Eastport Arts Center

where creativity and community meet

Workshop: Beeswax Candles with Arlene Wren

November 1, 2019 / / Comments Off on Workshop: Beeswax Candles with Arlene Wren

Arlene Wren will teach the art of Beeswax Candlemaking on Saturday, November 17 from 2-4 pm, at Eastport Arts Center. Each participant will create hand-rolled candles from embossed beeswax sheets, in their choice of various sized pillars or spirals. The wax will be available in cornflower blue, cranberry, forest green, french blue, holiday red, hunter green, ivory, mint, and natural. Participants will cut each beeswax sheet and their candle wick, then warm the wax with a hair dryer prior to rolling the desired candle shape.

Wren’s love of bees and honey-making inspired her to learn this technique. A rug-braider, Reiki Master and beekeeper, Wren with her husband, Mark, owns Wrenovations, a Downeast business which ranges from stained glass artwork to small-batch preservative-free personal care items.

Students should bring their own hair dryer or plan to share with someone.  Other useful tools are rulers, scissors, or a pizza cutter, which is handy for cutting the beeswax sheets with a straight edge.

The workshop is intended for ages 12 to adult; younger children may attend with an adult helper. Fee is $15/person, and includes all materials; space is limited. To participate, please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org. 

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. EAC workshops are partially funded by the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Handcrafts Grant; a sliding scale for fees is available by request.

Halloween Houses: a Children’s Workshop with Sara Myrick

October 10, 2019 / / Comments Off on Halloween Houses: a Children’s Workshop with Sara Myrick

Eastport Arts Center will present Halloween Houses, a children’s workshop with Sara Myrick, on Saturday, October 26 from 10:30 am-12:30 pm. Using a variety of upcycled materials, which is a passion of instructor Myrick, participants will be able to craft their own house and grounds, decorated as they choose—spooky or just autumnal. Cardboard, colored paper and tissue paper, seasonal decor and adhesives will be used to create the structures.

Myrick teaches art full-time for grades K-12 in the Eastport schools, and is owner of Coastal Whims, a home-based art business celebrating her love of nature and handcrafting. In her artistic practice, Myrick is a chameleon, always trying something new, and her workshops and projects have ranged from upcycling—Chihuly-style plastic ornaments and altered books— to print-making, whether on fabric or paper—to jewelry-making, using a wide array of found and handmade objects. In addition to teaching in the schools, she leads many workshops at both EAC and Eastport’s Peavey Library.  

The activity is designed for children age 6 and up; younger children may attend with an adult helper. Event fee is $5 per house; all materials are included and space is limited. To participate, please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org. 

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. 

Frida Friday: Sip ‘n’ Paint Symbolic Portraits

October 1, 2019 / / Comments Off on Frida Friday: Sip ‘n’ Paint Symbolic Portraits

Frida Friday, a sip ’n’ paint event, will be offered from 6-9 pm, Friday, October 18, at Eastport Arts Center. Organizer Sue Riddle, who has previously led sip ’n’ paint events inspired by Gustav Klimt and Franz Marc, will guide attendees in creating symbolic portraits inspired by both the works of Frida Kahlo and those of local artists whose self portraits are currently on view at EAC’s Washington Street Gallery. “I chose Frida Kahlo because of her use of personal totem/symbolism in her self-portraits,” said Riddle, and went on to explain her concept for the session: “Attendees may also choose a painting in the Self Portraits Exhibit and wish to use that as an inspiration for their own self-discovery. They may even want to express themselves symbolically, particularly if the idea of a self portrait bogs them down in self-doubt and apprehension. I am more interested in the symbolic nature of these “self” portraits than I am in the nuts and bolts of creating a likeness. The point is: Who are you, right now, at this point in your life? For me, I feel like a squirrel or chipmunk, rushing around getting ready for winter, both with collecting foodstuffs and appreciating the colors in the world that will soon be brown and/or covered in snow. I am the Ant AND the Grasshopper!”

Riddle is a San Francisco native who moved to Maine four years ago. She volunteers at Eastport’s Peavey Library and has also been leading craft classes there as an excuse to buy more washi tape. She is currently learning about spinning yarn, braiding and re-braiding cotton rugs, and messing up her kitchen trying to learn home canning.
The event is intended for adults only; fee is $20. All materials will be provided for the sipping painters, as well as things to sip (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and snacks. Space is limited; please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org.

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. The work of the EAC has been funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Summer Workshop Series: Figurative Ceramic Sculpture with Elizabeth Ostrander

August 2, 2019 / / Comments Off on Summer Workshop Series: Figurative Ceramic Sculpture with Elizabeth Ostrander

EAC’s Summer Workshop Series will conclude with a special two-day workshop, Figurative Ceramic Sculpture with Elizabeth Ostrander on Saturday and Sunday, August 17 and 18, from 12:30-4:30 pm. Participants will learn to use traditional hand-building techniques and the plasticity of clay to create a large-scale work. This accumulative process creates exciting juxtaposed surface textures, allowing the work to have personality, gesture and expression. The workshop is intended for participants ages 12 and up.

A well known Eastport-based artist, Ostrander’s creative output includes sculpture, mixed media works and digital prints. “Art is a conversation between spirit, nature and imagination,” says Ostrander. Her formal training began in the 1960s with Jose DeCreeft at the Art Students League in New York, and continued with study at the Cooper Union School of Art. After moving to Maine more than 40 years ago, she earned her BFA from the University of Maine.

Her sculptures, mixed media and digital prints are represented by Maine Art Hill in Kennebunk, ME; Maine Farmland Trust Gallery, Belfast, ME; Cocco & Salem Gal- lery, Key West FL; and Breakwater Gallery, Eastport; and she is a founding member of the Eastport Gallery. Her work is in collections of the University of New England Art Gallery, Portland, ME and Peavey Memorial Library, Eastport. In addition, Ostrander created illustrations for Wendy Buffington’s “Looking for Water”, Karen Douglas’ “Red Goddess Poems”, the Summer 2016 Café Review and the Aputamkon Review. She received the 2014 Arts and Culture Award from The Commons, Eastport.

Workshop fee of $60 includes all materials. Space is limited. To participate, please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org.

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. EAC workshops are partially funded by the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Handcrafts Grant; a sliding scale for fees is available by request.

Summer Workshop Series: Sea Glass Lightcatchers & Mobiles with Sue MacNichol

August 2, 2019 / / Comments Off on Summer Workshop Series: Sea Glass Lightcatchers & Mobiles with Sue MacNichol

Eastport Arts Center’s Summer Workshop Series continues with sea glass light-catchers and mobiles with Sue MacNichol on Tuesday, August 13 from noon-2 pm. Participants will learn to make hanging sculptures from their (smallish) beach finds; additional materials will be available. The workshop is intended for ages 10 and up; younger children may attend with an adult to help them.

MacNichol did come home again and is happy to report that it can be done. A retired teacher/librarian, she is certified to teach art in Maine schools. Her pockets tend to be full of shells, stones, feathers and beach glass that she will be happy to share with attendees as they construct mobiles and light-catchers with found treasures.

Workshop fee is $10; space is limited. To participate, please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org.

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. EAC workshops are partially funded by the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Handcrafts Grant; a sliding scale for fees is available by request.

Summer Workshop Series: Marbling with Chris Grannis

July 24, 2019 / / Comments Off on Summer Workshop Series: Marbling with Chris Grannis

Eastport Arts Center’s Summer Workshop Series continues with Marbling with Chris Grannis on Tuesday, August 6 from noon-2 pm. Marbling is the art of printing multi-colored swirled or stone-like patterns on paper or fabric. Participants will learn how these patterns are formed and receive guidance in creating their own one-of-a-kind artworks. Each participant will have a paper and a silk project to take home.

Grannis, who in addition to a wide range of artistic pursuits is Director of Eastport Arts Center, has been dabbling with various methods for marbling for two decades, driven by her love of surface design. She has been refining her current method for ten years, and is happy to share the results of her experimentation thus far.

Workshop is suggested for ages 12 & up, though a younger child may attend with an accompanying adult. Fee is $10; all materials are included and space is limited. To participate, please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org.

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. EAC workshops are partially funded by the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Handcrafts Grant; a sliding scale for fees is available by request.

Summer Workshop Series: Plant-printed Bags with Sara Myrick

July 23, 2019 / / Comments Off on Summer Workshop Series: Plant-printed Bags with Sara Myrick

Eastport Arts Center’s Summer Workshop Series continues with a workshop for all ages in plant prints with Sara Myrick on Tuesday, July 30 from noon-2 pm. Participants will explore a variety of print possibilities using organic materials, paint, and printmaking on a small muslin bag to bring home. Participants are also welcome to bring their own print materials and/or additional fabric items to print.
Myrick teaches art full-time for grades K-12 in the Eastport schools, and is owner of Coastal Whims, a home-based art business celebrating her love of nature and handcrafting.
In her artistic practice, Myrick is a wild chameleon, always trying something new, and her workshops and projects have ranged from upcycling—Chihuly-style plastic ornaments and altered books— to print-making, whether on fabric or paper—to jewelry-making, using a wide array of found and handmade objects. In addition to her teaching gig, she leads many workshops at both EAC and Eastport’s Peavey Library.

Workshop fee is $10; all materials are included and space is limited. To participate, please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org. Also, please note: youth may arrive early (11:30 am) to receive a free lunch through Eastport’s Summer Lunch Program.

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. EAC workshops are partially funded by the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Handcrafts Grant; a sliding scale for fees is available by request.

Summer Workshop Series: Garden Stone Casting with Richard Klyver

June 24, 2019 / / Comments Off on Summer Workshop Series: Garden Stone Casting with Richard Klyver

Eastport Arts Center’s Summer Workshop Series continues from 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, July 6, with Garden Stone Casting. Instructor Richard Klyver will help participants to create a low relief mold in wood of a Maine wildlife or plant image. A concrete mixture will then be poured into the mold to form unique garden stepping stones. If preferred, a vermiculite mixture may be used to create a piece suitable for hanging. After learning this technique, participants will be able to use their wooden mold for more casting at home.

Multimedia artist Richard Klyver is perhaps best known locally for the bronze mermaid who overlooks the walkway downtown, created in what is perhaps the northernmost outdoor bronze foundry in the world. Much of Klyver’s art has been inspired by his extensive travel in Africa in the 1960s, during which he drew, painted and sculpted animals and people, and began his teaching career. One highlight, while visiting Gombe Stream in Tanzania, was drawing the chimpanzees studied by Jane Goodall, who though frequently photographed, weren’t otherwise ever drawn. The lexicon of works from his impassioned journey are still being produced today.

Klyver’s works are in the Smithsonian Museum, the Yale Peabody Museum, New Haven, CT, and many private collections. He has created illustrations and sculptures for Loren Coleman of the International Museum of Cryptozoology in Portland, ME. Recent work with students at Eastport’s Shead High School have included a bronze casting class, two group mural paintings, and a fashion drawing course, which resulted in a fashion drawing book featuring artwork by Shead students and currently for sale on Amazon.com.

The workshop is intended for ages 12 and up; $40 fee includes supplies. Participants are asked to bring a lunch and a dremel tool, if they have or can borrow one. Space is limited; please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org.

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. EAC workshops are partially funded by the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Handcrafts Grant; a sliding scale for fees is available by request.

Summer Workshop Series: On Your Marc … Get Sip! … Go! A sip ‘n’ paint exploration of the animal art of Franz Marc

June 9, 2019 / / Comments Off on Summer Workshop Series: On Your Marc … Get Sip! … Go! A sip ‘n’ paint exploration of the animal art of Franz Marc

A sip ’n’ paint event inspired by Expressionist painter Franz Marc will be offered from 7-9 pm, Thursday, June 27, at Eastport Arts Center. Organizer Sue Riddle, who has named the event ‘On Your Marc … Get Sip … Go!’ notes “I am drawn to Marc for his fabulously colorful animal paintings—which are just juicy, glorious things. In one article I read, it mentioned that he wanted to see animals from their perspective, but he also wanted to use colors as symbols of certain qualities and emotions.”

Participants in the event (a follow-up to Riddle’s Sip ’n’ Klimt, inspired by the works of Gustav Klimt, held last year) can choose to copy directly from a Marc painting or create a tribute based on an animal photo brought from home. Another option is to attempt to recreate or continue one of Marc’s ‘lost’ works, referencing images from Marc’s sketchbook, created in the field near the time of his death in World War I. All materials will be provided for the sipping painters, as well as things to sip (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and snacks.

Riddle is a San Francisco native who moved to Maine four years ago. She volunteers at Eastport’s Peavey Library and has also been leading craft classes there as an excuse to buy more washi tape. She is currently learning about spinning yarn, rediscovering her love for birding and keeping a sketch journal.

The event is intended for adults only; fee is $20. Space is limited; please preregister with Alison Brennan at (207) 454-8822 or alison@eastportartscenter.org.

The Eastport Arts Center is at 36 Washington Street, Eastport, and at eastportartscenter.org, and is handicapped-accessible. The work of the EAC has been funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Wool Felting Double Header Enmeshed Participants in a Fascinating Medium

May 14, 2019 / / Comments Off on Wool Felting Double Header Enmeshed Participants in a Fascinating Medium
Meg McGarvey selects colored roving as part of a workshop in wet-felted fiber beads. Photo by Brandy Argir

Participants in Audra Christie’s back-to-back wool felting workshops on April 27 and 28 immersed themselves in gloriously colored and textured wool roving and batting, hot sudsy water, and a special camaraderie as all engaged with the near-magical material in the transformation process of wet felting. The Saturday group learned to make spherical beads and the more complex sushi roll beads, similar to millefiori glass work. Necklaces, key fobs and earrings were then formed from the beads. Sunday’s group (which had six in attendance from the previous day) took on the lengthier task of creating a wet felted vessel, and spent nearly four hours in carefully building up the layers of malleable material, then shaping the resulting forms. Some attendees became so enamored of this process as a result of the felting immersion weekend that ongoing felt experiments are a new passion. Learn more about Audra Christie, a returning EAC instructor who taught us the art of Painting with Wool in May 2018 (needle-felting an image onto a wet-felted wool sheet) at her website, audrachristie.com. And watch for a wealth of summer workshops opportunities coming soon!

A felted wool vessel, product of a satisfying if laborious process, is shown filled with experimental felted cording made the day after the workshop by a participant who just can’t stop felting. Photo by Lauren Koss

For more information about EAC education and outreach programs, please visit our Education page or email Alison Brennan, Education & Outreach Director, at alison@eastportartscenter.org. EAC workshops are partially funded by the Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Handcrafts Grant; a sliding scale for fees is available by request.

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Eastport Arts Center
where creativity and community meet
36 Washington Street • P.O. Box 153
Eastport, Washington County, Maine 04631

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The work of Eastport Arts Center is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. The work of Eastport Arts Center is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

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