Cape Cod Arts Relief Fund - Gin Stone

Gin STONE

The creative process is never a straight line. It takes twists and turns that sometimes result in reinventing ourselves to become the artist we want to be.

That is the journey that Harwich’s Gin Stone took, switching from painter to a one-of-a-kind mixed-media artist whose work utilizes fiber—longline fishing gear, fabric, dyes, and cyanotypes—to create stunning three-dimensional pieces that include faux taxidermy and myth-based chimeras.

She made that leap walking on the beach in Chatham one day while “having painter's block,” she recalls. “I was beachcombing for debris, and I thought the pieces I found would inspire me for colors in my paintings. I was inspired by the actual fibers themselves.”

She started experimenting with the fibers on twodimensional surfaces but found the palette limiting. That is when she stumbled upon longline fishing gear “which took to fabric really well,” she says. “I then started putting it on three-dimensional things. … What I do is humane taxidermy. I get longline, hand dye it, and affix it to taxidermy forms the same way a taxidermist would with skin.”

Though Stone has only been creating in this medium for roughly a decade, she says, “I’m surprised at how much attention it’s garnered. It’s different. People are attracted to something they haven’t seen before.”

Where she was once unsatisfied with her work as a painter, today she says, “I’m really happy when I finish a piece. … I never got the level of satisfaction with painting that I do with this. Now, when I get bored with a subject, I make my own narrative for it. I make creatures with their own mythology using archaeology, antiquated cultural references, tribal references, and Greek goddesses.”

Her unique work was recently recognized by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod through a mini-grant from the Cape Cod Arts Relief Fund, which supports local artists impacted

For Stone, it was an important reminder that her work matters. “To have an arts organization recognize you for what you do and to be recognized as an artist, having them see you, I think is the most important part,” she says.

As a full-time artist, Stone admits, the past few months have been difficult. “It is harder because you don’t know what will happen to your career,” she says. “You’ve been building it and working to get to a certain place and everything shuts down and changes. You don’t know what will be on the other side of it.”

While she is uncertain for what the future holds, she by the pandemic.

remains hopeful. “I guess the only thing you can do is keep working and hope it comes back or comes back in a better way,” she says.

Art Auction

PLEASE JOIN US AS WE RAISE FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS ON CAPE COD NOW, MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED THE ARTS AND THE ARTS NEED YOU!

Virtual Live Auction

August 6, 6 PM ET • Streaming LIVE from the AFCC Offices on Main Street, Hyannis

Silent Online Auction

now through August 9

DON’T MISS A MOMENT OF THE EXCITEMENT CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE AUCTIONS TODAY!

We are so grateful that you have chosen to join us for the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod’s (AFCC) first-ever all-virtual art auctions. At a time when our region’s art scene has click here to request absentee or phone bidding arrangements.

been devastated by the pandemic, your support is needed now more than ever. Both the Silent Online Auction and the Live

Virtual Auction, streaming in real-time from the AFCC’s office on Main Street, Hyannis, will raise critical funds to support the

Cape’s creative economy on the road to recovery.

To get the most out of these events, we encourage you to Bidsquare or absentee bidding, please contact us at

register as soon as possible.

These auctions are a great opportunity not only to take home oneof-a-kind pieces that reflect the creative talent that abounds in our minute beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET. We’ll have more than 30 pieces website (https://www.bidsquare.com/auction-house/

region, but also to give back to artists who have lost income and to museums, theaters, and art venues that have had to temporarily shut their doors and lay off or furlough employees out of necessity.

As we look ahead, we want to make sure that the arts don’t just survive for some, but that they thrive for all of us.

Thank you for standing with us to support the arts. We urge you to bid high and bid often to win amazing artwork from some of

Auction Details

The AFCC Live Virtual Art Auction will feature the stunning 2020 Pops by the Sea commemorative artwork, “A Symphony,” by Provincetown painter Cynthia Packard. We’ll also be auctioning off new pieces by several past Pops by the Sea artists. This special event will be hosted by Melyora de Koning of Phillips auction house, in real time, at the Arts Foundation's office in Hyannis.

It is important to register early to bid! Our auctions take place through Bidsquare, an online auction platform. As a registered Bidsquare bidder, you can participate remotely and be a part of the action via the internet. You can also submit an absentee bid ahead of time, or make arrangements to be a phone bidder. Please

Should you have any questions or need any help with info@artsfoundation.org.

The AFCC Silent Online Art Auction starts on Thursday, July 23, at noon ET, and ends on Sunday, August 9 (the same day as Pops by the Sea At-Home Edition!), when one artwork will close every by some of the Cape’s premiere artists. If there’s a piece you really want to bring home, we recommend you bookmark our auction Cape Cod’s finest artists.

arts-foundation-of-cape-cod) and check in often.

What if I Win?

Winning bidders will be notified by email and receive an invoice that will require your payment for the item(s). Your item(s) will be either delivered by the AFCC if you are on Cape Cod or shipped directly to you. Please see below about delivery information. The winning bidder will also be charged a Buyer’s Premium of 12 percent (information noted below).