October is coming to a close; the leaves are still beautiful but falling, now. We still have flowers in our front yard; one purple gladiolus bloomed and I snatched it to put into a vase in the kitchen. I detected a chill in the air downtown and wore a jacket but of course the Mainers were all in their shirtsleeves. Winter is coming, but it isn't here yet!
You may notice the picture of me in front of a lot of portraits. This is my wall of linoleum prints, hand-painted. There are 20 in the edition of "Memory of Ofelia" and fourteen are exhibited at Ofelia's in downtown Bangor. It is a rare experience for a printmaker to have most of an edition up on the wall...kind of the Warhol effect! Opening night of the exhibit was a lot of fun, with music and refreshments and plenty of people enjoying the artistic ambience.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Weekend on Cranberry Island
Badge and I caught the ferry to Cranberry Island Saturday morning. We stepped onto a small boat; it had a cabin with two long bench seats as well as seating in the back exposed to the elements (and the beautiful view).
Two artists (Mr. Heliker and Mr. LaHotan) had built a lovely home on the island and left it in trust for Artists to use, so there are Residencies people can apply for. My fellow printmaker from Austin, Anna Marie Pavlik, was the only applicant for the first Printmaking residency and I was glad to be in the neighborhood. We picked her up at the airport here and took her to the ferry a couple of weeks ago. It was very nice for me that Patricia Bailey (trustee for the Foundation) invited me to assist Anna Marie with a printmaking workshop on the island this past weekend, letting me and Badge spend the night in the main house Saturday.
It all worked out well because Badge didn't mind taking a bicycle and going around the island on his own while A-M and I were in the studio. Patricia also took him around in her pickup truck; she is around our age, probably closer to Badge's, and actually grew up in Beaumont, Texas! So we had some things in common.
Anyway, for me it was an ideal mix of art and sociability. We had our successful printmaking workshop with about eleven adult attendees, wine and brie for lunch, overlooking flowers and then the coast and water beyond...open house that afternoon with visitors coming in and lots of conversation about art and life...a turkey and dressing (and pie) dinner at the church that evening, the final one before the summer residents left until next year. Badge and I elected to walk back "home" after the dinner rather than perch in the back of someone's pickup...it was romantic til we discovered we'd taken a wrong turn and gone 20 minutes in the wrong direction!! I got a bit cranky but Badge insisted he knew where we were, and actually, he did because we finally found a familiar corner and then Patricia pulled up and verified that we were nearly there (but she had to turn around and get Anna Marie back at the church).
That left me and Badge walking toward the house alone, off the road, on a long path between two pich-black walls of tall trees. The road was just a grayer shade of dark beneath our feet, the sky a roof of charcoal over our heads. We walked forward, hand in hand, setting our feet down onto the unseeable path, moving forward together on blind faith.
And then we saw the gate, the sign, the lights in the house, and we all gathered around the big Ben Franklin stove in the kitchen, lit the fire, and talked over the day together til people's eyelids started drooping and it was time to go to bed.
Sunday Badge and I were to take the 3:45 ferry, so that gave Anna Marie and me some time to try an experimental printmaking process in the studio while Badge and Patricia went exploring. Rendezvous at 1 for brunch, eggs, brie, champagne, grapes and good company. It was cooler than the day before but sunny and beautiful.
The sun is still shining, and I'm happy to be back here with the Badger Boys in Bangor. Love, Janet
Two artists (Mr. Heliker and Mr. LaHotan) had built a lovely home on the island and left it in trust for Artists to use, so there are Residencies people can apply for. My fellow printmaker from Austin, Anna Marie Pavlik, was the only applicant for the first Printmaking residency and I was glad to be in the neighborhood. We picked her up at the airport here and took her to the ferry a couple of weeks ago. It was very nice for me that Patricia Bailey (trustee for the Foundation) invited me to assist Anna Marie with a printmaking workshop on the island this past weekend, letting me and Badge spend the night in the main house Saturday.
It all worked out well because Badge didn't mind taking a bicycle and going around the island on his own while A-M and I were in the studio. Patricia also took him around in her pickup truck; she is around our age, probably closer to Badge's, and actually grew up in Beaumont, Texas! So we had some things in common.
Anyway, for me it was an ideal mix of art and sociability. We had our successful printmaking workshop with about eleven adult attendees, wine and brie for lunch, overlooking flowers and then the coast and water beyond...open house that afternoon with visitors coming in and lots of conversation about art and life...a turkey and dressing (and pie) dinner at the church that evening, the final one before the summer residents left until next year. Badge and I elected to walk back "home" after the dinner rather than perch in the back of someone's pickup...it was romantic til we discovered we'd taken a wrong turn and gone 20 minutes in the wrong direction!! I got a bit cranky but Badge insisted he knew where we were, and actually, he did because we finally found a familiar corner and then Patricia pulled up and verified that we were nearly there (but she had to turn around and get Anna Marie back at the church).
That left me and Badge walking toward the house alone, off the road, on a long path between two pich-black walls of tall trees. The road was just a grayer shade of dark beneath our feet, the sky a roof of charcoal over our heads. We walked forward, hand in hand, setting our feet down onto the unseeable path, moving forward together on blind faith.
And then we saw the gate, the sign, the lights in the house, and we all gathered around the big Ben Franklin stove in the kitchen, lit the fire, and talked over the day together til people's eyelids started drooping and it was time to go to bed.
Sunday Badge and I were to take the 3:45 ferry, so that gave Anna Marie and me some time to try an experimental printmaking process in the studio while Badge and Patricia went exploring. Rendezvous at 1 for brunch, eggs, brie, champagne, grapes and good company. It was cooler than the day before but sunny and beautiful.
The sun is still shining, and I'm happy to be back here with the Badger Boys in Bangor. Love, Janet
Sunday, October 7, 2007
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