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July 13, 2025

Centreville Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville

6 Arts Notes

Unanchored: Baltimore-Based Artist Caryn Martin’s Works on View in Solo Exhibition Through August 29

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Mixed-media artist Caryn Martin will be presenting her work in the solo exhibition Unanchored from July 1–August 29, 2025, at the Adkins Arboretum Gallery. The public is invited to a reception on Saturday, July 12, from 2–4 pm, with the artist in attendance. Martin’s works on panel, made from unused and repurposed artworks by the artist, as well as paper and acrylic paint, explore the transient and vulnerable elements of nature. The layered textures and shifting nuances in color seek to capture the momentary essence of these elements, such as water, fire, mist, and air. Martin’s practice employs diverse mediums, spanning from large-scale site-specific sculptural installations made from paper materials to monotypes. In her practice, the artist often uses the remnants of these monotypes to create new works, churning previous explorations into new forms. The artist approaches mark-making as a process rather than a gesture, changing the traditional structure of paper and pulp over time and in cumulation.

In her works on view at the Adkins Arboretum Gallery, Martin harkens to forces of nature, both soft and hard, nurturing and shaping – all of which can be observed just beyond the Arboretum’s Visitor Center. Martin states that her interest in dualities, whether found in weather patterns and shifting pressure or the very process she uses to create her works, drives her aesthetic and compositional decisions. The resulting pieces contain contrasting elements that draw the viewer in and invite a close look at the individual currents, which make up the composite whole. Martin’s subtly-percolating colors and forms represent interesting reprises to a wide variety of experiences in nature. The artist encourages us to think not only of serene moments that ground us but also the more complex reality of climate change and human and industrial impact.

Martin is a Baltimore-based artist, educator, and creative coach. She received her MFA and MAT degrees from Maryland Institute College of Art and her BA in Studio Art from University of Maryland College Park. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at Creative Alliance Baltimore, Kohl Gallery at Washington College, Delaplaine Arts Center, Institute of Contemporary Art Baltimore, Maryland Art Place, the Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College, and others. She is represented by Catalyst Contemporary in Baltimore.

This exhibition is part of Adkins Arboretum’s ongoing series highlighting regional artists whose work engages with natural themes. The Arboretum is located at 12610 Eveland Road in Ridgely, Maryland. For gallery hours or more information, contact Adkins Arboretum at 410-634-2847, or visit adkinsarboretum.org. A 400-acre native garden and preserve, Adkins Arboretum provides exceptional experiences in nature to promote environmental stewardship.

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Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday

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Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below:

 

The answer to last week’s mystery is yarrow, Achillea millefolium, pictured in the photo below:

 

 

 

 

Yarrow is a herbaceous perennial native to North America. It has feather-like leaves and flat-topped clusters of tiny, fragrant white to pink flowers. Yarrow can be found in cultivated gardens, and beside fields, mountains, and roadsides.

Yarrow is pest- and drought-resistant. Full sun exposure encourages compact growth and many flowers. In partial sun or in shade, yarrow tends to grow leggy. It thrives in hot, dry conditions and does not tolerate constantly wet soil.

Native bees are attracted to yarrow in large numbers. Butterflies are also drawn to yarrow. It makes a nice addition to fresh or dried flower arrangements.

Yarrow’s Latin name, Achillea, comes from the Greek hero Achilles, who was said to have used yarrow to treat wounds of his soldiers during the Trojan War.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the Photo!

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below:
The answer to last week’s mystery is blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium angustifolium, pictured in the photo below.
Blue-eyed grass is a tiny, but mighty flower that is native to 60% of the United States and the eastern half of Canada. It thrives from Maine to Texas. Blue-eyed grass grows in woodlands, forests, meadows, sand hills, and swales.
Despite its name, blue-eyed grass is not a grass, it’s a member of the iris family. Its stiff, narrow, blade-like leaves form a fan shape, similar to other plants in the iris family.
Noted for its violet-blue flowers with yellow centers, the long-lasting blooms measure 1″ in diameter. In late-Spring, the flowers develop into seed heads shaped like round balls that hold several tiny seeds. The black seeds can be carried short distances by wind. When conditions are just right, blue-eyed grass will happily self-seed, but it also spreads via underground rhizomes.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the Photo!

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans, pictured in photo below:
Poison ivy is native to every State except California, Alaska, and Hawaii. It can grow as a small plant, a shrub, or a climbing vine and it is resilient! It thrives in soils of all textures, including clays, silts, loams, sand, and more.
All parts of the poison ivy plant, including the stem and roots, contain and secrete a nonvolatile, colorless oil, urushiol, that affects the skin. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, about 50 million people get a poison ivy rash each year, making it one of the most common allergies in the United States.
If a rash doesn’t occur with first contact, it likely will with second contact. In addition, the body doesn’t build immunity to urushiol. The more times the skin is exposed to it, the worse the break out.
Urushiol oil is very durable, lingering for five or more years after the poison ivy plant has died. Inhaling urushiol oil from the smoke of burning poison ivy likely means a trip to the ER.
Poison ivy flowers are rather inconspicuous and usually not noticed by gardeners, but they also carry urushiol oil. The subsequent fruits are smooth, greenish-white berries that form in clusters about the size of currants. Birds and other wildlife eat the berries and spread the seed in their droppings, spreading poison ivy just about anywhere.
Poison ivy has compound leaves with three leaflets, giving rise to the old saying, “Leaves of three, let it be,” although the leaves are more accurately described as leaflets.
In vine form, poison ivy sprouts thousands of brown hairs that grasp the bark of its host tree. As the vine climbs toward the canopy and matures, the stem gets woodier and increases in diameter.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum’s Mystery Monday: Guess the Photo!

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in photo below:
The answer to last week’s mystery is arrowwood viburnum, Viburnum dentatum, pictured in the photo below:
Arrowwood viburnum is a native deciduous shrub that can be found from Maine to Florida, and westward toward Iowa and east Texas. It thrives in open woods and streambanks and most commonly occurs in partial shade but can tolerate full sun.
Arrowwood flowers from May–June and fruits from August–November. The shrub’s non-fragrant white flowers form flat-topped corymbs. The showy flower clusters give way to blue-black, berry-like drupes which are attractive to birds and other wildlife.
Thanks to vigorous and sturdy growth, arrowwood can be used as a hedge, screen, specimen, or in mass plantings. While the shrub’s growth habit is an upright oval, the older branches arch with age. Suckers also develop with age and are easy to transplant. Next season’s blossoms appear on old growth
Native Americans reportedly used the straight stems of this species for arrow shafts, hence the common name.
Arrowwood viburnum is the host plant for various species of moths and butterflies, including two specialist moth species: the brown scoopwing moth and the marveled wave moth. It’s also a host plant for Spring azure butterflies. Arrowwood provides nectar for pollinators, including native bees, and food and shelter for birds. Arrowwood is deer resistant.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Tuesday: Guess the Photo!

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is deerberry, Vaccinium stamineum, pictured in the photo below:
Deerberry is a very common, native deciduous shrub that grows in sandy, well-drained soil and xeric communities such as dry oak woods, pine barrens, savannas, dry pine ridges, sparsely wooded bluffs, sand hills, thickets, and clearings. It often grows in conjunction with rhododendrons and azaleas, which share similar acidic soil requirements.
Deerberry’s nodding, bell-shaped flowers produce from April–June. They’re greenish-white and pink tinged. The stamens are prominent, as indicated by the Latin name stamineum. The fruit of deerberry dangles in loose clusters. The berries are sour and largely inedible for humans, unless they’re sweetened. The berries ripen from late–Summer to early–Fall and are enjoyed by birds and mammals.
Deerberry and blueberry are both members of the same plant family, ericaceae, and share similar characteristics, but also have key differences. For instance, deerberry fruit is typically larger and has a more tart flavor than blueberries.
Deerberry’s foliage turns a variety of colors through the seasons.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Forest Music Returns to Adkins Arboretum

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Once a year, something extraordinary happens in the forest at Adkins Arboretum. The sound of music weaves between tree trunks, rustles new leaves, and flows under bridges, beckoning curious ears closer. Forest Music is a unique live music experience featuring young musicians and their mentors who are participating in the two-week National Music Festival in Chestertown, MD. The musicians are situated at intervals on the Arboretum’s wooded trails and play for event attendees who meander the trails at their own pace. 

Over the years, Forest Music has featured the sounds of violins, clarinets, horns, bassoons, double basses, and even steel drums. The repertoire is equally diverse,

ranging from classical masterpieces by Bach to timeless hits by the Beatles and even original compositions explicitly crafted for the Arboretum’s forest. The event draws a vibrant mix of more than 300 visitors from the Festival, the local community, and beyond. 

While the National Music Festival provides numerous performance opportunities, Forest Music is its most unique. It offers the musicians an opportunity to participate in a performance art event, experience the acoustics beneath a woodland canopy, and interact one-on-one with the visitors who pause on the trails to hear them play. 

This year’s event sponsors include the Caroline County Council of Art, the Maryland State Arts Council, Unity Landscape, and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor Catherine Joyce. 

Forest Music takes place on Thursday, June 12 from 2–4 pm. Light refreshments will be served, and wine will be available for purchase. Golf carts with drivers will be available for less mobile individuals. Advance registration is requested. Tickets are $10 per person. 

To register, visit adksinarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847. 

A 400-acre native garden and preserve, Adkins Arboretum provides exceptional experiences in nature to promote environmental stewardship. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum’s Mystery Monday: Guess the Photo!

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is Copes gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis, pictured below.
Cope’s gray tree frogs are native to North America, and are especially abundant in the southeast. They are adapted to woodland habitats but will sometimes travel into more open areas to reach a breeding pond. These frogs inhabit all elevations of wooded areas near temporary and permanent waters, such as swamps, ponds, lakes, old fields, thickly wooded suburban neighborhoods, farm woodlots, and mixed or deciduous forests.
Variable in color from mottled gray to gray green, the skin of Cope’s gray tree frogs resembles bark. They typically measure 3.2–5.1 cm long. As a member of the genus Hyla, they possess advanced toe pads, allowing them to adhere more strongly to vertical surfaces, like glass, metal, and primarily tree bark.
Cope’s grays rest in damp, rotten logs, or hollow trees, emerging to feed. Tree frogs tend to be “sit-and-wait” predators, consuming caterpillars, beetles, flies that wander by. Tree frogs produce mucus secretions that are foul tasting and cause burning sensation and inflammation. While these secretions are thought to be anti-predator functions, it is possible that they also function as antimicrobial agents.
In Winter, Cope’s gray tree frogs hibernate on land, and may be found under woody debris logs, roots and leaf litter. When gray tree frogs hibernate, they appear rigid. They have a high freezing tolerance due to glycerol in the blood. During hibernation, 80% of the body freezes and the eye becomes opaque as breathing and heartbeat are temporarily suspended. Their high tolerance for freezing temperatures has enabled gray tree frogs to expand their territory northward towards higher elevations. Cope’s gray tree frog can survive temperatures as low as 18°F.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo!

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is pinxter flower azalea, Rhododendron periclymenoides, pictured below:
Pinxter flower azalea is native to the Eastern United States, from Massachusetts to Alabama. It is one of several azaleas native to Maryland. An understory shrub, pinxter azalea is dense and bushy, typically growing 2–6′ tall. Pinxter azalea grows naturally in mixed deciduous forests, along streams, swamp edges and ravines, where they can form dense thickets.
Pinxter flowers open in mid to late Spring, and are often mistaken for honeysuckle blooms. The flower colors vary among species populations from white to dark pink. The open petals curve back to show off the long extended stamens and styles. Pinxter flowers begin to open before leaf expansion, drawing many pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The flowers are fragrant, and have a light spicy scent.
Maryland’s native azaleas host at least 50 species of native caterpillars, including hairstreaks and brown elfins.
The common name “pinxter” means Pentecost (the seventh Sunday after Easter) in Dutch, in reference to the bloom time for this shrub.
Warning: Rhododendrons contain poisonous substances and should not be ingested by humans or animals. All parts of the plant are highly toxic, even honey made from the flowers may be dangerous.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the picture!

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is bluets, Houstonia caerulea, pictured below.
Bluets are native to eastern North America. They are a small, delicate, perennial plant that grows in tufts with tiny, pale blue flowers with yellow centers. Some bluet flowers are almost white, while others are a rich, dark blue.
Bluets mature in mid-Spring and continue into mid-Summer. At just 6″ tall, common bluets are very light and airy. They are found in moist, partially shaded areas like deciduous woods, meadows, and clearings. The vegetation consists of a basal roseate that stays on the ground, and a few small leaves along the thin, green stems that emerge from the basal roseate.
The flowers are very small and appear to almost float above the ground because their stems are so thin. Bluets produce both nectar and pollen. Their short flower tubes make their nectar accessible to short-tongued native bees. Several smaller species of early butterflies visit common bluets, and bluets serve as a host plant for the larvae of the spotted thyris moth, Thyris maculata.
An alternate name for bluets is Quaker ladies, because their shape is similar to the hats and dresses once worn by women of the Quaker faith.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.