Some pieces never begin as illustrations.
When I collect glass from the Aroostook River, I find many pieces that simply do not work for framed artwork. Some are too thick. Others are too large or shaped in ways that do not fit within a frame. Many measure two to three inches long and are more dimensional than illustration work allows.
I do not leave those pieces behind. Many are old, showing their age, with bubbles visible within the glass.
I turn them into something else. Something angelic.
Aroostook River Angels
I create Aroostook River Angels periodically throughout the year using larger pieces of handpicked river glass, glass beads, and occasionally antique beads from my late grandmother, Melvina Godin. The river glass leads each design. The glass isn’t reshape or mold it into a form. I only drill a small hole through the glass to attach the wings.
I make each angel by hand, one at a time. No two will ever match.
Over the years, people have shared how they use these angels in personal ways. Some hang them at burial sites. Others keep them on a car mirror. Many give them as gifts to honor someone they feel close too or to remember someone they grieve.
I do not assign meaning to the angels. I leave that to the person who connects with one.
These pieces come directly from the riverbed. Water, movement, and time shaped them long before I found them. They no longer carry sharp edges or broken ends. They carry change and strength, whether that strength is needed here on earth or held in memory.
Aroostook River Snow Trees
I make Aroostook River Snow Trees once a year, during November and December, when Caribou, Maine is covered in white. I create only eight trees each year, no more. Four are available at Creative Carpentry of Maine, and four are listed under the Aroostook River Angels category.
I choose this limit intentionally. I want the trees to remain seasonal and special, and to feel like winter. When those eight trees sell, I don’t make more until the following year.
Made from the Aroostook River
I create all Aroostook River Angels and Snow Trees using authentic river glass collected from the Aroostook River in Caribou, Maine. I make each piece by hand, one at a time, using glass my family and I have gathered from the bed of the river.
Each of these pieces holds meaning because of where they come from and how people choose to use them.
Where they go and what they represent remains personal to those who bring one home.
