Berkshire Carousel to Reveal First Finished Horse
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Carousel is holding an open house for the dedication of Kali, the first carousel pony fully carved, painted and jeweled for the carousel being built by county-wide volunteers over the next three years.The public is invited to this event, but individuals need to call 413-499-0342 to confirm participation prior to the March 13 date. Pittsfield City Council Member Melissa Mazzeo is hosting the event.
Kali was hand-carved and painted by volunteers over the past year and is one of 11 ponies currently being carved. This painted pony was sponsored by former Pittsfield resident Mrs. Milton Linder of Phoenix, Ariz. Linder, born Shirley Fuhrman, grew up in Pittsfield and graduated from Pittsfield High School. An active member of the local community until she moved in 1961, she was the first woman appointed by Governor Foster Furcolo in September 1960 to serve on the Advisory Board of Berkshire Community College. Linder also was the president of the Pittsfield PTA Council prior to the position in which she was the BCC liaison between the college and the community. She sponsored the carousel figure in honor of the project’s co-founders, Jim and Jackie Shulman, her close friends since days in Pittsfield.
The armored pony was modeled after one carved by famed carver John Zalar in 1910. Zalar worked for carousel/builder Charles Looff in Coney Island. The original figure was on a carousel that last operated in Ocean Beach Park in New London, Conn., but which had long ago been dismantled and auctioned piece by piece. The only variation from the original design is the portrait of "Kali," the cat carved on the axe to the rear of the saddle. The calico Kali was part of the Shulman family for 21 years.
The original design on the pony's blade had the profile of a bull. As Berkshire Carousel’s figures are sponsored, the sponsor can add some personal touches or designs to the trappings or saddles as long as the original design of the classical pony remains intact. To date, 24 of the carousel‘s 33 ponies have been sponsored.
Six fully carved ponies are currently in the painting stage with four more in the carving process. By the middle of this year, one-third of the 33 carousel figures are scheduled to be completed. The carousel itself is projected for completion by 2112. Current plans for the carousel are to be located in the art district of downtown Pittsfield. The carousel is designed to include figures modeled after original classically carved horses (or painted ponies) from the Golden Age of Carousel from 1880 to 1930 when there were 3,000 wooden carousels built in the US. Of these, less than 150 survive as a whole today.
Maria Caccaviello is Director of the Project and Walter Ruess of Mansfield, Ohio is professional carver instruction volunteers in the carving techniques. Two local artists, Sue Burns and Sue Edwards, have been overseeing all of the figure painting.
Berkshire Carousel is in need of more community volunteers, who would like to carve and contribute to this unique art project, interested volunteers as well open house attendees should call 413-499-0342.
