did not enjoy it as much, but I did enjoy the music programs offered.

FN: Are/were there any teachers at your current school that either helped you out or influenced you to continue music?

JS: Yes, Sam Yahel, Dave Zoffer, Doug Johnson and Dan Loschen.

FN: What types of music do you listen to or enjoy, mostly?

JS: Gospel, a new type for me, jazz and funk, definitely.

FN: What type of bands would you want to ‘gig’ with in the future?

JS: Definitely professional bands and acts.

FN: What is your main interest/instrument?

JS: Piano.

FN: What concerts have you attended that also influenced your take on music?

JS: The Larry Goldings Trio in New York, whom I saw three times, also DeFrancesco, Medeski, John Scofield, and Martin & Wood.

FN: How did you feel about Michael Brecker’s death, him being a very well known jazz musician?

JS: I was so disappointed; he was one of my biggest idols. I wanted to help him recover, but I couldn’t.

FN: What are some notable things you’ve done during your music career so far?

JS: The most notable thing I would say was that I was in the Grammy band. I also attended and was in the NFAA (National Foundation Advancement of Artists) and a jazz convention I played at, the IAJE.

FN: Do your parents practice music?

JS: My mother plays the flute and is a flute teacher, and my father plays the harpsichord.

FN: When did you start practicing music?

JS: I believe around the age of 5.

FN: Is/was there music in your household?

JS: (laughs) Oh yes, very much.

FN: What are your practice habits with the piano in particular?

JS: As much as possible; especially when I get inspired by someone or something.

FN: Do you write your own music?

JS: Yes, also when I get inspired. (Laughs).

FN: How is New York different from Boston?

JS: Well, I know many more people, and it’s much more competitive, gig wise. I usually have to find clubs with organs, it makes it much easier so I don’t have to lug mine around.

FN: Thanks so much for your time, Mr. Sherman; I’m glad I got to see you perform here.

JS: Thanks for sticking around so long! (Laughs).

Camille Platt, a student at the Boston Latin School, lives in the West Fens.

A version of this article was published in the September 2009 Fenway News.