Annual Bangor show features special crafts from Maine artisans

BANGOR – Lisa Bess is fascinated by bottle caps.

“They make a little bowl for me to work with,” she said Sunday during the annual Bangor Arts and Crafts Show.

“When I became interested in resin a few years ago, I realized I could imprison things in it and just create little worlds.”

One of those little worlds has a beach scene, with real Maine sand and tiny sea shells. Another is filled with stars.

All are magnets or pins or pendants for necklaces.

Indeed, the annual crafts show at the Bangor Civic Center is all about finding a new angle on a classic idea or turning trash into treasure.

Maine artisans at this year’s show were using rusted metal, bottle caps, and even rocks to create original art.

Some 90 vendors participated in this year’s event, selling everything from jewelry to photographs to fudge, said Donna White, show director. It’s a part of United Maine Craftsmen, which gives scholarships to Maine craftsmen, helps them market their work, and hosts their shows.

Children love the bottle cap art that Bess creates, but adults love her badge and eyeglass holders. Each one is a magnetic pin with a loop on it to hold an identification badge or a pair of eyeglasses.

“I’m more proud of that because it’s doing something for people,” said Bess, who is based in Portland.

White believes that consumers go to United Maine Craftsmen shows because “they know it’s Maine craftsmen. It’s all local.”

The art of Water’s Edge Stone Creations in Sanford is literally made of Maine.

William Houston and his family collect rocks and turn them into vases. They do not polish or carve the rocks.

“I like to think that we’re just framing what’s already there,” Houston said.

Jeri Holt of With Digital Eyes studio in Windsor is un-framing her art.

“One too many people told me: ‘I don’t have any room on my walls,'” Holt said.

In response she has created miniature reproductions of her digital art which can be used as pendants for necklaces or displayed on the included easel.

The work of Jim and Holly Galante of Falmouth is displayed in the yard.

They recycle discarded metals to make yard ornaments. Small children stop and stare at the giant, metal dragonfly that spins in the wind, and the “rock-bird” that rocks back and forth on its perch.