Naming Opportunities
The Museum is seeking donations – perhaps in honor or memory of a special person or event – to fund four items in time for the Museum’s Birthday Party on May 23.
- 3 unique 5’ indoor benches with arms @ $300 each
- 1 mystery specimen now at the taxidermist @ $350
Anyone interested in discovering more about the items or funding them should call Lillian Willis at the Museum.
New Mountain Lion Sighting at the Museum:“Catamount”
Slate Carving by Frank Mather
Gift of Peggy Blumenthal and Doug Murray, 2009
When Doug Murray and Peggy Blumenthal went to the annual Kings Mountain Art Fair in California in 2003, a carved slate sculpture of a Catamount immediately caught their attention because of then-recent “sightings” in and around Grafton, as well as the diorama at the top of the Museum stairs. When the artist revealed the slate had come from Pawlet, Vermont, the couple purchased the work with an eye toward giving it to the Museum. Upon moving from their Eastman Road house in Grafton, they donated the work to the Museum and then sent this information about the sculptor.
The Catamount’s artist Frank Mather was born and raised on the East Coast and learned his sense of craftsmanship and respect for natural materials from his father, a master woodworker. Mather began sculpting in college and, following graduation in 1967, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. The inspiration to carve directly in slate came from exposure to low-relief stone carvings during a hiking trip to Nepal in 1972, so he developed the techniques and hand tools necessary to accomplish the elegant lines and fine detail in his work.
Mather’s original carving was created by hand from a single piece of slate, a durable, weather-resistant stone that could allow his unique carving to be placed outdoors. All colors are the natural colors of the slate itself.
The Museum is delighted to have this artistic interpretation of a most impressive, once-native species. Thank you, Doug and Peggy!
