For years, Arlene Jurewicz-Leighton taught online courses for science educators. She noticed that her home in Lincolnville afforded her a view of the night sky that was not available to many of her students in more urban areas.

“They always had to use simulations of the sky for any star work that we did, anything having to do with constellations and even viewing planets,” she said.

That special view was interesting to Jurewicz-Leighton as an educator — and also as an artist. She channeled her appreciation for the night sky and her concern about light pollution into a photograph.

That image is on view through Feb. 28 in an exhibition that celebrates Maine’s clear skies and the ecosystem that thrives under the cover of night. The show is a collaboration between Waterfall Arts in Belfast, the Union of Maine Visual Artists and Dark Sky Maine. It includes more than 30 artists and a program of events that range from a lantern-making workshop to film screenings.

“The more attention we give to our dark skies, the more we appreciate what we have here in Maine,” said Nancy Hathaway, president and co-founder of the nonprofit Dark Sky Maine. “It calls attention to the night sky. It gives support to the night sky. It gives support to education to people who maybe haven’t thought about light pollution.”

ASPIRING TO AWE

DarkSky International is an organization that aims to restore the nighttime environment and protect communities and wildlife from light pollution. It has certified more than 200 places as part of the International Dark Sky Places program, which recognizes responsible lighting policies and effective efforts to reduce light pollution. The list includes two places in Maine — the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Woods.

Hathaway was involved in the effort that achieved certification for the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary in 2020. That experience led her to start a local chapter called Dark Sky Maine. The nonprofit hosts “star parties” to view the night sky, helps municipalities develop their lighting ordinances and shares resources with people interested in reducing their own light pollution.

Jurewicz-Leighton got involved in Dark Sky Maine when her town started studying a related ordinance. She is also a member of the Union of Maine Visual Artists and suggested the theme of this exhibition at a brainstorming meeting. The idea immediately gained traction amongst her peers.

“We wanted it to make people in awe,” said Liv Kristin Robinson, an artist who helped organized the exhibition.

Robinson recalled taking a cross-country flight as a young child, spending the hours with her face pressed to the window and watching the stars turn to sunrise (“I had a big brand-new Disney coloring book, the whole large set of crayons, and I never touched them,” she said). She thought about her own amazement at the night sky when she moved from New York to Maine as an adult. She remembered the photographs she made while riding in the passenger seat of a car along Route 3 between Belfast and Augusta. She took 33 photographs of a full moonrise on a late November afternoon and compiled a dozen into a piece for this show.

“I like to take pictures when it’s getting dark,” Robinson said. “I noticed that years ago, when I would go out to take pictures, I was drawn to taking pictures on Cedar Street, where I used to live and where the kids would go around trick or treating. It’s a little vignette for a moment in the light. You can see something quickly, and then it’s gone. There’s something spontaneous and magical about it.”

The Union of Maine Visual Artists invited certain artists to participate and also issued an open call to its members. The jury — Hathaway, Robinson, Jurewicz-Leighton and painter Emily Sabino — chose the work that they felt best honored not only the dark skies but also the creatures that depend on the darkness for their survival. Some works depict nighttime scenes or the stars. Others show pollinators, night frogs and birds.

‘WHAT CAN WE DO?’

The 30-plus artists in the show include Katherine Bradford, Linden Frederick, Emily Nelligan, Lesia Sochor, John Meader and Frances Hynes.

Amy Tingle, program director at Waterfall Arts, said she appreciated the scope of the exhibition. Participants include well-known names such as Bradford alongside others who are showing their work for the first time. The subjects vary from the moon to birds to a backyard grill. The programming will also cover a wide range from a family craft project to a talk by the founder of Maine’s Aurora Borealis Watch.

“The interpretation is really vast,” Tingle said.

“I would hope people really take a minute to think about how precious the dark skies are,” she added.

Jurewicz-Leighton submitted a photograph that shows the distant glow of Camden from the top of Mount Battie. The piece is titled “Noctalgia: Sky Grief,” a term coined by astronomers to describe their sadness at losing the night sky to light pollution.

“Here on the Midcoast, we still have pockets of sky where we can still see the Milky Way,” she said. “Over the last few decades the sky glow from many towns and community is diminishing that possibility. What can we do?”

Sabino, who lives in Newcastle, said her research during the planning process helped inspire her own painting for the show. Her circular piece, titled “Seeds of the Future,” is inspired by the important role that nocturnal moths play an important role in pollination in Maine. She also learned that the average person can take simple steps to reduce light pollution, such as using shields and motion sensors on lights.

“On a very practical level, it made me feel a little better,” Sabino said. “On a more poetic level, I just look up all the time now to see if I can see the Milky Way. Only a small percentage of Americans can see the Milky Way, and where I live, I can see it. I look up every night now when I’m outside and say, ‘Hello, Milky Way.’”

Hathaway said she often hears at Dark Sky Maine from people who are looking for advice and resources on how to talk to their neighbors about their bright lights. She hopes visitors will be both educated and inspired by the art on view.

“Hopefully, it’ll make it easier for people to talk to each other and talk to neighbors,” she said.

Invite your neighbor to a star party, Hathaway always says — or maybe, an exhibit at Waterfall Arts.

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Dark Skies: Artwork honoring dark skies in Maine”

WHERE: Waterfall Arts, 256 High St., Belfast

WHEN: Through Feb. 28

INFO: For more information about the exhibition and related programming, visit waterfallarts.org or call 207-338-2222. For more information about Dark Sky Maine, visit darkskymaine.com.

RELATED EVENTS

Jan. 18: Opening reception for “Dark Skies: Artwork honoring dark skies in Maine,” 1-3 p.m. at Waterfall Arts. The event will include a talk with Nancy Hathaway, president and co-founder of Dark Sky Maine, and a screening of the short film “Defending the Dark.” Free and open to the public.

Jan. 25: Screening of “Wilfred Buck” at the Belfast Free Library, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Writer and director Lisa Jackson’s portrait of Cree elder Wilfred Buck brings to life ancient teachings of Indigenous astronomy and cosmology to tell a story that spans generations. Free and open to the public.

Feb. 1: Art Together Morning: A glow-in-the-dark constellations workshop for families, 10 a.m.-noon at Waterfall Arts. Pre-registration required at waterfallarts.org. Admission costs $15 to $30, and one ticket guarantees admission for the entire family.

Feb. 8: Lantern-Making Workshop with Joelle Webber, 2:30-4:30 p.m. at Waterfall Arts. Registration is required at waterfallarts.org, and individual admission is $30 to $40. Recommended for ages 8 and up. Followed by a free and optional gratitude walk.

Feb. 15: Night sky presentation and workshop with Serena Sanborn and John Meader, 1-3 p.m., including a tour of the exhibition at Waterfall Arts. Free and open to the public.

Feb. 22: Talk by Elizabeth Dickerson, founder of Maine Aurora Borealis Watch, 1-2 p.m. at Waterfall Arts. Free and open to the public.

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