Haystack's exhibition series is an outgrowth of Haystack’s commitment to supporting the dynamic work being done by makers of contemporary craft and to the creative process implicit in that. Haystack’s Center for Community Programs in Deer Isle village provides a year-round gallery and educational facility - a renovated barn with a 760 square foot space for exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and community gatherings, which is winterized and handicapped accessible. The Center opened in June of 2007 and has featured exhibitions of Haystack’s Student Mentor Program and Beaded Blessings, an international traveling exhibition, as well as community-based workshops. The initial summer exhibit, Haystack: Creative Process, opened in June 2008 and was the first of a new ongoing summer series. Each summer, the school will mount new exhibits documenting Haystack’s impact on contemporary craft over time; significant shows that will establish the Center for Community Programs as a leading exhibitor of significant work by American craft makers.

Concurrently during the summer season, Haystack continues its exhibitions and lectures at its campus. These events, free and open to the public, attract a cross section of island residents and summer visitors, as well as our workshop participants. These exhibitions are an incredible resource for the community—featuring work by internationally distinguished makers—and also provide an opportunity to learn about these makers’ creative process as well.

Fall 2009

Katie Greene (left) and Katy Helman at the opening reception for their show.

Haystack's long history and celebrated programs are the subject of an exhibition at the Center for Maine Craft.

Throughout the month of September, an exhibition featuring Haystack Mountain School of Crafts was on display at the Center for Maine Craft, located at the West Gardiner Travel Plaza. The Center for Maine Craft is a subsidiary of the Maine Crafts Association, which promotes education, understanding and appreciation of the work of Maine craft artists and their importance in Maine’s rich and varied economies and distinctive communities.

The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts’ exhibition at the Center for Maine Craft included work that represents the various aspects of Haystack’s programming and exemplifies the kind of exploration encouraged at the school. In addition, the work and accompanying narratives, demonstrate Haystack’s broad impact both in Maine – at the community level and state-wide – and nationally. Work by glass artists Dale Chihuly and Dante Marioni, potters Mark Bell and Cynthia Bringle, mixed media artist Warren Seelig, blacksmith Farrell Ruppert, and Brett Gagne, a student who studied blacksmithing with Ruppert in Haystack’s High School Mentors Program, were in the show.

Read about these artists and their connection with Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.

Mark Bell	Cynthia Bringle	Dale Chihuly
Dante Marioni	Farrell Ruppert	Warren Seelig

 

The Center for Maine Craft, which opened in November 2008, was created through the collaborative efforts of Maine’s premier craft organizations seeking ways to encourage growth and increase awareness of the significant role craft artists play in Maine’s culture, economy and heritage. The Center offers authentic handcrafted works by Maine artisans, cultural tourism information, exhibits of fine craft, demonstrations by talented craftspeople, and Maine handmade goods, books, music, film, and food. It is the first statewide enterprise of its kind to represent Maine craft artists in all mediums. 

Summer 2009

Haystack Creative Process: RISD Connection, Haystack's second summer exhibition, was on view at the school's Center for Community Programs, in Deer Isle village, from July 26 through September 6. The show included work by John Dunnigan, Eck Follen, Alphonse Mattia, Rosanne Somerson, Charlie Swanson, and Peter Walker (in photo, from left to right), who have all taught at Haystack and are also furniture design faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Some have also been students here or participated in other conferences and workshops. This exhibition also included visual and narrative elements.

Read the individual narratives and view work from the artists included in Haystack Creative Process: RISD Connection. 

 

Bobby Hansson and friends use found object musical instruments during a performance at Haystack's Center for Community Programs.

The first exhibition of the summer, Arthur Ganson/Bobby Hansson was open at the Center for Community Programs from June 7 through July 19. The show featured the work of these artists, who have both taught at Haystack. Ganson creates kinetic sculpture and Hansson works with recycled tin and a variety of other materials. While their techniques vary, both artists make work that is at once whimsical and profound. The exhibition included both visual and narrative elements and addressed how the artists’ creative processes have been influenced by their time at Haystack.

Read their narratives, included in Arthur Ganson/Bobby Hansson.

 

Arthur Ganson, left, and Bobby Hansson joined in an impromptu music fest during a closing reception for their show. Photo by Chehalis Hegner.

 

Spring 2009

An opening reception for the Student Mentor Program, held in early April, drew a large crowd for the event.

Haystack's Student Mentor Program, in its 11th year, takes place from February through early April. The program places high school students from Deer Isle-Stonington High School and George Stevens Academy, Blue Hill in local artist studios for several weekends where they can work in an intensive and individualized setting.

The program culminates with an exhibition of student and mentor work and is held at Haystack's Center for Community Programs.

 

For a look at our 2007-2008 exhibitions, visit Past Exhibitions.