taking an economical bite of the Big Apple’s art scene

With an abundance of warm winter fires, fine restaurants, art, music, theater and friends right here on the Seacoast, locals might choose not to subject themselves to the tedious travel hours and various expenses of a trip to a southward, but equally chilly, metropolis. But, if you know how to do it affordably and efficiently, a weekend tour of New York City’s astonishing cornucopia of art museums is worth the hassle, especially when several not-to-miss exhibits are on display. 

Now in its sixth year, the annual Winter Wine Festival at the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel in New Castle has grown to provide more entertainment and education options in the historic grand hotel. It features both local wines and selections from around the nation and world. Events include grand vintner’s dinners, flight nights, rare vintage tastings, celebrity chefs and winemakers, classes, “Bubbles and Jazz” Sunday brunches, and educational seminars.

The author of “The Piano Teacher,” a New York Times bestseller, was born in Hong Kong to Korean parents and attended an international school there. Janice Y.K. Lee said she was already comfortable with American culture by the time she got to St. Paul’s School in Concord.

What Lee remembers most about adjusting to New Hampshire after having lived in Hong Kong till the age of 15 is not a culture shock, but the cold.

Durham resident Lorraine Morong recently donated a conservation easement on her 23-acre parcel of upland and wetland habitat, abutting fields and oak-pine forests. Located around Johnson and Bunker creeks in Durham, the land is considered a high conservation priority because its south-flowing tidal creeks empty into Oyster River just north of its mouth on Great Bay.

art by Emma Amos is not black or white

In a 1968 interview conducted for the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, Emma Amos was quoted as saying, “I don’t think it’s important the color of the artist. I think the color of his work is important.

“But this doesn’t seem to work. It really doesn’t. Everyone sees your color,” she continued.

Visitors can judge for themselves at the Lamont Gallery in Exeter, during "Emma Amos: Heroes and Folk," which includes her large and colorful paintings, installations, prints, woven works, and mostly combinations thereof.

Michael Scammell discusses his new biography of Arthur Koestler 

Michael Scammell's biography of Arthur Koestler, published by Random House in December, was two decades in the making. A professor at Columbia University, his work was mostly confined to summers, winter breaks and sabbaticals. By his count, his research took him to 14 different countries. But he did much of the writing here on the Seacoast, at his part-time home in Dover.

A variety of religious and philosophical doctrines tout the idea that the rewards we reap in life are proportional to the pain and hardship we endure.

Maybe that’s why so many thousands of musicians have subjected themselves to 28 days of painstaking artistic creation each year during the cold, dark month of February. The potential for hardship is considerable, but the reward of a brand spanking new CD is worth the pain.

Won't you join us? Now entering its fifth year, the RPM Challenge is open for registration

When classical violin prodigy Joshua Bell performed at The Music Hall in March 2008, tickets sold out almost immediately. Fans who missed that show will have a chance to catch the Grammy Award-winning artist when he returns to Portsmouth on Thursday, Feb. 4.