Last Saturday I attended the opening of the last show of the season at The James Patrick Gallery in Wiscasset, Maine.  This exhibit, entitled “The Ripple Effect,” showcases the work of contemporary ceramic artists Robert Shay, Martin Tagseth, Shoji Satake, and Jen Allen, and focuses on the profound effect these artists have had on one another’s work.

Robert Shay

Like a stone cast into a still pool, this “ripple effect” of influence is felt by nearly all artists who spend time working in a studio with their peers.  Often it requires only a passing observation from another artist to dramatically change the way we see our own work.  This exchange of ideas is one of the great benefits of community studio situations, but there is also a current of influence created by simply leaving one’s studio and taking in the work of other artists in shows just like this one.  I was particularly intrigued by the subtle, yet striking differences created in Jen Allen’s work simply by changing one variable…firing her pots in a wood kilnrather than her usual gas fired, reduction atmosphere.

Martin Tagseth

The James Patrick Gallery opened in 2004 and is owned by local patrons of the arts, and great friends of Watershed, Maureen and Jay Barrett.  The gallery is housed in a beautifully renovated former Methodist Church on Fort Hill Street, and is known for bringing the work of internationally known ceramic artists, as well as an array of well respected artists of other media,  to the mid-coast area.  The lovely, light-filled space is the perfect back-drop in which to view the work of these amazing artists.

Shoji Satake

Jen Allen

“…My salad days, /when I was green in judgement, cold in blood…”

-Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, 1606

The term “Salad Days” can be traced back to the Bard himself.  But it did not become popular until the middle of the 19th century when it began to be used in reference to “a period of youthful inexperience or frivolity.”  Since then, the term has become part of the zeitgeist of our culture, cropping up randomly everywhere from an episode of The Simpsons, entitled Simpson and Delilah, to the lyrics of Party Doll, by The Rolling Stones.

But nowhere are the words “Salad Days” more aptly applied than at the annual fundraising event, held at Watershed Center for Ceramic Art, in Newcastle, Maine.  The old fashioned picnic atmosphere takes everyone back to the carefree days of their youth, and a relaxed, laid back vibe is the theme of the day.  This year, the day of the event dawned clear and lovely…one of the most beautiful days of the summer thus far.  And by the time guests began to arrive at 10 am, all was set, and the band had begun to play.  Adero Willard’s lovely plates went on sale at 11, and food was served a half hour later…to a round of applause from the hungry crowd!

Activities continued all afternoon, and included an invitational pottery sale, children’s face painting and games, and a benefit wood fired raffle.  Finally, with full bellies and light hearts, people began to depart.  Most made a stop at James Patrick Gallery, in Wiscasset, ME, where a show featuring the work of a group of Watershed board members had just opened.  Part of the sales from this show, entitled Claymates, will be used to help fund the operation of Watershed.