Maine Dezign tent located on the Hannaford side of Millcreek Park.

Art in the Park 2009 (South Portland, Maine) was an exciting day for sure!  Beautiful weather, tons of artists and photographers and very well attended!  Thank you to everyone for stopping in and visiting!  I hope you enjoyed some of the new artwork this year, as well as some of the old favorites!  The note cards and books were once again popular….I appreciate that people really like these and will have some new designs for the Freeport show!  Please feel free to email me with any requests or questions.  I will be making some of the prints available for sale via email for the time being.  If you will be going to Freeport, please let me know and I will be sure to bring any requested items if possible.  Again,thank you so much for your appreciation of my photography!

Lasting Impressions of Maine & Mainely Primitives Store

Come see the newest Maine shop in Windham called “Lasting Impressions & Mainely Primitives”.  Located at 856 Roosevelt Trail in Windham, Maine (formerly the Shelter Man, between the Stone Dog Cafe and Richards Boat yard, just down the road from Marshalls/ The Windham Mall)  A true “Maine” shop filled with a wonderful variety of locally made products and artwork, including artwork from Maine Dezign (Suzanne Ricker), Artist/Author Roberta Ricker, Images&Dezigns by Janice Edwards and “The Formulaah” body products…..and SO MUCH MORE!!!  Check out the website for special events all year ’round!   A unique shop you just HAVE to experience! 

Visit www.lastingimpressionsofmaine.com (formerly oldecolonialhomestead.com) for more information!

"Into the Woods" - Winner of the blue ribbon award for Photography at the 10th Annual "Fall in the Village Art Festival" in Freeport, Maine.

Saturday September 6th was the 10th Annual Fall in the Village Art Festival, and the FIRST annual Music Festival in Freeport, Maine (put on by the Freeport Merchants Association).  On the outter edge of “Hanna”, the skies looked like they would open up on us at any minute.  But Mother Nature was kind and allowed us to enjoy the day!  And what a day it was……

Hundreds of people enjoyed venturing through the LL Bean grounds…..exploring each tent with interest and enthusiasm.  Many came to the festival to enjoy the art, music and other activities.  Others were pleasantly surprised to discover us whilst on a shopping trip to LL Bean.  Either way……it seemed everyone had a great time.  For me, it was an exceptionally amazing day….

I had a wonderful time meeting (and talking with) so many Mainers and Tourists who graciously took the time to stop and visit my tent.  I hope I was able to introduce the Maine “experience” in a way they’ve not seen before and create some “conversation pieces” to boot! 

What I didn’t expect…..was to win the blue ribbon for the Photography award!  Yes, the photo above was the chosen image……depicting the maine coast (“Bug Light” park), Peaks Isand (hiding in the fog in the background), ……as well as Spring Point Light that appears through the trees…….that is, when there are not huge oil tankers docked at the pipeline!  You see many photos of that lighthouse from many angles, but I think this was the first time people had seen this lighthouse from this view.

Of course, I had to call home to tell them of the news!  My mother has been the recipient of many ribbons at these types of events (artist, traditional media – acrylics), ……..so I had to call her (and Dad) right away and tell her of MY first award! 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to take a moment to enjoy my photography.  Thank you to the judges for finding my photo worthy of the award.  And thank you to Allison and the Freeport Merchants Association for once again putting so much into making the entire day a success!  I had a great time and will definitely be back next year! 

Suzanne

Lillians Garden Mandala A mandala of the flower beds that have decorated the entrance of the walkway to my grandmothers house. c 2008 S. Ricker

The Wharf Street Festival on Long Island, Maine was certainly a last minute event that I did not expect to attend….but I’m sure glad I did!  It was fate that the weather remained sunny throughout the day…allowing everyone to enjoy the MANY talented artists and crafters treasures and allowed the outdoor activities to continue under the warm and welcoming island air.    That is, until the ominous sound of thunder rolled across the waters to our ears……when the color of the sky matches the darkness of the land in the distance….is that a BAD thing????   We had quite a light-show on the way up-town and the torrential rain held off just until we pulled in to Casco Bay Lines…..wasn’t that nice of Mother Nature to do that for us??????

Beach Mandala 4 - Tresures from Fowlers Beach set amongst an eleven point star design

Thank you to all who stopped at my table.  Seeing so many people that I hadn’t seen in a while…really made the day!~  I had many old favorites of my journals and cards, along with a new line of designs and prints.  I am very proud of my new line of Island Mandalas.  Each one is uniquely designed and digitally sculpted from island images.  Look into them to see treasures among 5, or 7 or 11 point stars.  No two are the same, but could derive from the same image……….and they will continuously evolve.  New designs coming out later in the year.

After a year of unexpected “web absence”, I have once again regained my Maine Dezign presence on the web and am diligently working on the website to get things up and running.  Please bear with me over the next few weeks and I will begin to make certain things available to order.

Thank you again to everyone for support and interest.  It means alot to me that others see meaningful things in my work.  That’s truly what it’s all about.

Look forward to seeing you all again soon……..

Suzanne

The Coast Guard "Eagle" enters Portland Harbor followed by the Portland Fire Boat.

After a long year of being offline, Mainedezign.com is back!  There’s only a “coming soon” page there now, but the site is in the works and hopefully better than before.  New products, new direction and a few surprises. 

Word to the wise, be careful who you do business with as far as your website.  When something goes wrong…will they stand behind you and support the customer?  Or will they let things fall out from under you and let your domain name fall in the hands of someone else……….

It’s good to be back

Maine Dezign will once again be present at the 10th Annual “Fall in the Village Art Festival” in Freeport, Maine!  Nestled within the “LL Bean” community will be a multitude of artists sharing their unique creations.  Please join us on September 6th, 2008….we will once again have some old favorites and new artistic “treats” for everyone!

Welcome to The Formulaah!  Take a moment and visit www.theformulaah.com and see the delicious line of beauty products made right here in Maine!  These scrubs, lotions and other treats give your hands and feet the  ”spa treatment” from the comfort of your home!  These are essential for summer and make great gifts!

Photos courtesy of Suzanne Ricker at Maine Dezign.

Come join us on August 9th, 2008 for the 29th annual Art in the Park in South Portland, ME!  This will be the 4th year we’ve participated and we always have a GREAT time!  I’ll be there along with Artist/Author Roberta Gomez Ricker (“West by North, A Quarter North”) and Digital Photographer Janice Edwards (website and online store coming soon). 

I’ve been working on some new pieces for this year and can’t wait to display them!  I’ll also have my traditional greeting cards, journals and small matted prints………along with some new “twisted” photography creations! 

See you there!

UPDATE (Aug 14, 2008)

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit us at Art in the Park!  What a TERRIFIC day along with some wonderful artists!  It was also very entertaining to see that visitors shared the day with the entire family… including their PETS!

I will be in contact with various people who inquired about certain works of art as well as certain local projects.  I have your information and will be happy to get in touch very soon…….

Millcreek Park in South Portland during the holidays

So much phography, so little time!  I’ve created a line of products that will share a bit of Maine with everyone!  These items are currently available only at shows, but they’ll be coming soon to a shop near you!

Greeting Cards – These 4.25″ x 5.5″ glossy (heavy) blank greeting cards are available in 2 pack or 6 pack.  Each package contains the same photo and the appropriate number of envelopes. So you can keep one and share the others!

Journals - These unique journals allow you to view the entire photo from the front to the back cover!  The image wraps around so you can get the full view of this Maine imagery.  It includes 75 single-sided lined pages, on 24# white recycled paper, a clear coil bind and a durable clear cover to protect so you can take it on trips or to a day at the beach!

Small Matted Images – these 5×7 SIGNED photos are each matted in various colors and ready to be framed or can be displayed as is!

Small Prints – These 8×10 (and 8.5″ x 11″) prints are designed with either a single photo or a collage and dressed with elegant text.  A great souvenir for those “from away” or a gift for your family and friends abroad!