Friday, June 30, 2017

over the moon in june

Yikes! A whole month has gone by without me writing a blog post here! I have posted twice on the Curtis Creative Spaces blog, though- does that count for something? Anyway, the reason I haven't posted here is because June has been a very busy month indeed...and since today's the last day in June, I better get on it!

My 19th Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" was at Dobra Tea (89 Exchange Street) on Friday, June 2nd - First Friday, to be exact - and although it feels like a distant memory right now, it is certainly a fond one! "Do Tell" was my first "Paint-a-Thon" to take place in Portland, which was a milestone for me. Just to recap, my solo show at Dobra Tea went up at the end of May, and that show will be up through the end of July, so my June and July "Paint-a-Thon" events will be in the same location. I'm grateful for this fact for several reasons, the biggest one being how awesome a venue Dobra Tea is! The place is gorgeous, the staff is friendly, the tea is wonderful, and the clientele is laid-back and peaceful. It was a great place to spend the day painting, and I experienced something I've never experienced before: I finished an hour early!


the beginning...

"Blossom In My Driveway": finished! 

I'm happy to say that the winner of "Blossom In My Driveway" is Daniel Alperin! Danny is a very dear friend of my sister, Addie, and her husband, Marc, and I know he will give my work a good home. I even have photographic evidence:

proof!

Thanks to everyone's support, a check for $100 is heading out today to The Telling Room. Yay! I'd also like to take this opportunity to announce my July "Paint-a-Thon": yes, it will be at Dobra Tea, but this time, it will be on Friday, July 21st; I'm calling it "Green Is Good," because this month's cause will be the conservation efforts of Maine Audubon! Here's the link to the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1819678748346092/

Another thing keeping me busy in June was getting my piece ready for the Taste of Tidewater 10x10. The show isn't until August, but the deadline for dropping off work was today...and I managed to get it finished a day early! WHEW. I give you "Office Daffodils"! 

"Office Daffodils"

What else has been happening? Well, I've saved the biggest news for last: I painted a piano and it's now living on the sidewalk on Maine Street in Brunswick outside of Cool As A Moose! This is a very long story, but I will try to be as brief as I can (which probably won't be brief at all, but whatever). Caroline from Cool As A Moose reached out to me a while ago to see if I'd be interested in painting their offering for the Brunswick Downtown Association's "Pianos on The Streets" initiative. Naturally, I jumped at the chance, and soon enough, the wonderful folks at Maine State Music Theatre came up with a piano they were happy to donate! You might remember how much rain we had in the early part of this month along with the unseasonably hot and humid days scattered in between...well, the initial plan was for me to paint the piano right out on the sidewalk, but due to the crazy forecast, I asked if there might be an indoor space where I could work. Again, the awesome staff at Maine State Music Theatre came through, and offered up their small rehearsal room at 22 Elm Street. Not only was I able to work in air-conditioned comfort during some very hot days (and work long after dark during some other nights), I was able to eavesdrop on rehearsals for "Tommy" and "Guys And Dolls"! What fun! 

priming, June 7th

June 8th

June 9th

June 12th

June 13th

June 14th

June 15th

June 15th


After 44 hours of work over 10 consecutive days (yes, I kept track), the piano was finally finished. You can see all of my progress photos on Instagram, if you'd like...here is the link: https://www.instagram.com/brushstrokesbymaria/


Like little angels in the night, the MSMT interns surprised everyone and moved the piano after hours (I've been told that there's a video of the big move, but I have yet to see it, and I am SO curious!), and on Wednesday, June 21st (Summer Solstice!), my piano made its debut. 

HOORAY!

I'm grateful to Caroline from Cool As A Moose for asking me to work on this project, I'm grateful to Curt, Kathi, and everyone else at MSMT for their hospitality and for making me feel so welcome, and I'm grateful to Patti, Trevor, and everyone else at Brunswick Downtown Association for all you do for this great little town I love so much! I've heard that there is going to be a celebration of all of the sidewalk pianos on Second Friday (July 14th)...stay tuned (no pun intended)!