The First Friday season opener was a low key event for most, but not all, of the 10 participating galleries June 6: Boothbay Region Art Foundation, Studio 53, Joy to the Wind, Ae Ceramics/Home, Gleason Fine Art and Black River Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, aka those within walking distance! It’s been quite some time, but there are two “drive to” galleries in East Boothbay: Kerr + Jones and, new to the region, East Boothbay Trading Co. Also on the driving route are new additions Mitchell & Co. and (Rick) Dickinson Fine Art.

My first stop was East Boothbay Trading Co. This was Laura and Tony de Haas’ first First Friday, having just opened this winter. Both were very happy with the steady stream of visitors to their space filled with fabulous antiques and art. Folks began stopping by at 3 p.m. – hey, why not start early? Laura and Tony both said everyone was impressed with what they saw there … including those lobster appetizers! Very popular! Wine and soft drinks were also served.

Folks had lots of questions about the myriad of historical treasures – all for sale, except for maybe a couple items. Tony talked about how they had been adding more art from storage to the gallery, including the slide show in the seating area on the left side (that’s from the inside). Soon they will be numbered and added to a print catalog people can thumb through to find details and pricing.

Of the new paintings in the space Tony spoke about was James Edward Buttersworth’s “Racing Yachts, NY Harbor,” an oil on canvas pencil signed on stretcher in original period frame. He arrived in New Jersey around 1845 from England. Buttersworth was the foremost artist of the genre who chronicaled the America’s Cup qualifiers and races in oils. In 1999, he was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. Side note: His whole family was known for specializing in painting maritime art.

There’s just something about grand old ships at sea and watching the past sail into the present and, hopefully, right on through to the future. The painting was of three four-masted racing yachts, billowing white sails, figures on the decks moving about while the yachts did glide over choppy water of the most gorgeous blue. And then ... the style of the painting reminded me, out of the blue (of a different kind) of Gilbert & Sullivan which was kind of scary because I am not a fan of these musicals – at all. Races, graceful historical ships, and Gilbert & Sullivan productions on community theater stages, oh, how the past is always with us.

Said Laura, “We didn’t really know what to expect this being our first, but we’ve had a good, constant crowd. We’re really excited to be part of it (First Friday).”

From there, I moved along Ocean Point Road to Kerr + Jones where there was a a steady stream of friends and new folks stopping in. Diana Kerr and Kathleen Jones have created a very attractive, comfortable space for their collections of unusual and distinctive items. Sales were made, conversations were ongoing, wine flowed, appetizers were nibbled. The garden space leading to the gallery entrance is compact, yet elegant and relaxed … kind of like Diana and Kathleen.

Paintings, table-size granite sculptures, textiles, jewelry, decoupage serving plates, and all manner of useful and decorative unique accent pieces all in a space that feels larger than it is. This was Kathleen and Diana’s first First Friday reception and I can see many more in their future.

Over to Mitchell & Co., things were hoppin’. This is the first year of participating in First Friday Art Tours. Wrote Morgan, “It was a BLAST, loved participating. We had so much fun. Live DJ (Roy Arsenault) was a hit, made a few sales, and several new folks came through that I hadn’t met before.”

People trying on some of Jenessa Garrett’s tie dyed garments, moving from conversation to conversation, checking out Morgan’s clothing designs and dad, (Bob) Mitchell’s photographs, all moving to the music … so much to check out in a unique, creative setting. Visitors here were treated to dulce de leche by Tugba at Harbor Treats. Scrumptious looking they were... Talk about positive vibes! I’ll definitetly be stopping by Mitchell & Co. next First Friday.

My final stop (got a late start) was Studio 53. Now this gallery is usually hopping, but not this time. Some people came through while I talked with Terry Seaman. Terry, with wife and fellow artist Heidi Seidelhuber, own the gallery. He and I began talking and I found myself being distracted by a painting on the table near us. It was distinctly Terry’s. A dark background of moving black, blue, red and yellow lines that took on shapes that I saw in motion with white lines with more jagged movements on top. It was kind of hard to look at for long.

Then Terry told me the painting is titled, “A Tribute To the Crew Members Of the Space Shuttle Challenger Who All Perished At Lift Off In 1986.” Wow. That explained it. The white lines could also have been the smoke, the crab claw-like smoke we saw in the images … chaos, death and the energy that came with it; it’s all there. Terry, if you don’t know, is a very knowledgeable, as well as creative, man. Having a conversation with him is always engaging. We talked for some time about that catastrophic event on Jan. 28, 1986. This was perhaps the most sobering of my visits that First Friday.

Other places I didn’t get to: Lauren Palmer over to Boothbay Region Art Foundation said the event was well attended, mostly by artists and a few passersby. And there were a couple of sales from the current spring members show. The reception for the new July members show will be June 27 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Gleason Fine Art’s show featured new paintings by gallery artists Andrea Peters, Ed Parker and Henry Isaacs. Said Marty, "June First Friday was wonderful!! We were a bit surprised since it's been such a bleak, slow winter. But turnout was very good and there was real interest in several pieces." 

Gleason Fine Arts has new Kevin Beers show coming up June 17 for a one-month run with a reception on Saturday, July 5.

Lynne Seitzer at Joy To the Wind said she and John enjoyed all visits from old and new friends and sold a large painting and several smaller items.

The next First Friday lands on July Fourth ... We'll see how that shakes out. If you’ve never been, get to one. Make it this year.