Greene Ziner Gallery
Melissa Greene's painted ceramic pots and Eric Ziner's blacksmith work, shown together in a gallery barn on their 52-acre Yellow Birch Farm in Deer Isle. The farm is also MOFGA-certified organic, with Alpine goats, high tunnels, and a licensed dairy kitchen.
Melissa Greene and Eric Ziner moved to Deer Isle in 1991. They started by running a gallery from a barn on their original property; eventually they expanded, purchasing a 52-acre farm further inland and building proper studios for each, with the gallery relocated into the barn there. That property — Yellow Birch Farm — is now both their working studios and a small farm operation.
Greene's ceramics are made from white earthenware clay, wheel-thrown for larger vessels, with narrative and decorative imagery built up through slip painting with terra sigillata, burnishing, bisque firing, and smoke firing. The imagery draws on her childhood in Connecticut and Maine, travels to Lapland in northern Norway, and a close attention to animals, daily life, and the natural world. The Smithsonian American Art Museum holds her work in its collection.
Ziner is a blacksmith who works with forged and fabricated metal, with his studio alongside Greene's on the farm. The farm operation — organic vegetables, Alpine goats, dairy — has grown to become its own thing alongside the art practice, not a backdrop for it.
Local Tips
- The gallery is on a working farm — a rural property, not a downtown location. Get directions before heading out.
- The farm and studio are production spaces as well as gallery; the character of a visit is more immersive than a typical white-walled gallery.
- Check the website (melissagreene.com) or contact ahead of time to confirm gallery hours and access.
- Greene's ceramics have an international exhibition record and are priced accordingly.
Connected To
- The Turtle Gallery — Deer Isle's major fine art and craft gallery, which shows the kind of serious ceramics and sculpture work that connects to Greene's practice
- Haystack Mountain School of Crafts — Deer Isle's craft school; many serious ceramicists in this region have Haystack connections
- Deer Isle Artists Association — the broader community gallery network on the island