Tuesday, November 10, 2009

4th Annual Gifted Hand Show This Weekend



Please Join Us for the Fabulous Event :

The Gifted Hand: Fine Art, Craft and Gift Show (4th Annual Show). Friday November 13, 10am-5pm & Saturday November 14, 9am-4pm. Holiday Inn (Tennis Court Area) 215 High Street, Ellsworth. • Featuring over 55 locally and nationally recognized Maine artisans • Birdsacre Benefit • Music by Hawk Henries • Café Area by Cleonice & Table Bistros • $2 admission, children 12 and under free • www.GiftedHandShow.com or call 664-2404 for information

More info. below in the full press release...


Press Release: Gifted Hand Art + Craft Show to benefit Birdsacre

Birdsacre Wildlife Sanctuary and The Gifted Hand: Fine Art, Craft and Gift Show are teaming up to celebrate Birdsacre’s 50th anniversary. Each year The Gifted Hand Show partners with a local nonprofit, which receives a large portion of the show admission. This year, Birdsacre will benefit by receiving up to 50% of the show admission, as well as any additional donations given at the door.



This is the 4th year that The Gifted Hand Show is taking place in Ellsworth. Last year the show was recommended as one of the top ten winter craft shows to see in New England by The Boston Globe’s Travel Blog and featured in Bangor Metro Magazine and on Maine Public Radio. The Show provides a fun fall outing, featuring live music, delicious food, and exceptional art and crafts created by artisans from all over Maine. Featuring over 55 locally and nationally recognized artisans, this juried show has fine art in acrylic, pastel, collage and watercolor and work by eleven jewelers in gold, silver, lampwork glass, dicrohic glass, beachstones, precious gems and intricate beadwork. Visitors to the show will also find stained glass, leather, children’s goods, woodwork, digital prints, pottery, handwovens, women’s clothing, quilts, handknits, holiday cards and ornaments, blown glass, stone, housewares, handcrafted soaps and lotions and more. Of special note is Blue Hill artist and illustrator Rebekah Raye – she will be signing and selling her brand new book, Bear-ly There, a tale of how to deal with visiting bears. Several vendors sell Maine made edibles like gourmet chocolates, blueberry products and jams and jellies. There are many goods available in the $10 - $50 range to meet the needs of Holiday shoppers. All artisans involved are carefully selected for the quality and professionalism of their work and goods. Snacks and light meals are available for purchase from Cleonice Bistro of Ellsworth and Table Bistro of Blue Hill and café seating is available. Sullivan musician Hawk Henries will provide Native American flute music for the enjoyment of all attending…a fitting match for Birdsacre.



Imagine a place where you can hike on peaceful walking trails within minutes of High Street’s busy traffic, where injured birds can be brought for rehabilitation, and severely injured birds are sheltered permanently and cared for by diligent volunteers. Now open your eyes and see this place: Birdsacre, right in Ellsworth. Birdsacre/Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary is a 200 acre wildlife sanctuary with a bird care facility and shelter for non-releasable injured birds. Many of us who grew up in the area remember school visits and field trips to Birdsacre to see their educational programs. Founded in 1959, Birdsacre currently focuses on maintaining the home and woodlands of Naturalist Cordelia J. Stanwood for the enjoyment of this and future generations. Birdsacre’s facility in Ellsworth also includes three major walking trails and their Richmond Nature Center and Gift Shop. Trails and grounds are available for public use throughout the year. The Richmond Nature Center is open May through October and tours of Cordelia Stanwood’s homestead are available June-September. Birdsacre has been chosen as the 2009 partnering nonprofit for The Gifted Hand Show because of the Wildlife Sanctuary’s ongoing enrichment of life for residents of and visitors to Ellsworth. Over the past 3 years The Gifted Hand Show has raised $5,000 for local nonprofits, including The Grand Theatre in 2008, Ellsworth Arts in 2007 and DTA Center for Learning and Growing in 2006.

The 4th Annual Gifted Hand Show will take place on Friday November 13th, 10am-5pm and Saturday November 14th, 9am-4pm at The Holiday Inn (in the tennis court facility) on 215 High Street, Ellsworth. Admission, a portion of which benefits Birdsacre, is $2.00 with children 12 and under admitted free. The Gifted Hand is part of The Arts Across Ellsworth initiative to support local Maine artisans and make their work available to the public. With many of the artisans involved coming from the MDI, Blue Hill, Ellsworth and Bangor areas, the show provides an easy opportunity to shop local with professional Maine artisans and Maine businesses. In addition artisans from all over Maine are participating, creating a beautiful and diverse pool of offerings. For a full roster of participating artists and craftspeople, detailed directions to the show and more information, visit www.GiftedHandShow.com or call Christina Heiniger at 664.2404. Volunteers are always needed to help on show days. Please call Christina if you would like to donate your time to help make the 2009 show a big success for Birdsacre and the participating artisans.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Upcoming Fall Events


Just wanted to let you know that I'll be at...

• The Common Ground Fair this weekend in the Maine Marketplace East Area (don't look for me in the crafts area, you won't find me there...I'll be in the Maine Marketplace East tent which is near the Pine Gate and across from the South Orchard and Gardens).
Common Ground Fair will be happening this coming weekend Friday, Saturday, Sunday September 25th, 26th, 27th in Unity Maine. For info go to www.mofga.org The gates open at 9am all days and vendors usually close at 6pm.

• I'm also pleased to announce that my puppets will be exhibited and sold at The Work of The Hand Show at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. I will be exhibiting my newest and fanciest hand puppets. There is a collectors preview evening on Friday October 9th from 5pm-8pm with an admission of $15. Then the show runs every day October 10 through 18 (Monday through Sunday) 10am-5pm with an admission of $5.00. For more information go to www.cmcanow.org .

I'm also going to be selling my stash beads and stickers and other little things at a Fall bead show I'm organizing with Ginger Manna of Bella Colore. Here is the information:

• Beads and Baubles Downeast Fall Bead Show, Friday October 2, noon-6pm & Saturday October 3, 9am-4pm. At the Holiday Inn, Ellsworth ME
Door prize of over $100 worth of beads. $1 admission, children 12 and under free. For more info call Ginger Manna at 207.469.2860

Other Upcoming Shows:
Mark your calendar now for The Gifted Hand: Fine Art, Craft and Gift Show (4th Annual Show). Friday November 13, 10am-5pm & Saturday November 14, 9am-4pm. Holiday Inn (Tennis Court Area) 215 High Street, Ellsworth. • Birdsacre Benefit • Music by Hawk Henries • Café Area •
$2 admission, children 12 and under free.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Arts Across Ellsworth July


My next upcoming show will be the Arts Across Ellsworth Arts Festival upstairs at the Maine Grind building in Downtown Ellsworth. There will be 17 Artists and Craftspeople at the show. They'll be all kinds of neat things there like handbags, aprons, totes, wooden cutting boards, lamps and lampshades, jewelry, watercolors, accessories, children's goods, art dolls, lampwork glass, beads and more.

Please join us for this fabulous show! Details are below.

July 24 + 25
Arts Across Ellsworth Arts Festival
Arts + Crafts Show + Sale
Fri. 10am – 6pm; Sat. 10am – 4pm
Maine Grind Building (upstairs)
192 Main Street
Downtown Ellsworth

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Creature Feature II: The Sequel


As I write this, it's a glorious Spring day. Yay! Go Spring!

As you may know, I am always looking for ways as an artist to contribute to my Community through the Arts. My latest project is a fun art show called Creature Feature II. Artists Sarah Brandon, Linden O'Ryan and myself are currently showing 10-12 animal paintings each in The Grand Theatre Lobby in Downtown Ellsworth. At the end of the month, we'll be selling these Awesome paintings for a very affordable $75-$50 each in a special sale. We'll be donating 10% of our art sale proceeds to The Grand Theatre. Here are the details — please join us and support The GRAND...
Creature Feature II
Special Art Show + Sale
Friday May 29th, 4pm-7pm +
Saturday May 30th, 10am-4pm
Grand Theatre Lobby
Downtown Ellsworth, Maine

Show currently on view during Grand lobby hours, 10am-4pm M-F + 1 hour before the events.

I'm debuting a few really cool new Fern House Studio items during the sale:
- New Fern House Studio STICKERS! Yes! STICKERS!
- 2 New Fern House Studio card designs: "Munch! (rabbit)" and "Flower Garden." You can also get these here on my website Fern House Studio Website
- NEW PUPPET SHADOWBOXES. The Peacock Shadowbox is pictured above. These are ultra fun wall pieces featuring my finger puppets. Currently on view in The GRAND Theatre ticket kiosk. Check them out!

If you can't make the Creature Feature Sale, or want to reserve your favorite piece before the sale, you can see and purchase Creature Feature paintings at my website www.fernhousestudio.com

Websites + Contact Information of Participating Artists:
Sarah Brandon - www.sarahbrandonart.com - 546.2998
Christina Heiniger - www.fernhousestudio.com - 664.2404
Linden O’Ryan - www.lindenoryan.com - 244.0463

Hope to see you there!