Art of empowerment: Last Friday, Aug. 2, was an interesting, art-filled day for me. I spent the day on Monhegan Island taking in, among other arts-related things, the exhibit currently on the walls of the Monhegan Museum of Art & History, “A Life Made in Art: Maud Briggs Knowlton” (more on that fine show in next week’s paper).

Eagerly awaiting next year: I had the very good fortune of being able to attend the sold-out opening-night reception and screening of two films at the inaugural MidCoast Film Fest at Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta on the evening of Friday, July 26. I also checked out the three-day film festival’s Maine-focused short-film program on the afternoon of Sunday, July 28.

Something for everyone: Last Thursday, July 18, was a rather hot day in Newcastle, a perfect day to drive from the LCN office down the Pemaquid peninsula, where it was a little cooler, to visit Saltwater Artists Gallery and take in the work of the 25 well-known area artists showing there.

History in watercolors: There is a charming art exhibit up on the walls of the community room at Sheepscot General in Whitefield by Whitefield historian and watercolorist Lucy Martin. As she told me recently, the show is largely based on “old-time black-and-white or sepia postcards,” and features watercolors of historical locations in Whitefield, framed in local-pine frames made by her husband, Herb Hartman.

A concert of food: I had a wonderful two-week vacation recently, during which I had the extremely fortunate opportunity of having dinner on the evening of June 20 at The Lost Kitchen in Freedom with my son, Benjamin, who was visiting from Germany.

Mural unveiling in Damariscotta: Well-known Edgecomb artist and educator Brady Nickerson popped in to the LCN recently to tell me about the new mural to be installed on the side of S. Fernald’s Country Store in downtown Damariscotta. It is the work of up-and-coming 23-year-old Bremen painter Katie Riley and is a wonderfully colorful and cartoony depiction of sandwich ingredients – bread, cheese, bacon, tomatoes – and all the other yumminess that Fernald’s sells, such as ice cream and candy.

Renaissance man (and fiddle-playing leprechaun): Damon Leibert has been the technical director at Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta since September 2017. As such, he is the go-to man for making sure the nuts and bolts of the building – lights, windows, toilets, and so on – are in order. He is also responsible for such things as creating the beautiful stained glass projections used in LCCT’s recent production of “Sister Act” at the theater.

Hangin’ with the Hulk’s mom: Last Friday, May 24, my colleague here at the LCN, Kathy Lizotte, tipped me off to the buzz going around Facebook, namely that abstract painter Marie Rose Ruffalo has an art exhibit on the walls of Red Cup Coffee House in Boothbay Harbor.

Art abounds in Lincoln County: As gallery season is about to really hit, it’s good to be reminded that in addition to the fabulous big visual-art venues in the area – for example, the four Bristol Road Galleries, Stable Gallery, and River Arts in Damariscotta, and Saltwater Artists Gallery and Pemaquid Art Gallery down the Bristol-Pemaquid peninsula – there are smaller, more unexpected places to view excellent art. The Bristol Area Library, located at 619 Old County Road in Pemaquid, is one such spot.  

The art of speaking, listening, imagining: “You may choose to listen as opposed to watch.” Those were the words of Griff Braley, Heartwood Regional Theater Company’s artistic director, when he introduced the dramatic staged reading of “Medea” about to begin on the afternoon of Saturday, May 11 in the Parker B. Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy.

Mother’s Day music: When I reached British singer-songwriter Callaghan by phone on Friday, May 3, she was on the road, fresh off of a gig the previous night at the Museum of Commerce in Pensacola, Fla. and soon to be performing at the Standard Deluxe in Waverly, Ala., on May 5. 

Fun, intimate community theater: I love going to River Company plays in Skidompha Library’s Porter Meeting Hall. I like to sit in the front row of the cozy, intimate space, basking in the feeling of being immersed in the story being played out mere feet away from me.