The Wiscasset Middle High School, WMHS, is proud to join with the Wiscasset Art Walk by showcasing local works in a pop-up art gallery at 64 Main St, on June 28, 5-8 p.m. The gallery will include arts and crafts from students, staff, and local artists who have donated an exceptional body of work to benefit WMHS extracurricular activities: Art Club, D&D League, and Wiscasset Special Olympics. These school groups strive to provide students with unique experiences to learn, grow, and challenge themselves beyond the classroom environment.  

Students will be staffing the gallery, presenting and selling the works. Stephan Puff, WMHS teacher, will be working alongside students to set up and host the gallery. “The Art Walk is a wonderful opportunity to let the creativity of our students overflow into the local community,” he says. “We are always looking for ways students can feel a positive and tangible connection to Wiscasset.” 

The gallery will feature designed crafts by students such as Gabriana Bailey, who designs keyrings and jewelry inspired by the dice used in the tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons.  The polyhedral (many-sided) dice are crystalline geometric forms that, when worn, possess a light and playful aesthetic. 

The exhibit will also feature art pieces donated by staff and local artists such as Mildred Johnson. Johnson moved from Massachusetts to Maine in 2004, working out of Fort Andross Mill in Brunswick for many years before her passing in 2017. Her prints and sketches, contributed by a family member, illuminate her playful approach to a variety of visual mediums.  Her ‘Chico’ series of collages overlay drawings on top of magazines showing a hint of her architectural roots through the delineation of shapes.
 
Puff and his students hope that those who visit the gallery will gain a greater appreciation for the potential of collaboration between Wiscasset and its students.  He hopes the art walk will be a jumping off point to develop a more active student presence in town.   
 
For more information about the WMHS students, their art, and the enrichment programs supported by this exhibit, contact Stephan Puff at spuff@wiscassetschools.org. or 882-7722. For information about the Wiscasset Art Walk, contact Lucia Droby at ludroby@verizon.net .