This art’s for you Hancock County artists make artwork more affordable for all

Most people’s day-to-day budgets do not allow them to think of themselves as art buyers. But eight respected Hancock County artists have organized a show and sale making small-format original works available to all art lovers, especially those who typically cannot afford to make purchases from galleries where pricing slides toward heftier purses.

“Ten By Eight,” an art show and sale of diminutive works, takes place 2-5 p.m. Saturday at Frankies restaurant on High Street in Ellsworth. This simply organized and greatly spirited collection of 10 works qualifies as fast impulse buying that won’t break the bank. The show is based on a grass-roots trend in the art world to make art more affordable. As in the case of “Ten By Eight,” the show-sales are organized by the artists themselves who self-curate the pieces and, in most cases, keep 100 percent of the profits.

The guidelines for the Ellsworth show were that eight artists would do 10 works, measuring 8-by-10 inches and costing $108 (plus tax). Each is either already framed or created in such a way that no frame is needed. The pieces were hung at Frankies earlier this week. On Dec. 11, a show of larger – and more expensive – works by the same artists will be exhibited through Dec. 31 at Frankies.

Last year for the “Ten By Eight,” show, many people arrived at Frankies early for the pre-show and fast-paced sales event, which takes place in the midst of the regular restaurant service. The event is convivial and quick, and last year, within three hours, more than 100 pieces of art had found new homes for the holidays.

While the profits for this show tend to be lower than what many of the participants receive from gallery shows, the artists say the annual event is one they appreciate on a creative and community level.

“I love the whole idea of affordable art,” said Gail Page, a Brooksville artist who organized this show after trying for several years to get into a similar one in Portland so popular that it has a waiting list of artists who want to participate. “It’s a short show but people work hard and it’s a nice spurt of energy.”

Avy Claire lives in Blue Hill and, as with all the artists in this show, has sold work in galleries in Maine and elsewhere. For “Ten By Eight,” she said, the gallery pressure is off and that causes a shift in her sensibility toward creating the art.

“On some bizarre level, my best work is what I do for free,” said Claire. “It’s stuff I allowed to happen without thought of a gallery dealer or critic. Knowing I was going to give it away made it more spirited. On some level, I see this show as giving it away. But there’s also a level of excitement that continues to build as we come together as a group. We want to do our best work and that feeds the dynamic between us.”

“It gives you a stronger sense of artistic autonomy than when you are dealing with a gallery or with a large commercial venture,” said MaJo Keleshian, who lives in Ellsworth. “It’s a real opportunity to do new work. I make an effort to do something I wouldn’t do for a gallery. It’s a license to experiment.”

For this show, Keleshian, who paints abstract landscapes, did a series of small watercolors called “Conversations with the City.” Gridlike and haunting, the pieces are an homage to her hometown of New York City. Claire mixed acrylic paint and gold ink to make Arabic-like marks layered onto Mylar. Page, who was toying with the idea of calling her boxes-and-circles series “Spinning Chakras,” said the pieces departed from her usual illustrative work and into an interest she has in the healing power of color and energy.

Lydia Cassatt of Brooksville said that not only did she appreciate having the contact with other artists – all of whom primarily work in isolated studios – but also that the show gave her the chance to begin processing world events.

“When I started working in the studio on this show, I had been thinking about what’s going on in the world and how to respond as an artist,” said Cassatt. “Normally, there’s nothing political about my landscapes. They are always about light and color, but these are more about looking out into the sky, out into the universe to something bigger.”

Other participants include fiber artist Utta Graf of Brooksville, Ragna Bruno of Hancock, Hattie Barker of Blue Hill, and Louise Bourne of Sedgwick.

It is a coincidence, said Page, who recently returned from participating in a similar show in Orlando, Fla., that all the artists in “Ten By Eight,” are women. But that fact does make for unique bonding among the colleagues.

“All of us have to make some shift in our life to get this done,” said Bourne, whose oil landscapes reflect her interest in bold colors. “But because these are small pieces, you can put aside the type of care that can be stifling. For me, it’s a way of looking at ideas that can be enlightening and letting go of a heaviness that a gallery show can cause.”

In the summer, the art market in Maine is a whirlwind of participation, production and promotion for these women. This show, they say, carries a special pride because, by and large, the people who make the purchases are people who live in the state – if not in the neighborhood.