Greene-ziner Gallery Celebrates 30 Years

by Maureen Farr
On a foggy morning in early May, I sat down with Melissa (Missy) Greene and Eric Ziner to talk about their 30 years as artists/gallery owners and farmers on Deer Isle. When I moved here in 1995, they were opening their first gallery in the barn at their house across from where Turtle Gallery is located now. 
Many people know and love Missy and Eric through connections at Greene-Ziner Gallery and at Yellow Birch Farm farmstand. When Arts Guide learned they were celebrating their 30th year doing what they love, I wanted to write something that would help celebrate that milestone. We also wanted to give our readers some background about these two artists, their love of craft, and their dedication to creating beauty – not just in their craft but also in the bounty of their farm. 
They moved to Deer Isle in 1991 to an old farm house next door to the Shakespeare School on Route 15. 

Missy: “We had no idea that we had such interesting neighbors as Fran and Priscilla Merritt, Stu Kestenbaum & Susan Webster, and Dud Haskell. Dud jumped right up and helped us unload our big truck, and had Eric signed up for Memorial Ambulance before we finished.

“When we first came here we set up makeshift studios and continued to travel to shows to sell our art. Everywhere we went, EVERYONE had some relationship to Deer Isle. 

“With the birth of our first son, Abe, and people calling to come see the work, and no place to show it, in 1995 we set up our show booth in our barn and called it good. Greene-Ziner Gallery was born. It was so successful that we fixed up the barn the following winter to make a proper gallery space.  

“We kept doing shows – Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore. Abe, and then Silas came along, so [we had] two boys in tow!”

As time went on, they found that Route 15 was only getting busier, and they felt the need for more space. 
Missy: “So we bought the property on the Reach Road in 2000, no intention of farming, just a bigger garden, maybe a few goats, and more chickens. We had to feed the kids, and they, (and we!) would get to learn a lot. 

“We fixed up the house, made the barn into our gallery, built nice big shops, continued to go on the road to shows. 

“Folks would show up at the gallery and we had way too many eggs and lots of produce and then goat cheese, so we’d just give it away… that was fun, it made us all extra happy.

“When the crash of 2008 hit and no one was buying art we had to rethink a few things. We could no longer just give food away, so we had a farmstand one day a week, and people came!

“And, they wanted more! So, we planted more, and more, and more. And the goat herd grew more, and more, and more! We then became MOFGA certified and built a dairy kitchen in part of my studio. Providing food for us and our community became very satisfying. 

“At this time as well, I built a soda kiln and started making functional pottery, which I had not done in over 20 years. It was more accessible to people than the big art pieces, and after all, why not put fresh grown food on hand made pottery? 

“Over the last 35 years, I have been fortunate enough to have my work in major collections and museums. And I have been lucky enough to be one among all of the local artists who made such beautiful work for Aragosta when it reopened at Goose Cove.  

“People often ask me how I have time to do art and farming. In my perfect world, I get to be outside in the summer growing/making food for us and our community. In the winter I get to be in my studio making pots. 

“It is never quite that easy though. In fact it is a lot of hard work, but work is different when you like what you are doing. I like the diversity, the learning, the satisfaction of getting all the crazy pieces to fit together. 

“I find that I am equally inspired by the colors and textures in putting together a bag of salad greens with flowers, as I am making pottery. They feed each other, literally!  

“As for the future, I don’t know. I like to think we have a well rounded lifestyle that will support us even as we age.

“I do find with age there are definitely some things I would choose not to do anymore!  What I do know is that none of this luck could have possibly happened anywhere else but Deer Isle, with this interesting, amazing, and generous community that supports all of us.”

Eric: “I grew up in an artist family, and learned it has to be good enough to make it marketable. 

“My Dad was in advertising, and a sculptor, who raised us in big houses that needed a lot of work. Being the youngest of five, I got to see where the fun is, and it turned out to be welding, and making sculptures. 

“When I left home, I ran into blacksmithing, and that sent me on another tangent. I spent some years in Oregon, where I apprenticed to a smith, and acquired a fuller appreciation of the craft. 

“I got into the history of it, and the west was too new. [There] bricks were old, here it’s granite. I longed for the civilization that was the starting point, at the time, and eastern manufacturing plants were like a walk in the park. Shortly after my return east I had the good fortune to meet up with Missy – also a fire artist – and together we found our way to Deer Isle.

“We were not alone. It was a booming art scene, and as it is today, there are artists and crafting going on, and the culture that made it important. The community is supportive, and as with the other trades and skills, we count on each other.

“The gallery evolved from the transition of distant craft shows, to the realization that those seeking art could find it surrounded by beautiful and interesting studios. 

He talks about his sculptures, created with found metals and how they offer a story of our past, with a translation of compositions, enjoyed by one’s interpretation.

Eric: “Making sculpture is having a conversation with shapes, and  relating it to a present storyline. The castoffs, and barn dregs are like pages in a book. They had their moment, and through a timelapse, gained a patina, and were surpassed by newer methods.

“The irony of metal’s replacement with plastic, bookends a period of time when energy and resources seemed endless. We’ve come to realize the wealth [metal] represented, and now reserve it with efficiency and technology. It is still an element truly recyclable. It isn’t going away, for its utility is what builds our worlds.

He continues, saying, “Functional railings, light fixtures, fire screens, and architectural elements are the majority of my work, with fun and unique projects that keep it interesting.”

In addition to creating art and farming, Eric feels a strong connection to the Island community, and gives back by volunteering on the ambulance corps, and sitting on the planning board. 
“One of my most rewarding civic participations, was joining Memorial Ambulance in 1991, and still driving! [It was] a way to give back to the island, while getting true satisfaction that it matters. I also joined the planning board to try to keep this gem of an island as special as it is.” 

He concludes, “The farm evolved as our family grew, and we are trying to make it as farmers, and artists, which has its moments. 

“We are so fortunate, it’s really a fun trip.” 

Located at 73 Reach Road, Deer Isle, Greene-Ziner Gallery and Yellow Birch Farm will be open 10-5pm Thursday - Sunday this year. You can visit their websites at www.melissagreenepottery.net and www.ericziner.com  See www.yellowbirchfarm.com for info and reservations for their farm dinners