rock paper space
I love my rock. Peaks Island is only a mile long by a mile and a half wide, but I am stuck to it like a barnacle. You know it’s going to be a good day when you start off finding just the right stick for the dog. And then, you notice how lacy the low tide has made the edge of the sea. Even the ice makes you think of an Angela Adams design. But, I reluctantly leave my rock for the mainland now and then. I go to share a classroom with bright students, and then take three middle school girls to hang out at the Portland Museum of Art, where there is an amazing collage exhibit. Here they are...
Read Morenew eyes
How did this happen already? Today I have been on Peaks Island 17 years! I take anniversaries seriously, or at least give them a moment for celebration, reflection, and a deep sigh of gratitude. Ahhhh, island life. What a trip it’s been. Marty and I traveled from San Francisco via Daly City (could barely make it out of city limits on the first day of the move), Los Angeles (thanks, Ged), Quartzite, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Old Saybrook, CT, and then…Portland. We showed up for the very first ferry at Casco Bay Lines at 5:45 AM, but no Mayflower...
Read MoreMy turn
After a summer’s worth of changing shows at the Gem Gallery, now it’s my turn. And I’m worn out!…. as are many of the loyal gallery supporters, not to mention the artists. During the most gorgeous part of August, I was inside breathing pastel dust. And loving it, in fact. Here is one piece I titled Chon Ye’s Garden. It’s a view from the kitchen side of the Cockeyed Gull, owned by Chon Ye. It struck me on my way downfront one day that I’ve always loved that building, an old creaky thing used by Maine Island Kayak, and the sunflowers were so proud,...
Read MoreGem sparkles
So much going on; so little time to blog. Good news: weather improved stupendously this past week. The air literally changed on Tuesday and I could tell September was near. I gallery sat at the Gem that afternoon, and was simply glowing in the collective sunshine of the work on display. Diane Wiencke and Carol Cartier are two consummate makers and shakers. They collaborated to hang a seamless show that radiated good energy and uncanny talents. On their price list, they didn’t even indicate who did what. Those of us that know them can tell their work apart and the rest, well, get with...
Read MoreBusy busy bla bla
If you’re thinking island life is this bucolic ho-hum of tidal backwash: au contraire. Summer in Maine means more people. It is, after all, Vacationland. Which makes it distracting as hell to keep up with your own work. Everybody and their brother is riding idly by on tandem bikes, sporting the latest trend in sneakers. Meanwhile, life goes on here. Between ferry trips on the Island Romance, I was breathing pastel dust making scenes of island skies for the annual Color of Peaks show down at the “club”…the Trefethen Evergreen Improvement Association. Yeah, the summer...
Read MoreMore wanderings
Does it seem like I am procrastinating on my own work? Is it obvious? Well, there are times that an artist needs to look around, and smell the turpentine in other places, for like, inspiration. Or procrastination. Whatever! I checked out the Addison Woolley Gallery in Portland recently. The owner, Susan Porter, is a neighbor on the island. We met, like many of us do, at a yard sale. Their yard sale, in fact. She and her husband bought a cottage chock full of vintage stuff, several years ago. This is a particular high point of island life: when an old cottage changes hands. Deals are bound to...
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