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Isabella Corwin is an artist, a designer and a teacher. She has summered in Maine for some 30 years and lived year round in Maine for the past eight years or so. Her work has been exhibited in prestigious museums and galleries throughout the country. But she has never exhibited her art in Maine and she has never taught in her extraordinary studio on the Bristol Road. Now, under the auspices of River Arts, she will do both.
Just walking into Isabella’s studio is an adventure in itself. In a building with a fascinating history, Isabella and her husband, Arthur, have created a unique and rather enormous space that just radiates creativity and productiveness.
The Corwins lived in Connecticut and commuted to teaching jobs in New York City - he a Professor of Prehistoric Symbolism and Art at Cooper Union, and she an Associate Professor in the Surface Design Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Every summer they headed for their cottage in Chamberlain where they could escape the pressures of city life and devote themselves to art and study. Many of her works reflect her surroundings. She said, “I have a lot of imagery around me. Once in a while an image and a technique that exactly fit together comes to me. It’s a thrilling moment - it’s miraculous.” As retirement for both Corwins approached, they started weighing the possibility of year-round life in Maine. Driving down the Bristol Road one day, they saw a For Sale sign on a derelict wreck of a building.
Back in the 1970s, the town of Bristol suffered a deeply painful loss of seven teenagers in a car crash. Wanting to do something to prevent another such tragedy, the Bristol Area Teen Memorial Association was born and raised the money to build a roller rink. Later, the rink became a Volvo Penta repair shop for lobster boat motors. But Arthur Corwin, who in addition to being a professor also is an architect, saw possibilities in the building whose roof was collapsed and whose rooms were filled with literally tons of metal. Together they created a vibrant, exciting workspace where eight to 10 lucky students will have the opportunity to study “batik” painting on rice paper for four weeks in July.
The students will learn to use a wax-resist process on rice paper by applying hot wax with a tjanting tool, which is like a large fountain pen with a spout. Dyes are then applied with brushes, leaving the waxed-out areas in the color of the paper.
One of the first distinctions that Isabella makes about her work is that she is a fine artist. This does not mean just that shes good; it is a distinction that separates her art from commercial art. Her batiks do not end up on T-shirts; they are hung in museums. Her enamels are works of art, to be framed and exhibited.
Some of Isabella’s work is currently on display at River Arts on Main St. in Damariscotta. Much more of it is found on almost every surface of her studio. There are batik fabrics hanging from the walls, enamels of astonishing detail and color either framed or on tabletops. Framed batik on rice paper works that just came back from an exhibition are in a corner waiting to be hung.
She said, “Experimentation, risk taking, surprises, failures, pushing the medium to do magic. I love doing this stuff!”
In the fall, Isabella plans to teach an enameling class in her studio. Students interested in more information about or enrolling in either the July batik class or the fall class in enameling should either stop by River Arts at 170 Main St. in Damariscotta or visit the River Arts website, www.riverartsme.org. |
