BETHEL — Bethel Area Arts & Music (BAAM) is welcoming Maine-based sound Artist Dianne Ballon for a presentation of her Coastal Maine Recordings on Thursday, November 3. The presentation will be at The Gem, 48 Cross St, at 6 p.m. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Drinks and pizza will be for sale.

Sound artist Dianne Ballon has been working in sound for over thirty-five years. She was awarded a Maine Artist Fellowship from the Maine Arts Commission. In lieu of returning to the Arctic where she has recorded sound, the award and the limitations from the pandemic gave her the opportunity to focus on her coastal sound series at home on the coast of Maine.

Through the sound work she has recorded and mixed over the past fellowship year, Dianne Ballon will introduce listeners to the beauty and richness of sound. She will share the stories behind the sounds, including the difficulties of field recording, recording the navigational buoys from the water, and the discovery of a “lost” sound. Of her coastal sound series, she writes, “The series includes my Boats Creaking at a Dock in Iceland, recorded in a tiny harbor in the northwestern fjords of Iceland. Each harbor has its own distinct sound. Rocked by the motion of water, the pull of the tide, and a variable touch of wind, the boats create a mesmerizing series of sounds. The sounds are introspective: both sharp and smooth, quiet and busy, rhythmic yet random and, achingly beautiful.”

Dianne’s talk will be followed by a showing of the 30-minute film “From Stump to Ship.” In 1929 Alfred Ames, the president of the Machias Lumber Company in Washington County, Maine, purchased a 16mm moving picture camera and with the help of a friend, Dr. Howard Kane, meticulously recorded the labor of woodsmen and horses. Dianne has a personal connection to the film “From Stump to Ship.” In the 1980s, she worked at the Maine Folklife Center at UMaine. Her job was to transcribe word for word the audio interviews from the Machias River Project, listening for hours on end to the stories from the river drivers who appear in the film.

6 p.m. The Coastal Maine Recordings by Dianne Ballon

7 p.m. Short break to grab food

7:15 pm Showing of the 28-minute film “From Stump to Ship”

This event is free. Tickets can be reserved in advance at www.thegemtheater.com or at the door.

More of Dianne’s work can be found at www.dianneballonsound.com.

Please contact Kate at coordinator@bethelareaartsandmusic.com for more information/questions.

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