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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing
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Art and Nature Side-By-Side At Bates Museum
"Portraits: Maine Natural History", the summer art exhibit at the L.C. Bates Museum will offer an Artists' Panel Talk on Wednesday, August 11, at 7:00 p.m. The show is unique in that the artwork is displayed throughout the natural history sections of the museum, close to exhibits that portray similar animals or settings. An excellent descriptive brochure accompanies the show. "My three paintings span a fair amount of time — over 30 years, yet no more than an eye blink by the measure of Natural History," writes artist Abbott Meader. "The big beetle dates back to 1966. I was lying in the summer grass in North Belgrade when it crawled by, a few inches from my eye — as big as a house!" Lynne Harwood's "Dandelion 1," was also inspired by personal experience: "As an apprentice at Blessed Maine Herb Farm in West Athens, I learned to appreciate wild plants and "weeds." Dandelions are good food and medicine. The flowers are sweet and mild, full of pollen. The young crown of leaves with flower that emerges in the spring is delicious steamed and loaded with vitamins and minerals. The root may be eaten raw like a carrot or cooked, or steeped for tea. It, too, tastes good and is very nutritious. Dandelion's medicinal properties include toning the liver and the urinary tract, and cleansing the lymph system. The commercials for Roundup vilifying dandelions are part of "the axis of evil" in my book."
Exhibition Curator, David Staber, describes, "Each of the works in this year's art exhibit portrays something of the nature of our world. They bring into the Museum aspects of the natural history of Maine that could not be represented by the traditional Museum displays. The artists have not merely depicted their chosen subject matter, but have captured something of the "process and forces producing and controlling the physical world." They also have revealed something of themselves: their curiosity, sympathy, intelligence and of course their love of Maine's natural world." The L.C. Bates Museum on Route 201 in Hinckley is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays 1-4:30 p.m. The "Portraits" exhibit will be up until October 15. For more information call 238-4250, write to lcbates@gwh.org, or visit the museum's web site. | ||
