Wendell Gilley Museum

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Celebrate Nature, Art and Creativity in Maine.

Wendell Gilley delighted in helping others to find connections with nature and creativity. Our Museum sustains his legacy through vibrant art exhibitions and a wide range of hands-on creative and educational programs for all ages.

Watch a video about Wendell Gilley.

A visit with our Osprey Family

Osprey Family Webcam at Hogs Island

Visitors to the Gilley will be very familiar with the osprey family that we spend almost every day with each summer, via webcam. It's fascinating to watch the eggs hatch and the chicks (the ones that make it) fledge. Plus, their home on Hog Island in Maine is beautiful.

Visit can them at https://explore.org/livecams/ospreys/osprey-nest. You will become a regular! And you can visit many other birds and animals by exploring the website too. To our regular visitors - in case we don't see you this summer, we'll take solace knowing we are all spending time with the ospreys this summer, as usual.

Crazy, Creative Collage!

Below are some excellent online videos and ideas by local artists to get you inspired. Each project is very different, and as you'll see from all of their work, collage is a super fun art form that you can do with scissors, glue, and anything you can glue down. The results can be beautiful and sometimes surprising and can send a positive message.

A few of the artists below took inspiration from the collage book Beautiful Blackbird by the wonderful Maine artist Ashley Bryan. You'll also find a video of Ashley reading his - which is the best way to experience it! Click "expand" for more.

Ashley Bryan inspired collage with artists Erika and Sienna Rosso

Video Workshop - Collage with Erica and Sienna Rosso (20 mins)

Video of Ashley Bryan reading Beautiful Blackbird (10 mins)

[Note: this online program replaces the April 3 Family workshop].

Beautiful Blackbirds - Collage Inspired by the Blackbird and the Raven.
Slideshow by artist Maria Charette (3 mins)

Art Corner - Fun Collage lesson with artist Allison Maurais.
Youtube video that features artist, art teacher, and summer Gilley staff demonstrating a really fun collage technique with minimal materials. (10 mins)

Exploring Collage with artist Carol Shutt
A series of Facebook videos that really get creative with ideas for collage, with artist and former school teacher Carol Shutt.

Collage 1 :: Collage 2 :: Collage 3 :: Collage 4 :: Collage 5

Be like a Magpie!

Collect all kinds of cool, colorful and textured papers to use for making collages. Magazines, wrapping paper - even paper bags can have cool textures and patterns. And what about buttons, feathers, and sequins? Anything that catches your eye and can be glued down (or otherwise attached) is fair game for making a collage, and you might consider including words, letters or symbols also, to express an idea, or get your viewer thinking...

If you feel like you are short on collage-making materials, let us know at director@wendellgilleymuseum.org with your name, artist's ages and mailing address, and we will mail some your way. And PLEASE SHARE your art by sending us pictures with the artist's info (and even an artist statement) and we will post in an online gallery.

Birds & Bees Nature Craft Projects

Check out our new Mason Bee Houses. Easy to make, fun to decorate - a great way to get creative, and to get outside and learn more about bees. Watch a video about the Bee Houses by our museum artist, Steven Valleau here and See pictures of completed houses here. Kits are for local pick up or delivered by mail and include the materials you need. Read more about the kits, and how to order below - and learn more about Solitary Bees below too.

TO ORDER: Mason bee kit $5 plus... a picture or video of your completed project. Write to us at director@wendellgilleymuseum.org with your name (or artist's name) and mailing address. If you are local, we have a no-contact pick-up system. You can send us a check at Wendell Gilley Museum, PO Box 254, Southwest Harbor, ME 04679 or, you can click here to make a donation through our website.

Because of demand, we can only able to ship 3 kits per order, though we will be able to fulfill extra orders within a week. When you are finished, send us a photo of your completed Bee House to
Director@wendellgilleymuseum.org

LEARN MORE
The Mason Bee house is a good place to start learning about bee habits. Mason bees and Leaf-cutter bees are non-stinging solitary bees (safe for kids) that nest in cavities. In our houses the cavities are 5” deep drilled holes (hopefully safe from a woodpecker tongue). Our kit involves a little hammering and as much painting as you want. Over the growing season careful observation reveals the simple craftsmanship of these tiny masons.

Watch a Video to learn more about Solitary Bees (Mason Bees)
Watch a video to learn more about differences between Honey Bees and Mason Bees
Watch a video about the Bee Houses by our museum artist, Steven Valleau here and See pictures of completed houses here.

The Bird Mobile kits are coming soon! 5 bird cutouts that can be strung from sticks or better yet, driftwood sticks if you can go beachcombing. Collect four sticks that you like and hang five local yard birds from the line. Wooden bird blanks (shapes), fittings and paints and a paintbrush included. People local to Southwest Harbor can borrow a wood burner to decorate their projects from our sanitized craft bin.
Bird Mobile $20

Contact us at director@wendellgilleymuseum.org

Ashley Bryan reads Beautiful Blackbird

Watch this wonderful Video of Ashley Bryan reading his book Beautiful Blackbird and Visit Crazy, Creative Collage here on our website for a video lesson with artists Erika and Sienna Rosso, inspired by Beautiful Blackbirds - and lots of other fun collage ideas by local artists.

News

A visit with our Osprey Family

Gilley Members Gallery

Migratory Bird Day and Artist Sherrie York

Birds & Bees Nature Craft Projects

Crazy, Creative Collage!

Events

June 16, 2020, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Carving Classes Coming Soon!

August 18, 2020, 12:00 - 2:00 pm

RESCHEDULED for August. Creating Foam Prints with Sherrie York