Karin and Michael Wilkes are pleased to announce they have hired Irene Eilers to be the assistant manager and sales associate at Courthouse Gallery Fine Art. Ms. Eilers brings a wealth of gallery experience to Courthouse. She got her start with the late Judith Leighton, a pioneer Maine gallerist and the owner of the former Leighton Gallery in Blue Hill. After Leighton’s death in 2011, Eilers managed gWatson Gallery in Stonington.
Ms. Eilers’s debut at Courthouse Gallery will coincide with the opening of a resptropective for Judith Leighton. “It’s like coming full circle” Irene recently mused. The Wilkeses, who represent the Leighton estate, said this will be their first showing of Leighton’s engaging pastels. The show, which opens June 21, will run in conjunction with a solo show for painter Philip Barter, who showed at the Leighton Gallery in the early days.
Ms. Eilers holds a comprehensive degree in Interior Design (BA) from the University of Washington, Seattle. However, she always wanted to make pottery, and began her journey as a potter in South Africa through an apprenticeship with the late Hym Rabinowitz. After returning to the U.S., Eilers continued to hone her craft through master workshops at the Vermont State Craft Center where she worked as the studio assistant for their programs and taught children’s pottery classes. Eilers eventually set up her own studio as the resident potter at a Vermont country inn. Her work, which was highly decorated terracotta, won the jurors award at the Stratton Art’s Festival. Eilers was also commissioned by the Vermont Council on the Arts to make their awards, consisting of 60 platters. After moving to Maine, Eilers became a member of the Brooklin Pottery Co-op. She lives in Sedgwick.
Courthouse Gallery is located at 6 Court Street in Ellsworth. For more information on upcoming shows call 667-6611, or visit www.courthousegallery.com
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