We are astonished by the response to our first Harpswell Open Studio Tour, from both the community and the artists! The event was well attended, far beyond our expectations.
Some thanks are in order. First, gratitude to all the artists who agreed to open their doors for the weekend. We expected half the number that eventually joined us, and we hope you enjoyed meeting the community in your own environment.
We couldn’t have done this without the help of Rob Bryant, a painter who volunteered to put together our brochure and live Google map. He did this with admirable patience while also introducing Liz to the wonders of Google Docs and Microsoft Publisher.
Christine Chaffee jumped in with both feet to lead our social media campaign, requiring many hours of information-gathering and multiple daily postings, which she continues now in order to maintain our electronic presence. We captured much interest from Christine’s efforts, and we are very grateful to her.
Liz owes personal thanks to her daughter, Emily Stamey, a Seattle-based web designer, and David Czerwinski, web developer, for creating our website, harpswellopenstudiotour.com.
In addition, we are grateful to The Times Record and Midcoast Go for covering the tour, and owe deep gratitude to the Harpswell Anchor for helping us get the word out, both before and after the event.
Now that our heads have stopped spinning, planning for the next tour is gathering steam. Please stay tuned. If you are a local artist who is interested in participating in future tours, email lizstamey@yahoo.com.
Thank you to everyone who walked into our studios, chatted with us, asked questions, and took home new treasures. We have learned that the arts are alive and well in Harpswell, and we are so glad to be part of it!
Liz Stamey and Nancy Grice, Great Island
