Each year the students, instructors, staff, and friends of Portland Pottery hold a sale at the Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, in Falmouth, Maine.  Sited on 65 acres along the Presumscot River, Gilsland Farm is the headquarters for Maine’s Audubon Society.  The center offers walking trails, apple orchards, bee hives, and a large, beautifully designed center which houses offices, learning areas, galleries, and a gift shop.

So every September a large tent is erected in a small field among the heavily laden apple trees and, for 3 days, local potters and artists come together to sell their wares.  During the 3 days, Portland Pottery accepts donations for the Maine Audubon and features a smaller tent where adults and children can get short clay sculpting and throwing lessons.  This year we had beautiful fall weather, and the show became, for me, a time to enjoy the lovely setting and catch up with old friends!

A couple of years ago, the folks at Portland Pottery began a project which would create a work of art for the front of their building.  The idea was that a number of students and friends of the organization would each hand-carve and sculpt a 12″ tile based on the theme “what Portland means to me.”  The resulting tiles, which range from depictions of popular Portland landmarks to sea-life to sports teams, would then be placed together near the Washington Avenue entrance of the facility.  This project, which turned out to be quite an undertaking, is finally finished, and the resulting work of art is wonderful!

This is a view of the entire completed project.

A close-up of my tile!