Rangeley Lakes Region
Logging Museum
Logging Museum
News
2013 Logging Parade Theme Announced
It's official! The theme for this year's Logging Festival Parade is "Be True to Your Red, White & Blue". We encourage you to participate in the Parade with a float for your family, friends, organization, business, or logging equipment, please contact Linda Sikes directly at 491-6566. There is also a special "classic car" division to the parade that is dedicated to Otie Bachelder.
It's official! The theme for this year's Logging Festival Parade is "Be True to Your Red, White & Blue". We encourage you to participate in the Parade with a float for your family, friends, organization, business, or logging equipment, please contact Linda Sikes directly at 491-6566. There is also a special "classic car" division to the parade that is dedicated to Otie Bachelder.
Rangeley Logging Museum Announces Art Contest Winners
The winners of the second annual Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum Student Art Contest were recently announced. The RLRLM Art Contest was made part of the curriculum under the keen eye of the RLRS upper school art instructor, Sonja Johnson, for the second year in a row. This project has offered the RLRS students an opportunity to research the logging industry in their community and connect them to their families and neighbors in a new and historical way.
Twenty students from Ms. Johnson’s classes made entries which were judged during the Friday evening program at the Logging Festival at the end of July. As the Museum and the school explored ways in which to increase our mutual involvement for the benefit of the students this contest was first introduce two years ago. Its success is evident in the increased number of entries and the excellent quality of the artwork. Of the 20 contest entries
all three winners were freshmen. Perhaps one of the incentives that spurred the students on to great achievement was the $100 cash prize from the Rangeley Logging Museum. But, no doubt, the other is the phenomenal talent and leadership of their art instructor, Sonja Johnson.
In the photo Carolyn Nobbs, the RLRLM treasurer, is handing the check to first place winner Seve Deery-DeRaps who has that winning 100 dollar smile. Her entry was an acrylic painting depicting two men using a cross cut saw to do their work. It was a relief piece which she employed to give additional depth to the forest.
Second place winner, according to our two professional judges, Harry and Mary Ellen Simon who own and operate Simon Gallery in Morristown, NJ, was student Rachael Weaver whose art was a pastel drawing of a draft horse hauling a load of logs.
While in third place RLRS student Elijah Hall whose work depicts two of his father's logging trucks was done in scratchboard. Sonja Johnson stands at the far right representing her other art students and the entire art program at Rangeley Lakes Regional School. All twenty of the fantastic entries were displayed at the Rangeley Logging Museum from the Logging Festival in July through Labor Day where hundreds of visitors were able to view the work of Rangeley’s talented art students.
The third annual contest is already in the works with a possibility of an expansion for a photo contest as well. Sonja says, “I am available to help any young person from the community, especially summer visitors who would like to enter but might need technical assistance and or help with materials.”
The 2013 RLRLM Art Contest entries will be on display and judged on Friday, July 26, 2013 at the Church of the Good Shepherd as part of the Logging Festival’s Friday Night events that
also include the Little Miss & Mr. Woodchip Talent Contest and the 2013 Loggers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Artworks will remain on display through the summer of 2013 at the Rangeley Logging Museum.
Photo credit: Ron Haines
Photo Caption: Rangeley Logging Museum Art Contest Winners, L to R, Elijah Hall, Rachael Weaver, Carolyn Nobbs (RLRLRM Treasurer), Seve Deery-DeRaps, Sonja Johnson, art instructor.
The winners of the second annual Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum Student Art Contest were recently announced. The RLRLM Art Contest was made part of the curriculum under the keen eye of the RLRS upper school art instructor, Sonja Johnson, for the second year in a row. This project has offered the RLRS students an opportunity to research the logging industry in their community and connect them to their families and neighbors in a new and historical way.
Twenty students from Ms. Johnson’s classes made entries which were judged during the Friday evening program at the Logging Festival at the end of July. As the Museum and the school explored ways in which to increase our mutual involvement for the benefit of the students this contest was first introduce two years ago. Its success is evident in the increased number of entries and the excellent quality of the artwork. Of the 20 contest entries
all three winners were freshmen. Perhaps one of the incentives that spurred the students on to great achievement was the $100 cash prize from the Rangeley Logging Museum. But, no doubt, the other is the phenomenal talent and leadership of their art instructor, Sonja Johnson.
In the photo Carolyn Nobbs, the RLRLM treasurer, is handing the check to first place winner Seve Deery-DeRaps who has that winning 100 dollar smile. Her entry was an acrylic painting depicting two men using a cross cut saw to do their work. It was a relief piece which she employed to give additional depth to the forest.
Second place winner, according to our two professional judges, Harry and Mary Ellen Simon who own and operate Simon Gallery in Morristown, NJ, was student Rachael Weaver whose art was a pastel drawing of a draft horse hauling a load of logs.
While in third place RLRS student Elijah Hall whose work depicts two of his father's logging trucks was done in scratchboard. Sonja Johnson stands at the far right representing her other art students and the entire art program at Rangeley Lakes Regional School. All twenty of the fantastic entries were displayed at the Rangeley Logging Museum from the Logging Festival in July through Labor Day where hundreds of visitors were able to view the work of Rangeley’s talented art students.
The third annual contest is already in the works with a possibility of an expansion for a photo contest as well. Sonja says, “I am available to help any young person from the community, especially summer visitors who would like to enter but might need technical assistance and or help with materials.”
The 2013 RLRLM Art Contest entries will be on display and judged on Friday, July 26, 2013 at the Church of the Good Shepherd as part of the Logging Festival’s Friday Night events that
also include the Little Miss & Mr. Woodchip Talent Contest and the 2013 Loggers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Artworks will remain on display through the summer of 2013 at the Rangeley Logging Museum.
Photo credit: Ron Haines
Photo Caption: Rangeley Logging Museum Art Contest Winners, L to R, Elijah Hall, Rachael Weaver, Carolyn Nobbs (RLRLRM Treasurer), Seve Deery-DeRaps, Sonja Johnson, art instructor.
Artwork Dedication Ceremony
As part of the Rangeley Lakes Region Museum’s annual Logging Festival, Mr. Wendell Steward will be inducted into the Logger’s Hall of Fame on Friday 27 July 2012 during the Evening Program which begins at 7:00pm at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Main Street, Rangeley. Born in 1929, Mr. Steward began working in the woods as a nine-year-old, cutting white birch with his father on their Long Pond farm and selling it to the Brackley Wood Turning Mill in Strong. Among his many forest-related jobs were those with Otis Oakes; the Kempton Lumber Company; the Redington Navy Base; and, for 24 years, with D.C. Morton. He also worked on the Dead River drives for 15 years. Then, he was road foreman for the Town of Rangeley for 20 years. From 1952 to 1954, he served in the U.S. Army running heavy equipment, putting his woods skills to work. He lives in Rangeley with his wife, Marylyn, and the couple has four children—Brad, Wendelyn, Melissa and Corey—and a grandson, Cody. Please join us July 27 at the Church of the Good Shepherd at 7PM to celebrate Mr. Wendell Steward and his many achievements.
__________________________________________________________________________
The Rangeley Logging
Museum hosted a dedication ceremony on Saturday, August 11th to celebrate a new donation of artwork to the Museum.
This dedication is for the well known, life-sized carved figure,
"Jerome, the Indian", an early carving by the Museum’s founder, Rodney
C. Richard, Sr. from 1975. As Rodney tells the story, “I carved this in
trade for a year’s worth of free coffee and donuts at Fitzy’s.” Many
folks may remember “Jerome” as a fixture at Fitzy’s Donut Shop (now
Moosely Bagels) in Rangeley for many years. Mrs. Sue Fitzgerald has graciously donated the carving to the Museum for
all to enjoy. Sue and Rodney were on hand to talk about the carving
and how it came to be. The attendees enjoyed complimentary homemade donuts and coffee service. at the ceremony.
As part of the Rangeley Lakes Region Museum’s annual Logging Festival, Mr. Wendell Steward will be inducted into the Logger’s Hall of Fame on Friday 27 July 2012 during the Evening Program which begins at 7:00pm at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Main Street, Rangeley. Born in 1929, Mr. Steward began working in the woods as a nine-year-old, cutting white birch with his father on their Long Pond farm and selling it to the Brackley Wood Turning Mill in Strong. Among his many forest-related jobs were those with Otis Oakes; the Kempton Lumber Company; the Redington Navy Base; and, for 24 years, with D.C. Morton. He also worked on the Dead River drives for 15 years. Then, he was road foreman for the Town of Rangeley for 20 years. From 1952 to 1954, he served in the U.S. Army running heavy equipment, putting his woods skills to work. He lives in Rangeley with his wife, Marylyn, and the couple has four children—Brad, Wendelyn, Melissa and Corey—and a grandson, Cody. Please join us July 27 at the Church of the Good Shepherd at 7PM to celebrate Mr. Wendell Steward and his many achievements.
__________________________________________________________________________
32nd Annual Festival and Parade ~ July 27/28
The Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum is proud to be the organizer of one of the largest events held in Rangeley during the summer, the annual Logging Parade and Festival, a 2-day event, happening on the 27th and 28th of July.
Starting on Friday the 27th the traditional events include biscuit cooking and burying of the beans at the Museum grounds, and then on to the Episcopal Church for the Mr. and Miss Wood Chip Talent Show, Art Contest winners, the Loggers Hall of Fame inductees, and music and storytelling with 13 year-old fiddle virtuoso Mason Strunk and Uncle Al.
On Saturday morning make sure you’re on Main Street by 10 AM to witness the best, most creative parade ever with entries ranging from the logging industry to local businesses and groups! The antique car and motorcycle division is honoring the memory of our own native son, Odie Batchelder, who passed away earlier this year. This years’ overall Parade theme is "Book Titles"...Robin Hood, How To Eat Fried Worms, The Help, Little Red Riding Hood, etc., which should make it easy to get everyone involved. It’s a great opportunity to show off your business, group, or organization to hundreds of folks who attend the festivities--not to mention the chance to win cash prizes in all categories! For more information about participating in the Parade, please contact our Parade Coordinator, Linda Sikes, at 491-6566.
After the Parade goes through town, come join us at the Logging Museum grounds to enjoy a traditional bean-hole dinner, live music, artists and crafters, children’s activities, storytelling, and non-stop entertainment all afternoon with our Woodsmen’s Competition and, new this year, the Great Maine Lumberjack Show! The Show features Timber Tina and the LumberJills! “Timber Tina” is Tina Scheer, owner of the Show and past participant in the well-known TV series “Survivor Panama”. It’s great entertainment for the whole family with audience participation encouraged and featuring their own tank for log rolling. Local lumberjacks are encouraged to enter the Woodsmen’s Competition. Winner’s take home prizes like brand new Stihl® chainsaws, personal safety gear, and cash prizes in seven categories!
Another new feature at this year’s Festival will be “Conversations with Carvers” showcasing three local carvers of international fame: Museum founder, Rodney Richard aka “The Mad Whittler”; Ashley Gray, 2012 World Champion carver; and David Barten, Diorama carver. All of these artists will have work on hand to marvel at and discuss.
If you can’t make it to the Festival, please come see us at the Logging Museum. The logging history in Maine is rich and varied and may surprise you! In fact, did you know that the chain saw, taken for granted in so many households worldwide, was invented right here in Maine? There’s more to it than those logging trucks rumbling down the road. Come see for yourself! Help us grow by becoming a member or volunteer for lots of projects and activities we have planned for the coming year, including trail building, creating new display space in the museum, and more.
The Museum is located on Rt 16, the Stratton Road, just a mile outside Rangeley and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm through Labor Day.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WOODSMEN'S COMPETITION....
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Sculptor, David Barten, Donates Art to Logging Museum for 27 July Exhibit Opening
Sculptor David Barten of Conway, Massachusetts, has donated five of his creations to the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum. Two tool sculptures will be exhibited this summer, and three dioramas of Rangeley life will be shown in 2013. Mr. Barten, once a cabin boy at Pleasant Island, will attend the Logging Festival July 27 and 28, and greet visitors from Friday afternoon on in the Museum Building.
Much of Mr. Barten’s inspiration for these five sculptures comes from his love of the Rangeley Lakes region. He first saw Rangeley in the mid-1950s when his father took their family to Pleasant Island on Cupsuptic Lake for a week. The Bartens returned the next summer, as well. David wanted to be in Rangeley longer, so in summer 1958, he worked for eight weeks at Pleasant Island as a cabin boy when Don and Pam Young of Dixfield owned the camps. In the spring of 1966, Mr. Barten and two friends walked part of the Appalachian Trail in the Rangeley area, and three years later, he brought his wife to Rangeley for a brief visit. During these various sojourns, he traveled the length of Mooselookmeguntic in a small motorboat, sailed on Cupsuptic in a modified canoe, fished in the small rivers that entered Cupsuptic, and hiked in the mountains around Rangeley. He has not visited the area since 1969 and is very glad he will be seeing it once again.
Mr. Barten looks forward to talking with the public about the two tool sculptures he will bring to the Museum on July 27. “Wormy Butternut” (2009) brings together such tools as cross cut saws, screwdrivers, calipers and squares, an auger, and more—all placed against a backdrop of butternut (white walnut) with decorative circles of white oak. The second tool sculpture, a standing sculpture titled “Twist and Cut I” (2006), juxtaposes a rafter’s auger (also used by loggers when building log booms and rafts), a bucksaw, a wheel maker’s saw used for cutting felloes, a broad ax, and a stone mason’s or wood carver’s mallet, and more. These tools lie against a backdrop of rock maple and black walnut.
Old tools have very special meaning to Mr. Barten. He searched for them in antique stores all over western Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. “I’d stop at any store there was,” he explains. “I’d choose the tools that were banged up. They were the ones still there because the collectors didn’t want them. I did! They have a history. These tools were treasured by unnamed, unknown craftsmen, especially carpenters and joiners. These were the tools I wanted to feature.”
One of the reasons he wanted to feature tools is their ubiquity in New England: “Every New England farm had a toolbox, and every farmer was a carpenter. Farmers made themselves into blacksmiths, and they made their own tools. I saw some really interesting, self-made designs! The famers always tinkered. They were not satisfied with what they got from Europe or from the market in America. So, many farmers set up their own forge. The New Englander was a tinkerer!” Mr. Barten laughs. Having worked for most of his adult life with hand tools, especially gouges and chisels, he reflects, “America was made by hand, and by hand tools.”
Next summer, Mr. Barten will bring three of his large-sized, poly-chromed dioramas, made of countless pieces of careful crafted and painted wood, that tell stories about life in the Rangeley woods. Weighing up to 600 pounds with dimensions up to 104 inches long by 40 inches wide by 71 inches high, these dioramas—“Tow”, “Aquifer”, and “Spring Thaw/Clearcut”—along with his other work, can be seen at http://davidbarten.com
Born in 1942 in New York City, Mr. Barten was educated through ninth grade in the public schools of Croton and Hartsdale, New York; he then finished his secondary education at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts. He studied sculpture at Cornell University and graduated with a BFA in 1965. Three years later, he received an MA from Adelphi University, Long Island, New York, in the teaching of art and went on to teach junior high school from 1967 to 1970 at the Waldorf School of Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. From 1970 to 1973, he was a doctoral candidate in the History of Higher Education in America at New York University; he left the program to assume the Chairmanship of the Faculty of the Waldorf School in 1974. In 1977, he resigned this position to help his wife, Aina, and a friend found Orion, a nature magazine, now in its 30th year. In 1981, he returned to his earlier interest in wood carving and became a professional sculptor.
Mr. Barten’s interest in wood working and carving has been shaped at Tabor Academy and Cornell by men who were professional carvers and who had an interest in seeing young people pursue carving as a career. From 1965 on, he has worked in folk art style, carving reliefs and making standing figures as a hobby.
Mr. Barten’s professional career as an artist has assumed three phases, the first between 1981 and 1997 when he worked full-time at carving life-size, standing figures on commission, poly-chromed by a collaborator. Because a patron in Louisville, Kentucky, made these commissions possible, the eight sculptures are found in two museums, one college, one church, and a monastery in Kentucky. Four, for example, are of the four Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and another figure is of Daniel Boone, complete with his two dogs, rifle, and coon-skin cap. Mr. Barten was given a retrospective by the Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts in the summer of 1997, at which almost all the work he had created, as well as the models, were exhibited.
Then, from 1998 to 2005, Mr. Barten changed his focus from carving on commission to creating large-scale, poly-chromed dioramas on speculation. He made seven dioramas over seven years, and the three inspired by his Rangeley experiences are being given to the Logging Museum. All seven of these dioramas are constructions whose parts were made using a bandsaw and are held in place by dowels, glue and screws. All were painted by Mr. Barten, using artist’s oils. Unlike the carvings, none of the dioramas have been exhibited before, so the Logging Museum’s 2013 exhibit will be the first time the public will be able to view Mr. Barten’s breathtaking dioramas.
Finally, from 2005 to the present, Mr. Barten has fashioned tool sculptures, old wood-working tools placed in harmonious designs against vintage woods. He has constructed 27 sculptures of various sizes. In 2008, five of these sculptures were exhibited at Forbes Library in Northampton, Mass, in a show titled “Practically Perfect.” Two of these tool sculptures will come to the Logging Museum for the July Festival; most of the others have been sold to private collectors, or given to charities for auction.
The Logging Museum thanks Mr. and Mrs. David Barten for their generous donation of art about Rangeley to the people of Rangeley, and welcomes the public to attend the opening of the exhibit on Friday afternoon 27 July. The Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm, until Labor Day and by appointment (864-3939). FMI: http://rlrlm.org
by Peggy Yocom, Curator, Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum
______________________________________________________________________________________
The Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum is proud to be the organizer of one of the largest events held in Rangeley during the summer, the annual Logging Parade and Festival, a 2-day event, happening on the 27th and 28th of July.
Starting on Friday the 27th the traditional events include biscuit cooking and burying of the beans at the Museum grounds, and then on to the Episcopal Church for the Mr. and Miss Wood Chip Talent Show, Art Contest winners, the Loggers Hall of Fame inductees, and music and storytelling with 13 year-old fiddle virtuoso Mason Strunk and Uncle Al.
On Saturday morning make sure you’re on Main Street by 10 AM to witness the best, most creative parade ever with entries ranging from the logging industry to local businesses and groups! The antique car and motorcycle division is honoring the memory of our own native son, Odie Batchelder, who passed away earlier this year. This years’ overall Parade theme is "Book Titles"...Robin Hood, How To Eat Fried Worms, The Help, Little Red Riding Hood, etc., which should make it easy to get everyone involved. It’s a great opportunity to show off your business, group, or organization to hundreds of folks who attend the festivities--not to mention the chance to win cash prizes in all categories! For more information about participating in the Parade, please contact our Parade Coordinator, Linda Sikes, at 491-6566.
After the Parade goes through town, come join us at the Logging Museum grounds to enjoy a traditional bean-hole dinner, live music, artists and crafters, children’s activities, storytelling, and non-stop entertainment all afternoon with our Woodsmen’s Competition and, new this year, the Great Maine Lumberjack Show! The Show features Timber Tina and the LumberJills! “Timber Tina” is Tina Scheer, owner of the Show and past participant in the well-known TV series “Survivor Panama”. It’s great entertainment for the whole family with audience participation encouraged and featuring their own tank for log rolling. Local lumberjacks are encouraged to enter the Woodsmen’s Competition. Winner’s take home prizes like brand new Stihl® chainsaws, personal safety gear, and cash prizes in seven categories!
Another new feature at this year’s Festival will be “Conversations with Carvers” showcasing three local carvers of international fame: Museum founder, Rodney Richard aka “The Mad Whittler”; Ashley Gray, 2012 World Champion carver; and David Barten, Diorama carver. All of these artists will have work on hand to marvel at and discuss.
If you can’t make it to the Festival, please come see us at the Logging Museum. The logging history in Maine is rich and varied and may surprise you! In fact, did you know that the chain saw, taken for granted in so many households worldwide, was invented right here in Maine? There’s more to it than those logging trucks rumbling down the road. Come see for yourself! Help us grow by becoming a member or volunteer for lots of projects and activities we have planned for the coming year, including trail building, creating new display space in the museum, and more.
The Museum is located on Rt 16, the Stratton Road, just a mile outside Rangeley and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm through Labor Day.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WOODSMEN'S COMPETITION....
2012 Rangeley Logging Festival Lumberjack Competition
Registration at 11:00 AM
Entry Fee: $10
Entry Fee: $10
Prize Money: $25, 15, 10 for each event.
Competition Begins shortly after noon
Events
Log Roll
Two
competitors will roll a log down a course using peaveys or cant dogs.
Competitors must hit two stakes at the end of the course and then
return the log to its starting location. Quickest time wins.
Cross Cut
Two
competitors will use a crosscut saw to make a single cut on a 10 x 10
timber. Quickest time wins and only complete cuts count.
Axe
Throw
Competitors will get three throws at a target with scoring areas. The highest score wins.
Splitting
Competitors
will split pieces of firewood in order to fit them through a 4” hole.
Once all full length pieces are through, time stops. Quickest time
wins.
Stocksaw
A competitor must
make three cuts (down, up, down) on a 10 x10 timber. Saw will be
running on the ground, and competitors must have their hands on the wood
on “Go”. Three complete cookies must be cut. Fastest time wins.
Pulp For Distance
Competitors
will throw a 4’ piece of pulp as far as possible. Pulp must be
released behind the line and the distance will be counted from the point
of impact. Longest throw wins.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Sculptor, David Barten, Donates Art to Logging Museum for 27 July Exhibit Opening
Sculptor David Barten of Conway, Massachusetts, has donated five of his creations to the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum. Two tool sculptures will be exhibited this summer, and three dioramas of Rangeley life will be shown in 2013. Mr. Barten, once a cabin boy at Pleasant Island, will attend the Logging Festival July 27 and 28, and greet visitors from Friday afternoon on in the Museum Building.
Much of Mr. Barten’s inspiration for these five sculptures comes from his love of the Rangeley Lakes region. He first saw Rangeley in the mid-1950s when his father took their family to Pleasant Island on Cupsuptic Lake for a week. The Bartens returned the next summer, as well. David wanted to be in Rangeley longer, so in summer 1958, he worked for eight weeks at Pleasant Island as a cabin boy when Don and Pam Young of Dixfield owned the camps. In the spring of 1966, Mr. Barten and two friends walked part of the Appalachian Trail in the Rangeley area, and three years later, he brought his wife to Rangeley for a brief visit. During these various sojourns, he traveled the length of Mooselookmeguntic in a small motorboat, sailed on Cupsuptic in a modified canoe, fished in the small rivers that entered Cupsuptic, and hiked in the mountains around Rangeley. He has not visited the area since 1969 and is very glad he will be seeing it once again.
Mr. Barten looks forward to talking with the public about the two tool sculptures he will bring to the Museum on July 27. “Wormy Butternut” (2009) brings together such tools as cross cut saws, screwdrivers, calipers and squares, an auger, and more—all placed against a backdrop of butternut (white walnut) with decorative circles of white oak. The second tool sculpture, a standing sculpture titled “Twist and Cut I” (2006), juxtaposes a rafter’s auger (also used by loggers when building log booms and rafts), a bucksaw, a wheel maker’s saw used for cutting felloes, a broad ax, and a stone mason’s or wood carver’s mallet, and more. These tools lie against a backdrop of rock maple and black walnut.
Old tools have very special meaning to Mr. Barten. He searched for them in antique stores all over western Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. “I’d stop at any store there was,” he explains. “I’d choose the tools that were banged up. They were the ones still there because the collectors didn’t want them. I did! They have a history. These tools were treasured by unnamed, unknown craftsmen, especially carpenters and joiners. These were the tools I wanted to feature.”
One of the reasons he wanted to feature tools is their ubiquity in New England: “Every New England farm had a toolbox, and every farmer was a carpenter. Farmers made themselves into blacksmiths, and they made their own tools. I saw some really interesting, self-made designs! The famers always tinkered. They were not satisfied with what they got from Europe or from the market in America. So, many farmers set up their own forge. The New Englander was a tinkerer!” Mr. Barten laughs. Having worked for most of his adult life with hand tools, especially gouges and chisels, he reflects, “America was made by hand, and by hand tools.”
Next summer, Mr. Barten will bring three of his large-sized, poly-chromed dioramas, made of countless pieces of careful crafted and painted wood, that tell stories about life in the Rangeley woods. Weighing up to 600 pounds with dimensions up to 104 inches long by 40 inches wide by 71 inches high, these dioramas—“Tow”, “Aquifer”, and “Spring Thaw/Clearcut”—along with his other work, can be seen at http://davidbarten.com
Born in 1942 in New York City, Mr. Barten was educated through ninth grade in the public schools of Croton and Hartsdale, New York; he then finished his secondary education at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts. He studied sculpture at Cornell University and graduated with a BFA in 1965. Three years later, he received an MA from Adelphi University, Long Island, New York, in the teaching of art and went on to teach junior high school from 1967 to 1970 at the Waldorf School of Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. From 1970 to 1973, he was a doctoral candidate in the History of Higher Education in America at New York University; he left the program to assume the Chairmanship of the Faculty of the Waldorf School in 1974. In 1977, he resigned this position to help his wife, Aina, and a friend found Orion, a nature magazine, now in its 30th year. In 1981, he returned to his earlier interest in wood carving and became a professional sculptor.
Mr. Barten’s interest in wood working and carving has been shaped at Tabor Academy and Cornell by men who were professional carvers and who had an interest in seeing young people pursue carving as a career. From 1965 on, he has worked in folk art style, carving reliefs and making standing figures as a hobby.
Mr. Barten’s professional career as an artist has assumed three phases, the first between 1981 and 1997 when he worked full-time at carving life-size, standing figures on commission, poly-chromed by a collaborator. Because a patron in Louisville, Kentucky, made these commissions possible, the eight sculptures are found in two museums, one college, one church, and a monastery in Kentucky. Four, for example, are of the four Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and another figure is of Daniel Boone, complete with his two dogs, rifle, and coon-skin cap. Mr. Barten was given a retrospective by the Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts in the summer of 1997, at which almost all the work he had created, as well as the models, were exhibited.
Then, from 1998 to 2005, Mr. Barten changed his focus from carving on commission to creating large-scale, poly-chromed dioramas on speculation. He made seven dioramas over seven years, and the three inspired by his Rangeley experiences are being given to the Logging Museum. All seven of these dioramas are constructions whose parts were made using a bandsaw and are held in place by dowels, glue and screws. All were painted by Mr. Barten, using artist’s oils. Unlike the carvings, none of the dioramas have been exhibited before, so the Logging Museum’s 2013 exhibit will be the first time the public will be able to view Mr. Barten’s breathtaking dioramas.
Finally, from 2005 to the present, Mr. Barten has fashioned tool sculptures, old wood-working tools placed in harmonious designs against vintage woods. He has constructed 27 sculptures of various sizes. In 2008, five of these sculptures were exhibited at Forbes Library in Northampton, Mass, in a show titled “Practically Perfect.” Two of these tool sculptures will come to the Logging Museum for the July Festival; most of the others have been sold to private collectors, or given to charities for auction.
The Logging Museum thanks Mr. and Mrs. David Barten for their generous donation of art about Rangeley to the people of Rangeley, and welcomes the public to attend the opening of the exhibit on Friday afternoon 27 July. The Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm, until Labor Day and by appointment (864-3939). FMI: http://rlrlm.org
by Peggy Yocom, Curator, Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum
______________________________________________________________________________________
Stories, Chinese Music, and More at Rangeley Logging Museum Knit and Craft Show ~ July 14, 2012
On Saturday July 14th, knitters and craftspeople of the Rangeley region along with the Western Maine Storytellers Guild will display their talents at the 16th Annual Knit and Crafts Show and Sale at the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum from 9am to 3pm at the Museum building on Route 16, one mile east of Rangeley. Admission is free. Celebrating the creativity of Maine fiber artists, the show introduces visitors to the history of knitting in the logging woods and invites people to bring their current projects and enjoy the company of other crafters.
Seven storytellers and a musician from the Western Maine Storytelling Guild will perform throughout the day: Judy Loeven, Debby Bliss, Myrna Vallette, Jane Woodman, Carole Lee, Phyllis Blackstone, Susan Pearson, and Eddie Yuen. Scheduled tellings are planned, though, for 11:30, 12 noon, 12:30, and 1:00 in 20-minute sets. Guild organizer Phyllis Blackstone will introduce the tellers and will also give listeners an up-close introduction to the July 20-22 Western Maine Storytelling Festival in Farmington and South Carthage featuring Michael Cooper of Chesterville, Judith Black of Marblehead, MA, and group of western Maine emergency services personnel (wmsfestival.org).
Quilter, April Grant, and knitters, Daria Babbitt and Colleen Coffren, will also attend. Along with friends from the Salem area, they will offer free demonstrations and lessons to Museum visitors. Also on sale will be sweaters knitted by Gladys Yocom Metka for the Guidepost Magazine project “Knit For Kids” that sends sweaters to children in need in the USA and throughout the world. Knitter Nini Christensen of Ecopelagicon, the Rangeley nature store, will bring books about knitting, crafts, and textile arts (ecopelagicon.com). Also on hand will be Stephanie Seavey-Schellhorn of SeaSchell Designs with her handcrafted jewelry (seachelldesign.com). People with questions about a knitting or crafts project are welcome to bring their work.
Knit Show attendees will get a chance to tell their stories to Matt McCourt and his team of students with the Rangeley Sustainability Project. With detailed maps of western Maine on display, these University of Maine Farmington researchers will ask people to tell about how they take care of their home area and what places in the region are special to them ( http://www.umaine.edu/
On display is the Museum's exhibit on knitting in the timberwoods of Maine: “Hand in Hand: Logging and Knitting in Maine,” with gloves worn by local loggers as well as a pair of gray woolen double-thumb mittens from New Brunswick. Worn by woodsmen, these unique mittens made by thrifty women could be turned over and used on the other side once the palm-side had been worn out. Many of the Museum's photography exhibits also show the sweaters and mittens made by women, and sometimes mended by men, that were used in the logging camps.
The Rangeley region also has a colorful knitting story to tell. Many of its native daughters, such as Lucille Haley Richard, Virginia Haley White, and Bertha Lamb Haines, began knitting as girls and some cared for and dressed the dolls their mothers made for them. Once Rangeley’s hills were dotted with sheep from the 12 to 15 local sheep farms. The exhibit “Knit by Heart: The Art of Lucille Richard (1926-2006)” honors this knitter who founded this Museum event.
The Museum invites knitters and crafters who would like to include their handiwork in the show and sale to call Peggy Yocom at 864-3421.
The Logging Museum opens Wednesday through Sunday 11-5 until Labor Day, and by appointment (call Pres. Ron Haines, 864-5551). The 32nd Annual Logging Festival will be held Friday and Saturday, July 27th and 28th. Visit the Museum on facebook at www.facebook.com/rangeleyrloggingmuseum
Do you have knitted goods; patched clothing; or needles, thread, or wax used in the logging camps? Photographs of knitting or woolen goods in the camps? Memories of knitting in the camps? The Logging Museum would love to hear from you (call Peggy at 864-3421).
--by Peggy Yocom, Curator, Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum
On Saturday July 14th, knitters and craftspeople of the Rangeley region along with the Western Maine Storytellers Guild will display their talents at the 16th Annual Knit and Crafts Show and Sale at the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum from 9am to 3pm at the Museum building on Route 16, one mile east of Rangeley. Admission is free. Celebrating the creativity of Maine fiber artists, the show introduces visitors to the history of knitting in the logging woods and invites people to bring their current projects and enjoy the company of other crafters.
Seven storytellers and a musician from the Western Maine Storytelling Guild will perform throughout the day: Judy Loeven, Debby Bliss, Myrna Vallette, Jane Woodman, Carole Lee, Phyllis Blackstone, Susan Pearson, and Eddie Yuen. Scheduled tellings are planned, though, for 11:30, 12 noon, 12:30, and 1:00 in 20-minute sets. Guild organizer Phyllis Blackstone will introduce the tellers and will also give listeners an up-close introduction to the July 20-22 Western Maine Storytelling Festival in Farmington and South Carthage featuring Michael Cooper of Chesterville, Judith Black of Marblehead, MA, and group of western Maine emergency services personnel (wmsfestival.org).
Quilter, April Grant, and knitters, Daria Babbitt and Colleen Coffren, will also attend. Along with friends from the Salem area, they will offer free demonstrations and lessons to Museum visitors. Also on sale will be sweaters knitted by Gladys Yocom Metka for the Guidepost Magazine project “Knit For Kids” that sends sweaters to children in need in the USA and throughout the world. Knitter Nini Christensen of Ecopelagicon, the Rangeley nature store, will bring books about knitting, crafts, and textile arts (ecopelagicon.com). Also on hand will be Stephanie Seavey-Schellhorn of SeaSchell Designs with her handcrafted jewelry (seachelldesign.com). People with questions about a knitting or crafts project are welcome to bring their work.
Knit Show attendees will get a chance to tell their stories to Matt McCourt and his team of students with the Rangeley Sustainability Project. With detailed maps of western Maine on display, these University of Maine Farmington researchers will ask people to tell about how they take care of their home area and what places in the region are special to them ( http://www.umaine.edu/
On display is the Museum's exhibit on knitting in the timberwoods of Maine: “Hand in Hand: Logging and Knitting in Maine,” with gloves worn by local loggers as well as a pair of gray woolen double-thumb mittens from New Brunswick. Worn by woodsmen, these unique mittens made by thrifty women could be turned over and used on the other side once the palm-side had been worn out. Many of the Museum's photography exhibits also show the sweaters and mittens made by women, and sometimes mended by men, that were used in the logging camps.
The Rangeley region also has a colorful knitting story to tell. Many of its native daughters, such as Lucille Haley Richard, Virginia Haley White, and Bertha Lamb Haines, began knitting as girls and some cared for and dressed the dolls their mothers made for them. Once Rangeley’s hills were dotted with sheep from the 12 to 15 local sheep farms. The exhibit “Knit by Heart: The Art of Lucille Richard (1926-2006)” honors this knitter who founded this Museum event.
The Museum invites knitters and crafters who would like to include their handiwork in the show and sale to call Peggy Yocom at 864-3421.
The Logging Museum opens Wednesday through Sunday 11-5 until Labor Day, and by appointment (call Pres. Ron Haines, 864-5551). The 32nd Annual Logging Festival will be held Friday and Saturday, July 27th and 28th. Visit the Museum on facebook at www.facebook.com/rangeleyrloggingmuseum
Do you have knitted goods; patched clothing; or needles, thread, or wax used in the logging camps? Photographs of knitting or woolen goods in the camps? Memories of knitting in the camps? The Logging Museum would love to hear from you (call Peggy at 864-3421).
--by Peggy Yocom, Curator, Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum
