Who We Are

The artists producing MAINE MASTERS are all members of the Union of Maine Visual Artists and have collaborated on the series since its inception in 1999.

RICHARD KANE – filmmaker; Richard has 25 years experience as director, editor, sound mixer and director of photography for documentaries with the PBS series Art21, National Geographic, Discovery, CBS, J.F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Natural Resources Council of Maine. His role on this project is co-producer/director, director of photography, editor and project director; www.kanelewis.com

ROBERT SHETTERLY – painter, filmmaker, writer; his recent series, “Americans Who Tell the Truth” was published by Dutton and recently won the International Reading Association Award for best non-fiction work. As producer of MAINE MASTERS, Rob collaborates on the selection of artists, conducts the interviews, and writes and co-directs the final product; www.americanswhotellthetruth.org

CARL LITTLE – art writer, poet, curator, lecturer; Carl is the author of more than a dozen artbooks, including Paintings of Maine, The Watercolors of John Singer Sargent and Edward Hopper’s New England, and monographs on artists Beverly Hallam, Lawrence Goldsmith and Vincent Hartgen. He collaborates on the selection of artists, assists with the interviewing, and helps with public relations for the series. He interviewed Bruce Brown and Martica Sawin for the Stephen Pace video.

CORLISS CHASTAIN – curriculum guide writer, artist, art educator. Corliss has been honored with a Japan Fulbright Scholarship, Maine’s Art Teacher of the Year, University of Maine Woman of the Year, and the Maine College of Art Award for Leadership. She is past president of the Maine Art Education Association.

AVY CLAIRE – studio and installation artist; Avy is primarily responsible for the graphic design of the DVDs and other promotional materials; www.avyclaire.com

MAUREEN FARR – web designer, graphic designer, and visual artist; Maureen is responsible for designing the Maine Masters site. She publishes Arts Guide, an annual publication celebrating its 14th year, promoting artists and the arts from Stonington/Deer Isle, Castine and Blue Hill Peninsula, to Gouldsboro. She exhibits her fine silver jewelry and mixed media and encaustic paintings at Vincent’s Ear Gallery in Deer Isle. www.mozellestudio.com

MELODY LEWIS-KANE – curriculum designer, potter, educational consultant and video producer; co-authored a series of curriculum guides titled “Arts & History: Storytelling” for a video series funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the John F. Kennedy Center Education Department. Produced over a dozen arts-in-education training films for the Kennedy Center and produced the film “M.C. Richards: The Fire Within”. www.mcrichardsfilms.com

SUZETTE McAVOY – Director of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and former chief curator of the Farnsworth Art Museum with more than twenty years of experience in the field, Suzette has organized national traveling exhibitions of the work of Louise Nevelson, Alex Katz, Kenneth Noland, Lois Dodd, Karl Schrag and Alan Magee, among other artists. Suzette collaborates on the selection of artists and the interviews. She recently interviewed Yvonne Jacquette from the 20th floor of a hotel overlooking Times Square, NYC; www.suzettemcavoy.com

CAREN-MARIE MICHEL – painter and former banker, Caren’s landscape and still life painting career has earned her extraordinary notice with commissions, exhibitions, articles on her work throughout the Northeast. She serves as treasurer of the Union of Maine Visual Artists and a member of the Maine Masters Committee; www.carenmariemichel.com

PAUL SULLIVAN – composer/keyboardist; Paul won his first Grammy Award in 2006 through his work with the Paul Winter Consort. He composed and performed the musical track for two recent MAINE MASTERS on Clark Fitz-Gerald and Lois Dodd and will be gracing this series with many more of his scores www.rivermusic.com

DEB VENDETTI – painter, photographer, videographer, educator; Deb was Education Coordinator for the Farnsworth Museum from 1987-1998. She exhibits her drawings and photographs in galleries and museums throughout Maine. With Rob Shetterly, Deb conceived of MAINE MASTERS series. Deb videotapes interviews with the artists upcoming in the series.