As a youngster raised in the countryside of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I have always valued a closeness with nature and mother earth. My father said, besides the fact that I asked too many questions, that I looked at nature in a curious way and that I seemingly inspected its very being.  I found science and botany interesting, artist's oils, clay and pencils amused me,  but it was the camera that stole my creative portion of my spirit.  

The landscape and coastline of Maine stole a portion of my heart in 1998 when I accompanied my husband, Harvey, on a trip into Aroostook County. I was somehow strangely "at home" investigating the area's hidden treasures. I found solitude in the woodlands and bogs and inspiration within the forest timber  walls.  Its power was and remains profound. Thus began my passion to photograph this alluring area.

I began to photographically express the wetlands area of Lake Molunkus and nearby streams. Trails that meandered through wooded areas that are owned by local paper companies became my trails to discover what Maine could offer. I followed trails once forged to transport precious lumber to designated mills in search of the feeling, touching, breathing and of course the image making.

Like Henry David Thoreau, who passed through Mattawankeag and traveled the Aroostook Road, I found myself in poetic surroundings and lost in a creative realm.

The lure of the bog's underlying beauty mixed with its living struggle for survival moved me.  Knowing that all that struggled eventually will succumb to the inevitable - death. Never before have I been so captivated by a landscape so near void of life. Yet within its wet trappings beauty reins. Clear cut lands that once were home for tall timbers lie groomed and ready for new plantings. These seemingly barren lands have beauty yet to be discovered.

Each year I have dedicated some time to fulfilling my hunger to escape to the north. In Aroostook I am immured in my quest to inspect its being while fulfilling my passion to create images of the landscape. Over the years I have created numerous images gathered from the forests, streams, clear cut lands and the dead wood bogs. It is a project that continues to grow.

Longing for an opportunity to include with this project Maine's coastline and a few small fishing villages, I applied for an "Artist in Residency" position at Acadia National Park for 2003. This residency would open a doorway and fulfill my desire to include the coastline in my project. Much to my delight I was one of four individual artists chosen for a three week residency in 2003.

My residency began in mid-September and concluded three weeks later. This provided me the time to immerse myself in solitude and to touch, feel, breathe and photograph the coastline. Stationed at the more secluded Acadia's Schoodic Peninsula on what was once the US Navel base I planned my daily search. The Peninsula is the only part of Acadia National Park found on the mainland. Its granite headlands bear erosion scars of storm waves and flood tides. It is similar in scenic splendor to portions of Mount Desert Island. Schoodic offers vistas of Mount Desert Island, lobster boats, lingering gulls, loons, osprey, seals, otter and forest cloaked islands including all of the treasures of its own boundaries. The wind-swept coast at Schoodic Point is embellished with huge granite ledges and dark-colored basaltic dikes where Atlantic waves can turn into geysers.

Little Moose Island is the closest island to Schoodic Peninsula and when the tide is out one has a window of opportunity to experience the wonders of Maine's coastline in solitude. Much of my stay was spent there touching the granite, breathing the misty salt air and photographing its wealth.

The nearby harbors of Winter, Wonsqueak, Birch, Prospect , Corea and Beal Island, which lies further north, offer opportunities to search with ones senses. A day's catch dries in the sun while dinghies await a new day to ferry their owners to their lobster boats. Lobster traps sit waiting quietly on docks or the shoreline ready for a lift to the boat and to be baited.

One hour southeast of Schoodic Peninsula is Mount Desert Island. The island is 18 miles long and 14 miles wide, cut from granite with steep cliffs dropping to the ocean. There are numerous trails through the rugged granite terrain as well as scenic vistas from atop Cadillac Mountain which is the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Cadillac is also a perfect place to intertwine with early morning low clouds. A panoramic view of nearby Islands, Schoodic Peninsula and the shoreline can be seen when the early morning clouds drift away.

In addition to the opportunity to fulfill my artistic passion I also was an instructor for the environmental education division of the Parks commission. It was a wonderful experience helping others understand the artistic aspects of photography.

 The more I immerse myself in the landscape the more I discover that, Thoreau is indelibly correct, "We are as near to heaven by sea as by land."

Images are available for purchase and gallery exhibit.  

NOTE: Images are of low resolution for internet viewing purposes.   Please consider that tonal values and colors  are approximate.    

Summary:

In recognition and thanks for the opportunity I contributed an original, mounted, matted and framed image to the Acadia National Park Art Collection.  This image will be used for display, publication and promotion.  The original "hand - painted" vertical image that was presented in 2004 to Acadia National Park Services is titled, "Big Moose Island," Schoodic Point.  You will find this image among the collection in the portfolio.

"Maine Light" was first presented for gallery exhibit at Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  April through May 2005

Presentation:

I display my small imagery in wood frames as opposed to aluminum.  The color black represents a strong defining edge.  The indication grain of the wood  frame adds a natural connection to the "earth."  Each image is placed within square 16" X 16" frame in conformation of traditional framing techniques.  The open mat area around the image embellishes visual wonderment.