Artist Feature: Bill Housley

Bill Housley is one of the artisans featured in the gallery. He works with wood and produces beautiful and functional bowls, lidded boxes, salt and pepper grinders, and toothpick holders.

Bill was previously a cosmetic dentist but switched to carving wood instead of teeth. He has stated that, “it is just another form of arts and crafts!” Although he has worked with wood for decades, Bill only began turning wood after his retirement from dentistry.

What sets Bill’s work apart is that he uses a Rose Engine. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Rose Engines were used by the European elite to turn out intricate wooden figurines and such. Wood turning was an all-but forgotten craft but, recently, Rose Engine lathes were produced for the first time since the nineteenth century at a much lower cost. Bill Housely is the proud owner of engine 38, the only one in the state of Maine.

The Rose Engine allows for detailed designs that a typical lathe is not able to produce. It has special components that, while the block of wood is spinning, can move in and out, up and down, and side to side. The results of Bill’s vision and the complex and unique machine he uses can be seen in his stunning work. To see more of his work, visit his page on our website, here.

Hi everyone, Liz here. I’ve been learning a lot through the Introduction to Gemology course that I have been working on. Recently, I completed a section that walked me through an A-Z list of commonly seen gemstones. It was fun and intriguing to see these beautiful gems, as well as learn about their formation. I thought I’d share just a few of the ones that stood out to me.

Ammolite is a beautiful gemstone with a rainbow coloring. What’s particularly interesting about ammolite is that it is formed from the ancient ammonite sea creatures, as you can see by the shell shape. They are mostly found in Canada where there was once a shallow sea.

Another gemstone with unique origins is Charoite. This stone is only found in the Charo River in Russia, but it is no longer mined. As stated in the course, the chemical make up of this gemstone is so complex that it is not really understood.

Lapis Lazuli is a very well-known gemstone. The famous blue color comes from the minerals lazurite and calcite. The wonderful gold that runs through the stone is actually pyrite, also known as “fool’s gold”. Lapis Lazuli has been prized for thousands of years and was used by ancient civilizations, like the Ancient Egyptians. It was also ground up to be used in paint.

It has been a fulfilling experience learning about gemstones and even more fun to look at all the stunning examples!

*All information from the International School of Gemology course Introduction to Gemology

Hi Everyone,

Grace here. I just wanted to come on here to wish everyone good health and hope you and your families are doing well. Today I am going to be sharing some of my favorite items in the gallery, all for sale! This will include jewelry, paintings, and furniture!

First off, we have my favorite ring. This ring is called Kezar Lake, inspired by our lake here in Lovell! It has Maine Tourmaline and white gold and is so pretty with the different colored gemstones. This is what it looks like and here is the link: https://harvestgoldgallery.com/products/lake-ring-in-maine-tourmalines-and-white-gold

Next we have my all time favorite earrings, the Cotton Hill Amethyst Earrings. These pretty drop earrings have local amethyst stones and a 14k gold setting. The purple color is unlike any other stone. https://harvestgoldgallery.com/products/cotton-hill-amethyst-earrings-in-a-14k-yellow-gold-setting

Choosing a painting was the hardest, because I love all of the paintings at the gallery. But, I have to say one of my favorites is "Morning Buzz" by Kristen Dill. I love the contrast of the darker background to the flowers, and the colors are so pretty! Here is what it looks like: https://harvestgoldgallery.com/collections/kristen-dill

Lastly, we have my pick of home decor from the gallery. I chose to highlight this Cow bowl made with polymer clay because of how unique it is. And the cows are so cute! This is just one of the many bowls we have by Karin Noyes. https://harvestgoldgallery.com/products/purple-cats-by-karin-noyes

Thanks all for reading my picks at the gallery, and I hope you check out these products and others on our website.

Stay Safe! <3

Today I went on a hike with my family. I suggest everyone gets out in nature as much as possible, of course while remaining social distancing. But going on a hike or walk outside is a great way of exercising, exploring, and keeping yourself busy! Check out some of the photos I got in the woods.

Learning About Gems!

Liz here, to share some of what I’ve been up to during this time. Lynda found a free introduction to gemology course and I’ve recently started it. The course starts with a section on rocks and minerals, primarily divided into igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. I learned about the lava flows in Oregon, which I had never heard of before. They’re massive!

One of the interesting things I learned about is that there is a vein of former magma in Texas. What’s special about this particular example is that, due to the specific chemicals in the magma, blue quartz was created. It’s the only known example of blue quartz in the world.

An odd fact I learned is that flint is actually formed from sea sponges that existed when an ancient ocean covered the area. The sponge would be buried in silt and eventually form a flint nodule. Crazy! 

If you’re also interested in gemology, the International School of Gemology is offering a selection of free online mini courses. So far, I’m enjoying this course and hope to learn a lot!

Something to look forward to…

Even though spring has sprung, we are in the midst of the infamous Maine mud season. Most people are staying home these days, so why not think about summertime? Every summer at Harvest Gold, we have weekly plein air demonstrations. Plein air painting, or en plein air, originated as the technique of painting outdoors in order to better capture lighting and weather. The technique was made famous the Impressionists, such as Monet and Renoir.

“Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood” by John Singer Sargent, Tate Gallery, London.

At Harvest Gold, we have artists who work in all mediums come to demonstrate their craft en plein air outside the gallery in the parking lot. On a beautiful sunny day last August, William Janelle shared his skills with us. He carved works in both stone and wood, while answering any questions viewers may have had.

Our plein air demonstrations are a wonderful way to see some of our featured artists at work. It brings you closer to the art, physically and mentally. Another artist who often comes to showcase her artistic process is painter Diane Scott. Diane begins her pieces plein air, which we look forward to seeing this summer. After she has begun the painting outdoors, she then brings them inside to finish them, as seen in the photo below.

While we’re all stuck inside (though we hope you’re taking the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors), positive thinking is so important. We hope that giving you something to look forward to helps to brighten your day!

Artist Feature: Gay Freeborn

Gay Freeborn, originally from Palo Alto, California, moved to Maine nearly 40 years ago. Gay attended the Moore College of Art, studying sculpture and design, and later worked as an interior and landscape designer.

“Tsunami”

Gay’s process begins with taking hundreds of pictures of her subjects. By combining these photos, she may find a color in one photo, a wagging tail that’s in one photo and not another, etc. This way, she able to create an image that maximizes the subject matter. “I then convey the motion, shape, and love for the animal with loosely applied sweeping brushstrokes or a pallet knife,” Gay says. She is invested in showing an accurate representation of both the emotionality and physicality of her subjects, which are generally animals. 

“Heartbeat”

Gay paints are variety of animals, but most commonly dogs. She is a breeder of Labrador retrievers and shows them all over New England. This expertise gives her a thorough knowledge of the dog’s anatomy. “I keep in mind the movement and shape of the animals more than the realistic image the photograph shows me. This helps to stay loose and less realistic: which is what I strive for.”

“Single Engine Prop”

We think this painting looks like Captain! We hope you have enjoyed learning about artist Gay Freeborn!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Harvest Gold! Here's a little history on the very popular holiday...

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and his feast day is March 17th. St. Patrick is not actually Irish! He was born in Roman Britain and taken to Ireland as a slave when he was a teenager. He later escaped and left Ireland, but returned after becoming a cleric in order to convert the Irish to Christianity. 

It is said that St. Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland, though scientists believe that there were never any snakes in Ireland after the Ice Age. It also said that St. Patrick taught the Holy Trinity by using the three leaves of a shamrock. The shamrock has since become the national symbol of Ireland.

In America, immigrants helped create St. Patrick's Day into the holiday we're familiar with today. Cities with high concentrations 19th and early 20th century Irish immigrants still have the biggest celebrations, such as New York and Boston.

It it now popular to wear green on St. Patrick's Day and we have plenty of that here at Harvest Gold:

To see the rest of our green gemstone jewelry, come on in or explore the website, here.

David Smus is one of the sculptors featured at Harvest Gold. He works in lost-wax bronze sculpture and creates limited editions as well as commissioned works.

"Lovesong"

Having grown up in areas of rural Maine, Smus's work reflects his passion for wildlife. He began as a taxidermist, which provided him with an extensive knowledge of animal anatomy.

"Piggy Back"

This knowledge would prove indispensable in his later career as an artist. Later, he earned a degree in wildlife management from the University of Maine but he ultimately turned to his true calling: art.

"Gentlest of Giants"

To see more of his work, stop in the gallery or explore the website! To learn more about David Smus's creative process, watch a statement from the artist himself, here.

Happy March! After a long winter, spring is finally here, and with it is Aquamarine. Aquamarine is March's birthstone and comes in a blue or cyan variety of beryl. Beryl, a popular mineral, occurs in a diversity of colors and has several important gemstone varieties. 

Beryl can come in green, blue, yellow, red (the rarest), and white. Aquamarine is a light blue version of beryl and can be found right here in Maine! Here are some Maine aquamarines that Lynda has available for custom jewelry.

Not only is aquamarine a spring gemstone, but so is green tourmaline! Tourmaline is a Maine gemstone, which also comes in different colors. Green tourmaline specifically stimulates happiness and joy for life. We have plenty of green tourmaline jewelry here at the gallery. These gemstones look beautiful with the green spring colors to come.

Spring time is almost here!