Artists receive Maine Arts Commission grants

AUGUSTA –The Maine Arts Commission is pleased to announce the winners of its Maine Artist Fellowships, Traditional Arts Apprenticeships, and in partnership with the Maine Crafts Association, Craft Apprenticeships for 2017. The seven Maine Artist Fellowship winners have been recognized for their artistic excellence and each receives a $5,000 merit-based award.

The Traditional Arts Master-Apprentice teams strengthen cultural ties by working together on community-based projects that pass and sustain traditional methods from one generation to the next. The Craft Apprenticeship is a statewide program that celebrates the role of master and apprentice relationship as a way to “generate creative entrepreneurship through the cultural sector.”

The seven fellowships in six different artistic disciplines are part of the Arts Commission’s ongoing efforts to advance artistic careers throughout the state. The 2017 Fellows are: Elisabeth Tova Bailey of Midcoast: Literary Arts Elisabeth Bailey’s memoir “The Sound of A Wild Snail Eating” recounts her year-long observations of a wild Maine woodland snail. The true story reaches an international audience of both genders and all ages and is finding special homes in the fields of literature, natural history, medical humanities and education.

Susan Bickford of Newcastle: Media Arts Media Artist Susan Bickford is a full time practicing artist who has exhibited in various media for over 20 years. Recently her focus has been projected video/animation/sound for interactive installation and theater. Bickford says her work has a profound connection to the environment in which she strives to make a meaningful experience in nature.

Amy Stacy Curtis of Lyman: Visual Arts In 1998, visual artist Amy Stacy Curtis embarked on what would be an 18-year commitment to interactive installation art comprising nine solo-biennial exhibits from 2000 to 2016. Her installations includes 81 large-in-scope, interactive works inside nine abandoned mill spaces in eight Maine towns.

Sara Juli of Portland: Performing Arts Sara Juli’s mission is to explore her own personal struggles through the medium of performance. Her solo work has been presented in performance venues nationwide and to sold-out shows worldwide. Her introspective autobiographical solo performance fuses movement, text, song, voice, gesture and audience participation. Since moving to Portland, Juli has settled in with the Maine dance community where she continues to “anchor and grow her artistry.”

Michaela Stone of Rockport: Craft Michaela Stone’s work in fine furniture craft is one of high design, and often pushes the medium’s historical functionality into the arena of performance. She has attended workshops at nationally renowned schools such as Penland, Haystack, and the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship; and worked under Maine’s master furniture maker Brian Reid. Growing up in Maine has had a lasting impact on her work. Stone says she “strives to make pieces that balance conceptual exploration with technical skill, hoping to discover a concurrence of theory and performance.”

Shanna Wheelock of Lubec: Belvedere Handcraft A Maine native and potter by trade, Shanna Wheelock feels a connection with abandoned spaces she discovered as a child. She says the impetus behind her work is the “affinity for things ancient, as well as the machinelike repetition that is epitomized by the inner workings of factories.” Wheelock’s current series focuses on the deterioration of the local sardine industry.

Edmund Theriault of Eagle Lake Traditional Arts Continuing a Native tradition, master snowshoe maker Edmund Theriault has been making snowshoes for over 50 years. Theriault started making snowshoes out of need, seeking information available in the community and learning the skills locally. Now 96 years old, Theriault has made hundreds of snowshoes, helping conserve this important Native and Acadian tradition in Northern Maine.

THIS YEAR’S APPRENTICESHIP WINNERS:
Somali Bantu Basketmaking, Tailoring and Tinsmithing, Lewiston: Apprentices Muna Abo, Gamana Yarow and Abdinoor Hassan; and Masters Atiya Haji, Hassan Barjin and Muhidin Libah. The apprenticeships are part of the Somali Bantu cultural arts and represent a unique piece of history. Master Basketmaker Atiya Haji, Tailor Hassan Barjin and Tinsmith Muhidin Libah will continue teach three apprentices at the Somali Bantu Community and Cultural Center, focusing on these three areas of Somali Bantu culture.

Anglo Concertina in Traditional Irish Style, Freeport: Apprentice Tim Ebersold and Master Christian Stevens. Growing up in Southern Maine, Stevens first picked up the concertina and button accordion. Passionate about Irish traditional music, Stevens performs with The Press Gang, a Portland based trio. Stevens will be teaching apprentice Tim Ebersold the rich repertoire of Irish concertina and accordion music.

Quebecois Step and Social Dancing, Lewiston: Apprentices Laura and Mariana Martinez and Master Cindy Larock are bringing the generations together through French music and dance. For over three decades, Larock has been teaching French Canadian traditional dance, including Quebecois step and social dancing. Larock is also the co-founder of Maine Folque Co-Op and a longstanding cultural advocate for Franco traditional culture in Maine.

Snowshoe Making, Eagle Lake and Fort Kent: Apprentice Hudson Labbe and master artist Brian J. Theriault, Eagle Lake. Brian Theriault learned the art of snowshoe making from his father Edmund over the last four decades. He has become a master craftsman and runs Theirault Snowshoes in Fort Kent. Theriault will be teaching apprentice Hudson Labbe of Eagle Lake.

Two additional apprenticeships were announced in partnership with the Maine Crafts Association, as follows:
Casco Bay Glassworks, Woolwich: Apprentice Cara Taggersell says her great ambition is to become an established craftswoman and be involved artistically and culturally in the community. Taggersell will be learning the craft of glassblowing under Master Ben Coombs. As owner and operator of Casco Bay Glassworks in Woolwich, Coombs is dedicated to helping the glass community in Maine grow and flourish. As a master glassblower, Coombs is enthusiastic about the potential impact of the Craft Apprenticeship Program on his apprentice’s career as well as the glass field.

Tandem Glass, Dresden: Apprentice Carel Shonerd began blowing glass as a teenager and has continued extensively for 15 years. Shonerd will begin an apprenticeship with master glassblowers Terrill Waldman and Charlie Jenkins who both began their careers apprenticing with glass artists and working in exchange for studio time. Waldman says the craft of glassblowing “is a tradition that knits us together and a place we can be creative as well.”

For more information and full artist bios, visit www.mainearts.com.

Please direct specific questions about Traditional Arts Apprenticeship applications to Kathleen Mundell, traditional arts specialist, at culturalresourses2001@yahoo.com or 207-236-6741.