Reflections on The Bakery

Former Bakery member Liz Bieber shared a lovely piece of writing with us during our "History of the Bakery” talk we held in January. Liz is a photographer living and working in Portland, and has been involved in the Bakery since the early days in Westbrook.

Liz’s Website

“The space was like the hearth for all things film, and once you were there it was a bit of a time travel. You had the very old, musty Mill building , the constant sounds of old pipes and huge swaths of sunlight from the old windows. Parking was impossible so it was a hike to get there, and slightly creepy at night for sure. The place was enormous, way bigger than we really needed, still there was stuff everywhere, decorative collections of vintage cameras, and old curly film decorating the shelves like Christmas lights. There were two Imac desktops, a scanner, maybe two. In the corner, an incredible library of photo books with a tattered couch for naps or privacy. Hidden away through a door were several black and white darkrooms, color darkrooms, and an acrid smell of fixer. Out in the common area, an enormous slop sink for developing film, a drying closet, and a wall for surveying darkroom prints. An old wooden table full of light tables, loupes and compressed air. Another table with a heat press. A dusty place where there was a paper cutter, a matte cutter, tiny shards of paper on the floor. Tons of shelves that were filled to the hilts with old abandoned film, papers, donated cameras, prints. Freshly printed work prints, contact sheets, exposure prints. Old Photo A Go-Go posters lined the walls, the Christmas of the Bakery, always a huge party every year at the mill. Maybe some leftover booze from Photo A Go-Go. Reminder notes on the wall, like “shut this fan when you leave”. A huge chalkboard with a schedule that was usually out of date. A tiny kitchen with a tiny fridge full of unclaimed leftovers. Through the kitchen, a New York City sized bathroom that had no ceiling or even a mirror. Instead, polaroids hung above the sink.”



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An Artist Talk with Smith Galtney

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An Artist Talk: A History of the Bakery