Brightly colored drawings and paintings of boats and lobsters are greeting visitors to the Harpswell Town Office, where artwork by 20 third and fourth graders from Harpswell Community School is on display.
The children were told to create art inspired by what they love about living in Harpswell and Maine. Their coastal scenes, pine trees and sunsets fill two hallways at the Town Office.
Sue Rich coordinates art exhibitions at the Town Office. Rich, who was a member of the Harpswell Recreation Committee for more than 20 years, said the town has been displaying art by local children for at least five years.
“Every year at this time I try to get the children’s art up,” she said, timing the exhibition to coincide with the end of the school year. The children “love being able to say, ‘Oh, they’re on exhibit in the town hall.'”
Katie Neal, the town’s recreation director and community services coordinator, is the mother of one of the young artists, Alden Neal. She said children often come in with their parents to take photos with their pieces.
“I love seeing their paintings every time I walk in,” Neal said. “It’s colorful and it’s a great partnership between the town and the elementary school.”
The art by the children likely will stay up until mid-July, then be returned to the students when they start school again in the fall.
Rich, the coordinator of the Town Office exhibitions, also likes to feature art by local groups such as Ocean Waves Quilters or Sebascodegan Artists.
She is interested in featuring more work by beginning adult artists, whom she meets while taking classes at Merrymeeting Adult Education. She said it would be encouraging for the adult beginners to know they can create something “worthy of hanging in the town hall.”
Rich likes to feature art from a variety of mediums, such as collage, oil pastels, watercolor and photography.
She said her favorite part of her volunteer role is “introducing people to different types of art and the different talent that is available right here in town.”
