Seaside Saturday: Images of the Maine Coast ~ June 18th

I visited my favorite spot on the Maine Coast this past week, but unfortunately my camera batteries died so I wasn't able to take any pictures. I've dipped back into the archives to share this photo from a summer's day on the same beach.

Please click on the image for a better view. You can also find this photo in my Etsy shop.

Wordless Wednesday ~ June 15th

[Please click on photo so you can see it better.]

Seaside Saturday: Images of the Maine Coast ~ June 11th

Welcome to Seaside Saturday. I've finally got some fresh photos to share. I took them just yesterday when I returned to my old stomping grounds -- the Willard Beach area of South Portland (Maine).

It's such a picturesque place...

I loved seeing the three-masted schooner sailing toward Portland Head Light.

This is one of my favorite times of year in Maine, when all the flowering bushes and trees are blooming.

Click on each image for a better view.

I didn't capture it very well, but the contrast of these bright red blossoms next to the dark purple leaves was amazing!

This is a view of the shipping channel. The big oil tankers pass through here on their way to Portland, one of the busiest ports on the Eastern seaboard.

That's one of the islands of Casco Bay, called the calendar islands, in the background. Just don't ask me which one, because I'm not quite sure!

You know, I've never been on a sailboat. But when I look at all the boats in the bay, I have to say that sailing certainly looks like an ideal way to experience the Maine Coast!

I hope you will be enjoying your own Seaside Saturday today!

Life is more than work ~ June 7th

Sharing a card I made for a friend who works too much... Just a little reminder to all of us to stop & smell the roses!

Wordless Wednesday ~ June 1st

[click on photo for a better view]

The Biennial at the Portland Museum of Art ~ May 29th

I finally made it to the 2011 biennial show at the Portland Museum of Art the other night. The show includes 65 works of art from 47 artists with ties to Maine. There were some really interesting pieces in the show, and I thought I'd share a few with you. (Please click on each image for a better view.)

This is one of my favorites, an interactive exhibit called Synergy 17.

The globules are each made from 3 lbs. of wax.

I love the colors of this painting, Early Morning Light.

The exhibit made of chairs in the foreground is from artist Lauren O’Neal. It's called The Earnest Contingent.

This huge cut-paper piece is Natasha Bowdoin's Untitled Alice. One blogger described it as "a visual take on Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass."

 

A patron walks by Calvary #2 by Marissa Girard

Below is a view of For The Trees by Avy Claire of Blue Hill, a series of panels of polyester film upon which the artist used a rapidograph to create a forest of ethereal trees from words.

I was impressed by this huge drawing of a barn. I can't imagine how many hours it took artist Carol Rowan to create it.

As someone who loves mixed media, I got a kick out of the fact that artist John Walker used bingo cards as backgrounds for his oil sketches.

And, because it's my blog and I can do what I want, here are 4 photos from this Maine photographer that were submitted to the biennial but not chosen for inclusion in the show:

Sunset Reflected by Elizabeth T. Schoch

Forgotten by Elizabeth T. Schoch

Stacks by Elizabeth T. Schoch

Twilight Silhouette by Elizabeth T. Schoch

I call this series of photographs Looking Up. These photos were created on two evenings in April 2010 as I walked through the section of Portland, Maine, bordered by India Street, Federal Street, Hancock Street, and Commercial Street.

As I walked through the spring evening, I wanted to take a different perspective when shooting. I began shooting up at what was above and around me. With this exercise, a number of questions arose: How often in our busy lives do we take time to truly notice our surroundings? How often do we look above eye level? What are we missing as we move through the world?

What I found when I looked up were colors, textures, shapes, and architectural details that intrigued me.

I hope you've enjoyed this mini art show. There are several articles that have been written about the biennial, so if you'd like to read more and see more photos, view a list of articles here. You can also read about the prize winners here. If you're in the area and haven't seen the show yet, it'll be up through June 5th.



Oh, domesticity! ~ May 26th

One of my favorite quotes is from the author Laurie Colwin in her novel, The Lone Pilgrim. I remembered it today when reading Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance. She mentioned Colwin as an author who celebrates domestic delights. That reference sent me to the Web to find this quote, which I used to have displayed on my refrigerator.

"Oh, domesticity! The wonder of dinner plates and cream pitchers. You know your friends by their ornaments. You want everything. If Mrs. A. has her mama's old jelly mold, you want one, too, and everything that goes with it -- the family, the tradition, the years of having jelly molded in it. We domestic sensualists live in a state of longing, no matter how comfortable our own places are."
                                                                                             from The Lone Pilgrim by Laurie Colwin