March brings an exciting exhibit to the Mellon Room of the Northeast Harbor Library – Kaitlyn Miller is displaying her colorful, impressionistic paintings!

“Within the confines of water and land, an island is an intimate place, where nature defines community, history, and beauty. In the ever changing light and life of these surroundings, painting, like swimming, lends a way of being; immersed and receptive, present to the magic of arriving, open to new perspectives, finding oneself again and again in the inner and outer landscape of creation. I paint in response to that which calls to be seen, appreciated, and honored by way of translation. These works on canvas are a landing home after long roads and rough seas. Each piece is a longing to linger where salt infuses wild shore succulents, seaweed dances in the tide, rosehips radiate in celebration of summer, and the sky sings with every color.”

Kaitlyn Miller is a painter, potter, poet, singer-songwriter and art teacher for the children of The Cranberry Isles School. After getting her BFA in ceramics at Maine College of Art and Design, she moved to Little Cranberry Island, Maine where she lived year round for 15 years. She now lives in Northeast Harbor with her son Bode, where she makes pottery in her kitchen studio and paints en plein air up and down the coast of Maine. She exhibits her paintings at the Artemis Gallery in Northeast Harbor and is currently featured in an exhibition at the Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor. Her pottery can be found at Sassafrass Cafe in Town Hill, Island Artisans in Bar Harbor, as well as Islesford Pottery in the summertime.

Also on display at the circulation desk is a piece of pottery that Kaitlyn and her mother co-create through Bluetale Pottery. Bluetale Pottery is a collaboration in clay between mother and daughter, Martha Miller and Kaitlyn Miller. Together they create decorated functional pottery with imagery inspired by dreams, myth, art history, astrology, tarot and nature. Kaitlyn makes the pottery forms which are handbuilt and wheel thrown. Martha brings her vision and drawings to the clay surface with sgraffito carving. Living three hours away from each other, they carefully pack the unfired pieces for transport and make plans regularly to meet up and swap the work. Kaitlyn finishes the pieces by glazing and firing them.

Martha is a lifelong artist in mixed media drawings and printmaking. She taught life drawing and portraiture through the MECA&D contininuing studies department for 15 years. She is now retired from teaching and works from her home studio in Woolwich, ME where she lives with her husband, Garry.

Find more of Kaitlyn’s work at www.kaitlynmiller.com

This exhibit is available to view in the Mellon Room during the library’s operating hours during the month of March. Occasionally, the Mellon room is booked for private use, if you are making a special trip to see the exhibit, please call ahead to check availability at 207 276 3333. Some work will be for sale; a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the library

Featured Image: Burning Off the Fog, 24 x 30, acrylic on canvas (2021)