Heart of art: Rare glimpse of vibrant Corea community

It’s a rare glimpse into the artists’ lives – where they live, what they do and how they do it.

It’s an excuse to visit a charming Maine village on a pristine harbor, where a handful of lobstermen still head out at the break of dawn to snag tasty crustaceans for your dinner table.

It’s called The Tradition Continues: Artists of Corea Studio Tour. It only happens every other year, and this year it takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18. The day starts at Chapter Two/Marsha Spurling House Gallery at 116 Corea Road. The self-guided studio tour begins at 10 a.m.

This is no ordinary tour. The “chicken coop” workspace and bedroom of iconic modernist American painter Marsden Hartley, both now privately owned, are open to the public on this day only. One of the foremost painters of the early 20th century, Hartley was part of a stellar group that orbited photographer-editor-art dealer Alfred Stieglitz. His colleagues included such notable artists as John Marin and Georgia O’Keeffe. Hartley was also a close friend of Gertrude Stein, the “lost generation” expatriate writer who drew him into her Parisian salon of avant-garde writers and artists.

Hartley was photographed by Corea summer resident and heritage artist Louise Z. Young. Her magnificent black-and-white photographs of him and the Corea area are on display in the studio where she worked.

Hartley may be the most famous of the featured artists, but Corea boasts a current bevy of highly creative residents who will welcome you to their studios. Unlike Hartley, whose works will only be shown through slides, their selected creations are available for viewing and for sale.

Take Margo Klass, for example, who summers in Corea and winters in Alaska. She has a long and distinguished history as a book artist and as a teacher of art and art history. She now devotes her time to producing small-scale sculptural boxes that blend light with aesthetic space. Her husband, former English professor Frank Soos, writes the delightful prose that accompanies each piece.

If it’s woodcuts you like, take a gander at Dan Miller’s prints. He uses an ancient graphic process to cut the blocks, which he inks and prints to paper. The limited edition Artists Tour T-shirts feature Dan’s print “Against a Northern Sky.” Dan will demonstrate his techniques and art at 2-3 p.m. at the Corea Grange Hall and will sign T-shirts on request.

Then there’s Rachel Schiro, a Bangor resident who also summers in Corea. At her studio, Schiro displays still life paintings and the remarkable assemblages she creates from everyday articles. Her paintings reflect the play of light and shadow, as well as color and abstraction. Her assemblages include articles that range from tools and cabinet knobs to house trim and shoe stretchers.

You’ll find no shortage of painters on the tour. Barbara Zucker captures the beauty and peacefulness of Corea and the Schoodic Peninsula in her contemporary landscapes, rendered in acrylic on canvas or paper. Yugoslavian native Iso Papo uses watercolors, charcoal, pastels, and pen-and-ink to create soft but striking landscapes and scenes of the Maine coast. And Phyllis Silverman, who enjoyed a successful career as a designer of patterns for fabrics and wallpaper, now creates collages at age 97. She also paints bold and colorful abstracts reminiscent of Matisse.

Perhaps it is photographs that attract you. Ann Young, a retired nonprofit foundation administrator, photographs “feelings” of the Corea and Schoodic area. She uses a single-lens reflex camera and processes her work both digitally and in the darkroom.

If you prefer rug hooking, quilting and spinning to the fine arts and photography, you really should see what Corea has to offer. For example, Rosemary Levin hand-hooks strips of vintage and hand-dyed wool into monk’s cloth to create design images, wall hangings and rugs. Her legendary eye for color and design, along with her creative energy and willingness to share, make a visit to her Corea Rug Hooking Co. at Chapter Two well worth your visit.

As for quilters, Gail Ruland uses paper piecing, strip piecing, and machines to create quilts of 100 percent cotton. Her beautiful and skillfully executed works range from traditional to contemporary. Also, the Seaside Quilters will display selected productions at the Corea Grange Hall and will raffle off one of their remarkable creations.

Finally, local spinners will conduct demonstrations at the Grange Hall and will offer handspun yarns and yarn goods.

In addition to celebrating current art in Corea, The Tradition Continues: Artists of Corea Studio Tour celebrates the “Heritage Artists” who lived or worked in the area but have passed on. Displays will include selected works by or books about “Dean of American Painting” John Marin; painter-sculptor-writer Chenoweth Hall; magazine and book illustrator Grattan Condon; Bangor-born painter Waldo Peirce; watercolorist and Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice Doug Lockwood; twins Ivan and Melvin Albright (Ivan painted the famed picture of Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray, featured in the 1945 Hollywood film); and painter-lobsterman Harvey Crowley.

Tickets and tour maps are available in advance at Chapter Two and on the day of the tour at the Marsha Spurling House Gallery and the Seaside Grange on Crowley Island Road. Tickets for adults are $10. Children 12 and under are admitted free, but must be accompanied by an adult. Proceeds from the event will benefit Seaside Grange 567, which serves as Corea’s community center and is one of the few Granges in the country that is still growing.

Parking at studios is limited. A complimentary shuttle is available and is required for the Klass studio. Visitors should be aware that steep steps lead to the Hartley bedroom.

Box lunches, which include a drink, cost $10 and benefit the Acadian Community Woman’s Club. Lunches are available from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Corea Baptist Church and may be reserved in advance by calling 963-2067. For more about the tour and events, call Chapter Two at 963- 7269.

Beth Parks is a freelance writer and photographer who is participating in this show. She uses digital technology for her scenic and wildlife photos, and will show participants how to take a digital approach to restoring old or damaged photographs.