Tuesday morning Studio- The New, The Old, and The Not quite Finished gathering for a conversation. The more the merrier I suppose. When pieces come back to the studio they are back in the mix as they say. . .. . The top Raven-Goldfinch piece will get reworked a bit and head out again into the world next month. Two new panels have been washed with base colors and await their next incarnation while the Cormorant piece is slowly coming along- I am happy with it just not quite there yet. All is well-
It happened again. . .. A year comes to an end!
So, This blog thing, I continue to try to embrace it with my organic “free range” life here in Maine. That said Summer and Fall blurred together and I am preparing for 2019’s years end- Oh my!
As an early resolution I will attempt again to write as I work becasue it does help and gives one pause.
Ending this year with some birds and some things they are telling me. . .. . . .
Peter
Summer Show at Shaw Contemporary Jewelry Gallery
I first met Sam Shaw in 2016, our first year in Maine, when walking into his space in mid-winter. North East Harbor might as well have been a ghost town, but there was Sam in his “uniform”- bright orange shirt and striped pants ( at least that is what I remember). He welcomed us whole heartedly and since I have found this is what the people of Maine do. Sam is a maker through and through and his “safety third” approach to life something I live within my studio. Nothing is too sacred and nothing impossible! No Fear!!!
Flash forward to this past Fall and Sam contacted me to show this summer with him and I could not be more thrilled! Come to the opening if you can! Thursday July 25, 5 - 7:00pm • Main Street, North East Harbor, ME.
Rugosa Rose and Summer in Maine
Nothing is as intoxicating as the briny sea breeze engulfing one with the sweet smell of beach rose in full bloom! Since calling Maine home these coastal and unfortunately invasive plants have drawn my attention for their ability to thrive in the rocky, sandy, salt sprayed periphery of Maine. Originally an ornamental brought from Asia they spread rapidly through sea dispersed seedings up and down our Maine coast, in fact from Novia Scotia to Florida!
Looking back at the Camden Hills from Isleboro in June means Pink and white roses are in full bloom.
As an Artist I see them as magical and beautiful additions to our coast. I have yet to find out if they are a problem for other species of plants or animals but for now they inhabit my new work in a William Morris inspired manner. I did read recently that they are actually helpful in control of beach erosion, create safe animal habitat along the coast, and that their rose hips, which remain all winter, are a great source of winter food for coastal animals.
For now I will enjoy the summer blooms and use these beauties for inspiration-
“Beach Roses at Sandy Point” 36”x36” Mixed Media on Wood Panel.
Detail from a new work, “Stripers and Beach Roses” 36” x 18” Mixed Media on Wood Panel
Studio Monday - Preparing for the "Season"
Summer in Maine is short is what everyone told me when I moved to here in 2016. I totally get it now. . .
Growing up in Western New York State brought long seemingly endless winters, but I was young then. A short summer that also is “The Season” for gallery Artists, here in Maine, makes for a long year not unlike being a farmer I believe- hoping first that the crops will grow and produce fruits of one’s labor, but also be purchased by hungry patrons enabling one to do it again the next year.
Photographing and preparing to deliver work for a July Solo Exhibit in NE Harbor, Maine.
The winter allowed for much work to happen and now with June here the work gets signed, wired, edges painted out, and prepared for delivery in hope that this crop will be the bumper crop and allow for next years work to begin once again. With that said I have already been offered two solo shows for 2020 and need not only monies to survive but to purchase new paint, wood panels, and other materials to prepare next years “crop”.
Happy farming. . . . I mean making. . . . . .
The Alewives are Running!
Spent the day in Brooksville, Maine where the incredile Bagaduce River works its way 12 slow miles emptying into the Penobscot Bay near Castine. This day in May we were especially fortunate to view the diadromous Alewives making their way upstream to spawn. The river was alive and so full of life- You felt as if you could walk on the water atop the backs of the tens of thousands of fish working their way upstream in bits and spurts, resting, and then again fits and spurts, and then again. Amazing!
Recently I had begun some new paintings with Alwives and the rushing spring waters of Maine as the focal point and this was a treat to see this first hand. I think my new work captured the feeling I had imagined and this has all helped me complete the paintings for this summer’s exhibitions. I am always working in that space between the imagined and the experienced, but together magical things can happen- That is what I am always searching for in my work.
A Love of birds - An Ongoing Story.
I have always been drawn to birds, but while at Louisiana State University I was able to explore my fascination with the natural world with a more hands on approach when my graduate printmaking facilities shared Foster Hall with the LSU Museum of Natural History. I could spend hours on rainy Louisiana days studying birds, moths, and other specimens up close and personal. Life in Louisiana also found me overcoming a life long fear of water when I purchased my first boat. Exploring the brackish waters that separated land and the Gulf of Mexico was a wonderland of birds, fish, land, and sea! I was in love.
20 plus years later I still find myself drawn, yes a pun, to birds and other wildlife. Living now on another coast with so much to see I continue my science and storytelling through picture making, The above images are small studies from the Lunar Cycles Series begun two years ago in Maine and are on view at Makers’ Market Shop and Studio in Brooksville, ME this summer.
I spent much time in the bird collection at LSU as our Printmaking Program shared the basement of Foster Hall on the LSU campus.
Water on my Mind
The world outside my studio is my inspiration, my source of joy- Sunlight bouncing off the mirrored surface of the Penobscot Bay always captures my gaze. Winter in Maine has a particular feel and look that is toally different than what we will see in a few months, maybe even tomorrow. I love the reflections of the sky and earth that transport my mind to other places, other times.
Inspiration and Ways of Seeing
My LOVE of folk art and of being a traveling Itinerant Artisan initiated a small series of paintings based on lures and water; Rethinking traditional mark making techniques to say what I needed to in these peices as well as “building” the imagery through layers and layers of paint and other materials started something that now has me giddy and obsessed.
Read moreA Love of Color - Painting, Textiles, and being a Maker.
Article by Christine Macchi of Maine Fiber Arts in preparation for a Fall show of ours in Topsham.
A great visit by Christine to the studio in Stockton Springs to discuss Fiber Arts, Painting and a life of creating. Although a gray rainy wintery day in Maine she captured some great images that show how important color is to my daily practice of making and how two Artists live and work together.
Read the whole story: https://folio.mainefiberarts.org/kuhn-walls-studio/#more-4433