I grew up in Belchertown Ma, near the Quabbin Reservoir. My street, Old Enfield Road ends in the water of the reservoir, and you can see the pavement trail off under the water. That’s because the town of Enfield Ma (along with 4 other towns) were demolished in the 1930s to build the Quabbin Reservoir (which supplies Boston with water) In the 1990s for my first solo art exhibition (summer between sophomore and junior year of art school) I made a body of work about the Quabbin and showed it at the Clapp Memorial Library in Belchertown. The show consisted of large scale charcoal and inkwash drawings of the town halls of the towns, and a piece where I filled a five gallon bucket found in the woods of the reservoir, with ink, and reflected images of the towns in the surface. There was also a piece that involved ice casting rooftop shapes and hanging them in a tree to drip over the course of the opening reception.
Owen Maloney the director was so supportive. The bucket filled with ink actually had a gaping hole in the side that I patched with epoxy. I can’t believe he let me install this in the library. It never did leak but how trusting that was! Thank you Clapp Memorial Library.
– Sarah Rushford
575.3 G828c
First Floor, Main Library
The Public Library of Brookline 