The 16th annual Yarmouth Art Festival took place at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Yarmouth last week, bringing together artists from around the state to show their creations in the church’s airy, post and beam space. Three jurors selected 165 pieces for the festival from among 642 pieces that were submitted for consideration.

The in-person show ended with 76 pieces sold, according to Joe Michaud, one of the co-chairs of the organizing committee that puts on the festival. Sales will continue online through Nov. 2.

All the proceeds from the show, which ran from Oct. 16-19, including ticket sales, went to three local nonprofits: St. Elizabeth’s Essential Pantry, a low-barrier pantry offering non-food essentials to people in the Greater Portland area; Niweskok, a group of Wabanaki food and medicine providers who are reintroducing the Penobscot Bay region as an Indigenous food hub; and Maine Afro Yoga Project, an inclusive yoga studio that welcomes immigrants and people of color. As of Oct. 21, the festival had raised roughly $15,000 for the three nonprofits, said Michaud.

The Northern Forecaster caught up with four of the artists who were featured in the show to learn more about their backgrounds and the inspiration behind the piece they had on display.

“Down on the Farm,” assemblage on panel; 22 by 28 inches. Contributed / Emily Blaschke

Emily Blaschke
Falmouth

What is your artist’s story?

From an early age, I was taught about the kind of meaningful connection that can be forged through storytelling. Whether that was personified through my grandfather, who founded Down East magazine in 1954, or my mother, a Malibu, California-based interior designer who often brought me along to vintage stores while shopping for clients, I quickly began to appreciate the significance objects hold and how they can bring people together. I have found this to be the thread that has been prevalent in my art education at the University of California, my early career as an art teacher, and my current studio practice in Falmouth, Maine. Through finding, collecting and repurposing second-hand materials, I hope to invite viewers to honor the histories of these objects while creating new narratives of their own. My work can be viewed at Portland Art Gallery, where I am represented.

What inspired this piece of art?

“Down on the Farm” is a perfect personification of how these objects can generate community. A good friend, Alice from Portland (Architectural) Salvage, gifted me the letters that spell out “COW” in the top left hand corner. This contribution is what inspired me to create a farm-themed piece, a subject that is very familiar in our Maine landscape. From there, I utilized my regular avenues of my local dump, flea markets and thrift stores to collect materials that fit my motif. I ended up sourcing lace, Scrabble tiles, handwritten letters, old illustrations, stamps, and even a toy car along with the two large chicken decorations to form the composition. I often embed these materials in resin, which emphasizes the layering that happens in these assemblages.

“Sampler,” fused glass plate; 18 by 5 by 1.5 inches. Contributed / Marty Kremer

Marty Kremer
North Yarmouth

What is your artist’s story?

My “story” is basically the tale of a hobby turning into a full-time job and obsession. I started with stained glass, took a turn to glass blowing and ended up at fused glass, which is sort of a middle ground where the glass is melted and formed in kilns. I’ve always been drawn to the “what if?” What if I could put windows in the walls of a glass bowl? Could I make a plate that wouldn’t let the eye rest anywhere? How about a tray meant for food that no one would want to use? They’d be standing it up in the window instead. My wife, Barbara, and I moved to North Yarmouth from Westchester County, New York, about eight years ago and we built a teaching studio for me. I’ve taught for the Maine College of Art and Design and the Corning Museum of Glass and have about a dozen private students. I’ve been influenced by many artists working in different media, by Indigenous peoples’ work and by natural patterns from diverse sources. I’ve been at this since my late teens and I see no end now, almost 50 years later.

What inspired this piece of art?

The two pieces in the show were inspired by the original and intricate work of the Italian architect and glass designer Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978). The pieces begin in my shop as fused bars of glass with patterns inside. The pattern bars go on to the hot shop to be heated and stretched and cut into murrine. Fabrication, fusing, forming and finishing follow, back in my shop. Some of the surfaces are carved to resemble hammered metal, some are etched for a matte effect, some are left glossy. On my website there’s a short video, “Meanders,” that shows the process: kremerglass.com/portfolio/vessels.

“Maine Midnight,” oil on canvas; 11 by 14 inches. Contributed / Rachel Houlihan

Rachel Houlihan
Yarmouth

What is your artist’s story?

I grew up on a small farm in Maine and I have always loved the beauty of its towns and landscapes. I find painting to be a combination of relaxing and incredibly technically challenging. Starting in on a blank canvas can be intimidating, kind of like sitting down in front of a blank screen to write. Sometimes it is a struggle, sometimes it is unexpected — (a) leap of faith is that I never exactly know how a painting is going to come out. For me, the best part of painting is that I have met wonderful friends and mentors and gotten to travel to some of the most beautiful spots in our state.

What inspired this piece of art?

This is “Maine Midnight,” inspired by a scene on a quiet summer night in Camden, Maine. My friends and I jokingly like to call 8:30 p.m. “Maine Midnight” because most small towns shut everything down before 9 p.m. This painting is meant to capture that quiet tranquil feeling that makes evenings in towns like Camden so special.

Sukie Curtis
Cumberland

“Full Cup,” oil on canvas; 12 by 12 inches. Contributed / Sukie Curtis

What is your artist’s story?

I began exploring my interest in painting in my 50s. As a lifelong knitter, I had explored creating “hand-painted” yarns and realized that I wanted to be able to explore colors more fluidly than knitting would allow. After playing with acrylic paints on my own, I took several painting classes at Maine College of Art (now Maine College of Art and Design) and fell in love with oil paints. My first delight was painting outdoors surrounded by trees, shadows, wind, birds, with light always shifting and changing. My love of colors beyond what’s usually found in Maine landscapes pushed me toward painting interiors and various objects, among them flowers, vases and fabric, sometimes with imaginary elements thrown in.

What inspired this piece of art?

The painting called “Full Cup” was inspired by my family’s ritual of using our Italian mugs every morning for freshly brewed tea. Because I frequently draw in the early mornings, I have often drawn my left hand holding my mug of tea. The addition of the flowers was inspired by a dear friend’s hospitality to my family one spring when my husband needed open-heart surgery. A vase bursting with small yellow violas in her guestroom eventually found its way into my painting as blue and yellow violas (pansies).