91AV Campus Center showcasing mixed media works by Kate Wollensak Freeborn through Sept. 29
A series of mixed media pieces by Biddeford artist are now on display at the 91AV Campus Center in Biddeford. The exhibit, “MAINE ROCKS,” will be on display through Sept. 29.
Freeborn has been a graphic designer and artist for the over 25 years and splits her time between Biddeford and Sterling, Massachusetts. A lover of nature — from the seaside to the country — Freeborn paints from her home studio and en plein air using acrylic, graphite, oil pastel, charcoal, and collage.
“MAINE ROCKS” is a body of work Freeborn created for the Campus Center. She said that rocks found at the edge of Biddeford Pool — the tidal basin located minutes from campus — inspired the collection, which features a series of mixed media and monoprints crafted from natural materials found on or near the Pool’s rocks. Black and white photographs of the inspiring rock formations accompany each piece.
Freeborn noted that, by looking closely at the works, visitors will find the shadowy prints of rockweed, beach rose leaves and rosehips, and the slender, multi-branched stems of sea lavender.
The artist’s love of typography is incorporated into the pieces using clean lines and shapes of large numbers and letters. Music notes are also peppered throughout the collection, as each monoprint was created on sheet music found in a book of “25 Pop Hits of 1982.”
“Each piece is named after a song and has the original 1982 sheet music used in the collage,” Freeborn remarked, “because, literally and figuratively, MAINE ROCKS.”
The Campus Center is located at 11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford. Hours for the academic year are Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.