Laurie Spugnardi

Posts Tagged ‘maine’

The Diptych Project, part one

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

I’ve been invited to participate in this years Diptych Project. The Diptyich Project was started a few years ago by New England Wax. This talented group of encaustic artists has been organizing this project for a few years now. Here’s how it works: Artists are paired up and begin making a painting. The paintings are given to their partner who will create a response painting. Each artist will create two paintings. There is only one rule: the size must be 18 x 12. This year, New England Wax has invited mosaic artists to join in the fun. My partner is Kimberly Curry. She lives just over the bridge in Portland, but we’ve never met before. She and I will be switching pieces this week and will begin our response pieces. There are 36 artists (18 encaustic and 18 mosaic) involved in the project which will tour new england galleries later this summer.

This is the piece I will give to Kim. I found inspiration while on a trip to Damarascotta to watch the alewives run. May is spawning time for alewives here in Maine. The fish, which spend most of its life in the ocean, crowd into a narrow fish ladder to make the long journey (for a fish) from the bay up to Damarascotta Lake to spawn. I was mesmerized by the moving pattern of crowded fish. It also happens to be when the poppies bloom. I loved the warm and bright poppies floating in a spring breeze in contrast to the dark layers of wriggling fish in the cold and bubbly water. Good stuff.

Poppy and Alewife, 2010

poppy_inkiln_blog poppy_glaze_blog

I look forward to seeing what Kim has made and to start my response piece…

Tags: alewife, alewives, ceramic mosaic, damarascotta, maine, poppies
Posted in goings on in the studio, inspiration, just for fun, shows & exhibitions | No Comments »

One Month In

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

A RAINBOW UNDER SNOW, 2010

One month past the winter solstice. Some are looking forward to the warmth and colors of spring, others are frolicking in a foot or more of the white stuff. If you’re from Maine, it’s healthy to be doing both. It’s a kind of coping mechanism for northern dwellers. We humans are poorly evolved for this bi-polar weather. So, year after year we layer-up, strip-down and repeat. Today, the fresh snow is twinkling in the winter morning sun. Later, as the sun sets, the sky will turn a kind of indigo blue that you can only find reproduced in a Maxfield Parrish painting.

MAXFIELD PARRISH, 1949

It will be another few months before spring arrives and I find sure footing on the driveway once again…. But today looks like a frolic in the bright snow kind of day.

A FOREST OF BLEEDING HEARTS, SPRING 2009

Later, as the sun goes down, I’ll watch the sky turn purple and dream of spring as I paw through photographs of warmer times and yard filled with color.

Tags: glass mosaic sphere, maine, maxfield parrish, winter
Posted in Uncategorized, goings on in the studio | No Comments »

Weather: Maine, June 2009

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

treetops
One reason I stay.

This one is personal. I love living in Maine and usually the month of June is as close to climate perfection as a European descendant can imagine. The trees have leafed out, peonies, irises, strawberries, window boxes, grasses and oh! the roses are all in show-off mode. June normally gets a bounce effect from wet, cold May and many Mainer’s still harbor a grudge against winter. June is the sweet reminder of why we stay put. Weekends find every park decorated with posing brides and their matching entourage. It’s also pre-tourist season so the state is ours to enjoy until visitors arrive next month. June is usually… delightful.

sunset-portland
Reason two.

This June has been replaced by her evil twin. She’s as cold and weepy as they come. I don’t like her.

Are we blaming this unusual pattern on mother nature’s reaction to the shrinking ozone layer? Latest research says most likely, and the droughts in Australia and China too.

sliding
Another one.

What’s to be done? Move? There is no place that is safe from a global shift in weather patterns. So, we accept our bi-polor June and muddle through with friends, chocolate and whatever else can appease our need for sunshine.

walk-in-woods
And one more reason.