Artists

Chrystina Gastelum (gas-TELL-um, she/her) lives and works in Biddeford, ME. She co-owns a therapeutic massage practice on Biddeford’s Main Street with her spouse, and fellow artist, Sean Hasey. They share a studio at Engine. In addition to participating in forums for local business and her work with Engine, she is also the chair of Biddeford’s Conservation Commission, whose purpose is to protect the considerable natural resources in Biddeford. She studied Anthropology at Boston University and has worked extensively with corporations on a wide variety of sustainability issues, but particularly on climate change. Her art practice is multimedia, focused primarily in textiles and repurposed objects. Photo by Julie Gray, an Engine Darkroom member (though this was made with a digital camera).

Dirigo Linum is a current project asking can we grow our own clothes, textiles, dyes, art supplies and more on a sustainable scale in Maine? Let’s find out in Biddeford!

COLOR SOUND OBLIVION
C▲S▼O is a record shop for goth, industrial, post-punk, experimental, noise, electronic & more. Art. Musick. Death.
www.colorsoundoblivion.com

Connolly Wood & Craft
Woodworker and craftsperson making things in the great state of Maine.
etsy.com/shop/connollywoodcraft

Danny Gugger
Creative Director / Designer

I float between two worlds——aesthetics and practical ingenuity.

My skills lie in distilling a business down to a core philosophy and telling the story that follows. 10 years of technical expertise across marketing, brand strategy, graphic design, website design, and photography give me a deep understanding of how to develop a compelling and beautiful brand identity.

For more non-work related stories and photography visit DearGob.com.

https://deciduousstudio.com/about

I try to employ a kind of surrealism that draws upon the raw intimacy of the human body as well as the stubbornness of nature, while hopefully maintaining a sense of humor and whimsy. I experiment with different mediums. Lately I’ve been using light weight, quick dry spackle mixed with plaster of paris and acrylic paint to create sculptural paintings. I also like to incorporate architectural salvage, wood, and religious emblems into my work.

Emma is a native of the Portland, Maine area and currently living in Portland’s East End. She is a writer first and foremost, and has a BFA in Creative Writing from UMaine Farmington. Emma is also a film photographer, skier, dancer, surfer, sports fan, and avid foodie. She considers herself a British Mainer and has dual passports. Emma leads new moon circles through the Wild Woman Project and loves everything considered “witchy.” When not writing poetry Emma is currently working on a fantasy series and reading as many books in the genre as possible for research.

https://emmapidden.com/about

Erin O’Toole founded Oterra Designs with a vision of creating unique, expressive, and high performing gear for the climbing community. Erin worked for many years as a product designer and developer in the outdoor industry where she honed her technical skills and fed her creativity on the side by making personalized chalk bags and buckets for friends. As these gifts started to be seen around crags, gyms and over social media, she was overwhelmed with responses of ‘why don’t you sell these?!’ And as time went on, Erin felt more and more drawn to the craft of making gear that went beyond its function and into the realm of a usable piece of art. In the start of 2020 (pre-covid shutdown as luck would have it), she took the leap, left her ‘real’ job, and Oterra was born.

GENIUS BLACK is a music producer, rapper, business entrepreneur and social innovator based in South Portland. GEM CITY is his brand of diverse humans who are telling a story of today’s culture, and who are all defined by the unmistakably quality of place that is, the Maine Coast. Genius represents a collaborative network of musical talent that works to drive the intersection of arts, culture, quality of place and to tell the stories of the social fabric of our communities. GEM CITY is being honed through IGNITE as an adaptive business model that works to create career paths for the arts workforce through packaged content and digital media campaigns that open up career scale opportunities for talent.