NORWAY — Frost Farm Gallery will hold a First Friday reception, meet-and-greet the artist from 5-8 p.m. Friday, July 4. The show, titled “From the Heart and Hands,” will feature Mainescapes by Michelle Stuckey.

Stuckey has always brought art into her life and life into her art. As a teenager she studied various forms of art at Deering High School, and made silver jewelry in a studio in Ogunquit. When preparing for the show, Stuckey noted, “The images that come up in my paintings are of places where I have had long staring sessions. Some reference places I have known since early childhood. Living my life along the forested coastal and lakes regions of Maine, the essence of the landscape has great personal significance for me. My feelings of gratitude for the elemental world are vividly at the heart of my intentions for the paintings in this series.”

Stuckey’s formal art education began in 1969 at the Portland School of Fine and Applied Art, but took a few circuitous detours to raise two children, join the first edition of the Shoestring Theater puppeteers, and direct the Waterfront at Camp Ketcha.

Working at the YWCA, Stuckey began developing DanceMagic, the children’s creative movement program in recreation departments throughout the Greater Portland area. As a dance educator of many accomplished artists from Maine, Stuckey’s impact continues to resonate today in our community and beyond. Love of teaching and children led to Blue Hill and four years of teaching first and second grades at the Bay School.

Returning to Portland, Stuckey re-enrolled at what is now the Maine College of Art, earning a BFA with honors in Painting in 2007. Shortly after graduating, she went to work teaching art at the A.R. Gould High School at Long Creek Youth Development Center. Since 2012, Stuckey has applied herself full time to her painting.

Guitarist and singer/percussionist Maya Best will provide live music for the evening. The show is free and open to the public, and the exhibit and sale will continue at Frost Farm Gallery in the historic David W. Frost farm, 272 Pikes Hill through Saturday, July 26. For more information, call 207-743-8041.