Now at the gallery April 12 – Summer 2024
Michelle Scarlett
Placemarkers – The Inner Workings Of Sketchbook Ideas
In my practice, paper is the key element. I create my work in stages. First, I chart my thoughts in my sketchbook and journals. Next, I translate those notes and drawings into a print design and/or papermaking recipe. I use my experience in hand papermaking processes to create papers that begin conversations on themes such as nature, cultural heritage, the impacts of global events, and the human condition. I use pigments, paper fibers, and papermaking techniques such as watermarks and color pulp painting in this process.
In the Barn Meadow book project, I have used a watermark design in the papers that flow through the pages of the book. The handmade paper is a mix of cotton and linter fibers suited for the printmaking process. The prints are linoleum relief printing using a layered ink technique. The book layout design uses movement, line, and texture to create the feeling of walking through the woods and noticing the beauty of nature.”
Location and Hours
UMM Art Gallery
Powers Hall, 1st Floor
116 O’Brien Avenue, Machias, Maine, 04654
Hours of operation:
Monday through Friday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Works From the Permanent Collection
The Art Gallery at the University of Maine at Machias is the center for the visual arts in the Down East area.
In 1972, the John C. and Norma B. Marin Foundation donated the works of John Marin, Lyonel Feininger, Reuben Tam, William Zorach, Paul Jenkins, Oscar Bleumner, and William Kienbusch to the Art Gallery’s permanent collection. Since then, the gallery has acquired for its collection contemporary works from a number of American artists including: Hunt Slonem, Robert Indiana, Daphne Cummings and Dennis Pinnette, as well as local artists who work in a variety of media including paintings, prints, watercolors, photography and sculpture.
There is also an active gallery schedule during the year with a variety of exhibits of contemporary works, historical themes, art faculty and student work, and selections from the permanent collection.
We also sponsor shows supporting our Machias Bay area’s cultural identity, including a number of exhibits about the petroglyphs surrounding Machias Bay. This includes a comprehensive petroglyph surface prints collection made by the Hedden family and on loan from them, and petroglyph surface casts made under the direction of Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy tribal historian. Also in our collection are baskets made by the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and MicMac tribal artisans.
For more information please contact:
Bernie Vinzani
Professor of Book Arts and Art
Director of the Book Arts Studio
Director of the Art Galleries and Gallery for the Book