BELFAST, Maine — Belfast wrapped up its 27th annual Arts in the Park festival Sunday. The two-day event along the waterfront featured more than 100 Maine artists.
"I think supporting the creative economy and artists like myself by coming out to these and buying things that are handmade with your hands is something pretty special versus buying something that you just kind of see in a big shop," Helene Farrar, an encaustic painter, said.
The festival showcased products of all sorts, including everything from basket weaving to wood carving to photography.
"There's a long tradition of craft making in Maine," Doug Frati, said.
Frati has been woodworking for the past 40 years, creating handmade pieces out of antique wood.
He said he enjoys seeing how the community responds to his work at festivals like this.
"I'm, you know, grateful [for] the fact that people respond well to the work, and I'm able to do what I love to do," he said. "As long as they keep encouraging me, I'm going to keep doing it."
Some artists like Luci Timblin, showcased a technique she picked up six years some people had never seen before: fractal wood burning.
"You do this with electricity?" one person asked.
Timblin owns 12,000 Volts out of Harpswell. She takes two live electrical wires to burn unique patterns into wood.
"Because the electricity is creating the fractal patterns, it is very organic. It is very unique. You're never going to have two pieces that look exactly alike," she said. "It's art science and nature all combined into one."