The BackStage Art Gallery at Deertrees Theatre

	"Deertrees has made a sincere effort to reach beyond the commonplace of scenic tourist landscapes to cultivate a more diverse and perhaps more cosmopolitan perspective in the visual arts which they choose to exhibit here." Ken Westhaver, from his review of the CAC exhibit, June 200	The BackStage Gallery at Deertrees
The backstage area of an old theatre is a magical and mystical place. There are lights and curtains and props and theatrical things, usually with names totally unfamiliar to most of us. There is, and it is not just a cliché, the lingering smell of the grease paint and the echoes of the roar of the crowd. And there is the size of the space itself - massively tall, unbelievably open and yet cluttered at the same time; an intimate artisan's workshop with cathedral-like dimensions. When you suddenly fill this place with paintings and sculptures created by some of America's finest artists you have more than a back-stage, you have a significant contribution to the arts.
	The mission of The Backstage Art Gallery is more than to simply enhance the theatergoing experience of Deertrees patrons; it is to present paintings and sculptures that one does not ordinarily see in the local art galleries. Here are exhibited works by outstanding and adventurous artists who have a different way of seeing our surroundings and who have the ability to transpose that vision into fine art. The BackStage Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am until 5 pm,one hour before performance, during intermission, andby appointment.

	2008 Exhibition Schedule

July 8 - July 22 Opening Reception Tuesday, July 8 at 6 pm	Nicole Rosseland & Michal McKeown
visit the artist's website	Nicole Rosseland Nicole Rosseland graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in March of 2000 with a Bachelors degree in Fine Art and now resides in St. Marys, Georgia. She is represented by Picture This Gallery in St. Marys, Georgia. My work has been greatly influenced by figurative sculpture, primarily sculpture found in the landscape. I enjoy the way nature, in a sense, takes a brush to the stone and marble adding character and personality. Subsequently, old cemeteries became the inspiration for a lot of my paintings. I view these places as beautiful sculpture gardens that have been transformed and molded by time and the elements. It is the imperfections that time itself has created that I try to reproduce on canvas, from the cracks in the stone, the broken fingers and wings, to the moss colored marble and bronze that has been stained by leaves and rain. My subject matter is very up-close and personal while the landscape remains a blur, a mystery.

visit the artist's website	Michal McKeown Michal McKeown has been creating glass art since 1981. She holds a Diploma in mixed media from School of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), an MFA in sculpture from California State University, and a Masters in Glass from University of Sunderland (U.K). She now resides in Kennebunkport, Me. These works explore two ideas of interest to me, the substance of light and flow within structure. The forms in the glass and the light they hold change shape in relation to the viewer. It's a discovery to see how the light flows within the structure. My work is informed by the everyday flow of life as I move through it and by quartz silica or common sand, the basic element of glass. Such is the structure of this natural and abundant element, that glass products range from the everyday to art.

July 24 - August 14 Opening Reception Satuday, July 26 at 6 pm	Caren-Marie Michel MAINE PANORAMA An installation of sixty eight feet of individual landscape paintings of Maine installed side by side making a new panorama landscape.

Caren-Marie Michell studied painting with Esther Barney in Portland, Maine for six years and then received her B.F.A. in painting from Portland School of Art in 1978 (now Maine College of Art). In 2000, Michel returned to painting and exhibiting after spending twenty two years raising her two daughters and achieving a career in banking. Michel has exhibited in juried and group shows in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, Colorado and the Salmagundi Club in New York City. She has exhibited in Maine at: the Jameson Gallery, Bates College Museum of Art, Turner Center for the Arts, Atrium Gallery at USM-LA, Chocolate Church, Maine Art Gallery, Rivertree Center for the Arts, Bowdoin College, and the College of the Atlantic. In 2007, Michel exhibited over one hundred 6” x 12” paintings in her solo exhibition “Greater Portland Panorama” at the Jameson Gallery in Portland, Maine. I noticed one day while preparing my work for a show that the similar horizon lines of my landscape paintings made a new landscape when placed side by side. This new landscape happened regardless of the different subject in each painting. I then imagined a long line of landscapes in a large space and how that line would draw the viewer in and out of each piece and back to the whole leading one as a journey. The individual works can vary from beach to marsh to cityscape to mill building. My main interest in each painting is color and the relation of shapes. The subjects for my paintings come from having lived in Maine all my life and knowing intimately the places of our daily lives. I bring my vision and experience of the place to the viewer and I hope these works show you the color and design that I see in our landscape from the scenic to the ordinary.