Creatives are drawn to Sprucewold. It makes sense, given our Rusticator roots and the breathtaking beauty of this place. We have several residents who show their paintings and sculptures at the Boothbay Regional Art Foundation (BRAF) gallery in downtown Boothbay Harbor. At least three Sprucewold artists are showing their work at BRAF’s recent show. Leigh Pumilia’s work features paintings of landscapes, which are a regional favorite. If you were at our opening party, you might have noticed Leigh’s wrapped rocks holding down our napkins. They are beautiful and functional. Joan Mayfield is showing a large wooden sculpture called “Through the Trees”. Joan works with materials from the “transfer station”, so every one of her pieces contains remnants of Maine’s discarded treasures - boats, Adirondack chairs, front porch posts. Joan also sells her work at the DownEast Gallery in Edgecomb, the Southport General Store, and Aboca in Damariscotta. Carol Fisher and Suzanne Marinell are also BRAF members whose beautiful paintings are often shown at the gallery and elsewhere. In the June show at BRAF, Fisher’s evocative watercolor “Blue Hour in the Harbor“ is one of my absolute favorites - for me it captures the early, cooler evenings in May or June, when the mists live among us and inhabit the harbor.

David Stedt and Richard Corson both work with wood and make exquisite objects from the trees that surround us. David once kindly gifted us a candle holder made from a perfect tree knot. We’ve promised him the knots on one of our firs if the tree ever comes down. Richard’s iconic bowls are available for sale at Once A Tree in Camden, although I bought my bowl directly from Richard. He chose one for me made from an apple tree, which, for a retired teacher, spoke perfectly to my past. He once invited us to do a studio tour at his home in Bremen. We learned about his process, saw hundreds of bowls in progress, and shared in the beauty that he and wife Camille created in their garden. Richard even fashioned a replica of Monet’s water lily pond in his garden, complete with the iconic bridge. Here in Sprucewold, Camille and Richard’s garden is all moss, and breathtaking.

Not all creatives display their artwork in galleries and shops. Nancy Sloan, Kathy Moulaison and Elaine Rittershaus all have made stunning barn quilts that are on display on their cabins. Suzanne Roche told me recently that she is a mosaicist, and I look forward to seeing her work. I’m a gardener, and recently discovered a craft that preserves my summer blooms for posterity: flower pounding. I place flowers on watercolor paper, cover the flower with a thin plastic sheet, and hammer the flower into the watercolor paper. Not all flowers work well - some don’t leave any color at all, and others explode and leave more of a firework than a flower. I make greeting cards and calendars as gifts for friends. Flowers can also be pounded on cloth, and I’ve made coasters and table runners with my blooms. Come by our cabin anytime to see or get a lesson. At the opening party, some of us discussed classes we are taking and new art forms we are learning. This place offers so much, and I’m sure that there are more artists among us that we haven’t met yet.

There are, of course, lots of destinations around the area that celebrate some of Maine’s more widely recognized artists. You can go to Cushing and visit Christina’s House (The Olson House), and see some of Andrew Wyeth’s reproductions of his paintings in situ. Imagine standing in Christina’s window, looking out on the land and seascape, with a print of the painting “Wind and the Sea” next to you, capturing the exact same snapshot. Incredible! Once, on a trip to Christina’s House, we quite unknowingly (and speedily) drove past Bernard Langlais’ studio and sculpture garden. I backed up the car and drove in and spent a wonderful afternoon strolling through the garden enjoying Langlais’ massive sculptures of animals and people. There’s a 1/4 mile path, very accessible, and a 2 1/2 mile woodland trail. Langlais’ sculptures are also on display permanently at the airport in Portland.

For those of us that enjoy outsider, or visionary, art consider taking a road trip up to Waldoboro to the Recycleart Gallery. This unique “gallery” is actually a garden, with trails through the woods, filled with Nathan Nichols’ metal sculptures of flowers, dragons, and even a yellow submarine. Park along the side of the road, stroll in, and immerse yourself in a fantasy world of transformed oil drums, bicycle rims, and retired farm equipment. 

Perhaps, as a community of creatives, we could come together and show our work at one of our events? Set up a day of studio tours? Connect and communicate amongst us? I’d happily host of evening of discussion at my cabin to bring us together to explore ideas.