Media Advisory:
With over fifty years of history, the Maine Pottery Company (also known as Edgecomb Pottery) is constantly adding to its portfolio of artists and expanding its reach in New England. Among the newest of its artists is Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco of Cape Ann Designs who began her sea glass journey in Gloucester, MA. over 30 years ago. As one of the featured artists in Carole Lambert’s Passion for Sea Glass, she has transformed her collection of authentic glass and historic pottery into a wide range of wearable art and most recently garden art. She is particularly known for her exquisite hair accessories and creative use of the most unusual formation of glass in her jewelry.
In her Artist Statement, Jacqueline shares this. “As a jewelry maker my goal is to achieve designs that are one-of-a-kind art pieces without disturbing the natural beauty and history of the found materials. I use only authentic sea glass and pottery most of which I have found on the shores of Cape Ann. Typically, the pieces use of multiple pieces or glass or use of elements such as sea marble, bottlenecks, pottery shards, and other rare sea glass types. In some cases, they are stacked and have a more architectural design.”
With each season, a new sub-collection is added focusing on a particular use of the materials resulting in clever statement pieces such as “Anchor Lariats” and “BottleNeck Beauties” showcasing the rarest forms of sea glass. Earlier this year, Boston’s WCVB, Chronicle visited her studio for a deep dive into her story.
As Jacqueline’s collection has expanded, so has her reach into galleries in the north east and the south. Her work can now be found in two of Maine Pottery’s locations – Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine. To celebrate this exciting collaboration, she will be available at two upcoming events to share the work in the store as well as additional work available during the event.
Maine Pottery invites you to meet Jacqueline on Friday evening, September 5th, during the monthly first Friday Art ‘Round Town Gallery Walk from 5-8PM at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire location at 10 Pleasant Street and in Portland, Maine at Edgecomb Pottery at 145 Commercial Street on Sunday, September 21st from 10-5.
About Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco: Jacqueline began making in 2003 under the name “Beach Glass Barrettes” and gradually expanded her Cape Ann Designs collection. She has been a juried member of the Cape Ann Artisans Studio Tour since 2013. Her Cape Ann Designs collection can be found here at the Cape Ann Museum, the Fuller Craft Museum, Naples (Florida) Art Association, and many galleries in and around Boston. Recently she has also displayed her newer pieces, sea glass garden stepping stones and sculpture at the Cape Ann Museum, Cape Ann Blossoms show and Rocky Neck Art Colony.
Former Chair of seARTS, she is the founder of the seARTS Wearable Arts Group (2006). And launched Celebrate Wearable Art in 2011-2017. From 2020-2023, co-producing and co-hosting Cape Ann ARTWaves to help tell the stories of 75 Cape Ann Artists. In the community, she uses her skills to promote the creative economy. She was recognized for this work in 2018 -receiving the Discover Gloucester Arts & Cultural Heritage Award. Read more at CapeAnnDesigns.com.
About Maine Pottery Company: Maine Pottery Co. is built on a foundation of resilience, community, and artistry. We are more than a pottery company; we are a family with a passion for creating beautiful, handcrafted pieces that bring joy to people’s everyday lives. From our roots in a tiny schoolhouse to nearly 50 years of craftsmanship, every piece of pottery we create tells a story—of hard work, of love, and of Maine.
This has been a busy creative summer in and out of the studio. I am back to making garden stepping stones and sculpture now that I have new places to sell them. Sea Meadow Gifts and Garden is a perfect home for my steppingstones alongside other wonderful garden décor outside this fun gift shop. I have recently been setting up small displays around town in places that are easily accessible to visitors – the most recent is the Emerson Inn in Rockport. Please pop in an take a look if you are out and about. Outside of Cape Ann, 
And so, how to prepare for this? Honestly, they really did not give me any guidance. I just knew they wanted me to do a demonstration of making work. That in itself was a challenge as nothing happens in a 5-minute period – but usually takes a week or more. So, I set about to make all types of hair accessories and jewelry in various stages. The next challenge was doing a low tide sea glass walk. So, just as mother nature would have it, that had to be on APRIL 1st at 8AM. In case you don’t remember this cruel April Fool’s joke, it was 34 degrees with 30MPH winds that day. Putting the microphone under my jacket to hide it from the wind really didn’t make a difference. Kendyl, Richard, and I were frozen on Niles Beach! I didn’t find too much sea glass that day – but they were great about letting it be as it is – a diminishing resource.
Erika Tarantal was a delight. With her family background in the arts, she was a perfect companion to work with me on a piece. Honestly, we really had fun – and I did everything possible to make their visit easy and be responsive to their questions and helped with any introductions. I was thrilled they visited Rocky Neck Cultural Center and the Salted Cod for the art-focused segment. It’s not easy to create the off-season picture for Gloucester – yet truly, this is the most prescious time of year for many of us. Equally, the incredible focus on GMGI, Backyard Growers, the Bowling Alley, the Beauport, and Joey of GMG’s tour of downtown show the diversity of our community. Key word here is COMMUNITY – a place we love calling home. Following are links to the art-focused video and the other videos for all to share!
