Eastport Gallery is pleased to begin the new year with special spotlights on our members, exploring their backgrounds, influences and favorite experiences. First up is Helena Bosse.
As far back as Helena can remember she loved creating art! Early in school she began with drawing and then she discovered color and really took the plunge. Today her work vibrates with color and depicts life in Maine … landscapes, seascapes and gardens bursting with blossoms. She mostly works in oil, but we sometimes see delightful watercolors too. She has been coming to Eastport for decades and has been an Eastport Gallery member for more than 10 years.
While Helena has always been an artist, her career as a teacher sort of snuck up on her. She was working as a hairdresser, newly married and taking art classes at night. Her teacher had a hands-off approach to teaching, but students had lots of questions. Helena, friendly and engaging by nature, couldn’t help but to provide answers. This frustrated the teacher, but the other students appreciated her hands-on approach and began gathering at Helena’s instead. Eventually Helena ended up teaching in the night school program.
She did have one teacher that she really appreciated: Ed Healy. Healy was a big influence on her work. Helena appreciated how he would demonstrate techniques and how he always found something good to say about students’ work. "He was such a gentle soul,” remembers Helena. Healy ultimately became a good friend.
As a mother of four, Helena also volunteered in her children’s schools. They had no formal art program so Helena wanted to fill the gap. One day the students were really getting into their paper mâché project. Enthusiasm and paper and glue were exploding all around her and Helena walked out of the classroom thinking, “I feel the happiest I’ve ever felt.” Two of her children were in high school and two were in elementary school and Helena, now in her forties, was also still working. Despite all that, with the encouragement of some valued mentors, she decided to go to University of Maine and get a degree so that she could teach art. Five years later she had a degree and a vocation that she loved.
Helena lights up when she talks about teaching. She loves how children aren’t afraid to explore or do something different. “They just seem happy with what they do,” she says. By 5th grade, children tend to become more reserved, she says, but whatever the age, Helena’s philosophy is to try to come up with projects that allow the students to be successful. She feels that art should be rewarding and fun. She loves when art makes people happy. Like her mentor, Ed Healy, she also likes to do demonstrations, such as how to paint trees, or how to depict fog.
Helena aims with her current work to bring people happiness. “Hopefully what I paint evokes a sense of warmth and well-being to the viewer. I try to show life as it should be: a peaceful place you want to escape to!” When you view her work at eastportgallery.com/helena-bosse you will witness the sunshine and joy she brings to the canvas. She also has a nice selection of cards and prints available when Eastport Gallery's Water Street location is open. As well as in Eastport Gallery's current online exhibition, Helena's work may be seen on display at Hampden's Edythe Dyer Community Library for the month of January. She has numerous paintings on view year-round at Old Town's Wisteria Floral Shop on Main Street.
To view the work of all the member-artists of Eastport Gallery go to eastportgallery.com/artists and enjoy!