Light and Art to Table–Two wonderful group shows open May 9

What a good problem I have–two openings on one afternoon! The date is this Saturday, May 9th when Art to Table at Maine Art Gallery in Wiscasset and Light at the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, two wonderful group shows, will open. Both venues are hosting opening receptions on Saturday afternoon May 9th. Since the two towns–Hinckley and Wiscasset, are about an hour’s drive from one another, I will only be attending one reception. If only I could clone myself! Last year I attended the opening of Whimsey in Wiscasset so this year I’ll be heading up to Hinckley for the opening of “Light.”

Here is the work I am showing:

I thought you’d enjoy seeing the pieces that were chosen by the jurors for these two exhibits. At L.C. Bates, the curators were two students at Colby College under the supervision of Veronique Plesch, Professor of Art at Colby.

The artist Tina Ingraham was the juror for Art to Table. I am most grateful to all the jurors for selecting my work for these two wonderful exhibits.

My Great Aunt Fannie’s Friendship Club, acrylic on paper, mounted to board, 2022, $1,800.00

Interestingly, I painted the Friendship Club as part of my Foremothers Project. My paternal great aunt Fannie was a matriarch and inspiration to her family and friends. She lived out her elder years in a subsidized high rise apartment in Miami Beach where this gathering took place. And yes, that is me sitting in the back, on the right. I made the painting from a photograph taken by my sister Susan who was also at the Friendship Club meeting back in 1990.

A spontaneous conversation and a foremothers story

After I dropped off my two paintings at the Maine Art Gallery I had a wonderful spontaneous conversation with the artist Jane Banquier about her foremothers. Jane had noticed that my painting of the Friendship Club included a self-portrait. And somehow, it triggered a strong memory. As Jane dove into her treasure trove of memories she began relating a story about her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother and her seven sisters met monthly during Jane’s childhood for what they called the Sisters Meeting. As Jane told it, the Sisters Meetings took place at various Boston area restaurants that the sisters favored. And wonderfully, once or maybe twice, Jane recalled the special feeling of being seated at the Sister’s Meeting herself. I can only imagine how it must have felt for her to be a child at the table, in the presence of these strong and dynamic women, her elders. It reminds me of the bond my mother speaks of between my grandmother Rebecca and her sisters Eva and Polly. Family mattered a lot in those days!

A special candy recipe from Jane’s foremothers

She also talked a about special (and delicious–sounding!) candy recipe her great aunts used to make for the spring and winter holidays. The candies, Jane recalled, had a dark chocolate coating and a hazelnut in the center that was rolled in caramel. Jane recalled that her aunt would bring big bags of these hand-wrapped confections to her family’s house for the winter and spring holidays. I hope Jane doesn’t mind my relating this story as I’d love to add it to my Foremothers archive which lives here on my website. And finally, if you have a story about your foremothers that you’d like to share, please reach out! We can do a Zoom and record the conversation. I wonder if Jane has ever done any artwork inspired by her grandmother and this wonderful family story? I will try reaching out to her to ask.

With love,

Robin