a look back at summer 2014

Where to begin. Summer has come and gone and fall is well underway…we’ve even experienced a brief (yet powerful) snowstorm…though, let’s get back to what summer brought us…

We exhibited in two shows. Both were juried, both went very well. The first was The Maine Craft Guild Show, on Mount Desert Island, and the second, was a fund raiser for the Laudholm Nature Preserve in Wells Maine.

Mount Desert is an incredibly beautiful area and while I don’t get much time to sightsee, Jenn (my partner) and Finn (our son) do their best to get out and about in between helping me set-up, mind the booth and break down…here’s Finn at the top of Mt. Cadillac. He LOVES when we go away for shows…

This show brought me an amazing commission for a couple who own a large family compound on MDI. The land and the small cottages on it have been in their family since the 20’s and I am honored to create a piece for them. It will consist of driftwood and mussel shells collected from their property and will be complete in the summer of 2015. Stay tuned! Here’s a peek at their incredibly magical place…

This pic was taken while I was collecting…do you see all those mussel shells?

What a spot! Truly incredible. Thank you to the family for inviting me to design and build a piece for them…

Now for the second show, The Laudholm Nature Crafts Festival. This was our first year exhibiting in this juried show and it was equally rewarding. Lots of incredibly helpful people, visitors, leads and wind! It was a hot and windy weekend, though that didn’t stop people from coming out and contributing to a fantastic nature preserve. Just after set-up (shows are a lot of work for a busy four year old), Finn decided to enjoy the daybed before everyone arrived – he was so excited for the ‘opening’, can you tell?

A new gallery owner happened to walk by our booth and fell in love with Points to Sea (the large circular assemblage above), so much so that they requested it to be exhibited in their new gallery, Port Gallery, Kennebunk, Maine, and that’s where it now hangs…Check it out.

New works were commissioned and pieces were sold. All in all two great shows and one fabulous summer…

I couldn’t do any of this if it wasn’t for the support and help from my partner, Jennifer; she is  the business side of Designs Adrift, my organizer and photographer. And my son, Finn;  he keeps me smiling and is always willing to help. Thank you both.

A few more pics from our summer of 2014. What a summer it was!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scouting

The leaves are changing, fall is here and the past two weeks have been filled with scouting…scouting for driftwood…

I’ve been checking out various areas in Northern and Western Maine and it has been absolutely beautiful – albeit the colder temperatures being blown in with gusto…

Dark skies made for dark waters…

cold days and nights…

Evenings were spent camping at various camp sites and days were spent driving down logging roads which felt (and sounded) as if they had been covered with boulders. Boulders of all shapes and sizes…so rough in fact that on the day before I was to head home, an unfortunate large bump sent my trailer ‘over the edge’ – no, not over a cliff, but over the edge of structural limitations. The trailer snapped in two.

Uh, oh…

No one is around.

Time to think. Rig it enough to get to town and get it repaired – hopefully.

Check the phone for any reception – one bar, phew…most of the week it said,  ‘no service available’…

I called where I had camped the night before – luckily, the owner, knew a welder. A good welder.

Now, I just had to get there.

It took me three hours to go only a few miles…but I made it.

The welder was better than good – he was a magician…he suggested I drive only on paved surfaces, at least until I get the boat off the trailer…

I had other plans. I still had one more spot to scout. He looked on with disbelief when he saw me pull out and turn left, instead right…

I was glad I did because I came across two more table bases and a beautiful view.

 

What a trip it was…

new coffee table underway

I’ve been commissioned to design and build a pair of side tables and a 3′ coffee table. I’ve nearly completed the side tables, though waiting on the custom glass and pics will follow once complete…though here is the coffee table underway.

My studio is simply too small for me to sand such a large piece as this and if I use the barn space, dust will take over – not good…so, outside I go. Thankfully the weather cooperated, even though the sunless sky made things not so lovely, the warm temps. did – Despite the fact I  still needed to wear my full piece Carhart suit…such is life…

Life changes and one day my shop space will to – until then, I will be grateful for the space I do have, the privacy I have, and my ability to do what I love. Here’s to trusting all will work out and I will one day, own a work space with lots of natural light, BIG doors to open – fully, and a studio where to store and show current available works…

Coffee table underway;

I‘ve recently invested in a laser level – love it! A definite need for table making from such an organically shaped wood…

 

Expedition…

I’ve had a good, yet intense past few days recently – I’ve just returned from a trip up north. I had packed my truck with supplies, maps and canoe and off I went, in search of driftwood…

I found some incredibly beautiful and pristine areas. The weather was very crisp (and cold – should have brought more wool blankets!) clear and calm. I mention calm because of my means of transportation – a canoe. I mean, I needed my truck to get me to these places, but then I needed a boat to get me around the lakes. These aren’t your average small lakes, no, these are enormous and definite care needs to be taken when traveling (by canoe), alone.

There is no cell service, no one else around for miles and the winds can (and do) kick up unexpectedly. But all the driving and searching was worth it!  I feel I should mention, these roads aren’t your average, well groomed roads either – no they are logging roads. It reminded me of being in parts of New Zealand and South Africa – you pray you don’t get a flat and if you do, you pray you don’t get two!  At first I was disappointed, all this traveling and nothing, but then my luck changed. I was rewarded with seas of driftwood.

Now I should also say, not all the driftwood I came across was good enough to take (same happens when I walk the coastline) and not all would be useful, though I did find some beautifully worn and perfectly shaped pieces I could use. Especially a few table bases, the challenge lay in getting these (heavy and bulky) gorgeous pieces back to camp. I had to carry (or haul, I should say) to the canoe (some days it was quite a distance from where I ended up), carefully load into canoe (I was alone remember), then paddle…need to get a small, flat bottomed boat with outboard. Hopefully soon.

I was thankful that my back didn’t give out – especially given the distances and terrain I covered with some of these stumps balanced across my shoulders! 

I would return to camp, start the fire, eat, plan the next days’ search, and go to sleep. I look forward to returning to this region, not only for its’ driftwood, but for the sheer peacefulness (and I thought where we live is quiet!), the friendly and helpful locals and the impeccable beauty. Until then, enjoy the pics of what is to become…tables, art and assemblages…

Maine Craft Guild Show – 2012

We have had a very busy and exciting weekend this past weekend…we exhibited in the Maine Craft Guild Juried Art Show on Mount Desert Island. It was fabulous. We met so many talented artists and incredible people. The area is absolutely stunning and the weather was perfect for an inside show. Many new contacts were made and lots of positive feedback given – our booth was abuzz all weekend. Martha Stewart stopped by and took a few photographs of Zephyr (shell and driftwood assemblage); this piece was the hit of the show. It garnered attention from nearly everyone who walked by…subsequently, it did sell, as did a number of other works…

Thank you to everyone who helped us with the show – quite the undertaking to say the least, especially with a two year old in the mix…packing, driving (three hours one way), unpacking, setting-up, moving into our ‘home’ for the long weekend and then doing it all over again – well, we couldn’t have done it without help – so Thank you all again!

The weekend was a great success and we’re already looking forward to next year!

Little man patiently waiting at home to pack and load the side tables…

Finn decided to play us a bit of music on his harmonica while waiting for us to unpack…

Rides o’ plenty on the dolly…

Our booth set-up and ready for opening night!

The booth was abuzz all weekend…

Michael showing Zephyr…

Thanks again to everyone who helped make the show a success and a big thanks to our new clients! Enjoy.

driftwood coffee table

Michael has been thinking about this coffee table for years! He first spotted it awhile back and needed a few extra hands to move it – once home with us it needed a bit more time in the sun and then the cutting, shaping and sanding (of cut-offs) began…then more sanding to ensure a level base for the (very heavy!) glass top. Then the finishing of the ‘cut-off’ area to ensure a perfect color/tone match with the original driftwood tones – amazing – Another concept complete and ready for the upcoming show next week!

Future coffee table

Michael Fleming Designs Adrift will be participating in the Maine Craft Guild juried show on Mount Desert Island this upcoming July and we want to include a driftwood coffee table…check out this piece Michael found – what a fabulous root base – it will most definitely make for an incredible table.

Here’s Michael sanding the freshly cut bottom. It also needed to be leveled and ‘softened’ on the sides… now it needs a bit more time to cure in the elements and then its’ glass top to finish it off…we are so excited to include this piece in the show – next up, a chaise lounge…