by Peter Hall, Brooke Chornyak, Steve Bowden, Ben Van Dyke, Sean Wilkinson
Perhaps it was the combination of rolling mist, the lack of gallery walls, and the jagged Maine coastline that created the sublime atmosphere of the Low Tide Gallery? Or perhaps it was something else all together. On Thursday June 25th, the attendants of 2009 DesignInquiry gathered at the rocky shore of Vinalhaven to acknowledge a week of challenging conversations, renewed creative curiosity, friendship, and the creative outcome of a weeklong journey. The body of work represented a sampling of several workshops worth of prints and drawings. Black and white on varied paper substrates was the dominant palette, yet sharp blues and oranges stood out amidst the grey-green surroundings, supporting the beauty of the landscape and melding it with the incorporated found materials.
Returning to our point of beginning, the curators of the gallery merely created the conditions for something to happen, ‘designed less,’ and experienced a moment far greater than expected. As a group we hope to establish the gallery as an annual event, and we wish to thank all the participants and visitors.
Paper boats, salt water and fog. It’s impossible to write down honest thoughts, accurate thoughts. Loving the rain. Not slowing things down; I want to speed things up. There’s always just enough time. The boats sink, the shells are crushed, the mosquitoes squished. Proximity.
Sleeping early, sleeping late.
Run left instead of right. Explorers, recycling posters in new landscapes. Perspective and letter-loving. An island sighted. Navigated to only at low tide. A shack in the mist, a gallery is born. Drinking, printing and island-shack-mythmaking ensues. People are curious, the show is on. Tide against us. Alternate sites abound and one is found. Fragments of now, enjoyed in the moment. Work fluttered.
Designers frolicked. Poetry, wine and song. A toast and a journey home. Closure brought to projects, lectures, and the week. What time is your ferry?
