We are at the foothills of Maine's Western Mountains.
Affinity Arts is a dynamic work in progress in the last wood mill in Bridgton, Maine. The picture below left is the patio area in front of the entrance to Affinity's woodworking shop. The varying sounds of the brook rushing by the foundation below is a great place to sit with a drawing board, laptop or guitar. To give you insight on the vision that is creating Affinity Arts, let me introduce you to its owner and creator, Stephen D. Oliver, MFA. The photo above right is his assemblage "A Furniture Maker's Dream."
“MY LIFE AND WORK FOCUS ON HOW ART AND DESIGN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD. I AM ESTABLISHING AFFINITY ARTS AS A CREATIVE RETREAT AND INCUBATOR.”
You can view two pieces of Stephen's creative work that are installed in the 8th Annual Garden Invitational in the Art Gallery of the University of New England, Westbrook campus. The exhibit shows the work of exceptional Maine sculptors; and most of their pieces are in the garden that surrounds the jewelbox-like glass gallery at the back of the UNE campus property. A visit to the Art Gallery for this show and others is worth an afternoon. www.une.edu./artgallery
At the Art Gallery, Stephen's "A Furniture Maker's Dream" is to the left of the interior doorway. This piece expresses the artist/designer/architect's love of his craft as a worker of wood, a trained, fine furniture artisan who would like to spend most of his time designing and making fine furniture. The lower level of the old mill that is Affinity holds his woodcrafting and design shop; and he dreams of working with artisans from all over the world and down Maine roads.
Affinity links across the globe and across cultures:
Last year Stephen worked with a group of people, originally from Sudan, to design a new, energy efficient, self-sustaining secondary school for Southern Sudan. The group spent an entire day at the mill, wandered by the brook and stood on the rocks, enjoying the green environment and thinking about building this school for the future of a Southern Sudan, to help it recover from generations of wars.
Two years ago Stephen worked with Oscar Mokeme at the Museum of African Culture to design and create the new space for the museum in the heart of the Portland, Maine Arts District. It has the angles of a ship and the colors of Africa on its walls.
Every First Friday Art Walk in Portland will find the Museum offering special programs along with wine and cheese; and the last Friday of the month there is a special program on the significance of the mask in African cultures. www.museumafricanculture.org
Just this week, Affinity Arts hosted Oscar Mokeme for lunch in the studio after his presentation at the summer Brown Bag Lunch program in Bridgton, which happens every Wednesday from June through August. I am one of the co-organizers of the weekly event. Joining us at Affinity for some impromptu artists and writers conversation were Joan Hunter, writer and writing coach and owner of writing retreat, Fifth House Lodge in Bridgton and Susan Gassett, a Boston theatre director and playwright who has semi-retired to the Western Mountains. I think our conversation brought her right out of that "retired" reverie. More to follow, I hope.
As the short summer continues racing toward fall, Affinity will continue to be the place I paint and write; Stephen will continue on his dream's journey and many artists will pass through here, to work, be inspired, inspire others and sprout new ideas that cross all roads of life.
VMH
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