I have to include Ellen Weiske in my round up. She works mainly with wire and created some of the wittiest work I saw on Deer Isle. Her wire framed plates (above) and quilt look like intricate drawings and throw the most beautiful shadows. I wanted to take it home with me but it was far too large and fragile for my suitcase.
One of the things I like to do (and my kid’s are learning they have to do…) is visit local galleries. I didn’t expect to find so much work I wanted to buy on Deer Isle. John Imber ‘s abstracts at gWatson Gallery in Stonington broke away completely from the quaint-cottage oils that seemed to pop up a lot. (Imber’s work above is titled Blueberries and Cream). Stanley Beilen‘s lovely oils are currently on show at gWatson (below).
We stayed on Deer Isle, off the coast of Maine, for a sunny week. The island is dotted with beautiful homes but it was Haystack, an art and crafts school, that really caught my eye. It was the only contemporary building I came across. The campus, which sits amongst pines on a sloping 40-acre property in the town of Sunshine was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes in 1960. A central stair functions as the spine with studios and accommodation branching left and right in a series of seperate structures. Barnes managed to take the cedar shingle that is so common on the island and make it modern by completely cladding every building in silvery scales. The roof line is flat, the edges crisp and the cedar has weathered to a lovely grey. As soon as I figure out how to get the pics of my Iphone I will post more images of this place!
An amazing two weeks. Feels like we’ve been away for months. A week in New York (the High Line – above – is extraordinary but more on that later). A weekend in the Adirondacks at a beautiful lodge (below) and then a week in Maine where I found some great artists and stumbled upon Haystack…more on all that soon. Right now there are jetlagged children to deal with.
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