me arts ed

By Barri Lynn Moreau

Haystack in September

I used to be a big fan of the summer months, but now as I get older, I find that September is my favorite month.  There is something about the colors of September, the feel of the wind, the blue, blue of the sky with the puffy white clouds zipping by.  But September is also one of the most hectic months of the year for most of us who are parents and educators, it means another school year is upon us.  I find myself gearing up for the stress of the season: the schedules, the changes, the meetings, the planning for the meetings as everything starts to speed up.

September sky

Peaceful reflection time is at a premium; it’s hard to turn down the volume of the details in my head.  But sometimes the universe provides the perfect antidote.  In my case, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens has become an antidote to stress and a sanctuary for my sanity.

Of course, driving north up Route 1 during fall foliage is always a treat, even with the hordes of traffic, but once you arrive at the gardens, you are enveloped in a magical place full of sights, sounds, and smells of harmony.  My multi-generational family took an impromptu field trip one Saturday; all of us found inspiration and points of interest.  There is such beauty in the natural world, especially all around here in Maine.  But, at the Coastal Maine Gardens the beauty of nature combined with the unexpected beauty of large and small art installations and garden areas devoted to all the senses just transported me.

An early morning in September

For all who are stressed, consider giving yourself a health day and get yourself up to the gardens.  You won’t be disappointed.  In fact, you might even feel a little bit of grace as your body begins to decompress.  The gardens radiate powerful healing; the art work inspires.

Maine Art Educators Conference

Turning onto the Haystack road brings a smile to my face. Unloading the car, walking up onto the deck, looking down towards the flag pole with the water beyond is so special. Hellos and hugs follow rather quickly and before we know it we’re at work in a weekend studio. Much to fast the weekend is ending with the tour of studios and being amazed at the work that was accomplished in such a short time.

I attended the Primitive Firing workshop at Haystack in Deer Isle, ME this weekend and it was GREAT! My session was conducted by Kathy Hammond with Mia Auger collaborating. Along with a terrific learning opportunity we had beautiful weather.

The 16 participants jumped in enthusiastically, previous experiences varying widely. We learned not only from Kathy and Mia but each other. We started our Friday afternoon session learning the possibilities for pit and barrel firings with an overview of the history and looking at several examples. We quickly went to work creating new work and working on surfaces of bisqueware.

We had a variety of materials to select from to alter the pottery including stickers, glue, wax, salt, copper, iron, Miracle Gro, masking tape, fresh leaves and vegetable and fruit peels to name a few. The more “open” the clay body, the more readily it absorbed color from the firing materials.

We also learned how to burnish or alter the surface with a thousands of year old idea called Terra sigillata that was used on the early Greek pottery.

On Saturday morning we built the large pit for firing many of the pieces. We created the circle with cinder blocks so we didn’t need to dig down, just built up. The first layers were from saw dust, hay/straw. We nestled the pots in the 6 inches of thickness. On top layers of hay/straw, seaweed, horse dung, shredded paper and wood. The firing took about 6 hours.

Saturday evening we fired our barrel’s continuing the learning, exchanging of ideas and experimenting to enhance our knowledge. These took about 2 hours to burn down a fair amount in our trashcans.

In between studio work of course there was time for enjoying the wonderful Haystack cuisine, an early morning walk to the water for the first light of day, viewing the artists slides, bidding in the silent auction which raised $1600.00 for the scholarship fund, chatting with old friends and making new ones.

The opportunities to talk about art education were endless. I can’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful weekend talking about teaching and learning than with a group of art educators who are passionate and dedicated to education!

New Museum Opens in Downtown Portland

Logo by Duncan Hopkins, under the supervision of Loren Coleman

Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals and has been around since the 1940s. During the last few years more exhibits and museums have been established.On November 1, 2009 the International Cyrptomundo Museum will open at 661 Congress Street just down the street from the Portland Museum of Art.

The mission of the museum is to share as many of the items collected by one person during the last half a century. Special artwork including drawings, bronzes, paintings, and sculpture creations by the world’s leading cryptozoology artists will be featured in the museum.

It’s taken 6 years to make this reality come true. Once open the museum hours will be Tuesday-Saturday, 11AM-7PM and Sunday, 12-5PM. Admission, all ages, $5.00. Please be sure and visit.