KATE CHENEY CHAPPELL CENTRE FOR BOOK ARTS CRITIQUE GROUP

Sarah Harvey, a member of Centre St Arts Gallery and the Kate Chappell Centre for Book Arts, recently shared information about the Kate Cheney Chappell Centre for book arts and a project of the Book Arts Critique Group.

A sample from Sarah Harvey’s book about Corneiia “Flyrod’ Crosby, the first woman Maine Guide.

Kate Chappell Cheney is known as an environmentalist, businesswoman and artist. Along with her husband, Kate Chappell Cheney, founded ‘Tom’s of Maine’. She attended University of Southern Maine while managing and developing products for ‘Tom’s of Maine” and graduated in 1983. Printmaking and collage are often feature in her book art and reflected in her involvement with Peregrine Press. In 2006 she sponsored the Kate Chappell Cheney Centre for Book Arts naming her mentor and USM instructor, Rebecca Goodale, as Program Coordinator. The Centre for Book Arts is designed to bring books arts to students and the public through lectures, workshops and exhibits.

The Centre for Book Arts Critique Group is currently involved in creating books that celebrate Maine women deserving recognition. This endeavor is scheduled to coordinate the Maine’s 200th anniversary. Each of the contributing fifteen book group members selected a Maine woman to recognize in a book of their creation. Additionally, a collaborative book of the fifteen Maine women will be created and donated to USM, the Women’s Collective Library at the University of New England, the State of Maine Historical Museum and the Museum of Women and Arts in Washington D.C.. One edition of the collaborative book will be raffled in 2020. Sarah Harvey, CSAG and Book Critique member, has chosen Corneilia “Flyrod” Crosby, the first women Maine Guide as her subject.

The Centre for Book Arts Critique Group is scheduled to exhibit at Centre St Arts Gallery in January 2020.

WHAT IS EKPHRASTIC POETRY?

Ekphrastic poetry is inspired by visual art - a poetic response to a painting, sculpture, or installation. Ekphrastic poetry allows poets to expand upon the painting in a vivid, interactive manner and to expand the story within the painting.

Ekphrastic poetry, or ekphrasis, has a long history, starting with the Greeks around 1100BC and continuing to the present, with ekphrastic poets including Homer, William Carlos Williams, Anne Sexton, Allen Ginsburg, and Marianne Moore.

Interest in ekphrastic poetry has experienced a recent resurgence, with museums and galleries producing events to encourage poetic responses to works of art. Earlier this year, the Portland Museum of Art and Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance created ARTWORD 2019 to enable poets and the public to engage with and respond to museum works.

Examples of ekphrastic poetry include Anne Sexton’s response to Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”. Van Gogh’s famous painting moved Sexton to write “Oh starry night! This is how I want to die.” Her personal response reflects a lifetime of struggles with depression and demonstrates how deeply personal ekphrastic poetry can be.

In 1970 Don McLean, American singer-songwriter, wrote “Vincent” in response to a the painting, “The Starry Night”. His inspiration emerged after reading van Gogh’s biography and studying the painting. He believed the painting symbolized van Gogh’s life and struggles. Visit Don McLean’s website to hear him singing his composition.

Compose your own ekphrastic poem using Edward Hopper’s painting, “Ground Swell” for inspiration.

Edward Hopper “GROUND SWELL”

1. Study the painting and gauge your reaction to its colors and form.

2. Avoid literal descriptions in your poetry, instead trying to “stretch” and expand upon the meaning of the work.

3. Write in the voice of the person or subject in the painting.

4. Create a dialogue with the painting’s subject..

5. Imagine a story behind what you see depicted in the piece.

6. Write about your thoughts and feelings while looking at the work.

7. Use simple free verse or other simple poetic form.

8. Have fun!

SAVE THE DATE!

ELEVEN LOCAL POETS READ POEMS INSPIRED BY GALLERY PAINTINGS.

AT CENTRE ST ARTS GALLERY

11 CENTRE ST. BATH, ME

FRIDAY, JUNE 8 FROM 5 TO 7.

Meet Sarah S. Harvey

Coming from a family that worked with its hands, I have always been involved in creating objects. I worked in clay while raising children and working as a psychiatric nurse for the early and middle parts of my life. I threw pots and then moved on to slab rolling porcelain, and made cylindrical vessels with sea forms in porcelain attached as ornamentation. I attended Haystack School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine several times to develop my skills, and to learn something new in the clay realm.

Clay vessel with porcelain ornamentation

in the 1990’s I came to an impasse with my career and with clay and enrolled in the University of Southern Maine art program. Most appealing to me were the painting and bookmaking arts, which I continue to pursue. Rebecca Goodale, Department Head of the Book Arts Program, remains a mentor for me.

I painted in a variety of mediums until I attended a workshop in casein tempera with Alan Bray, one of my favorite Maine artists. Since that time casein tempera has been my medium of choice. Casein, a milk-based medium, is one of the oldest forms of paint. I particularly like the luminosity that comes from the layering of color and the selective details I can create. The fact that it dries quickly and is nontoxic is an added bonus.

A Marsh in the Woods

I continue to make artist books, one of a kind or limited editions. These books often describe a personal experience, such as walking trail or observing wildlife. Watercolor is the medium I use in my books with text handwritten or printed from a computer. I belong to a group of book making artists associated with the Kate Cheney Chappell ‘83 Center for Book Arts at the University of Southern Maine. Meeting once a month we discuss and critique each others work and help raise awareness and funds for the Center.

Island in the Summer

My studio in Woolwich, Maine.

Much of my work focuses on the natural world. I am drawn to the seashore, woods and surroundings of my home in Woolwich, Maine. I cannot imagine what I would do with myself if I did not have the skills to paint and create books. These activities help me observe and experience the world in an intimate way.