Recycle + History = Art

This summer artists from the SouthCoast visited New Bedford State Pier to glean surplus material from the Ernestina-Morrissey storage area.   Chuck Smiler and Gallery X‘s Chuck Hauck organized this opportunity for artists to “re-purpose” the material they gleaned with the cooperation of the Schooner Ernestina Commission and the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s project manager and pier manager.  The Recycle+History=Art exhibit and sale were in conjunction with Gallery X’s Ship Shape: Boats and Boatbuilding exhibit.  The sale of the works of art resulted in a donation of over $1,000 to Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey Association to benefit the ship’s rehabilitation.

Thank you to all the artists that participated.  The beautiful work they produced is a wonderful way to connect the community with the Ernestina-Morrissey. Some of the pieces are still available.  Contact Gallery X for information.

Enjoy!

Time Line by Niko Tarini

Medusa by Denise Porche'

Star and the Moon and Baggy Wrinkle Bloom by Denise Porche'

Last Voyage by Mary Ellen Kenney

Circles by Maker Jake

Boson's Chair by Charles A, Hauck

Mermaid Ernestina by Rochelle (Roz) Levesque

Compass Rose by Rochelle (Roz) Levesque

The Captain's Cabinet by Janet Dassau

Amarj by Carol Almeida-Fortes

Growing Forward by Barbara Grace

Past and Present by Michelle T. Lapointe

Past and Present by Michelle T. Lapointe

Mahogany Bowl by Philip Arcouette

Why is there African Mahogany from a ship built in Essex, Massachusetts in 1894?

A knee is a structural element in the frame of a wooden ship.  The Ernestina was renovated in Cape Verde in the 1970’s and early 1980’s.  Cape Verde has no history of wooden ship-building because the timber necessary to build ships does not grow there. But the islands have a long history of and much expertise in ship repair. Many Essex schooners were, at the end of their usefulness to U.S. owners were bought by Cape Verdeans like Captain Henrique Mendes and used as packets and whalers based in the Cape Verde Islands.  Hardwoods were brought from mainland Africa to repair these vessels.  That is how wood from Ernestina, originally built in Essex of American oak and pine, came to include tropical hardwoods.

The African mahogany found in some of the pieces in this exhibit came from scraps of wood that were removed from the ship during repairs done in the past.

This is a knee taken from the Ernestina-Morrissey last year during the rehabilitation at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.

Knees are important in stabilizing the framing of the ship. Here you can see both hanging and lodging knees.

Mahogany Bowl by Philip Arcouette

Mahogany Sculpture by Philip Arcouette

Oak Bowl by Philip Arcouette

Desk Ornament and Key Chain by Liz LaValley

Mahogany Bowl by Philip Arcouette

2 Boats by Leonard R. Langevin

Scrimshaw Necklaces with Beads From Ernestina Deck Trim by Liz LaValley

Oak Bowl by Philip Arcouette

Necklace with Centerpiece from Ernestina by Denise Berkley

Bowl with Nail by Lennie Langevin

Bowl with Nail (inside) by Lennie Langevin