Maine-based photographer Greta Rybus recently collaborated with Princeton Architectural Press editor Jan Cigliano Hartman and writer Katy Kelleher to build a book, titled “Handcrafted Maine.” The book portrays the creative spirit of Maine, focusing on how craftsmen and working environments relate and impact each other.
The project had been in the works for a long time. Greta explains that a year is usually a considerable amount of time to complete a book like this. However, the seasons in Maine tend to be short, so they had even less time to complete it.
Katy and I buzzed around the state together gathering content for the book, and it was an adventure! We got lost on logging roads in the far, far Northern part of Maine, we stopped on the side of the road to pick wild blueberries, and we even made the mistake of joining a lobster fisherman on the water in the middle of January. The waves were so massive we feared being tossed overboard!
“Handcrafted Maine” features profiles of people in Maine who work amongst art, land, and sea. Moreover, Greta and her colleagues explored the broader concept of craftsmanship, looking beyond the studio to the field, mountain, and sea.
While Maine is incredibly beautiful, it demands a unique work and life balance which proved to be deeply fascinating and fulfilling as we met so many diverse people who hone in on their craft in unique ways.
A repertoire of people who were interviewed and observed from Greta’s point of view included Ayumi Horie; a potter who lives in the outskirts of Portland and is recognized for her playful ceramics, John Bisbee; best known for the metal sculpture made of nails that he and his team of apprentices created, Micah Woodcock; who spends his time in the waves harvesting seaweed, and lastly, Masa Miyake; a chef from Northern Japan, who raises pigs in his backyard as a source of farm-to-table ingredients for his traditional Japanese restaurant.
The book is an ode to Maine, without a doubt. But it was also important for us to create a book that is honest. Katy’s writing exemplifies the real truth to living in Maine and writes about the beauty of the state, the satisfaction that comes with creativity as a resident there, as well as the financial struggles of being an artist, the increased rate of addiction, and the sexism faced in the art world.
In addition, as a creative herself, Greta feels that this book is a great guide not only for her and other photographers but for all types of craftspeople to learn about a variety of media and how to see things behind the “tools and canvas”.
For me, I can become a better photographer by looking at other peoples’ work lives: by studying how a painter looks at light, or how a fisherman or farmer patterns their workday based on the sun.
With the recent release of “Handcrafted Maine,” Greta is looking forward to seeing how local Mainers react to it. For her, the book came out of many deep conversations she had with the people she’d met along the way. Finally, Greta’s book was such a success, she’s already pitching a second book with a similar idea.
See more of Greta’s photography on her website.
Further Reading
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