“Coming Home to Maine,” a show of textile art by Elaine O’Neil, will be on exhibit at the Rockport Public Library, July 7 - 30.

 

"From iconic local lighthouses, to brilliant red blueberry barrens, O’Neil’s vibrant textile collages are full of the stories and textures of growing up in and coming back to Maine," said a Library news release.

 

O’Neil’s youth was spent on her family’s farm in rural Maine where she and her siblings spent their time among gardens, the greenhouse, chickens, and with a constant sound of a sewing machine. She learned to sew from her mother, a home economics teacher, and her grandmother, the daughter of a Maine lighthouse keeper. O’Neil later attended college at the University of Wyoming and Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science.

 

The textile collages are intended to radiate joy and ignite nostalgia, according to the news release.

 

“My subjects are very stylized, with whimsical characteristics found in the line quality, bright colors, and quirky angles,” says O’Neil. “My fabric palette includes a variety of thickness, color, fibers, and sheen, offering a visual and tactile experience to accompany the emotional sensations and qualities that relate to the subject matter.”

 

Elaine O’Neil splits her time between living in Maine and North Carolina. Her work has been used in children’s books and magazines and can be found adapted into numerous home and gift products on her website elaineoneil.com.