September 2022

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR As the season shifts toward cooler days of long pants and light sweaters, backpacks, bird migrations, and excitement at the first turning leaves, the season also shifts into preparations and celebrations for fall events like the statewide Maine Craft Weekend and state and country fairs. Artists busy themselves, preparing for these events with a whir of heightened studio activity. They are also busy ensuring a solid studio space and practice is ready for the coming winter. Every fall we see a shift in our studio members, coming and going. A community is built with each person who enters and exits the studio, all crucial parts of the strength and longevity of the whole. Some have left to return home, some have returned to Maine for school, crossed the country for a new job, or finally committed to a new studio practice they have been promising themselves for years. This season we have also seen an unfortunate shift toward the loss of members due to housing shortages in the area. This loss is different--unplanned and sad--for RWS and the greater community when it can no longer support its great talent and local character with affordable housing. We have welcomed so many incredible new members this past year; we hope that you will come meet them at our upcoming events. Support those who work hard to be here, celebrate long standing members, and enjoy the important role the arts play in our lives this fall. Thank you and I hope to see you soon. - Kate Anker, Director