June 21st, Thursday – Maine Sculpture Trail, Finished; The Little Mermaid; A Bit of The Weird and Wacky

What a wonderful day to wake up to.  A bright blue sky and plenty of sunshine.  Time for that first cup of coffee and then we’ll check and see what is going on in the world today.  However, I must say, I’m not sure I really want to know nor need to know.  In our little corner of the world, all is good right now and we are just enjoying life.

Today is maintenance day so a little later I’ll pull out my two to three page check list and begin working through it.  In this way I hope to keep on top of things and spot anything that might become a problem before it does.  Another added benefit is I just enjoy doing it.

We’re going to share with you several things today.  First, we’ll finish up the Maine Sculpture Trail and share with you the final sculptures that we were able to find.  There were a total of 34 sculptures along a 200 mile route and we were able to ultimately find and take pictures of 24 of them.  Once we got started on this project, it sort of took on a life of its own and we enjoyed the challenge of trying to find them.  Who determined where they would be placed is a mystery but suffice to say some of them were really in obscure locations.

We’re also going to talk about the LIttle Mermaid and The Lee House for Veterans.  And then we’ll finish with a bit of the weird and wacky roadside attractions that we discovered during our stay in Maine.

Let’s get started.  The Maine Sculpture Trail and the end of the road.  The first of the last batch is located in Addison and is titled Spirit of the Marsh.  The artist who created it is Lise Becu from Maine. The artist states:

I created this sculpture to be a peaceful and benevolent presence. It will be placed at the edge of the beautiful marsh that inspired it. I chose the great blue heron as my subject because I like the symbolism: skill and patience, going with the flow. I also like that the Iroquois people considered it an omen of good luck..

The next one is located in Harrington and is titled Time and Tide.  The artist who created it is Roy Patterson from Maine. The artist states:

 

I have always collected pebbles at the seashore. Many are perfect little sculptures–the ocean’s lesson on how to work stone.  On the rocky coast of Downeast Maine, this lesson is presented on a monumental scale. Here, nature creates wonderful contrasts between rough and smooth stones that are often cracked and fitted together. I have tried to capture something of this quality in Time and Tide.

The next one is located in Jonesport and is titled Connection.  The artist who created it is Kyoung Uk Min from South Korea. The artist states in a poem:

 

I would like to sculpt as I am, with sincerity. I would like to love myself in this manner. The origin of life.  I would like to be the naturalness of the beginning.  I would like to recall all these things that I love–my dear ones, my mother nature, and bind them to me.  I would like to return to pure nature.  I would like to join my spontaneous mother.  I would like to rid any thought and any striving towards beauty.  Now, I want nothing. I return to the primordial beauty with instinct alone.  Got that?  Well I don’t!

The next one is located in Machias and is titled The Islands of Maine.  The artist who created it is Jhon Gogaberishvili from The Republic of Georgia.

Using six different types of local stone, Jhon created this sculpture to reflect the variety in Maine’s geology.

The next one is located in Roque Bluffs and is titled Warm Wind.  The artist who created it is Kazumi Hoshino from Maine. The artist states:

My recent work, the series Composition, comes from combining simple forms.  The Circle we can see by observing nature and life.  Its form is soft.  It evokes motherhood with its encircling shape. There is no beginning or end.  There is harmony. With my work, I want to give people of our generation warmth and a quiet peaceful feeling.

The next one is located in Calais and is titled Nexus.  The artist who created it is Miles Chapin from Maine. The artist states:

I started by gathering stone from the woods of Calais where I found unique shapes and colors of granite. The stones I selected to use for Nexus had been drilled and split already. I carved only the interior of the stone, leaving the exterior of the stone in its historically drilled and split shape.  The design came from the form of the stone, working with its shape to create perceived interior motion. The open woven form represents relationships and connections. This sculpture was created to stand as a nexus for the community of Calais.

The final one is located in Eastport and is titled Nature’s Grace.  The artist who created it is Jmes Boyd from Canada. The artist states:

My sculpture consists of two main elements, a leaf and a sail shaped out of Jonesboro granite. The leaf is an image that I have used in the past in some of my sculptures. I see the leaf as a connection to nature and a metaphor for renewal, hope and transformation. A sail on a vessel is not only functional but also a beautiful object that uses the powerful force of nature to fill its graceful shape.  The art that I make is a reflection on life and our fundamental connection with our environment. It is my hope that my sculpture Natures Grace engages the viewer to contemplate our shared existence with all life on this planet not our domination over it.

We’ve now come to the end of the Maine Sculpture Trail.  Honestly, some of them I’ve enjoyed and sort of understood while others have left me with a sense of what were they thinking.  Overall, though, it was an enjoyable chase that led us down some interesting back roads to places we probably would have never gone.

Let’s talk now about The Little Mermaid and The Lee House for Veterans.  First, let’s take a look at what The Little Mermaid  is supposed look like.

The life-size mermaid is a bronze sculpture created as a five-year labor of love by Eastport sculptor Richard Klyver. Klyver’s mermaid sculpture is now in place, perched on a granite seawall overlooking Eastport’s Water Street harbor. When she was unveiled at a well-attended public ceremony on the Eastport waterfront, Klyver said it was his vision to create a mermaid who would be “a purveyor of good will and good feelings. I wanted her to make people feel good about themselves and the world.”  Unfortunately, a number of Eastport Council Members and good citizens were not impressed with her because shall we say The Little Mermaid is anatomical correct from the waist up.   In a narrow council vote the decision was to let her stay.  I’m glad they did.

Just as an aside, regarding Eastport , it is the eastern most city in the United States.  We can, therefore, now say we have been to the eastern most point in the United States, the eastern most campground, and the eastern most city, the eastern most town (Lubec) and the eastern most point where the West Quoddy Lighthouse stands in the country.  But I digress.

When we went to take an actual picture of The Mermaid, we got a bit more than we figured we would.  Who was she?  Why was she sitting there singing?

My curiosity was, of course, on high alert.  What was this all about?  The sign

told the story.  Or at least part of it.  What in the world was the Lee House for Veterans.  Time to do a little sleuthing again.  This is what I discovered about the Lee House.  Their Mission is per their web page:  to create a therapeutic, recreational, and educational retreat for our nation’s U.S. armed forces and their families, using outdoor wilderness activities in Maine and natural habitats to help participants share common challenges related to their service and sacrifice in protecting our nation’s freedom and democratic ideals.

Now on to the weird and the wacky.  Take this guy called The Fisherman, who we also discovered in Eastport.  Marti took one look at him and went crazy barking like mad.

Here’s his story. Back in 2000, Eastport, and neighboring Lubec were chosen as the site for the filming of a Fox television reality miniseries. It was called “Murder in Small Town X” .This 12-foot tall fiberglass cartoonish fisherman (without the pedestal), created by Jeff Poss, was a prop to represent the fictional town.  When the filming ended in 2001, the goofy statue, intended to be temporary, was adopted by the town of Easport. It was refurbished after some deterioration when the town raised a special fund for that purpose. It was put back, its colors restored, for the July 4th festivities in 2005. It continues to adorn the Eastport waterfront to this day.

Just a couple more.  Anyone in need of road side assistance?  Might take a while though if you call this guy for service.

How about a pair of dragons dueling over a vintage unrestored car for sale.

Or how about a truck on the roof of a house.  Must have been interesting getting it there.

Anyone need a Ferris wheel for their lawn or backyard?  A boat on a pole?  A little well?

Ok, that’s it for today.  We absolutely enjoyed our stay in the state of Maine.  A year ago the thought of being here had not even crossed our minds but we are absolutely thrilled we made the trip.  The scenery we saw absolutely took our breath away.  We both agreed it was rugged, clean, pristine and beautiful.  What a world God has created.  Acadia National Park and our trip to Roosevelt Campobello International Park are the highlights of our stay up here.  The campgrounds we stayed at were wonderful each in their own way. The people who God brought into our lives, we also will not soon forget.  So many wonderful memories we’re taking with us. Will we be back?  We would love to come back but there is still so much more of the country for us to see.  Yet, this is a marathon and not a sprint so over the next several years anything is possible.

The bottom line is, traveling like this was once just a dream for us.  But today we are doing it.  It took a good deal of hard work, a lot of patience, and our willingness to work together to make it happen.  Do you have a dream?  Never, ever give up on it.  Keep pushing forward, hang on to that dream, never let it die, and someday it will come to pass.  You just have to believe.

Until tomorrow we will now say goodnight.  It’s been another great day for us, as always traveling along, singing our song, hand in hand.  In closing, a thought for all of us to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before