Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Baker Legacy March Newsletter


Thank you so much for making donations to the Baker Legacy! $10,500 was raised on these three sites"
  • indiegogo.com
  • Fracturedatlas.org/what’s your story
  • bakerlegacy.com

What’s been done so far? Lots!
In addition to events listed to the right, there will be a special showing for fourth, fifth and sixth-graders at the Jackson Grammar School on September 27, and a private screening for 50 patrons at the Wentworth Inn scheduled for early September. It’s going to be hard to limit the guest list to 50 because so many of you have given so much. Invitations will go out in July.

The documentary is reaching completion of the rough-cut stage, with just a few more reshoots and interviews left to do in May. Reggie Osborn, a filmmaker and TV access teacher of Portland, Maine, will be helping me polish the movie. Right now I have an intern, Joseph Migeed of Belmont, Massachusetts, a student at the New England Institute of Art, who is working toward a degree in film-making. He is a joy to work with and very knowledgeable in audio production – just what I needed to perfect the older clips I am using from 1999 and 1989 interviews with David. Final and frantic editing will happen this June and the first two weeks in July. DVD production is scheduled for early August.

David Baker’s story is told through stories from about 30 people, with hundreds of photographs and images of David’s work covering his incredible career, from cartoons to all the different stages of his watercolors, oils, and Vitreous Flux paintings.

You’ll see his gallery in all its different stages and hear first-hand of the people involved in all the different stages of David’s life and career. You will learn about the two tragedies in the Baker family and how David’s art mirrored the losses, about how he struggled as an artist, and how he overcame obstacles with ingenuity, determination and his love of art.

Art collectors, friends, models and artists describe different eras of David’s life, including the “Drawing Group,” and the culture of music and art the Bakers hosted. The viewer will realize the important role David’s wife, Jerry, played in keeping the whole scene going, with her caring and loving manner, and her ready smile.  The movie is filled with little stories that paint a portrait of the generous and humorous artist so many people called their best friend.

The documentary is completed with views of David at the end of his life, the poetry, the cancer, the memories of his closest friends, and finally, what people think David’s legacy will be.

And the music?
Composed and performed by David’s long-time friend, composer, musician and photographer, Dickie Tilton, of course!

I am striving to make this movie personal, yet appealing to those who never met David. It is a story about something rare nowadays: How one individual CAN make a positive impact; how one artist created a culturally rich and loving community. 
I hope it will inspire others to find a way to enrich their own environment, wherever they may live. And by the way, I have gotten letters from people in Hawaii, in New Brunswick, Colorado, North Carolina, and even from Portugal!

What’s Next?
More funding to cover the work yet to be completed, for printing, traveling, food for events, and equipment such as back-up drives. In addition to asking individuals, I’ll be approaching businesses for sponsorships.  Space for recognition on the poster is limited, so if you know someone who would be interested, please contact me by May 31.

Volunteers will be needed in late July and early August to distribute posters to Mt. Washington Valley businesses willing to display them in windows, on billboards, and other prominent places throughout the area.

In addition, volunteers will be needed to accept admission fees at the events, and attend to details at each of the event venues. I live three hours away and may not be on hand to take care of all the essential duties required.  Marketing suggestions for distribution of the DVD when finished are also welcome.
Wish you had a Baker work of art but can’t afford one? 


Art is available to those volunteers who really pitch in. I am most grateful for any donations, small or large, and for any helpers! This is going to be an awesome September. So much is happening in the Valley. I hope you will be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime community tribute.

BAKER LEGACY UPDATE March 21, 2012
www.bakerlegacy.com has been updated! Check out the events, new notes, volunteers needed, sponsorship info for your business, and how to donate.
New email: Judy@bakerlegacy.com

Call 978-212-2345 for more information and to offer suggestions or assistance.
New Blog!  

Please join us at davidbakerlegacy.blogspot.com.
Post your story! Follow the blog!

What's Your Story? is now CONNECT YOUR STORIES

Please note some changes:

"What’s Your Story?"
is now

 Connect Your Stories

www.connectyourstories.com
 

The Baker Legacy is a project
of Connect Your Stories

Contact:
Judy Faust
phone: 978-212-2345
cellphone while in NH: 978-875-4212

New email address!
Judy@bakerlegacy.com
 

The Baker Project website had been updated
www.bakerlegacy.com 


Send your friends to the Baker Legacy Blog

davidbakerlegacy.blogspot.com

Please subscribe and join us.
 



Friday, March 16, 2012

A note to Judy from a Baker fan in New Brunswick


Hi Judy,

A couple of nights ago I decided to Google David C. Baker, as I met the man back in 1989. Sadly I read that he had passed away in 1999 of cancer, but read that you were doing a documentary. The man left an impression on me, and had some words of wisdom that I never forgot.

I was 33 years old back in 1989 and co-owner of a lumber business with my brother in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. A forester by education, I used to love to travel to the White Mountains once a year to escape the stresses of the business world. It was at this time in my life that I discovered Jackson, New Hampshire, together with my wife and our five-year-old son at that time. 

We absolutely loved the place and subsequently spent several vacations in the area in later years. One afternoon while walking through Jackson, my wife, Michelle, saw a painting in the window of a local ski shop, possibly named Jack Frost Ski shop. Michelle is a very artistic person and she saw something  special in that painting. 

We went into the store to inquire about the painting which I believe was $400 at the time.  The lady suggested that we visit David’s studio and that we did. What an interesting guy, who indeed treated us as friends from Canada, showing us more of his artwork and explaining his technique. 

Michelle told him how much she loved his painting at the ski shop. I really liked the painting as well but told David that I didn’t have $400 with me to buy the painting. David replied that because Michelle liked the painting so much, he wanted us to take it and we could send the money to him later. 

I replied that he was very trusting and that he was taking a chance that maybe I would never send the money. He answered that if that happened, I would have a larger problem than he would. I never forgot those simple words. 

I didn't take the painting, but when I arrived home in New Brunswick I called David and told him that I wanted to buy the painting as an early Christmas present for my wife. I sent him the money and had a truck driver who was picking up a load of pine for me in Lovell, Maine, drive over to Jackson and get the painting. 

The painting hangs in our home today and many people comment on it. I always tell the story of my conversation with David. I am retired now after a successful career. I spend my time sailing off the coast of NB and Maine during the summer and so it has been quite a few years since I have been back to Jackson. We have collected some very nice artwork over the years but our painting by David is one of our favourites. 

Just wanted to send this note to you because my personal encounter with David has stayed with me over these years.
                                                             
Regards,
Peter Mackay
Kingston Creek NB

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Update on the documentary film


The documentary is going well; I am doing intensive editing now of the 40 interviews, 1000 images, and several videos available to work from. The intern I have is working out better than I could have imagined. Funds are already looking low, but I am applying for grants and will launch a second campaign in a week or so. 

The last bunch of interviews really helped shape the story. I interviewed Fran Woodward Richardson, whose father framed work for David in the 50's and early 60's and who took art lessons from David's short lived, The Covered Bridge School; and Susan May, who lived with the Baker family as a child; Otis and Terry Port, who are funding this work and who published David in American Artist; Kim Beals and Joan Sherman, who both helped David market his work. Also, Nancy, David's daughter, recently handed me a package of a couple hundred more photos to scan in. 

It's looking good folks! 
Judy Faust