photograph by Vanessa Babineau

Just a few miles from East Hampton, Springs is a nabe that’s become renowned for many things in the East End. For locals, it’s where the artists live. For artists, it’s the only place in the Hamptons where they can concentrate and get away from the deafening wealth and celeb-fueled buzz a scant few miles over. Few artists agree with this sentiment more than Springs resident Peter Dayton.

A multimedia artist and legendary Boston punk musician, Dayton’s been featured in countless newspapers, magazines, and art and music blogs. His work–ranging from glazed faux-fiberglass surfboard prints to enormous mixed-media blow-ups of Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks record covers–is typical of an artist in Springs, in that it isn’t really “typical” at all. Like the late Jackson Pollack, a former Springs resident whose home has been transformed into a well-trafficked museum, many of the wildest, un-”Hamptons” artists and writers proudly call Springs home. I caught up with Peter at his cavernous art studio (actually a decommissioned auto-repair garage) last week, and he shed a bit of light on the appeal of Springs.

Can you describe Springs for some of our readers that have never visited the place before?

Springs is a very old, 17th century fishing and farming community located at the end of Long Island. It’s bordered by Three Mile Harbor and Gardiner’s Bay, two large bodies of water used by fishermen and recreational boaters as a base of operations. There are distinct neighborhoods within Springs, ethnically and socio-economically, but all the areas have one thing in common: a lot of woods.

What’s your favorite thing to do in Springs?

My absolute favorite thing to do is swim in Gardiner’s bay on a summer’s day. It’s clean, always warmer than the ocean, and there’s no danger of rip-currents or anything scary like that.

What’s a fun thing to do that you’d recommend to someone visiting here?

I would say that swimming, clamming, and fishing are the best recreational activities out here. There is water everywhere, so everything in Springs that’s fun is based around that. Springs is pretty close to East Hampton, which has parks, bowling, and a movie theatre.

What initially led to your decision to move to Springs?

I moved here expressly to be an artist in 1988, because we found a big house in good condition that had a large garage I could use for a studio. It was a good idea because I have been able to concentrate totally on getting things done. There is very little distraction here for a writer or painter… You have time in Springs.

Is there a specific genre of art that’s being created in Springs? If so, why do you think this is true?

There’s no specific genre or school of art related to Springs now, but 50 years ago it was a primary base for the abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollack. Springs attracts a wide variety of artists and writers because there’s nothing here to break your concentration. For better or worse, it’s very serene and isolated, so anyone looking to concentrate without a lot of interruptions is naturally attracted to Springs. It is also the most beautiful area I think, but don’t mention that to anyone as the rich folk might start nosing around!

What’s your favorite thing about living in Springs?

You have isolation and serenity in the winter, and then contact with the New York art world during the summer. It’s a great middle-ground for an artist.

Why live here and not in NYC?

Well, like I said, an artist needs to work without distractions. There’s so little going on out here, especially in the winter, so that’s really conducive to getting work done and being able to hone in on one’s creative “headspace.” New York is also way too expensive and way too noisy.

Has your work been inspired at all by Springs?

I would like to say yes, but I could not explain the reason why to you. I think it’s different for every artist…  Springs is like a blank slate. It’s so quiet and serene, you can do your best work here without being interrupted.

What are the downfalls of Springs?

The only things I can think of are the taxes, which are rather high because there’s no commercial manufacturing base, and some isolated parts of Springs are prone to crime. It’s also too quiet for some, but like I said, that can be a good or bad thing.

What are your favorite Hamptons neighborhoods, other than Springs?

I would say there is magic in Amagansett that’s hard to pinpoint…it’s another great artist community, with lots of music and creative work taking place. Sagaponack, which is the wealthiest zip code in America, has sadly been ruined by privet hedges and so-called ”landscape design,” but the produce is great.

Check out Peter Dayton’s work at his website and see him jammin’ old school here.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre by soelin

Morris Sharaf and the Levenso brothers of the Harvard Amusement Co. were really using their noggins one day in 1933 when they decided to turn Coolidge Corner‘s Beacon Universalists Church into a modern-day movie theater.  Almost 77 years later, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, in all its art deco splendor, still opens its doors to film, arts, and literature enthusiasts from all over Boston and the world.

Showing as part of the Science on Screen series

This weekend, instead of feeding the Harry Potter machine at a big-box Lowes, consider a more interactive,  engaging, and nuanced evening in Brookline at The Coolidge. Catch a new indie flick like Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. Or join renouned robotocist Dennis Hong, PhD, to screen The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and to talk about McCarthy era Sci-Fi, and ROBOTS! Check out the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s other program offerings (including silent films, late-night cult culture, and live broadcasts of European opera) here.

So how the hell does the Coolidge make money showing silent films and hosting robot talks? IT DOESN’T!!! and that’s the beauty of a not for profit theatre. A non-profit foundation since 1988, the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation is proud of the “unique and indelible role [it has played] in the development and social history of the town of Brookline.”  The Coolidge is just more proof that amazing things are possible when money isn’t priority number one! Just ask the folks who attend Meet Me At The Coolidge… and make memories, a program for people with memory loss and their care givers, that features short clips of classic films followed by audience discussion and reminiscence,  guided by a moderator.

The folks at The Coolidge Corner Theatre believe in the power of film as art and shared experience. This weekend, rediscover theater-going as the thought provoking, mind expanding affair it used to be.  Grab a friend (one with an open mind, preferably) and hop the Green Line C train to Coolidge Corner. The Coolidge is visible from the T stop.

The Eliot School in Jamaica Plain

Ask most children what their parents do at work all day, and you’re likely to end up with a list of vague-sounding tasks amounting to no tangible proof of work. What does the work of a systems analyst look like anyway? Like a Rube Goldberg machine under construction? Like  planet mobile with alternative orbits? At the end of the day, what is there to show for our work? What is there to hold and behold? Surely these cushy, lofty, abstractions we call jobs are confusing our youth and muddling our own sense of accomplishment!

Take heart, Boston, there’s a movement afoot to reconnect our heads, and our hands. The Eliot School, in Jamaica Plain has been providing Manual Arts education to Bostonians for more than a century, offering classes to people of all ages and vocations in everything from Woodworking to Photography, Quilt making, Bookbinding, and Graphic Arts. It is here that even those with the most inscrutable professions (think tank thinkers, financial planners, reality television stars?) who long to mold, hold and remark in the fruits of their labors can do just that.

Wood Shavers by Steve Garfield

The Eliot School’s beginnings can be traced back to 1676 when local farmers donated corn and land to fund its opening. For the next two centuries, the school educated Native Americans, Africans and colonial children, supported by an endowment from Rev. John Eliot, Minister to the Indians. In 1889, the Eliot School turned its focus to manual arts in an effort to “to satisfy that instinctive desire of human beings to create,” and as “relaxation from their sedentary vocations.” Today, its mission remains much the same.

Classes are affordable and offered on weekends and in evenings so even the whitest-collared, cube dwelling, number cruncher by day, can hone her creative talents in the off-hours. Remember that paper-towel holder you made in your high school wood shop class? Well, forget it. The professional woodworkers at Eliot School are operating on another plane. They’ll have you experimenting with pyrography (that’s burning designs into wood), furniture design, restoration and much more.

Tools by Steven Garfield

Now if you’re a parent lamenting the budget cuts in our public schools and the resulting loss of such fondly recalled classes as Home Ec. and Shop, you too can feel good about the kids’ classes offered at The Eliot School. The catalog boasts classes in Knitting, Sewing, Woodworking, Animation, and even a class in Fashion Design for kids. I can’t guarantee that enrolling your child means a paper towel holder under the Christmas tree next year, but chances are good you’ll end up with something memorable.

The Eliot School is located just off of J.P.’s business and cultural hub, Center Street. Its building, a well maintained classic schoolhouse, and neighboring Footlight Club (the nation’s oldest community theater) form two sides of J.P.’s Historic Monument Square. The Eliot School is reachable by public transportation: The Orange Line T as well as several bus lines.

Visit the Eliot School Website for class catalogs and registration information. Courses fill up fast so register now for the winter session.

To visit, get off at Court Square and walk to Jackson Ave & Davis St (23 St.), across from MOMA’s PS-1 museum. Check out this interview about 5 Pointz with curator, Mendes One: