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November 4, 2025

Centreville Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville

Post to Chestertown Spy from Centreville Arts Spy Poetry

Spy Poetry: In the Winter of My Sixty-Seventh Year by Susan Browne

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In the Winter of My Sixty-Seventh Year

I feel the cold more
I stay in bed longer
To linger in my dreams
Where I’m young
& falling in & out of love
I couldn’t imagine then
Being this old     only old people
Are this old
Looking at my friends I wonder
Wow do I look like that
Today I wore my new beanie
With the silver-grey pom-pom
& took a walk in the fog
I thought I looked cute in that hat
But nobody noticed     maybe a squirrel
Although he didn’t say anything
When was the last time I got a compliment
Now it’s mostly someone pointing out
I have food stuck in my teeth
Did my teeth grow     they seem bigger
& so do my feet     everything’s larger
Except my lips     lipstick smudges
Outside the lines or travels to my teeth
Then there’s my neck
The wattle     an unfortunate word
& should have never been invented
These winter months are like open coffins
For frail oldsters to fall in
I once had a student who believed
We can be any age we want
In the afterlife
I’m desperate to be fifty
Six was also a good year
I saw snow for the first time
At my great-uncle’s house in Schenectady
My sister & I stood at the window
I can still remember the thrill
Of a first time     a marvel
Life would be full of firsts
I met my first love in winter
He was a hoodlum
& way too old for me     seventeen     I was fifteen
I could tell he’d had sex or something close to it
He had a burning building in his eyes
He wore a black leather jacket     so cool & greasy
Matched his hair     he broke up with me
Although there wasn’t much to break
All we’d done was sit together on the bus
Breathing on each other
It was my first broken heart
I walked in the rain
Listening to “Wichita Lineman”
On my transistor radio
I need you more than want you
Which confused me but I felt it
All over my body
& that was a first too
O world of marvels
I’m entering antiquity for the first time
Ruined columns     sun-blasted walls
Dusty rubble     wind-blown husks
I’m wintering     there is nothing wrong with it
A deep field of silence
The grass grown over & now the snow

Susan Browne’s poetry has appeared inPloughshares, Poetry, The Sun, Subtropics, The Southern Review, Superstition Review, Rattle, New Ohio Review, B O D Y, American Life in Poetry, and 180 More, Extraordinary Poems for Every Day. She has published three books of poetry, Buddha’s Dogs, Zephyr, and Just Living. Awards include prizes from Four Way Books, the Los Angeles Poetry Festival, the River Styx International Poetry Contest, The Fischer Poetry Prize, and the James Dickey Poetry Prize. She received a fellowship from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center. She has also collaborated to create a word/music CD. Her third collection, Just Living, won the Catamaran Poetry Prize. Her fourth collection, Monster Mash, is forthcoming from Four Way Books in 2025. She lives in Northern California. This poem is posted here with permission of the author.

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

Looking at the Masters: The Pit and the Pendulum

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Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, and died in Baltimore on October 7, 1849. He was educated in Scotland, England, and then at the University of Virginia. Lacking funds, he left the University and moved back to Boston. He joined the army, but he was court marshalled. He then moved to Baltimore. There, he shifted from writing poetry to short stories. He published a series of them in a book titled MS. Found in a Bottle (1833). In 1835, while working as an editor of Southern Living Magazine in Richmond, Virginia, he published his first horror story “Metsengerstein.” In 1838 in Philadelphia, he published some of his best-known stories: “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and more. Poe’s work became popular internationally, largely through the French poets Charles Baudelaire and Stephane Mallarme. 

“The Pit and the Pendulum” was published in 1842 in The Gift: A Christmas and New Year’s Present in 1843. Published annually for Christmas, it was a collection of short stories, poems, and essays with Christmas themes varying from families to the supernatural. Popular during the Victorian era, it is a beloved tradition today. 

“I saw them fashion the syllables of my name.” (1919)

“I saw them fashion the syllables of my name.” (1919) is an illustration from “The Pit and the Pendulum” in Tales of Mystery and Imagination. It was published in London by George G. Harrap and Co. and illustrated by Irish artist Henry Patrick Clarke (1889-1931), known best as a book illustrator and stained-glass artist. He created 24 images for the story. The publisher commented that “there could be little doubt but that Poe’s bizarre and gruesome fancies would offer ideal inspiration to an artist of Clarke’s particular bent.” The story takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and is told by an anonymous narrator. The crime is never disclosed, but the sentence and torture are described by Poe in excruciating detail: ”I was sick—sick unto death with that long agony; and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me. The sentence—the dread sentence of death—was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ear.”

“I saw the lips of the black-robed judges. They appeared to me white—whiter than the sheet upon which I trace these words—and thin even to grotesqueness; thin with the intensity of their expression of firmness—of immovable resolution—of stern contempt of human torture…I saw them writhe with a deadly locution. I saw them fashion the syllables of my name; and I shuddered because no sound succeeded.” 

“And then my vision fell upon the seven tall candles upon the table. At first they wore the aspect of charity, and seemed white slender angels who would save me; but then, all at once, there came a most deadly nausea over my spirit, and I felt every fiber in my frame thrill as if I had touched the wire of a galvanic battery, while the angel forms became meaningless specters, with heads of flame, and I saw that from them there would be no help.”

“They swarmed upon me in ever accumulating heaps.” (1919)

The monologue goes on to describe his confinement in a circular room. He is fed and he sleeps. When he awakens, he finds himself strapped to a board, and then notices something else: “In one of its panels a very singular figure riveted my whole attention. It was the painted figure of Time as he is commonly represented, save that, in lieu of a scythe, he held what, at a casual glance, I supposed to be the pictured image of a huge pendulum such as we see on antique clocks. There was something, however, in the appearance of this machine which caused me to regard it more attentively. While I gazed directly upward at it (for its position was immediately over my own) I fancied that I saw it in motion. In an instant afterward the fancy was confirmed. Its sweep was brief, and of course slow. I watched it for some minutes, somewhat in fear, but more in wonder. Wearied at length with observing its dull movement, I turned my eyes upon the other objects in the cell.” Rats were everywhere. “They swarmed upon me in ever accumulating heaps.”

Henry Patrick Clarke embraced the then popular Art Nouveau style of strong sinuous curves, asymmetrical design, stylized flowers and vines, and rejection of rigid geometry. He illustrated stories by Hans Christian Anderson and poems by John Keats, among others. Commissions were plentiful for his work in stained-glass.  

“I saw that some ten or twelve vibrations would bring the steel in actual contact with my robe.” (1899)

William Thomas Horton (1864-1919) was a Belgian-English writer and artist who studied at the Royal Academy in London. He illustrated the combined book of Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Pit and the Pendulum” that was published by Leonard Smithers in 1899. Horton was an occultist who studied the supernatural world through magic, alchemy, astronomy, and the reading of tarot cards. His drawings were left mostly unpublished during his lifetime. Horton’s illustration of Poe’s story emphasizes the darkness of the cell, the watchful and frightened look on the prisoner’s face, the menacing pendulum, and the small basket of food.

The narrator continues: “The sweep of the pendulum had increased in extent by nearly a yard. As a natural consequence, its velocity was also much greater. But what mainly disturbed me was the idea that it had perceptibly descended. I now observed—with what horror it is needless to say– the under edge evidently as keen as that of a razor…it seemed massy and heavy…it was appended to a weighty rod of brass, and the whole hissed as it swung through the air.”

“They swarmed upon me in ever-accumulating heaps” (1909)

Poe’s Selected Tales of Mystery was published by Sidgwick & Jackson in London, and it was illustrated by John Byum Shaw (1872-1919). Shaw was a British painter, illustrator, designer, and teacher. He was encouraged by the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais to study art at King’s College London. Shaw illustrates in some detail Poe’s description of the rats, the stone floor, and on the upper wall of the cell he painted demons of hell torturing the damned. Later the prisoner will see “for the first time, the origin of the sulphureous light which illumined the cell. It proceeded from a fissure, about half an inch in width, extending entirely around the prison at the base of the walls, which thus appeared, and were, completely separated from the floor. I endeavored, but of course in vain, to look through the aperture.”

The narrator continues: “Inch by inch—line by line—with a descent only appreciable at intervals that seemed ages—down and still down it came!  Days passed—it might have been that many days passed—ere it swept so closely over me as to fan me with its acrid breath…I wearied heaven with my prayer for its more speedy descent. I grew frantically mad, and struggled to force myself upward against the sweep of the fearful scimitar. And then I felt suddenly calm, and lay smiling at the glittering death, as a child at some rare bauble.” 

“The sentence—the dread sentence of death—was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ear.” (1935)

Many artists have illustrated Poe’s stories and poems. One of the most famous and prolific was British illustrator Arthur Rackham (1867-1939). Among the many books are Gulliver’s Travels, Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Peter Pan, Wagner’s The Ring, and Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1935) that included 12 color and 17 black and white plates.  In this illustration the judges of the Inquisition pronounce the sentence.  The narrator: “The sentence—the dread sentence of death—was the last of distinct accentuation which reached my ear.”

“Down–still unceasingly down—still inevitably down! I gasped and struggled at each vibration. I shrunk convulsively at its every sweep.” (1935)

The plight of the prisoner tied down is the subject that every illustrator of the story chooses. Rackham’s version illustrates the pit and the hordes of rats coming out of it to eat the food.  The narrator continues the story: “With the particles of the oily and spicy viand which now remained, I thoroughly rubbed the bandage wherever I could reach it; then, raising my hand from the floor, I lay breathlessly still.”

“At first the ravenous animals were startled and terrified at the change—at the cessation of movement. They shrank alarmedly back; many sought the well. But this was only for a moment. I had not counted in vain upon their voracity. Observing that I remained without motion, one or two of the boldest leaped upon the frame-work, and smelt at the surcingle. This seemed the signal for a general rush. Forth from the well they hurried in fresh troops. They clung to the wood—they overran it, and leaped in hundreds upon my person. The measured movement of the pendulum disturbed them not at all. Avoiding its strokes they busied themselves with the anointed bandage. They pressed—they swarmed upon me in ever accumulating heaps. They writhed upon my throat; their cold lips sought my own; I was half stifled by their thronging pressure; disgust, for which the world has no name, swelled my bosom, and chilled, with a heavy clamminess, my heart. Yet one minute, and I felt that the struggle would be over. Plainly I perceived the loosening of the bandage. I knew that in more than one place it must be already severed. With a more than human resolution I lay still.”

‘’But the moment of escape had arrived. At a wave of my hand my deliverers hurried tumultuously away. With a steady movement—cautious, sidelong, shrinking, and slow—I slid from the embrace of the bandage and beyond the reach of the scimitar. For the moment, at least, I was free.”  

Well, maybe.

“At length for my seared and writhing body there was no longer an inch of foothold on the firm floor of the prison.” (1935)

Poe and Rackham take both reader and viewer to what seems to be the very end. The narrator continues: “At length for my seared and writhing body there was no longer an inch of foothold on the firm floor of the prison…Even while I breathed there came to my nostrils the breath of the vapor of heated iron! A suffocating odor pervaded the prison!…A richer tint of crimson diffused itself over the pictured horrors of blood…“Death,” I said, “any death but that of the pit!” Fool! Could I resist its glow? or, if even that, could I withstand its pressure?…I shrank back—but the closing walls pressed me resistlessly onward. At length for my seared and writhing body there was no longer an inch of foothold on the firm floor of the prison. I struggled no more, but the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long, and final scream of despair. I felt that I tottered upon the brink—I averted my eyes—”

“There was a discordant hum of human voices! There was a loud blast as of many trumpets! There was a harsh grating as of a thousand thunders! The fiery walls rushed back! An outstretched arm caught my own as I fell, fainting, into the abyss. It was that of General Lasalle. The French army had entered Toledo. The Inquisition was in the hands of its enemies.” 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Note: Quotations of Poe’s writing were taken from several on-line sources.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning, Centreville. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.

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

Design with Jenn Martella: “Edgemar”

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William Draper Brinckloe repurposed barns into a Spanish-inspired “country home,” merging practicality with style.

Several years ago, one of my friends suggested I become acquainted with the work of William Draper Brinckloe, who lived to Easton from 1911 until his death in 1933. He was also an author of two books, “The Small Home” and “The Volunteer Firemen”. In his book “The Small Home” he mentions that he is designing a small bungalow for his family which became known as “Dutch Cottage” that became his “City Home”. Today’s feature, which Brinckloe christened “Edgemar”, was his “Country Home” and he wrote an article “The Barn Rebuilt” about his design process. 

Prior to their move to Maryland, the Brinkloes lived in Delaware and after a visit to California, they were enchanted by the haciendas and old mission buildings they found throughout the state.  After living in Talbot County for thirteen years, the Brinkloes decided to sell their house on Peachblossom Creek and to retain 4.5 acres of the property and its old barns. They incorporated the barns into their  new 4,000 sf country home. 

The original design maximizes flow with enclosed courtyards and seamless indoor-outdoor integration.

Whenever I feature a house that was designed by another architect, I ask about their design concept since each project is unique. I was thrilled to discover an article by William Draper Brinckloe in which he describes his design process and  was illustrated by his floor plans. 

The Brinckloes reconfigured two barns perpendicular to each other, added a garage and unified the three buildings with low walls enclosing a south facing cloistered courtyard to create a harmonious whole. A new sunroom spanned across the former smaller barn with doors to the courtyard. The floor plan worked very well with easy flow among the main rooms and the outdoor rooms of the front courtyard and the side porch overlooking Peachblossom Creek. 

The house has endured many changes by later owners including closing off the door from the living room to the sunroom and the courtyard; removing the wall between the sunroom and the kitchen and dining room to create a great room and relocating the kitchen to the former garage. The last change was an addition of a main floor primary ensuite behind the kitchen.  

 

Repurposed hexagonal pavers and local materials unify the Spanish-style courtyard’s sustainable aesthetic.

On the day of my visit, I first explored the courtyard with its hexagonal shaped paving stones that the Brinckloes found piled in a backyard. The walk to the courtyard were repurposed “ old flagstones form abandoned pavements and partly broken bits from the old stable”. The Brinckloes were way ahead of current LEED and Shop Local endeavors by their commitment to incorporate materials from as many local sources as possible. Among many finds were “huge hand wrought hinges, great wooden and iron locks, brass knockers, quaint brass and tin lanterns, delicate wrought iron thumb latches and shutter fasteners”. Their most treasured find was an old brass fog-bell that once tolled across the Chesapeake Bay to warn ships. 

 

Stucco walls and a shed dormer provide character and reflect the hacienda-inspired design.

As befitting a Spanish style house, the original exterior walls were stucco and the current Owner also chose a stucco finish for the majority of the interior walls. Past owners replaced the windows with insulated glazing units. I noted the shed dormer at the side of the house that sheltered the second floor’s “sleeping room” I had admired in the historic photograph and I looked forward to exploring it during my tour.

Asymmetrical gables and varied windows create dynamic views of the lawn and Peachblossom Creek.

The rear elevation’s asymmetrical massing from the two gables of differing widths and the mix of window sizes and shapes creates a lively façade. The broad expanse of lawn slopes down to Peachblossom Creek.

Deliciously spacious living room boasts historic tiled flooring, a central fireplace, and contrasting ceiling details.

I began my tour in the foyer that leads to the spacious living room with a fireplace on the opposite side wall.  The Brinckloes selected red, blue or green tile flooring for the first floor rooms and I especially liked this shade of green. Most of the rooms on the main floor have the same color of walls and ceiling but here the ceiling is painted white. The open glass doors beckoned me to the adjacent porch.

Recycled barn wood beams and warm brick floor tile pair harmonize with thoughtfully arched windows. 

The corner porch has the reddish tiles the Brinckloes selected and the wood beams that they recycled from the barn. The original openings between the wide columns were infilled when this room became a conditioned space.

The circular chimney and cozy window seat make this space a functional yet stylish retreat.

This room was the Brinckloes’ library and he designed a window seat under windows that infilled the rear walls for better views of the water. Later owners reduced the wall to wall windows with insulated units. (Adding a bay window projection for panoramic views of Peachblossom Creek would restore this exquisite room). I loved the circular chimney for the arched top fireplace that backed up to the fireplace in the adjacent living room and its stylish details of the ledge above the firebox and the sloped chimney walls above. This corner fireplace not only allows the heat to radiate into a larger portion of the room and reach more distant areas but it also frees up more wall space for windows and art.

Wide opening connects the library to porch, blending indoor-outdoor living with ease.

The wide wall opening between the library and the porch connects the two spaces and provides a view of the landscaping for the library. I especially admired the fire screen. 

By removing original partitions, the living/dinning space takes on a “great room” role, with varied flooring anchoring distinct spaces.

Past the library and the stair to the second floor is a huge great room that was created by removing the wall between the original sunroom and the former kitchen and dining room. The different flooring act like giant rugs to define each space’s function and the low pitched ceiling in the dining area adds spatial volume to the long room.

The fireplace’s subtle stepped design turns the living area’s wide niche into an architectural focal point.

The spacious family room’s focal point is the stepped design of the arched top fireplace in a wide niche in the side wall. The wood plantation shutters on both  sides of the great room provide privacy when needed. 

Timeless trim detailing in the dining area complements the low-pitched ceiling and display cabinetry.

I was drawn to the breakfront at the end of the dining area with its collection of Mackenzie-Childs ceramics. I have a few pieces and I was delighted to learn from the owner that she literally wrote the book “Celebrating Mackenzie-Childs” about these talented artisans who are based in Aurora, NY, once the hub of other artisans including Stickley. Mackenzie-Childs is known for their iconic ceramics and home décor including its signature black and white courtly check pattern.  

This cleverly designed bar area incorporates antique finishes and hidden doorway to primary suite.

Behind the kitchen is a bar area convenient to the great room and the courtyard with an antique copper sink and undercounter refrigerator. The paneled wall conceals a sliding “secret door” to the adjacent main floor primary bedroom. 

Owners opted for open shelving in the kitchen area, offering both enhanced storage and display options.

I prefer an eclectic interior design look, so I appreciated the beautiful Welsh dresser whose open shelves display more of the owner’s Mackenzie-Childs’ ceramics. The wood piece is a welcome counterpoint to the built-in cabinetry.

A sleek U-shaped kitchen layout features custom elements like a concrete island, Italian ceramic tile flooring and pickled cabinetry.

The current owner renovated the large kitchen with a “U” layout  that provides ample room for the custom island of concrete inlaid with a Chesapeake Bay fossil. The island’s size and overhangs accommodates bar stools and its center location is perfect for daily use or weekend entertaining. The two windows provide panoramic views of the landscape and keep the kitchen sunny all day. The large imported Italian ceramic tile flooring pays homage to the Brinckloes’ original flooring material. 

Natural light fills the primary bedroom’s tray ceilings blending with the muted tones to create a serene space enhanced by tranquil landscape views

Behind the kitchen and bar area is the main floor primary ensuite. The double bed shows how the spacious room could easily accommodate any bed size. Both the walls and the tray ceiling’s geometry are light blue to create a serene retreat with views of the lawn to the water from the canopy bed. 

Main floor primary bathroom features arched windows, a skylight, and soft finishes, creating a spa-like retreat.

The primary bath walls and ceiling continue the primary bedroom’s light blue color scheme. The jacuzzi tub is perfectly placed under the skylight for star gazing and the arched top windows with plantation shutters provide views of the landscape.  

Exposed beams and arched windows elevate the overlook from second floor landing while framing scenic views below.

The second floor original plan contained the Brinckloes’ bedrooms, baths, a sleeping porch across from the family bedrooms and guest bedrooms at the other end of the “L” shaped layout. The exposed beams and decking add extra height to the spaces and painting the beams white accentuates the rhythm of the beams’ spacing. From the landing, the arched top window and the lower stair landing offers a long view of the lawn and Peachblossom Creek.

Originally one open space, this porch retains charm and functionality with flexible options.

My fave room on the second floor was this sleeping porch that is now separated into two equal spaces. Since the wall is constructed of 2 x 4’s and paneling, it would be easy to liberate this charming room for teen slumber parties!

A reimagined playroom or studio spans the house, accented by high knee walls and arched windows.

The current owners removed the interior walls of the two adjacent guest bedrooms to create a large multipurpose room that now spans from the front to the rear of the house. The space offers myriad uses- playroom, studio, second floor sitting room, home theater, etc. The high knee walls add character to the spatial volume and the wide and long arched top windows at each gable wall keep the space sunny throughout the day.  

The 4.5-acre property blends historic landscaping with unique features like a boathouse and dock.

The aerial view of the 4.5 acre property shows how well the house was originally sited to balance the enclosure of mature trees to assure privacy with views of Peachblossom Creek. Site amenities include the dock and the highly coveted boathouse, (the latter being no longer allowed) and the natural shoreline. Lush landscaping includes both an oak tree and boxwoods that are 100 years old, flowering magnolias, hydrangeas and open lawn space for play for children of all ages and family pets. William Draper Brinckloe’s original vision and his period details and materials including original heart pine floors survived as subsequent owners added modern amenities to the historic framework. 

I don’t know if the Brinckloes were gourmet cooks but the updated kitchen would please this cook with its Miele steam oven, cooktop with a barbeque grille and two Fischer Paykal dishwashers for easy clean up after entertaining. The property also includes a detached two-bay garage with a John Deere lawnmower and a storage shed with electricity. 

Having written about the Brinckloes’ “City House”, I was delighted to feature their “Country House” that has been lovingly maintained and appreciated by its current Owner who considers herself a steward of this important part of Talbot County’s architectural heritage.  This admirer of Brinckloe will continue to find other houses designed by one of Talbot County’s best early 20th century architects, so stay tuned!

For more information about this property, contact Cliff Meredith, Broker, with Meredith Fine Properties at 410-822-6272 (o), 410-924-0082 (c), or [email protected] . For more photographs and pricing, visit www.MeredithFineProperties.com ,“Equal Housing Opportunity.” 

Photography by Atlantic Exposure LLC, www.atlanticexposure.com. 

Historic photographs and quotes are from “The Barn Rebuilt”, an article by William Draper Brinckloe for Country Living Magazine, November 1926   

“Celebrating Mackenzie- Childs” by Jo Anne P. Welsh, Schiffer Publishing  

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.

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

Design with Jenn Martella: American Four Square 

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The home sits among mature trees, nestled within a historic neighborhood by the Chester River.

Whenever I drove to Queen Anne County to tour a House of the Week, I always enjoyed stopping to shop at The Bohemian Trading Company across from Kingstown Park. Along the other side of the park was a row of houses that date from the early part of the 20th century. The architectural styles range from bungalows to today’s feature, a charming American Four Square house. The street ends at the Chester River where one can look across to Chestertown and admire the row of postcard perfect historic houses that always remind me of Charleston, South Carolina.

 

spacious corner lot with a full front porch overlooking Kingstown Park and surrounded by lush greenery.

This one-half acre property is surrounded by mature trees and its full front porch overlooks Kingstown Park that is a wonderful neighborhood asset. Since the street ends at the Chester River, there is only neighborhood traffic making it safe for walking one’s dog or riding a bike to the riverbank. 

 

The square hipped roof, dormer, and full porch proudly display the classic American Four-Square style.

I was quite pleased that the photographer included this aerial view illustrating the square roof shape, full porch and attic dormer that clearly identifies this house’s  architectural style as American Four Square. I have written before that one of the former houses I called home was this style and it remains one of my favorites. The aerial also shows the property’s corner location for extra privacy, an outbuilding fronting the driveway, the deep rear yard and how the house is nestled in a clearing of mature trees. 

Rusticated stone piers and tapered columns highlight the elegance of the screened porch and symmetrical facade.

The street side elevation is classic American Four Square. The screened porch is detailed with rusticated stone piers, tapered columns and hipped roof.  The main square hipped roof is topped by a wide dormer with a double unit window. The asymmetry of the window arrangement at the second floor is due to the location of the stairs to the second floor that just adds to the house’s charm.  

A functional side entry brings convenient access from the gravel driveway, complemented by a covered deck.

One side elevation faces the gravel driveway with the screened porch’s second door and steps leading down to the gravel driveway for convenient access by guests since there are no town sidewalks along the street. The one-story shed roofed part of the house was probably an open porch that has been infilled to contain a short hall next to a full bath and the laundry. The laundry’s exterior door leads to a covered deck.

Expansive backyard framed by mature trees, perfect for play and gardening with outdoor dining options.

The deep yard offers plenty of space for play and gardening, with the clever re-use of a former grille as a greenhouse. The grille next to the deck and covered porch stands ready for al-fresco dining.

A peaceful retreat with towering trees for shade—ideal for family gatherings or moments of quiet relaxation.

The rear yard offers privacy from its border of mature trees; all it needs is a hammock under the majestic trees that shades the yard.

This inviting outdoor room features wood slat ceilings, tapered columns, and a design perfect for dining or lounging.

The full front porch is a delightful outdoor room with its interior architecture of painted wood slat ceiling, yellow lap siding and slightly tapered columns resting on rusticated block piers and the stained wood flooring. The front door’s center position divides the porch into sitting and dining areas. 

Large windows and frosted accents enhance daylight, while the hardwood floors and vintage details add warmth.

The front door defines the two room wide floor plan. The large windows with blinds for privacy bring both indirect daylight from the front porch and direct daylight from the side wall. I especially liked the front door’s clever detail of alternating clear and frosted glass, which is a great way to have daylight without sacrificing privacy. The light wall color accentuates the beautiful hardwood flooring.  

Zigzag staircase blends function and style, opening up and accentuating the living room’s space.

I admired the zigzag look of the stair that overlooks the living room with its outline of the stained treads and the white skirt board. The openness of the stair visually expands the living room.

Angled corner fireplace maximizes radiant heat while preserving wall space for windows and furnishings.

A wide wall opening connects the living room to the dining room. Like many houses of the early part of the 20th century, the fireplace is angled instead of being placed squarely on the wall. This corner fireplace not only allows the heat to radiate into a larger portion of the room and reach more distant areas but it also frees up more wall space for windows and art. With the sofa against the stair, the side chairs complete the seating arrangement around the fireplace.

Wide openings enhance flow between rooms, with trim extending beyond frames for added character.

The spacious dining room could easily accommodate a larger table and chairs for family celebrations. Like last week’s  featured house, I wondered if the wide wall opening once had pocket paneled or French doors but I did not see any clues it did. I admired the detailing of the  trim around the baseboard, windows and doorway and how both the window’s header and sill trim extend beyond the jamb trim.

Neutral finishes and stainless steel details create a versatile space with a sunny view of the side yard.

The kitchen is located in the middle of the floor plan and is connected to the dining room, laundry and family room. The easy care flooring extends into the adjacent laundry and the wide window over the sink gives the cook a view of the side yard. The neutral finishes and stainless steel appliances await the next owner’s accessories.

Spacious laundry room with cabinetry and deck access doubles as a pantry for added functionality.

I always envy houses with actual laundry rooms since I have only a stack W/D in a hall alcove. This laundry also can do double duty as a pantry with its upper cabinets and a microwave. The window and door overlook the roofed deck leading to the rear yard.

Ample daylight and cozy design make this room ideal for relaxing, reading, or hosting movie nights.

This cozy room off the kitchen and opposite the stair could be a great snug with a sofa against the stairs for views through the front and side windows providing  ample daylight. Adding a wall mounted TV and more shelving for books would be great finishing touches. The corner door leads to the basement with windows at each end for daylight and ample storage space.

Rear corner placement provides tranquility, with windows on two sides that fill the room with light.

The stairs to the second floor end at a short hall surrounded by three bedrooms and a family bath. Two bedrooms are located at the front of the house with this primary bedroom located at a quiet rear corner. The front bedrooms have single windows on each exterior wall but this primary bedroom has two windows overlooking the rear yard and another side window.  

Vintage-inspired finishes, wainscoting, and soft blue tones create an airy, timeless family bathroom.

The spacious family bath has easy care vinyl flooring that evokes the polygonal tiles usually found in houses dating from the 1920’s. The soaking tub outfitted with a hand held shower, the wide pedestal sink  and the wall mounted mirror/medicine cabinet are also vintage pieces. The white paneled wainscot and the light blue wall above, punctuated by the two windows for daylight, create a charming family bath. 

There is a second door to the adjacent primary bedroom. If a main primary bedroom ensuite were desired, the main floor’s bathroom and hall could perhaps be extended for a one-story primary ensuite that could wrap around the deck. 

This charming house has great appeal from both its neighborhood location along the Chester River and its highly desirable corner lot opposite Kingstown Park. The house’s American Four-Square architectural style creates a compact floor plan with minimal halls to maximize room sizes, enhanced by neutral wall finishes and beautiful hardwood floors with abundant daylight from large windows. Outdoor rooms of the front screened porch and rear deck expand your warm weather living space and the deep rear yard surrounded by mature trees creates a play space for children or family sports. Great property!

For more information about this property, Courtney Chipouras, Vice President, TTR  Sotheby’s International Realty and MBA | RSPS: Resort & Second-Home Property Specialist at 410-410-3344 (o), 410-200-1224 (c) or [email protected] .For more photographs and pricing, visit www.mychesapeakehome.com . Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by Steve Buchanan Photography, 301-996-7295, http://www.buchananphotography.com .

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.

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Looking at the Masters: Charles Burchfield in Autumn

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Charles Burchfield (1893-1967), born in Ashtabula, Ohio, has been associated with American Modernism, but this category does not begin to capture the scope of his watercolor paintings. They are in the collections of more than 100 museums in America and Europe. He was a visionary whose love of nature in every season, time of day, and condition inspired his unique paintings. Autumn is upon us, and Burchfield shares his response to the season through his watercolors and journal entries.

“Autumnal Wind and Rain’’ (1915)

Burchfield began his journal in junior high school. He was determined to record all the flowering plants in Salem, Ohio, where he grew up. “Autumnal Wind and Rain’’ (1915) (14’’x20’’) (watercolor) is an early work that concentrates on the shapes of leaves blowing in the wind. White streaks are painted across the leaves. The viewer might think at first the white streaks are a depiction of rain. However, the hazy yellow sky in the background gives no indication of a storm. A simple compositional device, two green spots of paint in the foreground anchor the image, and the red paint at the right also holds the composition steady. The group of light gray towers to the right suggest a town beyond the trees. Another area of light gray painted in the middle ground also suggests the presence of a building with two windows. This early painting is simple, subtle, and effective. In a journal entry dated October 21, 1914, Burchfield commented on the piece: ‘’The third of wonderfully fair October days.  My heart seems ever on the point of bursting with the beauty of this autumn.  It is a golden age. All my thoughts seemed touched with the golden atmosphere.” In 1915, he wrote, “My diary seems to be a journal of the wind, sunshine and sky.” He was “gathering the materials for a lifetime.” 

Burchfield did not write about the influence of other artists on his style; however, in “Autumnal Wind and Rain’’ and other early works there is an oriental tendency. He worked as a guard at the Hatch Galleries in Cleveland in 1914. He saw an exhibition of Chinese scroll paintings. He wrote that he would “execute, in a continuous form, the transitions or sequence of weather events in a day, or several days or seasons.” These he called “all-day sketches” and there is a sense of sequence to the painting of the leaves. 

Burchfield graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1916, and he received a scholarship to attend the prestigious National Academy of Design in New York City. After just one day in a life drawing class, he left. In his early work, he had developed his own watercolor technique using washes, black ink for opaque areas, and white gouache, not acceptable in traditional watercolor. He used dry-brush watercolor on paper that stoop upright like a canvas on an easel. His unique technique would continue, but his subject matter broadened to include architecture.  Burchfield served in the army, applying his painting skills to camouflage tanks and artificial hills. He was honorably discharged in 1919. 

Burchfield married Berthe Kenreich in 1922. They had five children. The family moved to the rural neighborhood of Gardenville in West Seneca near Buffalo, New York. He was represented in 1928 by the Frank Rehn Gallery in New York City. Edward Hopper, Reginald March, and Bradley Tomlin also were represented by the Gallery. From 1928 onward, he was able to support his family by making art. The Museum of Modern Art exhibited his watercolors in 1935. In that same year his work was included in the International Exhibition of Paintings at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. Also in 1935, Life Magazine named him one of the ten most important American painters.

“Wind Scattered Leaves” (1944)

As Burchfield’s paintings developed, he added a wider landscape that included nature in all its moods. “Wind Scattered Leaves” (1944) (20”x25’’) is a depiction of autumn. Orange and yellow leaves are spread below the trees. Fields in the distance transition from bright greens to dusty brown and other pale colors. Evergreens provide contrast with the black trunk of a nearby tree in the foreground. Farther off, a dull gray-green and tan bush, still holding its leaves, is a reminder that winter approaches. Some of the black leaves higher in the sky could double as crows. Some of the leaves in the right foreground are painted with sharp brush points to depict the dryness of the season. Burchfield noted, “Most of the leaves are down, dried & pale-yellow brown but here & there some glowing red ones. A puff of wind scattered the leaves along the surface and they caught the sunlight with little halos around them.”

“Wind Scattered Leaves” (1944) (detail)

A look at the application of the paint in “Wind Scattered Leaves” reveals Burchfield’s technique of overlapping brush-strokes of color. The energy can be seen. He was a master of watercolor, considered to be the most difficult of medium. 

“Autumnal Fantasy” (1944)

 

“Autumnal Fantasy” (1944) (37”x53”) displays another aspect of Burchfield’s painting. From the beginning his fascination with nature and with Transcendentalism, developed in New England in c.1836 and promoted by authors Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, among others. Burchfield held the belief that God and nature are the same, and through intuition, emotion rather than reason, and being in nature the individual can experience the divine.  In the painting, repeating and swirling lines of paint are used the depict earth and water. Tree bark is painted with distinct and detailed patterns. 

The sunlight is painted with a mystical golden glow. The sounds of bugs and birds in the woods are created by rows of black semi-circles coming from various parts of the woods. Burchfield wants viewers to experience all of the senses–sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch–as he does.  At the end of his life, he asked, “Will I ever truly be able to express the elemental power & beauty of God’s woods?”

“Autumn Storm” (1948)

 

In “Autumn Storm” (1948) (26’’x40”), Burchfield captured another of nature’s moods, with dark clouds of a coming storm. The clouds cast the earth beneath them in darkness. The skeletal trees bend in the wind, and the dry grasses seem to quiver as the storm approaches. Burchfield’s journal reports many such experiences: “I spent some time wandering around in the woods trying to find just the right spot to carry out my idea, which has obsessed [me] for some time (the lynx woods giving the feeling of the coming of winter into the glory of autumn).” (October 17,1956) Later, he wrote, “In the north, gigantic thunderstorms were slowly moving eastward, constantly swelling upward and changing form–breath-taking sight, with such pure white tops, and never getting much darker…” (September 1, 1962) 

Burchfield was elected in 1954 to the National Academy of Design in New York. The prestigious honorary association was organized “to promote the fine arts in America through instruction and exhibition.”. He also was elected in 1958 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and received a gold medal in an exhibition in 1960. During that period, he began to experience problems with his health: rheumatoid arthritis in 1955 and a heart attack in 1963.

“October Outside” (1963)

Burchfield painted “October Outside” (1963) (39”x27’’) indoors. He continued to paint no matter his health. The viewer sees a well-weathered wood door with several decorative panels and a glass window. The outdoor scene is reflected in the window. The pickets of the fence cast green shadows across the lawn. A green pot is set on a plant stand. The black tree trunk is topped with orange, red, and yellow leaves. Burchfield suffered a fatal heart attack in 1967. He was in the yard of his home, working on a painting to be titled “Early Spring.”

The Charles Burchfield Center at Buffalo State College was dedicated to the artist in 1966. It was renamed The Burchfield Art Center in 1983 with a mission to support various artistic pursuits.  It became the Burchfield Penney Art Center between 1991 and 1994, when Charles Rand Penney donated 1,300 works by New York artists, including 183 by Burchfield. A 29-acre art and nature complex in West Seneca, New York, was named for Burchfield in 1992. 

Near the end of his life, Burchfield expressed the sentiment, “How slowly the ‘secrets’ of my art come to me.” 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning, Centreville. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.

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Spy Poetry: Week One by Sally Bliumis-Dunn

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Editor’s Note: The poet, through many fine and surprising images, describes the miniature miracle of her newborn grandchild.

Week One

She sleeps and eats, and all the while stays curled
as though still inside my daughter’s body,
in that thick calm of muffled sound that held her,
must be soothing her still
here in the room though none of us can feel it.

She is fine like a ringlet of fiddlehead fern
before it unfurls in the summer forest,
spiraled frond, close to the ground,
most of the plant still root and rhizome
hidden beneath the earth.

Her face, placid as a newly polished stone,
that sits with its perfect even weight
in the curve of an open palm.

All afternoon the soft snail of her
sleeps on her father’s chest.

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Spy Poetry: Bus Stop by Laure-Anne Bosselaar

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Editor’s Note: Amazing how the poet has used the small container of a cell phone to convey so much sadness and longing.

Bus Stop

Stubborn sleet. Traffic stuck on Sixth.
We cram the shelter, soaked, strain
to see the bus, except for a man next to me,
dialing his cell-phone. He hunches,
pulls his parka’s collar over it, talks slow and low:
It’s daddy, hon. You do? Me too. Ask mom
if I can come see you now. Oh, okay,
Sunday then. Bye. Me too baby. Me too.
He snaps the phone shut, cradles it to his cheek,
holds it there. Dusk stains the sleet, minutes
slush by. When we board the bus,
that phone is still pressed to his cheek.

Laure-Anne Bosselaar was born in 1943. She grew up in Belgium and moved to the United States in 1987. Fluent in four languages, she has published poems in French and Flemish and translates American poetry into French and Dutch poetry into English. She is the author of These Many Rooms (Four Way Books, 2019); A New Hunger (Ausable Press, 2007); Small Gods of Grief (BOA Editions, 2001), which won the Isabella Gardner Prize for Poetry; and The Hour Between Dog and Wolf (BOA Editions, 1997). This poem was included in A New Hunger (Ausable Press 2007) and posted here with permission of the author.

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