Biddeford Chalk on the Walk 2009

Photo by Samantha Milliken

Saturday, September 26 was the 2009 Chalk on the Walk Festival in Biddeford. Jim was featured in the Portland Press Herald. Here are the photos they took:

Jim's photo is also in the album up at Maine Today

Photo by Caraslifka

Dan Adam's (Buzz) robot won the contest, this is his picture:

Things To Do: September 19/20

Saturday, September 19, 2009

An Evening with Maine's Finest Songwriters, 8pm, City Theatre, 205 Main St. Biddeford ($20 balcony, $25 floor)

Maine's Finest Songwriters including Pete Kilpatrick, Marie Moreshead, Pete Miller and Anni Clark will be in Biddeford performing original acoustic sets. Anni is terrific, she's been performing her folk music for years. You may have heard her singing her folky-bluesy songs at Bebe's in Biddeford or North Star on the east end of Portland and she works here in Saco. If you've got a couple bucks to spend, this show should be great and it's always nice to support your local musicians!

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David Wax Museum, 8pm, Hog Farm Studios 140 Main St Biddeford ($6)

Another show in Biddeford, Hog Farm presents a mexo-americana quartet, David Wax Museum. I wish I had some computer speakers here at Sam's Place so I could check these guys out! (hint hint, have any old speakers??) I don't know what this band's all about but I fully trust Hog Farms will bring a good show!

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Eric Bettencourt's CD Release, 9pm, Empire Dine & Dance 575 Congress St Portland ($5advance, $8door)

If you're looking for something to dance to, Eric won't disappoint. This is his second cd release this year!! He's got a great voice, can really play that guitar and his band, Giraffe Attack, is awesome too. Come out and enjoy this music...I can't say enought good things about Eric and his new albums.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Farmington Fair, 8:30a-?, Farmington Fairgrounds ($5, $1 ages8-11, free ages under 8)

Sunday is the opening day of the Farmington Fair. I know it's a drive, but if you've got the whole day free, do some early leaf-peeping and head to the fair. Here's the schedule for the day:

• 8:30 a.m. - Steer & Oxen Scooting Contest (boys and girls, ages 9 to 15) in the Pulling Ring


• 9:00 a.m. - Team Penning in the Show Ring


• 9:00 a.m. - Farmers Steer & Ox Scooting in the Pulling Ring


• 9:00 a.m. - (running until 6 p.m) Western Maine Beekeepers in the Museum


• 11:00 a.m. - 4-H Working Steer Show in the Worthley Arena


• 1:00 p.m. - Peter Tracy Homeowner Chainsaw training in the Worthley Arena


• 1:00 p.m. - Midway opens


• 1:00 p.m. - (running until 6 p.m.) Mike Chase "Alderun Wood Creations" in the Museum


• 1:00 p.m. - (running until 6 p.m.) Western Maine Blacksmiths in the Museum


• 1:00 p.m. - Lawn Mower Pull in the Pulling Ring


• 2:00 p.m. - Para Mutual Racing at the Race Grandstand


• 4:00 p.m. - Farmers Ox Pull in the Pulling Ring


• 6:30 p.m. - Miss Farmington Fair Pageant at the Stage

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Maine Roller Derby Try-Outs, 6-8pm, Happy Wheels, 331 Warren Ave Portland

If you can skate and want to meet some fun people while playing a crazy sport, think about roller derby. Here are some myths about derby from the Maine Roller Derby site:

• Fishnets and/or skirts are required


• It’s fake or staged. We are athletes who train rigorously to excel in our full-contact sport.


• Come watch a bout and you’ll never doubt it again


• Size is an issue


• It’s “violent.” Roller derby is an organized, aggressive, full-contact sport with legal checks and blocks and ways to contact opposing players. Illegal moves result in penalties

Whatever you end up doing, have a good weekend and let us know what awesome things you've been up to!

-Jenna

Art Classes in the Saco Bay Area

If you're interested in learning to paint or draw there are a number of classes in the area. We hear about these classes when art students come in to gather supplies (we offer a 10% discount on art supplies to art students and artists).

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Judith Kinsman's "Watercolor: Beginners & Beyond" class starting this Wednesday, September 16th through the Old Orchard Beach/Saco Adult Education. Classes are held at Old Orchard Beach High School.

Judith also has a watercolor class coming up at the Saco Museum. Beginning October 7, Wednesdays from 9a-noon, the class will go for 4 sessions. You can go for all 4 sessions or just drop-in when you can.

Students rave about Judith's classes and take them over and over. She makes painting an art anybody can enjoy. She's had work in several solo and juried exhibitions. We try and keep all her supplies in stock so let us know if there's anything else you need!

Judith Kinsman's Watercolor, Hydrangeas

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Russel Whitten's "Inspirations in Drawing" begins October 19th continuing for 6 sessions and is also through the Adult Ed. The class will emphasize tonal drawing, the perception and composition of the appearance of nature, and form drawing.

Russel studied at MECA and in NY among other places and is a member of the Art Guild of the Kennebunks and The Ogunquit Art Association.

Russel Whitten's Self-portrait

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Biddeford Adult Education is offering "Hue Can Do It" by Priscille Verrier, an introducation to watercolor for those who might be a little nervous about it. No need, just sign up for this 12 week class starting Tuesday, September 15 from 3-5pm. Classes are held at the Learning Center in Biddeford.

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If you know of any art classes, please let us know!
-Jenna

Not Another Color Blog: Mehndi

I think I'll take a break from exploring color (though it is the quickest, least expensive way to change a space). Instead I am exploring Mehndi, thanks to Jim and Jenna. Okay, so I did not know what Mehndi was, though I am a huge Bollywood fan.

I have always been intrigued by the bride's (there's always a bride in a Bollywood film) painted hands. There seems to be such ceremony and affection, as the bride's hands are lovingly decorated with rich brown, rust or red henna shades by the women in her own family and those of her groom's. It is art and an intense communal effort at the same time.

So...Jim and Jen were making the rounds at the First Friday Art Walk in Portland. They met an amazing artist, Nev, and were totally enchanted by her and her intricate art. On their return to the shop, Jim showed me her promo card with her website: ReMarkable Blackbird and now I find myself immersed in her henna creations, researching Mehndi to my heart's content.

As I close this blog, I am going to steal a quote because it perfectly sums up my new found appreciation of an ancient art form: "Henna art is ephemeral and enduring...a journey of beauty, love, joy and luck." This is what Nev is exhibiting on her website and on her hands in her open studios on First Fridays in Portland.

-Kathryn

Note: All photos are Nev's. This is her beautiful work!

Feng Shui Bagua

This blog is continuing the conversation about color, specifically Feng Shui Bagua. You know Feng Shui, but the Bagua component makes it easier to color your own home. The Bagua is a map for decorating, using a nine-panel grid breaking up your home into sections. These sections correspond to desirable aspects of life.

For example: the "front-middle" is the entrance of the house and it is also the "career & life journey" aspect of your life. So, if you want to enhance your life within a certain aspect, you color that area to attract that. The ideal Bagua is as follows:

The 9 Sections of Bagua in your Home

"Front-Left"

Wisdom & Knowledge

Add Calming Blue

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"Front-Middle"

Career & Life Journey

Add Sophisticated Black

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"Front-Right"

Helpful People

Add Universal Gray

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"Middle-Left"

Community & Family Harmony

Add Peaceful Green

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"Middle-Middle"

Health & Well-being

Add Sunshiney Yellow

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"Middle-Right"

Creativity & Children

Add Centered White

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"Rear-Left"

Prosperity & Abundance

Add Royal Purple

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"Rear-Middle"

Fame & Reputation

Add Passionate Red

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"Rear-Right"

Love & Relationships

Add Romantic Pink

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So if you are feeling adventurous, or are just plain bored with your surroundings and cannot move house, do try this at home.

-Kathryn

Color Personalities

How do the consultants to the rich & famous zone in on their clients color personalities?

Tom Scheerer looks at the wardrobe and the closet for clues to their color affinity. Once their favorite color is identified Tom chooses a complementary color, to keep the color scheme from being too obvious. A color wheel is a good tool, so he can cull the opposiste color and build out their colored space from there.

Alessandra Branca sends her clients off to museums. Their environment is their living art. She encourages them to look for feelings of balance, flow and happiness in these public spaces and report back to her so she can start to build their color preferences into the space she is decorating for them.

Phobe Howard starts with portfolios, divided into neutrals and colors. If that leaves the clients still unsure of color, she has them sort through bundles of fabrics in various colors. If they are still feeling color shy, she walks them through a retail space touching colors and saying, "like", "don't like" until they've figured out ther color preferences..

Here are some questions to ask yourself when thinking about color from House Beautiful. We answered most of them just for fun.

What color would you like to try, but are scared to? (Red! Jenna says she isn't scared of colors, some she just doesn't like)
What color makes you grind your teeth? (Jenna and I agree on neon colors)
What color calms you? (peach, Jenna says a zen-like green)
What color brings you down? (I'd say black, Jim says medium grey, Jenna says black or combinations of black and red)
What color makes you happiest? (Aqua makes me happiest, Jenna says sunset colors, Jim says turquoise)
What is your favorite flower? (Mine is peach colored rose, Jenna's is a tiger-lily)
What's your favorite gemstone? (Mine is a diamond...so...silver? Jenna's is a black pearl which is more grey and isn't a gem stone at all)
What color was your prom dress? (I didn't go! I wore an aqua blue dress to several weddings though. Jenna's was black, but not your basic black. Think I dream of Jeanne in black and rhinestones...kind of)
What color is your car? (Mine is forest green, Michael's bronze, Paul's is blue, Jenna's and Jim's silver)
What color was your favorite crayon as a child? (Mine was red or purple because I didn't get to wear those colors much! Jenna's were pink, blue and purple- all pastel colors she hates now, Trista always reached for red)
What color are your sheets? (Mine are off white, Jenna's are dark orange, Jim's teal blue)
What color was your bedroom when you were growing up? (Jenna and Trista had a jungle mural on the wall)
What color is your lipstick? (We wear chapstick...so very little color at all!)
What color gets you the most compliments? (Mine is navy blue, Jenna says colors she hates like pink)
What color do you wear when you want to feel pretty? (I wear soft blue, Jenna likes a dusty rose but doesn't actually own anything that color, Jim always feels pretty)
What color do you never wear? (Yellow! Jenna won't wear easter egg colors.)
What color do you wear the most? (Jenna, Michael and I all wear a lot of brown, beige, green, grey and blue, Jim wears black and blue jeans exclusively :)
What color are your eyes? (Mine are a deep blue like ultra-marine, Jenna's a grey-blue outlined in navy, Jim's are blue with other shades of grey and flecks of lighter blue, Trista's are blueish/greenish with yellow which makes them appear more green.)


-Kathryn