Haley Art Gallery‘s September Art & Dine (Friday, Sept. 10, 6-9pm) event will feature Kevin Cambridge, owner of Terra Cotta Pasta Company and sampling of specialty foods that make Terra Cotta one of the most favorite spots for foodies across the seacoast. Since 1989, Terra Cotta has offered gourmet ravioli, sauces, flat breads, desserts and ready-made food and catering from its Kittery (ME) and Dover (NH) stores and most recently in South Portland, ME. 

Haley Art Gallery will be one of the four selected businesses promoting the vital role of the Seacoast Local during the July 22, (5-7PM) Business After Hours event at The Port Inn in Portsmouth, NH." 

The event will focus on "buy local" and is co-hosted with the Exeter and Portsmouth Chambers of Commerce, with Exeter Jaguar showcasing a collection of classic and antique Jaguars.  Local restaurants among them Café Nostimo, Warren’s Lobster House, Olde Stove Bake Shoppe, Roundabout Diner, and Smuttynose Brewery and Wine will be providing food and refreshments.

Business members of the Seacoast Local were invited to submit proposals of how they would engage visitors with their business and the local story.  Four proposals from member businesses, among them Haley Art Gallery, were selected to host a room during the July 22 event and visualize the spirit of buy local while promoting their business.

Haley Art Gallery will present "Canvassing the Buy Local Spirit --   How Local Artists and Artisans Enrich and Support Creative Local Economy" a travelogue of select artworks by the Gallery's artists that will take the visitors on a visual journey of the benefits of buying from and supporting local businesses.

The visual travelogue will take the visitors on a journey of what buy local really means, exploring -- through gallery artists' works --  how supporting the local arts empowers local economy allowing business owners to live, thrive, and prosper in their chosen communities.

The message is simple – "for the love of the seacoast, to preserve our way of life, our towns, our streets, our people, our environment -- for the love of preserving healthy local communities -- live local, buy local,"  

Each year the organizers of the annual Music Hall Kitchen Tour think up a great new place for kitchen design fans to explore and this time it's lovely Kittery and Kittery Point, Maine. Water views, Colonial homes — or older — and fantastic form-meets-function interiors in some of the loveliest homes on the Seacoast will make this 19th Annual Kitchen Tour one to remember. The tour will be held Saturday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ann Kendall, co-chairwoman of this year's event, says, "This year, we are confident that each Kittery and Kittery Point home will thrill and inspire everyone on the tour. The kitchens are so diverse; some are so sophisticated with all the newest equipment, while others seamlessly blend the old with the new. There are spacious kitchens and cozy kitchens and they are all wonderful. Some of us just dream about what we could do to our own kitchens, while others actually take notes and make plans for real changes. It is a spectacular day and each year is unique and exciting."

With guidebooks in hand, tour-goers can start, tour and finish wherever they like, perhaps at the home of Jackie Abramian and Harout DerSimonian, whose renovated barn houses both their living space, kitchen area and their Haley Art Gallery, which is accessible from the family kitchen.

"It was a dairy farm at one time," says Jackie. "Here by the sink is where the cows were milked so the windows are short."

The Haley Gallery complex was the original 1890 Moulton Dairy Farm and it was reconfigured by the former owners in 1994. The old farm house, the barn, the milking shed, and the refrigeration shed were all retained but redone. Jackie and Harout didn't need to touch the kitchen, but they transformed the barn into their gallery and the living space.

"Everything is neatly compartmentalized in the kitchen," says Jackie. "The range is separate from the oven and I love that there are two sinks. We have two children, 14 and 11 and they like to cook. We can all be in the kitchen and still see who is coming into the gallery. Usually my husband and I are doing the cooking, but my daughter, Anais, likes to cook and Artin is usually the sous chef. They'll sometimes tell us, 'We're making dinner tonight.'"

Jackie says that when they first saw the farm, the kitchen was an unexpected pleasure.

"It's an antique farm and you don't expect to find a modern kitchen. We kept it about the same but we like to bring our multicultural things into it. We're also very friendly with our artists in the gallery and they come in to cook. We have the Art & Dine events each month and it's the circle of the experience of art, the community and the food completes that circle."

The open spaces in the gallery and the kitchen come in handy when Jackie puts on one of those monthly Art & Dine dinners featuring cuisines from other cultures and eras as well as her Victorian Tea Time. The tea will be set up during the tour and attendees can get a pick-me-up from a good "cuppa." The gallery will also offer discounts for tour attendees.

"The Tea Time is so that people can sit and relax. You don't need to leave after looking at the art in this gallery. Sit, rest, and look at the art from a different perspective, and have some tea from a real Vicorian tea cup," says Jackie.

Come join us during the first Celebrate Pink Women’s Expo as Haley Art Gallery will be among more than 50 vendors showcasing products and services especially designed for women – April 2 at the Regatta Banquet & Conference Center in Eliot, ME. 

Shop at the Expo and enjoy Haley Art Gallery’s pink incentives on paintings and handmade jewelry, accessories and artful crafts.

Proceeds from the Expo will benefit Breast Cancer Stories.   Admission is $5 — the first 300 to register will receive a FREE gift bag.

Enjoy special discounts, complimentary appetizers, cash bar, door prizes & raffles and support Breast   Cancer Stories in support of seacoast women. 

Don’t miss — Celebrate Pink Women’s Expo! Friday, April 2 —  3-8PM   -- Regatta Banquet and Conference Center Rt 236, Eliot, ME

, off of Route 1 at the outlets. For further information contact 207-439-7612, haleygallerycomcast.net or visit www.haleygallery.com.

Haley Art Gallery will open its 2010 season on Thursday, March 11, 2010.  Visit us during gallery hours to view a selection of new works by our Gallery artists as well as new artists we’ll be representing this year. 

 The Gallery’s gift shop will continue to showcase unique, one-of-a-kind handmade artful gifts by US artists and global artisans as part of Fair Trade. 

View works by our artists  and a sampling of items in our gift shop by visiting us online or during regular business hours: Thursday – Saturday 12-6PM or contact us to make an appointment.

[Image: Bicycle - by Sarah Kim]

Gallery Launches Art & Dine Series – March 19

In our continued effort to entertain, educate and enlighten – Haley Art Gallery is launching Art & Dine series starting on March 19.  Each themed event will include a sit-down dinner at times provided by a local restaurant as well a presentation.  We hope these events will provide an opportunity for the public to engage and participate in discussions that will follow the presentations.

Our first Art & Dine event will be Friday, March 19, 6-9PM. In celebration of Spring Equinox and Persian New Year (No Rouz) we’ll show Rick  Steves’ Iran– Yesterday and Today.  Sample Persian food as you learn about Iran’s history, art, culture, politics and its people seen through the eyes of a world traveler.

Cost is $60 per couple which includes dinner, movie, and 15% discount on gallery shopping that night only.  Reservations are required as space is   limited.  Contact us to reserve your space TODAY.

As we prepare for our sixth season – commencing in March 2010 – we wanted to take this opportunity to thank our Gallery artists but more importantly our patrons who in light of difficult economic environment, continued to support the arts. 

If you are an artist or a creative business owner -- and want to grow your business, then this September 4 (9am - 1pm) workshop is a "must attend" for you.  Learn how to unlock the secrets of PR - and create win-win PR tools using:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Blogs
• eNewsletters
• Websites
• Press releases

 Workshop presenter, Haley Art Gallery owner, Jackie Abramian, is a 20 year veteran PR consultant, and author of the recently published Power Up with PR - A Publicity Guide for Artists (ArtMarketing 2008  $14.95  112 pages).  Abramian has presented PR workshops for artists, start-ups and technology entrepreneurs in the US and former Soviet Republics.  She has provided national PR and media strategies for clients in the technology, arts, environmental, healthcare, sciences and medical fields including NIH, American Cancer Society, Epiclear, Teradyne, Enterasys, USFDA, USPostal Services among others.

The workshop will help participants network with other business owners, and learn to:

• Demystify the world of public relations
• Capture media attention 
• Target media contacts
• Write and format captivating press releases to hook the media  
• Create win-win PR tools: Twitter, Blogs, eNewsletters, Websites, Linkedin
• Use cross-marketing strategies
• Pitch an article/profile to your target media
• Create e-campaign
• Discover hidden opportunities
• Position expertise

Contact the Gallery today to sign up -- space is limited. 

Workshop fee: $100 -- group and  non-profits discounts available. Fee includes breakfast, refreshments throughout the day and I copy of Power Up with PR ($15 retail price).

Mono-print -- By Mirella

Haley Art Gallery  will host a networking event for Seacoast Realtors & Attorneys at the Opening Reception of Autumn Muse exhibit -- on Friday, September 11, 5-7pm .

This is the first of many upcoming networking events for seacoast professionals that the Gallery will be hosting for the remainder of the 2009 season.  Realtors and attorneys can enjoy special incentives on their purchases as part of the Gallery’s corporate art program.  

The Autumn Muse exhibit will showcase works by Gallery artists: Priya Allaire, Susan Bailey, Paul Burke, Dean Diggins, Donna Harkins, Mirrela, Ann Legg, Alex Pikas, Gail Sauter, Tres’ Taylor, and Verjik. 

Energy - Mixed Media -- Paul Burke

The exhibit will remain on view until October 31, 2009.   Gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday 12-6pm or by appointment.

Besides being one of Maine’s premier resort properties, Stage Neck Inn is a AAA Four Diamond Award winner since 1976.  But more importantly, Stage Neck Inn holds a special place in our family's heart as our regular vacation spot for more than a decade while we were still residents of Massachusetts.  Our children learned to swim at the Inn's indoor pool and watched movies in their activities room and roamed about the Inn and its outdoor pool.  Even now, as residents of Maine, we love our time at the York Harbor beach and the Inn's restaurants.

This year, as in previous years, Haley Art Gallery will hold a one day exhibit and sale -- on Saturday, Nov. 28 --  featuring works by the Gallery’s 2009 artists and artisans from the seacoast and beyond - as well as unique Fair Trade gifts and crafts. 

The  day-long art exhibit and sale will begin at 10 am.   We will have Victorian tea-time table set up for patrons and visitors to relax while browsing the exhibit.  An opening wine and cheese reception will be held 5-7pm.

We hope you'll join us anytime during the day -- and consider dining at the Inn's restaurant or Grill.