Open Studios

Twice a year, the second Saturday in May and the Saturday
and Sunday before Thanksgiving, the artists of the
Salmon Falls Mills open their studios to the public.

Fine jewelry by Daphne McDonald

Gina Adams demonstrates encaustics

Studio of photographer, Tricia Toms

Photographer Tim Tiebout

Textile artist, Wen Redmond

Painter Stan Moeller


Collage artist, writer, and actor Mary Lou Bagley

Studio of Brian Coleman

Sculptor and print maker, Shaune McCarthy

Handmade clothing by open studios guest artist Jo Ann Bastien

Visit artists studios
Learn how & why artists do their work
See artists at work
Buy art directly from its maker
Ask as many questions as you want!

The Mills are home to nearly a hundred artists.

A day of arts, community and fun!
Saturday
May 10,
11 AM - 5 PM

On Saturday, May 10, 2008, the Artists of the Mills at Salmon Falls will open their studios from 11am to 5pm.  Just in time for Mother’s Day, this annual Spring event draws guests from all over New England to the rejuvenated historic mills on the Salmon Falls River as it runs between Rollinsford, NH and South Berwick, ME. 
Visitors at this one-day-only event get a rare opportunity to interact with dozens of artisans in studios as varied as the artists themselves. On exhibit and for sale will be paintings, photography, fiber arts, paper & book arts, jewelry, glass works, mixed-media, collage and assemblage, to clocks, children’s books, journals and apparel. Throw in an exotic wandering dance troupe (performances at 12pm and 2 pm), guest musicians such as Seacoast violinist Sam Goodall (11am), and art stations for children to create their own Mother’s Day cards, and you have a perfect day out for Mom and/or the whole family.

Dozens of artists, craftsmen and performers will be showing their work on all five floors, anchored by the ground-floor dance divas of Lotus Rising World Dance Studio in studio 148 of the Upper Mills building. “The movement-arts and dance are a natural complement to the fine art exhibits in the Mill,” said Pamela Green, owner of Lotus Rising. “We help make Open Studios a multi-dimensional experience for the senses.”

On the second floor, self-taught oil painter Chris Volpe shares studio space with his wife, Anna Birch (Queen Oscar Designs). "My first love was poetry," says Volpe, "and I paint from the same place. I’m interested in the poetic beauty that can be coaxed from the interaction with the landscape." His moody New England landscapes update 19th century traditions such as Barbizon and Tonalism with a contemporary sensibility.

The third floor’s Wen Redmond has been a fiber artist since 1976. For her, batik and weaving evolved into a love of the modern art quilt expression and her work now varies from abstract expressionism using dyed natural materials and surface design to innovative digital constructions using original manipulated images.

Next door, multi-disciplinary artist, Mary Lou Bagley, has welcomed in hundreds of visitors since the Open Studios tradition began.  Last Spring, she introduced her line of unique touchstones called Blessings & Reminders. “It was gratifying to get one-on-one responses to my new works,” says Bagley. “I knew that these pieces had struck a chord as guests handled them and shared their very personal stories with me.”  The happy result for both artist and guests  --  “hotcakes should be selling so well!” says Bagley with a laugh.

Just down the hall, Taintor Davis Child says of her work, “Making paintings is a way for me to explore and discover something new about myself and the world. It is a complex dance with lines, words, images, light and color that shapes a good part of this painter's life.
Maya Travaglia, born and raised in NYC, studied sculpture at Pratt Institute, and later apprenticed with Richard Yelle, Director of the New York Experimental Glass Workshop.      “… Her colorful, painterly glass works reflect light exquisitely, bringing to mind peaceful snapshots of nature…” says the Southampton News.
On the fourth floor, Barbara Brockelman paints in oils and one of her paintings was recently chosen for the Family First Calendar and note cards for 2009.  Her work also hangs at the Haley Art Gallery in Kittery, ME.

Daphne McDonald’s jewelry is well known throughout the Northeast. She specializes in a technique known as 'pierced work', in which she uses a fine hand saw to cut out her designs in silver and gold. Semi-precious stones are often incorporated in pendants, earrings, bracelets.

On the top floor, artists like Barbara London and Sally Allen make the climb well worth the trip.  London, a jazz musician, composer, artist, and writer grew up in Houlton Maine, and often incorporates her early Aroostook  County memories in her work. A recipient of three national Endowment for the Arts grants, Barbara has perfomed throughout the US. After years of college teaching and administrating, she says she is starting her creative journey afresh. She is happy to share her recordings, watercolors, and poetry.

Sally Allen, a well known educator and workshop facilitator who travels the country helping teachers incorporate art into their classrooms, will be on hand to share her personal works and to discuss her upcoming summer workshop, “A Gentle Journey Within,” geared for both artists and adults who have never handled art materials.
In addition to studio tours in the Upper Mill, the newly opened Rollinsford Public Library, which also features local art on their walls, will be open in the Lower Mill all day for visitors.   
Spring has sprung and art is alive and well in the Seacoast where NH and Maine meet.  Studio doors open at 11 am and promise a multi-sensory treat for those who appreciate art from those who make it.  All are invited to partake  …    
Note:  The Upper Mill is not handicapped accessible, and dogs are not allowed.

The Mills at Salmon Falls are owned by Cutter Family Properties (603-749-8879).

MillArtists.com, #433, 1 Front St., Rollinsford, NH 03869 Email
© 2005 Molly Colman