Meet your Maine Arts Commission

Downeasters, the Maine Arts Commission is coming to YOUR community or region this winter. Our Arts Iditarod 2018 will feature Commission staff braving the elements to travel to four of the state's eight tourism regions in January and February. Why? As we implement our five year Cultural Plan, we've got a lot to talk about, to hear from you, and to deliver as promised! This winter's Iditarod will include three 40-minute workshop intensives for your professional development: Cultural Tourism Readiness/Destination Marketing; Strategic Planning for Artists and Arts Organizations; and How to Be and Build a Better Board. Plus whatever you bring to the table! These meetings are free and open to the public, and we hope to see you at one of them.

Needle Felting with Heidi Jai

Fee: $60 (Includes materials and take-home kit)

Warm your hands and heart while learning to sculpt with wool! Needle felting is an easy to learn, creative outlet that requires no sewing, no counting and no measuring. In just a few hours, you’ll have the skills to make an ornament, a fuzzy animal, or a woolly treasure from your imagination! 

Minimum age 12 (class uses very sharp needles). Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Pre-registration is required. Limited scholarships available. If you have previously taken a needle felting class and would like to sit-in for coaching and encouragement, bring your tools and fiber. Sit-in fee: $40

Call 207-664-0222 to Register!

Mobius Scarf

Plain weave, Herringbone, or Twill 

 Call 207-664-0222 to enroll.

Fee $185. all materials included.

Friday February 23, 5-7pm

Saturday February 24, 10am-4pm

Sunday February  25, 10am-1pm

Please join us with returning weaving instructor Susan Perrine as she guides you through the creation of a Mobius/Infinity Scarf.

Get ready to create a one of a kind woven accessory. Learn about the Tabby, Herringbone, Twill or Goose Eye patterns as you design your own woven project. You’ll have access to all sorts of warping and weaving equipment including one of the looms made available in the studio.

Friday Evening

We will have our meet and greet and begin our project by choosing yarns of different weights and colors from Artsworth’s lavish supply. After you choose your warping material, the important lesson of warping the loom will start us on the right path.

Saturday

Get into the zone of creativity as patterns are created and the weft fiber is woven into the warp to create your very own fabric.

On Saturday lunch snacks will be provided in the form of a hearty soup (vegetarian), sliced baked bread, local cheese etc. Feel free to bring something to share, or an item for yourself if you have dietary restrictions.

Sunday

Students will resume their projects with a mind to finish them by the end of the day. Susan will demonstrate cutting the fabric from the loom, finishing the ends and if you like fashioning the fabric into the mobius shape.

Vitreous Enameling 101 with Emily Shaffer

Call 664-0222 to enroll

$95 (All supplies will be provided including components for a pendant and a pair of earrings.)

Saturday, March 17, 2018
10am - 3pm

Emily Shaffer, award-winning metalsmith and jeweler, will introduce you to enameling on copper. This ancient art produces vibrant colors by fusing powdered glass to sheets of copper in a 1600 degree kiln. After learning the basic foundations of enameling through interactive demonstrations, you will experiment with several techniques, such as cloisonné, stenciling, graphite mark making and sgraffito. Demonstrations: 10am - 12pm, Work Time: 12:30 - 3pm. Previous experience is not necessary.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Emily received her B.F.A and B.S. from Kutztown University. She moved to Maine in 2014 for a 1-year internship and since then has made a home in Maine creating wearable jewelry with vitreous enamel and sterling silver. Emily is the recipient of the J. Allen Pawling Craft Memorial Award, an American Craft Week 30 Under 30 Rising Star, and a 2017 Halstead Grant Top 5 Finalist.

Class size is limited. Pre-registration is required.

Please call 207-664-0222 to sign up!

Figure Painting Workshop with Philip Frey

I Can't Believe He Called, oil, 20" x 20", © Philip Frey 2017

April 21 &22, 2018  9:00am-4:00pm       

Class Fee: $200 plus modeling fee(max $45 per student)

 Call 664-0222 to enroll
Philip Frey, nationally exhibiting artist and teacher, will share his expertise and popular teaching style with you in the spacious Artsworth Studios. You will focus on the simplification of the figure in an interior setting, learning to use the space around the figure as an integral part of the composition. You’ll be working with direct observation from a live model and encouraged to concentrate on compositional studies, a limited color palette, placing color and value accurately and brush work. Philip will give daily demos and one-on-one instruction. Some fundamental experience drawing the figure is strongly suggested. There will be an hour lunch break each day.

Having taught in many venues, Philip is celebrated for his engaging, illuminating and positive teaching style. He is skilled at addressing his student’s abilities and confidence to help them move to the next level. His work will be showing in Greenhut Galleries “Portland Show” in April and Courthouse Gallery Fine Art will be mounting a solo exhibit of his work in June

 Student Testimonials

“Philip is a delight to work with, giving freedom yet challenges to students of all levels, based in a deep knowledge of expressionistic landscape painting.” -Vcevy Strekalovsky, Hingham, MA

“When I first started taking classes I was frightened to death of putting myself out there with other, much better painters and a teacher whom I admired...The first day Phil’s demeanor helped to relax my fears, he helped me to organize myself, my materials and my goals...It seemed like he knew intuitively when I was headed down the wrong path and immediately offered me an exercise to refocus...I am confident that when I take a class with him I will be challenged, supported and encouraged to be myself.” -Carol Michaud, Bangor, ME

OIL PAINT SUPPLY LIST 
Color Palette: (I use Gamblin Artist Oils. If cost is an issue, use Gamblin 1980™)
Titanium Zinc White
Cadmium Lemon (or Hansa Yellow Light*)
Cadmium Yellow Med. (or Hansa Yellow Med.*)
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red (or Napthol Red*)
Alizarin Permanent
Ultramarine Blue
Manganese Blue Hue
Viridian
Sap Green
Transparent Earth Red
Yellow Ochre
Optional Colors: Cobalt Blue, Portland Gray Med., Phthalo Emerald

Class size is limited. Pre-registration is required.

Please call 207-664-0222 to sign up!

Waiver: Kindly note that we are not responsible for any loss or damage participants may suffer in the course of the workshop due to theft, accident, illness or bodily injury.

Make a Glass Bead with Tara Parker

April 28
Reservations available between 10am-2pm   $40.00

This experience introduces you to the basics of flameworking and offers a focused experience with hot glass. Tara Parker demonstrates how to work with molten glass at the torch, and guides you through the process of making one of your very own glass beads.

You’ll start by turning a mandrel - a metal rod used in beadmaking - in the flame.

Melting colored glass rods in the flame and applying the molten glass to your mandrel will create your bead design. How you wind the glass onto the mandrel makes patterns and beautiful unique glassy designs.

Students should expect to spend one hour in the workshop as Tara makes her way to your turn the actual time spent making a bead is a fairly swift process and usually takes about 20- minutes.

Pieces must cool overnight and can be picked up the next day, or shipped within the US and Canada at no additional cost.

Age requirements- 18 and over

Call 664-0222 to make a reservation 

Weekend Writing Workshop with NY based writer, Sammi LaBue

 June 9 and 10, 2018        Class Fee: $195           Call 664-0222 to enroll

Escape distraction and self doubt. Spend a weekend writing to fun prompts and gaining tools to make a habit out of creative writing.

Sammi LaBue, MFA, of NYC’s Fledgling Writing Workshops invites you to join her for a weekend of creative writing. Write to dozens of carefully designed prompts intended to ignite your imagination, memories, and that sweet space that exists between. We’ll discuss how to combat self-doubt when it comes to writing on your own, fill up pages in a supportive environment, and listen to each others’ words while providing positive feedback. Whatever your ability level, you will end the weekend with pages of new work and tools for maintaining your writing practice at home. Open to all genres (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) and experience levels. Please bring a favorite notebook, a writing instrument, and an open mind (though if you forget the first two we’ve got you covered).

Sammi LaBue is a writer and educator based out of Brooklyn, NY. Her fiction and personal essays have appeared in many gracious publications including Glamour, The Feminist Wire, [PANK] Magazine, Weird City and others. When not at work on her second novel, she convinces others to write with her, leading various workshops throughout NYC’s boroughs. Visit Sammi’s website at  fledglingworkshops.com

Sammi was recently recognized by TimeOut - we are so excited to have her put on one of her stellar workshops with us here at Artsworth. www.timeout.com/newyork/books/the-best-nyc-writing-classes

Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm:

Morning: Greetings followed by Sammi’s methods to get the creative juices flowing.

Lunch: Light fare provided.

Afternoon: Lecture by Sammi, about overcoming the fear to create will be followed by a writing exercise, “The Yard Sale”.  Whether precious or worthless, objects live rich lives in the cellars of our imagination and memory. Stir up some creative dust in this 1.5 hour generative session. A writing marathon sure to get your hand cramping and mind whirring.

 Sunday 10:00-7:00pm

Morning: Writing exercises with “Wheel-greaser” prompts.

Lunch: Light fare provided.

Afternoon: Enjoy the unique space provided by Artsworth during the “Write-a-thon” with stations set up for support and inspiration. Finish the day with a group writing project, and the opportunity to make a piece of artwork.

Evening: Student readings/reception

Class size is limited. Pre-registration is required.

Please call 207-664-0222 to sign up!

Maine Craft Weekend at Artsworth Studios

October 13-14 (Saturday and Sunday)
10:00am-4:00pm

Artsworth is celebrating a weekend of creative activity hosted by the Heart of Ellsworth and Maine Craft Weekend. Maine Crafts Association artists will gather at the warehouse to demonstrate and show their work. Check back for a schedule of demonstrations in jewelry, weaving, pottery, stone sculpting, wood carving and glass blowing. 

Visit: mainecraftweekend.org/downeast-acadia-events/ 

10am-4pm: FireGathering Marketplace, glass blowing and other fire art demos

5pm-10pm: Live music downstairs at Fogtown Brewing

For the 9th year, we open our doors and welcome you to an event full of fiery energy and creativity. FireGathering 2018 at 25 Pine St., Ellsworth, ME hosts a marketplace featuring work by local artisans. Enjoy the FireGathering Marketplace upstairs from 10am-4pm and check out the work of over a dozen artisans, many of whom will be happy to show you how they make their work. This is a great opportunity to get last minute Holiday gifts for loved ones or for yourself! Then at 5pm, head downstairs for local brews and live music at Fogtown Brewing. At this annual event we share our love of  the fire arts with you as we do demonstrations of glassblowing, blacksmithing, pottery and torch-working. This open studio event is our way of saying "hey neighbor, come gather around our hearth!  Let's enjoy community and creativity together as we beat back the cold and dark of approaching winter." Come warm yourself by our fires and welcome the winter with us.

Marketplace Artisans:
Katia Ancona, Relaxation Artist
Robin Byrne, Felting
Joy Campbell, Clay
Jessica Harris-Prints, Felt and Jewels
Julie Havener, Jewelry and Fiber Arts
Sierra Henries, Wood Burning 
Jon Ho, Clay
Sara Levine, Massage
Jennifer May, Apothecary
Jeanne Seconde-Perkins, Fiber Arts
Roberta Sprague, Artist
Aaron Margolis, Wood Carving
Deirdre McGrath, Wood Carving 
Phyllis Shea, Lampworking
CynCyn Stein, Fiber Arts
Jeff Toman, Blacksmithing 

Questions? Call 207-664-0222