My First Show at KAA!
For those of you who don’t live in the Kittery area, let me tell you what’s been going on with the Kittery Art Association. For years they’ve been located in Kittery Point, near Pepperrell Cove, on Coleman Ave. Last month, they sold that building and are currently in the process of moving into the old Rice Library building, which is located in Kittery, in the Foreside. It’s an incredible location, within walking distance of the bridge over to downtown Portsmouth, and surrounded by great restaurants in the Foreside. And this is all happening between scheduled shows, and literally a couple of days before the biggest party of the year in Kittery: the Kittery Block Party.
A couple of weeks ago I volunteered to help with the moving process; I was there for one morning. Two pods were delivered, and in two days the building’s contents were packed into those pods and moved to the new location. I didn’t help with the renovations at the new location, but I did sign up to help paint 8 concrete barriers that will be used at the Kittery Block Party. Julia O’Connell designed the sun/moon/stars theme, and they look great!
The show that had been scheduled next for the KAA was “A Road Less Traveled,” and it’s on track, along with the Gallery’s Grand Opening, for this Thursday, June 16th. Pulling it together this quickly was no small feat!
Today was the artist drop-off, and to say that I was excited to drop off my work is a gross understatement - I was ready to go at 9am, which was 5 hours too early! Exhibiting artists can submit 3 paintings for the all-member shows, plus they’ve got a section where multidisciplinary artists can display their handmade pieces, so I also brought some framed stone/shell art. This is what I’m submitting for this show (and I’m already thinking ahead to the next show, which starts July 14th):
This is the area where they had stations set up for drop-off. It was busy - lots of people coming and going (though not so much in this photo) - but this obviously wasn’t their first rodeo… they were very organized!
So on Thursday, for the Opening Reception, artists were asked to bring in refreshments, and I’ll be dropping off some mini whoopie pies. If you’re in the area and want to check out some amazing art - I saw some beautiful pieces being dropped off today - and want to have a snack while you’re at it, stop by the show, which runs from 2:00-5:00. It’s also open on Saturdays and Sundays, and they’ll have a booth set up for the Block Party this Saturday, which I’ll be missing because we’ll be at Liam and Kerry’s for their annual Poker Tournament (which we’ve been practicing for, below)!
