Contemporaries explore Artist Studio Building

Last night The Contemporaries membership group of the Portland Museum of Art enjoyed a private tour of the Artist Studio Building on Congress Street. This amazing space is overflowing with creativity from the stellar group of more than two dozen emerging and mid-career artists who work in the building. This is a shot of just some of the people at the party, which I was able to snap when everyone paused to learn more about the building from owner, architect and all-around cool guy Christopher Campbell (you can't see him because he's speaking on the floor below). He also owns One Longfellow Square and was recently profiled in Dwell magazine.

Remarks followed from the museum's new Director Mark Bessire and Curatorial Coordinator (who also works out of the Artist Studio Building) Sage Lewis. Both emphasized the value to be gained by collectors when they buy art from artists early in their careers. Mark also drove home the point that the museum relies on the generous donations of works collected by members. Without such acts of philanthropy, the museum would never have been able to amass the excellent collection it boasts today.

Educating members about art and how to collect it is a goal of The Contemporaries. The popular membership group is co-chair by Chris Robinson, left, pictured here with the museum's Chief Curator (and new dad!) Tom Denenberg.

And these lovely ladies are standing in front of work that is popular with collectors. Artist Shoshannah White (left) is known for her photographs of flowers and desserts, printed on watercolor paper and then layered with encaustic. I was thrilled to discover on display in her studio some of her more recent work, which involves portraits of friends and strangers covered in dark encaustic giving the pieces a vintage feel. Shoshannah's pictured with Heidi Fisher, Kerry Conway and Elizabeth Fraser, known for the daily paintings she creates from her Munjoy Hill studio.

Here's Sage Lewis in her studio space. You can see a few of her intricate works on the wall, which she creates using techniques including ink on paper and embroidery. Her work was included in last year's Biennial at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport.

If you've ever seen the quirky messages displayed on the sign in a Artist Studio Building window, the artist responsible for them is Patrick O'Rorke. I snapped this shot of him and Ivan Cardona standing in front of a work that was recently shown at Whitney Art Works. This piece is a favorite of Ivan's wife, Erica Schair-Cardona. We can only hope this work will make it into their collection. Come to think of it, Memorial Day is coming up. Isn't that a big art buying holiday?

The sound track for the evening came from local favorites The Toughcats, who rocked the art-filled hallway.

There was another performance artist who created quite a bit of buzz at the party. Here I am checking it out. Behind the cardboard door, Greta Banks is working on a life-sized portrait. What had people talking is that she was doing it in the nude.

After witnessing her work (and consuming three glasses of wine), I was caught in the act of my own piece of performance art. Sure, pretending to sit on one of Greta's chairs fully clothed isn't that exciting. If only I'd had another drink, maybe then I would have taken off my top. Oh well, there's always next time.

Speaking of next time, The Contemporaries will get together again on May 12 when Curator Susan Danly leads us on a private tour of the Biennial. Want to join us? Here's how you can become a member.

Get ready to Take Back the Night

With the sun out and the temps in the 70s, it's a lovely day to get out of the office and stroll through downtown. Should you head over to Monument Square, you'll spot these strange cutouts scattered in front of the Our Lady of Victories monument. Is it an obstacle course? A mini-golf range? A kids' art project?

Actually, it's none of the above. According to Danielle L. Danie, of Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine, (on left), Sarah Lawler, of Family Crisis Services, and Hilary Lawton, of Planned Parenthood, the plywood forms represent the sobering statistic that one in five Mainers report being the victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. The women will be in Monument Square all day today handing out information ahead of tonight's Take Back the Night march.

They've also set up a display of 400 petitions signed by locals who pledge to take a stand against violence.

Should you want to get involved, wander on over while the sun is shining and sign a petition. Or join the activists tonight at 6 pm in front of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church at 400 Congress St. First there will be a rally against sexual violence. This will be followed at 7:15 pm by a march through downtown Portland and a Speak Out back at the church at 7:45 pm.

I remember going on one of these marches back in the '80s. In particular, I recall our trek through upper Congress past the porn theaters that used to inhabit the State Theater and the current home of Geno's. A group of drunken men heckled our parade of moms and kids. It was kind of scary.

These days, Portland is a much more welcoming place, and I can't imagine that a crowd chanting "Women unite/Take back the night" will raise much more than a thumbs up from onlookers.

Portland does Earth Day

The sun is peeking out from behind the clouds and the crowds are gathering at today's Earth Day celebration in downtown Portland.

Put on by arts organization MENSK, the festival goes on until 3 pm today in Congress Square (which is the public gathering space between the Eastland Hotel and the Portland Museum of Art). You can check out green information from the Sunrise Guide and the Local Sprouts Community Supported Kitchen. Once the festival ends, head down to the Public Market House from 4-6 pm for Local Sprouts' open house with tasty local food.

In addition to bikes and info about Portland-based biofuel maker Maine Biofuels, the Portland Skatepark folks have details about the proposed park.

One of the great things about this green lifestyle event is it's free.

And once you've checked out the Earth Day festivities, head on down to Monument Square where the farmers are set up until 2 pm. You can find onions, parsnips, eggs, free-range chicken, jams, maple syrup, pickles and flowers. Because one of the easiest ways to go green is to eat local food.

Inside private Portland dinner with China Study author

Last night I scored an invitation to a private dinner with renowned medical research T. Colin Campbell, left, author of The China Study. Dr. Campbell was in town ahead of a lecture he delivered today to medical students at the University of New England in Biddeford.

Published in 2005, The China Study presents the results of the longest and most comprehensive investigation into the relationship between diet and disease ever conducted. The results show a strong relationship between eating animal protein and dying from cancer. The book then goes beyond the science to examine how special interest groups, scientists and bureaucrats spread nutritional confusion.

Dr. Campbell is pictured with fans at Little Lad's Bakery, where the dinner was held. Located next to the artist designed bus shelter on Congress Street, Little Lad's may be best known for its popcorn, but the company is firmly in the restaurant business, with a spot at 120 Broadway in New York City in addition to the Portland eatery.

The dinner was hosted by John Herzog of Orthopedic Specialists in Falmouth and a member of the teaching staff at UNE. Dr. Herzog is also interested in how food affects health and is about to start a 24 day trial of lipid levels and other blood measurements in study participants who switch from a meat-based diet to a plant-based diet prepared by Little Lad's Bakery and Blue Elephant in Saco.

Dr. Herzog decided to undertake this study after he switched his own eating to vegetarian and eventually vegan and saw his cholesterol level drop from 248 to 94. As part of his new eating style, Dr. Herzog says he dines at Little Lad's at least once a week. If you want to get involved in the study, send an email to info@orthocareme.com.

All the food served at Little Lad's is vegan, including this creamy mac & cheese with a wonderful crust that I enjoyed for dinner last night. It was served with green beans, mashed sweet potatoes and pineapple sweetened beets. The huge and very flavorful meal included garden salad, whole wheat rolls served with a cranberry orange relish, non-dairy ice cream, carob truffles and pumpkin pudding.

Little Lad's is run by the very lively Fleming family - including Mom Maria, Dad Larry and their five adorable and poised children - who entertained the crowd with humorous songs about sugar, fiber and good health. The funny refrains included: "Sugar in my history/Sugar in my past/But now I hope I've had my last."

Capturing all this good cheer and herbivore camaraderie on film, Monica Beach Enterprises, out of Santa Monica, CA, was also a hit with the Fleming children. The crew is creating a documentary about Dr. Campbell and his work to spread the word about the benefits of a plant-based diet. Last night was Monica Beach's first filming session. I'm so thrilled I got to be a part of it.

Upscale resale shop moves to Exchange Street

New England resale chain Second Time Around recently moved its Portland consignment shop from Fore Street to Exchange Street, into the storefront previously occupied by Simply Chic. The Exchange Street store is now the main store, while the spot on Fore Street is called the Annex and all the clothing there is priced between $5-$20.

This shop is a popular stop for local fashionistas who don't want to drop a lot of Benjamins for the latest looks. Browsing through the racks, I spotted all the hottest labels from Gucci and Marc Jacobs to Banana Republic and DKNY.

Here's Manager Jessica Powers sorting through a stack of clothes dropped off today. She says business is booming, and she expects the new location on the high foot traffic Exhcange Street to boost sales even more.

Should you want to bring in your own gently used threads into the store to sell, here's what you need to know.

1. You need to call or go online and make an appointment
2. Everything needs to be in perfect condition
3. Nothing you drop off can be more than two years old
4. You need to clean the clothes before you drop them off

Clothing that still has tags attached is marked at 50% off retail price and everything else is priced at 40% off retail.

Second Time Around is located at 28 Exchange St. It is open Mon.-Sat. 10 am- 6 pm and Sun. noon-5 pm. Second Time Around Annex is located at 367 Fore St. and maintains the same hours. FMI or to schedule a time to drop off items, call 761-7037.

Maine Roller Derby skates past Ohio's Rock n' Rollergirls

The Portland Expo was packed this past Saturday as Maine Roller Derby's Calamity Janes took on Northeast Ohio's Rock n' Rollergirls. If you haven't been to see one of this high-energy games yet, you really need to check it out. The action is intense and the Maine skaters, now in their third season, really know how to hold their own. Here the home team gets pscyhed up before the bout. Don't you love their uniforms?

With the music blaring, the Calamity Janes took a few warm-up laps. The skaters all have fun derby names, such as Vexacious D, Roxxy Retribution, Terror Byte and Shirley B. Slammin'. Because the Maine affiliate of the Women's Flat Track Roller Derby League has attracted so much talent, it now boasts an A team (Port Authorities), a B team (the Janes) and a group of newbies affectionately called Fresh Meat.

I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to explaining sporting rules, but with help from the very informative bout program, I'll give it a shot. At the start of play a pack of eight blockers (equally split between the two teams) lines up with a pair of pivots at the front. A first whistle means this group starts skating. When the last blocker crosses the start line (officially known as a pivot line), a second whistle blows and the two jammers start skating.

The goal of these two jammers (again from opposing teams) is to make it through and past the blockers. The jammer who makes it to the front then becomes the lead jammer. After the jammers make it around one time, the lead jammer then starts scoring points for her team.

In addition to lots of hard hitting action on the track, I always take advantage of the yummy beverages to be had in the beer garden. These included Gritty's, PBR and gin and tonics. Here the beer garden crowd vies for free PBR T-shirts being tossed into the stands.

We never have trouble getting friends to come out for Maine Roller Derby. Here are some friends enjoying the action from the beer garden: Angie, Adam, Lisa and Dan. (My brother-in-law tells me that if you zoom in on this photo, you can see him making a crazy face from the stands behind Adam's head.)

Even though the final scoreboard reads 116 to 25, the MRD website reports that the Janes actually scored 121 points. Either way, it was a landslide victory for the home team.

After a tasty dinner at Sapporo, a group of us followed the derby girls to the after party at Bubba's Sulky Lounge, where our derby tickets got us in for free. Here we grooved the night away on the lighted dance floor to the sounds of the '80s and '90s. The beers were cold and cheap, and we were thrilled to dance along side these roller derby stars.

Catch the next home bout May 23 when the Port Authorities take on the Dutchland Derby Rollers. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door and kids are $5/$7. You can buy them online at Brown Paper Tickets.

Indulging in chocolate at the Fling

This past Sunday marked the 23rd Annual Chocolate Lovers' Fling, a benefit for Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine. A yearly feast of all that is chocolate, the event regularly overflows the ballroom at the Holiday Inn by the Bay with people looking for a sweet fix. In what has become a tradition, my cousin and I made the annual pilgrimage.

This year there were 15 restaurants and caterers who offered up everything from mousse and cake to chocolate quesadillas. After the votes were in, Old Port Candy Company won the People's Choice Award for its decadent Black Bear Paw Fudge.

A panel of local celebrities served as the event's official judges. Here are the awards the judges handed out:

Best Brownie: Twenty Milk Street at The Portland Regency Hotel - Buddha Brownies
Best Cake: Bar of Chocolate - Chocolate Cupcake with Salted Caramel Frosting
Best Candy/Fudge/Truffle -- Nutmeg Foods - The Maine Sea Salt Bar
Best Cheesecake: Izzy's Cheesecake - Triple chocolate Cheesecake Cake
Best Mousse: Chocolate Falls of Maine--Chocolate Mousse Cups
Best Pie: The Green Elephant -- Chocolate Orange Mousse Pie
Best Specialty Item: Federal Jack's Chocolate Quesadilla
Best Torte: Holiday Inn By the Bay--Flourless Chocolate Mousse Torte with Chocolate Grand Manier Glaze
President's Award: Federal Jack's - Chocolate Quesadilla
Best Presentation: 20 Milk Street at the Portland Regency Hotel

I was absolutely thrilled to discover what has become my new favorite dark chocolate bar: The Coastline Confections River Mill Dark Chocolate with Maine Sea Salt. It combines my two favorite foods: chocolate and salt. I can't get enough of it (in fact, I'm enjoying some right now). If you like salt with your chocolate, you really need to give this one a try. I bought mine at Whole Foods Market, and it is likely available at other shops that sell gourmet chocolates.

Cutting-edge contemporary at PMA's Biennial

Every two years, the Portland Museum of Art treats us to a snapshot of the Maine contemporary art scene in the form of the much-anticipated Biennial exhibition. This is one of those delightful years. The show opens to the public tomorrow and is sure to generate a lot of excitement.

Today I was one of the lucky few who had the chance to tour the exhibition during the press preview with Director Mark Bessire and curators Susan Danly and Sage Lewis. Here you can see some of the fine folks who work their magic at local media outlets, including the Portland Press Herald, the Lewiston Sun Journal, Portland Magazine, The Bollard and WCSH-6.

Susan called this show a "radical change" from past year's Biennials. Why? Because of the number of artists and works in the show. The 2009 exhibition includes 29 works by 17 artists. In contrast, the 2007 Biennial included 98 works by 61 artists.

Jurors for this year's show were Elizabeth Burke, an art consultant and former co-director of the Clementine Gallery in New York, Denise Markonish, curator at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and Dan Graham, a video, installation and performance artist who lives in New York.

Susan credited Dan Graham with steering the jurors to a number of excellent installation works. After the jurors selected the installations, they then looked for a number of smaller works that would relate to the installations. These works generally provide a new way of looking at landscapes, such as Mary Aro's Ashcan-style paintings of a Maine dump and Melissa A. Calderon's chromogenic prints of a gold-plated chicken traveling through an urban environment.

Here are just a few of the installations sure to wow museum visitors:

This is "Thumper," by Sam van Aken. The work is composed of 50 subwoofers and when turned on emits a loud thumping bass, reminiscent of the noise that comes from the cars of teenage boys. Sam won the Jurors' Prize at the 2007 Biennial.

This is just part of Sean Foley's installation "Menace." His work was featured in a recent show at Whitney Art Works, and he won a Jurors' Prize at the 2003 Biennial.

This massive installation, "Falsework" by Wade Kavanaugh, fills the entrance to the main gallery and forms a wall that guides visitors into the space before it spills out in undulating waves. You can see a satellite installation of this work in the window of the Port City Music Hall.

And here's the result of Ethan Hayes-Chute's construction project, which I blogged about a couple weeks ago. It's called "Hermitage" and reminds me of a shack my uncle built in the woods behind my grandfather's dairy farm when he was a teenager.

The really cool think about Ethan's piece is you can actually walk around inside it. As you explore, you'll find the belongings of an imaginary hermit, including his liquor cabinet. The work feels so real, down to the ashes on the stove and the pinecones on the roof. This realism extends to the nearby outhouse, where you'll want to be sure to check out what lies beneath the seat.

The Portland Museum of Art's 2009 Biennial opens April 8 and remains on view through June 7. Tickets cost $10 and admission is free on Friday nights.

Portland gets new raw vegan cafe & new organic coffee shop

Portland likes to tout its foodie status, and as of tomorrow the city can claim its first raw vegan cafe. Called GRO (which stands for GrassRoots Organics), it opens at 8 am Tuesday. However, I stopped by this morning to get a sneak peek.

Chef Andrew Borne, pictured above, showed me around the place and gave me a few samples to nibble. Raw food is popular in Southern California and other health food hot spots, but this is the first raw food restaurant I've heard of in Maine. The menu includes juices, smoothies, sandwiches, soups and sweets, all priced under $10. Whenever possible, Andrew buys from local and organic suppliers.

I tried a bite of the raw meatballs, made with Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and spices, and topped with a raw tomato sauce and a nut sprinkle. It was really delicious, and didn't taste at all healthy-foody or gritty. Look for this as a sandwich and served over raw zucchini noodles.

The shop offers raw flatbreads and crepes, plus non-raw breads (including gluten-free) and sprouted breads. Andrew plans to offer a couple cooked soup options each day.

He explained that raw food preparation uses three main tools: a dehydrator, a food processor and a Vita Mixer. To be considered raw, food shouldn't be heated above 115 degrees. I asked Andrew about the theory behind raw foods.

"When you cook foods, 90% of the nutrients are cooked off," he explained. "We soak the nuts and seeds beforehand. (The soaking) gets rid of enzyme inhibitors, which helps digestion."

Some raw foodies eat raw meats, dairy and eggs, however the raw vegan approach is the most common. Andrew said the shop's owner, Igor Rakuz, wanted to carry raw milk and cheeses until he found out Maine law prohibits the sale of these items in restaurants.

I also sampled one of these amazing raw chocolates filled with coconut and cashews. What makes it raw, according to Andrew, is the uncooked filling and a chocolate coating never heated above 112 degrees.

Here's a close-up look at one of the shop's raw apple pies. The crust is made with Brazil nuts, cashews and dates. Apples are mixed with spices and drizzled with a mixture of pureed cashews and agave syrup.

Eventually, the back room will be converted to an indoor greenhouse of sorts to grow wheatgrass, shiitake mushrooms, micro greens and herbs. One day, more of the cafe's food may come from a real greenhouse on the owner's property in Windham.

GRO Cafe is located at 437 Congress St. (next to Guitar Grave). It's open Monday through Saturday from 8 am-6 pm. Call the cafe at 541-9119.

Portland also gained a new coffee house today. Bard Coffee Roasters opened its doors this morning at 183 Middle Street in the Old Port (kitty-corner from the Starbucks on the other side of the street). It was already packed when I showed up around noon. The shop is roasting its organic coffee in Brunswick, and offering a number of single origin brews. I tried the peaberry, which had a smooth, nutty flavor.

The shop also offers teas and hot chocolate, plus pastries from Standard Baking Company and the Good Eats Boutique. House blend coffees cost $1.60/$1.85/$2.05 and single origin coffees cost $1.85/$2.10/$2.30.

Sunday through Thursday the coffee shop is open from 7 am-9 pm, with doors staying open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Art displays will change monthly, in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk.

First day of weekly farmers' market

Today marked the official start of the weekly farmers' market in Monument Square. Dan from Sumner Valley Farm and Mike from Uncle's Farm Stand were there as the vanguard of the 30+ farmers who will fill the square by the time summer rolls around. Look for these guys (and hopefully others) next Wednesday from about 8:30 am until about 1:30 pm. Once the weather improves, the official market hours of 7 am-2 pm kick in.

Mike had a great selection of jams, jellies, pickles and honey

Dan offered up his coveted free-range eggs and pasture-raised pork

And Mike added a decorative touch to the square with wonderful pussy willow bouquets and wreaths, plus these gorgeous violas. Thankfully, all this freshness and color isn't an April Fools joke.