Hello,I received the most wonderful surprise on Saturday morning. A woman had seen my painting of the rowboat titled "Dry Docked" on the cover of the Bainbridge Islander and just happened to know quite a bit about it's history. She decided to email and share with me the part of the boats history that she was part of. I love painting images that seem to have a story to tell and this time I was blessed to be able to hear part of it's story. So let me share it with you...
Meagan:
I saw your painting Dry Docked on the cover of the Bainbridge Islander and went to your page on the BI Studio Tour. Saw your statement: "Meagan's goal is to paint images that resonate with our past -- taking the viewer back to a place they remember, a time with a slower pace, a sweet memory of times gone by." In this case, the resonance is personal. I thought that I'd share a bit about the history of the subject matter. Tho boat washed up on the shore of Eagle Harbor has had a very long history, of which I've had only a very small part. We've lovingly known it as The Sea Moon. My husband (Gregg) purchased the boat many years ago before we met. It was in sorry shape then. Best history he had for it was that it had been a tender on a fishing boat. He planned to renovate it, but it sat as a neglected project for some time. He brought it with him when he moved into Winslow Cohousing here on the island when we first opened in 1992. By then he had all but given up on the idea of renovation, and suggested it might make a good sandbox for the children. I had moved in at the same time with my then husband (Tim) and our two daughters. Tim took a shine to the boat and with Gregg's acquiescence, worked with the kids in the community to renovate the boat, paint it turquoise, and name it. They brought the boat down to the City dock and launched it there, leaving it moored as a dinghy at the dock during the summers. Many people used the Sea Moon for a number of years. Adults went for leisurely rows. Adolescents escaped without their parent's knowledge and explored independence and nooks and crannies of Eagle Harbor. Live-aboards borrowed it when they had cargo to haul out to their homes. During this time much happened in our own lives. Tim and I split up. Gregg moved away from cohousing and spent some time as a live aboard himself, using the Sea Moon as his tender. Gregg and I got together. Gregg moved back. Tim used the boat in Blakely Harbor for a while, and loaned the Sea Moon to another live aboard. The Sea Moon passed from our lives as our lives changed. I never felt as if anyone "owned" it. It always seemed an entity unto itself. A couple of years ago Gregg and I came upon the Sea Moon washed up on the Wing Point shore of Eagle Harbor; looks like that's where it was when you found it, too. It seemed as if it had been submerged, then washed ashore. There were many untold stories floating around the boat, hints and whispers, confidences kept. We lingered, reminisced, and walked on. Thanks for bring back that place for me to remember,
Anonymous
(The Sea Moon as I found it)
(Launch of the Sea Moon)It was so special to me that this wonderful woman would care enough to think that I may want to know the story behind the picture. I promised her I would keep her name anonymous but If you are reading this...Thank you!!! It meant so much to me.
Hope you are all doing well.
Blessings,
Meagan
