2bnMaine

Built for speed, these benches, made out of materials meant to blaze down mountains, are now frozen in time.

And provide a pretty cool spot to enjoy fast (or slow) food.

They’ve come to a full stop right in front of Verve, in the University of Maine’s town of Orono. And are the fantastic handiwork of one of the talented employees – - Matt Miller. His raw materials came from friends and the Ski Rack. Sure hope he got a nice raise!

Known for their burritos, Verve is run by Abe and Heather Furth, (UMaine alumni,) and has been reviewed by the delightful MaineMaven.

Don’t waste any time racing over to see what’s cooking.

Verve, 2 Mill Street, Orono, Maine, (207) 866-4004

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You’ll have few shopping hassles, surfing Etsy for perfect gifts, handmade by amazing local talent in Maine. You can even be in your pajamas and the prices are great. Just look at what you can find:

Click on the images to go to the item’s Etsy page.

Above, QuenchMetalWorks, South China, Maine was featured on MaineMaven’s blog.

Fingerprint sterling silver ring, Fabuluster, Topsham, Maine.

Bookwright, Richmond, Maine.

Cassy Lain Totes and great key fobs on Etsy.

Building a new house in Maine lead to selling LampGoods on Etsy.

Etsy was launched in 2005 as an online marketplace to buy and sell anything handmade – - photography, jewelry, clothing, toys, art, beauty products, and edibles for a fee — $.20 per listing and 3.5% per sale. A tidy $10-13 million in sales per month are generated mostly by young people in their pajamas.

The Etsy Maine Team is a good place to start your Maine search. Use the tag “maineteam” in your search.

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Gary Akers’ work is on display at his charming school house studio and gallery on the St. George Peninsula until August 16.

His soft accent gives away his Kentucky roots. But he cultivates his art in beautiful Maine where he shares a home on nearby Rackliff Island with his wife, Lynn Rita and his daughter Ashley. They all paint the subject matter of Maine.

Akers has been painting Maine landscapes since 1976. And he renovated the little Green School House on Route 131 to use as a studio and gallery.

Egg tempura is an ancient medium that predates oil painting. It’s fast drying and permanent. It requires a certain skill, but offers a unique, very detailed, layered quality. And feels just right for Maine’s seemingly simple, yet extremely complex, landscapes.

You’ll find a bit of the Wyeth influence in his work. Or it may just be what Maine does to artists.

Gary Akers chats with John Dunton from Gig Harbor, WA about his work and the show.

This current show, at the Green School House, runs from July 25 – August 16, 2009.

The Green School House, Route 131, South St. George Peninsula, Maine, 1.859.391.2153

1.859.391.2153

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This particular species of folk art fish is thriving in their natural habitat — Patti & Bruce Westphal’s garden on Rockport Harbor.

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Within the gorgeous gardens on Maine’s garden tours, the architecture, art, history, and people, can amaze as well.

Here are just a few glimpses of the Camden Garden Tour on a very overcast, and sometimes drippy, last Thursday. (Getting used to a new camera.)

Fantastic fish swim on the boathouse of the Patti & Bruce Westphal’s Garden on Rockport Harbor. The home was filled with a very amusing folk art collection that expanded into the garden.

Andre the Seal loved visiting this lobsterman’s house. Fish (the edible variety) were of interest to him as well.

Nancy & Ben Allen’s lovely renovated Victorian home and overflowing perennial  garden in Lincolnville.

The fences at the Berwick Hill in Rockport are as classic as the gardens.

The pool at Berwick Hill surrounded by luscious flora at the home of Dyke Messler & Rickey Celentano.

Apologies for spelling, grammar and context errors recently. Rushing too much is the excuse.

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Kimber Lee Clark’s wonderful Saturday Cove has been missing for a while now. But it’s back!

Her parents definitely had a sense of humor and she continues the whimsey in her art work. Her great taste, and sense of style, have been a magnet for fans from all over the world. Stop by and say hello, she’d love to see you.

Saturday Cove, Route One, Atlantic Highway, Northport, ME 04849, 207-338-3654. Here’s the website. (You’ll find it five miles south of Belfast and 11 miles north of Camden.) Open – June –Wednesday-Saturday — 10-5, Sunday –12-4 / July and August — Daily — 10-5.

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You never know what you’ll find wandering around on a gray day in Maine. But sooner or later, you’ll run into something that makes you smile.

‘1979 Sawed alphabet on pencil first time?’ With a chainsaw?  –Wow! You won’t find anything like this on Linkedin.

This must be Wilbur. Thank goodness he’s roped in.

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We get new flip flops and shorts, and Shipyard Summer Ale gets a  new label! Seems only fair.

Ken Hendrickson, and Shipyard Brewing, designed this quirky and charming new label to inspire a thirst for their popular brew. Seems to be working. Nice hint of ocean breeze.

Loaded with Maine cliches, it could have resulted in cornball. But they successfully walked that fine line.

Ken Hendrickson, a Maine boy who just never stopped painting, must have had fun working on this. If you like this one, you’ll like his series of quirky lobsters on the ME Lobster web site.

He also does the labels for Battleground Cigars, which uses images of The Civil War, a favorite subject of his. It takes talent to go from the horror of the Civil War to whimsical lobsters.

And also to make a fine beer. Thirsty yet?

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Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth died in his sleep at his home in Chadds Ford. He was 91.

Much beloved in Maine, Wyeth was the considered the outsider by his contemporaries in the art world who were swept up in the abstract modernism movement of the time.

He said: “I think the great weakness in most of my work is subject matter. There’s too much of it.”

In an era of ‘rebels’ it’s ironic that he turned out to be the true rebel, not following the mainstream of the time. Maine inspired much of his work and it seems odd that The New York Times didn’t mention the Farnsworth in their long obituary. 

His most famous work is ‘Christina’s World’ which was painted in Cushing, Maine and is owned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

But be sure to visit The Wyeth Center at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland to see his work. The Olson House in Cushing remains much as he painted it. You can almost see Christina.

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Graffiti ‘artists’ leave their marks on the approach to the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. 

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