The Artist
Charly Weir
Someone once asked me what my “medium” was, and I replied, “the town dump” — and had to repeat it three times before she got it. Well, I don’t actually get all of my supplies at the dump; they come piece by piece from antique shops, auctions, the beach, or wherever something with paint, texture, rust, shape or uniqueness shows up. For the past fifteen years I was a dealer in antiques. Not interested in the fine china or the expensive things, I was always more attracted to the barn or the attic — the bits and pieces, the unusual things: a rusty hinge, a headless statue, an empty clock box, pieces of lobster traps.
So I really must thank the failing of my antique business as an inspiration for making these things into pieces of art. And if you could see my basement and garage, you would realize that the source of this inspiration is truly endless.
It is a special pleasure living on an island off the coast of Maine. I get a lot of inspiration from my surroundings: the rust, the ocean-aged wood and the brilliant things that wash ashore, as well as the realness of the people who live here. You can’t buy that experience.
I once considered myself an outsider artist because I had no formal training — until I heard someone say, “Why is it outsider?” She had a point. So now I don’t define myself. I am free to create with abandon and don’t give a hoot about balancing, measuring or clashing colors. It is simply a vision and a desire to take the pieces and transform them into something more.
On the name
“A moment of being is the realization of familiarity — ‘oh, my grandmother had one of these.’ I like to think each of my creations has its own moment of being.”
Charly has always been inspired by Virginia Woolf and Louise Nevelson, and likes to think they collaborate with her in some of her creations. Woolf’s book Moments of Being has been instrumental in all that she does — as has Woolf’s way of stepping out even when it was unpopular. Her feminist pieces follow in those footsteps.
Selected History
Exhibitions
Charly’s work is shown today at Islesford Artists, and has been exhibited across Mount Desert Island and the greater Acadia region.
- Shaw Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME — “MDI Open”
- A. Jones Gallery, Bernard, ME
- Southwest Harbor Library — “Women’s History Month”
- Maine Island Trail Auction
- Bar Harbor Savings & Loan — window display
- Hammond Hall, Winter Harbor, ME — “Found Objects Exhibit”
- Southwest Harbor Library — “Women’s History Month”
- Bar Harbor Savings & Loan — window display
- A. Jones Gallery, Bernard, ME
- Hammond Hall, Winter Harbor, ME — “Found Objects Exhibit”
- Southwest Harbor Library — “Women’s History Month”
- Shaw Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME — “MDI Open”
- Bass Harbor Library, Bernard, ME — “Found Objects Solo Exhibit”
- Bar Harbor Savings & Loan, Bar Harbor, ME — Solo show
- Bass Harbor Library, Bernard, ME — “Night Sky Exhibit”
- Shaw Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME — “MDI Open”
- Southwest Harbor Library — “Women’s History Month”
- Mount Desert Historical Society — “Found Objects Exhibit”
- Bar Harbor Savings & Loan — window display
- Shaw Gallery, Northeast Harbor, ME — “MDI Open”
- Southwest Harbor — “Women’s History Month”
Come find something familiar.
Every piece is one of a kind. If one calls to you, reach out — Charly would love to hear from you.