The Heart of the Palette

By Ryan Leighton, Communications Director | Maine Arts Commission

Driving into Piscataquis County feels like crossing an invisible threshold.

Tracey Padron describes it as a breath of fresh air. The worries of the wider world recede somewhere between the river bends and the mountain ridgelines. On this particular winter afternoon, a big domed sky stretches over the heartland of rural Maine in brilliant shades of ultramarine, copa cobalt, and what Tracey might call lapidar blue, the kind of hues she knows by instinct, drawn from a deep well of painter’s pigment.

In this part of Maine, she says, there are “artists just hidden all over the place. You don’t even realize it.”

Today, she is here to help them surface.

The Heart of the Community

The ground floor of the Guilford Memorial Library hums quietly as participants trickle in, shaking snow from boots and greeting one another with polite curiosity. The original Carnegie-funded portion of the library sits proudly atop a hill overlooking the Piscataquis River, commanding a sweeping view. Below it, in the lower-level community room, watercolor paper waits in neat stacks.

Considered “the heart of our community,” the phrase feels less like a slogan and more like a description. People arrive from Sangerville and Parkman to the south, Abbot to the west, Monson to the north, Dover-Foxcroft just down the road. It is a small-town region, and yet many in the room are meeting for the first time.

Surrounded by mountains, rivers, lakes, and endless outdoor recreation, this corner of Maine offers staggering natural beauty. But like many rural communities, resources and services can be harder to come by, especially when it comes to accessible arts programming.

That is where Wendy Lorigan comes in.

Removing the Barriers

Wendy is a local elementary school art teacher, a mother, and until recently, the founder of a nonprofit arts studio that she ran for four years before pausing to focus on family and school. She knows grants. She knows paperwork. And she knows her community.

“I really wanted something in the winter,” Wendy says. “This was the slow time. We definitely need to do something in winter to get people out of their house and then back together.”

The Guilford Memorial Library made sense. It is ADA compliant, centrally located, and very welcoming.

“We eliminated all the barriers,” Wendy explains. “There was no financial barrier. No physical barrier.”

Last spring, Wendy participated in a Maine Creates cohort training with Side x Side in Portland. The pilot initiative, funded by the Maine Arts Commission in partnership with Side x Side, trains teaching artists to design programs that foster intergenerational connection, belonging, and well-being through active participation in creativity.

When Wendy presented her proposal, it aligned seamlessly with those goals. Free workshops. Professional teaching artists, multiple mediums,  and rural access.

She became one of five Maine Creates pilot sites statewide and immediately hired local artists like Tracey to bring it to life.

“Watercolors are very portable,” Tracey says as she arranges brushes and palettes. “It dries quickly. No solvents. A lot of people are familiar with it from childhood. There’s not as much fear.”

Nearly twenty participants gather around her table, from kindergarteners to retirees and curious first-timers.

Tracey moves with the ease of someone deeply fluent in her craft. She speaks easily about pigment nuances, mixing techniques, and the virtues of a limited palette. She paints a broad wash of blue across paper, a confident stroke that blooms outward.

“You don’t need every color in the box,” she tells the group. “Too many colors make mud.”

She encourages them to play. To layer. To cross-hatch colors like a tartan pattern on a Scottish kilt. Reds into blues. Yellows into violets. Water meets pigment and accidents become discoveries.

“There are no rules in art,” she says with a grin. “Just guidelines.”

The room fills with chatter and quiet laughter as people lean closer to their pages. Some hold brushes tentatively. Others dive in without hesitation.

From Intimidation to Triumph

Gloria Herrick, who lives just half a mile away, admits she felt intimidated when she first signed up.

Years ago, she took a watercolor class in Bangor. The instructor took the brush from her hand and finished the painting for her.

“I didn’t feel like I learned anything,” she recalls.

This class feels different.

Tracey never takes over. She offers suggestions, encouragement, and gentle guidance. When Gloria hesitates about using another sheet of paper, Tracey urges her to try again.

“She gives you permission,” Gloria says later. “I feel I earned a lot more.”

By the end of the session, Gloria’s shoulders have relaxed. Her paper holds a wash of layered blues and violets that shimmer in the light. She is already talking about signing up for the next workshop.

Beyond Watercolor

Watercolor is just one chapter of the series.

Earlier workshops included monotype printmaking. Up next are punch needle embroidery and traditional hand embroidery, where participants will sew and embellish their own book bags. The series will culminate in a community showcase and book giveaway, another grant-supported effort Wendy has woven into the program.

Each class is also being documented. Wendy quietly films segments and prepares downloadable art kits so those who are homebound or unable to attend can access the lessons from their living rooms. The goal remains the same: remove barriers and expand access.

Up the road in Monson sits Monson Arts, a premier residency organization that brings artists from around the world. It is a remarkable institution, but as Wendy notes, not every opportunity is financially accessible to everyone.

“We have a lot of people struggling financially,” she says. “Having these programs is essential for rural communities.”

The emphasis is not just on making art, but on building connection in a place where isolation can sometimes settle in quietly during the winter months.

Why It Matters

As watercolor papers dry and participants exchange phone numbers, the room feels warmer than when it began. Conversations linger. People compare colors. Plans are made to return.

“Maine Creates is rooted in a simple belief,” says Amy Hausmann of the Maine Arts Commission. “Creativity, art, and culture are essential and help people feel connected and supported in their communities. At a time when isolation and uncertainty affect so many of us, our partnership with Side x Side celebrates the power of coming together creatively to build connection, collaboration, and well-being across this land we now call Maine.”

In Guilford, that belief feels tangible.

What’s Next

As I drive away from Piscataquis County, frozen ponds glint in the low winter sun. Smelting shacks dot the ice. Snowmobile trails cut through the woods. The sky shifts again toward evening blues that now feel familiar.

Maine Creates workshops in Guilford will continue through March, culminating in the embroidery session, book giveaway, and community exhibition. Watercolor kits will remain available for checkout at the library, extending access long after the tables are folded away.

Looking ahead, we will also be heading north to Van Buren for a community mural project and west to Auburn for our next pilot stop.

The creativity unfolding in Guilford is part of something larger taking shape across Maine, one community at a time.