Walking down Free Street in Portland looks a little different than I how I used to remember it. The silhouette of the Children’s Museum, where as a child I once milked a plastic cow, grabbing false udders and having a milk-like substance spit itself in a pail, is gone. In 25 years, perhaps I will be the one to talk to my friends of how Portland has changed; it wasn’t always this way, the way my friends talk to me now. Perhaps it will seem more metropolitan, more sleek, or perhaps more crowded and impersonal.
The Portland Museum of Art, which I remember being so large as a child, seems a lot smaller now as I walk past the intersection, down High Street against traffic. The Dead Pearl Diver, is no longer peeking through the rotunda, lying himself down for me to sneak a peek at his bare chest. The kneeling figure of Raising Cairn has always seemed like a long-standing collection piece in the museum, but it enter the world the same year I did, in 2000.
On the left side of the intersection of Spring Street and High Street is the historic Safford House, restored and now the home of Woodhull, where our show, Atlantic Morning, is installed. On the right, The Little Tap House. For the first five years of my life, my mother worked at a restaurant, Katahdin, that was exactly at that location until 2009. I remember being small, watching a lightbulb shatter on another waitress as she tried to change it. My mother once told me one of her coworkers stole a dog out of a car parked right on Spring Street and took it home with her at the end of the night, and was her pet for years.
In the Safford House, just across the street from these memories, is Atlantic Morning. To me, a pure and pristine space that has no identity yet in my mind. One day, I encountered a couple who were dining at the Little Tap House across the street and were intrigued by our signage to come in. Curious about what the insides looked like, they had always passed by and remarked upon it, one man being an architect himself. What has always been a big brick building in a city of brick buildings to me was a landmark of mystery to them. What was likely just a restaurant to them, are hazy memories integral to who I am. What is a street for someone else, is last leg of a journey home. What had always been a mystery to some, has been home for others.
I have often encountered people coming through the doors, where they sheepishly admit they were really most excited to see the inside of the Safford House. Never knowing what the inside looked like, what the building was for. To others, coming through this exhibit, it was reliving a previous life, as they had worked in the building when it was owned by the Portland Society of Art. There were photography darkrooms located in the basement, and offices in the upper floors.
What is special about a Lights Out show is that it opens a space up wholly and completely to the audience. New energy and life is created once the art is installed, but the life previous lived by the space is still intact. Installing in spaces not intended nor designed to showcase art gives a space for the art to be in conversation. With the space, negotiating who has dominance, the staircase or the creature underneath it crawling through green paint, along with memories that people have a place. Atlantic Morning might solidify memories for those who spent long hours, developing photos in the basement, that this is a real living place again.
Scott Stuart, Director of Millwork at Woodhull, recently sat down with Daniel Sipe and Reed McLean to discuss the installation of Atlantic Morning in the Woodhull offices. A man of fine detail, as any good woodworker should be, Scott chats with us about a life of woodworking, the importance of being thoughtful about work, and the process of creating a show together.
Scott’s primary focus as Director of Millwork is working with architects, designers, and clients during design. He keeps the shop fully aware of project goals and objectives. Once the project is underway, Scott ensures those goals and objectives are met as they transition from ideas to physical objects.
As a professional woodworker for most of his life, Scott spent his formative years working in a small, family-run design firm and an architectural millwork shop before working with Maine’s premier yacht-building companies and a nationally recognized cabinet firm. Scott finds inspiration in the world around him through travel and art. He finds that his passion for collecting art leads to a deep and personal connection with the artist, which enriches his life and helps local economies.
October is your last chance to see Atlantic Morning!
Available for just three more days, Atlantic Morning closes on October 26th! This Friday and Saturday are the last times to check out the show, and the beautiful Woodhull building.
If not Atlantic Morning, here are two other art shows to attend Friday!
What: Lajos Matolcsy Retorspective Show
When: Opening October 3rd, 5p-7p. Fridays and Saturdays from 12 PM to 3 PM throughout the end of the month.
Where: Lajos Matolcsy Art Center, 480 Main Street, Norway, Maine.
What: Maine Craft Association Craft Apprentice Program Showcase
When: Opening October 3rd, 5p-7p. The Barkan Gallery will be open Monday – Friday, 10am – 12pm & 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm and by appointment through end of month.
Where: Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, 103 Cochran Rd, Edgecomb, ME
Upcoming Programming:
Community Art Night
Sundays, 2pm-5pm in the Community Room at Lights Out!
Why make arts and crafts at home alone when you can do it with others! Bring your materials or some of ours to spend some time being creative! Recent projects have included, painting miniatures, mixing DJ sets, darning and sewing, watercolor journaling, beading, painting and drawing, clay sculpting, and more!
Community Lunch + Volunteering- Cordelia’s Last Meal
Wednesdays, 10am-2pm in the Community Room at Lights Out!
We are coming down the home stretch before the Norway Maine Arts Festival and we need your help preparing! Join us for painting signs and chairs that will be out during the arts festival. Georgia makes yummy lunch for anyone who volunteers, or, wants to stop by! This week she is going to make veggie tempura at Cordelia’s request for their last meal at Lights Out, YUM! If you are interested in stopping by for volunteering or eating lunch, email cordelia@lightsoutgallery.org
Dark the Night and Bright the Stars
Everyday except Tuesdays and Federal Holidays, 11am-7pm at Waterville Creates, Ticonic Gallery, 93 Main Street, Waterville
Atlantic Morning
Friday, October 3rd from 5pm-7pm and Saturday, October 4th from 12pm - 4pm at Woodhull Architects at 93 High Street, Portland, Maine
Craft Apprentice Show
Friday, October 3rd from 5pm-7pm until October at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts at 103 Cochran Rd, Edgecomb, ME
Lajos Matolcsy Retrospective Show
Friday, October 3rd from 5pm-7pm at Lajos Matolcsy Art Center in 480 Main Street, Norway, Maine
Allison McKeen at The Commons- Extended Until October 19th!
Open Tuesday-Friday 11-4 and by appointment on weekends. Don’t miss your chance to see McKeen’s quilts in Belfast now through mid-October.