N E W S L E T T E Rseptember/october 2012

Photos of the Perry McCourtney collection by Allison McKeen

The 2nd year is COMING SOON!Save that date!

Saturday, September 29, 2012, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 the day of the event.

Only a limited number of tickets will be sold. To reserve yours, call the Harlow Gallery at 207-622-3813

or email kvaa@harlowgallery.orgVisit historic downtown Hallowell on

Saturday, September 29, 2012 to expe-rience Art at Home. Our second year of Art at Home will offer a self-guided tour of seven Hallowell residences with private art collections. The participat-ing homes, all in or near downtown Hallowell, were selected to showcase not only their residents’ art collections, but also their relationships with their art, and how art and living space are integrated. Watch our website, we’ll be announcing the homes soon!

The featured homes will represent diverse collections of two and three-dimensional art, ranging from works by local Hallowell artists to life-long collections.

Art at Home “. goes beyond art on view at a gallery or in a museum,” said Dawn Gallagher, who with her husband Phil Lindley welcomed tour visitors to view their eclectic art collections in 2011. “Art is transformed within

ART at HOMEin Hallowell

the context of a home, and it transforms the home as well. The room itself becomes an art composi t ion, reflecting who lives there.”

“Art at Home” ticket holders will be encouraged to “make a day of it”, and will be offered special discounts at select Hallowell businesses all day. A detailed program guide will provide a map, information on the Art at Home locations and a list of participating businesses. In addition, ticket holders will be entered in a random prize draw-ing for one of three original pieces of artwork on the day of the event. The drawing will take place at 2:30pm at Easy Street Lounge - ticketholders will need be present to win.

Ross Grams: Two Worlds at Home -

an emerging artist’ssolo Debut at theHarlow Gallery

“Two Worlds of Home”, an exhibition of recent works by 23-year-old Vienna artist Ross Grams, will be

on view at the Harlow Gallery in

September 7-29.Please join us for the opening reception on Friday, September 7,

5-8 pm.

“Two Worlds of Home” will showcase Ross’s two bodies of work: traditional landscapes and realist fantasy paintings. The landscapes, which all depict views of the family farm in Vienna, ME, serve as exercises in light, color, perspec-tive, composition, etc, which Ross uses as reference to create another, wholly imaginary, but still believable scene. In addition to a score of roughly paired, finished, oil paintings, the show will give you a look inside Ross’s working process, with initial sketches, painted studies, and full-sized preparatory draw-ings.

Ross Grams was born and raised in

Ross Grams will return to the HarlowGallery to present an ArtTalk on his work

on Thursday, September 12 at 7pm.Pennsylvania until 2007, when his family comman-deered a small organic farm in Vienna, Maine. He studied classical draw-ing, design, and color the-ory at the Barnstone Stu-dios in Coplay, PA for six years, and received a BFA in painting from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. He works part-time on the farm and makes art in his converted milk-house/studio, only venturing off the property every fortnight or so to buy art materials and socks.

“Two Worlds of Home” is being

sponsored by Dick Davies and Susan MacPherson of Hallowell and by Hal-lowell realtor Perry McCourtney. The Harlow Gallery 2012 exhibition season has been made possible by our season sponsors, The Bank of Maine, Dead River Company, the City of Hallowell and Kennebec Savings Bank.

What is encaustic? How do artists use encaustic? What is the history of encaustic? Learn the answers to these questions, plus how to layer, fuse and make a variety of marks in this seduc-tive medium. Learn painterly approach-es plus how to etch and scrape into the surface. Take your flat collections such as your drawings, collected papers, pic-tures and embellish them into the wax! Leave with two small finished paintings and artistic inspiration!

We will also briefly touch on proper studio ventilation, wax safety, and how to “finish” their artworks in terms of framing and care. Class time will be di-vided between demonstrations, individ-ual work time, and discussion. Encaus-tic medium will also be for sale. A little more about encaustic…

Encaustic is a beeswax-based paint-

Encaustic Painting 101 with Hélène Farrar

Sunday, October 21st 9AM – 2 PMOne-Day WEEKEND WORKSHOPat the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell$50 tuition plus a $25 materials fee

ing medium that is used in a molten state. The molten state implies that the wax is heated to a liquid form and applied quickly to a rigid support to maintain its liquid form. Artists fuse the top layer of wax to the previous with a variety of tools such as a high temperature heat gun, torch, and iron. Encaustic paint is made up of bees-wax, pigment and damar resin.About the Instructor…

Hélène Farrar has taught and worked in the visual arts for fifteen years while actively exhibiting in commer-cial, nonprofit and university galleries in New England and England. Farrar has a Masters of Fine Art Degree in

Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College in Vermont, and a Bachelors of Art from University of Maine with con-centrations in painting and printmaking. Hélène operates in her studio “Hélène Farrar Art” in downtown Hallowell,

Her work has been exhibited widely in Maine and has been accepted into regional and international juried ex-hibitions featuring her encaustics and oil works. She is currently represented by the Flat Iron Gallery in Portland, and the Three Graces Gallery in New Hampshire.

Community Supporting Arts events

Other CSA:

Common Ground Fair — CSA: Community Support-ing Arts will have a booth in the exhibition hall at the Common Ground Fair! Stop by and meet some of our artists and farmers. Sep-tember 21, 22 & 23, 2012. FMI www.mofga.org/The-Fair/

Celebration of local food and local art in Hallowell on October 13The Harlow Gallery in partnership with the Kennebec Local Food Initiative and

the Vaughan Homestead Foundation invite the public to participate in a giant pot-luck celebration of local food, farms and art on Saturday, October 13, 2012 from 4 to 7pm at the Vaughan Homestead in Hallowell.

The celebration marks the completion of CSA: Community Supporting Arts, a year-long project matching artists with farms in and around central Maine. Join project organizers, artists and farmers as we celebrate the 2012 harvest together. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the gate (if available and while they last). Kids 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult. Attendees must bring a potluck dish to share created using local food. We will celebrate come rain or shine. For tickets call the Harlow Gallery at 622-3813, email kvaa@harlowgal-lery.org or visit www.harlowgallery.org.

Ticket holders will enjoy ...... a local food feast and giant community potluck! - guests should bring a dish to share created using local food ingredients.... a chance to win a prize: every ticket holder will be entered in a prize drawing! We’ll be giving away lots of local food items, gift certificates and more at the event ...... “Local Bites”: taste dishes prepared by celebrity chefs ... ... live music and a mini-farmers market ...... a chance to explore the grounds of the historic Vaughan Homestead ...... a complimentary custom souvenir wrist band commemorating CSA: Commu-nity Supporting Arts will be given to each attendee in lieu of paper tickets....... a chance to come to Hallowell early and visit the CSA: Community Supporting Arts exhibition at the Harlow Gallery at 160 Water Street; and check out Hallow-ell’s Fall Festival, which includes an annual scarecrow contest and other family events galore for more information visit http://hallowell.org/.

“In the kitchen of Milkweed Farm in Brunswick.Photography by Kelsey Kobik.”

Meet artists and farmers participating in CSA: Community Sup-porting Arts on Friday October 19 at 7pm at the Harlow Gallery. “Community Supporting Arts: Discoveries and Departures” is an ArtTalk in which artists, farmers, staff and volunteers will talk about their experience participating in this dynamic and ambitious year-long project. “Discoveries & Departures” will be an informal talk and Q & A regarding the experiences of Common themes and stories have emerged including personal connections and unexpected turns of events. CSA: Community Supporting Arts, the exhibition, will be on view at the gallery through the month of October.

CSA: Community Supporting Arts - talking art and farming

Photo: Scott Minzy at Long Meadow Farm - Allison McKeen

Local Food | Local Art - 14 artists part-nered with 13 Community Supported Agri-culture farms in central Maine.

CSA: Community Supporting Arts is a project of the Harlow Gallery and the Ken-nebec Valley Art Association in partnership with the Kennebec Local Food Initiative, an organization based in Gardiner, Maine that strives to strengthen community food security through access, education, infor-mation and advocacy.

CSA: Community Supporting Arts has been made possible by grant funding from the Davis Family Foundation, the Maine Community Foundation and and is fund-ed in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts; and by individual donors to our Indiegogo campaign, especially Atlee Gle-aton Eyecare of Augusta.

The artists and their farms:Barnes partnered with Grassland Organic Farm.Susan Bickford partnered with Goranson Farm and Dig Deep Farm.Chaplin partnered with Winterberry FarmKim Christensen partnered with Whole-some Holmstead.Matt Demers partnered with SNAFU Acres Farm.Kerstin Engman partnered with Treble Ridge Farm.Tyler Gulden partnered with Morning Dew Farm.Maina Handmaker partnered with Milk-weed Farm.Christine Higgins partnered with An-nabessacook Farm.Kelsey Kobik partnered with Goranson Farm and Dig Deep Farm.Scott Minzy partnered with Long Meadow Farm.Petrea Noyes partnered with Crescent Run Farm.Jamie Ribisi-Braley partnered with Whole-some Holmstead.Emily Trenholm partnered with Fresh Start Farms.

CSA: CommunitySupporting Arts 2012

Jamie Ribisi-Braley at work on-site at Wholesome Holmstead

Half Acre in Winter II by Pe-trea Noyes, photo provided by the artist. Petrea Noyes is working at Crescent Run Farm in Bremen

Cut paper work in progress based on the kitchen table at Milkweed Farm in Brunswick.

Jamie and Kim began working together before the CSA project. Kim is a client of Spindleworks in Brunswick and Jamie and Kim have an ongoing mutual art mentoring relationship.

Scott MInzy discussing his work at a meeting of the artists participating in CSA: Community Supporting at the Harlow Gallery. Scott is working at Long Meadow Farm in Pittston.

Photographer Kelsey Kobik is assigned to Goranson’s Farm in Dresden and also Dig Deep Farm, a start up CSA in resi-dence there.

Kate Barnes at work. Kate is working with GrasslandOrganic Farm in Skowhegan.

The Fox and the Chair, monotype print by Christine Higgins who is working at An-nabessacook Farm in Winthrop.

Community Supporting Arts 2012

The City of Hallowell

Many Thanks to our generous Season Sponsors:

We are especially thankful for the support of the following season sponsors who make the 2012 exhibition season and events at the Harlow Gallery possible. These local institutions understand that the arts contribute to a better quality of life in our community for everyone!

Season Sponsors, $1,000 and over

Mr. Brooks Harlow, Jr.

THANK YOU! to the following area businesses for sponsoring exhibitions, programs or events at the Harlow Gallery

Programming at the Harlow in 2012 has been supported by a generous grant from the Quimby Family Foundation

Paula & John Anastasio of HallowellAnimal Wellness Center, AugustaBenjamin Wales House B & B, HallowellLarry Brown of Belgrade LakesCommunity Advertiser, FarmingdaleRichard Davies, HallowellDigital ImageWorks, WatervilleDown East Energy, HallowellE.J. Perry Const. Co., Inc., HallowellMarie Giguere, Waterville

Hallowell’s 250th Anniversary CommitteeJohnny’s Selected SeedsKaren Johnson, CPA, AugustaThe Kennebec JournalKennebec Savings BankDr. Edmond T. Laing of AugustaLongfellow’s Greenhouses, ManchesterMacomber, Farr & Whitten Insurance, AugustaSusan MacPherson, HallowellMcAllister Real Estate, Hallowell

Perry J. McCourtney of HallowellMcKee Law, AugustaFrank O’Hara & Jane O’Rourke of HallowellKaty Perry of HallowellNick J. Rehagen PHD of Livermore FallsThe River Studio & Prof. Offices, HallowellS.J.R. Engineering, HallowellTim Horton’s, AugustaThe Wolfington Group, Augusta

CSA: Community Supporting Arts has been made possible by grant funding from the Maine Community Foundation, the Maine Arts Commission, the Davis Family Foundation and by donors to our online Indiegogo fundraising campaign. The exhibition at the Harlow Gallery is being supported by Johnny’s Select Seeds and Marie Giguere.CSA: Community Supporting ArtsLocal food | Local artExhibition series:Harlow Gallery, HallowellOctober 5-27, 2012Opening Friday, October 5, 5-8pm

Common Street Arts, WatervilleNovember 3 – 30, 2012Opening Saturday, November 3, 5-8pm

Sheepscot General, WhitefieldNovember 9 – December 1, 2012Opening Friday, November 9, 5-8pmSavory Maine Dining & Provisions, DamariscottaNovember 13, 2012 – February 5, 2013Opening on Friday, November 16, 3-5pm

Maine Farmland Trust Gallery, BelfastJanuary 4 - February 27, 2013Opening on Friday, January 4th from 5-8pmArt Gallery at Frontier, BrunswickJanuary 11 – February 24, 2013.Opening Friday, January 11, 5-8pm

On November 2, 2012 from 5-8pm please join us for the opening of the commemorative exhibit ‘This Land was Made for You and Me: Photo-graphic Interpretations of a Legend: Woody Guthrie’. The exhibition will run through November 24, 2102.

Hallowell based Maine Traditional Film Photographer (METFP) group members and other Maine film pho-tographers will display strictly black and white contemporary print works that reflect the individual photogra-pher’s interpretation of self- selected Woody Guthrie tunes. During the pe-riod of 1935-1954, when Woody was most prolific and active, analogue (film based) photography experienced mag-nificent growth in development and

‘This Land was Made for You and Me: Photographic Interpretations of a

Legend: Woody Guthrie’

involvement primarily in the form of black and white images. The exhibit brings together Maine resident photog-raphers from many communities and across generations. Participating art-ist’s works will be film based utilizing a variety of formats (35mm.,medium, large, pin-hole) and darkroom process-es.

Several events are planned during the exhibit beginning with an opening reception on Nov. 2 from 5 to 8 PM, when musician David Peloquin will be attending to provide a sampling of some of Woody’s tunes. On Sunday afternoon, Nov. 4th, Farmington based accomplished folk musician Bill Ber-linghoff will be at the gallery to pro-vide a concert at 2 PM. On Thursday,

METFP member Paula Anastasio

Thanks to our event sponsor:

Nov. 15th at 6:30 PM. METFP will offer a brief art talk and biographical movie(TBA) of Woody Guthrie’s life.

Also in the works is a Children’s Mu-sic event on Sunday, Nov. 11th at 1 PM with Maine folk musician David Pelo-quin (and hopefully musician partner Bob Webb), who will perform Guthrie and more. All events are free (dona-tions graciously accepted) and light re-freshments will be served. Please join us for one or more, if not all of the ac-tivities during this Centennial celebra-tion of Woody Guthrie’s life and contri-butions to music and art.

For information about events taking place nationwide to mark the Centen-nial year visit: www.Woody100.com.

Any artist or group may submit a proposal for an exhibition at the Harlow Gallery. Members of the Kennebec Valley Art Association are especially encouraged to submit proposals. Proposals are initially ranked by certain criteria and current membership is one of these, followed by being a resident of Maine, or having a strong connection to the state.

Please note that we try to limit solo shows to one per year at the most. Proposals for group shows are encouraged, or themed shows in which other artists are invited to partici-pate. All art forms are welcome, including fine crafts. The Exhibition Committee is especially interested in proposals involving contemporary art, performance art, experimental

Propose a Future Exhibition at the Harlow Gallerynext deadline October 1, 2012

Submissions are accepted twice a year; postmarked or hand delivered on or before April 1st or October 1st.art, cross-disciplinary art and conceptual art.

We generally exhibit the work of contemporary (living) artists. Giclée prints and other reproductions of original work are not eligible for inclusion in any exhibition at the Harlow Gallery. Work should be original, completed within five years of the exhibition you are proposing (except in the case of retrospectives), and should not have been recently exhibited elsewhere in central Maine.

Please visit our website at www.harlowgallery.org to down-load a proposal form, or email us at kvaa@harlowgallery.org or give us a ring at 207 622-3813.

September: Ross Grams will present a gallery talk on his work on Thursday, September 13 at 7pm.

October: CSA: Communities Supporting Arts artists and farmers will discuss their “Discoveries and Departures” regarding this dynamic project. Please join us on Friday, October 19th at 7pm

November: On Thursday, Nov. 15th at 6:30 PM. Maine Traditional Film Photographers group will offer a brief art talk and biographical movie (TBA) of Woody Guthrie’s life.

Upcoming ArtTalks at the Harlow

It’s already September and time to think about getting your 8x10s ready for the 6th annual 8x10 fundraising event. NEW this year: we have increased the price from $80 to $100 for each 8x10!

The 8x10x100 show is an exhibition open to all KVAA members and other community artists and creative individu-als where every piece is sold for the still affordable price of $100. Because it’s a fundraiser, half of the proceeds benefit the KVAA and Harlow Gallery while the other half will go to the artists. It’s a triple win: for the artist, for the gallery and for the buyer!

This year the show will open on Friday, November 30th and run through December 8th, just in time for Holiday gift giv-ing. The gallery will be have on hand 8x10 supports for art-ists’ convenience (watch for announcements) including clay boards, gesso boards, pastel boards, water boards and gallery stretched canvases will be available at the Harlow for the competitive price of $5 each (plus tax).

Artists can also use their own supports as long as they meet the 8x10 size requirements. Work can be framed or unframed, but the piece must be 8x10 in size total. Smaller work can be matted to an 8x10 size. If framed, outside dimensions can-not be larger than 8 1/2 x 10 1/2. Please adhere to this size limit or we will not be able to accept your work. In addition, framed pieces must be wired — no saw tooth or clip hangers please! This show is quite a challenge to hang and since we are expecting up to 200 submissions even the smallest “redo” can throw a monkey wrench in the curatorial works. All me-dia are welcome, sculpture also, with connection to the 8x10 dimensions—be creative!Limit of 3 entries per artist please.Important Dates:• 8x10x100 exhibition on view: November 30-December 8, 2012• Opening: Friday, November 30 from 5-8pm• Drop off: October 1 - November 24, 2012 - work may be dropped off during gal lery hours (Wednesday – Saturday noon to 6pm) At drop off you will need to bring or fill out the entry form; each piece of artwork must labeled on the back with: artists’ name, address, phone, email.

8x10x100 New andImproved

MASK MAKING FOR CHILDRENCome learn about masks from all around the world while making exciting masks of your own to wear!! Various materials will explored to create these one-of-a-kind pieces. Instructor Kimberly Booth Bentley.2 hour workshop on a Saturday 10-12Open to all ages 5 and up. $15.00 plus a $5 materials fee per student. max, 20 students. Min 6 kids

ALTERED SKETCHBOOKS;DRAWING OUTSIDE THE BOXUsing expressive drawing techniques we will use a book as a sketchbook! A spin-off of the altered book, in this workshop we will use a previously owned book as a sketchbook. After doing some warm up exercises we will walk the grounds of hobbit land, drawing directly in the book and then come back to the studio to add ink, watercolor, and collage. For teen to adults. Instructor Kimberly Booth Bentley. 4 hour class. Sunday 12-430 dollars a student. Max 15 students

PRINT TO BOOK - BOOK TO PRINT Claudia Brahms and Margo Ogden will be offering a series of classes in printmaking and book making for the 2012-13 season. Claudia, a fiber artist and printmaker, uses gelatin to create a printing plate which can be painted on to make multi layer prints.

New classes andworkshops

in the works!Dates to be announced soon... all details subject to change.

AUGUSTA -- Carol Elizabeth Cole, of Augusta, left this life peacefully on June 4, 2012, at home, attended by her spouse. Carol was beloved by her family, friends and colleagues. She faced failing health in recent years with uncommon courage, strength and grace.

The oldest of three daughters of the late George Irvine and the late Marie Suther-land Irvine, Carol was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1941. She excelled in school. When first employed, she designed high-resolution optics, and later worked with a British airline. Then, with a sister, she settled in Cambridge, Mass., in the early 1960s, and there began, at Harvard Uni-versity, a professional life in fundraising. She married in Cambridge in 1967 and had two children in the first half of the 1970s.

A few years after moving to Augusta in 1975, she worked part-time in admitting at the local hospital, and several years there-after began a full-time career of almost a quarter-century, first as director of mem-bership and later as a development direc-tor of major gifts at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. In 1985, NRCM’s Board of Directors, regarding her as an island of calm in a storm of environmental crises, awarded her its Maine Conservation Award for outstanding work to protect Maine’s en-vironment. Carol was a dedicated, consci-entious, absolutely competent and unflap-pable professional, an admired and loved mentor for younger colleagues, and had become by 2000 the NRCM staff’s institu-tional memory. She was a great fount of charm and fun to her colleagues, and a re-liable confidante. Greeted by her soft, wel-coming Scottish voice, visitors and new-comers alike instantly felt they had gained a new best friend.

Carol’s Scottish schooling made her a su-perb knitter and seamstress. She enjoyed contemporary fiction and closely followed news and politics at all levels. In the early 1990s, while taking an adult education course, she fashioned a dining table and other household furniture for her home. Beginning in the early 2000s, she served

In Memory of CAROL ELIZABETH COLEWe are reprinting the obituary of KVAA member Carol Cole who died this past June. We were touched and grateful to learn that

Carol wanted the Harlow Gallery to be among the nonprofits friends and family could give to in her memory. Our condolences to her family, especially Ellerbe Cole.

Christ Episcopal Church in Gardiner in two ca-pacities and made many new friends there.

A keen outdoors per-son for 40 years, she hiked and camped of-ten and canoed exten-sively, often from ice-out, sometimes until first sleet, mostly in Maine, but also from the Cana-dian Maritimes to Colo-rado and other western states. Early in her mar-riage, Carol and her spouse lived in Italy for a year and a half, where, being herself European, she was readily befriended by a close group of secondary schoolchil-dren, to whom she was a big sister. In later years, she returned with her own children to Europe for family visits and also trav-eled often in France and Greece. She participated enthusiastically in YMCA ex-ercise classes, and loved to walk with her spouse from her home via the Kennebec River Rail Trail to Hallowell for a shared coffee and daily newspaper. For 14 years, she was often seen walking Laddie, the family’s golden retriever, in her Westside neighborhood and, in later years, on the Rail Trail.

Carol was a wonderful friend and com-panion to all. She loved a good laugh, and was herself a fine wit. She was a credit to her Scottish heritage: the family observed Scottish customs and incorporated Scots dialect into daily speech. She loved and supported area music and arts programs, and aided Maine land conservation trusts and other environmental organizations. She was an immensely positive influence in the development and education of her children, and always urged them to seek or create options and opportunities for them-selves. Her family, friends, and colleagues were deeply enriched by her presence in their lives. She was invariably generous in friendship, and led a principled and hon-orable life. She will be greatly, profoundly

missed by all who knew her. Car-ol Cole is survived by her hus-band, Ellerbe; her sons, Peter, of Portland, Ore., and Andrew, of Pelham, N.Y.; her daughters-in-law (respectively), Katherine and Amy; and her grandchildren (re-spectively), Cece (Caroline) and Bitsy (Elizabeth), and Tommy and Lucy. She leaves also her two very loving and supportive sis-ters, Mairi Staples, of Cambridge, Mass., and Lynne (and brother-in-law Paul) Falzon, of Paris; three nieces, Marni Sutherland,

Jennie Staples and Lesley Falzon Szpiro, and a nephew, Robert Falzon, an aunt Sutherland, and numerous cousins, and a grand-niece Emma, and grand-nephews Will and James, from the United Kingdom to British Columbia to Massachusetts; and in-law relatives almost past number. She leaves also several long-time, very close friends, from childhood on.

At Carol’s request, there has been no formal visitation or funeral. A brief family service was conducted at the home June 6. A memorial celebration is planned for August: friends and family will be noti-fied. In the meanwhile, friends may call or write the family at the home. Carol’s family thanks the many friends who have already expressed themselves and remembered her by writing and calling.

Memorial donations may be made to any of the following: Friends of the Kennebec River Rail Trail, P.O. Box 2195, Augusta, ME 04338;

The Harlow Gallery (home of the Ken-nebec Valley Art Association), 160 Water St., Hallowell, ME 04347;

The Natural Resources Council of Maine, 3 Wade St., Augusta, ME 04330;

The Kennebec Land Trust, P.O. Box 261, Winthrop, ME 04364; or to any other envi-ronmental or arts organization of choice.

Please ensure that the family is given no-tice of your gift.

The Harlow Gallery160 Water Street

Hallowell, Maine 04347207-622-3813

The Harlow Gallery is owned and operated by the Kennebec Valley Art

Association, a membership based 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in central Maine for

half a century.kvaa@harlowgallery.org

September/October ~ 2012 kvaa@harlowgallery.org

On Friday, September 14,2012 at 7pm the Harlow Gallery at 160 Water Street in Hallowell presents an evening of intensely moving yet inspiring poet-ry from UK poet William Ayot, who is visiting Maine from Wales. William’s powerful and accessible poetry speaks directly to the heart as he charts an un-derworld journey through loss, self-loathing and grief, to acceptance, rec-onciliation and a sense of belonging.

A one-time student of indigenous shamans, William brings a grounded reality and a big heart to poems about manhood, families and the pains of growing - down as well as up! If you are a therapist, an artist, are into men’s work, or a person in recovery; if you are unhappy, depressed or simply yearning to come home, this is an evening you won’t want to miss.

William has published three collec-tions and runs a world-class poetry series in Wales called On the Border. Having worked in rehab, led men’s ini-tiatory retreats in the Welsh mountains

An Evening of intensely moving yet inspiring poetry at the galleryand worked for ten years using po-etry and story to teach leadership in business schools around the world, William recently set up NaCOT, the National Centre for the Oral Tradi-tion, a dedicated home for the spo-ken word which is putting poetry and story to work across the UK.

What they say about William Ayot

William Ayot’s poems are wrung out of necessity, the terrible inheri-tance that had to be told. The po-ems speak with a fine control and intensity. His performance takes this control to a different level. Pitch-perfect, he faces up to the ‘dogs of di-saster’ with wit and compassion, a glass raised against the darkness. -- Imtiaz Dharker

William Ayot’s poems don’t offer comfort. They are tools for survival in an uncertain world - a way to preserve in yourself, and to recognise in others, the roots of human feeling, passion, power and decency. -- Philip Gross

(Winner T.S. Eliot Prize)William Ayot’s poetry is like the man

himself: intelligent, unpretentious, ac-cessible. His concerns are immediately recognisable, and his verse’s energy and sustained focus consistently bring his subject matter to a satisfactory conclu-sion. There is little inconsequentiality and much passion, though the emotion is kept sensitively under control.

William Ayot