Good Morning Gloucester

Blockprinting Demonstration in the Gallery

Artists Mary Rhinelander and Julia Garrison demonstrate the techniques of the Folly Cove Designers

The Cape Ann Museum is pleased present a blockprinting demonstration with artists Mary Rhinelander and Julia Garrison on Saturday, January 12 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. These artists have long been inspired by the Folly Cove Designers. Drop by the Museum to see the Folly Cove Designers exhibition and to watch printing in action. This program is free for Museum members, Cape Ann residents or with Museum admission. For more information visit capeannmuseum.org or call 978-283-0455 x10.

Mary Rhinelander is a professional artist with an MFA in printmaking.  She has had many solo and group shows and her work is in both public and private collections. She has painted murals, designed logos and book covers, illustrated for a variety of publications, and taught students of all ages.  In 2004 she founded a fine art card business, Mermade Press. With a deep affinity for the Folly Cove Designers and Virginia Lee Burton in particular, it has been Mary’s great pleasure to bring block printing workshops into Cape Ann’s public schools with the support of CAM and the Gloucester Education Foundation. Mary will be joined by Julia Garrison, an artist with ties to Lanesville, who until recently owned and operated the Sarah Elizabeth Shop in Rockport’s Whistlestop Mall.

The Folly Cove Designers were a group of 45 designer-craftsmen who worked together between 1938 and 1969 producing carefully wrought designs cut into linoleum blocks and printed (primarily) on fabric. Their common interest was in producing solid designs and in good craftsmanship. The Folly Cove Designers was composed almost entirely of women, most being residents of Cape Ann and a majority having no artistic training prior to becoming involved in the group. They worked under the leadership of Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios, who devised a design course which she offered to her friends and neighbors in the Folly Cove neighborhood. Participants were urged by Demetrios to look to their surroundings for inspiration, to draw “what they knew” and to sketch their subjects over and over again until they made them their own. This program is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition The Little House: Her Story which takes a closer look at Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios and her award winning story, The Little House.

Mary will also be teaching a blockprinting class on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. starting on January 23.

This custom 4-week course for adults offers the opportunity to create artwork surrounded by the inspirational work of the Folly Cove Designers. Sketch, carve linoleum blocks and print an original work to take home. Materials provided. $125 CAM members/$145 nonmembers. Space is limited, registration required.

Image credit: Snow Day. Courtesy of Mary Rhinelander.

About the Cape Ann Museum

The Cape Ann Museum has been in existence since the 1870s, working to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, two historic homes and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. Visit capeannmuseum.org for details.

The Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. For more information please call: (978)283-0455 x10. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org.