Episodes
Episode 1: Paulla Estes
[transcript]Paulla works as a shop assistant at the BCMA. She grew up in Colorado and spent several years in D.C., where her artist mother worked at the National Gallery and fostered Paulla’s appreciation for art. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from George Mason University and a master’s in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine. She also works as a book coach, and she’s currently writing a memoir. Paulla and her husband have lived in Maine for 27 years. They have a German Shepherd, Dinah, and three grown children. You can find her website here: https://share.google/7IVFKVBQtxNwpDTW9.
In her interview, Paulla mentions the following BCMA exhibition:
- Gordon Parks: Herklas Brown and Maine, 1944 (on view from June 27, 2022 to November 6, 2022). Curated by Frank Goodyear.
Episode 2: Toni Kemmerle
[transcript]Toni works as a shop assistant at the BCMA. A native Floridian, she moved to Maine with her family in 1998. She had never seen snow before! She pursued an English major and English education minor as an undergraduate and earned a doctorate from Florida State University with a specialty in Victorian and 18th-century literature. Toni taught as a professor at the University of Florida for a number of years before she decided to change careers. She attended law school, became a partner at a Tampa firm, and eventually became a real estate lawyer in Maine. She also practiced with the Department of Transportation as Chief Counsel. Toni has three grown children and lives in Brunswick with her husband.
In her interview, Toni mentions the following BCMA exhibition and pieces in the museum’s collection:
- At First Light: Two Centuries of Artists in Maine (on view from June 25, 2022 to November 6, 2022)
- Artist Unidentified, Assyrian Relief: Winged Spirit or Apkallu Anointing Ashurnasirpal II from Kalhu (Nimrud), Iraq, ca. 875 BCE - 860 BCE, gypsum (Mosul alabaster), 1860.3
- Barbara Cooney, Miss Rumphius and the Lupine in Maine for "Miss Rumphius", 1982, acrylic on gesso-coated percale mounted on illustration board, 2000.17.1.18
Episode 3: Jonathan Pessant
[transcript]Jonathan works as a shop assistant at the BCMA. A Maine poet and Army veteran, he attended Brunswick High School and considers Bowdoin College a part of his early life. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Franklin Pierce University and served in the military for eight years. He has also volunteered for the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Jonathan holds a master’s degree in poetry from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast program, and he has published one poetry collection called Prisonegg about his time working as a maximum-security military prison guard at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. You can find copies of Prisonegg in the BCMA shop!
In his interview, Jonathan mentions the following BCMA exhibitions and piece in the museum’s collection:
- Gordon Parks: Herklas Brown and Maine, 1944 (on view from June 28, 2025 to November 9, 2025). Curated by Frank Goodyear.
- Jim Dine: Last Year’s Forgotten Harvest (on view from December 7, 2023 to June 2, 2024)
- Mina Loy: Strangeness Is Inevitable (on view from April 6, 2023 to September 17, 2023). Curated by Jennifer R. Gross.
- The Ivory Mirror: The Art of Mortality in Renaissance Europe (on view from June 24, 2017 to November 26, 2017). Curated by Stephen Perkinson.
- René Magritte, Le Banquet, 1957, oil on canvas, 2003.11.49
Episode 4: Tom Mullin
[transcript]Tom works as a museum officer at the BCMA. He has spent most of his life working in parks and outdoor facilities and managing open spaces. Tom worked for over two decades on the faculty at Unity College and ran a few different environmental organizations after he left. He currently serves on the board of the Norlands Living History Center and Penobscot River Paddling Trail. He also serves on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Stewardship Council, the advisory board for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Tom is the founder and principal of a consulting firm called Interpretive Pathways. He is married to Jennie, and together they have a blended family of five children and one grandchild. You can find the Interpretive Pathways site here: https://www.interpretivepathways.com/.
In his interview, Tom mentions the following BCMA exhibition and pieces in the museum’s collection:
- Art, Ecology, and the Resilience of a Maine Island: The Monhegan Wildlands (on view from December 12, 2024 to June 1, 2025). Co-curated by Barry Logan, Jennifer Pye, and Frank Goodyear.
- Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of James Madison, ca. 1805-1807, oil on canvas, 1813.54
- Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of Thomas Jefferson, ca. 1805-1807, oil on canvas, 1813.55
Episode 5: Tom Rehn
[transcript]Tom works as a full-time museum officer at the BCMA, and he’s always looking for adventure. He worked in a factory for 16 years before moving to Colorado and becoming a ski instructor at Copper, Aspen, and Beaver Creek. He worked at Renaissance festivals for about 30 years, beginning as an actor and eventually becoming the entertainment director. He is also an internationally recognized cosplayer who has won numerous awards, including first place in Anaheim, Orlando, and London, and he used to make movie prop reproductions. He views the museum as a show for visitors, with the staff offices as backstage. Tom has spent his whole life teaching and learning, and he considers the BCMA another classroom.
In his interview, Tom mentions the following BCMA exhibition and pieces in the museum’s collection:
- Flora et Fauna: Nature in Ancient Mediterranean Art and Culture (on view from March 6, 2025 to March 7, 2026). Curated by James Higginbotham.
- Artist Unidentified, Assyrian Relief: Winged Spirit or Apkallu Anointing Ashurnasirpal II from Kalhu (Nimrud), Iraq, ca. 875 BCE - 860 BCE, gypsum (Mosul alabaster), 1860.3
- Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of James Madison, ca. 1805-1807, oil on canvas, 1813.54
- Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of Thomas Jefferson, ca. 1805-1807, oil on canvas, 1813.55
Episode 6: Dan Dowd
[transcript]Dan works as a museum officer at the BCMA, and he has been with the institution for 18 years. He is a working artist represented by the Caldbeck Gallery in Rockland and currently has a show on view there. He had his first solo exhibition in New York City last year at Magenta Plains, and his home was also featured in The Maine House: Summer and After by Maura McEvoy, Basha Burwell, and Kathleen Hackett. Dan is involved in the Phippsburg Land Trust and works as a photographer, taking photos for the “Faces of Phippsburg” fundraiser, which is producing its 20th calendar this year. Dan currently lives in Phippsburg with his partner and Dalmatian. You can fi nd Dan’s exhibition at the Caldbeck Gallery here: https://www.caldbeck.com/artist/dan-dowd-2/ and his exhibition at Magenta Plains here: https://magentaplains.com/exhibitions/dan-dowd.
In his interview, Dan mentions the following BCMA exhibitions and piece in the museum’s collection:
- Abigail DeVille: In the Fullness of Time (on view from June 29, 2024 to November 10, 2024)
- Maurice Prendergast: By the Sea (on view from June 29, 2013 to October 13, 2013)
- William Wegman: Hello Nature (on view from July 13, 2012 to October 21, 2012). Co-curated by Kevin Salatino and Diana Tuite.
- Edward Hopper’s Maine (on view from July 15, 2011 to October 16, 2011).
- Artist Unidentified, Assyrian Relief: Winged Spirit or Apkallu Anointing Ashurnasirpal II from Kalhu (Nimrud), Iraq, ca. 875 BCE - 860 BCE, gypsum (Mosul alabaster), 1860.3