The Arts & Yachts Exhibition and Sale had fair winds and sunny skies last weekend, to the delight of participating artists and onlookers.

The Lincoln Arts Festival has been bringing an assortment of programs to the Boothbay region for 39 years. The weekend-long Arts & Yachts Exhibition and Sale was added to the LAF schedule in 1995 and is held at Hodgdon Yacht Services on Southport Island. The event now also includes the fine art of boat building. The event kicks off with an opening reception with an opulent spread of tasty treats and live harp music.  

The only thing more interesting than the variety of art forms on display were the personalities of those presenting them in the shipyard’s boat sheds.

Andre' Benoit, originally a painter, now creates collages – an assembly of materials or pieces of other artwork on a canvas. According to Benoit, the color paint used is intended to invoke a mood to add to the impact of a work.

When asked why people were calling him Andy, Benoit explained that had been his nickname until he met his fiancee, who is from the French section of Switzerland. She calls him Andre', so now he uses that.

Painter John Seitzer was working on a rendition of a barn that is on River Road. He intends to include it in a series of Maine barns during the upcoming First Friday Art Tour at the Joy to the Wind Gallery he shares with his wife, fellow artist Lynne Seitzer.

When asked what he is going to name the painting, Seitzer said, "Barn."

Weaver Jill Butke was weaving two scarves simultaneously. Butke said most people do not realize how much work goes into weaving. It takes hours to tie up the threads, or yarn, to the loom. Those are the warp or vertical threads. Then it is back and forth with the weft or horizontal threads, tightening them up with foot pedals each time.

Butke said she tried listening to music while she worked but found she prefers listening to books on tape. Some days when she plans to knock off at 3:30 p.m., if the story is getting good, she might have to work a little longer.

Woodworker Brian Shaw started out as a house builder in Burlington, Vermont. He had a sailboat he sailed down to Charleston, South Carolina where he began doing boat interiors. However as he got older, working in quarters onboard became too tight, he said. Now he creates functional shelves/tables for others to install in boats.

Shaw also creates uniquely designed cutting boards that can double as wall hangings, due to the mix of wood and shapes molded together.

Fiber artist Leslie Muir-Volpe said she decided LAF is a worthwhile non-profit organization to volunteer time to when she is not working on her fiber pieces. For many years, she has coordinated the artists for the Arts & Yachts event. So the way the event turns out means a lot to her personally.

Muir-Volpe said it can be tough being a taskmaster, but that's what it takes when working with a bunch of artists.

A small percentage of art sales during the event is donated to LAF.