SPL fourth annual Labor Day raffle prizes: Jill Hoy painting, Andrea Kostelak quilt, and SPL tote and tees.
Thanks to everyone who loves SPL and, more generally, libraries! We raised $5,505 to benefit Stonington Public Library in our fourth annual Labor Day raffle. The raffle’s success, featuring two grand prizes, exceeded our wildest expectations. You all made this success possible and ensured a win—the biggest win!—for our island community with your support for SPL.
Congratulations to Carole and Marie-Noelle! They are the grand prize winners of the Andrea Kostelak American flag quilt and Jill Hoy plein air oil painting, respectively, in the SPL Labor Day raffle. We also drew winners for 5 SPL totes and 5 SPL t-shirts; winners can choose any color, size, or design. All winning ticket numbers are listed below.
Screenshot from today’s live raffle drawing broadcast on Zoom.
So many people pitched in to make the raffle a resounding success. First and foremost, thank you to Jill Hoy and Andrea Kostelak for their generous donations. Andrea’s heartfelt quilted wall hanging in memory of her father-in-law and Jill’s iconic painting of Stonington Harbor made it easy to sell tickets. Thank you to SPL volunteers who spent many hours selling tickets at the Stonington Farmers’ Market and on the library porch. And thank you to Wylie, Barbara, and Pat for taking time out of their day on Labor Day to help with the raffle drawing. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to draw the winning tickets than Wylie!
Enter to win in SPL’s fourth annual Labor Day raffle! This year we’re offering two grand prizes thanks to generous, heartfelt donations from Jill Hoy and Andrea Kostelak. All it takes is one ticket to win BIG! Purchase your tickets at the bottom of the page.
The live drawing will be held on Monday, September 2, 11am EDT via Zoom.
Grand Prizes
There’s only one way to win: get your tickets! It costs $10 to enter one grand prize drawing of your choice—get one free ticket for every 5 you purchase.
American Flag Quilt
American Flag Quilt, repurposed fabrics from family belongings, 30.5″ (width) x 20.5″ (height)
Andrea Kostelak’s father-in-law was a WWII veteran and had a lot of pride in his country. When he passed away in 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic, Andrea gathered fabrics from family belongings and pieced together this quilt in honor of his life and service. She made a similar lap quilt for her mother-in-law. “Stonington 2024″ embroidered on the back with small hoops attached for wall hanging. The quilt measures 30.5″ (width) by 20.5” (height).
Jill Hoy Painting
View of Stonington Harbor from Granite Street, plein air oil painting, 30″ (width) x 24″ (height)
Working with the particular qualities of Maine light has long been a primary focus of Stonington resident Jill Hoy’s plein air oil paintings. Known for strong composition, energy, and power of place, Jill first came to Deer Isle at age 10 and has operated her gallery since 1986. View of Stonington Harbor from Granite Street is an iconic panorama with lupines in the foreground and Isle au Haut in the background. The painting measures 30″ (width) x 24″ (height).
Shipping
Shipping not included with the prizes. SPL can hold the prizes for pick up or help arrange shipping at cost.
Purchase Tickets
Ticket sales for SPL’s fourth annual Labor Day raffle have ended. Join us on Zoom today, Monday, September 2, at 11am for the live drawing.
Today many SPL patrons received an automated message from MILS, our library management system, communicating that your membership will expire in 10 days. We welcome patrons to renew their membership in person during library hours or by phone, (207) 367-5926, or email, stonington.public.library@gmail.com. Simply confirm or update your contact information included in the reminder message, and we will gladly renew your SPL membership.
No accounts will be deleted through this process. Patrons remain in the system until they are inactive for three consecutive years. You need to renew your library membership annually to ensure we have up to date contact information, so you can expect to receive automated communications about your account. You can always reach out to us for help with your membership or any other library questions.
We look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you on your next visit to Stonington Public Library!
There will be an interruption in the statewide book delivery service beginning July 1 and anticipated to last at least six weeks. The service interruption is the result of a competitive bidding process that is now proceeding through an appeal. Patrons can no longer request materials from other libraries through MILS or MaineCat but can continue to place holds on items in the SPL collection. Please read below for more information from Maine InfoNet and for a link to an FAQ about the delivery service.
“Sharing between libraries is one of the best and most valuable services that libraries provide to their members.
“The ability to smoothly deliver materials between libraries is what makes this work. The contract for the book delivery service is held by the Maine State Library and is subject to state procurement laws and procedures. This contract was required to go to through a competitive bidding process (Request for Proposal, or RFP) this year since all contracts that use public funds have to ensure competitive bidding at the state level.
“Contracting as a result of this RFP for book delivery is currently working its way through a legal appeals process. Because of this transition to a new vendor who won the competitive bid, and an appeal to overturn that decision by an unsuccessful bidder, there will be an interruption to book delivery between libraries at the end of the current contract which expires on June 30th.
“We do not currently have firm dates for the length of this interruption, but we expect that there will be no delivery for at least six weeks this summer, starting on July 1.
“In anticipation of this interruption, the Maine InfoNet Board and the Minerva Executive Board have made the difficult decision to turn off all requesting between libraries within the MaineCat environment, including Minerva, MILS and URSUS, as of June 4th.
“Patrons will still be able to request and place holds on locally owned items, but will not be able to request materials from other libraries.
“Turning off requesting between libraries will allow materials currently in transit to be delivered and will reduce the flow of new material entering delivery. This will help get as many items back to their owning libraries as possible and will help ensure materials are not stranded in the delivery system.
“We know that this is a challenging situation that we are all facing. We recognize and feel the same frustration with this situation that you all are feeling. Your local library provides many other valuable services to your community, and we encourage everyone to explore those many services.
“If you would like more details regarding this, please visit the FAQ that further explains this situation: Van Delivery FAQ.”
Seaside Series returns to Small Cove Park. Our 2024 lineup features artists, poets, journalists, and novelists with everything from an island-original picture book to the lights of Broadway and from an Asian brush painting demonstration to a Georgia O’Keeffe mystery. Seaside Series starts Wednesday, July 3, 12-1pm, and runs every Wednesday, 12-1pm, through August 28 in Small Cove Park, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington (behind Camden National Bank). We’ll bring the shade and chairs, you bring a curious mind.
Frederica Marshall
Sumi-e Painting Demonstration
July 3, 12-1pm
Frederica Marshall will present a demonstration of the ancient art of sumi-e, Asian brush painting. This medium uses the Four Treasures: ink stick, grinding stone, brush, and paper. There are 270 brushstrokes in the sumi-e artist’s tool box. The basic strokes were originally used for Chinese calligraphy then adapted for painting subjects. This simple and elegant method can be used for painting every subject. It is practiced around the world. She loves to paint Deer Isle in sumi-e. It reminds her of her home in Japan.
Frederica Marshall lived in Japan for 28 years and gained a deep understanding of Japanese art and culture. She teaches sumi-e, watercolor, Asian calligraphy, ikebana, and haiku, and she is a kamishibai storyteller. She has taught more than 23,000 students across many institutions, including for LA Metro College and Ringling College of Art. She serves on the board of the Sumi-e Society of America and is a founding member of the Haiku Project and an active member of the Deer Isle Writers’ Group. She has won international and national awards for her sumi-e and watercolor paintings. She has a gallery and art school at 81 North Deer Isle Road, where she finds great enrichment in developing the creativity of her students. Learn more about Frederica on her website.
Kathryn Lasky & Tom Ricks
New Mysteries from Bestselling Deer Isle Authors
July 10, 12-1pm
Kathryn Lasky and Tom Ricks, two bestselling Deer Isle authors, have changed genres late in their writing careers. Kathryn Lasky, beloved children’s and young adult author, releases her second book in a new Georgia O’Keeffe mystery series for adults, Mortal Radiance, this summer. Tom Ricks, renowned military historian, switches from nonfiction to fiction with a new Maine coast thriller, Everyone Knows But You. Come hear the authors read from their new novels and discuss the rewards and challenges of a late career pivot. The event will conclude with a book signing; copies of their books will be available to purchase.
Kathryn Lasky is the author of over one hundred books for children and young adults, including the Guardians of Ga’hoole series, which has more than eight million copies in print, and was turned into a major motion picture, Legend of the Guardians. Her newest book, Mortal Radiance, is the second in her Georgia O’Keeffe mystery series. The first in the series, Light on Bone, won the 2023 Maine Literary Book Award for Crime Fiction. Follow Kathryn on Instagram or learn more about her on her website.
Thomas E. Ricks, a former resident of Deer Isle, is the military history columnist for the The New York Times Book Review. He is the author of nine books, including Fiasco, First Principles, and, most recently, a thriller titled Everyone Knows But You. His latest is set on the coast of Maine and involves drugs, sharks, and the killing of a rogue lobsterman. Follow Tom on Twitter.
Ben Shattuck
The History of Sound
July 17, 12-1pm
Ben Shattuck will read from his new short story collection, The History of Sound, followed by a Q&A and book signing. Written with breathtaking humanity and humor, The History of Sound is a love letter to New England, a radiant conversation between past and present, and a moving meditation on the abiding search for home. In the collection’s final story, “Origin Stories,” the protagonist travels through Stonington and visits a woman living on Isle au Haut. The event will conclude with a book signing. Copies of his books will be available to purchase.
Ben Shattuck is also the author of Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, which was a New Yorker Best Book of 2022 and nominated for the Massachusetts Book Award. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he lives in Massachusetts, where he owns the oldest general store in America. Follow Ben on Instagram and read more about him on his website.
Melissa Jones-Bayley and Rosalie & Gavin Bayley
The Friendly Maine Lobstermen
July 24, 12-1pm
The Friendly Maine Lobstermen: A Voyage of the Kieran Scott is the first picture book by Melissa Jones-Bayley, the author, and her children Rosalie and Gavin Bayley, the illustrators. The book is a sweet tale about cooperation and sharing in the lobster industry, focusing on kindness and helpfulness. The art is inspired by the island’s landscapes and the ever-changing Atlantic Ocean, and the story draws from family history and shared experiences. They will present a reading and a discussion of the creative and collaborative processes from inspiration to publication. The talk will be followed by Q&A and a book signing. Copies of the book will be available to purchase.
Melissa Jones-Bayley is a native of Stonington, where she lives with her husband Chris and their two children, Rosalie, 15, and Gavin, 13. She and her husband are both business owners and active in community service. She is fulfilling her dream of raising her children on the island and immersing them in its vibrant artistic community. The book features Gavin’s intricate pencil sketches and precise ink lines combined with Rosalie’s evocative watercolor palette, resulting in captivating illustrations that bring the story to life.
Siri Beckman
The Art of Wood Engraving and Woodcut
July 31, 12-1pm
Siri Beckman will talk about wood engraving and woodcut with book signing to follow. She recently published The Prints of Siri Beckman: Engraving a Sense of Place with Down East Books, which includes an introduction by renowned New England art critic Carl Little. Copies of her book will be available to purchase.
As a long time resident of Stonington, many of her prints were inspired by experiences on the island throughout the years. Siri is a mid-westerner by birth, and Maine became her adopted home in 1975. She joined other artists and craftsmen in forming a co-op gallery in Stonington in 1976. She taught classes in the adult ed program at Deer Isle-Stonington High School, and worked at Haystack for several summers. She also served on the Memorial Ambulance Corps and the Stonington Planning Board.In 1992, she earned an MFA in Printmaking and Book Arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. For many years, she ran a picture framing business from her home studio where she also sold her prints. Learn more about Siri on her website.
Susan Tobey White & Genevieve McDonald
Lobstering Women of Maine
August 7, 12-1pm
Susan Tobey White was so captivated by the sight of a woman working hard on her fishing vessel in perfect light that she took lots of photos. It planted the seed of a new series, Lobstering Women of Maine. A former student, who had fished with her dad and now has her own boat, introduced Susan to other women and girls fishing on the Maine coast. The portrait series became a book featuring 18 women with brief stories about each. Many of the women knew of each other but had never met in person until the reception at Penobscot Marine Museum. Susan is exhibiting her artwork, including portraits from this series, August 6 through October 19 at SPL.
Genevieve McDonald, one of the women painted in the series, will join Susan in Small Cove Park to discuss the collaborative process. Their conversation will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. Copies of Susan’s book will be available to purchase.
Susan Tobey White, an artist and educator living in Belfast, Maine, worked as an elementary art teacher for 15 years and participated in art shows during the summers. When she stopped teaching, she opened High Street Studio & Gallery, where she showed her own work and that of other artists for 17 years. She now has a smaller studio and gallery in downtown Belfast which is open by chance or appointment. She has taught painting workshops on the East Coast during the past 17 years. She is known for her acrylic paintings of faceless dancers, over-large food series, and Maine scenes. Her most recent body of work resulted in a book, Lobstering Women of Maine: Paintings and Stories of Women and Girls Who Fish the Maine Coast. Learn more about Susan on her website.
Kristie Billings & Libby Edwardson
Poetry & Prose in the Park
August 14, 12-1pm
Local authors Kristie Billings, Sea Witch: Photographs, Poems and Forget-Me-Nots from a Mainer Growing Up, and Libby Edwardson bring distinct styles to their crafts from poetry and fiction to photography and painting. They will share published and unpublished poetry and prose, discuss their work, and talk about the community of writers throughout the Blue Hill Peninsula. Their reading will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. Copies of Kristie’s book will be available to purchase.
Kristie Billings, a Stonington native, comes from a long line of lovers of the sea: fishermen, clamdiggers, and sardine packers. The ocean is home. She is a poet, a photographer, and a year-round swimmer. Kristie is also a collector of both the tangible—wigs, albums, scallop shells—and the intangible—stories, emotions, memories. She currently lives in Ellsworth, Maine. Kristie is married to her best friend, Ed. They share a home with their rambunctious cats. Kristie is a collector. Her first book, Sea Witch: Photographs, Poems and Forget-Me-Nots from a Mainer Growing Up, was a finalist for the 2024 Maine Literary Award for Excellence in Publishing. Follow Kristie on Instagram.
Libby Edwardson is a multimedia artist who has called a lot of places home. She has been a cabaret singer in Dublin, a dog walker in NYC, and driven a bookmobile through the hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky. Now she lives on the coast of Maine, where she paints ghosts, writes about monsters, and wanders seaside cemeteries. Libby is writing her first novel, a quiet horror called Diving at the Starlite, which is set in the Appalachian mountains she came to love so well. Libby has six children, an embarrassing number of pets, and dreams of visiting Roswell, New Mexico. Follow Libby on Instagram.
Jack Viertel
Broadway Melody
August 21, 12-1pm
Jack Viertel’s new novel, Broadway Melody, is a show business romance crossing 7,000 miles and 70 years. Broadway Melody lands securely in the confines of Times Square and the Theater District, as a crackerjack trumpet player and a blue-collar spotlight operator vie for the love of an aspiring ingenue who holds them both in thrall for their entire lifetimes. Jack will read from his novel, talk about his Broadway career, and end with a Q&A and book signing. Copies of his books will be available to purchase.
Jack Viertel is a theater producer who worked on Broadway for 35 years and spent 20 of them also running the ENCORES! program of musical revivals at New York City Center. He has worked on such memorable productions as Angels in America, Hairspray, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Outsiders. His first book, The Secret Life of the American Musical, was a New York Times bestseller. Follow Jack on Twitter.
Colin Woodard
What Holds Us Together? Rebooting the U.S. National Story
August 28, 12-1pm
Historian, author, and journalist Colin Woodard describes how the United States became unraveled—putting the continued survival of the republic and federation in doubt—leaving many Americans wondering what can hold us together. He shares the results of his team’s in-depth research revealing a way forward via a revitalized national story tied to the ideals laid forth in the Declaration of Independence.
Colin Woodard is the director of Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University and the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America,Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood, and The Lobster Coast. A veteran foreign correspondent and investigative journalist, he received a 2012 George Polk Award and was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for his work at the Portland Press Herald. A native of Maine, he is a graduate of Mt. Abram High School, Tufts University and the University of Chicago and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Read more about Colin on his website.
