New Website has gone Live!

 I'm excited to announce that my new artist website is officially live!

Check it out at:

shannawheelock.com

Feels good to be back at the wheel!

 View of Grand Manan

Oil

by Neal McPartlin

 

 Inside Cobscook Pottery 

Lubec, Maine

 Swiss Chard is, thankfully, growing faster than the weeds.  

If in the area....don't miss Ann's art show at the Eastport Art Gallery!

Maine Inspired

A solo exhibition by Ann Rosebrooks

at the
Eastport Art Gallery

July 9-21, 2012

Opening Reception July 12, 4:00-7:00 p.m.

After a few months of conversation, planning, uploading, and editing, the new website has finally made its debut! 

shannawheelock.com

Not being the super-duper techie type, the help of Barnstormer Designs, out of Jonesport, was enlisted. Deborah Bailey was a joy to work with and I am so pleased with the end result. It is still a work in progress but the artist portion of the site is pretty much done. The Transformation Tapestry section should be complete fairly soon and the Cobscook Pottery shopping site should be up and running later this summer. In the meantime, go ahead and take a peek!

My sister Kristin and her partner Neal just left yesterday after a weekend visit downeast. Kristin and I usually have a list of things to do and Neal pretty much does his own thing with a little hiking, painting, and quick trips to the coffee shop downtown. Something new that Kristin and I did this year was to visit Roosevelt's Park on Campobello Island. We secured tickets for "Tea with Eleanor" and by mid afternoon we were sipping some English Breakfast and munching on lemon and gingersnap cookies while looking out over the bay to Eastport. Our guide, Carolyn, offered a glimpse into the interesting life of the former first lady. Eleanor was certainly one to be admired, for her courage and compassion toward those less fortunate. Perhaps it was her own tumultuous upbringing that offered such a perspective, allowing her to empathize with the plight of others. 

The tea seemed a fitting experience in light of this past week's monumental leap forward for U.S. citizens with the supreme court decision which ruled in favor of the constitutionality of the healthcare bill. When I heard the news I cried. So many decisions are made in our country based on  bottom-line finances, often to the extreme detriment of the peoples' wellbeing. However, this decision last week is one that is ethical and a positive step toward the care of humanity. Could this be a turn for our country? I certainly hope so.

Now that company has left and the website is at a break point, I am back in the studio throwing wares for summer sales. In between throwing and trimming I emerge from the cave to greet visitors to the pottery shop. I always meet the neatest folks from far off places with interesting stories to tell about their travels or how they came to visit Lubec. Last summer I even met the great grandson of the man who invented the donut hole! (Now that's an unusual claim to fame!)

A lot of people have been visiting Lubec in summers longer than we have lived here. It's always neat to hear someone else's perspective on the fast-changing and ever-evolving atmosphere of our tiny easternmost town. In the past few years Lubec has been in the midst of a mini renaissance with the opening of boutiques and restaurants. Still, it manages to retain its charm as a remote fishing village yet mainly undiscovered. It's an anomaly to have no traffic lights, chain stores, movie theaters, and fast food restaurants into today's modern society. Yet, despite not having any of these things (and not within 35-55 miles!) we are a happening place with lots to do. The arts are alive and growing here. Between Eastport and Lubec, your calendar can be full nearly every night of the week with a gallery opening, music or theater performance, poetry reading, or nature exploration. Summer Keys concerts have begun and musicians are regularly seen walking down the street with cellos strapped tot heir backs, or fiddle players sharing a tune on a bench downtown.  It's fourth of July week here so the streets are filling at a steady pace and soon the festivities will begin a five day stretch of activities and fireworks.

Speaking of activities and arts...don;t forget to mark your calendar for this year's Lubec Arts Alive! I am busy with my other partners in crime organizing for this year's event which includes a "Create-in Lubec" weekend, printmaking for kids, art on the beach, and a lively downeast art auction. Also this year, in partnership with the Tides Institute and Museum of Art, Leslie Bowman will present a free photography workshop where participants will learn tips and tricks of catching great live shots then go out in the field to document this year's Lubec Arts Alive events. Space is limited for this fabulous photography project, August 3-6, so contact the Tides Institute soon to reserve your space!

To view information on this year's Lubec Arts Alive events, follow our blog at

Lubecartsalive.blogspot.com

I need to get moving here. Shower, put out that OPEN sign, and crawl down into my cave for some serious clay work.

Don't forget about the:

Lubec Farmers' Market

downtown Lubec

Saturdays this summer, beginning July 7th,  9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

I'll be vending my pottery there along with all those nifty farmers selling their cheeses, breads, and veggies!!!