Author McCullough
SEARSPORT — Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough will sign his newest book, “The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris,” at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at Left Bank Books, 21 East Main St. The event is free and open to all.
McCullough is an American historian, a consummate storyteller who has been the voice of American history for four decades. His work includes the acclaimed biographies “John Adams” and “Truman,” Pulitzer Prize winners in 2002 and 1992 respectively; “1776,” a landmark history which had an initial print run of more than 1 million copies in 2005; “Brave Companions,” “Mornings on Horseback,” “The Path Between the Seas,” “The Great Bridge” and “The Johnstown Flood.”
TV and movie viewers also know McCullough for his familiar voice on documentaries, including almost two dozen installments of “The American Experience,” Ken Burns’ “The Civil War,” “Smithsonian World” and the 2003 feature film “Seabiscuit.”
As McCullough points out, these Americans did not travel to Paris in a diplomatic capacity, as did Franklin or Adams in the 18th century; nor as expatriates such as Hemingway or Fitzgerald in the 20th century. They were not business travelers and did not travel for pleasure or status. Rather, they came for a very specific and serious purpose: to learn, to work and to make their mark.
In addition to two Pulitzer Prizes, McCullough has won two National Book Awards and is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. A native of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Yale University, he is an avid reader, traveler and devoted painter.
For more information, call Left Bank Books at 548-6400.
Appalachian music in Unity
UNITY — Kyle Carey with Rosie MacKensie will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8, at the Unity College Centre for the Performing Arts, 42 Depot St.
Caryey’s songs take listeners to the hills of Appalachia, the shores of Cape Breton, the Highlands of Scotland. Her earliest musical memories come from the Alaskan bush, where she was immersed in the Yupik language and its songs. She also traveled to Cape Breton on a Fulbright fellowship to study traditional Gaelic and Cape Breton fiddle styles, and to the Isle of Skye in Scotland where she deepened her study of Gaelic song and achieved fluency in the language.
At 21, Rosie MacKenzie is already a veteran performer and recording artist, recognized as one of the finest young Cape Breton fiddlers on the traditional music scene. She exploded onto that scene as the youngest member of The Cottars in 2001, and has been winning over audiences with her electrifying musicianship, engaging stage presence, and step-dance prowess ever since.
Tickets are $15 and may be obtained at http://www.unitymaine.org or at the door. There will be a pre-jam session beginning at 6:30 p.m. and musicians are invited to bring instruments. For more information, call 948-7469.
Gallery owner on jury panel
ROCKLAND — Craft gallery owner and curator Barbara Michelena has been invited by the American Craft Council to serve on its jury panel for its national 2012 craft shows. Jurors are selected by the council based on expertise in a range of materials and functions. Michelena will jury in the category of glass and ceramics. She has a background of interior and graphic design, practicing in New York and Los Angeles before moving to Maine. She opened Craft gallery at 12 Elm St., Rockland, in 2010 and is open seasonally from Memorial Day to Thanksgiving. She shows work by more than 20 foremost and respected craft artists working in Maine today, personally selecting work from their studios for her gallery.
The American Craft Council was founded 70 years ago. Its mission is to champion and promote the understanding of contemporary American craft, sponsor the most prestigious craft shows and exhibitions in the United States and publish American Craft magazine.
For more information, call 594-0167 or visit http://www.craftonelm.com/.
Build a shadowbox at the Farnsworth
ROCKLAND — Dioramas, also known as shadowboxes, are an art form in which assemblages of objects depict a scene, tell a story or express an idea or emotion. Penobscot Marine Museum will teach the art and craft of shadowbox construction in a workshop 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Farnsworth Art Museum. The program is inspired by the work of Anne-Emmanuelle Marpeau, a French diorama artist whose work is on display at Dowling Walsh Gallery, also in Rockland.
Marpeau is renowned for her meticulously crafted dioramas that depict the history and folklore of Maine islands and coastal communities. In 2010, an exhibit of Marpeau’s work at Penobscot Marine Museum proved so popular that it was extended for several months beyond its scheduled closing date.
In August, the museum sponsored “Art Afloat,” a series of programs that visited several Maine islands and ports with a new exhibit of Marpeau’s work, plus illustrated history presentations and shadowbox workshops for adults and children.
“Now that the ‘Art Afloat’ exhibit has come ashore at Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, it’s fitting that we should offer the workshop right across Main Street at the Farnsworth Art Museum,” said Susan Henkel, the program’s coordinator at Penobscot Marine Museum.
Workshop materials will be provided, but participants should bring their own photos and keepsakes to incorporate into their designs. Registration is $10 adult, or $15 adult and child. To register, contact Susan Henkel at 548-2529, ext.202 or shenkel@pmm-maine.org.
Altered photographs exhibit
UNITY — The altered photo work of Petrea Noyes of Brooks will be on display through Friday, Sept. 30, at the Centre Gallery, Unity College Centre for the Performing Arts, 42 Depot St.
Noyes said of the process for creating her black-and-white works, “Using a vintage photo, I crop, resize and alter it using a number of digital filters. Once I obtain a satisfactorily blurred image I print it on canvas. I allow this to dry for 24 hours and then machine-wash the piece. This may take one cycle or several until I obtain the correct amount of image ‘ghosting.’” I let the canvas dry for a couple of days,and then use gesso and graphite to enhance what remains of the obliterated image. This then gets stretched on heavy-duty bars and finished with acrylics, glazes and varnishes. I came by this process due to pure disgust with some of the pieces I had thought were finished. I figured laundering them might be an improvement over burning them in the driveway — sometimes this works well and sometimes it is a disaster. I think part of my job as an artist is to try to control the disasters I have created.”
The gallery is open when there are performances or other functions in the building or by appointment at any time. Call 568-3147 for more information or to set up a time to view the show. Visit http://www.unityme.org for more information.