NORWAY — Natalie Reed and her daughter, Julieanne L. Reed, both of Mexico, currently have a show of their creations — braided rugs and paintings — in the windows of Norway Savings Bank Operations Center on Main Street.

Natalie, of Backkingdom Braids, has been creating braided rugs for 50 years. She crafts each rug from new wool fabric and each one is unique. She enjoys creating heirloom quality pieces that will be used and loved for generations.

Natalie has taught rug braiding in the Mexico area for almost as long as she has been making them. Through teaching at Mexico, Rumford and Dixfield night-school programs and offering classes at The Mexico Congregational Church, Natalie has taught the art to hundreds of people in Western Maine and in Fort Myers, Fla.

Natalie has a good selection of rugs in a range of size and color. Custom orders are welcome.

Julieanne, of Waking Wing-ed Dreams, works with the seen and unseen worlds of nature and imagination. With a strong focus on winged creatures, fox, turtle, salamander and other animals weave their way into the works and add to the layers of story. This most recent work is done in Sennelier oil pastel on rag paper.

Julieanne studied painting and color at the Portland School of Art. After 20 years away from painting, she returned to her work as an artist. She paints the birds and other animals as they ‘show up’ and leaves the storytelling to the viewer — with the belief that we each bring our own story to the images we see. Julieanne’s studio is in Mexico. She has high-quality giclee prints available in various sizes.

For more information on the purchase of rugs, paintings or prints, both Natalie and Julieanne can be reached at 364-4079 or bubbeh7@gmail.com. Both artists will be at the Norway Sidewalk Arts Festival running July 7-9.

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