Acadia: From Marine Debris to Shining Sea

For the fall of 2019, I spent an incredible 14 days as the Artist in Residence at Acadia National Park, in my home state of Maine. My residency spanned from peak foliage to first snow and allowed me to stay in a backcountry dry cabin on Isle au Haut, at the Schoodic Institute, and in the historic Brown Mountain Gatehouse on MDI. This body of work consists of paintings made solely on marine debris littering the extensive coastline of Acadia. The park consists of many interlocked yet contrasted ecosystems. While hiking up rocky rose granite cliff faces and into mossy forests and bogs, I found virtually no trash- only hair bands and small food wrappers here and there. However, when I made my way to the ocean I found more marine debris washed up on the beach than I could handle.

My first location was the remote island of Isle au Haut. My lodging was a log cabin without running water, electricity, or service. Because there was no refrigerator, I placed all of my perishables in a drybag and tied it on a branch next to Eli Creek. My cheese stayed fresh from the icy creek water- an actual dream. The community is so small that it can only afford to barge garbage off the island once a year. When I arrived in October, I found these heaps of buoys, ropes, and plastic placed along the coastline- other visitors attempted to clean up when their hands became full. Isle au Haut is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I witnessed an expansive hot orange sunset that filled the sky and was reflected in the cove I was staying in- one that inspired “Roped In.” It broke my heart to have such a stunning landscape littered with such an extreme amount of trash. I was able to take a garbage bag full of debris on the ferry with me back to the mainland, barely a dent in all the trash that the island held.

My second location was at the Schoodic Institute. I had a furnished kitchen, wifi, and running water- truly living in the lap of luxury. Here, I was able to soak in the vibrant foliage without the crowds of MDI. My first day I met with my old Bangor High School creative writing and visual art teachers and a bus full of their students. We spent the morning exploring the dramatic coastline and painting. Some of the students had never even been to the ocean before! Later in the week, my parents came to visit and we shared a lobstah dinner together, toasted some wine in to-go cups as the wave of Schoodic Point crashed down near our feet, and did some aggressive beachcombing. Along the beach, we found a comparable amount of marine debris as Isle au Haut, but had more accessibility to shove it all in my car.

After traveling for the rest of October for a few shows, I returned to Acadia in early November for the remainder of my residency. I stayed in the Brown Mountain Gatehouse in Northeast Harbor on MDI. It was the perfect combination of my two other locations- indoor plumbing, historic architecture, and immediate access to the forest trails. The first snow dusted the ground and I was able to finally hike Cadillac at sunrise.

My happiness was overflowing. During this stint, my parents came to visit again! We walked along the ocean path in search of marine debris and found the largest piece yet! When I first saw the cracked aquaculture box, I had to double-take. The large, dark, bulky, geometric object completely blended in with the jagged coastline it was found in. One corner of the box was leaking styrofoam, so we basically had no option but to take it off the beach. I took a bunch of source images, and then my dad and I walked it across the rocky beach, shoved it up a muddy, rooted out slope, and rolled it across the street. We had to clear everything out of the trunk of the car, and the box barely squeezed in, but we got it! From there, I drove the piece home to Bangor, ME, and set up a studio in the dining room, used the electric sander, primed the piece three times, and was finally able to paint the landscape on top of it. I spent the winter at home working on completing this “Big Box” piece. In January, with the help of two friends, I was finally able to realign and photograph the box. It was SUCH a rewarding experience to see it within the landscape it was rescued from, and we timed it perfectly with the sun and the weather. Acadia is such a source of inspiration, and I feel very fortunate to have such access to it.