Maine

There is something about being in Maine that recharges my soul.  We grew up spending the month of August in Maine.  My family rented a cottage on a lake in Camden, so we had the benefits of both lake and sea.  I haven’t been back to Maine in more than a year, and I had forgotten the restorative feeling I get from just smelling the air, and knowing I am here.  It really surprised me and it made me smile.

We had a lovely meandering drive up yesterday.  Long hours in the car made pleasant by the company of my husband, the Harry Potter audiobook and the scenery.  I truly hate long car rides, but I love getting away with my husband.  I tell you, this summer camp deal is great!

We stopped in Freeport for the obligatory LL Bean shopping.  While there, we wandered into Abacus, a lovely fine craft shop.  I was incredibly discouraged by their jewelry selection.  Most of the jewelry would have looked at home in a traditional retail jewelry store.  Nothing funky and artsy, it was overwhelmingly silver and gold, semi-precious stones and all of it was small and relatively understated. No interesting beadwork, no ceramic pieces and definitely not a speck of polymer clay.

I really think artists in today’s marketplace are challenged to find new ways of marketing their work.  I am not sure what they are, but it certainly feels like the traditional sales avenues are closing.  The other trend I find discouraging is how homogenized everything has become from one place to the next.  Now, in addition to the same cookie cutter retail stores being in every part of the country, it feels like the even the smaller independent stores are carrying very similar vanilla merchandise.

hmm…  Food for thought.  Anyway, today is overcast and rainy, a fact which just adds to the overall Maine ambiance for me.   If I can rouse my husband I think we’re going to go poke around some galleries and maybe even an antique shop or two.  Perhaps we can even go sit on a rocky beach for a bit and contemplate the fog.  I really love Maine!