The Lilac Ridge Farmhouse Gallery opened on Saturday, Dec. 16, with a photography show, "Ames Hill By Jill," by Jill Stahl Tyler.
It marked a new chapter for the West Brattleboro farm on Ames Hill Road. Lilac Ridge co-owner Amanda Ellis-Thurber said in a news release it was something she has long wanted to do.
"The farmhouse is really suited for something like this," she said. "It's an Air BnB that we rent out, and we have it set up pretty simply so that guests can feel comfortable."
Ellis-Thurber said she asked her neighbor and friend, Stahl Tyler, to be the first one to exhibit. She said she follows Stahl Tyler's "beauty of the day" postings on Instagram and appreciates how Stahl Tyler always finds scenic spots, many of them from right around Ellis-Thurber's farm.
"I always tell her that she should do more with them," said Ellis-Thurber.
Stahl Tyler said Ellis-Thurber came to her with the idea in late September. "Amanda and Ross [Thurber] have so many plans for their farm. They are always trying out new things," she said. "Like this summer, they started the Creemee Stand, with organic maple milk, the only one of its kind, as I understand it." Positioned right next to the pick-your-own flower area, "it became a nice little neighborhood hang-out spot," she said.
When Ellis-Thurber pitched the idea of doing a photography show and sale, Stahl Tyler said she was surprised and even initially dismissive. "It's not something that I would have thought of doing on my own," she said.
Photography is a "only a hobby" for Stahl Tyler.
"I actually figured that Amanda would forget about it, that maybe it was not something she was that serious about," Stahl Tyler said. "But if you know Amanda, you know she can be pretty persuasive. After she asked me the third time, and she insisted that she really wanted me to do it, I agreed to try to pull this together."
Stahl Tyler followed Ellis-Thurber's prodding, and the two carefully planned how to turn the house into the "Farmhouse Gallery" for four hours on a Saturday afternoon. She reviewed more than eight years' worth of daily photos, her "beauty of the day" habit she started in 2015. From that huge collection of around 3,000 photos, she thinned it down to 77, which were mounted in various sizes for sale.
"The majority of the photos are very local," she noted, "within walking distance of Lilac Ridge. It is really an easy place to always find beauty. I've taken photos of tomatoes in the rain, pumpkins in that golden light we get in October, and cows. There are always lots of photos of cows."
Stahl Tyler said that she has included two photos that are not from Brattleboro, but are from more like three hours' drive from here. "I thought it might be fun for people to try to identify which two are the outliers," she said.
For more information about the gallery, contact Amanda Ellis-Thurber at [email protected] or 802-380-4029.
This The Arts item was submitted to The Commons.