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Visit our Learn & Do page for lots of fun and inspiring online art projects, created by local artists. You'll find videos about using clay, collage and collotype printmaking to create your own birds, as well as a download-able project to make mythological bird gods and goddesses. And there's a video by Ashley Bryan featuring his book "Beautiful Blackbird." We'll be adding more videos and projects during the fall and winter, so check back often.

A fascinating exhibit at the Wendell Gilley Museum highlights  endangered, threatened and extinct bird species from Maine, using carvings by Wendell Gilley, Harold Haertel and Edwin Hawkes, along with full-size prints from John James Audubon’s "Birds of America.”  

Handpicked by Tammy Packie, the museum’s longtime visitor services manager, the display combines art with thoughtfully researched text to show the effect of human-avian interaction in Maine.  

A lot of art has been created by visitors to the Gilley this year. And while we cannot host our usual Community Art Show, we're still featuring the creations that people have made with us this year. We invite anyone who's created something -- a print, bee house, painting or drawing, a pinwheel, or a carving to be part of the show. We're hosting an in-person show and an online one. So bring or send your creation to us by Nov. 17; if you can't send the artwork itself, send us a photo for the online gallery. Send photos to mel@wendellgilleymuseum.org The show itself kicks off Saturday, Nov. 21, the first of three Saturdays we'll be open in November and December. The show continues during our open hour, every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 4pm, as well as on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 19.

The Gilley is excited to announce the creation of a Digital Scrapbook in honor of our artist-in-residence, Steve Valleau. Steve has been with the museum for more than 35 years, and a lot of people have taken classes with him over the years. Were you one of them? Did you take a class with him? Carve a bird you still have? Gained an insight or had some fun? We want to know about it, and we've created a special page on our website just for that purpose. Submit you memories, observations, or photos to the new page on our website HERE.

...the Greater Yellowlegs!

This winsom and distinctive bird is a type of sandpiper and will star in this autumn's carving classes, which run weekly Oct. 17 to Dec. 12.

This Greater Yellowlegs was created by Wendell Gilley in 1972 for his wife Addie Gilley.

The Gallery at Somes Sound is honoring the Wendell Gilley Museum during its October show featuring work by artist Robert Wellings. A portion of the proceeds from sales of Mr. Welling's work will be donated to the museum, supporting the Gilley’s mission of bringing people closer to nature through the arts.

The Wendell Gilley Museum is honored to host Birds in Art from June 11 through Aug. 14, 2021. It will include a new piece by Maine artist Sherrie York, a friend of the Gilley who conducted a popular printmaking class here in 2020. An international juried show, the exhibition includes work by a wide range of accomplished contemporary artists, who offer their unique interpretations of the avian world in a variety of media. Birds in Art is organized by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, and following its debut there, 60 artworks embark on a national tour to a select venues each year. This will be the third visit of Birds in Art to the Gilley and we cannot wait to share the exhibit with you.

We are excited to be opening the Wendell Gilley Museum to the public for tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning July 2. Admission will be by reservation only, as we are limited to 10 people in the building at a time in accordance with the best guidance for the prevention of Covid-19. Museum hours on those days are 10am to 4pm, with the last reservation at 3:30pm.