Art & Sip: Framed and Painted Blackout Poems
Friday, January 23rd, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM in the Kaleidoscope Studio
Every Friday evening, we will offer a beginner-friendly class to pair with your favorite local beverage. BYOB!
Instructor Mariah Reading will introduce you to the unique and meditative art form of Blackout Poetry. You'll learn how to transform pages from recycled books into completely new works by selectively circling words to form a poem, then using paint and mixed media to "blackout" the rest of the text. By the end of the evening, you will leave with a completely finished, framed piece of original art and poetry ready to display.
All materials, including recycled book pages, paints, mixed media supplies, brushes, and the frame, will be provided. Just bring your creativity and your favorite beer or wine to enjoy as you craft.

About the Instructor: Mariah Reading is an eco-artist and strong
advocate for the existence, preservation, and accessibility of the National Parks. She was born and raised in Bangor, Maine where the surrounding landscape gave her a deep appreciation of nature’s beauty that was reinforced by her degree in Visual Arts at Bowdoin College. The 2016 National Park Centennial propelled her Recycled Landscapes, designed to bring attention to the need of preserving and protecting the environment. Having already visited 33 National Parks, she plans to continue her project in all 63 US National Parks. Mariah has dedicated herself to the field of eco-art through Art Residencies at Denali, Zion, Acadia, Guadalupe Mountains National Parks, working as an Arts In the Parks Volunteer at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, assisting in Yosemite Facelift efforts, developing a K-12 STREAM curriculum with University of California Santa Barbara Oceanography students, and creating conservation workshops with the Channel Islands National Park. She has exhibited work in San Antonio, TX; Seattle, WA; Fort Collins, CO; McKinley Village, AK; Brunswick, ME; and Kamuela, HI; Poughkeepsie, NY; Davis, CA; Rockland, ME; and Portland, ME. From April through September, Reading has worked as an environmental interpreter.