When I looked back at when I last wrote a blog, I was shocked to see if was in the early Spring! Clearly, I was completely immersed in preparing for the July 6th Garden Tour. The local tour, put on by the Generous Gardeners is not your average Garden Tour. It aims high in both purpose and results. The funds raised from this tour (tickets and sponsorships) plus special events put on several times a year (Dahlia sales, plant sales, etc.) are to raise money to beautify many of the public spaces in Gloucester from the traffic “islands” to the grand swath of land along Stacy Boulevard home to our precious fisherman and fisherman’s wives statues. The group has nearly 100 volunteers that actually do all the work.
When I was asked a year ago to be on the 2024 tour, I knew the gardening preparation would dominate my Spring. I also knew I had to so some special things to combine the art of gardening with my sea glass art. The result was a series of sea glass steppingstones that I plan to sell at the event and in my studio. Beyond this, I also used this new “direction” to create a piece for the Cape Ann Museum’s Cape Ann Blossoms show. Working with fellow Cape Ann Artisan, Deb Gonet, we made a non-organic sculptural piece for the show inspired by Fitz Henry Lane’s painting “Rough Seas.” If I hadn’t followed the steppingstone path, I would have never been able to do this. Fast forward, the piece was entered into the Marblehead Arts Festival and accepted by the jury into the sculpture exhibit. It is now in its 3rd home as part of the Wenham Museum’s “Art Grows Here” exhibit in a raised bed in front of the museum and it’s for sale with a percentage going to the Museum if it sells. Who knows where it will next land!
Getting back to the Garden Tour, after all the hard work, the experience itself was simply gratifying and joyful. The group is totally professional and well organized with excellent communications. The week before the official tour, I had a chance to view the gardens of the other people on the tour – many are neighbors. I was SO impressed with all the work everyone had put in and the wonderful surprises in their gardens. And it has to be noted that many adjacent neighbors who were not officially on the tour upgraded their gardens too. As we had shared many stories while preparing and afterward, the experience brought us all closer together. At the “after-party” to thank the volunteers, many of us continued sharing our stories. Among the favorites was the incredibly successful lemonade stand run by the grandchildren of one of the neighbors on the tour. If you missed the tour, there’s a wonderful video created by the North Shore Horticultural Society.
My studio was open during the tour. I had steppingstones downstairs with two lovely friends who volunteered and sent people upstairs where I shared my work and space. I so enjoyed meeting new people from all over and also seeing community friends who had never been to my studio. I can’t wait to see some of these faces back again when they have more time. I was truly grateful to those who left with a piece from my collection, and I donated 20% of my sales to the Generous Gardeners.
I cannot express enough how honored I was to be part of all of these community events and programs. The Cape Ann Museum’s Cape Ann Blossoms is so elegant and thoughtful. The Generous Gardeners Tour is intimate and engaging – opening up visits to neighborhoods in Gloucester that no one even knows about. The volunteers in Marblehead were incredibly welcoming. The Wenham Museum is a delightful and very important cultural asset on the North Shore and so inventive in all it does. What I’ve experienced is that community drives art and art drives community. The two are inseparable and equally important. On Cape Ann and the north shore, we have both in abundance!
It’s been a busy winter to prepare for an even busier Spring! My theme for 2024 is Wearable Art for All Seasons. We don’t have to wait for the sun to enjoy wearing our sea glass. In fact, it’s a great way to celebrate the joys of summer year round! Speaking of the sun, admittedly, I did make a quick trip down south and am pleased to announce an expanded presence in Naples, Florida at a gallery just across from the Naples Botanical Gardens, 
new collection, “Stepping Out.” My sea glass garden steppingstone sold during the last week of the show! They are now available locally at my studio and also at 
As for Wearable Art on Cape Ann, in Gloucester, you can find it at the 
On Saturday, March 30th, Kristine Fisher and I had the privilege of leading a discussion entitled “Why I Create” with a distinguished panel of artists who were part of our video series, Cape Ann ARTWaves. The event was a celebration of the videos 
community for support. Out of a relatively simple request from the director of 1623 Studios, Cape Ann ARTWaves was born. But simple it wasn’t. The new high-tech video and podcast studios were shut down. Businesses were re-tooling, residents were effectively quarantined, and in person events were canceled. We all learned how to “Zoom.” And truly, no one knew what the artists were thinking and how they were creating during this time.
There were thousands to choose from. I quickly invited my fellow “hybrid” artist and arts advocate and dear friend Kristine to join me on this journey – knowing that her professional approach and unique perspective on art would make this a success.
We started out with a list of questions that we hoped would guide the conversation. As the program progressed, we realized the importance of researching each artist and customizing our questions. We talked about how each found their path to becoming an artist, process, techniques, mentors, inspiration, challenges, reaction to the Pandemic, and looking to the future. But the key moment in every interview often came deep into the conversation – how the artists’ work truly distinguishes them in the vast art universe. My biggest takeaway from this experience was that I could never anticipate where this would show up in the conversation or what it would unveil. Somewhere deep into the editing process, we were able to hone in on this critical part of the interview. These “moments” became the inspiration for the highlight’s videos.
impossible to fulfill the requests. But we hope that the cross section of artists we interviewed is a strong representative sample of the incredible creative talent on Cape Ann. We are grateful to the artists for entrusting us with their stories and very proud to have found a permanent home for them here at the Cape Ann Museum.
Every work of art in every museum, every book in every library, every piece of music that is played, is there to be appreciated because someone created it. Someone also protected it and made sure it had life beyond the creator.
All the pieces are one-of-a-kind so I am thrilled to have more selection in one of my favorite cities! Keep an eye out for Catherine’s events and support the arts in this lovely part of town! Enjoy these photos from the Botanical Gardens and inside Catherine’s gallery!
The creators and producers of Cape Ann ARTWaves, Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco and Kristine Fisher are pleased to invite the public to two special events hosted by the Cape Ann Museum. The 75 episodes of ARTWaves were produced as a series at 1623 Studios from 2020-2022. As of 2023, the digital footage will become part of the video VAULT at the Cape Ann Museum (CAM). To celebrate the transition to the CAM and the artists involved, the public is invited to join two events. The first will be held as part of the CAM’s First Fridays, November 3rd 6-8 PM. This is a fun, free, informal way to meet the artists, producers, and the wider arts community. The three highlights’ videos will be screened in a continuous loop throughout the evening in the auditorium. Details are here on the