Mudseason 2013 on March 16

    MONSON — On Saturday, March 16, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Monson Center for Community & Commerce (www.monsoncenter.org) will be hosting Mudseason 2013, a community arts celebration presented by Jemma Gascoine Productions. During this special event, ticket holders will choose from 100 displayed bowls handmade and/or decorated by local artists, children and adults from the Penquis region. Each bowl is unique.

Photo courtesy of Todd Watts
MUDSEASON BOWLS — Jemma Gascoine’s “Bowl Decorating Workshop” at the Monson Center had folks turn up to glaze bowls and Gascoine demonstrated how the bowls are formed on a potter’s wheel. The workshop was part of Monson’s Winter Festival celebration, Snow Roller Day, which took place on Feb. 16. Twenty-two bowls were glazed. The Monson Recreation Committee and an anonymous native artist generously sponsored the workshop.

    At 6:30 p.m. a choice of two soups will be served — including creamed carrot ginger — along with assorted breads and desert including cup cakes. During supper, patrons will be entertained by live piano jazz played by Jason Curran, who will be exploring the vast tapestry of love themes that is the American Songbook. A blind auction will also be held.
    Mudseason 13 is a culmination of ceramic work produced by adult education pottery students, like Kerri Heineman, and decorated by local artists, such as John Bozin and Alan Bray. Tickets for the event on March 16th can be purchased at the Monson Town Office. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Monson Food Cupboard and the Monson Center.
    In 2007, Diana Bowley wrote in the Bangor Daily News that [Mudseason is] “all about bringing artists together and giving them a greater visibility in their communities, as well as raising money … for a good cause”. It was then that Gascoine was chosen by Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle to be the lead Mudseason artist for this region, and to organize and facilitate Mudseason workshops and the celebration event. Watershed, an international program for artists who work in clay, funded this project with a Maine Arts Commission “Artists in Maine Communities” grant. The 2007 Mudseason raised over $1,000 for children’s drama camp scholarships. For more information on the 2007 event, see www.jemmagascoine.com/collaboration_mudseason.html.
    Fast-forward to 2013 and Gascoine’s partners are local businesses, the Monson Recreation Committee and the Monson Center for Community & Commerce. The business sponsors for Mudseason 13 are 10 Digit Design, The Burning Brush Art Company, John Wentworth Furniture, Lakeshore House, Lake Hebron Artisans and Thymes and Seasons, all in Monson; Northwoods Computer Services, Greenville; Jemma Gascoine Pottery and Radiorain Productions, Blanchard; and Green Door Gallery, Dover-Foxcroft. All are working together to make Mudseason 13 a riot in March.
    Those who contributed bowls include Kerri Heineman, Paige Pride, Mary S. Lightbody, Nina Chernik and Gascoine.  Those that decorated bowls include John Bozin, Donna Bozin, Alan Bray, Bruce Towl, Susan Bryand, Sabrina Pride, Jayne Pride, Amelia Trader, Gascoine and Todd Watts.
    Be part of the excitement at the Monson Center on March 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. Your souvenir bowl could be one that you made or one that a notable local artist has made. To buy a ticket, visit the Monson Town Office, 10 Tenney Hill Road, or call 997-3641. For more information, visit the Monson Center website at www.monsoncenter.org.