A few weeks ago, I saw a flyer on the message board in the post office about a gallery opening here in town. I snapped a photo of it with my phone, and promptly forgot about it. Our neighbor Barbara opened her antique shop today, and when I stopped in, she reminded me that the reception was this evening.

J had no real interest in attending, and offered to hang with the girls while I put on real clothes (read: not yoga pants) and got out of the house. I scurried to take him up on it before he changed his mind!

The gallery is across the street and up two or three buildings, so we watched the available parking fill up from the front yard before I left. Even so, I wasn’t prepared for the crowd I encountered when I arrived. I do believe that I was the youngest person in attendance who was not accompanied by a parent. Interestingly enough, I met yet another person from Pennsylvania – this time, a woman who winters in Kennett Square, about 40 minutes from my hometown. She was incredibly kind, and very encouraging about the coming winter here in Maine.

I get the sense that events like this don’t happen very often around here. When I asked Barbara how often the gallery changed their show, she remarked that this was actually the very first show and really more of a grand opening.

The building housing the gallery is just so interesting. It’s incredibly rustic inside with exposed planks and beams that are enhanced by the lighting. I didn’t have much chance to chat with the artists themselves, but overheard some conversation that the space used to be a gallery and then closed for a good while. It seems that the owner and some friends amassed such a volume of work over this past winter that they decided to reopen.

As I was snapping photos outside, I heard some generally derisive comments about “gentrification” of the town, with the implication that an art gallery was contributing to such a heinous concept, which made me chuckle a little. True, there’s not much else going on, but I believe that exposure to art can really only have a positive effect. I’m hoping that this won’t be an isolated event, and that we can continue to enjoy the fruits of our local talent.