Katie has been very much into fashion design over the past couple of years. She loves creating outfits and keeping up with what is in style or what she thinks would be cool. She is also interested in graphic design and art.
I saw a newspaper article about a fashion show in Rockland this past spring and
http://www.freepressonline.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=12331&SectionID=61&SubSectionID=172 and thought I'd ask Katie if she wanted to go as it fits in with her interests. (Just because she is choosing school doesn't mean I no longer look out for things she would like, I still do that!) It would have been an interesting event to attend, but we were not able to make it. I thought that maybe we could contact the artists in the show and see if they would be willing to speak with or meet with Katie and either me or Jim.
In late spring I attempted to contact one of the people who was featured in the show, Orlando Johnson, to see if he might speak or meet with Katie to tell her about what he does and how he got into his work. I wasn't sure if I had the correct email address, so I called the person who ran the event and asked her if she might pass on our information to him. She not only gave him our information, but she also said she would give it to the other artist as well! Cool! Turns out that Orlando did get the email and said he'd be happy to meet with us either on the mainland or we could visit North Haven and he'd show us his studio and the island as well! Cool again! So....after a few emails, a couple calls, figuring on a good date and waiting for good weather, we all went on an adventure to the island of North Haven.
Orlando was so nice and kind and he gave us a tour of the island, took us to a rocky beach with lots of sea urchins and an incredible view of the mainland coast, showed us his studio and artwork (he had a variety of artwork: printing, painting, wooden lobster doors, t-shirts, dresses - one of our favorite things was the h-u-g-e painting of the mainland coast at night which was in this lovely old barn) and played soccer with the kids and shared homemade scones. Li said he was so nice that if he ever got to choose a big brother, he'd want it to be someone like him. We so appreciated him giving Katie such a wonderful opportunity (and the rest of us also enjoyed seeing his art and meeting him as well). It was lovely to not only hear about how he does things and see where he gets his inspiration from, but to be able to have a conversation with him and ask questions as well. Thank you Orlando!! Here are some pics from that Sunday-
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| Ferry ride from Rockland to North Haven. And yes, we made the early ferry ride! Turned out a friend and co-founder of Citizen's For A Green Camden, Pat McLean, was on the boat too! Small world in Maine especially! |
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| The kids pointed out the homes they liked the best - here's one of the popular ones. Katie now thinks about living on one of the islands. She loved one of the homes we saw along the way and the rolling hills in front of it. Makana took pics of her fav homes, boats and sights. |
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| The beautiful painting we love in the barn |
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| Art in the barn |
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| Lobster doors |
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| Heading down to the beach |
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| View as we headed down to the beach |
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| Path back up |
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| Those new blue shoes she loves so much.... |
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Signature lobsters.
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| The studio. |
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| Orlando also showed Katie more of his work on his laptop and also some of the clothing he designed. |
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| Katie and Orlando |
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| We then went to the Hopkins Wharf Gallery and saw Orlando and other artist's work. |
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| Here are some of his clothing (esp comfortable designer T's) and other art. |
While we waited for the ferry back to the mainland, we explored the nearby area and took Kanoa to run out some energy at the local park. Some more pics...
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| Kids had some ice cream here |
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| It was a Foggy trip back...I mean, very foggy!! Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse |
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| Another similar ferry heading out. |
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| Love this puffin mural. |
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