Residents from Maine State Prison

“Artists Dish for HIP was inspired by a chance meeting of the Maine Commissioner of Prisons, Randy Liberty, at the Common Ground Country Fair last fall. When he offered to help us raise money for food security, we immediately said, “Yes! What do you have in mind?” His reply? “Turned-wood bowls, decorated by your local artists then auctioned.” After a visit to the Maine State Prison and an incredible shop in Warren, the residents got to work for us. Voilà! Artists Dish for HIP! This bowl is the gift of a talented prison resident who wanted to do his part for our cause. We are grateful for this partnership!” – René Colson Hudson

Priscilla Allen

Amy Bernhardt

Amy Bernhardt is an abstract painter working in oils and oil pastel. She currently shows her work at Gallery B, Castine, ME; Littlefield Gallery, Winter Harbor, ME; and MAE Blue Hill, Blue Hill, ME. She has exhibited at the George Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME; gWatson Gallery, Stonington, ME; She-Bear Gallery, Portland, ME; Cross McKenzie Gallery, Washington, DC. Amy has been an Artist in Residence at Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and at the Vermont Studio Center. Amy received a BA in Art at Connecticut College which prepared her well for her first position at the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery, where her job was to draw and document each object exhibited in the show Celebration: A World of Art and Ritual. Following her time in DC she held several positions in Boston, ranging from Director of Consulting For Architects, a placement service for architects and designers, to her most recent position as Senior Partner and VP of Marketing at a major architectural firm. While her work in the business world was tremendously gratifying, her most enjoyable time was spent creating in her studio. 2012 marked the year she decided it was time to return to her first love— art—and moved to Maine to paint full-time. With that move came a transition from largely representational paintings to abstract ones, which, for her, better express and elicit feelings about the subject of the work. More than purely depicting what a thing looks like, what captures her imagination is conveying its meaning or the feelings it arouses. Many of her pieces are informed by her architectural background, so there is something of an order to them, but that is mixed with her experience on the Maine coast, where raw beauty and irregularities inevitably make their way into the work. “In a time of ever increasing speed, fragmentation, and complexity, painting allows me to slow the pace, to pay attention, to find meaning and beauty. My paintings explore the way in which the external world is reflected in my inner landscape, inviting the viewer to experience the mix of the two in a way that is both personal and universal.”

“Painting a bowl for the Healthy Island Project auction has been a nourishing delight! I enthusiastically support the work HIP is doing, and contributing in this way is especially meaningful. As I painted I reflected on my great fortune to have not just food security but abundance. I hope that this bowl brings joy to its new owner and help to those in need.”

Karen Cousins

“Scenes of Penobscot Bay”
Acrylics

Karen Snowden Cousins was born and grew up in Sunset where she resides in the summer. She is a self-taught artist as well as talking art lessons and workshops. She works in oils having done three montages of the Deer Isle and Stonington area. She also paints in acrylics and watercolor. Her bowl depicts four different local lighthouses, and four schooners. All are meaningful scenes to her, especially the schooner Victory Chimes which has retired from the Maine waters this summer. The Schooner Mercantile was built on the Dan Billings shore of Little Deer Isle in 1914-1916 and still is in the Windjammer fleet.

“I painted this bowl to help finance The Healthy Project which I and many others have benefited from in many ways inclusive of meals, talks from local speakers, and creative avenues in the aging process of the elderly. Communication within the elderly community is vital as well as a weekly meal provided. It was faithful during Covid with meals taken to the homes which has grown greatly in number.  We are fortunate to have this organization.”

Iana CraneWing

“Poppy”

Iana CraneWing has been either making or teaching art since 1986 when, as a young mother in Vermont, she discovered that she could do this mysterious thing she thought only others were born for. She has painted, sculpted, carved and worked in fibers. You may recognize some of her colorful work in upcycled clothing worn by playful locals or as flower arrangements in the windows of the 44 North cafe in Stonington. Someone once told her that she makes beauty impossible to ignore. She liked that.

Rebecca Daugherty

Sarah Doremus

Sarah Doremus dabbles in different medium most recently wood. She like things that move and tries to incorporate that into her art. Her work often tells a story or pokes fun at our collective human angst. Currently she teaches and is taught by Sedgwick elementary students.

Steve Ettlinger

Steve Ettlinger lives in Brooklyn, NY, and spends as much time as possible in his house here in Stonington. That’s where he gets all the logs and the inspiration (chainsaws and art!). Steve exhibits often at the DIAA and has several pieces in rotation at Ronald Harte Art and Antiques in Deer Isle; he also shows in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Currently he has a BIG Zig-Zag on the deck outside of Ronald Harte’s which you can see as you drive by.

“I normally do very large sculptures, from logs, so this small piece was a challenge! I’m a big believer in what HIP does, so I was happy to accept that challenge. I’m inspired by Brancusi and always like to do simple, abstract shapes. Zig-zags appeal to me, so my first reaction was to put zig-zags on this bowl. I also like super smooth surfaces, so I sanded like mad, using the finest grit possible at the end. Finally, I put a food-safe finish on the bowl, made from mineral oil and beeswax. That finish might need refreshing over the years (such a finish is readily available in hardware stores).”

Missy Greene

Debbie Hamblen

Deborah Hamblen is the daughter of Jack and Audrey Hamblen of Stonington, Maine, and painting is her self-taught hobby. Recent fundraising efforts have included postcards and cards to support the MLA efforts to save the fishing industry in Maine. Hamblen’s other artwork have sold in the USVI, St. Croix, and locally. During Hamblen’s free time she enjoys painting cardinals on rocks for her mother and other special paintings for family and friends.

Katy Helman and Io Jackarrows

Jill Hoy

Working with Maine light, has long been a primary focus of Jill Hoy’s plein air oil paintings. Additional primary concerns are composition, pattern , energy, rhythm, power of place and soul. Each of these paintings has a story and a distinct reason for being chosen as a painting site. Jill has summered on Deer Isle since the age of nine and lived in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Chicago, Michigan, California, and New York City and now splits her year between Stonington for seven months and five in Somerville, Mass. She earned her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has run the Jill Hoy Gallery in Stonington, since 1985, a true visual feast. She exhibits with Portland Art Gallery who has made excellent short videos and interviews of her. Hoy’s paintings are in the collections of the Portland Museum of Art, Harvard Business School, Boston Public Library, Art in the Embassies and over 800 others. Her paintings are included in David Little and Edgar Allen Beem’s Books on Maine Art. She has been featured in Maine Boats and Harbors, Maine Home and Design, Yankee Magazine and Down East with her late husband and painter, Jon Imber with whom she co-stars in the Maine Masters film ,”Imber’s Left Hand” – a must see. Carl Little curated her into “Picturing the Penobscot Bay” at the Penobscot Marine Museum in 2022 and there is now a book on that theme. She paints portraits throughout and figurative narratives in the winter. They have a son: Gabe Imber.

Christopher Joyce

Christopher Joyce has been a passionate woodworker his whole life. From making little boats as a kid to learning to use power tools in high school to present day exploration of new technologies. He’s a father and devoted husband to three wonderful women who inspire and encourage him at every turn. Oh yeah, and he runs an electrical contracting business (LOL!).

Lorraine Knowlton

Eugene Koch

“Solar Flare”

Gene Koch has been living in the same house on Russ Hill in Stonington, ME since 1987. It’s a big old house with room for studios and a wood shop. Here he makes his home; with wife, artist and designer Julie Morringello, and daughter, Mitike, age 12 (and two Corgis). Gene retired from Haystack Mountain School of Crafts after 31 years in May 2022. Haystack was an excellent place to work, with a very creative staff, and creative students, and especially suitable for Gene, because his position, Facilities Director, was seasonal and gave him a lot of winter studio time. A good day job for an artist! Gene is a painter, sculptor, and digital artist. His work has been selected for two Portland Museum of Art Biennials. He’s shown in numerous galleries over the years, in Portland, Boston, and on Deer Isle. A recent show was at Cove St Arts in Portland, summer 2022; a group show called “The Sensuous Line”, which included paintings, a large sculpture, and a video of animated digital drawings of his. Currently he has paintings showing at G Watson Gallery in Stonington.

Jadyn LaDeau

Jadyn LaDeau grew up in Deer Isle, surrounded by the ever-changing coastal Maine landscape. Inspiration comes from her everyday experiences living in small-town Maine and from the unique surprises that come from exploring the world around her. Her subjects are generally local landscapes and characters. Jadyn primarily works in oil and gouache paint.

“Healthy Island Project is a very important organization to my family and me. We appreciate their year-round programming and the positive impact they have on the entire island community.”

Leslie Landrigan

People may be familiar with Leslie Landrigan because of her reporting in the Penobscot Bay Press, she is also a painter who utilizes both oil and watercolors. Landrigan has painted for about 20 years and is influenced by the rugged landscape of the Maine coast. Focusing on the landscapes around her allows her to paint much more prolifically than she did before moving to the Island, and the sights and colors of the Peninsula are apparent in her work. Landrigan frequently exhibits her work in the Deer Isle Artists Association gallery and she is a popular participant in the annual 12×12 show held each summer at DIAA. 

Hallie Lartius & Eric Ziner

“Spaghetti Sbagliato”

Hallie Lartius came to Deer Isle two years ago to work with Healthy Island Project as an Island Institute Fellow. With a passion for local food systems, she fell in love with the Island at first bite and jumped into HIP’s bounty of food security efforts. Hallie is especially proud to say that she has never spilled a single bowl out of more than 10,000 meals served in her time with the Salt Air Seniors’ Lunch Box program. This bowl, which reminds Eric of spaghetti, may be the first.

See Eric Ziner’s bio below.

Richard Lindloff

74-year-old Richard Lindloff lives in Stonington with his lovely wife and her amazing sister. He is an artist; many people know him as the artist that made the Boyce’s Motel sign. Another sign he had the honor of doing was for the Island Heritage Trust (IHT) viewing platform at Settlement Quarry. Richard comes from an art background. He made a living in commercial art, as a designer and illustrator. Today is a new day. One day older. He is interested in art wherever he sees it. He loves doing stained glass, painting a picture, or playing pool. 

Buzz Masters

“Full Moon Walk/ Paper House”
Casein, acrylic, gouache, 23k gold leaf, paper, glue, and varnish on wood

Buzz Masters was born in New York and raised between there and Provincetown, Massachusetts. She has worked as a coat check girl, an editor, a corn detasseler, a receptionist, an historical guide at the Hoover Dam, a gallery manager/owner and has been fired from every waitressing job she ever had for mixing up orders and then bursting into tears. She now happily lives in a house in the woods built by some of her favorite people, loves her dogs, iceberg lettuce, traveling in Italy, and randomly mowing her lawn. When not in her studio, and recognizing the privilege of living on the remarkable island of Deer Isle, she serves her community as an AEMT with Memorial Ambulance and is dedicated to their Community Paramedicine program. Her favorite flower is the tulip. 

Julie Morringello & Eugene Koch

“Go Your Own Way”

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Julie Morringello trained as both an industrial designer and furniture designer/maker. She has worked simultaneously in both fields for many years, building fine furniture and sculpture while also designing products for manufacture. In 2011 Julie founded Modernmaine, a company focused on the creation of contemporary artist-made lighting. Her work blends her knowledge of functional design and manufacturing processes with a love of materials, self-expression and expert craftmanship. Everything at Modernmaine is created in Julie’s studio on Deer Isle and necessary components are sourced as close to home as possible.

This bowl was done in collaboration with her husband, Eugene Koch (see bio above).

Renee Sewall

“When asked by HIP to participate in this year’s art /auction project, I jumped at the chance to be creative and support this wonderful organization. As someone who was a member of the very first HIP board, it has been exciting to watch this organization evolve over the years and become so vital to this community. When I’m not creating whimsical art for HIP, you’ll find me playing with my band at HIP’s Winterfest (another awesome HIP event).”

Cynthia Stroud-Watson

David Taylor

Suzi Van Wye & Susan Toder

“Roll On!”

Suzi Van Wye gardens, cooks, and makes art in Stonington and Cape Elizabeth, where she taught art in the public schools for many years. She is a native of California and a graduate of the University of California at Davis, where she studied art with Wayne Thiebaud and others. She first fell in love with Deer Isle during a Haystack session in weaving in 1975. A former print and book maker, Suzi has work in Special Collections at the Bowdoin Library.

Susan Toder, a HIP board member, usually spills ink grant writing and was happy to switch to acrylic paint pens to work with Suzi on this bowl. Suzi’s idea for a roll bowl following Chef Samuel Noh’s gimbap class (thank you Stonington Public Library and HIP), led us to pass the bowl back and forth, adding rolls until it was full. An inveterate doodler in boring meetings, collaborating with Suzi was a great way to take a step up from doodling to participate in this project to support HIP.  

Geoff Warner

“Why knot, the beauty of nature“
“Under pointed chards and paint by hand an artist’s point of view, knots and grain catch the light for nature to shine through”

Geoff Warner grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied furniture. In 1996 he moved to Deer Isle and opened his furniture shop, which now stands in Stonington. Geoff invented the Owl Stool and started Owl Furniture in 2009. Currently, he works on multiple furniture projects in his shop. He is a musician and painter, and he loves sailing and doing occasional art projects like the bowl project. 

Susan Webster & Stu Kestenbaum 

“What’s What”

Susan Webster is a visual artist who works with a variety of materials and processes. She has taught at Haystack, Penland, Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CT), Studio Artworks Center (Jerusalem, Israel) and developed a model art program in the prison system in Maine. Recent exhibits include Center for Maine Contemporary Art 2020 Biennial, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design, and Cove Street Arts in Portland, Maine. www.susanwebster.net @susanwebsterdeerisle

Stuart Kestenbaum is a poet and former director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. He has been a visiting writer at art programs including Penland, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, and Alfred University. He’s the author of six books of poems, most recently Things Seemed to Be Breaking (Deerbrook Editions 2021). He served as Maine’s Poet Laureate from 2016-2021. www.stuartkestenbaum.com @stukestenbaum
 
Stu and Susan frequently make work together that combines words and images. 

“We’re participating in this project because we believe in the work that HIP does and believe that it’s our obligation to help feed those who are hungry.”

Taylor Wiberg

“The Sweet Dreams of Toy Mice”
Acrylic on Wood

Taylor Wiberg, age 17, was born and raised in Maine, and has lived and attended school on the island her whole life. Growing up she always knew that she was an artist. She loved to paint, draw, and to do anything creative. She would always get caught doodling in class. The doodling took a quick turning point in high school when it became her passion. She took every art class offered. They had to start making up more classes for her to take. Currently, after graduating DISHS with over 10 art credits, she still finds way to fill her free time with not just painting, but anything creative. Most recently, she has been obsessed with the art of crocheting. Taylor will be pursing her passion for art at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She plans to major in biology and minor in visual art with the hope of becoming a medical illustrator after college.

Ellen Wieske

Ellen Wieske is an artist who works in many materials.  Primarily a metalsmith, she received an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She worked in the jewelry industry as a jeweler/stone setter/designer in the greater Detroit area. She teaches internationally and was the Deputy Director at Haystack Mountain School of Craft from  2003-2023. Now along with her wife, potter Carole Ann Fer, they share a workspace, home, and garden at dowstudio in Deer Isle Maine.

Eric Ziner

“Nut Cracker”

The son of an artist, Eric started moving metal when he was in high school, and continues to create metalwork now, thirty four years later. Trained as a certified welder, he then became involved with blacksmithing after several years in Oregon, as a member of NWBA. Eric found it more fun creating art, than industrial fabrication. His works have included architectural office installations, atrium ornaments at the University of Oregon, Fish sculptures at the Philadelphia Fish Co. and locally, fanciful home accessories. Maintaining a gallery, and studio on Deer Isle for the last 20 years, Eric has had plenty of opportunities for commissions, installations, and teaching. Now, surrounded with farm animals, an appreciation for the local fishing industry, and an acute sense of the environment, he finds endless inspirations to convey his stories through artistic metalwork. He’s also one of our auctioneers for Artists Dish for HIP!