May 04 Saturday
The Museum will host a family-friendly event to fund our youth educational programs. Tee times from 10 until 1; prizes awarded for best score, best team score and best group score (clubs and large organizations).
Artwork depicting favorite animals will take shape at a kid-centered “ANIMAL ART” workshop at the Chesterville Town Hall, Saturday, May 4, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Facilitated by local artist Susan Schell, the workshop will provide paper and supplies and welcomes families and kids of all ages. Pictures will be matted either to take home or to display at the Chesterville Center Union Meeting House for the “Animal Tales” open mic event Saturday May 11. So bring the kids, watch their inner artist at work, and enjoy this fun and free event. The Chesterville Town Hall is located at 409 Dutch Gap Road in Chesterville. For more information call 754-0311.
On May 4 and 5, from 10 am to 4 pm at the Bagaduce Music Performance Hall, fabric artist Jo Hesse and fiddler Owen Kennedy will present “Music is the Fabric of Community,” a weekend of dancing and crafting that will combine the traditions of Scottish music and Turkish felt-making to create beautiful rugs. Participants can attend lectures, workshop, or concert, or all of the above. For more information, go to www.bagaducemusic.org
Yay! It’s Vernal Pool season!
Come learn about the amazing web of life that abounds in our vernal pools. Bonnie Potter, who has been exploring vernal pools for decade, will be our guide.
Of all the interesting ways to observe the advance of spring, vernal pools are one of the most fascinating. A vernal pool is a temporary woodland pond or small body of water, often overlooked, which plays a central role in the life cycle of many amphibians and turtles and the organisms that rely on them. They have important implications and impacts on local wildlife, outdoor recreation, and forestry operations. We invite anyone to come and learn why vernal pools are so important to protecting Maine’s woodlands.
Participants will learn about the species of frog, turtle, and salamander that rely on vernal pools; learn to identify and count egg masses; and learn about the complex dynamics that make vernal pools so fascinating.
Join Maine Micro Artisans at Orchard Ridge Farm for a celebration of spring! The Apple Blossom Festival will feature makers from our talented community as well as food trucks, games, face painting and live music. Have a great family photo taken, sample local foods & indulge in handmade excellence.
On Saturday morning at 11, come make your own apple blossom wreath! All materials you need will be provided. You'll create a wreath with faux apple blossoms that will be a beautiful way to welcome spring right on your front door. Please purchase your tickets in advance for this.
On Sunday afternoon at 1, come make a whimsical apple blossom headband! All materials you need will be provided. This activity uses a hot glue gun and kids 9 and under will need supervision. Please purchase your tickets in advance for this.
Check out the event on Facebook for more information and the latest updates!
YAA is proud to host a group show featuring textiles, paintings, and other work created by library staff. The reception will be April 27 from 4-6:00 in the 2nd floor gallery space at the library.
INTRODUCTION TO LINOLEUM ETCHING (PRINTMAKING)@ Waterfall ArtsMay 4 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm$65.00 – $85.00
Learn to etch linoleum using drain cleaner!
This class will explore the technique of etching linoleum with caustic soda (lye). This “kitchen safe” technique produces a wide range of textures and mark-making, and it can be printed in both intaglio and relief. The result can range from a loose painterly style to halftones or fine lines and can, of course, be combined with traditional lino-cut carving.
We will make a caustic soda paste from sodium hydroxide crystals (aka drain cleaner), wallpaper paste crystals, and water. This will get hot and produce fumes (that we will stay away from for a few minutes) but then it will stabilize to a paste that can be stored in a glass container for up to a week. We will explore ways of applying the resist, or stop out, and use the caustic paste to create various effects.
All materials and tools needed will be supplied. Bring any source imagery that you would like to work on, keeping in mind the loose nature of this technique. This class is for adults, ages 15 and up, who have a basic understanding of any type of printmaking.
About the instructor: Paul Valentine graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in architecture. He has worked as a museum exhibit designer and as an architectural designer before switching to focus full time on creating art. He has exhibited artwork and painted murals in Qatar, Italy, Russia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, and the United States and participated in a 9-month Artist Residency at the FireStation Museum in Qatar. He has dedicated a significant portion of his life to exploring the natural world, having trekked over 10,000 kilometers of long-distance trails including walking across the US twice on the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, and the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand. The impact that sleeping under the stars for almost 2 years during these adventures has had on his work cannot be overstated. Seeing the first-hand effects that we are having on the world propels him to use his art to help inspire people to take better care of the beautiful and magical places we have all around us.
Waterfall Arts256 High StreetBelfast, Maine 04915
If an effort to reduce waste and to learn new skills the library is offering a Repair Cafe!If you haven’t heard of a repair café before it’s a global movement that started in Europe but has grown into a global organization with the goal of reducing waste as well as educating people on how to repair the items that break everyday rather then throw them away. It's a great way of connecting members of the community that are familiar with repairs and those that aren't but are excited to learn! On Saturday May 4th from 10 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. the Repair Cafe will be at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Bath to host a group of volunteers who will work with patrons to repair their items, this is an excellent opportunity to learn how to repair common items rather then have to replace them.
We will have experts able to repair electronics, lamps, mend clothing, small appliances, sharpen tools, wooden furniture and Jewlery. If we are unable to repair your item we will make suggestions on were you can find the parts and learn how to do the repair or have it professionally repaired. Please bring your items to the library, through the outside doors to the Morrell Meeting room along middle street. This is a first come, first served program and depending on the turnout we can't guarantee we will be able to help every one or repair every item.
Our goal is to help our community learn how simple many repairs can be and that their are local experts within our community willing to help. If you have any questions or if there is something you would like repaired but don't know if we can help at the repair cafe please call the library at 725-5242 ext 4.
(ELLSWORTH, MAINE)—Heart of Ellsworth, GrowSmart Maine, and the Ellsworth Historical Society will host the third annual Jane’s Walk in downtown Ellsworth on May 4, 2024. Community activist Jane Jacobs inspired this global festival of free, volunteer-led walking conversations. Jane’s Walk combines the simple act of exploring a place with personal observations, local history, and civic engagement.
The Jane’s Walk festival takes place each year in May in more than 200 cities and towns around the world. Nearly 50 walks are happening across Maine and two in Ellsworth -- one in the morning, and one in the afternoon.
The morning walk, Riverside Renewal: Forest Bathing next to the Union River, will start at 10:00 am at the River Walk North trailhead, behind the Ellsworth Public Library. Led by Shep Erhart, a Certified Forest Therapy Guide and founder of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables, this walk is a unique opportunity to experience the traditional Japanese practice of forest bathing. To ensure an intimate and immersive experience, this walk is capped at six participants. Don't miss out, RSVP now to secure your spot.
The afternoon walk, Life and Death in Ellsworth, will start at 3:00 p.m. at the Old Burial Grounds on State Street. Led by Jen Sala from the Ellsworth Historical Society and Nancy Smith of GrowSmart Maine, two esteemed local experts, this walk will provide a unique perspective on the urbanization and modernization of our small city. Participants will walk through downtown Ellsworth, stopping at locations of interest, including former schools and boarding homes, to discuss past, current, and potential uses of our downtown’s valuable historic buildings.
When participating in either walk, wear comfortable shoes and bring your curiosity about Ellsworth's history and interest in the downtown district. More information and registration for the morning walk can be found on Heart of Ellsworth’s website: https://www.heartofellsworth.org/janes-walk.
LINDA PACKARD: POEMS I MEANT TO WRITEJanuary 19 - May 3, 2024
Maine-based artist Linda Packard has created a new body of abstract paintings for the Zillman Art Museum’s exhibition Poems I Meant to Write. The show features large-scale works that measure up to six feet—the artist’s largest paintings to date. While the works are non-objective, Packard states that she “remains strongly informed by her many years as a plein air landscape painter,” and that she, “continues to be drawn to the same organic shapes, rich textures, and earthy palette.”
Packard’s gestural movements around the canvases are intuitive, her brushstrokes varied and sensitive. The paintings highlight the physical properties of oil paint as rich surfaces emerge through a series of layers and revision. The artist also uses pigment sticks, charcoal, crayon pencils and graphite to diversify the texture and quality of her marks.
In line with the expressive spirit of earlier Abstract Expressionist painters, Packard’s works convey both energy and mood. By combining well-defined marks that seem to hover atop other thin, veil-like passages, she has created implied environments that give the illusion of deep space. Upstairs by the China Lamp, with its palette of crimson tones and glimmers of peachy-orange, has a fiery intensity; while vivid blues combine with grayed undertones to evoke atmospheric associations in When Hope Was Returned to Me.
This exhibition is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, and a grant from the City of Bangor Commission on Cultural Development.
Image: Linda Packard, Upstairs By The China Lamp, 2023, Oil on canvas, Courtesy of the artist