"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 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.

Rose Mahanor

Having been raised in an idyllic quaint northern town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, surrounded by magnificent Lake Superior, creating art that replicated the beauty of the area seemed natural. Becoming an artist was an obvious career. I received my B.F.A from the Center of Creative Studies and my M.F.A. from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Over the years I have exhibited my work in Detroit, MI, Houghton, MI, Anchorage, AK, Brattelboro, VT, Keene, NH, and now currently showing in several towns in Maine. I've sold many paintings and have received numerous commissions, the largest being for the E.P.A in Ann Arbor, MI; I have painted several large scale wall murals in private homes and have taught art for several years in both college and public school and plan to teach several art adult education courses in my new location of Fryeburg, Maine.

Her exibition celebrates the blog Above All Love and the many works she has created on the theme of love. The purpose of the blog 'Above all Love' is to connect people from all around the world in order to convey how cultures perceive 'Love'. For me, 'Love' is a human emotion that unites humanity and creates compassion. It fosters responsibility and encourages us to care for one another. 'Love' is a vehicle that drives acceptance, understanding, education and evolution. I hope to nurture these ideas and to expand on them. I encourage everyone to submit an original idea that represents 'Love' to my blog, whether it be a poem, an artwork, photo, sculpture and or short film. I'm looking for originality, quality and substance not quantity.

I will be accepting submissions from January 1st through December 31st, 2011.

Rose Mahanor

Sarah Shepley has been a professional artist for 25 years. Receiving a B.F.A. in ceramics from the Portland School of Art in 1985, Sarah has worked in many different media including ceramics, jewelry, bookmaking and printmaking. She maintains her artistic development through the continuing studies program at MECA as well as other arts program and workshops. She teaches Bookmaking/printmaking throughout the state and sells her work to galleries as well as personal commissions. This work represents her continued exploration in different media esp. silkscreen, monotypes and the use collage and transfer papers.

The drawings and paintings of Terence Harper have been nurtured by his observations of the architectonic nature and spatial arrangements of nature. His spatial arrangements and realism is structured for the purpose of exploring pictorial space in the context of reflective motifs. These images provide for an experience of quiet contemplation of spatial perceptions. The motifs range from the small geometric realisms to larger suggestive realisms where elements of culture, history and biography are central to his compositions. The geometric realisms evoke an intimate space where the objects seem to exist in a still dialog of subtle relationships as in his "Aspect in white and grey". Architectural fragments and elements together with other artifacts form a source for the Afro-cultural context of his larger suggestive realisms as in his "Archival Reference" and "Quiet Time". To feel the poetic presence of the pictorial space that is integral with the motif is the pivotal point of the aesthetic experience in his work. On that matter he has said "Through my work parallels between physical space and pictorial space are not simply a matter of illusionary perspective but rather a conduit for visual thought". Spatial memories, experiences and still life studies provide a source for his work. Artist of special interest to his work include Aldo Rossi (architect), De Chirico, Roberto Aizenberg and Edwin Dickinson. His layering of references creates paintings that are complex in nuance and provocative of meaning. In the world of today's conceptual modernism Harper remains firmly rooted in classical realism as a structured approach to the inner workings of his paintings. He has an Advanced Certificate in Art History (London), a B.Arch. professional degree in architecture from The City College of New York and has studied painting at the National Academy Museum School of Fine Art in New York with Ron Sherr Furman Finck and Avel de Knight. He has been involved in architectural practice, teaching and group shows.