Shop Maine Craft presents: TIDAL SHIFTS, A solo exhibition featuring original paintings by Nikki Pilgrim. On view at the Center for Maine Craft in West Gardiner, APRIL 7 – MAY 30, 2025
Tidal Shifts is an evocative body of work created by artist Nikki Pilgrim, inspired by the dynamic and ever-changing coastline of Maine. This series delves into the way the tides shape the landscape and the life that thrives within it, drawing attention to the vast emotional and natural landscapes of the sea. The rhythmic ebb and flow of the tides serve as both metaphor and muse, fueling a series of paintings that vibrate with color, movement, and life.
Through a personal lens, Nikki celebrates the sea’s deep blues, teals, and greens, as well as its shimmering, ethereal sparkles of light that dance on the surface. These elements bring the ocean to life in each piece, embodying the tension and harmony between water and sky, the pull between the sun and moon, and the infinite wonder that lies beneath the waves. It is a celebration of both the raw beauty and the fragility of nature’s most powerful force.
A New Hampshire native, Nikki received her Bachelors of Fine Art, with honors in printmaking, from the Maine College of Art in 2007, and has since been living, loving, mothering, and making art on the coast of Maine from her sun-drenched home studio in Bath. Currently showing work with ‘Trove Gallery’ in Searsport, ‘Bath Street Design Co’ in Bath, ‘The C Word’ a contemporary art pop up in Portland, and at the ‘Maine Evergreen Hotel & Art Gallery’ in Augusta. Nikki was awarded 1st in painting in 2019 & 2022, and 2nd place in 2021 by the Brunswick Artist Festival. When Nikki is not painting, she owns, operates, and founded Caravan Artist Market; curating multiple traveling events every year that supports and promotes 100s of multidisciplinary artists across the state since 2020.
I call myself an ‘unconventional watercolor’ artist. After completing my BFA with a focus in printmaking I had to reimagine how I would make my art without acid baths and a press. It started with mixed media assemblage combined with paint on birch panels, which eventually evolved into using watercolor exclusively. Working on wood lends me so much freedom, and flexibility, with integrity. I’m able to achieve more layering, color saturation, contrast, and boldness that is not commonly found in traditional watercolor paintings. While still embracing its lovely translucency, ability to move, wash, and blend. Joyfully flexing my love of opulent color, and movement, with a nod to nature and a kiss of funk. My partner then hand frames all of my originals in a way that compliments, and turns every piece into beautiful lasting heirloom pieces of artwork.
Tidal Shifts is more than just a collection of paintings—it is a meditation on the interconnectedness of nature, the persistence of the tides, and the infinite possibilities of creativity. Nikki’s work invites the viewer to experience the sea in all its moods, its brilliance, and its deep, unspoken beauty.
Visit the Center for Maine Craft:
288 Lewiston Rd West Gardiner, ME 04345
Open Daily, 9am – 6pm
(207)588-0021
center@shopmainecraft.com