WISCASSET

A special feature of photographic images “Celebrating the Year of the Sheep” by Nina Fuller of Hollis, Maine, will open on Thursday, Aug. 27 at Sylvan Gallery in Wiscasset. The reception with the photographer will be open to the public from 5 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 27. The exhibit will continue through Sept. 27.

In this body of work, Fuller focuses on the Scottish Blackface Sheep that she raises on her farm in Hollis — although at times other farm animals including horses, donkeys and goats make appearances as well.

Fuller describes her life on her farm and her relationship to her work in the following artist statement:

“I have been a photographer for over forty years, a shepherdess to some forty Scottish Blackface Sheep for only five years. In the years that I have raised sheep on my farm in Hollis, I have fallen in love with every aspect of it. It?s not all cute lambs and beautiful faces, there is tragedy in farming livestock that can bring you to your knees. Maybe this makes the beautiful parts even more beautiful.

“In ‘Farm Worker,’ the photograph of the young man in the barn was taken during the gathering of the sheep for their shots. It’s a treat to have people come help because it’s hard on my back and most importantly I am able to photograph activity with sheep and people. Most of the time I am alone, with the sheep, the light, the barn and my camera.

“All of these photographs include the animals and me. In ‘Roy (the Goat) and Casey,’ Roy looks at me as if he has a question, probably wondering where his cracker is. In ‘Running Lambs,’ I was in the center of the field while the lambs ran around and around me. In ‘Bernadette and her Lamb,’ Bernadette looks at me with that strong mother instinct to protect her young lamb. I love the tiny horns on the lamb compared to Bernadette’s mature horns. ‘The Gathering’ is of the horses in the snow with the sheep, and Emma, the Merino, pops her head up to see what I am there for.”

Fuller’s formal education includes an AFA in Print Making from Silvermine College of Art in New Canaan, Connecticut, a BA in Fine Art from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and an MA in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Equine Assisted Mental Health and Photography Therapy from Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona.

Fuller has photographed Presidents and First Ladies including both George H.W. and George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Michelle and Barack Obama. She has traveled the world photographing and writing about her experiences. Her work has appeared in the Boston Globe, The New York Times, Maine Sunday Telegram, National Geographic Traveler, Practical Horseman, Horse and Rider, Women and Horses, Mountain Living Magazine, Animal Fare, American Cowboy, Fido Friendly Magazine and other international publications.

When Fuller is not traveling, she works in a carriagehouse studio on her sheep farm in Hollis. She offers group and individual workshops in photography and Equine Assisted Photography Therapy and shares her experience and understanding of photography and horses with those who aspire to see the world in a new and exciting way.

A selection of the work by the gallery’s other contemporary American fine artists will also be on display, including paintings by Peter Layne Arguimbau, Joann Ballinger, Al Barker, Angelo Franco, Susannah Haney, Tina Ingraham, Charles Kolnik, Paul Lipp, Greg Laderer, Heather Gibson Lusk, Stan Moeller, Robert Noreika, Crista Pisano, Ann Scanlan, Polly Seip, Morgan Starr, Shirley Cean Youngs and Trenton Forster Youngs.

Call Ann or Rick Scanlan at (207) 882-8290 for more information on this exhibit, or visit the website at www.sylvangallery.com. Gallery hours are every day from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sylvan Gallery is located at the corner of Route 1 and Water Street in Wiscasset, next to Red’s Eats.