From Joshua Tree National Park to the northern Berkshires: Christie Allen of Hudson Road Photography and Robert Lafond show landscapes this winter at Tunnel City Coffee in Williamstown

Bob Lafond paints natural landscapes of the Berkshires, as well as scenes from Brooklyn streets, with a clear sense of season and light.

Photographer Christie Allen and painter Robert Lafond present photographic and painted landscapes this winter at Tunnel City Coffee in Williamstown, MA. Allen’s photographs of Joshua Tree National Park at night offer vivid perspectives on an iconic place, while Lafond’s paintings of the Berkshires provide a clear sense of time, place and light.

The show runs through early April 2019 and all work is available for in-store purchase.

“I paint both landscapes and cityscapes, mainly of the Berkshires and Brooklyn,” says Lafond. “A painting will start with some experience of a place. I will stop working on a painting when I think it says what I want, but the places keep offering more experiences to paint.”

Lafond attended the Boston Museum School and has an undergraduate degree in Art History from Princeton University, where he studied under painter Esteban Vicente. Lafond then worked at the Princeton University Art Museum for almost twenty years.

Christie Allen of Hudson Road Photography seeks out wild landscapes and up-close encounters with wildlife.

Christie Allen is a nature and wildlife photographer, getting up close with some of the most striking landscapes and animals. Allen took courses at the International Center for Photography in New York City and attended seminars and workshops to push herself further and find her niche as a photographer.

“Photography has been an outlet and passion for me since I was a teenager,” says Allen. “Learning from a variety of instructors has given me a unique perspective. Through photography, I have met many creative people who both teach and inspire me.”

Tunnel City Coffee’s winter show runs through early April 2019 and all work is available for purchase. For more information about the winter show or art at Tunnel City Coffee in general, please contact Sydney Lester at sydneylester@tunnelcitycoffee.com.

Abstract artists open fall show at Tunnel City Coffee

Regardless of place, Sarah Sutro’s landscapes reflect a sense of serenity and smart use of color.

Sarah Sutro and Dorothea Osborn present their abstract paintings at Tunnel City Coffee in Williamstown this fall, featuring rich watercolors and imaginative takes on scientific themes. Sutro’s abstracted realist paintings recall memories of existence among peaceful landscapes, while Osborn’s macro-paintings delve into life at the cellular level, sharing the beauty of biology’s smallest divisions. The show runs from the beginning of October through the end of December 2018.

Influenced by artists Paul Klee, Georgia O’Keefe, and John Singer Sargent, Sutro finds inspiration in the outside world, oceanscapes and stratified sunsets, in evocative shades of every hue. “The darkness of winter trees against snow in the Adirondacks, rich ocean blues on the south coast of MA, and layers of color in the Painted Desert in Arizona” also became part of her painting style.

Dorothea Osborn’s art comes alive with abstract representations of single-celled organisms.

Osborn lives and breathes her art, using oils, drawing materials, fabric, papers, and found objects to create pieces that reflect on modern global issues and relationships between the spiritual and physical. “Even with large scale pieces, intimacy exists, which includes many layers,” says Osborn. “I want people to come away feeling a presence of the artist’s hand, an essence of time, and an ethereal manifestation.”

Tunnel City Coffee’s fall art show runs from October 1, 2018 through the end of December 2018. All work is available for purchase.

Playing with Fire

Tunnel City Coffee roasts for a better cup in the northern Berkshires

Tunnel City Coffee roasts all its specialty coffee in small batches at its Norad Mill roastery in North Adams, MA. 

Those who frequent Tunnel City Coffee's cafes in the northern Berkshires might know a little about the work that goes into creating the best experience for our customers, but it's more involved than one might think. From roasting to cupping to brewing, we follow a rigorous process of quality control not unlike one at an average testing facility or science lab. Our roastery at the Norad Mill in North Adams, MA, is our site for trying out new roasting techniques and coffee cuppings to taste test each roasting variation. 

It’s a game of taking creative risks to extract every potential flavor in a new coffee. 

This spring, Tunnel City began offering high-scoring microlots from coffee producing regions around the world, creating even more room for experimentation. Most recently roasted in its vintage Diedrich oven was a Costa Rican microlot coffee produced by the Aguilera Brothers family operation at Finca Toño in Los Robles de Naranjo. This limited-run coffee with sweet fruit and caramel notes is the result of bold and precise testing at the roastery, playing with heat and timing to create the perfect storm for this particular bean. 

Roasters at Tunnel City Coffee test each new roasted coffee for balance and flavor using a process known as "cupping."

At least 8 hours later but not more than 24, our roasters test for flavor and balance through a rather sophisticated process known as cupping. This involves weighing out the appropriate amount, grinding the coffee to its optimal coarseness with a burr grinder, and using a pouring kettle to add the right volume of just-boiled fresh water. 

A serious cupper must be well-rested for a cupping and with taste-buds unaffected by powerful flavors like onions or hot spices. This interferes with the impression the coffee will make on the cupper and ultimately, the customer. 

The idea of exceptional specialty coffee is that significant time and effort goes into producing something one of a kind, but the truth is that the work continues even after the coffee is bagged for delivery to roasteries like Tunnel City Coffee. It’s the passing of a torch from those who produce to those who roast, and we can’t think of a more beautiful relationship. 

Tunnel City staff look forward to showcasing art to community

A handful of staff artwork –– photography, sculptures, paintings and other mixed media –– will make a home in the rotating gallery at 100 Spring St. this winter.

One of the more well known painters is Jean Bourn of Williamstown. She’s painted acrylic on canvas professionally for 10 years, but initially fell in love with it as a child during elementary school.

Tunnel City Coffee employee and local painter Jean Bourn will sell work in the winter art exhibit at 100 Spring St.
Photo by Makayla McGeeney

Formerly a receptionist at the Williamstown Savings Bank, Bourn’s animal and landscape photos of northern Berkshire County circled around the world over the years. In 2011,12 of her paintings were printed as part of the bank’s complementary calendars. Students and professors from Williams College brought the calendar on their travels to various countries such as England, Australia, and South America. Bourn said it was even shown to the Dalai Lama.

“I like making people happy,” she said. “The reaction they get when they see the painting… that’s the best payment right there.”

She also illustrated the children’s book “Thank You Harry, Love, Max.” in 2015 by local author Jennifer Holey.

Bourn’s winter gallery pieces will include one seascape and a variety of animals –– she paints mostly from images.

John Ryan, a jack of all trades, considers his style of art as illustrational expressionism with mild surrealism. His skills encompass puppetry, sculpting, writing, illustrating, performing and traveling the world.

“I want my work to come alive for my viewers. I mean that literally. Whether it is a sculpture, illustration, or puppet, my goal is to have the audience relate to the piece as though it were another living creature, if even for the briefest of moments,” Ryan writes in his artist statement.

For the winter gallery Ryan will display miniature sculptures and pencil sketches.

“If the piece makes someone’s day better and makes them think, it is a success,” he said.

Tunnel City’s employee art show runs from Jan. to March 2018 and can be viewed during store hours, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

An owl drawing by John Ryan