Two previous blog posts have taken you through 266 miles of the Maine Sculpture Trail – Oh Canada Route. If you missed them, go back and check out Part 1 and Part 2. This final post describes our last day of this unique adventure.
Day Three- Back At It
After another good night’s rest and lovely breakfast we are back on the trail towards Harrington where we see “Time and Tide” by Maine’s own Roy Patterson. The artist explains, “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.” Looking at this work, I feel Patterson beautifully captured this interplay of natural forces.
Location:
50 East Main St. next to the Harrington Family Health Center.
44°37’18.5”N 67°47’49.5”W
4.3 Miles (270.9 miles total on the trail)
From Harrington, we continue on to Addison where we enjoy “Spirit of the Marsh” by Lise Becu of Maine. This spirit is carved from a large piece of black granite and is the most representational piece on the trail. The human-like (or spirit-like) features are quite vivid. The artists says, “I created this sculpture to be a peaceful and benevolent presence,” and I believe she had done just that. When you reach Harrington and encounter the Spirit of the Marsh, I am confident you will agree. 
Location:
Off of Water St. in Addison near the town office.
44°37’05.7″N 67°44’37.8″W
11.3 Miles (282.2 miles total on the trail)
Next, we are off to Jonesport, where we encounter “Connection” by Kyoung Uk Min of South Korea. This piece resembles a rope being tied together, perhaps culminating in a sailor’s knot, while also evoking an anthropomorphic quality. The title “Connection” is immediately apparent in this piece. While I am feeling a connection with it, we must move onwards to Roque Bluffs.
Location:
Jonesport town park.
44°31’43.2”N 67°37’13.0”W
20.1 Miles (302.3 miles total on the trail)
In Roque Bluffs we find “Warm Wind” by Kazumi Hoshino of Maine. This sculpture looks like a giant mitten, perhaps keeping a child’s hand warm from the blowing winds. It does evoke childlike qualities in my imagination. The piece is well-rounded and soft, with no harsh edges. I wonder how often the wind is actually warm in Roque Bluffs.
Location:
Roque Bluffs State Park.
44°36’42.4”N 67°29’01.0”W
7.7 Miles (310 miles total on the trail)
Our next stop is Machias, which some refer to as the capital or heart of Downeast, Maine. Here we find “The Islands of Maine” by Jhon Gogaberishvili from the Republic of Georgia. Two larger columns are connected in the middle by a smaller circular piece–like an island. It is almost as though the two larger pieces are sharing the island between them. Are Maine islands things that are shared? Is that what this piece says to you?
Location:
University of Maine, Machias on College Hill.
44°42’38.2”N 67°27’29.7”W
28.0 Miles (338 miles total on the trail)
Lubec is where we’ll find “Beyond the Horizon” by Valerian Jikia from the Republic of Georgia. I’ve always wanted to find what lies beyond the horizon, and Lubec, Maine may be the answer. As the artist explains, “The title of this composition is ‘Beyond the Horizon,’ where three beginnings: water, sun and rainbow are utilized. My task was to compound them all and create a sculpture with the positive energy in the spatial dramaturgy.” It is a stunning piece.
Location:
Stockford Park off of Lower Water Street in Lubec.
44°51’28.7”N 66°58’55.5”W
38.3 Miles (376.3 miles total on the trail)
In the summertime, you can take a ferry from Lubec to Eastport, but the rest of the year requires a long trek around a horseshoe shaped inlet. But that isn’t so bad when you are enjoying the great outdoors in Maine. And it is all worthwhile when you see the beautiful nature of Eastport. And while Eastport does indeed have beautiful nature, I am not really talking about nature itself crafted by Mother Nature. Instead I am referring to “Nature’s Grace” crafted by James Boyd from New Brunswick, Canada. Boyd explains, “The backdrop for my sculpture in Eastport is a beautiful harbor. After learning about the history of Eastport and its long association with the sea, I chose to create a sculpture that in a sense paid homage to nature.” And as we pay homage to Boyd’s beautiful sculpture, are on our way to paying home to his home province of New Brunswick as we inch ever close and closer to it up the coast.
Location:
Overlook Park in Eastport.
44°54’19.3″N 66°59’04.5″W
27.3 Miles (403.6 miles total on the trail)
Calais, Maine–the final frontier of Maine before you crossover into St. Stephen’s, Canada–the New Brunswick province home to our dear friend Jame Boyd. Here we enjoy “Nexus” by Miles Chapin from Maine. And really, in some ways, this is the nexus of our journey. This piece connects everything together because we could circle back to old town if we like and continue with the trail that way, as we might. But this also connects us to Canada. Which way should we go? Before we make our decision, let’s see what this artists says about this work: “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.”
Location:
In front of the Calais Free Library, at the corner of Main and North streets.
45°11’21.0″N 67°16’36.7″W
CHOCOLATE
Now we could say the trail ends here as we have now seen all of the sculptures on the trail. But I say the trail doesn’t end here because I would like to cross the border into Canada and celebrate the journey by going to The Chocolate Museum of St. Stephen, the chocolate capital of Canada. If it’s early August, I’ll go to their chocolate festival. This is a good way to celebrate a successful journey of Seated Terrier Route of the Maine Sculpture Trail.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
But it’s not over yet! Everything is cyclical and so to fully complete the trail and Seated Terrier Route we must wrap back around to the first sculpture, All Along the Watchtower in Old Town, which is 100 miles to add to our journey. Along the way we eat a bunch of the chocolate we picked up in St. Stephen’s, look at the beautiful scenery, and talk about the sculptures. Then we will connect up with I-95 and head south. Then you know what we do next? We put on Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along The Watchtower.” Actually, before that, we put on Bob Dylan’s version and discuss the lyrics. What is the song about? Is it clearly an anti-establishment song? Or is it something more vague and less concrete? Are the joker and thief the protagonists with the princes being the antagonist? What does it all represent? The song has often been compared to a Möbius strip, a kind of twisted cylinder band that mathematicians and scientists have gone wild over and is kind of like how I view the Maine Sculpture Trail–something with no true beginning and end and scientists and mathematicians may go wild over.
Now we leave any thought behind and just let feeling take over as we put on Jimi Hendrix again and head back over to our starting point of the Binette Park waterfront in Old Town where we see “All Along the Watchtower.” We and just enjoy it for sometime as we worry not about time, but instead view it as a Möbius strip itself, flowing in ways that are up for the mathematicians and astronomers and astrophysicans to think about. And so it goes. So far we have travelled 503.6 miles and I’m not saying this is where the Seated Welsh Terrier Route of The Main Sculpture Trail ends, but this is indeed where our blog ends. It is late at night and we are have travelled and are very tired, so we fall fast asleep.