This week I swap my writer’s hat for my artist’s hat. On Friday night October 10th I’ll be one of 120(!) Maine artists in the 10X10 Art Show. It’s a fundraiser for Arts Are Elementary. AAE is a non-profit organization that brings local artists into Brunswick public elementary school classrooms.
For example, AAE sends
Charlotte Agell to help first graders write and illustrate their own picture books. Before Charlotte began writing young adult fiction (
I reviewed her latest,) she wrote and illustrated 9 picture books. The painting above is one of three she has in the 10X10 show. Even cooler, Charlotte’s daughter and mother each contributed three pieces.
The blue jay pastel is by Anna Simmons, Charlotte’s daughter. Anna photographs the flighty birds, and then works from her photos. She’s a student at
Maine College of Art.
"Monhegan Island" by Margaret McDonald, Charlotte’s mother
“Two Fish” by Catherine Worthington
Howard Solomon’s collage “Free American Men” jumps out of the box, challenging our assumption of what constitutes art and how we define American men.
I was impressed to find two paintings by my children’s pediatrician,
William Wilkoff. Will has also written four parenting books. This town is crawling with multi-talented people!
All artworks are ten inches by ten inches in black frames. The show is called 10X10 for the size and the opening date (10/10/08.) The overall effect is like a patchwork quilt, and there are more than artists in this quilting circle.
Local businesses like
Portland Glass donated the framing materials which volunteers assembled. Judith Long (left)and Lucy Cooney (right) were the masterminds behind the black frame show concept, borrowed from the Bayside Neighborhood Association in Portland. Many, many other volunteers helped out. Thank you!
The art above and many other pieces are on display in the Morrell Meeting Room at the
Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick.
The library is but one of the three locations for this huge 250 piece art show. Don’t forget to cross Pleasant Street to visit the two other venues.
The opening poster art by Natasha Kempers-Cullen, my two watercolors and many other works will be on display in the
Brunswick Business Center at 18 Pleasant Street, almost directly across the street from the library. The art is hanging in the Points of View Gallery. Isn’t that the perfect venue for an artist/novelist?
Regular blog readers might remember my post
Art and Lunch at Bailey Island about painting the first watercolor. The second watercolor I painted at the same place where
Charlotte Agell and I hiked. Seguin Island is also in my header painting and in several posts about Popham Beach. Every artist was asked to write a statement. Here’s mine:
Moving to coastal Maine inspired me to paint landscapes. My medium is watercolor because it captures the flow of the ocean. It is also easier than oil paint to take on location. I usually complete my watercolors in one afternoon, racing the tide and waiting for the sun to reveal the shadows. A challenge for me in this show was working smaller and squarer than I usually do. A long rectangle works more easily with the coastline, yet I’m pleased with these square compositions. Bailey Island is one of my favorite places to paint. After a refreshing swim off Cedar Beach, my children built a seaweed fort while I painted. I had to work quickly as the tide was shifting, swallowing the sand. I let the watercolor flow like the incoming sea. At just the right moment, a sailboat breezed by. I love those serendipitous moments that make painting on location so special.Morse Mountain in Phippsburg is really more of a hill, but it affords a great view of the flat coast. In September the leaves were just beginning to turn. I bushwhacked from the peak to an outlook of Morse River and Popham Beach. Seeing Seguin Island was a welcome surprise. The painting didn’t work well as a rectangle, but when I cropped it into a square for this show, it clicked.
A little farther down Pleasant Street toward the town center is
Gallery Framing, the third venue for the 10X10 show.
Every art piece is priced at $200 and will be sold off the walls starting Friday night October 10th 5-8pm. We artists will be at the opening and eight Brunswick restaurants donated appetizers. The live sale continues Saturday October 11th 10am-4pm. The remaining works will be up until November and will still be available for purchase. The artists and AAE will split the profit.
The10X10 show is part Brunswick & Topsham Art Walk. On the second Friday of every month, you can visit many artist studios, galleries and café displaying art for sale. The art walks are sponsored by
Five Rivers Arts Alliance.
October is a lovely time to be walking around Brunswick and Topsham. The maples are blazing red.
10X10 on 10/10Benefit Art Exhibit & SaleFriday Oct. 10, 5pm-8pmand Saturday Oct. 11, 10am-4pmBrunswick, Maine1. Morrell Meeting Room at Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St.
2. Points of View Gallery in Brunswick Business Center, 18 Pleasant St.
3. Gallery Framing, 12 Pleasant St
All artwork priced $200 and ready to hang to benefit AAE
Read more about the 10X10 show in
this Times Record feature.
The pond in the woods behind my house.
P.S. I just stopped by the Brunswick Business Center to see where my paintings were hanging in the Points of View Gallery. The show opens tonight (Friday 10/10.) Ha! Here's where you can find my art:
You can read or leave comments by clicking on "comments" below.
I'll be adding comments about the art sale's progress too.
