Where: Little Dog Coffee Shop
87 Maine Street, Brunswick ME 04011
When: March 2-31, 2012
Cost: Free
(Hours: Mon- Sat: 6:30am-6:00pm, Sunday 7:00am-6:00pm)

While modern TV dramas such as CSI, Law and Order, and Parenthood blanket the air waves and shape our understanding of modern society, those of us of a certain age are still informed by the TV shows of our youth. In her homage to Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Capuano puts us face to face with the characters of this memorable drama. Front and center in each frame, Laura, Albert, Pa and Doc Baker bring us back to a “simpler time” but when the issues faced were just as important as they are today.
Drawing parallels to the current day, Capuano states: “they talk about real issues like drugs, death, friends, family, and supporting each other”. Her paintings reveal the larger than life part these fictional figures can play in our lives. Fourteen of the legendary T.V. show characters adorn the walls of the Little Dog in March. Come get a cup of coffee and have a sit down talk with Laura, Pa, Nellie, and remember the life lessons learned.

SPACE’s Free For All is an unjuried group show featuring works by a wide variety of artists in a democratic curatorial experiment. This call invites artists of all stripes to bring work to be displayed at SPACE. Both seasoned artists with multi-page CVs, and emerging artists who have never shown to the public find room on the walls for this fun exhibit.
Both Spindleworks’ 25th and 30th anniversary exhibitions were held at SPACE gallery and we think of this thriving non profit as a great supporter and friend. SPACE holds events for people from all walks of life and this show is just one example of their inclusive nature. Don’t miss this jam packed fun show.

What is this project?

HUSOWORKS is a three-month collaboration/residency in which Matt and the Spindleworks artists will create an interactive and immersive art installation.  The project will use sculptural, audio/video, fiber, painting, and performance elements to transform a raw space into a multi-sensory, interactive environment.   It’s an exciting new way for Spindleworkers and Matt to work in collaboration, harness their creative talents, and create an amazing new experience for both local and online audiences.

Local audiences are invited to participate during community sessions at the space and at the opening during the May 2012 Brunswick Art Walk.  Online audiences can experience the project via a blog featuring audio, video, and images, and interact with the artists along the way.  Are you both local and online? Even better!

Why we need YOU!

We have to rent a large, temporary art space nearby to create this experience! We cannot do this project in the Spindleworks Art Center building.  Our studio rooms are full the brim, used daily by artists for their individual projects and for classes.  Your support will also supply the artists with the materials needed to create the art work.  Here’s just a few ways that you can make this happen:

• $10 covers the materials for dyeing a fabric installation.
• $25 supplies artists with the materials to build a sonic sculpture.
• $50 rents ten square feet of the art space for three months.
• $150 will put the project online and accessible to audiences everywhere!

We have lots of great rewards at all levels of support — including original art pieces, ringtones, secret blog access, Skype sessions with the artists, and more.   This is a fantastic way to participate in creativity and collaboration, whether you’re in Maine or from anywhere in the world.

Watch our promo video and support the project on Kickstarter by clicking here!

THANK YOU!

TRUNK SHOW = A BUSINESS FEATURES A FAVORITE ARTIST. CUSTOMERS SEE NEW WORK, MEET ARTISTS AND SAVE MONEY. EVERYONE MINGLES, EATS, AND DRINKS

That is how our friends at T.P. Perkins see it, and we agree.

Please join us for this festive evening. At a time when the post holiday mid winter doldrums are sure to set in, why not choose to celebrate instead? Are there gifts you wish you had purchased for the holidays? A birthday gift you still need to get? Something special for your valentine? Since new work is constantly being created here at Spindleworks, you can be sure we will bring the latest and greatest from our studios. What? you didn’t get a tea towel because they sold out? A Kitty? a scarf? Never fear, we will have those and more of our unique items this fun night in Brunswick. What? you haven’t been to T.P. Perkins yet? What a good reason to make an evening of it and support the local economy in the process! Did you know our friends at Frontier have just reopened as a sit down restaurant with a full service menu? Or how about getting away from the cold of Maine with a cozy dinner at El Camino? A little shopping, a little eating, sounds like a good date night to us!

We have created a fundraising page here at Crowdrise, providing you with a secure online donation process. What can you monetary contributions do for us?

$10 helps pay for small book projects and zines
$25 brings a visiting artist to teach a workshop onsite
$50 fills our van so that we can get out in the community and  sketch, visit galleries, museums and artists studios.
$100 and more can make a difference in so many ways at Spindleworks. We have ongoing special projects that require funds outside of the scope of our budget. Here are just a few:

1. We are planning to install a darkroom and need to get equipment and supplies so by spring the artists can print their own pictures

2. We are currently fundraising for a winter long term artist in residency session with local artist Matt Anderson who will be exploring installation art with the Spindleworks crew

3. Our hugely successful artist:artist program continues, and donations of any size insure that transportation and cultural access are not barriers to these meaningful art dates between Spindleworks artists and their community art friends.

4. This year we are going to take the All Species Parade to  a new level with a month of workshops, events, and of course an exhibit at Frontier Cafe here in Brunswick. Donations will help us bring in speakers, pay for the space, cover exhibit costs and market our events. A portion of this year’s proceeds will be going to a local non profit to be revealed soon!

This is just a sampling. Through all of our projects and programming, the artists at Spindleworks gain important skills and the confidence and knowledge they need to become more independent in their community. This objective is what motivates us each day and each year. We appreciate all of your support in any form that it comes.

Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

In Brunswick…
A Spindleworks Marketplace
Whatnot Gallery and Store
7 Lincoln Street
All month long at Spindleworks, enjoy an other-worldly maketplace right here at home. In addition to our regular weekday hours, Spindleworks will be open:
Friday, December 2nd until 8:00pm
Saturday, December 3rd, & 10th 10am-4pm

Spindleworks Speaking
Publishing Party, Reading, & Book Signing
Gulf of Maine Books
134 Maine Street, Brunswick
December 4th, 4-5:30pm
We are so excited to announce the arrival of our latest book, years in the making. Artists will be on hand at the Gulf of Maine to sign your copy and read their work. This is an event not to miss with guest star Nan Ross, founding director of Spindleworks.

And in Hallowell…
Grand Opening of our new program:
SpinOff Studio
184 Water Street, Hallowell
December 2nd, 5-8pm with music by the All Ways One Band
December 3rd, and 10th 12-5pm, retail shop open!
Months in the works, our new space is ready to open, and we are ready to celebrate. Stop by on Friday night to enjoy refreshments and live music. In addition you can help us create a map of Hallowell, and join in printmaking activities.

And finally, in Portland…
Picnic Holiday Sale
Portland Company Complex
58 Fore Street, Portland
December 11th, 11am-6pm
This is our one Portland presence this holiday season and it is a doozy. Spindleworks will be among over 100 juried artisans filling the Portland complex with the most amazing array of goods. If you cannot make it to our other events, this is the place to find us!

Spindleworks Speaking has been a labor of love that took shape over the past five years. Many community members have made the project possible, as well as two grants from local institutions. A grant from the Alfred M. Senter Fund provided the foundation to start working on the book several years ago. Last year, Androscoggin Bank also supported the project through the ABCommunity Grant. These two sources of support enabled Liz McGhee, Spindleworks Manager, to hire Tom Morgan, Portland designer and owner of Blue Design. “I would love to have been able to complete this project in house, but time and talents were lacking,” states McGhee. “I knew Tom would bring elegance to this project and we are thrilled with his work.”

Gary Lawless, poet and co-owner of Gulf Of Maine Books, is the project’s unofficial “editor in chief”. Lawless has been working with Spindleworks artists for decades to bring public awareness to their stories, ideas, and opinions. “A community is a diverse mix of voices. Some of those voices go overlooked or unheard. In order for the community to work, to be in balance, all of the voices must be heard, and taken to heart,” Lawless writes in the introduction. Another public figure that has been instrumental in bringing the artists’ writing forward is Jim McCarthy, former Editor of the Times Record. Together with Spindleworks Artist Mentor Maureen Block, he led writing sessions that produced opinion articles for “Voices from Spindleworks”, a biweekly column in the local paper. Several of these articles have been reprinted in Spindleworks Speaking. Nan Ross, Founding Director of Spindleworks and publisher of Spindleworks’ very first book of poetry titled Feather Collection, has also been part of compiling work for the new book. The many volunteers who have taken dictation, transcribed, and proofread, have made the project a true community effort.

To celebrate, Gulf of Maine Books will host a Publishing Party, Book Signing, and Poetry Reading on December 4th, from 4-530pm. Artists from the program will be on hand to sign books and participate in the reading. The book will be available after Thanksgiving at Gulf of Maine, Spindleworks and at in Hallowell at SpinOff Studio at 184 Water Street.

“The decorating of the state and territory trees in President’s Park is a highly anticipated holiday tradition,” said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation. “We look forward to including the creations of Spindleworks representing Maine during the 89th annual celebration.

As one of America’s oldest holiday traditions, the National Christmas Tree Lighting began on Christmas Eve in 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge lit a Christmas tree in front of 3,000 spectators on the Ellipse in President’s Park. Since 1923, each succeeding President has carried on the tradition of what now has become a month-long event presented by the National Park Foundation and National Park Service. In addition to the National Christmas Tree display, President’s Park hosts a variety of family-oriented holiday attractions, such as the Santa’s Workshop, nightly holiday performances, a Yule log, nativity scene, and model train display.

Maine Arts Commission Acting Director Darrell Bulmer. “The art center has an established reputation of producing artwork that has shown nationally and internationally. They also have tremendous experience orchestrating community projects, and this is a community event on the grandest stage.”

“It is an amazing honor and achievement for the artists of Spindleworks to be chosen to represent Maine” states Liz McGhee, Spindleworks Director, “Not only will the globes portray the beauty of our state, they will also remind everyone of the diversity of the artistic community in our country. This is community inclusion on the national level.”

The Spindleworks artists are using a variety of techniques to decorate, embellish and fill the large plastic globes that form the basis of the decorations. Small sculptures are placed carefully inside of some, while the surfaces of others are painted; some contain drawings and even woven creations. Twenty-four of the 45 artists at the art center are busy creating these unique globes.

Four weeks of holiday events in President’s Park will kick off with the 89th National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony hosted by the National Park Service and National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, on Thursday, December 1, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. EST. This year’s talent line up for the lighting ceremony will be announced in November.  Talent announcements, as well as other event details and a live web stream of the ceremony will be available at www.thenationaltree.org

Tickets for the event will be awarded via an online lottery system, providing the general public a chance to obtain free tickets to the ceremony. The online lottery will be available beginning at 10:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, November 3 (or 9:00 a.m. CST, 8:00 a.m. MST and 7:00 a.m. PST).   The ticket lottery remains open through 9:59 a.m. EST on Monday, November 7 (or 8:59 a.m. CST, 7:59 a.m. MST and 6:59 a.m. PST). Visit www.thenationaltree.org

Artists from Spindleworks have found a more visible space on Maine St. to show their creations. Thanks to Edie and Michael Perkins, owners of TP Perkins and Company, the new home furnishings and gift store on Maine Street, Spindleworks hits Maine Street just in time for holiday shopping.

TP Perkins and Company features reclaimed wood furniture handcrafted by Michael Perkins, gifts, antiques, jewelry and art.

“Our intention from the start was to offer high quality, handcrafted items made in Maine” says Perkins “The artists at Spindleworks may not be formally trained but I love their products. We’re happy to carry some of their beautiful rugs, placemats and unique art. It has a fun, whimsical quality that you don’t see in mass produced items.”

For Spindleworks fans who cannot make it to our shop and studios during the week, T.P Perkins is just the ticket. Find our beautiful weavings, funky sculpture, t-shirts and jewelry at 53 Maine Street and support your local artisans as well as Edie and Michael!

SpinOff